Messages in this thread | | | Date | Mon, 18 Nov 96 22:05:52 PST | From | (Matthew Jacob) | Subject | Re: FYI: I2O Architecture |
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>I haven't seen anything on this mailing list about I2O, so I thought I'd >drop a pointer. >The I20 architecture is suppose to allow the distribution of I/O functions >over multiple processors. A lot of major companies appear to be behind this. >Unfortunately, to receive the spec. you need to sign a NDA (no idea how >restricting it is).
And pony up 250$.
Serious technology dope smokers funded by their corporate handlers only, please. :-)
The backgrounder page makes I2O look like quite a lot of similar efforts that I've seen over the last N years- perhaps with some better aspects than others. Such efforts have ranged from the DDI/DKI to OBIOS (open BIOS specification) to CDDE (common device driver environment) to (and this I kind of am tickled by) someone saying that SunLABS has done a Java Class library for writing device drivers.
What will be more interesting is what the producers of hardware will go with- they're the ones who will probably drive the standards- not the other way around. Having been part of efforts in the past to come up with grand scheme solutions, I am somewhat doubtful of the ability of hierarchical software models for abstracting hardware, no matter how well designed and enticingly offered, to ultimately win.
Note, btw, the inbound/outbound message queues- I suspect that DEC might have offered that one (it fits *very* nicely with the I/O hose stuff they have for their high end machines).
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