Commands Reference, Volume 4

pdisable Command

Purpose

Disables login ports.

Syntax

pdisable [ -a ] [ Device ]

Description

The pdisable command disables a specific port, even if a user is logged in at that port. The system disables a port by updating an entry in the /etc/inittab file and then sending a signal to the init process. When the init process receives the signal and reads the updated status entry, it takes the appropriate action.

Use the Device parameter to specify the ports to be disabled. Permitted values include:

• A full device name, such as the /dev/tty1 device
• A simple device name, such as the tty1 device
• A number (for example, 1 to indicate the /dev/tty1 device).

If you do not specify a Device parameter, the pdisable command reports the names of currently disabled ports in its set.

Note: You must have root user authority to run this command.

Flag

Examples

1. To display the names of all ports currently disabled, enter:

   pdisable

2. To disable all ports that are enabled, even if users are logged in, enter:

   pdisable -a

3. To disable the workstation attached to the /dev/tty8 port, enter:

   pdisable tty8

Files

Related Information

The init command, pdelay command, penable command, phold command, pshare command, pstart command.

The inittab file.