The modprobe command loads kernel modules, for example:
#modprobe nfs
#lsmod | grep nfs
nfs 266415 0 lockd 66530 1 nfs fscache 41704 1 nfs nfs_acl 2477 1 nfs auth_rpcgss 38976 1 nfs sunrpc 204268 5 nfs,lockd,nfs_acl,auth_rpcgss
Use the -v verbose option to show if any additional modules are loaded to resolve dependencies.
# modprobe -v nfs
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-300.27.1.el6uek.x86_64/kernel/net/sunrpc/auth_gss/auth_rpcgss.ko
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-300.27.1.el6uek.x86_64/kernel/fs/nfs_common/nfs_acl.ko
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-300.27.1.el6uek.x86_64/kernel/fs/fscache/fscache.ko
...
To determine the dependencies, the modprobe
command queries the
/lib/modules/
file, which the depmod utility creates when you
install kernel modules.
kernel_version
/modules.dep
modprobe does not reload modules that are already loaded. You must first unload a module before you can load it again.
Use the -r option to unload kernel modules, for example:
# modprobe -rv nfs
rmmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-300.27.1.el6uek.x86_64/kernel/fs/nfs/nfs.ko
rmmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-300.27.1.el6uek.x86_64/kernel/fs/lockd/lockd.ko
rmmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-300.27.1.el6uek.x86_64/kernel/fs/fscache/fscache.ko
...
Modules are unloaded in the reverse order that they were loaded. Modules are not unloaded if a process or another loaded module requires them.
modprobe uses the insmod and rmmod utilities to load and unload modules. As insmod and rmmod do not resolve module dependencies, do not use these utilities.
For more information, see the modprobe(8)
and
modules.dep(5)
manual pages.