[ofw] Windows Update and IB stack versions

[Jan Bottorff]

Hi,

 

As far as I can tell, Windows Update should offer mthca and probably the
IB bus driver (although at the moment they don't seem to show up). It
basically matches on PnP id and driver date. The if PnP is the same as
what's installed, and the WU driver date is newer, WU offers it as an
update. The paper at
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/maintain/WU_logic.mspx explains the logic.

 

Windows Update I don't believe will force a driver update on you, but it
does offer it if you select custom (which I always do just see what MSFT
thinks they should do to my system before they do it). Some users will
just periodically install whatever has been updated (good for security
patches, bad in this driver case).

 

Jan

 

________________________________

From: Tzachi Dar [mailto:tzachid at mellanox.co.il] 
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 12:27 AM
To: Jan Bottorff; ofw at lists.openfabrics.org
Subject: RE: [ofw] Windows Update and IB stack versions

 

Is the problem you are seeing specific to IPOIB or does it happen also
for other drivers?

What I mean is this: It seems that one can easily solve the problem for
ipoib but what happens for the bus driver and the low level driver
(mthca.sys). Are they also replaced by windows update?

 

It seems that solving the problem for IPOIB can be done,  but what about
other components?

 

Thanks

Tzachi

	 

	
________________________________


	From: ofw-bounces at lists.openfabrics.org
[mailto:ofw-bounces at lists.openfabrics.org] On Behalf Of Jan Bottorff
	Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 5:30 AM
	To: ofw at lists.openfabrics.org
	Subject: [ofw] Windows Update and IB stack versions

	I see the WHQL signed IPoIB drivers are on Windows Update now.
This brings to light a problem in the IB stack.

	 

	The issue is the PnP hardware id's generated by the IB bus for
virtual devices are not version specific. This means if I install the
latest IB stack build, Windows Update will still offer to update my
IPoIB drivers, even though they probably would be incompatible with the
other IB stack components. The WHQL drivers are approximately build 614,
and I know the IBAL interface has new functions and a new version number
in the current build. There is absolutely nothing to tell Windows Update
that drivers for PnP hardware id "IBA\IPoIB" in version 614 of the IB
stack will not work on a stack looking for say the 758 build of the PnP
hardware id "IBA\IPoIB".

	 

	It seems like some version number and optionally a vendor unique
id needs to be part of all the PnP id's generated, to assure updates
only happen between compatible components. 

	 

	Jan

	 

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