PATH_TO_INST(4)PATH_TO_INST(4)NAMEpath_to_inst - device instance number file
SYNOPSIS
/etc/path_to_inst
DESCRIPTION
/etc/path_to_inst records mappings of physical device names to instance
numbers.
The instance number of a device is encoded in its minor number, and is
the way that a device driver determines which of the possible devices
that it may drive is referred to by a given special file.
In order to keep instance numbers persistent across reboots, the system
records them in /etc/path_to_inst.
This file is read only at boot time, and is updated by add_drv(1M) and
devfsadm(1M).
Note that it is generally not necessary for the system administrator to
change this file, as the system will maintain it.
The system administrator can change the assignment of instance numbers
by editing this file and doing a reconfiguration reboot. However, any
changes made in this file will be lost if add_drv(1M) or devfsadm(1M)
is run before the system is rebooted.
Each instance entry is a single line of the form:
"physical name" instance number "driver binding name"
where
physical name
is the absolute physical pathname of a device.
This pathname must be enclosed in double quotes.
instance number
is a decimal or hexadecimal number.
driver binding name
is the name used to determine the driver for the
device. This name may be a driver alias or a
driver name. The driver binding name must be
enclosed in double quotes.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 Sample path_to_inst Entries
Here are some sample path_to_inst entries:
"/iommu@f,e0000000" 0 "iommu"
"/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000" 0 "sbus"
"/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/sbusmem@e,0" 14 "sbusmem"
"/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/sbusmem@f,0" 15 "sbusmem"
"/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/ledma@f,400010" 0 "ledma"
"/obio/serial@0,100000" 0 "zs"
"/SUNW,sx@f,80000000" 0 "SUNW,sx"
FILES
/etc/path_to_inst
Mapping of physical device names to instance num‐
bers.
SEE ALSOadd_drv(1M), boot(1M), devfsadm(1M), mknod(1M)WARNINGS
If the file is removed the system may not be bootable (as it may rely
on information found in this file to find the root, usr or swap
device). If it does successfully boot, it will regenerate the file, but
after rebooting devices may end up having different minor numbers than
they did before, and special files created via mknod(1M) may refer to
different devices than expected.
For the same reasons, changes should not be made to this file without
careful consideration.
NOTES
This document does not constitute an API. path_to_inst may not exist or
may have a different content or interpretation in a future release. The
existence of this notice does not imply that any other documentation
that lacks this notice constitutes an API.
May 18, 2007 PATH_TO_INST(4)
