Using Device Driver Utility Version 1.0

Device Driver Utility version 1.0 is a tool with a graphical user interface that displays information about the devices installed on your system and their corresponding device driver availability status. This utility checks whether a driver exists in the Image Packaging System (IPS) for devices that do not have an attached driver. Device Driver Utility enables you to install the device drivers from IPS for those devices on your system that do not have an attached driver. Another function of this tool is to submit system configuration information to the OpenSolaris Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).

The utility is included in the OpenSolaris 2008.05 release, both on the Live CD and on installed systems.

On the Live CD, select the Device Driver Utility icon on the Live CD desktop.

You should run the utility prior to installing the OpenSolaris 2008.05 release, in order to find out what drivers are available for your computer's devices. If drivers are missing, they might be available in the IPS repository. If so, the drivers can be downloaded while running the Live CD, provided there is an active network connection. Any drivers that are downloaded from the IPS repository on the Live CD will also be included in the OpenSolaris OS that is installed from the Live CD.

On the installed system, the Device Driver Utility can be started from the System>Administration menu.

The DDU finds drivers that are missing on your installed system and downloads these drivers from the IPS repository. Drivers can also be updated from the repository, using the same update process that is used to update other packages.

For instructions about how to use the IPS repository, see Chapter 2, Getting Started With the Image Packaging System.

For further information, refer to the online help in the utility menu. If you have questions, email the support alias, driver-utility-feedback@sun.com.