the /dev directory
Posted 03-30-2008 at 04:45 AM by linkstack
/dev/dsp
Digital Signal Processor. Basically this forms the interface between software which produces sound and your soundcard. It is a character device on major node 14 and minor 3.
/dev/fd0
The first floppy drive. It is a character device on major node 2 and minor 0.
/dev/fb0
The first framebuffer device. A framebuffer is an abstraction layer between software and graphics hardware. This means that applications do not need to know about what kind of hardware you have but merely how to communicate with the framebuffer driver's API (Application Programming Interface) which is well defined and standardized. The framebuffer is a character device and is on major node 29 and minor 0.
/dev/hda
/dev/hda,/dev/hdb are the master and slave drive on the primary controller. /dev/hdc , and /dev/hdd are the master and slave devices on the secondary controller respectively. Each disk is divided into partitions. Partitions 1-4 are primary partitions and partitions 5 and above are logical partitions inside extended partitions.For the first IDE controller all partitions are block devices on major node 3. The master drive hda is at minor 0 and the slave drive hdb is at minor 64. Drives on the secondary interface are with major node 22.
/dev/lp0
The first parallel printer device. Subsequent printers are numbered lp1 , lp2 etc. They are character devices on major mode 6 and minor nodes starting at 0 and numbered sequentially.
/dev/loop0
The first loopback device. Loopback devices are used for mounting filesystems which are not located on other block devices such as disks. For example if you wish to mount an iso9660 CD ROM image without burning it to CD then you need to use a loopback device to do so.The loopback devices are block devices on major node 7 and with minor nodes starting at 0 and numbered sequentially.
/dev/md0
First metadisk group. Metadisks are related to RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) devices. Please refer to the most current RAID HOWTO at the LDP for more details. This can be found at http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html . Metadisk devices are block devices on major node 9 with minor nodes starting at 0 and numbered sequentially.
/dev/mixer
This is part of the OSS (Open Sound System) driver. Refer to the OSS documentation at http://www.opensound.com for more details. It is a character device on major node 14, minor node 0.
/dev/psaux
The PS/2 mouse port. This is a character device on major node 10, minor node 1.
/dev/null
The bit bucket. A black hole where you can send data for it never to be seen again. Anything sent to /dev/null will disappear. This can be useful if, for example, you wish to run a command but not have any feedback appear on the terminal. It is a character device on major node 1 and minor node 3.
/dev/parport0
The raw parallel ports. Most devices which are attached to parallel ports have their own drivers. This is a device to access the port directly. It is a character device on major node 99 with minor node 0. Subsequent devices after the first are numbered sequentially incrementing the minor node.
/dev/sda
The first SCSI drive on the first SCSI bus. The following drives are named similar to IDE drives. /dev/sdb is the second SCSI drive, /dev/sdc is the third SCSI drive, and so forth.
/dev/ttyS0
The first serial port. Many times this it the port used to connect an external modem to your system.
Digital Signal Processor. Basically this forms the interface between software which produces sound and your soundcard. It is a character device on major node 14 and minor 3.
/dev/fd0
The first floppy drive. It is a character device on major node 2 and minor 0.
/dev/fb0
The first framebuffer device. A framebuffer is an abstraction layer between software and graphics hardware. This means that applications do not need to know about what kind of hardware you have but merely how to communicate with the framebuffer driver's API (Application Programming Interface) which is well defined and standardized. The framebuffer is a character device and is on major node 29 and minor 0.
/dev/hda
/dev/hda,/dev/hdb are the master and slave drive on the primary controller. /dev/hdc , and /dev/hdd are the master and slave devices on the secondary controller respectively. Each disk is divided into partitions. Partitions 1-4 are primary partitions and partitions 5 and above are logical partitions inside extended partitions.For the first IDE controller all partitions are block devices on major node 3. The master drive hda is at minor 0 and the slave drive hdb is at minor 64. Drives on the secondary interface are with major node 22.
/dev/lp0
The first parallel printer device. Subsequent printers are numbered lp1 , lp2 etc. They are character devices on major mode 6 and minor nodes starting at 0 and numbered sequentially.
/dev/loop0
The first loopback device. Loopback devices are used for mounting filesystems which are not located on other block devices such as disks. For example if you wish to mount an iso9660 CD ROM image without burning it to CD then you need to use a loopback device to do so.The loopback devices are block devices on major node 7 and with minor nodes starting at 0 and numbered sequentially.
/dev/md0
First metadisk group. Metadisks are related to RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) devices. Please refer to the most current RAID HOWTO at the LDP for more details. This can be found at http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html . Metadisk devices are block devices on major node 9 with minor nodes starting at 0 and numbered sequentially.
/dev/mixer
This is part of the OSS (Open Sound System) driver. Refer to the OSS documentation at http://www.opensound.com for more details. It is a character device on major node 14, minor node 0.
/dev/psaux
The PS/2 mouse port. This is a character device on major node 10, minor node 1.
/dev/null
The bit bucket. A black hole where you can send data for it never to be seen again. Anything sent to /dev/null will disappear. This can be useful if, for example, you wish to run a command but not have any feedback appear on the terminal. It is a character device on major node 1 and minor node 3.
/dev/parport0
The raw parallel ports. Most devices which are attached to parallel ports have their own drivers. This is a device to access the port directly. It is a character device on major node 99 with minor node 0. Subsequent devices after the first are numbered sequentially incrementing the minor node.
/dev/sda
The first SCSI drive on the first SCSI bus. The following drives are named similar to IDE drives. /dev/sdb is the second SCSI drive, /dev/sdc is the third SCSI drive, and so forth.
/dev/ttyS0
The first serial port. Many times this it the port used to connect an external modem to your system.
