How do I learn what I can do with /proc and /sys

Question

I'd like to know more about the advanced uses of the /proc and /sys virtual filesystems, but I don't know where to begin. Can anyone suggest any good sources to learn from? Also, since I think sys has regular additions, what's the best way to keep my knowledge current when a new kernel is released.

Answer 1

Read this blog post: Solving problems with proc

There are a few tips what you can do with the proc filesystem. Among other things, there is a tip how to get back a deleted disk image or how to staying ahead of the OOM killer.

Don't forget to read the comments, there are good tips, too.

Answer 2

You can look into the documentation which comes with the kernel source. (possibly greping for proc/sys ...).

Located at Documentation/filesystems: proc.txt and sysfs.txt.

Answer 3

The documentation in the Linux source tree is a good place (usually found in /usr/src/linux/Documentation is source is installed). Some distros make a separate package out of it. But, alas, much of it can only be understood by looking at the kernel source code. I have tried to encapsulate some of it in Python modules, so you might also be interested in that. The procps source code is also a good source of information.

Answer 4

The IBM DeveloperWorks library is a good place for articles like this. I didn't find anything directly applicable, but the 'Resources' section of a paper led me to this. It has some good info...

http://www.comptechdoc.org/os/linux/howlinuxworks/linux_hlproc.html