Overview of GNU / Linux Devices
Directory / dev and the files that compose it
As mentioned during the presentation of the file system the / dev directory contains the file definition of the devices available on the system. So if we list the files contained in the directory we will find that there are many, a small explanation is needed to understand their meaning.
There are 2 types of device:
blocks: block devices transmit or receive information in the form of byte packets, of a fixed size: this is for example the case of mass storage media (diskettes, hard disks …) .
Characters: Character devices have the characteristic of transmitting and receiving information byte by byte: this is for example the case of serial or parallel ports, modems, etc.
To know the type of the device use the command ls -l, the first character gives us this information, C for character and B for block. Here is an example for the console device and the sata hard drive:
Example display of device AND block device characters | |
1 2 3 4 5 | utilisateur@hostname:~$ ls -l /dev/sda /dev/sda1 /dev/console crw------- 1 root root 5, 1 Jan 27 12:16 /dev/console brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 0 Jan 27 12:16 /dev/sda brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 1 Jan 27 12:16 /dev/sda1 |
Here is an explanatory table of names and their roles:
Table 2.1: Some Special Files and Associated Devices
and so on … the complete list would occupy several pages! https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/devices.txt |
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There is also a pseudo-device, which exists only virtually but offers real functionality:
/dev/zero generate zeros
/dev/random generates randomness
/dev/null is a black hole byte, and used especially to get rid of files and displays
/dev/loop0 allows you to create fake block (storage) devices from files created with the dd command
The name of the file is independent of the driver or used hardware are generic names, attention this is not the case for all the unix, FreeBSD for example names the devices according to the driver.
Now that we are able to identify devices by name, we will see how the system works to communicate with them. If we take the case of the first SATA hard disk on the system, / dev / sda, if I list the partitions on the disk I will use the fdisk command, like this:
example fdick, list partition. | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | utilisateur@hostname:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda Disk /dev/sda: 60.0 GB, 60011642880 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7296 cylinders, total 117210240 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0xeede9d79 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 * 2048 58593279 29295616 83 Linux /dev/sda2 58595326 117209087 29306881 5 Extended /dev/sda5 58595328 64475135 2939904 82 Linux swap / Solaris /dev/sda6 64477184 117209087 26365952 83 Linux |
I use sudo to have permission to read the device.
Major and minor
The file / dev / sda is a special file it is not enough to create an empty file in / dev with the right name for this function, it is necessary that the file is the good properties! It is important to define the correct type block or character, moreover it is necessary to define a major value (major) and minor (minor). These 2 values in combination with the type identify the device with which we want to interact. All communication with the hardware is done by the kernel, the latter keeps a table that allows it to do the correspondence with device.
Here is an example for sata hard drives:
Major | Minor | Device | Description |
8 | 0 | /dev/sda | First hard drive as a whole |
8 | 1 | /dev/sda1 | The first partition of the First Hard Disk |
8 | 2 | /dev/sda2 | The second partition of the First Hard Disk |
8 | 16 | /dev/sdb | Second hard drive as a whole |
8 | 17 | /dev/sdb1 | First Partition Second Hard Disk |
So Major 8 represents the devices on the SCSI BUS, SATA, … the minor represents the detail with which we interact!
What is the process of creating these files? Because if I connect a USB key, the system will create the files / dev / sdb and / dev / sdb1, / dev / sdb2, …. The system automatically increments / dev / sda to take the next available hence / dev / sdb.
This is beautiful and again thank you for having upgraded the system, thanks to udev, for cons I would like to provide the information without the automatic system. Because under the hood there is a process.
The udev system uses the / bin / mknod command to create the files contained in / dev, here is an example:
Exemple utilisation mknod | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | # device creation / dev / can # type : block # majeur : 42 # mineur : 0 $ mknod /dev/bidon b 42 0 # Documentation of the kernel. # 42 block Demo/sample use # # This number is intended for use in sample code, as # well as a general "example" device number. It # should never be used for a device driver that is being # distributed; either obtain an official number or use # the local/experimental range. The sudden addition or # removal of a driver with this number should not cause # ill effects to the system (bugs excepted.) |
Here we realize creation in / dev however this could be anywhere. This is INFORMATIVE, because if on a modern system you are obliged to perform this operation it means that there is REALLY a problem somewhere. I doubt that this operation corrects the problem, because the automation of the device creation process works very well and this hot. However, I find it interesting to know more about the file creation process.
list devices
It’s fine to know where the files will be located to communicate with the devices, but if I do not see the file on my device how can I list them ?! So we will see, how to have the list of devices in the system, we will take the opportunity to see the association of “driver / driver” that manages the hardware.
