Extending hotplug on Debian, SLES 9, and RHAS 4

JUMP START

Article from Issue 71/2006
Author(s):

Debian hotplug is designed for little more than loading drivers and configuring devices. The collection of scripts discussed in this article helps Linux to respond when a network cable is plugged in or when a cellphone is in the vicinity. Read on for more on how to define custom hotplug events.

On Debian Sage, Suse Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat Advanced Server 4, and older systems, the hotplug daemon is the central contact point for all device events. However, the daemon does little more than load drivers for new devices – even the simple task of responding when a network cable is plugged or unplugged is too much for the implementation used by these distributions. It is hard to understand why the built-in hotplug configuration is so limited; after all, kernel hotplugging is easily capable of performing a fully automated backup on a USB stick plugged in by a user, or updating the MP3 collection on a cellphone in the vicinity, using a few simple scripts. This article describes some tricks and scripts you can use to extend the hotplug system.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subs
Digisubs
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Hotplugging

    Hardware which just works is what every user wants. Current Linux distributions go a long way to fulfilling that dream. In this article, we will be investigating how the hotplug system works.

    more »
  • Hotplug Hacks Intro

    Hotplugging is invisible and automatic – if you want it to be. But a close look at the Linux hotplug system reveals interesting opportunities for customization.

    more »
  • Udev

    After three years of hanging around on the sidelines, Udev has finally ousted the legacy Dev-FS system. We take a look under the hood at the Udev device management system inside your Linux system.

    more »
  • Ivman

    Better knowledge of the Linux hotplug system opens the door to to innovation and automation. We’ll show you a custom backup solution for laptop computers.

    more »
  • Xen 3

    The Xen virtualization system is is quickly becoming a standard feature of corporate Linux. We’ll show you how to get started with the latest version of Xen.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus