xref: /freebsd/share/man/man9/sysctl.9 (revision 3fe92528afe8313fecf48822dde74bad5e380f48)
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27.\"
28.Dd April 28, 2006
29.Dt SYSCTL 9
30.Os
31.Sh NAME
32.Nm SYSCTL_DECL ,
33.Nm SYSCTL_INT ,
34.Nm SYSCTL_LONG ,
35.Nm SYSCTL_NODE ,
36.Nm SYSCTL_OPAQUE ,
37.Nm SYSCTL_PROC ,
38.Nm SYSCTL_STRING ,
39.Nm SYSCTL_STRUCT ,
40.Nm SYSCTL_UINT ,
41.Nm SYSCTL_ULONG ,
42.Nm SYSCTL_XINT ,
43.Nm SYSCTL_XLONG
44.Nd Static sysctl declaration functions
45.Sh SYNOPSIS
46.In sys/types.h
47.In sys/sysctl.h
48.Fo SYSCTL_DECL
49.Fa "name"
50.Fc
51.Fo SYSCTL_INT
52.Fa "parent"
53.Fa "nbr"
54.Fa "name"
55.Fa "access"
56.Fa "ptr"
57.Fa "val"
58.Fa "descr"
59.Fc
60.Fo SYSCTL_LONG
61.Fa "parent"
62.Fa "nbr"
63.Fa "name"
64.Fa "access"
65.Fa "ptr"
66.Fa "val"
67.Fa "descr"
68.Fc
69.Fo SYSCTL_NODE
70.Fa "parent"
71.Fa "nbr"
72.Fa "name"
73.Fa "access"
74.Fa "handler"
75.Fa "descr"
76.Fc
77.Fo SYSCTL_OPAQUE
78.Fa "parent"
79.Fa "nbr"
80.Fa "name"
81.Fa "access"
82.Fa "ptr"
83.Fa "len"
84.Fa "fmt"
85.Fa "descr"
86.Fc
87.Fo SYSCTL_PROC
88.Fa "parent"
89.Fa "nbr"
90.Fa "name"
91.Fa "access"
92.Fa "ptr"
93.Fa "arg"
94.Fa "handler"
95.Fa "fmt"
96.Fa "descr"
97.Fc
98.Fo SYSCTL_STRING
99.Fa "parent"
100.Fa "nbr"
101.Fa "name"
102.Fa "access"
103.Fa "arg"
104.Fa "len"
105.Fa "descr"
106.Fc
107.Fo SYSCTL_STRUCT
108.Fa "parent"
109.Fa "nbr"
110.Fa "name"
111.Fa "access"
112.Fa "ptr"
113.Fa "type"
114.Fa "descr"
115.Fc
116.Fo SYSCTL_UINT
117.Fa "parent"
118.Fa "nbr"
119.Fa "name"
120.Fa "access"
121.Fa "ptr"
122.Fa "val"
123.Fa "descr"
124.Fc
125.Fo SYSCTL_ULONG
126.Fa "parent"
127.Fa "nbr"
128.Fa "name"
129.Fa "access"
130.Fa "ptr"
131.Fa "val"
132.Fa "descr"
133.Fc
134.Fo SYSCTL_XINT
135.Fa "parent"
136.Fa "nbr"
137.Fa "name"
138.Fa "access"
139.Fa "ptr"
140.Fa "val"
141.Fa "descr"
142.Fc
143.Fo SYSCTL_XLONG
144.Fa "parent"
145.Fa "nbr"
146.Fa "name"
147.Fa "access"
148.Fa "ptr"
149.Fa "val"
150.Fa "descr"
151.Fc
152.Sh DESCRIPTION
153The
154.Nm
155kernel interfaces allow code to statically declare
156.Xr sysctl 8
157MIB entries, which will be initialized when the kernel module containing the
158declaration is initialized.
159When the module is unloaded, the sysctl will be automatically destroyed.
160.Pp
161Sysctl nodes are created in a hierarchical tree, with all static nodes being
162represented by named C data structures; in order to create a new node under
163an existing node in the tree, the structure representing the desired parent
164node must be declared in the current context using
165.Fn SYSCTL_DECL .
