Ensuring That You Have the Proper Device Drivers

Before installing Oracle Solaris, determine whether your system's devices are supported. The Hardware Compatibility Lists (HCL) at http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/hcl/index.html provides information about hardware that is certified or reported to work with Oracle Solaris. The Solaris on x86 Platforms Device Support tool tells you which Oracle Solaris driver supports the various x86 components.

You can also use the following utilities to determine whether a device driver is available:

Oracle Device Detection Tool

The Oracle Device Detection Tool reports whether the current release supports the devices that have been detected on your system. This tool runs on many different systems, including several different Solaris 10 releases, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD. There is a link to the Oracle Device Detection Tool on the HCL (http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/hcl/index.html). For instructions on using the tool, see How to Use the Oracle Device Detection Tool.
Device Driver Utility

The Device Driver Utility provides the same information as the Oracle Device Detection Tool. This utility is available on the desktop for Oracle Solaris 11 systems. And, the utility is available through the text installer menu options.

Note - The Device Driver Utility can require at least 1.5 GB of memory. If your system has an adequate complement of devices to perform an installation, first complete the installation, then boot the installed hard disk before running the Device Driver Utility. Then, the utility can take advantage of the swap space on the installed system.

How to Use the Oracle Device Detection Tool

You can use the Oracle Device Detection Tool to determine whether the current release includes drivers for all of the devices on your system.

In a web browser, go to http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/hcl/hcts/device_detect.html.
In the Using the Device Detection Tool section, click the Start Oracle Device Detection Tool option.
Accept the license agreement.
Click the ddtool download link.
Select the Open with JavaWS option, then select Run.
The tool runs but it is not installed on your system.
Select the Target Operating System for which you want to check driver availability.
Tip - For additional information, click the Help button.

Device Driver Utility Overview

An alternative to the Oracle Device Detection Tool, the Device Driver Utility provides information about the devices on your system and the drivers that manage those devices. The utility reports whether the currently booted operating system has drivers for all of the devices that are detected in your system. If a device does not have a driver attached, the Device Driver Utility recommends a driver package to install.

You can also use the Device Driver Utility to submit your system information to the HCL at http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/hcl/index.html. Your system and its components are then listed on the HCL as “Reported to Work”.

This section describes the following tasks:

How to Start the Device Driver Utility
How to Install Missing Drivers
How to List Your System in the HCL

How to Start the Device Driver Utility

The Device Driver Utility runs automatically when you boot an installation image. You can also manually start the Device Driver Utility after you have installed Oracle Solaris.

Start the Device Driver Utility by using one of the following methods:
- Boot the LiveCD installation image.
  When you boot the LiveCD ISO image, the Device Driver Utility runs in the background. If a missing driver is found in an IPS package from the default publisher, the Device Driver Utility installs that driver package automatically. If any other drivers are missing, the Device Driver Utility prompts you to display the utility window so that you can review the report and install any additional missing drivers.
- Manually start the Device Driver Utility from the desktop of the LiveCD.
  To manually start the Device Driver Utility from the desktop of the LiveCD, double-click the Device Driver Utility icon on the desktop. Or, choose Applications -> System Tools -> Device Driver Utility from the main menu.
- Boot the Oracle Solaris text installer image.
  To start the Device Driver Utility from the text installer, choose Install Additional Drivers from the initial menu.
  
  Note - Automatic networking is set up by default when the text installer boots. If you are using DHCP, no further network setup is necessary to use the Device Driver Utility. If you are not using DHCP, select the Shell option on the initial menu, then use the appropriate commands to manually configure your network settings before using the Device Driver Utility.
- Start the Device Driver Utility on an installed system.
  To start the Device Driver Utility from the desktop of an installed system, choose Applications -> System Tools -> Device Driver Utility from the main menu.
The Device Driver Utility scans your system and then displays a list of the devices that are detected. For each device that is detected, the list displays information such as the manufacturer, the model, and the name of the driver that is currently managing the device.

Next Steps

If the utility detects a device that does not have a driver attached, that device is selected on the device list. You can display more information about the device and install the missing driver. See How to Install Missing Drivers.

How to Install Missing Drivers

If the utility detects a device that does not have a driver attached, that device is selected on the device list. You can display more information about the device and install the missing driver.

In the Device Driver Utility list, right-click the device name, then choose Show Details from the popup menu.
The Device and Driver Details window is displayed. It shows the device name, vendor name, node name, driver name, and other detailed information about the device.
To display more details about a missing driver, click the Info link for the selected device.
If no driver is currently managing the device, the Driver column of the device list displays a status for the driver of that device. The missing driver is shown as belonging to one of the following categories:
- IPS – One of your configured IPS package repositories.
- SVR4 – A System V Revision 4 (SVR4) package.
- DU – A DU package.
- UNK – The Device Driver Utility cannot locate an Oracle Solaris driver for this device.
Tip - For additional information, click the Help button.
Install the missing driver.
- For an IPS driver:
  1. Click the Info link in the corresponding row of the table to display information about the IPS package that contains the driver for the device.
    The text field for the Package radio button is populated with the relevant package information. The correct publisher is specified.
  2. Click the Install button to install the package.
    - If the Info link lists an IPS package from a publisher that is not configured:
      1. Select Add Repository from the repositories menu.
        The Repositories manager window is displayed.
      2. Add the name and URI of the new repository, then click Add.
    - If the Package field is not populated, type the name of the IPS package from the Info link, then click Install.
- For an SVR4 or DU driver:
  - If a URL for the package is provided, type the URL in the File/URL field, then click Install.
  - If you have a copy of the package on your system, click the Browse button and select the package, then click Install.
- If the driver status is displayed as UNK, do the following:
  1. Select the name of the device that you want this driver to manage.
  2. Type the relevant package information in either the Package field or the File/URL field, then click Install.
  3. (Optional) To share information about a driver that works for the device, click the Submit button.

Next Steps

When you are working in the Device Driver Utility, you can share information with other users about any driver that you've found that works for a particular device. See How to List Your System in the HCL.

How to List Your System in the HCL

You can share information with other users about any driver that you've found that works for a particular device as follows:

Start the Device Driver Utility.
See How to Start the Device Driver Utility.
To list your system and its components as “Reported to work” on the HCL click the Submit button.
The Submit Information To Hardware Compatibility List window opens. This window displays all of the information that was collected about your system.
1. Select the System Type.
2. Type the appropriate information in any fields that were not automatically populated.
  - Manufacturer Name – The name of the system maker, for example, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard, or Dell.
  - The complete model number.
    
    The BIOS/Firmware Maker is the information on the BIOS Setup screen that is usually displayed while the system is booting.
  - The CPU Type – The name of the CPU maker.
3. Provide your name and email address.
4. In the General Notes field, add any additional comments, then click Save. Send the saved file to device-detect-feedback_ww@oracle.com.

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