Linux Device Drivers

Linux Device Drivers

Custom Classes:

Axian specializes in customizing our classes to meet your specific needs. Please call or e-mail us with your requirements.

Axian, Inc.

4800 S.W. Griffth Dr., Suite 202, Beaverton, OR 97005

Phone: (503) 644-6106

Fax: (503) 643-8425

info@axian.com

www.axian.com

Call 644-6106, ext. 107

e-mail Axian training

for course registration or more information

Course Files and Links:

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Linux Device Drivers is designed to teach experienced programmers how to develop device drivers for Linux systems. Upon completion of the course, students will understand the Linux architecture, hardware and memory management, modularization, and the layout of the kernel source.

Students will learn:

An Introduction to the Linux Kernel

Building and Running Modules

Character and Block Drivers

Debugging Techniques

Hardware Management

Interrupt Handling

Judicious Use of Data Types

Kerneld and Advanced Modularization

Network Drivers

Physical Layout of the Kernel Source

TEXTS

Linux Device Drivers by Allesandro Rubini; published by O’Reilly

INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH

This course will be taught in a classroom with computers available installed with the Red Hat 5.2 Linux distribution. The emphasis will be on hands-on programming, with the time divided between lecture and workshops.

The class is divided into 16 sessions. The lectures are intended to be interactive and will include review of the lab assignments. The sessions range are presented over a period of 4 days.

PREREQUISITES

Proficiency in the C programming language.

Successful completion of Axian's Linux Use and Administration and Linux Programming and Introduction to X courses, or equivalent.

LINUX DEVICE DRIVERS

Course Outline

SESSION 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LINUX KERNEL
Topics:
- The Role of Driver Drivers and How They Fit in Linux
- Structure of the Kernel
- Classes of Devices and Modules
- Security Issues

SESSION 2: PHYSICAL LAYOUT OF THE KERNEL SOURCE
Topics:
- Directory Structure
- Networking, Drivers and Architecture Dependencies
SESSION 3: BUILDING AND RUNNING MODULES
Topics:
- Booting the Kernel
- Before Booting
- The Init Process
- Compiling and Loading
- Initialization and Shutdown
- Automatic and Manual Configuration

SESSION 4: CHARACTER AND BLOCK DRIVERS
Topics:
- Major and Minor Numbers
- File Operations
- The file structure
SESSION 5: ENHANCED CHARACTER DRIVERS IN DETAIL
Topics:
- Ioctl
- Blocking I/O
- Seeking a Device
SESSION 6: DEBUGGING TECHNIQUES

Topics:

Printing
Querying
Watching
System Faults
Using a Debugger

SESSION 7: TIME MANAGEMENT IN THE KERNEL
Topics:
- Task Queues
- Kernel Timers
SESSION 8: MEMORY MANAGEMENT
Topics:
- Kmalloc
- get-free-page and Friends
- Direct Memory Access
SESSION 9: HARDWARE MANAGEMENT
Topics:
- Accessing Memory on Device Boards
- Using I/O Ports
SESSION 10: INTERRUPT HANDLING
Topics:
- Interrupt-Driven I/O
- Implementing a Handler
SESSION 11: LOADING MODULES ON DEMAND
Topics:
- Version Control in Modules
- Persistent Storage Across Unload/Load
SESSION 12: BLOCK DRIVERS Part 2
Topics:
- Registering the Driver
- The Header File blk.h
- Handling Requests
- Removable Devices
- Partitionable Devices
- Interrupt-Driven Block Drivers
SESSION 13: THE STREAMS MECHANISM
Topics:
- Structure of streams
- Queuing messages
- Delayed processing
SESSION 14: NETWORK DRIVERS
Topics:
- The device Structure in Detail
- Packet Transmission and Reception
- The Socket Buffers
- Load-Time Configuration
SESSION 15: OVERVIEW OF PERIPHERAL BUSES
Topics:
- The PCI Interface
- A Look Back: ISA
- Other PC Buses
- Sbus
SESSION 16: MOVING FROM 32 BIT TO 64 BIT SYSTEMS
Topics:
- ILP32 to LP64
- 64 Bit OS with 32 Bit Cards