insf(1M)insf(1M)NAMEinsf - install special (device) files
SYNOPSIS
class | driver] directory] hw-path] instance] npty] nstrpty]
DESCRIPTION
The command installs special files in the devices directory, normally
If required, creates any subdirectories that are defined for the
resulting special file. Both the legacy and persistent device special
files (see intro(7)) are created, unless specified.
If no options are specified, special files are created for all new
devices in the system. New devices are those devices for which no spe‐
cial files have been previously created. A subset of the new devices
can be selected with the and options.
With the option, reinstalls the special files for pseudo-drivers and
existing devices. This is useful for restoring special files when one
or more have been removed.
Normally, displays a message as the special files are installed for
each driver. The (quiet) option suppresses the installation message.
The (verbose) option displays the installation message and the name of
each special file as it is created.
With the option, enables the legacy naming model. If the option is
included, also displays the current mode, legacy, or agile without
changing the current mode.
Options
recognizes the following options.
Match devices that belong to a given device class,
class. Device classes can be listed with the
command (see lsdev(1M)). The special class
includes all pseudo-drivers. This option cannot
be used with
Match devices that are controlled by the specified device
driver,
driver. Device drivers can be listed with the
command (see lsdev(1M)). This option cannot be
used with
Override the default device installation directory
and install the special files in directory
instead. directory must exist; otherwise, dis‐
plays an error message and exits. See
Reinstall the special files for pseudo-drivers and existing
devices.
This is useful for restoring special files if one
or more have been removed.
Match devices at a given hardware path,
hw-path. Hardware paths can be listed with the
command (see ioscan(1M)). A hardware path speci‐
fies the addresses of the hardware components
leading to a device. It consists of a string of
numbers separated by periods such as (a card), (a
target address), and (a device). If a hardware
component is a bus converter, the following
period, if any, is replaced by a slash as in and
If the specified path contains fewer numbers than
are necessary to reach a device, special files
are made for all devices at addresses that extend
the given path. If the specified path is then
special files are made for the devices at
addresses etc. In the agile view (see intro(7)),
the devices will have new hardware path formats,
which can be displayed using the command with
option (see ioscan(1M)).
Match a device with the specified
instance number. Instances can be listed with
the option of the command (see ioscan(1M)).
This option is effective only if the option is
specified or if an appropriate device class or
driver is specified with a or option.
Enable the legacy naming model.
This command reinstalls the legacy I/O nodes and
legacy device special files which might have been
removed with (see rmsf(1M)). When used with the
option, reports on whether legacy mode is enabled
or disabled.
Install npty special files for each specified and driver.
The driver specifies both the and drivers. npty
is a decimal number.
This option is effective only if the option is
specified or if an appropriate device class or
driver is specified with a or option.
If this option is omitted, npty defaults to 60
for the and drivers.
Quiet option. Normally, displays a message as each driver is
processed. This option suppresses the driver
message, but not error messages. See the option.
Install nstrpty slave-side stream special files for the
driver. nstrpty is a decimal number. This
option only applies to the special file installa‐
tion.
This option is effective only if the option is
specified or if an appropriate device class or
driver is specified with a or option.
If this option is omitted, nstrpty defaults to
60.
Verbose option.
In addition to the normal processing message,
display the name of each special file as it is
created. See the option.
Naming Conventions
Some special files follow a naming convention, where class is the
driver class, and instance is the instance number assigned by the oper‐
ating system to the device.
Many other special files are named using the naming convention. These
variables have the following meaning wherever they are used.
card The unique interface card identification number from
(see ioscan(1M)). It is represented as a decimal num‐
ber.
target The device target number, for example the address on a
HP-FL or SCSI bus. It is represented as a decimal
number with a typical range of 0 to 15.
device A address unit within a device, for example, the unit
in a HP-FL device or the LUN in a SCSI device. It is
represented as a decimal number with a typical range
of 0 to 15.
Special Files
This subsection shows which special files are created and the permis‐
sions for each of the supported device drivers.
The special file names are relative to the installation directory, nor‐
mally This directory may be overridden with the option.
sets the file permissions and the owner and group IDs. They are shown
here in a format similar to that of the command:
special-file permissions owner group
For example:
The following special file is installed:
For the built-in serial port, the
following special files are
installed for
each card instance:
Direct
con‐
nect
For the SAS console ports, the
following special files are
installed for
each card instance:
local
con‐
sole
port
(direct
con‐
nect)
remote
ses‐
sion
port
(direct
con‐
nect)
inter‐
nal
con‐
sole
port
(direct
con‐
nect)
UPS
port
(direct
con‐
nect)
local
ses‐
sion
port
(direct
con‐
nect)
The following special files are
installed:
The
fol‐
lowing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed.