List PCI devices
The lspci command allows us to list the PCI cards or the integrated devices, it is possible that a card is inserted in the system but that the operating system is not able to communicate with, in this case it would be listed, but there will be the word unknow of present. Here is an example of the lspci command:
example lspci | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | $ lspci 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03) 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03) 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03) 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01) 00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 01) 00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 3 (rev 01) 00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01) 00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01) 00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01) 00:1d.3 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 01) 00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01) 00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e1) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01) 00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 01) 00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 01) 03:01.0 CardBus bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ601/6912/711E0 CardBus/SmartCardBus Controller (rev 40) 09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5752 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02) 0c:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection (rev 02) |
We find that I have 2 present network cards (line 19 and 20):
Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation (wired network adapter)
Network controller: Intel Corporation (wireless network card)
I also have the graphic and audio card (line 3 and 5):
VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS
Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10 / ICH7
The lspci command can be run by the single user, however if you want more detail with the -v option I advise you to run the command under the root user. I did not copy all the rows returned because there are a lot of lines. I focus on the 4 devices mentioned earlier:
example lspci verbose | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 | # lspci with verboce $ sudo lspci -v 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03) Subsystem: Dell Device 01c2 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0 Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information: Len=09 <?> Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller]) Subsystem: Dell Device 01c2 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16 Memory at eff00000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K] I/O ports at eff8 [size=8] Memory at d0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M] Memory at efec0000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256K] Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled] Capabilities: [90] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit- Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 2 Kernel driver in use: i915 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03) Subsystem: Dell Device 01c2 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0 Memory at eff80000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K] Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 2 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01) Subsystem: Dell Device 01c2 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 43 Memory at efebc000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K] Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2 Capabilities: [60] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+ Capabilities: [70] Express Root Complex Integrated Endpoint, MSI 00 Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel Capabilities: [130] Root Complex Link Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] 09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5752 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02) Subsystem: Dell Latitude D620 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 45 Memory at efcf0000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K] Expansion ROM at <ignored> [disabled] Capabilities: [48] Power Management version 2 Capabilities: [50] Vital Product Data Capabilities: [58] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/8 Maskable- 64bit+ Capabilities: [d0] Express Endpoint, MSI 00 Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting Capabilities: [13c] Virtual Channel Kernel driver in use: tg3 0c:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection (rev 02) Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device 1020 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 44 Memory at efdff000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K] Capabilities: [c8] Power Management version 2 Capabilities: [d0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+ Capabilities: [e0] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00 Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting Capabilities: [140] Device Serial Number 00-18-de-ff-ff-17-93-6f Kernel driver in use: iwl3945 |
I would particularly like to pay attention to the lines containing the information “Kernel driver in use”, this tells us which driver / driver the system uses to communicate with the device. If we take back our 4 currencies mentioned earlier:
Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation (wired network adapter): tg3
Network controller: Intel Corporation (wireless network card): iwl3945
VGA compatible controller: Intel Mobile Corporation 945GM / GMS: i915
Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10 / ICH7: snd_hda_intel
We will return to the drivers very soon I will like that we continue to list the system peripherals!
List USB devices
With the proliferation of USB device, it is important to be able to list them. It may be even more important to be able to do this because its latest can be plugged into Hot! We find the same command syntax, lsusb and with the -v option we will have more information. But beware -v gives a lot more information! The concept remains the same use sudo with -v in order to have all the information.
example lsusb | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | # example lsusb $ lsusb Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0930:6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102 Flash Drive / HEMA Flash Drive 2 GB / PNY Attache 4GB Stick Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0461:4d22 Primax Electronics, Ltd Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0b97:7762 O2 Micro, Inc. Oz776 SmartCard Reader Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0b97:7761 O2 Micro, Inc. Oz776 1.1 Hub Bus 002 Device 002: ID 413c:a005 Dell Computer Corp. Internal 2.0 Hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub |
If we look in the example above I have:
A connected USB data key: Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0930: 6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102 Flash Drive / HEMA Flash Drive 2GB / PNY Tie 4GB Stick
a mouse (should know it: P): Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0461: 4d22 Primax Electronics, Ltd
An internal card reader: Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0b97: 7762 O2 Micro, Inc. Oz776 SmartCard Reader
How did I do to know that Primax Electronics is a mouse? With the information transmitted by lsusb I could not know it but with the option -v I have the information. It is possible to transmit in parameter a specific device interrogated to have all the information!