166.Pp
167New nodes are declared using one of
168.Nm SYSCTL_INT ,
169.Nm SYSCTL_LONG ,
170.Nm SYSCTL_NODE ,
171.Nm SYSCTL_OPAQUE ,
172.Nm SYSCTL_PROC ,
173.Nm SYSCTL_STRING ,
174.Nm SYSCTL_STRUCT ,
175.Nm SYSCTL_UINT ,
176.Nm SYSCTL_ULONG ,
177.Nm SYSCTL_XINT ,
178and
179.Nm SYSCTL_XLONG .
180Each macro accepts a parent name, as declared using
181.Nm SYSCTL_DECL ,
182an OID number, typically
183.Dv OID_AUTO ,
184a node name, a set of control and access flags, and a description.
185Depending on the macro, a pointer to a variable supporting the MIB entry, a
186size, a value, and a function pointer implementing the MIB entry may also be
187present.
188.Pp
189For most of the above macros, declaring a type as part of the access flags is
190not necessary -- however, when declaring a sysctl implemented by a function,
191including a type in the access mask is required:
192.Bl -tag -width CTLTYPE_STRING
193.It Dv CTLTYPE_NODE
194This is a node intended to be a parent for other nodes.
195.It Dv CTLTYPE_INT
196This is a signed integer.
197.It Dv CTLTYPE_STRING
198This is a nul-terminated string stored in a character array.
199.It Dv CTLTYPE_QUAD
200This is a 64-bit signed integer.
201.It Dv CTLTYPE_OPAQUE
202This is an opaque data structure.
203.It Dv CTLTYPE_STRUCT
204Alias for
205.Dv CTLTYPE_OPAQUE.
206.It Dv CTLTYPE_UINT
207This is an unsigned integer.
208.It Dv CTLTYPE_LONG
209This is a signed long.
210.It Dv CTLTYPE_ULONG
211This is an unsigned long.
212.El
213.Pp
214All sysctl types except for new node declarations require one or more flags
215to be set indicating the read and write disposition of the sysctl:
216.Bl -tag -width CTLFLAG_ANYBODY
217.It Dv CTLFLAG_RD
218This is a read-only sysctl.
219.It Dv CTLFLAG_WR
220This is a writable sysctl.
221.It Dv CTLFLAG_RW
222This sysctl is readable and writable.
223.It Dv CTLFLAG_ANYBODY
224Any user or process can write to this sysctl.
225.It Dv CTLFLAG_SECURE
226This sysctl can be written to only if the effective securelevel of the
227process is <= 0.
228.It Dv CTLFLAG_PRISON
229This sysctl can be written to by processes in
230.Xr jail 2 .
231.It Dv CTLFLAG_SKIP
232When iterating the sysctl name space, do not list this sysctl.
233.It Dv CTLFLAG_TUN
234Also declare a system tunable with the same name to initialize this variable.
235.It Dv CTLFLAG_RDTUN
236Also declare a system tunable with the same name to initalize this variable;
237however, the run-time variable is read-only.
238.El
239.Pp
240When creating new sysctls, careful attention should be paid to the security
241implications of the monitoring or management interface being created.
242Most sysctls present in the kernel are read-only or writable only by the
243superuser.
244Sysctls exporting extensive information on system data structures and
245operation, especially those implemented using procedures, will wish to
246implement access control to limit the undesired exposure of information about
247other processes, network connections, etc.
248.Pp
249The following top level sysctl name spaces are commonly used:
250.Bl -tag -width regression
251.It Dv compat
252Compatibility layer information.
253.It Dv debug
254Debugging information.
255Various name spaces exist under
256.Dv debug .
257.It Dv hw
258Hardware and device driver information.
259.It Dv kern
260Kernel behavior tuning; generally deprecated in favor of more specific
261name spaces.
262.It Dv machdep
263Machine-dependent configuration parameters.
264.It Dv net
265Network subsystem.
266Various protocols have name spaces under
267.Dv net .
268.It Dv regression
269Regression test configuration and information.
