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diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/devfs/README b/Documentation/filesystems/devfs/README new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..54366ecc241f --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/filesystems/devfs/README @@ -0,0 +1,1964 @@ +Devfs (Device File System) FAQ + + +Linux Devfs (Device File System) FAQ +Richard Gooch +20-AUG-2002 + + +Document languages: + + + + + + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +NOTE: the master copy of this document is available online at: + +http://www.atnf.csiro.au/~rgooch/linux/docs/devfs.html +and looks much better than the text version distributed with the +kernel sources. A mirror site is available at: + +http://www.ras.ucalgary.ca/~rgooch/linux/docs/devfs.html + +There is also an optional daemon that may be used with devfs. You can +find out more about it at: + +http://www.atnf.csiro.au/~rgooch/linux/ + +A mailing list is available which you may subscribe to. Send +email +to majordomo@oss.sgi.com with the following line in the +body of the message: +subscribe devfs +To unsubscribe, send the message body: +unsubscribe devfs +instead. The list is archived at + +http://oss.sgi.com/projects/devfs/archive/. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Contents + + +What is it? + +Why do it? + +Who else does it? + +How it works + +Operational issues (essential reading) + +Instructions for the impatient +Permissions persistence across reboots +Dealing with drivers without devfs support +All the way with Devfs +Other Issues +Kernel Naming Scheme +Devfsd Naming Scheme +Old Compatibility Names +SCSI Host Probing Issues + + + +Device drivers currently ported + +Allocation of Device Numbers + +Questions and Answers + +Making things work +Alternatives to devfs +What I don't like about devfs +How to report bugs +Strange kernel messages +Compilation problems with devfsd + + +Other resources + +Translations of this document + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +What is it? + +Devfs is an alternative to "real" character and block special devices +on your root filesystem. Kernel device drivers can register devices by +name rather than major and minor numbers. These devices will appear in +devfs automatically, with whatever default ownership and +protection the driver specified. A daemon (devfsd) can be used to +override these defaults. Devfs has been in the kernel since 2.3.46. + +NOTE that devfs is entirely optional. If you prefer the old +disc-based device nodes, then simply leave CONFIG_DEVFS_FS=n (the +default). In this case, nothing will change. ALSO NOTE that if you do +enable devfs, the defaults are such that full compatibility is +maintained with the old devices names. + +There are two aspects to devfs: one is the underlying device +namespace, which is a namespace just like any mounted filesystem. The +other aspect is the filesystem code which provides a view of the +device namespace. The reason I make a distinction is because devfs +can be mounted many times, with each mount showing the same device +namespace. Changes made are global to all mounted devfs filesystems. +Also, because the devfs namespace exists without any devfs mounts, you +can easily mount the root filesystem by referring to an entry in the +devfs namespace. + + +The cost of devfs is a small increase in kernel code size and memory +usage. About 7 pages of code (some of that in __init sections) and 72 +bytes for each entry in the namespace. A modest system has only a +couple of hundred device entries, so this costs a few more +pages. Compare this with the suggestion to put /dev on a <a +href="#why-faq-ramdisc">ramdisc. + +On a typical machine, the cost is under 0.2 percent. On a modest +system with 64 MBytes of RAM, the cost is under 0.1 percent. The +accusations of "bloatware" levelled at devfs are not justified. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Why do it? + +There are several problems that devfs addresses. Some of these +problems are more serious than others (depending on your point of +view), and some can be solved without devfs. However, the totality of +these problems really calls out for devfs. + +The choice is a patchwork of inefficient user space solutions, which +are complex and likely to be fragile, or to use a simple and efficient +devfs which is robust. + +There have been many counter-proposals to devfs, all seeking to +provide some of the benefits without actually implementing devfs. So +far there has been an absence of code and no proposed alternative has +been able to provide all the features that devfs does. Further, +alternative proposals require far more complexity in user-space (and +still deliver less functionality than devfs). Some people have the +mantra of reducing "kernel bloat", but don't consider the effects on +user-space. + +A good solution limits the total complexity of kernel-space and +user-space. + + +Major&minor allocation + +The existing scheme requires the allocation of major and minor device +numbers for each and every device. This means that a central +co-ordinating authority is required to issue these device numbers +(unless you're developing a "private" device driver), in order to +preserve uniqueness. Devfs shifts the burden to a namespace. This may +not seem like a huge benefit, but actually it is. Since driver authors +will naturally choose a device name which reflects the functionality +of the device, there is far less potential for namespace conflict. +Solving this requires a kernel change. + +/dev management + +Because you currently access devices through device nodes, these must +be created by the system administrator. For standard devices you can +usually find a MAKEDEV programme which creates all these (hundreds!) +of nodes. This means that changes in the kernel must be reflected by +changes in the MAKEDEV programme, or else the system administrator +creates device nodes by hand. + +The basic problem is that there are two separate databases of +major and minor numbers. One is in the kernel and one is in /dev (or +in a MAKEDEV programme, if you want to look at it that way). This is +duplication of information, which is not good practice. +Solving this requires a kernel change. + +/dev growth + +A typical /dev has over 1200 nodes! Most of these devices simply don't +exist because the hardware is not available. A huge /dev increases the +time to access devices (I'm just referring to the dentry lookup times +and the time taken to read inodes off disc: the next subsection shows +some more horrors). + +An example of how big /dev can grow is if we consider SCSI devices: + +host 6 bits (say up to 64 hosts on a really big machine) +channel 4 bits (say up to 16 SCSI buses per host) +id 4 bits +lun 3 bits +partition 6 bits +TOTAL 23 bits + + +This requires 8 Mega (1024*1024) inodes if we want to store all +possible device nodes. Even if we scrap everything but id,partition +and assume a single host adapter with a single SCSI bus and only one +logical unit per SCSI target (id), that's still 10 bits or 1024 +inodes. Each VFS inode takes around 256 bytes (kernel 2.1.78), so +that's 256 kBytes of inode storage on disc (assuming real inodes take +a similar amount of space as VFS inodes). This is actually not so bad, +because disc is cheap these days. Embedded systems would care about +256 kBytes of /dev inodes, but you could argue that embedded systems +would have hand-tuned /dev directories. I've had to do just that on my +embedded systems, but I would rather just leave it to devfs. + +Another issue is the time taken to lookup an inode when first +referenced. Not only does this take time in scanning through a list in +memory, but also the seek times to read the inodes off disc. +This could be solved in user-space using a clever programme which +scanned the kernel logs and deleted /dev entries which are not +available and created them when they were available. This programme +would need to be run every time a new module was loaded, which would +slow things down a lot. + +There is an existing programme called scsidev which will automatically +create device nodes for SCSI devices. It can do this by scanning files +in /proc/scsi. Unfortunately, to extend this idea to other device +nodes would require significant modifications to existing drivers (so +they too would provide information in /proc). This is a non-trivial +change (I should know: devfs has had to do something similar). Once +you go to this much effort, you may as well use devfs itself (which +also provides this information). Furthermore, such a system would +likely be implemented in an ad-hoc fashion, as different drivers will +provide their information in different ways. + +Devfs is much cleaner, because it (naturally) has a uniform mechanism +to provide this