multiple cdevsw[] entries for a System V/386 driver

[Mark Valentine]

Keywords: SVR3 idinstall cdevsw[] clone

This is a "has anyone managed to read between the lines" problem.

I've written a couple of drivers to run under 386 UNIX System V Release 3.1
on an Olivetti M380 (I think it's called the AT&T 6386 PC over the water).
Each driver is capable of controlling several boards of the same type, via
cloneable devices.  This requires several entries in cdevsw[] per driver,
but the problem is I can find no supported way of specifying this within
the framework of a "Driver Software Package", using Master/System/Node files.

There are some unclear (to me) remarks in the manual pages idinstall(1M)
and mdevice(4)/sdevice(4), for example the undocumented 'idmaster' command.
It seems to me I want two entries in the Master file (since this corresponds
roughly to cdevsw[] entries), but all the variations I've tried on that just
leave the second entry ignored.

Here's what I think I'd like to be able to express, but the 'id*' utilities
just don't want to speak the same language...

Master:
board0	I	SicH	foo	0	0	...	...	...
board1	I	SicH	foo	0	0	...	...	...

System:
board0	Y	1	5	1	5	...	...	...	...
board1	Y	1	5	1	7	...	...	...	...

Node:
clone	foo0		c	board0
clone	foo1		c	board1

It just seems to me like AT&T have managed to commit the classic error of
creating a 'user friendly' front-end which fails to allow access to the
full power of the underlying system.  Should I try hacking past idinstall
and idmknod?  Has anyone discovered how to drive this lot properly??  Am
I just not RTFM'ing very well???  I'd be grateful of any relevant experience
people are willing to throw my way.

Please reply or cc: directly, as unix-wizards isn't currently making it to
this neck of the woods.

			T in A,
				Mark.
__
Mark Valentine, Spider Systems Limited, Edinburgh, UK.

				mark at spider.co.uk
				mark%spider.co.uk at ukc.ac.uk
    /\oo/\			mark%spider.co.uk at uunet.uu.net