modprobe module_name
as root
. For example, to load the wacom
module, run:
~]# modprobe wacom
modprobe
attempts to load the module from /lib/modules/kernel_version/kernel/drivers/
. In this directory, each type of module has its own subdirectory, such as net/
and scsi/
, for network and SCSI interface drivers respectively.
modprobe
command always takes dependencies into account when performing operations. When you ask modprobe
to load a specific kernel module, it first examines the dependencies of that module, if there are any, and loads them if they are not already loaded into the kernel. modprobe
resolves dependencies recursively: it will load all dependencies of dependencies, and so on, if necessary, thus ensuring that all dependencies are always met.
-v
(or --verbose
) option to cause modprobe
to display detailed information about what it is doing, which can include loading module dependencies.
Example 21.3. modprobe -v shows module dependencies as they are loaded
Fibre Channel over Ethernet
module verbosely by typing the following at a shell prompt:
~]# modprobe -v fcoe
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-71.el6.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/scsi_tgt.ko
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-71.el6.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/scsi_transport_fc.ko
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-71.el6.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/libfc/libfc.ko
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-71.el6.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/fcoe/libfcoe.ko
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-71.el6.x86_64/kernel/drivers/scsi/fcoe/fcoe.ko
modprobe
loaded the scsi_tgt
, scsi_transport_fc
, libfc
and libfcoe
modules as dependencies before finally loading fcoe
. Also note that modprobe
used the more “primitive” insmod
command to insert the modules into the running kernel.
Always use modprobe instead of insmod!
insmod
command can also be used to load kernel modules, it does not resolve dependencies. Because of this, you should always load modules using modprobe
instead.