9.2 Flashcards
The lowest level of easily replaceable software that interfaces with the hardware in your computer. The kernel’s job is to talk to the hardware and software and manage the system’s resources.
Linux kernel
Kernel modules are pieces of code that can be loaded and unloaded into the kernel upon demand. They extend the functionality of the kernel without rebooting the system.
Kernel module
Provides the modprobe utility with default commands for loading modules at boot time.
/etc/modprobe.conf
/etc/modprobe.conf options include
install
alias
options
irq and io
Contains multiple configuration files used by modprobe at boot time if the /etc/modprobe.conf file does not exist.
/etc/modprobe.d
This directory stores your kernel modules which are available to all users.
/usr/lib/modules/kernel-version
Lists all loaded modules. The command pulls information from the /proc/modules file.
lsmod
Views the /proc/modules file. This file contains a list of all loaded modules.
cat /proc/modules
Views additional information about a module listed using the lsmod command.
modinfo
Creates a file that identifies module dependencies. The file is placed at /lib/modules/kernel_version_number/modules.dep. This command first reads the /etc/modules.conf file to identify modules. It then probes each module to build a list of dependencies
depmod
installs a mod
insmod
Loads a module along with any module dependencies. This utility also runs at startup to load modules. The /etc/modprobe.conf file provides modprobe with its configuration information.
modprobe
Removes a module from the kernel. rmmod:
rmmod
Devices that should only be removed or replaced when the power to the computer is off.
coldplug
Devices that can be removed while the computer is on.
hotplug