Note
the
under‐
score
before
card
in
each
spe‐
cial
file
name.
For
card
0,
the
device
files
are
linked
to
files
with‐
out
the
trail‐
ing
in
their
names.
Default
audio
device
Audio
con‐
trol
device
All
out‐
puts,
A-
law
for‐
mat
All
out‐
puts,
16-bit
lin‐
ear
for‐
mat
All
out‐
puts,
Mu-
law
for‐
mat
Exter‐
nal
out‐
put,
A-
law
for‐
mat
Exter‐
nal
out‐
put,
16-bit
lin‐
ear
for‐
mat
Exter‐
nal
out‐
put,
Mu-
law
for‐
mat
Inter‐
nal
speaker
out‐
put,
A-
law
for‐
mat
Inter‐
nal
speaker
out‐
put,
16-bit
lin‐
ear
for‐
mat
Inter‐
nal
speaker
out‐
put,
Mu-
law
for‐
mat
Line
out‐
put,
A-
law
for‐
mat
Line
out‐
put,
16
bit
lin‐
ear
for‐
mat
Line
out‐
put,
Mu-
law
for‐
mat
No
out‐
put,
A-
law
for‐
mat
No
out‐
put,
16
bit
lin‐
ear
for‐
mat
No
out‐
put,
Mu-
law
for‐
mat
The
fol‐
lowing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed.
Hand‐
shake
mode
2,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Direct
con‐
nect
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
For
each
disk
device,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Block
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
disc3
instances,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
addi‐
tional
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Block
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
disk
instances
that
are
par‐
ti‐
tioned,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
addi‐
tional
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Block
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
For
each
driver
instances
of
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Block
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
disk
instances
that
are
par‐
ti‐
tioned,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
addi‐
tional
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Block
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
each
driver
instances
of
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
For
each
graph‐
ics
device,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed.
device_num‐
ber
is
0
indexed
and
is
assigned
in
the
order
in
which
the
devices
appear
in
out‐
put.
If
the
con‐
sole
device
is
a
graph‐
ics
device,
the
files
and
are
cre‐
ated
as
the
con‐
sole
device.
If
the
con‐
sole
is
not
a
graph‐
ics
device,
and
are
iden‐
ti‐
cal
to
and
For
each
device,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed.
Note
the
under‐
score
before
card
in
each
spe‐
cial
file
name.
For
card
0,
the
device
files
are
linked
to
files
named
for
the
link
addresses
1
to
7;
for
the
cooked
key‐
board
device;
and
for
the
con‐
troller
device.
addr:
link
addresses
to
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Nor‐
mal
access
Exclu‐
sive
access
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Minor
Minor
Minor
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
For
each
instance
of
a
6-chan‐
nel
card,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
port:
to
direct
con‐
nect
For
each
instance
of
a
16-chan‐
nel
card,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
port:
to
direct
con‐
nect
For
each
instance
of
an
16-chan‐
nel
card,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
port:
to
direct
con‐
nect
For
each
card
instance
of
an
8-chan‐
nel
card,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
port:
to
direct
con‐
nect
For
each
card
instance
of
an
3-chan‐
nel
card,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
port:
and
direct
con‐
nect
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
port:
and
direct
con‐
nect
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
For
each
instance
of
a
PCI
mux
card,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
"Direct
Con‐
nect"
spe‐
cial
files
are
cre‐
ated.
The
term
card
below
refers
to
the
instance
num‐
ber
of
the
mux
card.
port_mod‐
ule:
to
port
mod‐
ule
name
port:
to
port
num‐
ber
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Block
entry
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Autosearch
for
first
ps2
key‐
board
Autosearch
for
first
ps2
mouse
ps2
port
0
ps2
port
1
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
num‐
ber:
to
Spec‐
i‐
fy‐
ing
this
driver
tells to
install
the
spe‐
cial
files
for
both
the
mas‐
ter
and
slave
pty
driv‐
ers,
and
The
com‐
mand
is
equiv‐
a‐
lent
to
the
two
com‐
mands
and
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
index:
to
to
to
num‐
ber:
to
(hexa‐
dec‐
i‐
mal)
The
first
48
spe‐
cial
files
are
linked
to
index:
to
to
to
num‐
ber:
to
index:
to
to
to
num‐
ber:
to
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
index:
to
to
to
num‐
ber:
to
(hexa‐
dec‐
i‐
mal)
The
first
48
spe‐
cial
files
are
linked
to
index:
to
to
to
num‐
ber:
to
index:
to
to
to
num‐
ber:
to
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
For
each
card
instance,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
port:
to
direct
con‐
nect
Spe‐
cial
file
names
for use
the
for‐
mat:
For
each
autochanger
device,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
Char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
See
See
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
For
each
driver
instance,
dif‐
fer‐
ent
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed
depend‐
ing
on
the
num‐
ber
of
char‐
ac‐
ters
allowed
in
the
tar‐
get
direc‐
tory.