information: the device nodes themselves! + + +Node to driver file_operations translation + +There is an important difference between the way disc-based character +and block nodes and devfs entries make the connection between an entry +in /dev and the actual device driver. + +With the current 8 bit major and minor numbers the connection between +disc-based c&b nodes and per-major drivers is done through a +fixed-length table of 128 entries. The various filesystem types set +the inode operations for c&b nodes to {chr,blk}dev_inode_operations, +so when a device is opened a few quick levels of indirection bring us +to the driver file_operations. + +For miscellaneous character devices a second step is required: there +is a scan for the driver entry with the same minor number as the file +that was opened, and the appropriate minor open method is called. This +scanning is done *every time* you open a device node. Potentially, you +may be searching through dozens of misc. entries before you find your +open method. While not an enormous performance overhead, this does +seem pointless. + +Linux *must* move beyond the 8 bit major and minor barrier, +somehow. If we simply increase each to 16 bits, then the indexing +scheme used for major driver lookup becomes untenable, because the +major tables (one each for character and block devices) would need to +be 64 k entries long (512 kBytes on x86, 1 MByte for 64 bit +systems). So we would have to use a scheme like that used for +miscellaneous character devices, which means the search time goes up +linearly with the average number of major device drivers on your +system. Not all "devices" are hardware, some are higher-level drivers +like KGI, so you can get more "devices" without adding hardware +You can improve this by creating an ordered (balanced:-) +binary tree, in which case your search time becomes log(N). +Alternatively, you can use hashing to speed up the search. +But why do that search at all if you don't have to? Once again, it +seems pointless. + +Note that devfs doesn't use the major&minor system. For devfs +entries, the connection is done when you lookup the /dev entry. When +devfs_register() is called, an internal table is appended which has +the entry name and the file_operations. If the dentry cache doesn't +have the /dev entry already, this internal table is scanned to get the +file_operations, and an inode is created. If the dentry cache already +has the entry, there is *no lookup time* (other than the dentry scan +itself, but we can't avoid that anyway, and besides Linux dentries +cream other OS's which don't have them:-). Furthermore, the number of +node entries in a devfs is only the number of available device +entries, not the number of *conceivable* entries. Even if you remove +unnecessary entries in a disc-based /dev, the number of conceivable +entries remains the same: you just limit yourself in order to save +space. + +Devfs provides a fast connection between a VFS node and the device +driver, in a scalable way. + +/dev as a system administration tool + +Right now /dev contains a list of conceivable devices, most of which I +don't have. Devfs only shows those devices available on my +system. This means that listing /dev is a handy way of checking what +devices are available. + +Major&minor size + +Existing major and minor numbers are limited to 8 bits each. This is +now a limiting factor for some drivers, particularly the SCSI disc +driver, which consumes a single major number. Only 16 discs are +supported, and each disc may have only 15 partitions. Maybe this isn't +a problem for you, but some of us are building huge Linux systems with +disc arrays. With devfs an arbitrary pointer can be associated with +each device entry, which can be used to give an effective 32 bit +device identifier (i.e. that's like having a 32 bit minor +number). Since this is private to the kernel, there are no C library +compatibility issues which you would have with increasing major and +minor number sizes. See the section on "Allocation of Device Numbers" +for details on maintaining compatibility with userspace. + +Solving this requires a kernel change. + +Since writing this, the kernel has been modified so that the SCSI disc +driver has more major numbers allocated to it and now supports up to +128 discs. Since these major numbers are non-contiguous (a result of +unplanned expansion), the implementation is a little more cumbersome +than originally. + +Just like the changes to IPv4 to fix impending limitations in the +address space, people find ways around the limitations. In the long +run, however, solutions like IPv6 or devfs can't be put off forever. + +Read-only root filesystem + +Having your device nodes on the root filesystem means that you can't +operate properly with a read-only root filesystem. This is because you +want to change ownerships and protections of tty devices. Existing +practice prevents you using a CD-ROM as your root filesystem for a +*real* system. Sure, you can boot off a CD-ROM, but you can't change +tty ownerships, so it's only good for installing. + +Also, you can't use a shared NFS root filesystem for a cluster of +discless Linux machines (having tty ownerships changed on a common +/dev is not good). Nor can you embed your root filesystem in a +ROM-FS. + +You can get around this by creating a RAMDISC at boot time, making +an ext2 filesystem in it, mounting it somewhere and copying the +contents of /dev into it, then unmounting it and mounting it over +/dev. + +A devfs is a cleaner way of solving this. + +Non-Unix root filesystem + +Non-Unix filesystems (such as NTFS) can't be used for a root +filesystem because they variously don't support character and block +special files or symbolic links. You can't have a separate disc-based +or RAMDISC-based filesystem mounted on /dev because you need device +nodes before you can mount these. Devfs can be mounted without any +device nodes. Devlinks won't work because symlinks aren't supported. +An alternative solution is to use initrd to mount a RAMDISC initial +root filesystem (which is populated with a minimal set of device +nodes), and then construct a new /dev in another RAMDISC, and finally +switch to your non-Unix root filesystem. This requires clever boot +scripts and a fragile and conceptually complex boot procedure. + +Devfs solves this in a robust and conceptually simple way. + +PTY security + +Current pseudo-tty (pty) devices are owned by root and read-writable +by everyone. The user of a pty-pair cannot change +ownership/protections without being suid-root. + +This could be solved with a secure user-space daemon which runs as +root and does the actual creation of pty-pairs. Such a daemon would +require modification to *every* programme that wants to use this new +mechanism. It also slows down creation of pty-pairs. + +An alternative is to create a new open_pty() syscall which does much +the same thing as the user-space daemon. Once again, this requires +modifications to pty-handling programmes. + +The devfs solution allows a device driver to "tag" certain device +files so that when an unopened device is opened, the ownerships are +changed to the current euid and egid of the opening process, and the +protections are changed to the default registered by the driver. When +the device is closed ownership is set back to root and protections are +set back to read-write for everybody. No programme need be changed. +The devpts filesystem provides this auto-ownership feature for Unix98 +ptys. It doesn't support old-style pty devices, nor does it have all +the other features of devfs. + +Intelligent device management + +Devfs implements a simple yet powerful protocol for communication with +a device management daemon (devfsd) which runs in user space. It is +possible to send a message (either synchronously or asynchronously) to +devfsd on any event, such as registration/unregistration of device +entries, opening and closing devices, looking up inodes, scanning +directories and more. This has many possibilities. Some of these are +already implemented. See: + + +http://www.atnf.csiro.au/~rgooch/linux/ + +Device entry registration events can be used by devfsd to change +permissions of newly-created device nodes. This is one mechanism to +control device permissions. + +Device entry registration/unregistration events can be used to run +programmes or scripts. This can be used to provide automatic mounting +of filesystems when a new block device media is inserted into the +drive. + +Asynchronous device open and close events can be used to implement +clever permissions management. For example, the default permissions on +/dev/dsp do not allow everybody to read from the device. This is +sensible, as you don't want some remote user recording what you say at +your console. However, the console user is also