Hi,
kernel modules are great.
They enable you to compile (or get) a new module for a device and install
it, without rebooting the machine.
kernel modules reduce the amount of memory consumed by the kernel.
Alternatively,
monolithic kernel takes more memory than a modularized kernel+some
loaded modules.
=================================
Autoloading modules comes from an entry in /etc/modules.conf
the device major and minor numbers are used in the alias line..
now that was 2.4. kernels...... My suse 9.2 box which I am on right now
has an empty /etc/modules.conf
Some google links I found:
http://wiki2.archlinux.org/index.php/Linux And Hardware
of more interest
http://nslug.ns.ca/pipermail/nslug/2004-February/006279.html
/etc/modprobe.d has stuff on my box that seems similar to the old
/etc/modules.conf
========
Modules that should be part of the kernel are those that the kernel
requires on startup. You see, at the point of startup, the kernel cannot
do many things (such as read an ext3 disk)
Put another way (eg). Suppose the kernel module to read an ext3 disk is
not part of the kernel, and is on a ext3 partition of the disk.
Badluck - the kernel cannot read ext3 disks, and load modules it needs.
Derek.
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005, Robert Himmelmann wrote:
> So far I have compiled everything I needed under make menuconfig as
> inbuilt instead of module. That works fine but I have always wondered
> what the difference between the two options is.
>
> I have learned that modules have to be loaded (with modprobe) and that
> certain things such as support for the root file system must not be
> compiled as module. Is that correct? Why and when should I compile
> something as a module?
>
> I have tried to compile one option as module and I had to load it later
> using modprobe. How can I autoload modules?
>
--
Derek Smithies Ph.D.
IndraNet Technologies Ltd.
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
ph +64 3 365 6485
Web: http://www.indranet-technologies.com/
