pcram(7D)

NAME

     pcram - PCMCIA RAM memory card device driver

SYNOPSIS

     memory@<socket>/pcram@<technology>,0:c

     memory@<socket>/pcram@<technology>,0:c,raw

DESCRIPTION

     The PCMCIA RAM memory card device driver supports  disk-like
     I/O  access  to  any  standard  PCMCIA  static random access
     memory (SRAM) card and dynamic random access  memory  (DRAM)
     card.  The  driver  supports standard PCMCIA SRAM/DRAM cards
     that contain a Card Information Structure  (CIS).  RAM  card
     densities  in  the  512Kilobytes  to  64Mbyte range are sup-
     ported.

PRECONFIGURATION

     If a PC card memory device is recognized, the  pcram  device
     driver  is  automatically loaded, the physical address allo-
     cated, and special files created (if  they  do  not  already
     exist).

  Known Problems and Limitations
     The Solaris pcmem driver is not capable of handling  "combo"
     memory  cards  with  multiple  types  of memory on them (for
     example, combined SRAM  and  nonvolatile  FLASH).  Inserting
     such  a  card into a system running the Solaris software may
     cause a system panic.

     Because the PC card memory device is designed as  a  pseudo-
     floppy  diskette type, the only utility that can be used for
     formatting is fdformat(1).

CONFIGURATION

     Configuration topics include initial installation and confi-
     guration, identifying an unrecognized device, special files,
     using PC card memory devices, and hot-plugging.

  Initial Installation and Configuration
     1. Install the Solaris software.

     2. Boot the system.

     3. Insert the card.

  Identifying an Unrecognized Device
     If you insert a memory device and it is not  recognized  (no
     special files created), use the prtconf command.

     1. Become root.

     2. Run the prtconf -D command to display  the  configuration
        recognized by the system. A recognized device will appear
        in the prtconf output. For example:

     # prtconf -D
     .  .  .
     pcic, instance #0 (driver name: pcic)
         .  .  .
        memory, instance #0 (driver name: pcmem)
              pcram, instance #0 (driver name: pcram)

     3. If your memory device does not appear at the end  of  the
        prtconf  output,  it  is not supported and cannot be used
        with the pcram driver.

  Special Files
     The special files created for PC  card  memory  devices  act
     like  disks  and have names in the form /dev/dsk/c#t#d#p# or
     /dev/dsk/c#t#d#s#. Abbreviations used in the names are:

        o  c# Controller #

        o  t# Card technology type #, defined as follows:

                     0 Null--no device

                     1 ROM

                     2 OTPROM (One Time PROM)

                     3 UV EPROM

                     4 EEPROM

                     5 Flash EPROM

                     6 SRAM

                     7 DRAM

        o  d# Device region of type #, usually zero

        o  p# fdisk partition #

        o  s# Solaris slice #

          Note:

          A device name can be specified either  by  a  partition
          name (p#) or a slice name (s#), but not both.

  Using PC Card Memory Devices
     Since the Solaris Volume Management software  recognizes  PC
     Card  memory  devices,  no  special  vold  configuration  is
     required. If you do not want to use vold to manage  your  PC
     card  memory  devices, comment out the use pcmem line in the
     /etc/vold.conf file. To comment out a line, insert a # char-
     acter at the beginning of the line.

     PC Card memory devices do not need to have file  systems  on
     them,  though  typically,  before using a new PC Card memory
     card, you will want to create a file system on it. DOS  PCFS
     is  the  best format to use. (You can use virtually any file
     system format on a PC card memory card, but most other  file
     system  formats  are platform-dependent, making them unsuit-
     able for moving data between different  types  of  machines.
     See "Using a PCMCIA Memory Card" in the OpenWindows Advanced
     User's Guide.)

          Note:

          If you want to redirect the output of a tar command (or
          dd  or cpio) to a PC card memory device, first create a
          file system on the card, using the fdformat(1)  command
          without  arguments. The card must be reformatted before
          it can be written on again.

  Hot-Plugging
     If a memory card is removed while in use, the device  driver
     returns  errors  until  the memory card is inserted into the
     appropriate socket. Close and reopen  the  device  with  the
     card reinserted, and the memory card will work.

        o  If you remove the card while in use as a file  system,
           unmount the file system using the umount command. Then
           reinsert the card and remount the  file  system  using
           the mount command.

        o  If you remove the card and interrupt  a  tar  or  cpio
           process, stop the process, reinsert the card, and res-
           tart the process.

FILES

     /kernel/drv/pcram
           pcram driver

     /dev/dsk/cntndnsn
           block files

     /dev/rdsk/cntndnsn
           raw fileswhere:

           cn    controller n
           tn    technology type n

                 0x1ROM,0x2OTPROM,0x3EPROM,

                 0x4EEPROM,0x5FLASH,0x6SRAM,

                 0x7DRAM

           dn    technology region in type n

           sn    slice n

SEE ALSO

     fdformat(1), pcmcia(4), dkio(7I), pcmem(7D)