The Linux Kernel/Modules

== Modules == A kernel module is a code that can be loaded into the kernel image at will, without requiring users to rebuild the kernel or reboot their computer. Modular design ensures that you do not have to make a monolithic kernel that contains all code necessary for hardware and situations. Common kernel modules are device drivers, which directly access computer and peripheral hardware. Kernel modules have a .ko extension. ⚲ API /proc/modules 8 insmod – simple program to insert a module 8 modprobe – searches and loads a module with dependencies /etc/modprobe.d/, /lib/modprobe.d/, /run/modprobe.d/ /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/modules.dep – module dependencies, is created by depmod -a 8 lsmod – list loaded modules 8 kmod – core program to manage Linux Kernel modules 8 modinfo /sys/module/$name/parameters/ – current module parameter values /sys/module/$name/initstate – module initialization state (live, coming, going) dkms – Dynamic Kernel Module Support, automatically rebuilds out-of-tree modules on kernel upgrades dkms status – list installed DKMS modules and their build state 2 init_module, 2 finit_module – load a kernel module 2 delete_module – unload a kernel module linux/init.h – initcalls linux/module.h – macros and functions for kernel module support module_init – module initialization entry point module_exit – module cleanup exit point MODULE_LICENSE – licence declaration linux/mod_devicetable.h – device ID tables for module device matching linux/moduleparam.h – module parameter declaration (module_param) linux/export.h – macros for symbol export control to kernel modules. linux/kernel.h – miscellaneous stuff ⚙️ Internals kernel/module – loadable module support 📖 References Building External Modules kbuild/modules.html 📚 Further reading Loadable kernel module The Linux Kernel Module Programming Guide https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Kernel_module Linux Driver Template http://lwn.net/images/pdf/LDD3/ch02.pdf http://www.xml.com/ldd/chapter/book/ch02.html Managing kernel modules, RHEL http://www.tldp.org/LDP/tlk/modules/modules.html