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MODPROBE
!!!MODPROBE
NAME
SYNOPSIS
OPTIONS
DESCRIPTION
CONFIGURATION
STRATEGY
EXAMPLES
FILES
SEE ALSO
SAFE MODE
LOGGING COMMANDS
REQUIRED UTILITIES
NOTES
BUGS
AUTHOR
----
!!NAME


modprobe - high level handling of loadable modules
!!SYNOPSIS


__modprobe__ [[-adnqv] [[-C ''config''] module
[[symbol=value ...]__
modprobe__ [[-adnqv] [[-C ''config''] [[-t ''type'']
pattern__
modprobe__ -l [[-C ''config''] [[-t ''type'']
pattern__
modprobe__ -c [[-C ''config'']__
modprobe__ -r [[-dnv] [[-C ''config''] [[module
...]__
modprobe__ -Vh
!!OPTIONS


__-a__, __--all__


Load __all__ matching modules instead of stopping after
the first successful loading.


__-c__, __--showconfig__


Show the currently used configuration.


__-C__, __--config__ ''config''


Use the file ''config'' instead of (the optional)
''/etc/modules.conf'' to specify the configuration. The
environment variable __MODULECONF__ can also be used to
select (and override) a different configuration file from
the default /etc/modules.conf (or ''/etc/conf.modules''
(deprecated)).


__-d__, __--debug__


Show information about the internal representation of the
stack of modules.


__-h__, __--help__


Display a summary of options and immediately
exit.


__-k__, __--autoclean__


Set 'autoclean' on loaded modules. Used by the kernel when
it calls on __modprobe__ to satisfy a missing feature
(supplied as a module). The __-q__ option is implied by
__-k__. These options will automatically be sent to
__insmod__.


__-l__, __--list__


List matching modules.


__-n__, __--show__


Don't actually perform the action, just show what would be
done.


__-q__, __--quiet__


Do not complain about __insmod__ failing to install a
module. Continue as normal, but silently, with other
possibilities for modprobe to test. This option will
automatically be sent to __insmod__.


__-r__, __--remove__


Remove module (stacks) or do autoclean, depending on whether
there are any modules mentioned on the command
line.


__-s__, __--syslog__


Report via syslog instead of stderr. This options will
automatically be sent to __insmod__.


__-t__ ''moduletype''; __--type__
''moduletype''


Only consider modules of this type. modprobe will only look
at modules whose directory path includes exactly
/moduletype/''''moduletype'' can
include more than one directory name, e.g. ''-t__
''drivers/net''
''xxx/drivers/net/'' and its subdirectories.


__-v__, __--verbose__


Print all commands as they are executed.


__-V, --version__


Display the version of __modprobe__.


__Note:__


Module names must not contain paths (no '/'), nor may they
contain the trailing '.o'. For example, slip is a valid
module name for __modprobe__,
/lib/modules/2.2.19/net/slip and slip.o are invalid. This
applies to the command line and to entries in the
config.
!!DESCRIPTION


The __modprobe__ and __depmod__ utilities are intended
to make a Linux modular kernel more manageable for all
users, administrators and distribution
maintainers.


__Modprobe__ uses a
__depmod__, to automatically load the
relevant module(s) from the set of modules available in
predefined directory trees.


__Modprobe__ is used to load a single module, a stack of
dependent modules, or all modules that are marked with a
specified tag.


__Modprobe__ will automatically load all base modules
needed in a module stack, as described by the dependency
file ''modules.dep''. If the loading of one of these
modules fails, the whole current stack of modules loaded in
the current session will be unloaded
automatically.


__Modprobe__ has two ways of loading modules. One way
(the probe mode) will try to load a module out of a list
(defined by ''pattern''). __Modprobe__ stops loading
as soon as one module loads successfully. This could be used
to autoload one Ethernet driver out of a list.
The other way __modprobe__ can be used is to load
__all__ modules from a list. See __EXAMPLES__,
below.


With the option __-r__, modprobe will automatically
unload a stack of modules, similar to the way __rmmod
-r____modprobe
-r__
__/etc/modules.conf''.


The combining the options __-l__ and __-t__ lists all
available modules of a certain type.


