Book Image

Linux Utilities Cookbook

By : James Kent Lewis
Book Image

Linux Utilities Cookbook

By: James Kent Lewis

Overview of this book

<p>Linux is a stable, reliable and extremely powerful operating system. It has been around for many years, however, most people still don't know what it can do and the ways it is superior to other operating systems. Many people want to get started with Linux for greater control and security, but getting started can be time consuming and complicated. <br /><br />A practical, hands-on guide that provides you with a number of clear step-by-step examples to help you solve many of the questions that crop up when using an operating system you may not be familiar with.</p> <p>Presenting solutions to the most common Linux problems in a clear and concise way, this helpful guide starts with spicing up the terminal sessions by command retrieval and line editing, and shell prompt variables. We will then get to know the different desktops (GUIs) available for Linux systems and which is the best fit for you. We will then explore the world of managing files and directories, connectivity, and what to do when it goes wrong. We will also learn a range of skills, from creating and managing user accounts to securing your system, managing and limiting processes, and letting information flow from one process to another using pipes. Later, we will master disk management, working with scripts and automating tasks quickly, and finally, understand the need for a custom kernel and tips on how to build one.</p> <p><br />Based on the author's extensive experience, there is a section on best practices that every Linux user should be familiar with.</p>
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Linux Utilities Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

A brief look at module commands


There are several commands that are used to manipulate the modules on your system. Note that depending on your distribution, these commands may only be run as root.

How to do it...

In the following steps, we will run the lsmod, modprobe, insmod, and modinfo commands:

  1. To see the status of the modules currently loaded on the system, run lsmod.

  2. To load a module from the current /lib/modules/<kernel name> directory, you would use the modprobe command. An example would be modprobe pcnet32.

  3. To load a module directly, use the insmod command. An example would be insmod /temp/pcnet32.ko.

  4. To display the information about a module, use the modinfo command. Try this on your system by first running lsmod to find a module and then modinfo on one of the names modinfo video.

How it works...

The lsmod command takes the contents of the /proc/modules file and displays it in a nice, easy to read format. Use it to determine what modules are loaded in the system.

The following screenshot...