lsdev

Show list of installed hardware

$ lsdev

Although lsdev is not a standard Linux command, its conceptual usage would typically follow a pattern similar to:

lsdev [options] [device_name]

Where options modify the output, and device_name specifies a particular device to query.

No standard Linux options
    As lsdev is not a standard Linux command, there are no universally defined options. The following parameters are illustrative, based on its functionality in other operating systems or conceptual device listing tools.

-C class
    (Illustrative) Filter devices by a specific class (e.g., network, disk, storage controller).

-S status
    (Illustrative) Display devices based on their operational status (e.g., available, defined, detached).

-l logical_name
    (Illustrative) Show detailed information for a specific logical device name.

-t type
    (Illustrative) List devices of a particular type (e.g., 'ethernet', 'scsi').

-v
    (Illustrative) Provide more verbose or detailed output about the devices.

The lsdev command is primarily found on IBM AIX and some System V Unix systems. It is not a standard command on most modern Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu, Fedora, or RHEL), where its functionality is typically provided by other specialized tools.

Conceptually, lsdev is used to display information about installed hardware devices, including their current status (e.g., 'Available', 'Defined', 'Detached'), configuration, and attributes. It can help system administrators to identify devices, troubleshoot hardware issues, and understand the system's hardware configuration. On Linux, similar information is gathered using commands like lspci for PCI devices, lsusb for USB devices, lshw for comprehensive hardware listings, udevadm for udev device management, and by inspecting the /sys filesystem.

The most significant caveat is that lsdev is not a default or standard command on the vast majority of modern Linux distributions. Users attempting to run it will typically receive a 'command not found' error. Its functionality is specific to other Unix-like operating systems, primarily IBM AIX. On Linux, administrators should use commands like lspci, lsusb, lshw, or udevadm to query hardware information.

On Linux, there isn't a single command that replicates all the functionality of lsdev. Instead, a combination of tools is used:
lspci: Lists all PCI devices.
lsusb: Lists all USB devices.
lshw: Provides a comprehensive list of all hardware components.
udevadm: Interacts with the udev device manager, allowing queries about devices managed by udev.
dmidecode: Reports information about your system's hardware as described in the SMBIOS/DMI.
Inspecting /sys: The /sys virtual filesystem contains detailed information about devices and kernel modules.

The lsdev command originated in Unix systems, notably becoming a prominent utility within IBM AIX for managing and querying device configurations. Its design reflects a system architecture where devices are managed through a configuration database. While its direct implementation is not prevalent in the Linux kernel or common distributions, the concept of querying system devices has evolved into a suite of specialized utilities on Linux, leveraging the sysfs virtual filesystem and udev for device management.

lspci(8), lsusb(8), lshw(8), udevadm(8), dmidecode(8), hwinfo(8)