Option __-c__ will print the currently used configuration
(default + configuration file).
!!CONFIGURATION


The behavior of __modprobe__ (and __depmod__) can be
modified by the (optional) configuration file
''/etc/modules.conf''.
For a more detailed description of what this file can
contain, as well as the default configuration used by
__depmod__ and __modprobe__, see
modules.conf(5).


Note that the pre- and post-remove commands will __not__
be executed if a module is
__
If you want to use the pre- and post-install features, you
will have to turn off autoclean for kerneld and instead put
something like the following line in your __crontab__
(this is used for kmod systems as well) to do autoclean
every 2 minutes:
*/2 * * * * test -f /proc/modules
!!STRATEGY


The idea is that __modprobe__ will look first in the
directory containing modules compiled for the current
release of the kernel. If the module is not found there,
__modprobe__ will look in the directory common to the
kernel version (e.g. 2.0, 2.2). If the module is still
found, __modprobe__ will look in the directory containing
modules for a default release, and so on.


When you install a new linux, the modules should be moved to
a directory related to the release (and version) of the
kernel you are installing. Then you should do a symlink from
this directory to the


Each time you compile a new kernel, the command
make modules_install__
__


When you get a module unrelated to the kernel distribution
you should place it in one of the version-independent
directories under ''/lib/modules''.


This is the default strategy, which can be overridden in
''/etc/modules.conf''.
!!EXAMPLES


__modprobe -t net__


Load one of the modules that are stored in the directory
tagged


__modprobe -a -t boot__


All modules that are stored in directories tagged


__modprobe slip__


This will attempt to load the module slhc.o if it was not
previously loaded, since the slip module needs the
functionality in the slhc module. This dependency will be
described in the file ''modules.dep'' that was created
automatically by __depmod__.


__modprobe -r slip__


This will unload the slip module. It will also unload the
slhc module automatically, unless it is used by some other
module as well (e.g. ppp).
!!FILES


''/etc/modules.conf'' (alternatively but deprecated ''/etc/conf.modules'')
''/lib/modules/*/modules.dep'',
''/lib/modules/*
''
!!SEE ALSO


depmod(8), lsmod(8), kerneld(8),
ksyms(8), rmmod(8).
!!SAFE MODE


If the effective uid is not equal to the real uid then
__modprobe__ treats its input with extreme suspicion. The
last parameter is always treated as a module name, even if
it starts with '-'. There can only be one module name and
options of the form
__


euid may not be equal to uid when modprobe is invoked from
the kernel, this is true for kernels
modprobe__ could trust the kernel to
only pass valid parameters to modprobe. However at least one
local root exploit has occurred because high level kernel
code passed unverified parameters direct from the user to
modprobe. So modprobe no longer trusts kernel
input.


__modprobe__ automatically sets safe mode when the
environment consists only of these strings


 HOME=/
TERM=linux
PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin
This detects modprobe execution from the kernel on kernels 2.2 though 2.4.0-test11, even if uid == euid, which it does on the earlier kernels.
!!LOGGING COMMANDS


If directory ''/var/log/ksymoops'' exists and
__modprobe__ is run with an option that could load or a
delete a module then modprobe will log its command and
return status in ''/var/log/ksymoops/`date
+%Y%m%d.log`''. There is no switch to disable this
automatic logging, if you do not want it to occur, do not
create ''/var/log/ksymoops''. If that directory exists,
it should be owned by root and be mode 644 or 600 and you
should run script __insmod_ksymoops_clean__ every day or
so.
!!REQUIRED UTILITIES


depmod(8), insmod(8).
!!NOTES


Patterns supplied to __modprobe__ will often need to be
escaped to ensure that it is evaluated in the proper
context.
!!BUGS


__modprobe__ [[ __-V__ | __--version__ ] should exit
immediately. Instead, it prints the version information and
behaves as if no options were given.
!!AUTHOR


Jacques Gelinas (jack@solucorp.qc.ca)
Bjorn Ekwall (bj0rn@blox.se)
----
15 pages link to modprobe(8):
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Last edited on Tuesday, June 4, 2002 12:31:16 am by "perry"
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