Specifying the Disk Subdirectory

Disk and file administration commands require the use of either a raw (or character) device interface, or a block device interface. The distinction is made by how data is read from the device.

Raw device interfaces transfer only small amounts of data at a time. Block device interfaces include a buffer from which large blocks of data are read at once.

Different commands require different interfaces:

• When a command requires the raw device interface, specify the /dev/rdsk subdirectory. (The “r” in rdsk stands for “raw.”)

• When a command requires the block device interface, specify the /dev/dsk subdirectory.

• When you are not sure whether a command requires use of /dev/dsk or /dev/rdsk, check the man page for that command.

The following table shows which interface is required for some commonly used disk and file system commands.

Table 5–3 Device Interface Type Required by Some Frequently Used Commands

Command Reference	Interface Type	Example of Use
df(1M)	Block	df /dev/dsk/c0t3d0s6
fsck(1M)	Raw	fsck -p /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0
mount(1M)	Block	mount /dev/dsk/c1t0d0s7 /export/home
newfs(1M)	Raw	newfs /dev/rdsk/c0t0d1s1
prtvtoc(1M)	Raw	prtvtoc /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s2