example lsusb verbose for mouse | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 | # Display information on the mouse. $ sudo lsusb -v -s 004:002 Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0461:4d22 Primax Electronics, Ltd Device Descriptor: bLength 18 bDescriptorType 1 bcdUSB 2.00 bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level) bDeviceSubClass 0 bDeviceProtocol 0 bMaxPacketSize0 8 idVendor 0x0461 Primax Electronics, Ltd idProduct 0x4d22 bcdDevice 2.00 iManufacturer 0 iProduct 2 USB Optical Mouse iSerial 0 bNumConfigurations 1 Configuration Descriptor: bLength 9 bDescriptorType 2 wTotalLength 34 bNumInterfaces 1 bConfigurationValue 1 iConfiguration 0 bmAttributes 0xa0 (Bus Powered) Remote Wakeup MaxPower 100mA Interface Descriptor: bLength 9 bDescriptorType 4 bInterfaceNumber 0 bAlternateSetting 0 bNumEndpoints 1 bInterfaceClass 3 Human Interface Device bInterfaceSubClass 1 Boot Interface Subclass bInterfaceProtocol 2 Mouse iInterface 0 HID Device Descriptor: bLength 9 bDescriptorType 33 bcdHID 1.11 bCountryCode 0 Not supported bNumDescriptors 1 bDescriptorType 34 Report wDescriptorLength 52 Report Descriptors: ** UNAVAILABLE ** Endpoint Descriptor: bLength 7 bDescriptorType 5 bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN bmAttributes 3 Transfer Type Interrupt Synch Type None Usage Type Data wMaxPacketSize 0x0004 1x 4 bytes bInterval 10 Device Status: 0x0000 (Bus Powered) |
As you can see in line 14 we clearly see that this is a Optical Mouse type device, in addition to line 38 the device type is Human Interface. Here is an example of a command to extract information from lsub with several criteria:
lsusb information extraction | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 | # use of egrep $ sudo lsusb -v | egrep 'bInterfaceClass|iProduct|idVendor|^Bus' | tr -s " " Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0930:6545 Toshiba Corp. Kingston DataTraveler 102 Flash Drive / HEMA Flash Drive 2 GB / PNY Attache 4GB Stick idVendor 0x0930 Toshiba Corp. iProduct 2 DataTraveler G3 bInterfaceClass 8 Mass Storage Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub idVendor 0x1d6b Linux Foundation iProduct 2 EHCI Host Controller bInterfaceClass 9 Hub Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub idVendor 0x1d6b Linux Foundation iProduct 2 UHCI Host Controller bInterfaceClass 9 Hub Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub idVendor 0x1d6b Linux Foundation iProduct 2 UHCI Host Controller bInterfaceClass 9 Hub Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub idVendor 0x1d6b Linux Foundation iProduct 2 UHCI Host Controller bInterfaceClass 9 Hub Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0b97:7762 O2 Micro, Inc. Oz776 SmartCard Reader idVendor 0x0b97 O2 Micro, Inc. iProduct 2 O2Micro CCID SC Reader bInterfaceClass 11 Chip/SmartCard Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0b97:7761 O2 Micro, Inc. Oz776 1.1 Hub idVendor 0x0b97 O2 Micro, Inc. iProduct 0 bInterfaceClass 9 Hub Bus 002 Device 002: ID 413c:a005 Dell Computer Corp. Internal 2.0 Hub idVendor 0x413c Dell Computer Corp. iProduct 0 bInterfaceClass 9 Hub Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub idVendor 0x1d6b Linux Foundation iProduct 2 UHCI Host Controller bInterfaceClass 9 Hub |
Here I use egrep with | for it to return several lines with several criteria, this allows me to keep only the essential.
Thanks to lsusb I can see “live” the equipment you connect, plus we can collect a wealth of information. We will come back to this command when we process udev, the information return by lsusb will allow us to identify a device and perform a specific action, to follow.
list the hardware information of the system
Now that we have seen how to collect information about “removable” devices and “extention” (PCI) cards, let’s look at the system information. It is possible to extract information from the motherboard, CPU, memory, etc. We will see the application dmidecode that allows us to perform this operation, it is the same application that is used by OcsInventory / GLPI.
dmidecode returns the information System Management Bios (SMBios), here is what the result resems, I cut the output to keep only the parts relevant, I invite you to try it on your system:
example dmidecode | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 | $ sudo dmidecode [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes BIOS Information Vendor: Dell Inc. Version: A09 Release Date: 04/03/2008 Address: 0xF0000 Runtime Size: 64 kB ROM Size: 2048 kB Characteristics: ISA is supported PCI is supported PC Card (PCMCIA) is supported PNP is supported BIOS is upgradeable BIOS shadowing is allowed Boot from CD is supported Selectable boot is supported 3.5''/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h) Print screen service is supported (int 5h) 8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h) Serial services are supported (int 14h) Printer services are supported (int 17h) CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h) ACPI is supported USB