From: Kurt E. <kd...@pa...> - 2007-01-06 22:50:22
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Thanks Alexandre! Very interesting!!! Do you happen to know of a low end, low power linux box available now that could serve as a print and file server box? I've been looking at AOpen's products, but they're a bit too expensive. Thanks again! -Kurt Alexandre Pereira Nunes wrote: > Kurt Euler wrote: > >> Thanks Alexandre. Very interesting. A follow up newbie question: What >> is the difference between a device and a host, as you use the terms >> below. I mean, if you connect a HDD to a gumstix with the USB >> interface, I understand now that the HDD would be a "device", but what >> can you do with the HDD as a device? If I can't save files to it as a >> "host" (unless I try the workarounds you suspect are out there), would >> the HDD (as a device) be useable for other things, like a print server >> caches or something? >> >> Thanks again! >> >> -Kurt >> > > Let's put it this way: when usb was first designed, it was supposed to > be an asymmetrical solution, one side (the host, as in your pc's usb > controller) being complicated and doing many things, and the other side > (the devices, or anything you connect to your pc's usb controller) > having one (or a few) dedicated functions, being much simpler to > implement than the host. > > So the usb on the gumstix is a device, it's designed to be connected to > a controller, rather than being a controller itself. It can present > itself to a host as almost any sort of device, but it cannot present > itself to a device (such as a usb hdd), as being a host. > > But the time passed, and not only there were usb host added to some > devices, but also an specification called OTG usb was created, to allow > an µc to implement from sub-featured to almost (if not at all) > full-featured usb host. > > The yet-to-come new revision of gumstix will have an usb controller. > It's one of the most requested features, so some people on the list > developed a few solutions to plug in a usb controller to the current > gumstix. But these are not for sale, and I can't say a word about their > maturity. > > That's (almost) it, I hope I could express myself. > > Good luck, > > Alexandre > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT > Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your > opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys - and earn cash > http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV > _______________________________________________ > gumstix-users mailing list > gum...@li... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gumstix-users > > > |