Re: FW: Newbie compat_linux question

["David Hodnett" <dwar@earthlink.net>]

> Rats! 
> 
> Can anyone think of a way to use a Linux driver under OpenBSD? I want to use
> about 50 Linux winmodem drivers, some with binary-only portions, so porting
> them isn't an option.
> 
> I'm prepared to put a fair bit of effort into this, so any suggestions are
> welcome. VMware for OpenBSD?
> 
> -- Peter Fairbrother

Off the top of my head, the only reason anyone would want to be 
able to do this is that they just got a big pile of winmodems at cost 
(or less) and decided to set up a dial-up ISP.

If this is indeed the case, then maybe you can go halfway, and use 
a bare bones Linux box to run the modems, and an OpenBSD box 
to handle the firewall, gateway, routing, DNS, etc etc issues.  Such 
a scheme would require more hardware (of course), but overall, far 
less effort on your part.

The other scenario that just now comes to mind is that you want to 
test some 50 or so individual combinations of winmodems and 
drivers to see which modems actually do work.  In which case you 
are better off testing them on a barebones Linux box because you 
*know* they are supported, and then focusing on trying to get or 
otherwise code an OpenBSD specific driver for the modems that do 
pass the test, i.e., you know the modem definitely works, you just 
need to talk to it.  (It's not likely you'll find one, but it's possible.)

Either way, yes, you'll have to use a Linux box somewhere.  I 
realize this doesn't exactly answer your question but people have a 
tendency to make problems harder than they need to be.  

For example, if you really absolutely positively need to talk to a 
winmodem and you only had an OpenBSD box, you could always 
try connecting to it as if it were a serial device (not physically 
speaking, logically speaking).  The commands you send and 
receive will go a long way towards helping you devise the kernal-
level device driver, but by that time, you might have already 
accomplished the whole point of the exercise.

Perhaps if you specified what you're hoping to do with all these 
winmodems, people can give you some alternatives to coding 
device drivers that are not likely to be used by anyone else?

David
dwar@earthlink.net