legacy is supported AGP is supported Smart battery is supported BIOS boot specification is supported Function key-initiated network boot is supported Targeted content distribution is supported BIOS Revision: 0.9 Firmware Revision: 0.9 Handle 0x0100, DMI type 1, 27 bytes System Information Manufacturer: Dell Inc. Product Name: Latitude D630 Version: Not Specified Serial Number: 3ZGBXF1 UUID: 44454C4C-5A00-1047-8042-B3C04F584631 Wake-up Type: Power Switch SKU Number: Not Specified Family: Handle 0x0200, DMI type 2, 9 bytes Base Board Information Manufacturer: Dell Inc. Product Name: 0KU184 Version: Serial Number: .3ZGBXF1.CN1296182R7975. Asset Tag: Handle 0x0300, DMI type 3, 13 bytes Chassis Information Manufacturer: Dell Inc. Type: Portable Lock: Not Present Version: Not Specified Serial Number: 3ZGBXF1 Asset Tag: Not Specified Boot-up State: Safe Power Supply State: Safe Thermal State: Safe Security Status: None Processor Information Socket Designation: Microprocessor Type: Central Processor Family: Core 2 Duo Manufacturer: Intel ID: FB 06 00 00 FF FB EB BF Signature: Type 0, Family 6, Model 15, Stepping 11 Flags: FPU (Floating-point unit on-chip) VME (Virtual mode extension) DE (Debugging extension) PSE (Page size extension) TSC (Time stamp counter) MSR (Model specific registers) PAE (Physical address extension) MCE (Machine check exception) CX8 (CMPXCHG8 instruction supported) APIC (On-chip APIC hardware supported) SEP (Fast system call) MTRR (Memory type range registers) PGE (Page global enable) MCA (Machine check architecture) CMOV (Conditional move instruction supported) PAT (Page attribute table) PSE-36 (36-bit page size extension) CLFSH (CLFLUSH instruction supported) DS (Debug store) ACPI (ACPI supported) MMX (MMX technology supported) FXSR (FXSAVE and FXSTOR instructions supported) SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions) SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2) SS (Self-snoop) HTT (Multi-threading) TM (Thermal monitor supported) PBE (Pending break enabled) Version: Not Specified Voltage: 3.3 V External Clock: 200 MHz Max Speed: 2200 MHz Current Speed: 2200 MHz Status: Populated, Enabled Upgrade: None L1 Cache Handle: 0x0700 L2 Cache Handle: 0x0701 L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided Serial Number: Not Specified Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Not Specified Core Count: 2 Core Enabled: 2 Thread Count: 2 Characteristics: 64-bit capable [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] |
If you have run it on your system you find that there is a lot, a lot of information, you have to have an idea of what you are looking for when you use this command. I use this command when I want to know:
The serial number of the system as well as the manufacturer
To know the flags of the hard disk in order to know if it supports natively the virtualization
Know how much memory slot are used, what is the size of each bar and know if there is any free.
Peripherals and the kernel
As mentioned in the operating system section, the Linux kernel realizes the link between the hardware and the software. The concept of the driver is a little different in Linux because of the open-source nature and also because the hardware companies do not always offer the drivers for their device.
A special feature in Linux is that the driver is often generic, if I take the case of network cards, I can have several different providers but it uses all the same drivers. Just because when detecting hardware The Linux kernel looks at the chipset that is used and chose the associated driver. Whether the card is Intel, Dell, IBM or Ziatugs if it’s the same instructions I do not see the point of now several drivers: D. This applies for the device set! We also find “generic” drivers that are sometimes offers less performance but that allows us to start the system, we find this case especially for the graphics card, this allows us all the same to have a display and adjust by following the pilot.
A large majority of drivers under GNU / Linux are free! Of course there are more free than others and sometimes we even have the choice, if we take the case of Nvidia, the company offers a proprietary driver for these graphics cards, of course this driver allows to use all features of the card with the most optimal 3D acceleration because the company knows all the specs of the card and has the Bible to communicate with it. By cons there is also a free driver, however less powerful in terms of 3D and other why because the develop not access to the bible communication they are therefore obliged to do the reverse engenering to design their driver. There are other cases such as wireless broadcom network cards that were closed for a while, but in recent years the companies open more and more their drivers.
With Ubuntu, the kernel comes with proprietary drivers, if you want to be sure not to have some I recommend you use: http://www.gnewsense.org/, but attention will also have to make sure that your hardware is fully supported: P, mainly the wireless network card: P.
