DOCUMENT ID: 1474-02 SYNOPSIS: Why have drivers been moved from /kernel/drv? OS RELEASE: Solaris 2.5 x86 PRODUCT: OS KEYWORDS: drivers moved kernel/drv DESCRIPTION: Why have some drivers been moved from /kernel/drv to /platform/`uname -i`/kernel/drv? SOLUTION: Drivers in /platform/`uname -i`/kernel/drv are platform-dependent, e.g., they manage some platform-dependent device, or must otherwise include some platform-dependent knowledge. This makes them non-DDI compliant by definition since the DDI explicitly tries to abstract such differences away behind reasonable interfaces. Drivers in /kernel/drv are supposed to be platform *independent*, e.g., they should be able to drive a device on a particular bus on any platform within that instruction set. DDI-compliant drivers belong in this directory. The other axis to the equation is /usr/kernel/drv and /usr/platform/`uname -i`/kernel/drv. Briefly, a driver belongs in the /usr hierarchy if it isn't needed to mount the root filesystem. DATE APPROVED: 07/28/95