Sun offers free Solaris porting kit for Linux drivers

BANGALORE: Sun Microsystems, Inc. has announced that it is making the Solaris

Operating Environment Network Driver Porting Kit for Linux Drivers available

free of charge. This kit provides scripts and guidelines to let developers

convert PCI-based Linux driver source into a binary Solaris driver for the Intel

platform.

According to a release, independent hardware vendors (IHVs) who have written

Linux drivers for Fast Ethernet, FDDI, Gigabit Ethernet, or Token Ring devices

can now leverage that work by using the kit to create the corresponding binary

network drivers for Solaris Operating Environment.

"This kit provides a faster way to develop Solaris Operating Environment

network drivers without compromising on quality, reducing development time by 80

per cent or more," said Andrew Ingram, vice president of Solaris Software

Marketing for Sun's Solaris Systems Group.

Customers ordering Free Solaris media kits have reported almost 250,000

installations completed or planned short-term on the Intel platform since the

program began in March. Almost 150,000 of these installations were by new users–all

customers needing devices with Solaris Operating Environment support, the

release said.

More information about the Solaris Operating Environment Network Driver

Porting Kit for Linux Drivers can be found here.

Information about participating in the Solaris Device-Driver Verification

Program can be found here.