10.73. Module-Init-Tools-3.12

The Module-Init-Tools package contains programs for handling kernel modules in Linux kernels greater than or equal to version 2.5.47.

10.73.1. Installation of Module-Init-Tools

Issue the following commands to perform the tests

sed -i "s/\(make\)\( all\)/\1 DOCBOOKTOMAN=true\2/" tests/runtests &&
./tests/runtests

Prepare Module-Init-Tools for compilation:

CC="gcc ${BUILD64}" ./configure --prefix=/usr \
    --bindir=/bin --sbindir=/sbin \
    --enable-zlib-dynamic

The meaning of the configure option:

--enable-zlib-dynamic

This allows the Module-Init-Tools package to handle compressed kernel modules.

Compile the package:

make DOCBOOKTOMAN=true

Install the package:

make install

10.73.2. Contents of Module-Init-Tools

Installed programs: depmod, insmod, insmod.static, lsmod, modinfo, modprobe, and rmmod

Short Descriptions

depmod

Creates a dependency file based on the symbols it finds in the existing set of modules; this dependency file is used by modprobe to automatically load the required modules

insmod

Installs a loadable module in the running kernel

insmod.static

A statically compiled version of insmod

lsmod

Lists currently loaded modules

modinfo

Examines an object file associated with a kernel module and displays any information that it can glean

modprobe

Uses a dependency file, created by depmod, to automatically load relevant modules

rmmod

Unloads modules from the running kernel