How to Display Device Information

Display device information with the dmesg command.

# /usr/sbin/dmesg

The dmesg output is displayed as messages on the system console and identifies which devices are connected to the system since the last reboot.

Examples--Displaying Device Information

The following dmesg output is displayed from a SPARC based system.

# dmesg
Jan  3 08:44:41 starbug genunix: [ID 540533 kern.notice] SunOS Release 5.9 ...
Jan  3 08:44:41 starbug genunix: [ID 913631 kern.notice] Copyright 1983-2002 ...
Jan  3 08:44:41 starbug genunix: [ID 678236 kern.info] Ethernet address = ...
Jan  3 08:44:41 starbug unix: [ID 389951 kern.info] mem = 131072K (0x8000000)
Jan  3 08:44:41 starbug unix: [ID 930857 kern.info] avail mem = 121888768
Jan  3 08:44:41 starbug rootnex: [ID 466748 kern.info] root nexus = 
Sun Ultra 5/10 UPA/PCI (UltraSPARC-IIi 333MHz)
.
.
.
# 

The following dmesg output is displayed from an x86 based system.

# dmesg
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo genunix: [ID 540533 kern.notice] SunOS Release 5.9 Version ...
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo genunix: [ID 913631 kern.notice] Copyright 1983-2002 ...
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo genunix: [ID 897550 kern.info] Using default device ...
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo unix: [ID 168242 kern.info] mem = 130684K (0x7f9f000)
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo unix: [ID 930857 kern.info] avail mem = 116547584
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo rootnex: [ID 466748 kern.info] root nexus = i86pc
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo rootnex: [ID 349649 kern.info] pci0 at root: ...
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo genunix: [ID 936769 kern.info] pci0 is /pci@0,0
Jan  2 07:21:46 naboo genunix: [ID 678236 kern.info] Ethernet address = ...
.
.
.

Adding a Peripheral Device to a System

Adding a new (non-hot-pluggable) peripheral device usually involves the following:

• Shutting down the system

• Connecting the device to the system

• Rebooting the system

Use the How to Add a Peripheral Device procedure to add the following devices that are not hot-pluggable to a system:

• CD-ROM

• Secondary disk drive

• Tape drive

• SBUS card

In some cases, you might have to add a third-party device driver to support the new device.

For information on hot-plugging devices, see Chapter 28, Dynamically Configuring Devices (Tasks).

How to Add a Peripheral Device

1. Become superuser.

2. Follow steps 2 and 3 of How to Add a Device Driver if you need to add a device driver to support the device.

3. Create the /reconfigure file.

   # touch /reconfigure

   
   

   The /reconfigure file will cause the Solaris software to check for the presence of any newly installed devices the next time you turn on or boot your system.

4. Shut down the system.

   # shutdown -i0 -g30 -y

   
   

   -i0	Brings the system to the 0 init state, which is the appropriate state for turning the system power off for adding and removing devices.
   -g30	Shuts the system down in 30 seconds. The default is 60 seconds.
   -y	Continues the system shutdown without user intervention. Otherwise, you are prompted to continue the shutdown process.

5. Select one of the following to turn off power to the system after it is shut down.

   1. For SPARC platforms, it is safe to turn off power if the ok prompt is displayed.

   2. For x86 platforms, it is safe to turn off power if the type any key to continue prompt is displayed.

   Refer to the hardware installation guide that accompanies your system for the location of the power switch.

6. Turn off power to all external devices.

   For the location of power switches on any peripheral devices, refer to the hardware installation guides that accompany your peripheral devices.

7. Install the peripheral device, making sure that the device you are adding has a different target number than the other devices on the system.

   You often will find a small switch located at the back of the disk for selecting the target number.

   Refer to the hardware installation guide that accompanies the peripheral device for information on installing and connecting the device.

8. Turn on the power to the system.

   The system boots to multiuser mode and the login prompt is displayed.

9. Verify that the peripheral device has been added by attempting to access the device.

   For information on accessing the device, see Chapter 30, Accessing Devices (Overview).