prevented from +recording. This behaviour is not desirable. With asynchronous device +open and close events, you can have devfsd run a programme or script +when console devices are opened to change the ownerships for *other* +device nodes (such as /dev/dsp). On closure, you can run a different +script to restore permissions. An advantage of this scheme over +modifying the C library tty handling is that this works even if your +programme crashes (how many times have you seen the utmp database with +lingering entries for non-existent logins?). + +Synchronous device open events can be used to perform intelligent +device access protections. Before the device driver open() method is +called, the daemon must first validate the open attempt, by running an +external programme or script. This is far more flexible than access +control lists, as access can be determined on the basis of other +system conditions instead of just the UID and GID. + +Inode lookup events can be used to authenticate module autoload +requests. Instead of using kmod directly, the event is sent to +devfsd which can implement an arbitrary authentication before loading +the module itself. + +Inode lookup events can also be used to construct arbitrary +namespaces, without having to resort to populating devfs with symlinks +to devices that don't exist. + +Speculative Device Scanning + +Consider an application (like cdparanoia) that wants to find all +CD-ROM devices on the system (SCSI, IDE and other types), whether or +not their respective modules are loaded. The application must +speculatively open certain device nodes (such as /dev/sr0 for the SCSI +CD-ROMs) in order to make sure the module is loaded. This requires +that all Linux distributions follow the standard device naming scheme +(last time I looked RedHat did things differently). Devfs solves the +naming problem. + +The same application also wants to see which devices are actually +available on the system. With the existing system it needs to read the +/dev directory and speculatively open each /dev/sr* device to +determine if the device exists or not. With a large /dev this is an +inefficient operation, especially if there are many /dev/sr* nodes. A +solution like scsidev could reduce the number of /dev/sr* entries (but +of course that also requires all that inefficient directory scanning). + +With devfs, the application can open the /dev/sr directory +(which triggers the module autoloading if required), and proceed to +read /dev/sr. Since only the available devices will have +entries, there are no inefficencies in directory scanning or device +openings. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Who else does it? + +FreeBSD has a devfs implementation. Solaris and AIX each have a +pseudo-devfs (something akin to scsidev but for all devices, with some +unspecified kernel support). BeOS, Plan9 and QNX also have it. SGI's +IRIX 6.4 and above also have a device filesystem. + +While we shouldn't just automatically do something because others do +it, we should not ignore the work of others either. FreeBSD has a lot +of competent people working on it, so their opinion should not be +blithely ignored. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +How it works + +Registering device entries + +For every entry (device node) in a devfs-based /dev a driver must call +devfs_register(). This adds the name of the device entry, the +file_operations structure pointer and a few other things to an +internal table. Device entries may be added and removed at any +time. When a device entry is registered, it automagically appears in +any mounted devfs'. + +Inode lookup + +When a lookup operation on an entry is performed and if there is no +driver information for that entry devfs will attempt to call +devfsd. If still no driver information can be found then a negative +dentry is yielded and the next stage operation will be called by the +VFS (such as create() or mknod() inode methods). If driver information +can be found, an inode is created (if one does not exist already) and +all is well. + +Manually creating device nodes + +The mknod() method allows you to create an ordinary named pipe in the +devfs, or you can create a character or block special inode if one +does not already exist. You may wish to create a character or block +special inode so that you can set permissions and ownership. Later, if +a device driver registers an entry with the same name, the +permissions, ownership and times are retained. This is how you can set +the protections on a device even before the driver is loaded. Once you +create an inode it appears in the directory listing. + +Unregistering device entries + +A device driver calls devfs_unregister() to unregister an entry. + +Chroot() gaols + +2.2.x kernels + +The semantics of inode creation are different when devfs is mounted +with the "explicit" option. Now, when a device entry is registered, it +will not appear until you use mknod() to create the device. It doesn't +matter if you mknod() before or after the device is registered with +devfs_register(). The purpose of this behaviour is to support +chroot(2) gaols, where you want to mount a minimal devfs inside the +gaol. Only the devices you specifically want to be available (through +your mknod() setup) will be accessible. + +2.4.x kernels + +As of kernel 2.3.99, the VFS has had the ability to rebind parts of +the global filesystem namespace into another part of the namespace. +This now works even at the leaf-node level, which means that +individual files and device nodes may be bound into other parts of the +namespace. This is like making links, but better, because it works +across filesystems (unlike hard links) and works through chroot() +gaols (unlike symbolic links). + +Because of these improvements to the VFS, the multi-mount capability +in devfs is no longer needed. The administrator may create a minimal +device tree inside a chroot(2) gaol by using VFS bindings. As this +provides most of the features of the devfs multi-mount capability, I +removed the multi-mount support code (after issuing an RFC). This +yielded code size reductions and simplifications. + +If you want to construct a minimal chroot() gaol, the following +command should suffice: + +mount --bind /dev/null /gaol/dev/null + + +Repeat for other device nodes you want to expose. Simple! + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Operational issues + + +Instructions for the impatient + +Nobody likes reading documentation. People just want to get in there +and play. So this section tells you quickly the steps you need to take +to run with devfs mounted over /dev. Skip these steps and you will end +up with a nearly unbootable system. Subsequent sections describe the +issues in more detail, and discuss non-essential configuration +options. + +Devfsd +OK, if you're reading this, I assume you want to play with +devfs. First you should ensure that /usr/src/linux contains a +recent kernel source tree. Then you need to compile devfsd, the device +management daemon, available at + +http://www.atnf.csiro.au/~rgooch/linux/. +Because the kernel has a naming scheme +which is quite different from the old naming scheme, you need to +install devfsd so that software and configuration files that use the +old naming scheme will not break. + +Compile and install devfsd. You will be provided with a default +configuration file /etc/devfsd.conf which will provide +compatibility symlinks for the old naming scheme. Don't change this +config file unless you know what you're doing. Even if you think you +do know what you're doing, don't change it until you've followed all +the steps below and booted a devfs-enabled system and verified that it +works. + +Now edit your main system boot script so that devfsd is started at the +very beginning (before any filesystem +checks). /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit is often the main boot script +on systems with SysV-style boot scripts. On systems with BSD-style +boot scripts it is often /etc/rc. Also check +/sbin/rc. + +NOTE that the line you put into the boot +script should be exactly: + +/sbin/devfsd /dev + +DO NOT use some special daemon-launching +programme, otherwise the boot script may not wait for devfsd to finish +initialising. + +System Libraries +There may still be some problems because of broken software making +assumptions about device names. In particular, some software does not +handle devices which are symbolic links. If you are running a libc 5 +based system, install libc 5.4.44 (if you have libc 5.4.46, go back to +libc 5.4.44, which is actually correct). If you are running a glibc +based system, make sure you have glibc 2.1.3 or later. + +/etc/securetty +PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) is supposed to be a flexible +mechanism for providing better user authentication