xref: /freebsd/share/man/man4/ng_iface.4 (revision 8ddb146abcdf061be9f2c0db7e391697dafad85c)
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33.\" Author: Archie Cobbs <archie@FreeBSD.org>
34.\"
35.\" $FreeBSD$
36.\" $Whistle: ng_iface.8,v 1.5 1999/01/25 23:46:26 archie Exp $
37.\"
38.Dd July 31, 2020
39.Dt NG_IFACE 4
40.Os
41.Sh NAME
42.Nm ng_iface
43.Nd interface netgraph node type
44.Sh SYNOPSIS
45.In netgraph/ng_iface.h
46.Sh DESCRIPTION
47An
48.Nm iface
49node is both a netgraph node and a system networking interface.
50When an
51.Nm iface
52node is created, a new interface appears which is accessible via
53.Xr ifconfig 8 .
54.Nm Iface
55node interfaces are named
56.Dv ng0 ,
57.Dv ng1 ,
58etc.
59When a node is shutdown, the corresponding interface is removed
60and the interface name becomes available for reuse by future
61.Nm iface
62nodes; new nodes always take the first unused interface.
63The node itself is assigned the same name as its interface, unless the name
64already exists, in which case the node remains unnamed.
65.Pp
66An
67.Nm iface
68node has a single hook corresponding to each supported protocol.
69Packets transmitted via the interface flow out the corresponding
70protocol-specific hook.
71Similarly, packets received on a hook appear on the interface as
72packets received into the corresponding protocol stack.
73The currently supported protocols are IP and IPv6.
74.Pp
75An
76.Nm iface
77node can be configured as a point-to-point interface or a broadcast interface.
78The configuration can only be changed when the interface is down.
79The default mode is point-to-point.
80.Pp
81.Nm Iface
82nodes support the Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF).
83.Sh HOOKS
84This node type supports the following hooks:
85.Bl -tag -width ".Va inet6"
86.It Va inet
87Transmission and reception of IP packets.
88.It Va inet6
89Transmission and reception of IPv6 packets.
90.El
91.Sh CONTROL MESSAGES
92This node type supports the generic control messages, plus the following:
93.Bl -tag -width foo
94.It Dv NGM_IFACE_GET_IFNAME Pq Ic getifname
95Returns the name of the associated interface as a
96.Dv NUL Ns -terminated
97.Tn ASCII
98string.
99Normally this is the same as the name of the node.
100.It Dv NGM_IFACE_GET_IFINDEX Pq Ic getifindex
101Returns the global index of the associated interface as a 32 bit integer.
102.It Dv NGM_IFACE_POINT2POINT Pq Ic point2point
103Set the interface to point-to-point mode.
104The interface must not currently be up.
105.It Dv NGM_IFACE_BROADCAST Pq Ic broadcast
106Set the interface to broadcast mode.
107The interface must not currently be up.
108.El
109.Sh SHUTDOWN
110This node shuts down upon receipt of a
111.Dv NGM_SHUTDOWN
112control message.
113The associated interface is removed and becomes available
114for use by future
115.Nm iface
116nodes.
117.Pp
118Unlike most other node types, an
119.Nm iface
120node does
121.Em not
122go away when all hooks have been disconnected; rather, and explicit
123.Dv NGM_SHUTDOWN
124control message is required.
125.Sh ALTQ Support
126The
127.Nm
128interface supports ALTQ bandwidth management feature.
129However,
130.Nm
131is a special case, since it is not a physical interface with limited bandwidth.
132One should not turn ALTQ on
133.Nm
134if the latter corresponds to some tunneled connection, e.g.\& PPPoE or PPTP.
135In this case, ALTQ should be configured on the interface that is used to
136transmit the encapsulated packets.
137In case when your graph ends up with some kind of serial line, either
138synchronous or modem, the
139.Nm
140is the right place to turn ALTQ on.
141.Sh Nesting
142.Nm
143supports nesting, a configuration when traffic of one
144.Nm
145interface flows through the other.
146The default maximum allowed nesting level is 2.
147It can be changed at runtime setting
148.Xr sysctl 8
149variable
150.Va net.graph.iface.max_nesting
151to the desired level of nesting.
152.Sh SEE ALSO
153.Xr altq 4 ,
154.Xr bpf 4 ,
155.Xr netgraph 4 ,
156.Xr ng_cisco 4 ,
157.Xr ifconfig 8 ,
158.Xr ngctl 8
159.Xr sysctl
160.Sh HISTORY
161The
162.Nm iface
163node type was implemented in
164.Fx 4.0 .
165.Sh AUTHORS
166.An Archie Cobbs Aq Mt archie@FreeBSD.org
167