How does Slack load driver modules?

cpparkin · 02-02-2009, 01:05 PM

I'm running Slack 8.1 (K 2.4.18), it can figure that eth0 uses the eepro100 module, but how does is know this?

I can't find any conf find that has an alias for Eth0.
The modules.conf is empty and I can't find any modprob conf files.

I'd appreciate any pointers.

Chris

Didier Spaier · 02-02-2009, 01:41 PM

I can't remember how this works with a 2.4 kernel. At least we know you do not use udev. May be hotplug is involved. But it is not a hotplugable device, is it ? May be in this case the kernel itself knows which driver to load.

Is the driver modularized or included in the kernel ? if it is included, I suppose that the driver itself claim the device.

Anyway you can, as root, 'tail --lines 300 /var/log/messages/|grep eth0', 'ifconfig -a' and 'lspci -k'.

PS Gurus, please correct me
PS2 Quoting /etc/rc.d/modules included in Slackware 8.1:

Code:

# This file loads extra drivers into the Linux kernel.
# The modules will be looked for under /lib/modules/<kernel version number>
# On systems using KMOD this file will be mostly commented out, but is still
# useful for loading selected modules at boot time.
...
# Intel EtherExpress PRO/100 PCI support:
#/sbin/modprobe eepro100

guanx · 02-02-2009, 02:09 PM

Is there a "/etc/rc.d/rc.netdevice"?
If I were to find it out, I will use mc to search the /etc directory for files containing the word modprobe.

gnashley · 02-02-2009, 03:19 PM

You'll either have an /etc/rc.d/rc.netdevice which is setting it up or it is done by hotplug.

Woodsman · 02-02-2009, 03:22 PM

With the pre-udev Slackware releases, the primary method for loading network modules was /etc/rc.d/rc.netdevice. Guanx mentioned this file. The rc.netdevice file is a shell script.

The netconfig tool creates the rc.netdevice script and still does in recent releases if udev is disabled. If udev is enabled then netconfig does not create this script.

The rc.netdevice script is run from with rc.modules.

I use the rc.netdevice script in two older machines. The machines are static and I don't use udev with them.

cpparkin · 02-02-2009, 09:35 PM

Great, I find the "/sbin/modprobe eepro100" in the rc.netdevice, but how does it know to bind this to eth0?

This box has 2 built in NICs that use the same chipset, so I want eth1 to use a modified version of the eepro10o that I just compiled and named eepro101.

Didier Spaier · 02-02-2009, 11:25 PM

I you were you using a recent distribution I would have said :"Put a rule about that in the file /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules" as it is exactly its purpose. But as your stole or borrowed this system to your grand-mother...

I will look at that though, so may be I will learn something

gilead · 02-03-2009, 05:59 PM

Do you have anything like the following in /etc/modprobe.conf or one of your /etc/modprobe.d/* files?

Code:

alias eth0 via_rhine
alias eth1 8139too