Linux Loadable Kernel Module HOWTO
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# 4. LKM Utilities

The programs you need to load and unload and otherwise work with LKMs are in the package modutils. You can find this package in this directory.

This package contains the following programs to help you use LKMs:

insmod

  Insert an LKM into the kernel.

rmmod

  Remove an LKM from the kernel.

depmod

  Determine interdependencies between LKMs.

kerneld

  Kerneld daemon program

ksyms

  Display symbols that are exported by the kernel for use by new LKMs.

lsmod

  List currently loaded LKMs.

modinfo

  Display contents of `.modinfo` section in an LKM object file.

modprobe

  Insert or remove an LKM or set of LKMs intelligently. For example, if you must load A before loading B, Modprobe will automatically load A when you tell it to load B.

Changes to the kernel often require changes to modutils, so be sure you're using a current version of modutils whenever you upgrade your kernel. modutils is always backward compatible (it works with older kernels), so there's no such thing as having too new a modutils.

Warning: modprobe invokes insmod and has its location hardcoded as `/sbin/insmod`. There may be other instances in modutils of the PATH not being used to find programs. So either modify the source code of modutils before you build it, or make sure you install the programs in their conventional directories.

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Making Loadable Kernel Modules |  | How To Insert And Remove LKMs