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devfsd
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<p>devfsd is a device manager for the <a href="/facts/Linux_kernel/dlkduHuA">Linux kernel</a>. Primarily, it creates <a href="/facts/Device_node/t8ISnXft">device nodes</a> in the <a href="/facts/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard/roaRoAWy">/dev</a> directory when kernel drivers make the underlying hardware accessible. The nodes exist in a virtual <a href="/facts/Device_file/t8ISnXft">device file</a> system named <a href="/facts/Devfs/t8ISnXft">devfs</a>. In systems that support many different types of hardware, each of which has its own device nodes, this is more convenient than creating all possible device nodes beforehand and in a real <a href="/facts/Filesystem/FdPm90uc">filesystem</a>. </p><p>While devfs was a step forward, it had several disadvantages of its own. Since version 2.5 of the Linux kernel, devfs has been succeeded by <a href="/facts/Udev/89smRMUF">udev</a> and devtmpfs. </p>