Hardware Compatibility List
From Mandriva Community Wiki
The hardware compatibility list (HCL) is a database gathering information about installed computer systems and their working status feedback from users.
It is useful to spot working hardware, or to know what to improve.
Contents |
How to use?
How do I register my host configuration?
- just after the install, the Firsttime wizard provides the possibility to compile and send the configuration report
- go to the "My hosts" section and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page
How do I remove my host config from the db?
Note that this is still restricted to the Mandriva distribution (unless you port hclcollector to your own - but we might as well decide what reporting tool we are going to use in the future).
How to report problems or requests
The current production release is still a beta, so you have to expect several glitches here and there.
- for bug reports, please use our Bugzilla, "Mandriva Website" product, "hcl" component;
- for feedback, please use the forum;
- you may as well reach us through irc://irc.freenode.net/#mandriva if we are around.
Known issues
The following are known, so please do not report about this for now:
- it is not yet open
- it should render fine with Firefox 2 & 3 and Safari 3; IE 7, Opera, Konqueror statuses are unknown (reports welcome); IE6 is not a target anymore;
- brand, distribution, platform and component information is still rough;
- it's in English only;
- it's slow.
Plus:
- in the "My hosts" section, host components and platform does not display right;
For other issues you may encounter, you may:
- (really) refresh your cache first;
- check and open a bug in the Mandriva Bugzilla ("Mandriva web site", "hcl");
- alternatively sparingly use this section for small, precise issues (but please, use the Bugzilla).
Roadmap
Limited beta - July, 29th 2008
The Mandriva HCL website will available as a beta application during Summer '08.
- reports compiled by the hclcollector (http://svn.mandriva.com/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/soft/hcl/trunk/) are uploaded to the HCL db server (ok)
- users can report whether their configuration works and how to handle it if necessary (ok)
- people can search through the database for a particular system / configuration that works with Mandriva Linux
- people can find most popular / supported systems
Public beta, Sept. 18th
- we now have alternate commercial name for systems and components
- we merged brand names and system names (and it is not over, sadly)
- we can use hclGUI to upload a system report
- MDV QA Labs start to upload their certifications to HCL - going to replace the old http://www.mandriva.com/hardware database
- added opensearch descriptor
- added netbooks category (missing header)
- search is broken
Next
- we shall hide systems with no rank/report?
- we may give the possibility to add captions of systems or devices
- finally a localized website
- users can choose to use the expert mode (cooker reporting, component details?)
Beyond / Wish-list
- handle more than just computer systems: components (we almost have it already, needs use cases) and devices (printers, scanners, etc.); these should come from uploaded info and from manually added items; moreover, comments/ranks should be open to all;
- wiki integration (all pieces of hardware have a dedicated page on the wiki where users can put their "tips" for using this device);
- integrate with bugzilla or other services (that is?);
- it's a complete community project: users help users and almost no need for maintenance (except for bugs and enhancements) (Expert integration?);
- different layout, more like Google/Amazon search results, and comments, etc.
Extensions:
- Cross-distribution HCL: it should not be restricted to Mandriva users (requires having a cross-platform reporting tool; should use the hardware4linux one, most likely)
- improve ranking system by adding two entries to every systems called "power management" and "standby/suspend/hibernate features"
Other HCL databases
There are other useful projects out there:
- gphoto.org, for digital cameras;
- sane-project.org, for scanners and imaging devices;
- for modems;
- for printers;
- for audio devices;
- for graphic adaptors;
- Linux on laptops;
- Hardware for Linux;
- OpenSuse HCL;
- Fedora HCL;
- Ubuntu HCL;
- Phoronix Test suite;
- LinuxQuestions HCL;
- Libera.cc;
Docs
- slides about HCL, August '08, Media:rda-hcl-200808.en.pdf