The kernel and its modules
The Linux kernel allows us to hot load modules, these modules are the equivalent of driver, in fact these modules allow us to add new functionality to the kernel in order to: communicate with a device, perform operations at the system level, … If we take the case of GNU / Linux embedded system this feature is remove and all modules and functionality are directly compiled into the kernel without loading them. For embedded systems this is more efficient in the case of desktop, we are likely to add and remove equipment more easily so it is more convenient to have these modules that load and unload as needed. Here is a small diagram:
List modules (lsmod)
Distributions “modern” offers a panoply of module available which is waiting to be used, if we look at now we already have a list of module used, to list the modules used the command lsmod (list module):
example lsmod | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 | # List modules $ lsmod nfnetlink_acct 3772 0 xt_connmark 1853 2 iptable_nat 3366 0 nf_conntrack_ipv4 9206 3 nf_defrag_ipv4 1411 1 nf_conntrack_ipv4 nf_nat_ipv4 3576 1 iptable_nat nf_nat 12343 2 nf_nat_ipv4,iptable_nat nf_conntrack 73690 5 nf_nat,nf_nat_ipv4,xt_connmark,iptable_nat,nf_conntrack_ipv4 iptable_mangle 1592 1 iptable_filter 1496 0 ip_tables 17282 3 iptable_filter,iptable_mangle,iptable_nat x_tables 17359 4 ip_tables,iptable_filter,xt_connmark,iptable_mangle nfnetlink 4301 2 nfnetlink_acct joydev 9671 0 snd_hda_codec_idt 37852 1 pcmcia 45396 0 coretemp 6334 0 psmouse 85428 0 yenta_socket 32385 0 kvm 389093 0 arc4 2008 2 iwl3945 55252 0 snd_hda_intel 36904 0 snd_hda_codec 149569 2 snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel snd_hwdep 6340 1 snd_hda_codec snd_pcm 77709 2 snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel gpio_ich 4536 0 iTCO_wdt 5407 0 pcmcia_rsrc 9112 1 yenta_socket iTCO_vendor_support 1937 1 iTCO_wdt snd_page_alloc 7242 2 snd_pcm,snd_hda_intel iwlegacy 49297 1 iwl3945 snd_timer 18726 1 snd_pcm i915 656950 3 snd 59173 6 snd_hwdep,snd_timer,snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_pcm,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel dell_laptop 8859 0 pcmcia_core 14264 3 pcmcia,pcmcia_rsrc,yenta_socket dcdbas 6463 1 dell_laptop microcode 15024 0 dell_wmi 1493 0 sparse_keymap 3154 1 dell_wmi evdev 10989 11 mac80211 466554 2 iwl3945,iwlegacy serio_raw 5049 0 tg3 155658 0 soundcore 5450 1 snd pcspkr 2035 0 drm_kms_helper 36286 1 i915 cfg80211 412854 3 iwl3945,iwlegacy,mac80211 i2c_i801 11277 0 lpc_ich 13120 0 ptp 8276 1 tg3 pps_core 8961 1 ptp libphy 20342 1 tg3 drm 238206 4 i915,drm_kms_helper i2c_algo_bit 5399 1 i915 i2c_core 24164 5 drm,i915,i2c_i801,drm_kms_helper,i2c_algo_bit rfkill 15651 3 cfg80211 thermal 8532 0 shpchp 25465 0 wmi 8419 1 dell_wmi button 4677 1 i915 intel_agp 10880 1 i915 intel_gtt 12664 3 i915,intel_agp video 11196 1 i915 battery 6837 0 ac 3332 0 acpi_cpufreq 10779 1 processor 24999 3 acpi_cpufreq nfs 191701 0 lockd 76942 1 nfs sunrpc 231063 2 nfs,lockd fscache 47028 1 nfs ext4 474187 1 crc16 1367 1 ext4 mbcache 6082 1 ext4 jbd2 83504 1 ext4 sd_mod 30789 2 sr_mod 14898 0 cdrom 34848 1 sr_mod ata_generic 3410 0 pata_acpi 3395 0 ata_piix 25088 1 firewire_ohci 31877 0 libata 170792 3 pata_acpi,ata_generic,ata_piix scsi_mod 130669 3 libata,sd_mod,sr_mod firewire_core 52259 1 firewire_ohci crc_itu_t 1371 1 firewire_core uhci_hcd 24795 0 ehci_pci 4000 0 ehci_hcd 59220 1 ehci_pci usbcore 179880 3 uhci_hcd,ehci_hcd,ehci_pci usb_common 1656 1 usbcore |
I deliberately did not cut the result to properly visualize all the modules that are loaded, as we can see this is long and yet we do not have much device. So I will highlight some module to demonstrate that when speaking of module this does not necessarily a device but a feature:
coretemp : Intel Core temperature monitor
gpio_ich : GPIO interface for Intel ICH series
pcmcia : PCMCIA Driver Services
pcspkr : PC Speaker beeper driver
battery et ac : ACPI Battery Driver et ACPI AC Adapter Driver
ext4 : Fourth Extended Filesystem , type of the system queue equivalent to fat32 or ntfs
uhci_hcd : USB Universal Host Controller Interface driver
ehci_hcd : USB 2.0 ‘Enhanced’ Host Controller (EHCI) Driver
Of course I do not list all the drivers because there are many but the goal here was mostly to demonstrate that the modules are not necessarily associated with a physical device, but can be a simple extension of functionality. You may ask me or can I find information on the modules that are loading? By need to go to a website, there is a modinfo command, here is an example with the module coretemp
example modinfo with coretemp | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | # example of modinfo to display information about a module. $ modinfo coretemp filename: /lib/modules/3.12.1-1-ARCH/kernel/drivers/hwmon/coretemp.ko.gz license: GPL description: Intel Core temperature monitor author: Rudolf Marek <r.marek@assembler.cz> alias: x86cpu:vendor:0000:family:*:model:*:feature:*00E7* depends: intree: Y vermagic: 3.12.1-1-ARCH SMP preempt mod_unload modversions parm: tjmax:TjMax value in degrees Celsius (int) |
As you can see, there is the license, the description of the module, the dependencies of the latter (here none) and the parameters that could be associated with the module (here TjMax).
