SunSHIELD Basic Security Module Guide

Using Device Allocations

The procedures and commands in this section show how to manage devices and how to add devices. The device-allocation and device-deallocation commands are entered from the command line in a Command Tool or Shell Tool window:

allocate assigns a device to a user.

You can specify the device in either of the two ways shown in Table 4-4.

Table 4-4 Device-Specification Options for allocate


Option	Action
`device-name`	Allocate the device that matches the device name
`-g` `device-type`	Allocate the device that matches the device group type

deallocate releases a previously allocated device.

list_devices enables you to see a list of all allocatable devices, devices currently allocated, and allocatable devices not currently allocated.

The list_devices command requires one of the three options shown in Table 4-5.

Table 4-5 Options for the list_devices Command


Option	Action
`-l`	List all allocatable devices or information about the device.
`-n`	List devices not currently allocated or information about the device.
`-u`	List devices currently allocated or information about the device.

How to Allocate a Device

Use the allocate command with a device specified by name, as in the example, or by type, with -g switch.

sar1% allocate st0

If the command cannot allocate the device, an error message displays in the console window. A list of all error messages appears in the allocate(1M) man page.

How to Deallocate a Device

Deallocate a tape drive by using the deallocate command followed by the device file name.

sar1% deallocate st0

Deallocation allows other users to allocate the device when you are finished.