On Tue, 19 Feb 2019 18:48:23 -0800 David Christensen <dpchr...@holgerdanske.com> wrote:
> On 2/19/19 9:59 AM, Celejar wrote: > > On Sat, 16 Feb 2019 14:12:43 -0800 > > David Christensen <dpchr...@holgerdanske.com> wrote: > > > > ... > > > >> dock SATA chip -> drive. While the motherboard stuff can be FOSS based > >> upon manufacturer supplied reference source code (e.g. Intel), USB drive > >> docks are typically proprietary and closed-source. This makes USB docks > >> next to impossible to trouble-shoot or bug-fix for end-users or FOSS > >> distributors. > > > > I'm not sure I understood what you're saying here: do you mean that the > > drivers are closed source, or that the silicon design is closed source? > > I've used a number of USB-SATA adapters, in docks as well as cables, > > and they were all supported by standard in-kernel drivers (although > > some of the hardware may have been at least a bit flaky). ... > AFAIK there are no commercial off the shelf (COTS) USB-SATA docks with > FOSS hardware (device), firmware (device), or software (device or host). > (If somebody knows of any examples, please post the URL's.) I'm still not sure what you're saying - there certainly are COTS devices fully supported by FOSS software. E.g., I have a Syba SY-ENC50091: https://www.sybausa.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=885 It works fine under Debian without needing any non-free stuff, as far as I recall. If you're objecting to the hardware not being FOSS, my understanding is that most useful hardware isn't. Is the SATA hardware itself FOSS? Celejar
