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're 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 a few commonly used disk and file system commands.

Table 26-1 Device Interface Type Required by Some Frequently Used Commands

Command	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