Take again the result of the command lspci we had seen that this command indicates us the modules which the cards uses, we will take a module and display the information on this last one:
show pci modules and module information | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 | # I extract the information from lspci with grep that the line starts with 0 (^ 0) or the line contains Kernel modules (| Kernel modules) $ lspci -v | egrep --color '^0|Kernel modules' 00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c) Kernel modules: intel_agp 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (primary) (rev 0c) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller]) Kernel modules: i915 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (secondary) (rev 0c) 00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI]) Kernel modules: uhci_hcd 00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI]) Kernel modules: uhci_hcd 00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 02) (prog-if 20 [EHCI]) Kernel modules: ehci_pci 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 02) Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode]) Kernel modules: shpchp 00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode]) Kernel modules: shpchp 00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 6 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode]) Kernel modules: shpchp 00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI]) Kernel modules: uhci_hcd 00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI]) Kernel modules: uhci_hcd 00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI]) Kernel modules: uhci_hcd 00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 02) (prog-if 20 [EHCI]) Kernel modules: ehci_pci 00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f2) (prog-if 01 [Subtractive decode]) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 02) Kernel modules: lpc_ich 00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 02) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP]) Kernel modules: ata_piix, pata_acpi, ata_generic 00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 02) (prog-if 8f [Master SecP SecO PriP PriO]) Kernel modules: ata_piix, pata_acpi, ata_generic 00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02) Kernel modules: i2c_i801 03:01.0 CardBus bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. Cardbus bridge (rev 21) Kernel modules: yenta_socket 03:01.4 FireWire (IEEE 1394): O2 Micro, Inc. Firewire (IEEE 1394) (rev 02) (prog-if 10 [OHCI]) Kernel modules: firewire_ohci 09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5755M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02) Kernel modules: tg3 0c:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection (rev 02) Kernel modules: iwl3945 # Display information on the wired network card $ modinfo tg3 filename: /lib/modules/3.12.1-1-ARCH/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/broadcom/tg3.ko.gz firmware: tigon/tg3_tso5.bin firmware: tigon/tg3_tso.bin firmware: tigon/tg3.bin version: 3.133 license: GPL description: Broadcom Tigon3 ethernet driver author: David S. Miller (davem@redhat.com) and Jeff Garzik (jgarzik@pobox.com) srcversion: 5F6693B7BE37032F61B0883 [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] depends: libphy,ptp intree: Y vermagic: 3.12.1-1-ARCH SMP preempt mod_unload modversions parm: tg3_debug:Tigon3 bitmapped debugging message enable value (int) # Display information on the network card without a line $ modinfo iwl3945 filename: /lib/modules/3.12.1-1-ARCH/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/iwlegacy/iwl3945.ko.gz firmware: iwlwifi-3945-2.ucode license: GPL author: Copyright(c) 2003-2011 Intel Corporation <ilw@linux.intel.com> version: in-tree:s description: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG/BG Network Connection driver for Linux srcversion: 102CBF0C44B023F828879B7 alias: pci:v00008086d00004227sv*sd*bc*sc*i* alias: pci:v00008086d00004222sv*sd*bc*sc*i* alias: pci:v00008086d00004227sv*sd00001014bc*sc*i* alias: pci:v00008086d00004222sv*sd00001044bc*sc*i* alias: pci:v00008086d00004222sv*sd00001034bc*sc*i* alias: pci:v00008086d00004222sv*sd00001005bc*sc*i* depends: iwlegacy,cfg80211,mac80211 intree: Y vermagic: 3.12.1-1-ARCH SMP preempt mod_unload modversions parm: antenna:select antenna (1=Main, 2=Aux, default 0 [both]) (int) parm: swcrypto:using software crypto (default 1 [software]) (int) parm: disable_hw_scan:disable hardware scanning (default 1) (int) parm: fw_restart:restart firmware in case of error (int) # displays information about the sound card module $ modinfo snd_hda_intel filename: /lib/modules/3.12.1-1-ARCH/kernel/sound/pci/hda/snd-hda-intel.ko.gz description: Intel HDA driver license: GPL alias: pci:v00001022d*sv*sd*bc04sc03i00* alias: pci:v00001002d*sv*sd*bc04sc03i00* [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] depends: snd-hda-codec,snd-pcm,snd,snd-page-alloc intree: Y vermagic: 3.12.1-1-ARCH SMP preempt mod_unload modversions parm: index:Index value for Intel HD audio interface. (array of int) parm: id:ID string for Intel HD audio interface. (array of charp) parm: enable:Enable Intel HD audio interface. (array of bool) parm: model:Use the given board model. (array of charp) parm: position_fix:DMA pointer read method.(-1 = system default, 0 = auto, 1 = LPIB, 2 = POSBUF, 3 = VIACOMBO, 4 = COMBO). (array of int) parm: bdl_pos_adj:BDL position adjustment offset. (array of int) parm: probe_mask:Bitmask to probe codecs (default = -1). (array of int) parm: probe_only:Only probing and no codec initialization. (array of int) parm: jackpoll_ms:Ms between polling for jack events (default = 0, using unsol events only) (array of int) parm: single_cmd:Use single command to communicate with codecs (for debugging only). (bool) parm: enable_msi:Enable Message Signaled Interrupt (MSI) (bint) parm: patch:Patch file for Intel HD audio interface. (array of charp) parm: beep_mode:Select HDA Beep registration mode (0=off, 1=on) (default=1). (array of bool) parm: power_save:Automatic power-saving timeout (in second, 0 = disable). (xint) parm: power_save_controller:Reset controller in power save mode. (bool) parm: align_buffer_size:Force buffer and period sizes to be multiple of 128 bytes. (bint) parm: snoop:Enable/disable snooping (bool) |
As we can see the sound card to a lot of parameter available!
