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_maps 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 connect to specific machines.