The Linux Kernel, Kernel Modules And Hardware Drivers

Table of contents

• Introduction
• The Linux Kernel
  • The Kernel, The Processes And The Hardware
• Hardware Diagnostics
  • The lspci Command
  • Using Your Eyes
  • Verification Via The /proc Directory
• Device files
  • The /dev directory
  • Character Device Vs. Block Device
• Kernel Modules
  • Listing Loaded Modules With lsmod
  • The /lib/modules Directory
• Loading And Unloading Kernel Modules - insmod/rmmod
  • Handling Kernel Module Dependencies - depmod and modprobe
  • The /etc/modules.conf file
  • Getting Information About A Kernel Module - modinfo
• Standard Kernel Drivers
  • What If Our Driver Is Not Compiled?
• Summary

Originally written by guy keren