xref: /netbsd-src/sbin/sysctl/sysctl.8 (revision 27527e67bbdf8d9ec84fd58803048ed6d181ece2)
1.\"	$NetBSD: sysctl.8,v 1.143 2006/02/04 18:37:58 wiz Exp $
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3.\" Copyright (c) 2004 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
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61.\"
62.\"	@(#)sysctl.8	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93
63.\"
64.Dd February 2, 2006
65.Dt SYSCTL 8
66.Os
67.Sh NAME
68.Nm sysctl
69.Nd get or set kernel state
70.Sh SYNOPSIS
71.Nm sysctl
72.Op Fl AdeMn
73.Oo
74.Fl r |
75.Fl x
76.Oc
77.Op Ar name ...
78.Nm sysctl
79.Op Fl nq
80.Oo
81.Fl r |
82.Fl x
83.Oc
84.Fl w
85.Ar name Ns Li = Ns Ar value ...
86.Nm sysctl
87.Op Fl en
88.Oo
89.Fl r |
90.Fl x
91.Oc
92.Fl a
93.Nm sysctl
94.Op Fl nq
95.Oo
96.Fl r |
97.Fl x
98.Oc
99.Fl f
100.Ar file
101.Sh DESCRIPTION
102The
103.Nm sysctl
104utility retrieves kernel state and allows processes with
105appropriate privilege to set kernel state.
106The state to be retrieved or set is described using a
107``Management Information Base'' (``MIB'') style name,
108described as a dotted set of components.
109The
110.Sq /
111character may also be used as a separator and a leading separator
112character is accepted.
113If
114.Ar name
115specifies a non-leaf node in the MIB, all the nodes underneath
116.Ar name
117will be printed.
118.Pp
119The following options are available:
120.Bl -tag -width indent
121.It Fl A
122List all the known MIB names including tables, unless any MIB
123arguments or
124.Fl f Ar file
125are given.
126Those with string or integer values will be printed as with the
127.Fl a
128flag; for table or structure values that
129.Nm
130is not able to print,
131the name of the utility to retrieve them is given.
132Errors in retrieving or setting values will be directed to stdout
133instead of stderr.
134.It Fl a
135List all the currently available string or integer values.
136The use of a solitary separator character (either
137.Sq \&.
138or
139.Sq / )
140by
141itself has the same effect.
142Any given
143.Ar name
144arguments are ignored if this option is specified.
145.It Fl d
146Descriptions of each of the nodes selected will be printed instead of
147their values.
148.It Fl e
149Separate the name and the value of the variable(s) with
150.Ql = .
151This is useful for producing output which can be fed back to the
152.Nm
153utility.
154This option is ignored if
155.Fl n
156is specified or a variable is being set.
157.It Fl f
158Specifies the name of a file to read and process.
159Blank lines and comments (beginning with
160.Ql # )
161are ignored.
162Line continuations with
163.Ql \e
164are permitted.
165Remaining lines are processed similarly to
166command line arguments of the form
167.Ar name
168or
169.Ar name Ns Li = Ns Ar value .
170The
171.Fl w
172flag is implied by
173.Fl f .
174Any
175.Ar name
176arguments are ignored.
177.It Fl M
178Makes
179.Nm
180print the MIB instead of any of the actual values contained in the
181MIB.
182This causes the entire MIB to be printed unless specific MIB arguments
183or
184.Fl f Ar file
185are also given.
186.It Fl n
187Specifies that the printing of the field name should be
188suppressed and that only its value should be output.
189This flag is useful for setting shell variables.
190For example, to save the pagesize in variable psize, use:
191.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
192set psize=`sysctl -n hw.pagesize`
193.Ed
194.It Fl q
195Used to indicate that nothing should be printed for writes unless an
196error is detected.
197.It Fl r
198Raw output form.
199Values printed are in their raw binary forms as retrieved directly
200from the kernel.
201Some additional nodes that
202.Nm
203cannot print directly can be retrieved with this flag.
204This option conflicts with the
205.Fl x
206option.
207.It Fl w
208Sets the MIB style name given to the value given.
209The MIB style name and value must be separated by
210.Ql =
211with no whitespace.
212Only integral and string values can be set via this method.
213.It Fl x
214Makes
215.Nm
216print the requested value in a hexadecimal representation instead of
217its regular form.
218If specified more than once, the output for each value resembles that of
219.Xr hexdump 1
220when given the
221.Fl C
222flag.
223This option conflicts with the
224.Fl r
225option.
