This chapter discusses the software that is used to access and use CD-ROM, floptical, and floppy disk drives. It contains the following sections:
IRIX allows you to mount and use filesystems on floppy disks, floptical disks, and CD-ROMs. You can use these filesystems on your own system, or you can export them via NFS for use on other systems (if you have NFS® installed). See the ONC3/NFS Administration Guide for more information on exporting filesystems.
The operating instructions for these kinds of filesystems are similar and are covered in detail in the mediad(1M) reference page.
 | Note: Only one instance of mediad is allowed per system. That is, two invocations of mediad for the same device generate an error. |
IRIX supports the following CD-ROM, floptical disk, and floppy disk filesystem formats:
FAT (MS-DOS®)
HFS (Macintosh)
EFS and XFS (IRIX filesystem)
ISO 9660
Photo CD
High Sierra
Music CD format
mediad monitors CD-ROM drives, waiting for a CD-ROM to be inserted. When a CD-ROM is inserted, the filesystem it contains is mounted if the filesystem is in EFS, HFS, ISO 9660, or High Sierra format. If your system is running the objectserver, CD-ROM drives are monitored automatically. When a CD-ROM containing a valid filesystem is inserted, it is automatically mounted on /CDROM (for the first CD-ROM drive), and /CDROM2, /CDROM3, and so on for additional drives.
If you are not running the objectserver when you invoke mediad, you must give instructions for the SCSI device to be monitored and a location to mount the CD-ROM filesystem. You must also have created the mount point and ensured that the directory permissions are set appropriately (755 is usually adequate for read-only filesystems). For example, if you are not running the objectserver and you wish to start mediad for a CD-ROM drive with SCSI identifier 4 and the mount point /CDROM with the mount option ro (for read-only), issue this command:
mediad -o ro -ip /dev/scsi/sc0d410 /CDROM |
Note that CD-ROM filesystems are always read-only. When you are finished using the filesystem, issue the eject command, and mediad will attempt to unmount the filesystem. If the unmount is successful, it ejects the CD-ROM. When mediad is running, however, any user can unmount and eject a CD-ROM with the eject command.
| Note: In this chapter, the term floppy disk drive also applies to a floptical drive since both are configured and used in the same manner. |
Filesystems on floppy disk drives are controlled by the mediad daemon. mediad monitors a given floppy disk drive, waiting for a disk to be inserted. If your system is running the objectserver, floppy disk drives are mounted on /floppy if the disk is in FAT (MS-DOS) or HFS (Macintosh) format. If you have more than one floppy disk drive, floppy disks in additional drives are automatically mounted on /floppy2, /floppy3, and so on. If your system is not running objectserver, you must provide a location for the mount point. See the mediad(1M) reference page for complete information. When you are through using the floppy disk, issue the eject command, and mediad attempts to unmount the filesystem. If the unmount is successful, it ejects the floppy disk immediately.
If you are not running the objectserver and you wish to start mediad for a high-density floppy disk drive with SCSI identifier 7 and the mount point /floppy, use this command:
mediad -ip /dev/rdsk/fds0d7.3.5hi /floppy |
This command gives instructions for the floppy disk drive to be monitored and provides a location to mount its filesystem. You must also have created the mount point and ensured that the directory permissions are set appropriately (777 is usually required for read-write filesystems).
There are a number of SCSI floppy disk drives available for use with your system. To install a floppy disk drive on an IRIX system, follow the hardware documentation that is furnished with your drive to connect it to the computer.
If you are adding a floppy disk drive to a system that does not have one, the software configuration is taken care of automatically when the system boots. When the system boots, if hinv indicates that a floppy disk drive is installed, but there is no link to it through the /dev special device files, the MAKEDEV program is automatically invoked to add the proper device files. For more information on the MAKEDEV program, refer to IRIX Admin: Disks and Filesystems .
If you are installing a floppy disk drive after your initial system installation, perform the following steps:
Install the hardware.