and access to +services. Unfortunately, it's also fragile, complex and undocumented +(check out RedHat 6.1, and probably other distributions as well). PAM +has problems with symbolic links. Append the following lines to your +/etc/securetty file: + +vc/1 +vc/2 +vc/3 +vc/4 +vc/5 +vc/6 +vc/7 +vc/8 + +This will not weaken security. If you have a version of util-linux +earlier than 2.10.h, please upgrade to 2.10.h or later. If you +absolutely cannot upgrade, then also append the following lines to +your /etc/securetty file: + +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 + +This may potentially weaken security by allowing root logins over the +network (a password is still required, though). However, since there +are problems with dealing with symlinks, I'm suspicious of the level +of security offered in any case. + +XFree86 +While not essential, it's probably a good idea to upgrade to XFree86 +4.0, as patches went in to make it more devfs-friendly. If you don't, +you'll probably need to apply the following patch to +/etc/security/console.perms so that ordinary users can run +startx. Note that not all distributions have this file (e.g. Debian), +so if it's not present, don't worry about it. + +--- /etc/security/console.perms.orig Sat Apr 17 16:26:47 1999 ++++ /etc/security/console.perms Fri Feb 25 23:53:55 2000 +@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ + # man 5 console.perms + + # file classes -- these are regular expressions +-<console>=tty[0-9][0-9]* :[0-9]\.[0-9] :[0-9] ++<console>=tty[0-9][0-9]* vc/[0-9][0-9]* :[0-9]\.[0-9] :[0-9] + + # device classes -- these are shell-style globs + <floppy>=/dev/fd[0-1]* + +If the patch does not apply, then change the line: + +<console>=tty[0-9][0-9]* :[0-9]\.[0-9] :[0-9] + +with: + +<console>=tty[0-9][0-9]* vc/[0-9][0-9]* :[0-9]\.[0-9] :[0-9] + + +Disable devpts +I've had a report of devpts mounted on /dev/pts not working +correctly. Since devfs will also manage /dev/pts, there is no +need to mount devpts as well. You should either edit your +/etc/fstab so devpts is not mounted, or disable devpts from +your kernel configuration. + +Unsupported drivers +Not all drivers have devfs support. If you depend on one of these +drivers, you will need to create a script or tarfile that you can use +at boot time to create device nodes as appropriate. There is a +section which describes this. Another +section lists the drivers which have +devfs support. + +/dev/mouse + +Many disributions configure /dev/mouse to be the mouse device +for XFree86 and GPM. I actually think this is a bad idea, because it +adds another level of indirection. When looking at a config file, if +you see /dev/mouse you're left wondering which mouse +is being referred to. Hence I recommend putting the actual mouse +device (for example /dev/psaux) into your +/etc/X11/XF86Config file (and similarly for the GPM +configuration file). + +Alternatively, use the same technique used for unsupported drivers +described above. + +The Kernel +Finally, you need to make sure devfs is compiled into your kernel. Set +CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL=y, CONFIG_DEVFS_FS=y and CONFIG_DEVFS_MOUNT=y by +using favourite configuration tool (i.e. make config or +make xconfig) and then make clean and then recompile your kernel and +modules. At boot, devfs will be mounted onto /dev. + +If you encounter problems booting (for example if you forgot a +configuration step), you can pass devfs=nomount at the kernel +boot command line. This will prevent the kernel from mounting devfs at +boot time onto /dev. + +In general, a kernel built with CONFIG_DEVFS_FS=y but without mounting +devfs onto /dev is completely safe, and requires no +configuration changes. One exception to take note of is when +LABEL= directives are used in /etc/fstab. In this +case you will be unable to boot properly. This is because the +mount(8) programme uses /proc/partitions as part of +the volume label search process, and the device names it finds are not +available, because setting CONFIG_DEVFS_FS=y changes the names in +/proc/partitions, irrespective of whether devfs is mounted. + +Now you've finished all the steps required. You're now ready to boot +your shiny new kernel. Enjoy. + +Changing the configuration + +OK, you've now booted a devfs-enabled system, and everything works. +Now you may feel like changing the configuration (common targets are +/etc/fstab and /etc/devfsd.conf). Since you have a +system that works, if you make any changes and it doesn't work, you +now know that you only have to restore your configuration files to the +default and it will work again. + + +Permissions persistence across reboots + +If you don't use mknod(2) to create a device file, nor use chmod(2) or +chown(2) to change the ownerships/permissions, the inode ctime will +remain at 0 (the epoch, 12 am, 1-JAN-1970, GMT). Anything with a ctime +later than this has had it's ownership/permissions changed. Hence, a +simple script or programme may be used to tar up all changed inodes, +prior to shutdown. Although effective, many consider this approach a +kludge. + +A much better approach is to use devfsd to save and restore +permissions. It may be configured to record changes in permissions and +will save them in a database (in fact a directory tree), and restore +these upon boot. This is an efficient method and results in immediate +saving of current permissions (unlike the tar approach, which saves +permissions at some unspecified future time). + +The default configuration file supplied with devfsd has config entries +which you may uncomment to enable persistence management. + +If you decide to use the tar approach anyway, be aware that tar will +first unlink(2) an inode before creating a new device node. The +unlink(2) has the effect of breaking the connection between a devfs +entry and the device driver. If you use the "devfs=only" boot option, +you lose access to the device driver, requiring you to reload the +module. I consider this a bug in tar (there is no real need to +unlink(2) the inode first). + +Alternatively, you can use devfsd to provide more sophisticated +management of device permissions. You can use devfsd to store +permissions for whole groups of devices with a single configuration +entry, rather than the conventional single entry per device entry. + +Permissions database stored in mounted-over /dev + +If you wish to save and restore your device permissions into the +disc-based /dev while still mounting devfs onto /dev +you may do so. This requires a 2.4.x kernel (in fact, 2.3.99 or +later), which has the VFS binding facility. You need to do the +following to set this up: + + + +make sure the kernel does not mount devfs at boot time + + +make sure you have a correct /dev/console entry in your +root file-system (where your disc-based /dev lives) + +create the /dev-state directory + + +add the following lines near the very beginning of your boot +scripts: + +mount --bind /dev /dev-state +mount -t devfs none /dev +devfsd /dev + + + + +add the following lines to your /etc/devfsd.conf file: + +REGISTER ^pt[sy] IGNORE +CREATE ^pt[sy] IGNORE +CHANGE ^pt[sy] IGNORE +DELETE ^pt[sy] IGNORE +REGISTER .* COPY /dev-state/$devname $devpath +CREATE .* COPY $devpath /dev-state/$devname +CHANGE .* COPY $devpath /dev-state/$devname +DELETE .* CFUNCTION GLOBAL unlink /dev-state/$devname +RESTORE /dev-state + +Note that the sample devfsd.conf file contains these lines, +as well as other sample configurations you may find useful. See the +devfsd distribution + + +reboot. + + + + +Permissions database stored in normal directory + +If you are using an older kernel which doesn't support VFS binding, +then you won't be able to have the permissions database in a +mounted-over /dev. However, you can still use a regular +directory to store the database. The sample /etc/devfsd.conf +file above may still be used. You will need to create the +/dev-state directory prior to installing devfsd. If you have +old permissions in /dev, then just copy (or move) the device +nodes over to the new directory. + +Which method is better? + +The best method is to have the permissions database stored in the +mounted-over /dev. This is because you will not need to copy +device nodes over to /dev-state, and because it allows you to +switch between devfs and non-devfs kernels, without requiring you to +copy permissions between /dev-state (for devfs) and +/dev (for non-devfs). + + +Dealing with drivers without devfs support + +Currently, not all device drivers in the kernel have been modified to +use devfs. Device drivers which do not yet have devfs support will not +automagically appear in devfs. The simplest way to create device nodes +for these drivers is to unpack a tarfile containing the required +device nodes. You can do this in your boot scripts. All your drivers +will now work as before. + +Hopefully for most people devfs will have enough support so that they +can mount devfs directly over /dev without losing most functionality +(i.e. losing access to various devices). As of 22-JAN-1998 (devfs +patch version 10) I am now running this way. All the devices I have +are available in devfs, so I don't lose anything. + +WARNING: if your configuration requires the old-style device names +(i.e. /dev/hda1 or /dev/sda1), you must install devfsd and configure +it to maintain compatibility entries. It is almost certain that you +will require this. Note that the kernel creates a compatibility entry +for the root device, so you don't need initrd. + +Note that you no longer need to mount devpts if you use Unix98 PTYs, +as devfs can manage /dev/pts itself. This saves you some RAM, as you +don't need to compile and install devpts. Note that some versions of +glibc have a bug with Unix98 pty handling on devfs systems. Contact +the glibc maintainers for a fix. Glibc 2.1.3 has the fix. + +Note also that apart from editing /etc/fstab, other things will need +to be changed if you *don't* install devfsd. Some software (like the X +server) hard-wire device names in their source. It really is much +easier to install devfsd so that compatibility entries are created. +You can then slowly migrate your system to using the new device names +(for example, by starting with /etc/fstab), and then limiting the +compatibility entries that devfsd creates. + +IF YOU CONFIGURE TO MOUNT DEVFS AT BOOT, MAKE SURE YOU INSTALL DEVFSD +BEFORE YOU BOOT A DEVFS-ENABLED KERNEL! + +Now that devfs has gone into the 2.3.46 kernel, I'm getting a lot of +reports back. Many of these are because people are trying to run +without devfsd, and hence some things break. Please just run devfsd if +things break. I want to concentrate on real bugs rather than +misconfiguration problems at the moment. If people are willing to fix +bugs/false assumptions in other code (i.e. glibc, X server) and submit +that to the respective maintainers, that would be great. + + +All the way with Devfs + +The devfs kernel patch creates a rationalised device tree. As stated +above, if you want to keep using the old /dev naming scheme, +you just need to configure devfsd appopriately (see the man +page). People who prefer the old names can ignore this section. For +those of us who like the rationalised names and an uncluttered +/dev, read on. + +If you don't run devfsd, or don't enable compatibility entry +management, then you will have to configure your system to use the new +names. For example, you will then need to edit your +/etc/fstab to use the new disc naming scheme. If you want to +be able to boot non-devfs kernels, you will need compatibility +symlinks in the underlying disc-based /dev pointing back to +the old-style names for when you boot a kernel without devfs. + +You can selectively decide which devices you want compatibility +entries for. For example, you may only want compatibility entries for +BSD pseudo-terminal devices (otherwise you'll have to patch you C +library or use Unix98 ptys instead). It's just a matter of putting in +the correct regular expression into /dev/devfsd.conf. + +There are other choices of naming schemes that you may prefer. For +example, I don't use the kernel-supplied +names, because they are too verbose. A common misconception is +that the kernel-supplied names are meant to be used directly in +configuration files. This is not the case. They are designed to +reflect the layout of the devices attached and to provide easy +classification. + +If you like the kernel-supplied names, that's fine. If you don't then +you should be using devfsd to construct a namespace more to your +liking. Devfsd has built-in code to construct a +namespace that is both logical and easy to +manage. In essence, it creates a convenient abbreviation of the +kernel-supplied namespace. + +You are of course free to build your own namespace. Devfsd has all the +infrastructure required to make this easy for you. All you need do is +write a script. You can even write some C code and devfsd can load the +shared object as a callable extension. + + +Other Issues + +The init programme +Another thing to take note of is whether your init programme +creates a Unix socket /dev/telinit. Some versions of init +create /dev/telinit so that the telinit programme can +communicate with the init process. If you have such a system you need +to make sure that devfs is mounted over /dev *before* init +starts. In other words, you can't leave the mounting of devfs to +/etc/rc, since this is executed after init. Other +versions of init require a named pipe /dev/initctl +which must exist *before* init starts. Once again, you need to +mount devfs and then create the named pipe *before* init +starts. + +The default behaviour now is not to mount devfs onto /dev at +boot time for 2.3.x and later kernels. You can correct this with the +"devfs=mount" boot option. This solves any problems with init, +and also prevents the dreaded: + +Cannot open initial console + +message. For 2.2.x kernels where you need to apply the devfs patch, +the default is to mount. + +If you have automatic mounting of devfs onto /dev then you +may need to create /dev/initctl in your boot scripts. The +following lines should suffice: + +mknod /dev/initctl p +kill -SIGUSR1 1 # tell init that /dev/initctl now exists + +Alternatively, if you don't want the kernel to mount devfs onto +/dev then you could use the following procedure is a +guideline for how to get around /dev/initctl problems: + +# cd /sbin +# mv init init.real +# cat > init +#! /bin/sh +mount -n -t devfs none /dev +mknod /dev/initctl p +exec /sbin/init.real $* +[control-D] +# chmod a+x init + +Note that newer versions of init create /dev/initctl +automatically, so you don't have to worry about this. + +Module autoloading +You will need to configure devfsd to enable module +autoloading. The following lines should be placed in your +/etc/devfsd.conf file: + +LOOKUP .* MODLOAD + + +As of devfsd-v1.3.10, a generic /etc/modules.devfs +configuration file is installed, which is used by the MODLOAD +action. This should be sufficient for most configurations. If you +require further configuration, edit your /etc/modules.conf +file. The way module autoloading work with devfs is: + + +a process attempts to lookup a device node (e.g. /dev/fred) + + +if that device node does not exist, the full pathname is passed to +devfsd as a string + + +devfsd will pass the string to the modprobe programme (provided the +configuration line shown above is present), and specifies that +/etc/modules.devfs is the configuration file + + +/etc/modules.devfs includes /etc/modules.conf to +access local configurations + +modprobe will search it's configuration files, looking for an alias +that translates the pathname into a module name + + +the translated pathname is then used to load the module. + + +If you wanted a lookup of /dev/fred to load the +mymod module, you would require the following configuration +line in /etc/modules.conf: + +alias /dev/fred mymod + +The /etc/modules.devfs configuration file provides many such +aliases for standard device names. If you look closely at this file, +you will note that some modules require multiple alias configuration +lines. This is required to support module autoloading for old and new +device names. + +Mounting root off a devfs device +If you wish to mount root off a devfs device when you pass the +"devfs=only" boot option, then you need to pass in the +"root=<device>" option to the kernel when booting. If you use +LILO, then you must have this in lilo.conf: + +append = "root=<device>" + +Surprised? Yep, so was I. It turns out if you have (as most people +do): + +root = <device> + + +then LILO will determine the device number of <device> and will +write that device number into a special place in the kernel image +before starting the kernel, and the kernel will use that device number +to mount the root filesystem. So, using the "append" variety ensures +that LILO passes the root filesystem device as a string, which devfs +can then use. + +Note that this isn't an issue if you don't pass "devfs=only". + +TTY issues +The ttyname(3) function in some versions of the C library makes +false assumptions about device entries which are symbolic links. The +tty(1) programme is one that depends on this function. I've +written a patch to libc 5.4.43 which fixes this. This has been +included in libc 5.4.44 and a similar fix is in glibc 2.1.3. + + +Kernel Naming Scheme + +The kernel provides a default naming scheme. This scheme is designed +to make it easy to search for specific devices or device types, and to +view the available devices. Some device types (such as hard discs), +have a directory of entries, making it easy to see what devices