lofi(7D) Devices lofi(7D)NAMElofi - Loopback file driver
DESCRIPTION
The lofi file driver exports a file as a block device, enabling system
utilities such as fstyp(1M), fsck(1M) and mount(1M) to operate on
underlying file system images (including CD-ROM and FAT floppy images)
contained on the block device. Reads and writes to the block device are
translated to reads and writes on the exported file. See lofiadm(1M)
for examples.
File block device entries are contained in /dev/lofi. The /dev/rlofi
file contains the character (or raw) device entries. Entries are in the
form of decimal numbers and are assigned through lofiadm(1M). When
created, these device entries are owned by root, in group sys and have
permissions of 0600. Ownership, group, and permission settings can be
altered, however there may be ramifications. See lofiadm(1M) for more
information.
lofi devices can be compressed. See lofiadm(1M) for more information.
Files exported through lofi can also be encrypted. See lofiadm(1M) for
details on how to specify encryption keys.
FILES
/dev/lofictl
Master control device
/dev/lofi/n
Block device for file n
/dev/rlofi/n
Character device for file n
/kernel/drv/lofi
32-bit driver
/kernel/drv/sparcv9/lofi
64-bit driver (SPARC)
/kernel/drv/amd64/lofi
64-bit driver (x86)
/kernel/drv/lofi.conf
Driver configuration file. (Do not alter).
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for a description of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Architecture │SPARC, x86 │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWcs, SUNWcarx.u │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Committed │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOfstyp(1M), fsck(1M), mount(1M), lofiadm(1M), newfs(1M), attributes(5),
lofs(7FS)NOTES
Just as you would not directly access a disk device that has mounted
file systems, you should not access a file associated with a block
device except through the lofi file driver.
For compatibility purposes, a raw device is also exported with the
block device. (For example, newfs(1M)).
The lofi driver isn't available in a zone and will not work inside a
zone.
SunOS 5.11 25 Nov 2008 lofi(7D)