Re:“Blob-free OpenBSD kernel needed”
by chubot on Saturday June 06, 2015 @05:24PM
(#9672323)
I believe that's what I said. The hard disk controller is a chip packaged with the hard drive. The CPU talks to the hard disk controller to get data from the disk, with IDE commands or something like that.
I think controllers used to be dedicated circuitry, but now they are more like CPUs with firmware.
In a modern computer, there are dozens of these little chips, each having security implications. Nobody knows the provenance of all the code since they are mostly manufactured overseas.
I think controllers used to be dedicated circuitry, but now they are more like CPUs with firmware.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_controller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controller_(computing)
In a modern computer, there are dozens of these little chips, each having security implications. Nobody knows the provenance of all the code since they are mostly manufactured overseas.