of +that class are available. Often, the entries are symbolic links into a +directory tree that reflects the topology of available devices. The +topological tree is useful for finding how your devices are arranged. + +Below is a list of the naming schemes for the most common drivers. A +list of reserved device names is +available for reference. Please send email to +rgooch@atnf.csiro.au to obtain an allocation. Please be +patient (the maintainer is busy). An alternative name may be allocated +instead of the requested name, at the discretion of the maintainer. + +Disc Devices + +All discs, whether SCSI, IDE or whatever, are placed under the +/dev/discs hierarchy: + + /dev/discs/disc0 first disc + /dev/discs/disc1 second disc + + +Each of these entries is a symbolic link to the directory for that +device. The device directory contains: + + disc for the whole disc + part* for individual partitions + + +CD-ROM Devices + +All CD-ROMs, whether SCSI, IDE or whatever, are placed under the +/dev/cdroms hierarchy: + + /dev/cdroms/cdrom0 first CD-ROM + /dev/cdroms/cdrom1 second CD-ROM + + +Each of these entries is a symbolic link to the real device entry for +that device. + +Tape Devices + +All tapes, whether SCSI, IDE or whatever, are placed under the +/dev/tapes hierarchy: + + /dev/tapes/tape0 first tape + /dev/tapes/tape1 second tape + + +Each of these entries is a symbolic link to the directory for that +device. The device directory contains: + + mt for mode 0 + mtl for mode 1 + mtm for mode 2 + mta for mode 3 + mtn for mode 0, no rewind + mtln for mode 1, no rewind + mtmn for mode 2, no rewind + mtan for mode 3, no rewind + + +SCSI Devices + +To uniquely identify any SCSI device requires the following +information: + + controller (host adapter) + bus (SCSI channel) + target (SCSI ID) + unit (Logical Unit Number) + + +All SCSI devices are placed under /dev/scsi (assuming devfs +is mounted on /dev). Hence, a SCSI device with the following +parameters: c=1,b=2,t=3,u=4 would appear as: + + /dev/scsi/host1/bus2/target3/lun4 device directory + + +Inside this directory, a number of device entries may be created, +depending on which SCSI device-type drivers were installed. + +See the section on the disc naming scheme to see what entries the SCSI +disc driver creates. + +See the section on the tape naming scheme to see what entries the SCSI +tape driver creates. + +The SCSI CD-ROM driver creates: + + cd + + +The SCSI generic driver creates: + + generic + + +IDE Devices + +To uniquely identify any IDE device requires the following +information: + + controller + bus (aka. primary/secondary) + target (aka. master/slave) + unit + + +All IDE devices are placed under /dev/ide, and uses a similar +naming scheme to the SCSI subsystem. + +XT Hard Discs + +All XT discs are placed under /dev/xd. The first XT disc has +the directory /dev/xd/disc0. + +TTY devices + +The tty devices now appear as: + + New name Old-name Device Type + -------- -------- ----------- + /dev/tts/{0,1,...} /dev/ttyS{0,1,...} Serial ports + /dev/cua/{0,1,...} /dev/cua{0,1,...} Call out devices + /dev/vc/0 /dev/tty Current virtual console + /dev/vc/{1,2,...} /dev/tty{1...63} Virtual consoles + /dev/vcc/{0,1,...} /dev/vcs{1...63} Virtual consoles + /dev/pty/m{0,1,...} /dev/ptyp?? PTY masters + /dev/pty/s{0,1,...} /dev/ttyp?? PTY slaves + + +RAMDISCS + +The RAMDISCS are placed in their own directory, and are named thus: + + /dev/rd/{0,1,2,...} + + +Meta Devices + +The meta devices are placed in their own directory, and are named +thus: + + /dev/md/{0,1,2,...} + + +Floppy discs + +Floppy discs are placed in the /dev/floppy directory. + +Loop devices + +Loop devices are placed in the /dev/loop directory. + +Sound devices + +Sound devices are placed in the /dev/sound directory +(audio, sequencer, ...). + + +Devfsd Naming Scheme + +Devfsd provides a naming scheme which is a convenient abbreviation of +the kernel-supplied namespace. In some +cases, the kernel-supplied naming scheme is quite convenient, so +devfsd does not provide another naming scheme. The convenience names +that devfsd creates are in fact the same names as the original devfs +kernel patch created (before Linus mandated the Big Name +Change). These are referred to as "new compatibility entries". + +In order to configure devfsd to create these convenience names, the +following lines should be placed in your /etc/devfsd.conf: + +REGISTER .* MKNEWCOMPAT +UNREGISTER .* RMNEWCOMPAT + +This will cause devfsd to create (and destroy) symbolic links which +point to the kernel-supplied names. + +SCSI Hard Discs + +All SCSI discs are placed under /dev/sd (assuming devfs is +mounted on /dev). Hence, a SCSI disc with the following +parameters: c=1,b=2,t=3,u=4 would appear as: + + /dev/sd/c1b2t3u4 for the whole disc + /dev/sd/c1b2t3u4p5 for the 5th partition + /dev/sd/c1b2t3u4p5s6 for the 6th slice in the 5th partition + + +SCSI Tapes + +All SCSI tapes are placed under /dev/st. A similar naming +scheme is used as for SCSI discs. A SCSI tape with the +parameters:c=1,b=2,t=3,u=4 would appear as: + + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m0 for mode 0 + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m1 for mode 1 + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m2 for mode 2 + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m3 for mode 3 + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m0n for mode 0, no rewind + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m1n for mode 1, no rewind + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m2n for mode 2, no rewind + /dev/st/c1b2t3u4m3n for mode 3, no rewind + + +SCSI CD-ROMs + +All SCSI CD-ROMs are placed under /dev/sr. A similar naming +scheme is used as for SCSI discs. A SCSI CD-ROM with the +parameters:c=1,b=2,t=3,u=4 would appear as: + + /dev/sr/c1b2t3u4 + + +SCSI Generic Devices + +The generic (aka. raw) interface for all SCSI devices are placed under +/dev/sg. A similar naming scheme is used as for SCSI discs. A +SCSI generic device with the parameters:c=1,b=2,t=3,u=4 would appear +as: + + /dev/sg/c1b2t3u4 + + +IDE Hard Discs + +All IDE discs are placed under /dev/ide/hd, using a similar +convention to SCSI discs. The following mappings exist between the new +and the old names: + + /dev/hda /dev/ide/hd/c0b0t0u0 + /dev/hdb /dev/ide/hd/c0b0t1u0 + /dev/hdc /dev/ide/hd/c0b1t0u0 + /dev/hdd /dev/ide/hd/c0b1t1u0 + + +IDE Tapes + +A similar naming scheme is used as for IDE discs. The entries will +appear in the /dev/ide/mt directory. + +IDE CD-ROM + +A similar naming scheme is used as for IDE discs. The entries will +appear in the /dev/ide/cd directory. + +IDE Floppies + +A similar naming scheme is used as for IDE discs. The entries will +appear in the /dev/ide/fd directory. + +XT Hard Discs + +All XT discs are placed under /dev/xd. The first XT disc +would appear as /dev/xd/c0t0. + + +Old Compatibility Names + +The old compatibility names are the legacy device names, such as +/dev/hda, /dev/sda, /dev/rtc and so on. +Devfsd can be configured to create compatibility symlinks so that you +may continue to use the old names in your configuration files and so +that old applications will continue to function correctly. + +In order to configure devfsd to create these legacy names, the +following lines should be placed in your /etc/devfsd.conf: + +REGISTER .* MKOLDCOMPAT +UNREGISTER .* RMOLDCOMPAT + +This will cause devfsd to create (and destroy) symbolic links which +point to the kernel-supplied names. + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Device drivers currently ported + +- All miscellaneous character devices support devfs (this is done + transparently through misc_register()) + +- SCSI discs and generic hard discs + +- Character memory devices (null, zero, full and so on) + Thanks to C. Scott Ananian <cananian@alumni.princeton.edu> + +- Loop devices (/dev/loop?) + +- TTY devices (console, serial ports, terminals and pseudo-terminals) + Thanks to C. Scott Ananian <cananian@alumni.princeton.edu> + +- SCSI tapes (/dev/scsi and /dev/tapes) + +- SCSI CD-ROMs (/dev/scsi and /dev/cdroms) + +- SCSI generic devices (/dev/scsi) + +- RAMDISCS (/dev/ram?) + +- Meta Devices (/dev/md*) + +- Floppy discs (/dev/floppy) + +- Parallel port printers (/dev/printers) + +- Sound devices (/dev/sound) + Thanks to Eric Dumas <dumas@linux.eu.org> and + C. Scott Ananian <cananian@alumni.princeton.edu> + +- Joysticks (/dev/joysticks) + +- Sparc keyboard (/dev/kbd) + +- DSP56001 digital signal processor (/dev/dsp56k) + +- Apple Desktop Bus (/dev/adb) + +- Coda network file system (/dev/cfs*) + +- Virtual console capture devices (/dev/vcc) + Thanks to Dennis Hou <smilax@mindmeld.yi.org> + +- Frame buffer devices (/dev/fb) + +- Video capture devices (/dev/v4l) + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Allocation of Device Numbers + +Devfs allows you to write a driver which doesn't need to allocate a +device number (major&minor numbers) for the internal operation of the +kernel. However, there are a number of userspace programmes that use +the device number as a unique handle for a device. An example is the +find programme, which uses device numbers to determine whether +an inode is on a different filesystem than another inode. The device +number used is the one for the block device which a filesystem is +using. To preserve compatibility with userspace programmes, block +devices using devfs need to have unique device numbers allocated to +them. Furthermore, POSIX specifies device numbers, so some kind of +device number needs to be presented to userspace. + +The simplest option (especially when porting drivers to devfs) is to +keep using the old major and minor numbers. Devfs will take whatever +values are given for major&minor and pass them onto userspace. + +This device number is a 16 bit number, so this leaves plenty of space +for large numbers of discs and partitions. This scheme can also be +used for character devices, in particular the tty devices, which are +currently limited to 256 pseudo-ttys (this limits the total number of +simultaneous xterms and remote logins). Note that the device number +is limited to the range 36864-61439 (majors 144-239), in order to +avoid any possible conflicts with existing official allocations. + +Please note that using dynamically allocated block device numbers may +break the NFS daemons (both user and kernel mode), which expect dev_t +for a given device to be constant over the lifetime of remote mounts. + +A final note on this scheme: since it doesn't increase the size of +device numbers, there are no compatibility issues with userspace. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Questions and Answers + + +Making things work +Alternatives to devfs +What I don't like about devfs +How to report bugs +Strange kernel messages +Compilation problems with devfsd + + + +Making things work + +Here are some common questions and answers. + + + +Devfsd doesn't start + +Make sure you have compiled and installed devfsd +Make sure devfsd is being started from your boot +scripts +Make sure you have configured your kernel to enable devfs (see +below) +Make sure devfs is mounted (see below) + + +Devfsd is not managing all my permissions + +Make sure you are capturing the appropriate events. For example, +device entries created by the kernel generate REGISTER events, +but those created by devfsd generate CREATE events. + + +Devfsd is not capturing all REGISTER events + +See the previous entry: you may need to capture CREATE events. + + +X will not start + +Make sure you followed the steps +outlined above. + + +Why don't my network devices appear in devfs? + +This is not a bug. Network devices have their own, completely separate +namespace. They are accessed via socket(2) and +setsockopt(2) calls, and thus require no device nodes. I have +raised the possibilty of moving network devices into the device +namespace, but have had no response. + + +How can I test if I have devfs compiled into my kernel? + +All filesystems built-in or currently loaded are listed in +/proc/filesystems. If you see a devfs entry, then +you know that devfs was compiled into your kernel. If you have +correctly configured and rebuilt your kernel, then devfs will be +built-in. If you think you've configured it in, but +/proc/filesystems doesn't show it, you've made a mistake. +Common mistakes include: + +Using a 2.2.x kernel without applying the devfs patch (if you +don't know how to patch your kernel, use 2.4.x instead, don't bother +asking me how to patch) +Forgetting to set CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL=y +Forgetting to set CONFIG_DEVFS_FS=y +Forgetting to set CONFIG_DEVFS_MOUNT=y (if you want devfs +to be automatically mounted at boot) +Editing your .config manually, instead of using make +config or make xconfig +Forgetting to run make dep; make clean after changing the +configuration and before compiling +Forgetting to compile your kernel and modules +Forgetting to install your kernel +Forgetting to install your modules + +Please check twice that you've done all these steps before sending in +a bug report. + + + +How can I test if devfs is mounted on /dev? + +The device filesystem will always create an entry called +".devfsd", which is used to communicate with the daemon. Even +if the daemon is not running, this entry will exist. Testing for the +existence of this entry is the approved method of determining if devfs +is mounted or not. Note that the type of entry (i.e. regular file, +character device, named pipe, etc.) may change without notice. Only +the existence of the entry should be relied upon. + + +When I start devfsd, I see the error: +Error opening file: ".devfsd" No such file or directory? + +This means that devfs is not mounted. Make sure you have devfs mounted. + + +How do I mount devfs? + +First make sure you have devfs compiled into your kernel (see +above). Then you will either need to: + +set CONFIG_DEVFS_MOUNT=y in your kernel config +pass devfs=mount to your boot loader +mount devfs manually in your boot scripts with: +mount -t none devfs /dev + + + +Mount by volume LABEL=<label> doesn't work with +devfs + +Most probably you are not mounting devfs onto /dev. What +happens is that if your kernel config has CONFIG_DEVFS_FS=y +then the contents of /proc/partitions will have the devfs +names (such as scsi/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part1). The +contents of /proc/partitions are used by mount(8) when +mounting by volume label. If devfs is not mounted on /dev, +then mount(8) will fail to find devices. The solution is to +make sure that devfs is mounted on /dev. See above for how to +do that. + + +I have extra or incorrect entries in /dev + +You may have stale entries in your dev-state area. Check for a +RESTORE configuration line in your devfsd configuration +(typically /etc/devfsd.conf). If you have this line, check +the contents of the specified directory for stale entries. Remove +any entries which are incorrect, then reboot. + + +I get "Unable to open initial console" messages at boot + +This usually happens when you don't have devfs automounted onto +/dev at boot time, and there is no valid +/dev/console entry on your root file-system. Create a valid +/dev/console device node. + + + + + +Alternatives to devfs + +I've attempted to collate all the anti-devfs proposals and explain +their limitations. Under construction. + + +Why not just pass device create/remove events to a daemon? + +Here the suggestion is to develop an API in the kernel so that devices +can register create and remove events, and a daemon listens for those +events. The daemon would then populate/depopulate /dev (which +resides on disc). + +This has several limitations: + + +it only works for modules loaded and unloaded (or devices inserted +and removed) after the kernel has finished booting. Without a database +of events, there is no way the daemon could fully populate +/dev + + +if you add a database to this scheme, the question is then how to +present that database to user-space. If you make it a list of strings +with embedded event codes which are passed through a pipe to the +daemon, then this is only of use to the daemon. I would argue that the +natural way to present this data is via a filesystem (since many of +the events will be of a hierarchical nature), such as devfs. +Presenting the data as a filesystem makes it easy for the user to see +what is available and also makes it easy to write scripts to scan the +"database" + + +the tight binding between device nodes and drivers is no longer +possible (requiring the otherwise perfectly avoidable +table lookups) + + +you cannot catch inode lookup events on /dev which means +that module autoloading requires device nodes to be created. This is a +problem, particularly for drivers where only a few inodes are created +from a potentially large set + + +this technique can't be used when the root FS is mounted +read-only + + + + +Just implement a better scsidev + +This suggestion involves taking the scsidev programme and +extending it to scan for all devices, not just SCSI devices. The +scsidev programme works by scanning /proc/scsi + +Problems: + + +the kernel does not currently provide a list of all devices +available. Not all drivers register entries in /proc or +generate kernel messages + + +there is no uniform mechanism to register devices other than the +devfs API + + +implementing such an API is then the same as the +proposal above + + + + +Put /dev on a ramdisc + +This suggestion involves creating a ramdisc and populating it with +device nodes and then mounting it over /dev. + +Problems: + + + +this doesn't help when mounting the root