[lug] logging missing 2.6 kernel modules

[David Anselmi]

D. Stimits wrote:
> It used to be that on a 2.4 kernel an attempt to use a device that did 
> not have a proper kernel driver would yield a message, e.g., something 
> like "no module for net-pf-10"...I forget that particular one was 
> something like an apple printer protocol. I'm trying to get the sblive 
> game port to load automatically on a 2.6 kernel and FC2.

Not sure I'm much help, but here's what I know.

Are you using udev?  That's a new way to manage /dev entries--instead of 
listing everything possible it only lists things that exist (have 
hardware and have a module).

So it used to be that you had a /dev node and "opening" it could clue 
the kernel to load the driver.  Now there is no dev node and you need 
something else to detect the hardware, load the module, and clue udev to 
make a node for it.

I think that something is hotplug.  Are you using that?  When the kernel 
notices new hardware it runs hotplug, which loads the driver and does 
whatever other configuration is required to use the device.  That 
includes making the udev node.

That's the way I understand it anyway.  So you might have to add some 
stuff (udev, hotplug).

Otherwise, there may be some way your distro autoloads modules.  In 
Debian there's a /etc/modules file that lists modules that get loaded 
automatically by an init script (a distro approved bogus rc.local 
command).  Each module listed gets modprobed when the script runs.

HTH,
Dave