pcram(7D)							      Devices								 pcram(7D)

NAME

       pcram - PCMCIA RAM memory card device driver

SYNOPSIS

       memory@<socket>/pcram@<technology>,0:c

       memory@<socket>/pcram@<technology>,0:c,raw

DESCRIPTION

       The  PCMCIA  RAM memory card device driver supports disk-like I/O access to any standard PCMCIA static random access memory (SRAM) card and
       dynamic random access memory (DRAM) card. The driver supports standard PCMCIA SRAM/DRAM cards that contain  a  Card  Information  Structure
       (CIS). RAM card densities in the 512Kilobytes to 64Mbyte range are supported.

PRECONFIGURATION

       If  a  PC  card	memory	device is recognized, the pcram device driver is automatically loaded, the physical address allocated, and special
       files created (if they do not already exist).

   Known Problems and Limitations
       The Solaris pcmem driver is not capable of handling "combo" memory cards with multiple types of memory on them (for example, combined  SRAM
       and nonvolatile FLASH). Inserting such a card into a system running the Solaris software may cause a system panic.

       Because	the PC card memory device is designed as a pseudo-floppy diskette type, the only utility that can be used for formatting is fdfor-
       mat(1).

CONFIGURATION

       Configuration topics include initial installation and configuration, identifying an unrecognized device, special files, using PC card  mem-
       ory devices, and hot-plugging.

   Initial Installation and Configuration
	   1.	  Install the Solaris software.

	   2.	  Boot the system.

	   3.	  Insert the card.

   Identifying an Unrecognized Device
       If you insert a memory device and it is not recognized (no special files created), use the prtconf command.

	   1.	  Become root.

	   2.	  Run the prtconf -D command to display the configuration recognized by the system. A recognized device will appear in the prtconf
		  output. For example:

		    # prtconf -D
		    .  .  .
		    pcic, instance #0 (driver name: pcic)
			.  .  .
		       memory, instance #0 (driver name: pcmem)
			     pcram, instance #0 (driver name: pcram)

	   3.	  If your memory device does not appear at the end of the prtconf output, it is not supported and cannot be used  with	the  pcram
		  driver.

   Special Files
       The  special  files  created  for  PC card memory devices act like disks and have names in the form /dev/dsk/c#t#d#p# or /dev/dsk/c#t#d#s#.
       Abbreviations used in the names are:

	   o	  c# Controller #

	   o	  t# Card technology type #, defined as follows:
		    0 Null--no device
		    1 ROM
		    2 OTPROM (One Time PROM)
		    3 UV EPROM
		    4 EEPROM
		    5 Flash EPROM
		    6 SRAM
		    7 DRAM

	   o	  d# Device region of type #, usually zero

	   o	  p# fdisk partition #

	   o	  s# Solaris slice #

       Note -

	 A device name can be specified either by a partition name (p#) or a slice name (s#), but not both.

   Using PC Card Memory Devices
       Solaris recognizes a PC Card memory device automatically upon the card's insertion.  If you do not want automatic handling  of  a  PC  card
       memory device,  insert an entry for the device in /etc/vfstab and set the mount at boot field to no. See vfstab(4).

       PC Card memory devices do not need to have file systems on them, though typically, before using a new PC Card memory card, you will want to
       create a file system on it. DOS PCFS is the best format to use. (You can use virtually any file system format on a PC card memory card, but
       most  other  file  system  formats  are platform-dependent, making them unsuitable for moving data between different types of machines. See
       "Using a PCMCIA Memory Card" in the OpenWindows Advanced User's Guide.)

       Note -

	 If you want to redirect the output of a tar command (or dd or cpio) to a PC card memory device, first create a file system on	the  card,
	 using the fdformat(1) command without arguments. The card must be reformatted before it can be written on again.

   Hot-Plugging
       If  a  memory card is removed while in use, the device driver returns errors until the memory card is inserted into the appropriate socket.
       Close and reopen the device with the card reinserted, and the memory card will work.

	   o	  If you remove the card while in use as a file system, unmount the file system using the umount command. Then reinsert  the  card
		  and remount the file system using the mount command.

	   o	  If you remove the card and interrupt a tar or cpio process, stop the process, reinsert the card, and restart the process.

FILES

       /kernel/drv/pcram     pcram driver

       /dev/dsk/cntndnsn     block files

       /dev/rdsk/cntndnsn    raw fileswhere:

			     cn    controller n

			     tn    technology type n

				   0x1ROM,0x2OTPROM,0x3EPROM,

				   0x4EEPROM,0x5FLASH,0x6SRAM,

				   0x7DRAM

			     dn    technology region in type n

			     sn    slice n

SEE ALSO

       fdformat(1), pcmcia(7D), dkio(7I), pcmem(7D)

SunOS 5.11							    2 Mar 2007								 pcram(7D)