1.9. I/O Architecture
Traditional UNIX implements kernel-resident device drivers to interface with hardware devices. The device driver manages data transfer and registers I/O and handles device hardware interrupts. A device driver typically has to know intimate details about the hardware device and the layout of buses to which the device is connected. Solaris extends traditional device driver management functions by using separate drivers for devices and buses: a device driver controls a device's hardware, and a bus nexus driver controls and translates data between two different types of buses.
Solaris organizes I/O devices in a hierarchy of bus nexus and instances of devices, according to the physical connection hierarchy of the devices. The ...
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