Re: /etc/modules, /etc/modules.conf and others

[Shyamal Prasad <shyamal.prasad@sbcglobal.net>]

    "J" == J F Gratton <J.F.Gratton> writes:

    J> I might be using workarounds or not using my system effeciently
    J> but ....  I've never had to tamper with /etc/modules.conf.

    J> All I did so far to get modules to load and to work was to put
    J> them into /etc/modules.

    J> What is the use of /etc/modules.conf et al. then ?

You are doing The Right Thing IMHO.

/etc/modules contains the names of modules that should be loaded when
the system boots. You add modules there as and when you need
them. They are loaded at boot time by the /etc/init.d/modutils script
using the modprobe command.

/etc/modules.conf contains rules followed by the module utility
commands (depmod, modprobe and friends) when adding, removing and
otherwise messing with modules. This file details relationships
between modules (load this before that and so on), parameters that
should be passed to modules, and aliases that allow modules to be
loaded "easily", e.g. when you access certain device files.

You do not edit /etc/modules.conf on a Debian system directly. You
make changes to the /etc/modutils/* files, and run update-modules to
create the modules.conf file. This allows for a somewhat more coherent
and manageable mechanism for editing /etc/modules.conf. Of course your
mileage may vary, but I think it is a wonderful little way to do
things.

Cheers!
Shyamal