Optical media drive emulation in linux kernel

[Bill Davidsen]

JD wrote:
> On 06/30/2012 03:43 PM, Andy Blanchard wrote:
>>
>> On 30 June 2012 22:38, JD <jd1008 at gmail.com <mailto:jd1008 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     Does it exist?
>>     What about kernel add-on packages
>>     that would insert the pseudo-driver shim
>>     and the apps to use it?
>>
>>
>> If you mean, for instance, can I put an ISO image on my HD and mount it, then
>> it's built in to the Kernel:
>>
>> mount -t iso9660 -o loop,ro <path to image> <mount point>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Andy
>>
>> /The only person to have all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe/
>>
>>
> Hi Andy,
> no, that is not what I meant. I really mean a cd/dvd/optical media hardware
> device emulation,
> and not the FS support of iso9660.
>
> I read some blogs about cdemu, which is not
> available in the fedora repos.

Yes, although the utility of that is questionable. No emulator will let you do 
things like a proper rip of a CD, because the fancy subtrack and odd preburn 
areas and such aren't in your image. And if you are debugging optical media 
drivers, I doubt any emulation will be a bizarre as burner firmware.

You can get a better emulation by using kvm, starting qemu-kvm with the -cdrom 
option, but what you need to emulate is the optical media device, as well as the 
media itself, and the accuracy of emulation is dubious.

-- 
Bill Davidsen <davidsen at tmr.com>
   "We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from
the machinations of the wicked."  - from Slashdot