Load and unload a module (modprobe and rmmod)
Now that we have seen how to list the modules we will see how to load them (modprobe) and unload (rmmod) by the way it is very rare that we have to do that! We will see a little later the udev system that realizes dynamic this operation when we add a device or delete it. I present here this feature for more information than per requires, however while we are covering the subject why not take advantage of it. To load and unload a module in the kernel you must have administrator permissions, so we will have to perform this operation with sudo or by being root.
We saw in the list of modules that of the network card tg3, in the following example I will unload and reload the module:
list, unload and recharge module tg3 | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | # list the module containing the pattern tg3 $ lsmod | grep tg3 tg3 155658 0 ptp 8276 1 tg3 libphy 20342 1 tg3 # unload the module $ sudo rmmod tg3 # relist modules and find that there is no module tg3 # reloads the module $ sudo modprobe tg3 $ lsmod | grep tg3 tg3 155658 0 ptp 8276 1 tg3 libphy 20342 1 tg3 |
As mentioned earlier I do not advocate this approach other than to test, it is not viable for use in production or everyday for a desktop to enter command lines at each reboot of the system moreover these commands must be realized as the root user. However it is interesting to be able to test, we saw earlier with the use of the command modinfo that it is possible to pass parameters to the module, this is done simply by adding the parameter after the argument of the module to modprobe.
tg3 module information and module loading with parameter. | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | # list the parameters available at tg3 $ modinfo tg3 | grep parm parm: tg3_debug:Tigon3 bitmapped debugging message enable value (int) # add an option $ sudo modprobe tg3 patate=10 # le module ne renvoie pas d'erreur et se charge. # ajout d'une option $ sudo modprobe tg3 tg3_debug=10 |
This option can also be set in the configuration file /etc/modprobe.d/FileName.conf the file name is arbitrary the system loads all the files with the extention .conf here is an example of the / etc file /modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
example information modprobe.d / alsa-base.conf | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | # Load saa7134-alsa instead of saa7134 (which gets dragged in by it anyway)
install saa7134 /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install saa7134 $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist saa7134-alsa ; : ; }
# Prevent abnormal drivers from grabbing index 0
options bt87x index=-2
options cx88_alsa index=-2
options saa7134-alsa index=-2
options snd-atiixp-modem index=-2
options snd-intel8x0m index=-2
options snd-via82xx-modem index=-2
options snd-usb-audio index=-2
options snd-usb-caiaq index=-2
|
Message from the kernel
When the load system, the kernel will realize all the detections of the material. When a new device is connected, the system will load the module accordingly or the module will generate an event at the kernel, the latter to write a log. It is possible by using the dmesg command to obtain this information. Here is an example of dmesg, of course it is not always easy to read it because we will see all PCI cards pass, etc.
