dev_hold(9)

💖 dev_hold(9) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the dev_hold page — that's the entry in the Kernel API Manual and honestly it's a short one, so grab your lil strawberry drink 🍓 and let's go.

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✨ NAME ✨

dev_hold — get a reference to a device 🫶

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void dev_hold (struct net_device *dev );

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• dev — the network device, bestie. that's it, that's the argument 💅

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so what this does: it holds a reference to the device so it does not get freed while you're still out here using it. literally keeping it alive. main character protection energy 👑

but listen — try using netdev_hold instead. fr fr, that's the recommendation, i don't make the rules 🙈

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

the whole friend group, no cap:

• Kernel file ./include/linux/netdevice.h struct gro_node(9)
• napi_is_scheduled(9)
• napi_schedule(9)
• napi_schedule_irqoff(9)
• napi_complete_done(9)
• napi_synchronize(9)
• napi_if_scheduled_mark_missed(9)
• enum netdev_priv_flags(9)
• struct net_device(9)
• netdev_priv(9)
• netdev_from_priv(9)
• netif_napi_add(9)
• netif_napi_add_config(9)
• netif_napi_add_tx(9)
• __netif_napi_del(9)
• netif_napi_del(9)
• netif_start_queue(9)
• netif_wake_queue(9)
• netif_stop_queue(9)
• netif_queue_stopped(9)
• netdev_queue_set_dql_min_limit(9)
• netdev_txq_bql_enqueue_prefetchw(9)
• netdev_txq_bql_complete_prefetchw(9)
• netdev_tx_sent_queue(9)
• netdev_sent_queue(9)
• netdev_tx_completed_queue(9)
• netdev_completed_queue(9)
• netdev_tx_reset_subqueue(9)
• netdev_reset_queue(9)
• netdev_cap_txqueue(9)
• netif_running(9)
• netif_start_subqueue(9)
• netif_stop_subqueue(9)
• __netif_subqueue_stopped(9)
• netif_subqueue_stopped(9)
• netif_wake_subqueue(9)
• netif_attr_test_mask(9)
• netif_attr_test_online(9)
• netif_attrmask_next(9)
• netif_attrmask_next_and(9)
• netif_is_multiqueue(9)
• dev_put(9)
• linkwatch_sync_dev(9)
• netif_carrier_ok(9)
• netif_dormant_on(9)
• netif_dormant_off(9)
• netif_dormant(9)
• netif_testing_on(9)
• netif_testing_off(9)
• netif_testing(9)
• netif_oper_up(9)
• netif_device_present(9)
• netif_tx_lock(9)
• __dev_uc_sync(9)
• __dev_uc_unsync(9)
• __dev_mc_sync(9)
• __dev_mc_unsync(9)

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that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 💅✨

shoutout to ./include/linux for hosting this lil masterpiece, dated October 2026 — see u in the next manpage, mwah 🎀💜