Components of the Device-Allocation Mechanism

The components of the device-allocation mechanism are as follows:

• The allocate, deallocate, dminfo, and list_devices commands. For more information, see Using the Device-Allocation Commands.

• The /etc/security/device_allocate file. See the device_allocate(4) man page.

• The /etc/security/device_maps file. See the device_maps(4) man page.

• A lock file in the /etc/security/dev directory for each allocatable device.

• The changed attributes of the device-special files that are associated with each allocatable device.

• Device-clean scripts for each allocatable device.

The device_allocate file, the device_map file, and the lock files are local configuration files. These files are not administered as name service databases because tape drives, diskette drives, and printers are all connected to specific machines.