Hotplug Support

Now that we've covered Linux USB and IEEE 1394 support, you should learn a little about Linux hotplug support, a system that can handle the automatic configuration and cleanup of devices when you plug them into the system.

The idea is simple; the kernel runs /sbin/hotplug when you plug in a device. Here's the procedure:

  1. You plug in a device. The kernel notices.

  2. The kernel runs /sbin/hotplug type, where type is the device type (usb, ieee1394, scsi, and so on). The kernel sets a number of device-related environment variables in the new hotplug process.

  3. The /etc/hotplug script runs /etc/hotplug/type.agent.

  4. The /etc/hotplug/type.agent script tries to configure the device.

There really isn't much more to it than this. Each device type's ...

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