opensolaris man page for lofi

lofi(7D)							      Devices								  lofi(7D)

NAME
       lofi - 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		     |SUNWcsr, SUNWcarx.u	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Interface Stability	     |Committed 		   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO
       fstyp(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)