There
are
two
lists
below,
one
for
long
file
name
direc‐
to‐
ries
and
one
for
short
file
name
direc‐
to‐
ries
(14
char‐
ac‐
ters
max‐
i‐
mum).
Note
that
the
first
four
spe‐
cial
files
in
each
list
for
tape
driver
instances
0-9
are
also
linked
to
and
respec‐
tively.
For
instal‐
la‐
tion
in
a
long
file
name
direc‐
tory:
AT&T-
style,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
Berke‐
ley-
style,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
AT&T-
style,
no
rewind,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
Berke‐
ley-
style,
no
rewind,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
instal‐
la‐
tion
in
a
short
file
name
direc‐
tory:
AT&T-
style,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
Berke‐
ley-
style,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
AT&T-
style,
no
rewind,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
Berke‐
ley-
style,
no
rewind,
best
avail‐
able
den‐
sity,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
both
long
and
short
file
name
direc‐
to‐
ries,
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
addi‐
tional
files
are
cre‐
ated.
Tape
con‐
fig‐
u‐
ra‐
tion,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
For
only,
diag‐
nos‐
tic
access,
char‐
ac‐
ter
entry
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
See
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
files
are
installed:
num‐
ber:
to
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
The
fol‐
low‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file
is
installed:
RETURN
VALUE
exits
with
one
of
the
fol‐
low‐
ing
val‐
ues:
Suc‐
cess‐
ful
com‐
ple‐
tion,
includ‐
ing
warn‐
ing
diag‐
nos‐
tics.
Fail‐
ure.
DIAG‐
NOS‐
TICS
Most
diag‐
nos‐
tic
mes‐
sages
from
are
self-
explana‐
tory.
Listed
below
are
some
mes‐
sages
deserv‐
ing
fur‐
ther
clar‐
i‐
fi‐
ca‐
tion.
Warn‐
ings
The
indi‐
cated
device
driver
or
device
class
is
not
present
in
the
ker‐
nel.
A
device
driver
and/or
device
class
can
be
added
to
the
ker‐
nel
using
All
of
the
instance
num‐
bers
avail‐
able
for
the
device
class
are
already
assigned.
Use
the
com‐
mand
to
remove
any
unneeded
devices
from
the
sys‐
tem
(see
rmsf(1M)).
does
not
know
how
to
cre‐
ate
spe‐
cial
files
for
the
spec‐
i‐
fied
device
driver.
Use
to
cre‐
ate
spe‐
cial
files
for
the
device
(see
mknod(1M)).
EXAM‐
PLES
Install
spe‐
cial
files
for
all
new
devices
belong‐
ing
to
the
device
class
claimed
by
driver:
Install
spe‐
cial
files
to
the
new
device
added
at
hard‐
ware
path
Install
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
to
the
new
device
added
at
the
hard‐
ware
path
Rein‐
stall
per‐
sis‐
tent
spe‐
cial
files
for
all
the
devices
belong‐
ing
to
the
device
driver:
Enable
legacy
mode
(rein‐
stalls
all
legacy
I/O
nodes
and
legacy
device
spe‐
cial
files):
Find
out
if
legacy
mode
is
enabled
or
dis‐
abled:
WARN‐
INGS
can
change
the
mode,
owner,
or
group
of
an
exist‐
ing
spe‐
cial
file,
or
unlink
and
recre‐
ate
one;
spe‐
cial
files
that
are
cur‐
rently
open
may
be
left
in
an
inde‐
ter‐
mi‐
nate
state.
Hence
is
rec‐
om‐
mended
to
be
run
in
sin‐
gle-
user
mode.
Many
com‐
mands
and
sub‐
sys‐
tems
assume
their
device
files
are
in
there‐
fore
the
use
of
the
option
is
dis‐
cour‐
aged.
AUTHOR
was
devel‐
oped
by
HP.
FILES
I/O
sys‐
tem
spe‐
cial
file
I/O
sys‐
tem
con‐
fig‐
u‐
ra‐
tion
data‐
base
I/O
sys‐
tem
con‐
fig‐
u‐
ra‐
tion
data‐
base
SEE
ALSO
ioscan(1M),
kcmod‐
ule(1M),
lsdev(1M),
lssf(1M),
mknod(1M),
mksf(1M),
rmsf(1M),
intro(7).
insf(1M)