example dmesg | |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 | # example bash $ dmesg [ 0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpuset [ 0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpu [ 0.000000] Linux version 3.2.0-57-generic-pae (buildd@lamiak) (gcc version 4.6.3 (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.6.3-1ubuntu5) ) #87-Ubuntu SMP Tue Nov 12 21:57:43 UTC 2013 (Ubuntu 3.2.0-57.87-generic-pae 3.2.52) [ 0.000000] KERNEL supported cpus: [ 0.000000] Intel GenuineIntel [ 0.000000] AMD AuthenticAMD [ 0.000000] NSC Geode by NSC [ 0.000000] Cyrix CyrixInstead [ 0.000000] Centaur CentaurHauls [ 0.000000] Transmeta GenuineTMx86 [ 0.000000] Transmeta TransmetaCPU [ 0.000000] UMC UMC UMC UMC [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] [ 22.334400] parport_pc 00:05: reported by Plug and Play ACPI [ 22.334453] parport0: PC-style at 0x378 (0x778), irq 7, dma 3 [PCSPP,TRISTATE,COMPAT,ECP,DMA] [ 22.371152] device-mapper: multipath: version 1.3.1 loaded [ 22.431573] ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LAZA] enabled at IRQ 22 [ 22.431582] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:05.0: PCI INT B -> Link[LAZA] -> GSI 22 (level, low) -> IRQ 22 [ 22.431586] hda_intel: Disabling MSI [ 22.431622] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:05.0: setting latency timer to 64 [ 22.432242] lp0: using parport0 (interrupt-driven). [ 22.444540] nvidia: module license 'NVIDIA' taints kernel. [ 22.444545] Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint [ 22.781575] ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNED] enabled at IRQ 19 [ 22.781600] nvidia 0000:02:00.0: PCI INT A -> Link[LNED] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 19 [ 22.781610] nvidia 0000:02:00.0: setting latency timer to 64 [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] [ 1.492540] scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access ATA ST31000524AS JC4B PQ: 0 ANSI: 5 [ 1.492727] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] 1953525168 512-byte logical blocks: (1.00 TB/931 GiB) [ 1.492734] sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0 [ 1.492776] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off [ 1.492780] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00 [ 1.492834] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn t support DPO or FUA [ 1.500133] ata5.00: configured for UDMA/100 [ 1.514237] sda: sda1 sda2 sda3 [ 1.514635] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk 1.660024] usb 2-1: new low-speed USB device number 2 using ohci_hcd [ 1.960054] ata4: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) [ 1.968505] ata4.00: ATA-8: ST3500320AS, SD15, max UDMA/133 [ 1.968510] ata4.00: 976773168 sectors, multi 16: LBA48 NCQ (depth 0/32) [ 1.984493] ata4.00: configured for UDMA/133 [ 1.984671] scsi 3:0:0:0: Direct-Access ATA ST3500320AS SD15 PQ: 0 ANSI: 5 [ 1.984820] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500 GB/465 GiB) [ 1.984853] sd 3:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0 [ 1.984868] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off [ 1.984871] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00 [ 1.984891] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn t support DPO or FUA [ 1.988251] scsi 4:0:0:0: CD-ROM HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH20NS10 EL00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 5 [ 1.990491] sdb: sdb1 sdb2 [ 1.990884] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk [ 1.993339] sr0: scsi3-mmc drive: 48x/48x writer dvd-ram cd/rw xa/form2 cdda tray [ 1.993342] cdrom: Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.20 [ 1.993466] sr 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr0 [ 1.993593] sr 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 5 [[ OUTPUT COUPÉ ]] [26467.825422] tg3.c:v3.133 (Jul 29, 2013) [26467.861300] tg3 0000:09:00.0: irq 46 for MSI/MSI-X [26467.868040] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: Tigon3 [partno(BCM95755m) rev a002] (PCI Express) MAC address 00:1c:23:41:6d:eb [26467.868046] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: attached PHY is 5755 (10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet) (WireSpeed[1], EEE[0]) [26467.868050] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: RXcsums[1] LinkChgREG[0] MIirq[0] ASF[0] TSOcap[1] [26467.868054] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: dma_rwctrl[76180000] dma_mask[64-bit] [26467.896710] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready [26895.116779] tg3: unknown parameter 'patate' ignored [26895.116982] tg3.c:v3.133 (Jul 29, 2013) [26895.161137] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: Tigon3 [partno(BCM95755m) rev a002] (PCI Express) MAC address 00:1c:23:41:6d:eb [26895.161142] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: attached PHY is 5755 (10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet) (WireSpeed[1], EEE[0]) [26895.161146] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: RXcsums[1] LinkChgREG[0] MIirq[0] ASF[0] TSOcap[1] [26895.161148] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: dma_rwctrl[76180000] dma_mask[64-bit] [26895.161656] tg3 0000:09:00.0: irq 46 for MSI/MSI-X [26895.197172] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready [26914.509842] tg3.c:v3.133 (Jul 29, 2013) [26914.544289] tg3 0000:09:00.0: irq 46 for MSI/MSI-X [26914.547560] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: Tigon3 [partno(BCM95755m) rev a002] (PCI Express) MAC address 00:1c:23:41:6d:eb [26914.547565] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: attached PHY is 5755 (10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet) (WireSpeed[1], EEE[0]) [26914.547568] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: RXcsums[1] LinkChgREG[0] MIirq[0] ASF[0] TSOcap[1] [26914.547571] tg3 0000:09:00.0 eth0: dma_rwctrl[76180000] dma_mask[64-bit] [26914.579784] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready |
We see at the beginning the loading of the whole system, the detection of the hard disk, the cdrom, the map of sound, the card nvidia, all the information of the detection and the loadings of module nuclei are present. We also see at the end that the tg3 module was loaded several times at the system level, this represents my demonstration of loading and unloading done earlier. I would like to pay attention to line 69 we find the error of the parameter potato that I had transmitted to the module, we find that the actual parameter was ignored. When adding a USB data key you will also find that the kernel returns information with the partitions present and the file name in / dev that was created as well as the partitions associated with it.
Hardinfo isn’t specifically a tool just for modules, but it provides a large amount of information about your computer — including the modules used by hardware devices.
To get it, simply install the hardinfo package.
Once installed, you can find it in:
Applications → System Tools → System Profiler and Benchmark