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First Steps
2.2.1 Device File Names
Here you will find explanations on how to find your device file names and how to set up ac-
cess to them. In Linux systems, all the devices are associated with specific files called de-
vice files. All device files that are available on your machine are located inside the /dev di-
rectory. Depending on the version of the Linux kernel you are using, your recorder device file
name may differ due to the low-level driver it is using.
The kernel is the heart of your Linux system. For example, the kernel provides
low-level drivers which gain access to devices.
How to get the Linux kernel version
To find out which Linux kernel you are using you can enter uname –r into a ter-
minal.
Device file names also differ according to the interface on the recorder. Currently, you can
have many different interfaces on a recorder: IDE, SCSI, USB, FireWire (IEEE 1394) or Se-
rial ATA.
2.2.1.1 IDE Devices
Most internal recorders are connected to the IDE bus. Linux assigns them a device file ac-
cording to their position on this bus (bus number and master/slave settings).
Basically, you should have the following naming convention:

/dev/hda : Primary Master device

/dev/hdb : Primary Slave device

/dev/hdc : Secondary Master device

/dev/hdd : Secondary Slave device
If you have an additional IDE controller on your motherboard, the file names
scheme is the same - it uses the remaining letters (for example /dev/hde and
/dev/hdf).
2.2.1.2 SCSI Devices
SCSI recording devices are handled by two different drivers under Linux. Therefore two dif-
ferent device files are created to handle one physical device:

/dev/srX or /dev/scdX : Used only to read data from media

/dev/sgX : Used by Nero Linux to communicate with the device
(X is a number identifying your device)
If your recorder is correctly recognized by the Linux kernel it should appear in the file
/proc/scsi/scsi. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine the X number from the SCSI co-
ordinates of your recorder. But usually the numbers are used incrementally, starting from 0,
corresponding to the position of the device in the /proc/scsi/scsi file.
Nero Linux 8