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DEVD(8) 		     System Manager's Manual			 DEVD(8)

NAME
     devd -- device state change daemon

SYNOPSIS
     devd [-Dd] [-f file] [-n]

DESCRIPTION
     The  devd	daemon provides a way to have userland programs run when certain
     kernel events happen.

     The following options are accepted.

     -D 	 Enable debugging messages.

     -d 	 Run in the foreground instead of becoming a daemon.

     -f file	 Use  configuration   file   file   instead   of   the	 default
		 /etc/devd.conf.   If option -f is specified more than once, the
		 last file specified is used.

     -n 	 Do not process all pending events  before  becoming  a  daemon.
		 Instead, call daemon right away.

IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
     The  devd	utility  is  a system daemon that runs in the background all the
     time.  Whenever a device is added to or removed from the device tree,  devd
     will  execute  actions  specified in devd.conf(5).  For example, devd might
     execute dhclient(8) when an Ethernet adapter is added to  the  system,  and
     kill  the	dhclient(8)  instance when the same adapter is removed.  Another
     example would be for devd to use a table to locate and load via  kldload(8)
     the proper driver for an unrecognized device that is added to the system.

     The  devd utility hooks into the devctl(4) device driver.	This device dri-
     ver has hooks into the device configuration system.  When nodes  are  added
     or  deleted  from	the tree, this device will deliver information about the
     event to devd.  Once devd has parsed the message, it will search its action
     list for that kind of event and perform the action with the highest  match-
     ing value.  For most mundane uses, the default handlers are adequate.  How-
     ever,  for  more advanced users, the power is present to tweak every aspect
     of what happens.

     The devd utility reads /etc/devd.conf or the alternate  configuration  file
     specified	with  a  -f  option  and uses that file to drive the rest of the
     process.  While the format of this file is described in devd.conf(5),  some
     basics  are  covered here.  In the options section, one can define multiple
     directories to search for config files.  All  files  in  these  directories
     whose  names match the pattern *.conf are parsed.	These files are intended
     to be installed by third party vendors that wish to hook into the devd sys-
     tem without modifying the user's other config files.

     All messages that devd receives are forwarded to the Unix domain socket  at
     /var/run/devd.pipe.

FILES
     /etc/devd.conf	 The default devd configuration file.
     /var/run/devd.pipe  The  socket  used  by	devd  to  communicate  with  its
			 clients.

SEE ALSO
     devctl(4), devd.conf(5)

AUTHORS
     M. Warner Losh

FreeBSD 6.1			November 24, 2005			 DEVD(8)

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