Log in as root (the superuser) and enter these commands:
cd /dev ./MAKEDEV floppy
The MAKEDEV program creates the appropriate device nodes.
If you have removed a floppy disk drive and are installing one of a different type, follow these steps:
Install the hardware.
Log in as the superuser and enter these commands:
cd /dev/rdsk rm fds* ./MAKEDEV floppy
The MAKEDEV program creates the appropriate device nodes according the SCSI controller, and floppy disk drive number, and type of floppy disk drive. For example, a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive configured as drive 2 on SCSI controller 0 has the device node:
/dev/rdsk/fds0d2.3.5
There are various options for the different kinds of floppy disk drives that are supported. For example, your device node could use any of the following options, depending on which option suits the hardware you are installing:
3.5 (720Kb 3.5" floppy)
3.5hi (1.44Mb 3.5" floppy)
3.5.20m (20.1Mb floptical)
48 (360Kb 5.25" floppy)
96 (720Kb 5.25" floppy)
96hi (1.2Mb 5.25" floppy)
Use the following command to link your floppy disk drive device node with a convenient filename for access, typically /dev/floppy. Substitute the device node information for your type of floppy disk drive for the node name used here:
ln -s /dev/rdsk/fds0d2.3.5 /dev/floppy
This section describes how to copy files to and retrieve files from floppy and floptical disks, regardless of whether the disk is in Macintosh, DOS, or IRIX filesystem format.
| Note: The term floppy disk is used interchangeably with floptical disk in this section. |
The mediad daemon automatically determines the format of a floppy disk inserted in your drive and, if it is a DOS or Macintosh floppy disk, automatically mounts the filesystem on your default mount directory. Once the filesystem is mounted, you can use typical IRIX commands such as cd, ls, and pwd with it. See the mediad(1M) reference page for complete information.
You can use a floppy disk drive like a tape drive for IRIX file transfer. You can use the standard tape archive commands to write files to the floppy disk drive if it is in DOS format. Use the mkfp command to create the DOS filesystem on the floppy disk. See the mkfp(1M) reference page for complete information. You can also use the command version of fx(1M) to format your floppy disk for file transfer.
When you place files on a floppy disk, it is a good idea to make a note on the disk label of the format or the exact command used to place the files on the floppy disk. This makes it much easier for you (and others) to retrieve the files from the floppy disk. Also, whenever possible, change directories to the directory that contains the file and place the file on the floppy disk using a relative pathname, rather than specifying the absolute pathname.
Also, be aware that using a floppy disk to transfer files to systems made by other manufacturers may mean that the same tools are not available on the receiving system. The tar, cpio, and dd tools are usually available on all UNIX systems.
In the following examples, the floppy disk drive device name is given as /dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5. Your actual device name may be different.
To place a copy of the file transfer.file on a floppy disk with the tar command, use the syntax:
tar cvf /dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5 transfer.file |
To retrieve the file, use the command:
tar xvf /dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5 transfer.file |
To retrieve all files from a tar floppy disk, use the command:
tar xvf /dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5 |
or for high-density floppy disks:
tar xvf /dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5hi |
For complete information on tar and its options, see the tar(1) reference page.
To copy files to floppy disk with cpio, use the command:
ls transfer.file | cpio -oc > /dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5 |
To retrieve the file again, use the command:
cat /dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5 | cpio -i |
For complete information on cpio and its options, see the cpio(1) reference page.
This dd command copies a file to the floppy disk:
dd if=transfer.file of=/dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5 conv=sync |
The following command extracts the same file:
dd if=/dev/rdsk/fds0d3.3.5 of=transfer.file conv=sync
| Note: dd works only with single files. You can use tar or cpio to create an archive file, though, and then use dd to transfer that archive. If you attempt to extract the file on another brand of workstation and you experience an error, try adding the conv=swab statement to your extraction command line. For complete information on dd, see the dd(1) reference page. |