filesystem, since you +still need a device node to do that + + +if you want to use this technique for the root device node as +well, you need to use initrd. This complicates the booting sequence +and makes it significantly harder to administer and configure. The +initrd is essentially opaque, robbing the system administrator of easy +configuration + + +insufficient information is available to correctly populate the +ramdisc. So we come back to the +proposal above to "solve" this + + +a ramdisc-based solution would take more kernel memory, since the +backing store would be (at best) normal VFS inodes and dentries, which +take 284 bytes and 112 bytes, respectively, for each entry. Compare +that to 72 bytes for devfs + + + + +Do nothing: there's no problem + +Sometimes people can be heard to claim that the existing scheme is +fine. This is what they're ignoring: + + +device number size (8 bits each for major and minor) is a real +limitation, and must be fixed somehow. Systems with large numbers of +SCSI devices, for example, will continue to consume the remaining +unallocated major numbers. USB will also need to push beyond the 8 bit +minor limitation + + +simply increasing the device number size is insufficient. Apart +from causing a lot of pain, it doesn't solve the management issues +of a /dev with thousands or more device nodes + + +ignoring the problem of a huge /dev will not make it go +away, and dismisses the legitimacy of a large number of people who +want a dynamic /dev + + +the standard response then becomes: "write a device management +daemon", which brings us back to the +proposal above + + + + +What I don't like about devfs + +Here are some common complaints about devfs, and some suggestions and +solutions that may make it more palatable for you. I can't please +everybody, but I do try :-) + +I hate the naming scheme + +First, remember that no naming scheme will please everybody. You hate +the scheme, others love it. Who's to say who's right and who's wrong? +Ultimately, the person who writes the code gets to choose, and what +exists now is a combination of the choices made by the +devfs author and the +kernel maintainer (Linus). + +However, not all is lost. If you want to create your own naming +scheme, it is a simple matter to write a standalone script, hack +devfsd, or write a script called by devfsd. You can create whatever +naming scheme you like. + +Further, if you want to remove all traces of the devfs naming scheme +from /dev, you can mount devfs elsewhere (say +/devfs) and populate /dev with links into +/devfs. This population can be automated using devfsd if you +wish. + +You can even use the VFS binding facility to make the links, rather +than using symbolic links. This way, you don't even have to see the +"destination" of these symbolic links. + +Devfs puts policy into the kernel + +There's already policy in the kernel. Device numbers are in fact +policy (why should the kernel dictate what device numbers I use?). +Face it, some policy has to be in the kernel. The real difference +between device names as policy and device numbers as policy is that +no one will use device numbers directly, because device +numbers are devoid of meaning to humans and are ugly. At least with +the devfs device names, (even though you can add your own naming +scheme) some people will use the devfs-supplied names directly. This +offends some people :-) + +Devfs is bloatware + +This is not even remotely true. As shown above, +both code and data size are quite modest. + + +How to report bugs + +If you have (or think you have) a bug with devfs, please follow the +steps below: + + + +make sure you have enabled debugging output when configuring your +kernel. You will need to set (at least) the following config options: + +CONFIG_DEVFS_DEBUG=y +CONFIG_DEBUG_KERNEL=y +CONFIG_DEBUG_SLAB=y + + + +please make sure you have the latest devfs patches applied. The +latest kernel version might not have the latest devfs patches applied +yet (Linus is very busy) + + +save a copy of your complete kernel logs (preferably by +using the dmesg programme) for later inclusion in your bug +report. You may need to use the -s switch to increase the +internal buffer size so you can capture all the boot messages. +Don't edit or trim the dmesg output + + + + +try booting with devfs=dall passed to the kernel boot +command line (read the documentation on your bootloader on how to do +this), and save the result to a file. This may be quite verbose, and +it may overflow the messages buffer, but try to get as much of it as +you can + + +if you get an Oops, run ksymoops to decode it so that the +names of the offending functions are provided. A non-decoded Oops is +pretty useless + + +send a copy of your devfsd configuration file(s) + +send the bug report to me first. +Don't expect that I will see it if you post it to the linux-kernel +mailing list. Include all the information listed above, plus +anything else that you think might be relevant. Put the string +devfs somewhere in the subject line, so my mail filters mark +it as urgent + + + + +Here is a general guide on how to ask questions in a way that greatly +improves your chances of getting a reply: + +http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html. If you have +a bug to report, you should also read + +http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html. + + +Strange kernel messages + +You may see devfs-related messages in your kernel logs. Below are some +messages and what they mean (and what you should do about them, if +anything). + + + +devfs_register(fred): could not append to parent, err: -17 + +You need to check what the error code means, but usually 17 means +EEXIST. This means that a driver attempted to create an entry +fred in a directory, but there already was an entry with that +name. This is often caused by flawed boot scripts which untar a bunch +of inodes into /dev, as a way to restore permissions. This +message is harmless, as the device nodes will still +provide access to the driver (unless you use the devfs=only +boot option, which is only for dedicated souls:-). If you want to get +rid of these annoying messages, upgrade to devfsd-v1.3.20 and use the +recommended RESTORE directive to restore permissions. + + +devfs_mk_dir(bill): using old entry in dir: c1808724 "" + +This is similar to the message above, except that a driver attempted +to create a directory named bill, and the parent directory +has an entry with the same name. In this case, to ensure that drivers +continue to work properly, the old entry is re-used and given to the +driver. In 2.5 kernels, the driver is given a NULL entry, and thus, +under rare circumstances, may not create the require device nodes. +The solution is the same as above. + + + + + +Compilation problems with devfsd + +Usually, you can compile devfsd just by typing in +make in the source directory, followed by a make +install (as root). Sometimes, you may have problems, particularly +on broken configurations. + + + +error messages relating to DEVFSD_NOTIFY_DELETE + +This happened because you have an ancient set of kernel headers +installed in /usr/include/linux or /usr/src/linux. +Install kernel 2.4.10 or later. You may need to pass the +KERNEL_DIR variable to make (if you did not install +the new kernel sources as /usr/src/linux), or you may copy +the devfs_fs.h file in the kernel source tree into +/usr/include/linux. + + + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Other resources + + + +Douglas Gilbert has written a useful document at + +http://www.torque.net/sg/devfs_scsi.html which +explores the SCSI subsystem and how it interacts with devfs + + +Douglas Gilbert has written another useful document at + +http://www.torque.net/scsi/SCSI-2.4-HOWTO/ which +discusses the Linux SCSI subsystem in 2.4. + + +Johannes Erdfelt has started a discussion paper on Linux and +hot-swap devices, describing what the requirements are for a scalable +solution and how and why he's used devfs+devfsd. Note that this is an +early draft only, available in plain text form at: + +http://johannes.erdfelt.com/hotswap.txt. +Johannes has promised a HTML version will follow. + + +I presented an invited +paper +at the + +2nd Annual Storage Management Workshop held in Miamia, Florida, +U.S.A. in October 2000. + + + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Translations of this document + +This document has been translated into other languages. + + + + +The document master (in English) by rgooch@atnf.csiro.au is +available at + +http://www.atnf.csiro.au/~rgooch/linux/docs/devfs.html + + + +A Korean translation by viatoris@nownuri.net is available at + +http://your.destiny.pe.kr/devfs/devfs.html + + + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- +Most flags courtesy of ITA's +Flags of All Countries +used with permission. |