270.It Dv security
271Security and security-policy configuration and information.
272.It Dv sysctl
273Reserved name space for the implementation of sysctl.
274.It Dv user
275Configuration settings relating to user application behavior.
276Generally, configuring applications using kernel sysctls is discouraged.
277.It Dv vfs
278Virtual file system configuration and information.
279.It Dv vm
280Virtual memory subsystem configuration and information.
281.El
282.Sh EXAMPLES
283Sample use of
284.Nm SYSCTL_DECL
285to declare the "security" sysctl tree for use by new nodes:
286.Bd -literal -offset indent
287SYSCTL_DECL(_security);
288.Ed
289.Pp
290Examples of integer, opaque, string, and procedure sysctls follow:
291.Bd -literal -offset indent
292/*
293 * Example of a constant integer value.  Notice that the control
294 * flags are CTLFLAG_RD, the variable pointer is NULL, and the
295 * value is declared.
296 * If sysctl(8) should print this value in hex, use 'SYSCTL_XINT'.
297 */
298SYSCTL_INT(_debug_sizeof, OID_AUTO, bio, CTLFLAG_RD, NULL,
299    sizeof(struct bio), "sizeof(struct bio)");
300
301/*
302 * Example of a variable integer value.  Notice that the control
303 * flags are CTLFLAG_RW, the variable pointer is set, and the
304 * value is 0.
305 */
306static int	doingcache = 1;		/* 1 => enable the cache */
307SYSCTL_INT(_debug, OID_AUTO, vfscache, CTLFLAG_RW, &doingcache, 0,
308    "Enable name cache");
309
310/*
311 * Example of a variable string value.  Notice that the control
312 * flags are CTLFLAG_RW, that the variable pointer and string
313 * size are set.  Unlike newer sysctls, this older sysctl uses a
314 * static oid number.
315 */
316char kernelname[MAXPATHLEN] = "/kernel";	/* XXX bloat */
317SYSCTL_STRING(_kern, KERN_BOOTFILE, bootfile, CTLFLAG_RW,
318    kernelname, sizeof(kernelname), "Name of kernel file booted");
319
320/*
321 * Example of an opaque data type exported by sysctl.  Notice that
322 * the variable pointer and size are provided, as well as a format
323 * string for sysctl(8).
324 */
325static l_fp pps_freq;	/* scaled frequence offset (ns/s) */
326SYSCTL_OPAQUE(_kern_ntp_pll, OID_AUTO, pps_freq, CTLFLAG_RD,
327    &pps_freq, sizeof(pps_freq), "I", "");
328
329/*
330 * Example of a procedure based sysctl exporting string
331 * information.  Notice that the data type is declared, the NULL
332 * variable pointer and 0 size, the function pointer, and the
333 * format string for sysctl(8).
334 */
335SYSCTL_PROC(_kern_timecounter, OID_AUTO, hardware, CTLTYPE_STRING |
336    CTLFLAG_RW, NULL, 0, sysctl_kern_timecounter_hardware, "A",
337    "");
338.Ed
339.Pp
340When adding, modifying, or removing sysctl names, it is important to be
341aware that these interfaces may be used by users, libraries, applications,
342or documentation (such as published books), and are implicitly published application interfaces.
343As with other application interfaces, caution must be taken not to break
344existing applications, and to think about future use of new name spaces so as
345to avoid the need to rename or remove interfaces that might be depended on in
346the future.
347.Sh SEE ALSO
348.Xr sysctl 8 ,
349.Xr sysctl_add_oid 9 ,
350.Xr sysctl_ctx_free 9 ,
351.Xr sysctl_ctx_init 9 ,
352.Xr sysctl_remove_oid 9
353.Sh HISTORY
354.Xr sysctl 8
355first appeared in
356.Bx 4.4 .
357.Sh AUTHORS
358The sysctl implementation originally found in
359.Bx
360has been extensively rewritten by
361.An Poul-Henning Kamp
362in order to add support for name lookups, name space iteration, and dynamic
363addition of MIB nodes.
364.Pp
365This man page was written by
366.An Robert N. M. Watson .
367