MKNOD(8) Maintenance Commands and Procedures MKNOD(8)
mknod - make a special file
mknod name b major minor
mknod name c major minor
mknod name p
mknod makes a directory entry for a special file.
The following options are supported:
b
Create a block-type special file.
c
Create a character-type special file.
p
Create a FIFO (named pipe).
The following operands are supported:
major
The major device number.
minor
The minor device number; can be either decimal or octal. The
assignment of major device numbers is specific to each
system. You must be the super-user to use this form of the
command.
name
A special file to be created.
See largefile(7) for the description of the behavior of mknod when
encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes).
ftp(1), mknod(2), symlink(2), attributes(7), largefile(7)
If mknod(2) is used to create a device, the major and minor device
numbers are always interpreted by the kernel running on that machine.
With the advent of physical device naming, it would be preferable to
create a symbolic link to the physical name of the device (in the
/devices subtree) rather than using mknod.
September 16, 1996 MKNOD(8)
NAME
mknod - make a special file
SYNOPSIS
mknod name b major minor
mknod name c major minor
mknod name p
DESCRIPTION
mknod makes a directory entry for a special file.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
b
Create a block-type special file.
c
Create a character-type special file.
p
Create a FIFO (named pipe).
OPERANDS
The following operands are supported:
major
The major device number.
minor
The minor device number; can be either decimal or octal. The
assignment of major device numbers is specific to each
system. You must be the super-user to use this form of the
command.
name
A special file to be created.
USAGE
See largefile(7) for the description of the behavior of mknod when
encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes).
SEE ALSO
ftp(1), mknod(2), symlink(2), attributes(7), largefile(7)
NOTES
If mknod(2) is used to create a device, the major and minor device
numbers are always interpreted by the kernel running on that machine.
With the advent of physical device naming, it would be preferable to
create a symbolic link to the physical name of the device (in the
/devices subtree) rather than using mknod.
September 16, 1996 MKNOD(8)