10.1. Hardware and Architecture 10.1.1. Objective 1: Configure Fundamental BIOS Settings 10.1.1.1. PC BIOS The BIOS is the PC's firmware. The BIOS sets date and time for on-board clock, storage device configuration, and so on via menus.
10.1.1.2. Resource assignments Interrupts (IRQs) allow peripherals to interrupt the CPU. I/O addresses are locations in the processor's memory map for hardware devices. DMA allows certain devices to work directly with memory, freeing the processor (see Table 10-1).
Table 10-1. Common device settingsDevice | I/O address | IRQ | DMA |
|---|
ttyS0 (COM1) | 3f8 | 4 | NA | ttyS1 (COM2) | 2f8 | 3 | NA | ttyS2 (COM3) | 3e8 | 4 | NA | ttyS3 (COM4) | 2e8 | 3 | NA | lp0 (LPT1) | 378-37f | 7 | NA | lp1 (LPT2) | 278-27f | 5 | NA | fd0, fd1 (floppies 1 and 2) | 3f0-3f7 | 6 | 2 | fd2, fd3 (floppies 3 and 4) | 370377 | 10 | 3 |
10.1.1.3. 1024-cylinder limit 10.1.2. Objective 3: Configure Modems and Sound Cards 10.1.2.1. Modems Modems are serial devices. Some are external and are attached to a serial port. Others are installed in a computer and include serial port electronics on-board. Some modems are produced at reduced cost by implementing portions of their functionality in Windows software libraries. These so-called "winmodems" aren't compatible with Linux without add-on drivers.
10.1.2.2. Sound devices PCI sound cards and most ISA PnP cards under 2.4.x kernels are automatically configured when the card's driver is loaded. When the old userspace ISA PnP tools are used, pnpdump output is stored for use at boot time by isapnp, which does plug-n-play configuration.
10.1.3. Objective 4: Set Up Non-IDE Devices 10.1.3.1. SCSI The SCSI defines a bus for multiple storage devices. SCSI capabilities range from 5 MBps to 80 MBps and higher for the newest types. 8-bit SCSI offers up to seven devices plus the controller on a single bus. 16-bit SCSI offers up to 15 devices plus the controller on a single bus. Each device on the bus has a unique SCSI ID, 07 or 015. Controllers often default to address 7. Linux device files for SCSI disks are typically /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, and so forth. Linux device files for SCSI tape drives are typically /dev/st0, /dev/st1, and so on. SCSI buses must be terminated on both ends. Many SCSI devices include internal terminators to eliminate the need for external terminators. PC SCSI adapters have their own BIOS, where the default boot device, bus speed, and on-board termination settings can be made.
10.1.4. Objective 5: Set Up PC Different Expansion Cards 10.1.4.1. /proc The /proc filesystem includes information on interrupts, I/O ports, and DMA in /proc/interrupts, /proc/ioports, and /proc/dma.
10.1.4.2. Commands On 2.2.x and earlier kernels (or 2.4.x kernels configured without kernel ISA PnP support), use isapnp to configure ISA cards and pnpdump for a report of ISA PnP resource information. On 2.4.x and higher kernels, use /proc/isapnp to view and set the configuration of ISA PnP cards. For a listing of installed PCI devices, use lspci.
10.1.5. Objective 6: Configure Communication Devices 10.1.5.1. Concepts 10.1.5.2. Commands 10.1.6. Objective 7: Configure USB Devices 10.1.6.1. Host Controllers Open Host Controller Interface (OHCI), USB 1.1 Universal Host Controller Interface (UHCI), USB 1.1 Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI), USB 2.0
10.1.6.2. Devices HID devices include USB peripherals such as keyboards, mice, and tablets. Communication devices include modems and broadband adapters. Mass storage devices include hard drives, tape drives, and flash readers.
10.1.6.3. Drivers Host Controller Drivers include usb-ohci.o, usb-uhci.o, uhci.o, and ehci-hcd.o. Class drivers include hid.o, usb-storage.o, acm.o, printer.o, and audio.o.
10.1.6.4. Commands |