226.Pp
227.El
228The
229.Ql proc
230top-level MIB has a special semantic: it represent per-process values
231and as such may differ from one process to another.
232The second-level name is the pid of the process (in decimal form),
233or the special word
234.Ql curproc .
235For variables below
236.Ql proc. Ns Ao pid Ac Ns .rlimit ,
237the integer value may be replaced
238with the string
239.Ql unlimited
240if it matches the magic value used to disable
241a limit.
242.Pp
243The information available from
244.Nm sysctl
245consists of integers, strings, and tables.
246The tabular information can only be retrieved by special
247purpose programs such as
248.Nm ps ,
249.Nm systat ,
250and
251.Nm netstat .
252The string and integer information is summarized below.
253For a detailed description of these variable see
254.Xr sysctl 3 .
255The changeable column indicates whether a process with appropriate
256privilege can change the value.
257.Bl -column proc.xpidx.rlimit.coredumpsize.hardxxxxxx integerxxx
258.It Sy Name	Type	Changeable
259.It ddb.commandonenter	string	yes
260.It ddb.fromconsole	integer 	yes
261.It ddb.lines	integer	yes
262.It ddb.maxoff	integer	yes
263.It ddb.maxwidth	integer	yes
264.It ddb.onpanic	integer	yes
265.It ddb.radix	integer	yes
266.It ddb.tabstops	integer	yes
267.It ddb.tee_msgbuf	integer	yes
268.It hw.alignbytes	integer	no
269.It hw.byteorder	integer	no
270.It hw.cnmagic	integer	yes
271.It hw.disknames	string	no
272.It hw.diskstats	struct	no
273.It hw.machine	string	no
274.It hw.machine_arch	string	no
275.It hw.model	string	no
276.It hw.ncpu	integer	no
277.It hw.pagesize	integer	no
278.It hw.physmem	integer	no
279.It hw.physmem64	quad	no
280.It hw.usermem	integer	no
281.It hw.usermem64	quad	no
282.It kern.argmax	integer	no
283.It kern.autonicetime	integer	yes
284.It kern.autoniceval	integer	yes
285.It kern.boottime	struct	no
286.It kern.bufq.strategies	string	no
287.It kern.ccpu	integer	no
288.It kern.clockrate	struct	no
289.It kern.consdev	integer	no
290.It kern.cp_id	struct	no
291.It kern.cp_time	struct	no
292.It kern.defcorename	string	yes
293.It kern.domainname	string	yes
294.It kern.dump_on_panic	integer	yes
295.It kern.drivers	struct	no
296.It kern.file	struct	no
297.It kern.forkfsleep	integer	yes
298.It kern.fscale	integer	no
299.It kern.fsync	integer	no
300.It kern.hardclock_ticks	integer	no
301.It kern.hostid	integer	yes
302.It kern.hostname	string	yes
303.It kern.iov_max	integer	no
304.It kern.job_control	integer	no
305.It kern.labeloffset	integer	no
306.It kern.labelsector	integer	no
307.It kern.login_name_max	integer	no
308.It kern.logsigexit	integer	yes
309.It kern.mapped_files	integer	no
310.It kern.maxfiles	integer	yes
311.It kern.maxpartitions	integer	no
312.It kern.maxphys	integer	no
313.It kern.maxproc	integer	yes
314.It kern.maxptys	integer	yes, special
315.It kern.maxvnodes	integer	raise only
316.It kern.mbuf.mblowat	integer	yes
317.It kern.mbuf.mclbytes	integer	no
318.It kern.mbuf.mcllowat	integer	yes
319.It kern.mbuf.mclsize	integer	no
320.It kern.mbuf.msize	integer	no
321.It kern.mbuf.nmbclusters	integer	raise only
322.It kern.memlock	integer	no
323.It kern.memlock_range	integer	no
324.It kern.memory_protection	integer	no
325.It kern.monotonic_clock	integer	no
326.It kern.msgbuf	integer	no
327.It kern.msgbufsize	integer	no
328.It kern.ngroups	integer	no
329.It kern.ntptime	struct	no
330.It kern.osrelease	string	no
331.It kern.osrevision	integer	no
332.It kern.ostype	string	no
333.It kern.pipe.kvasize	integer	no
334.It kern.pipe.maxbigpipes	integer	yes
335.It kern.pipe.maxkvasz	integer	yes
336.It kern.pipe.maxloankvasz	integer	yes
337.It kern.pipe.nbigpipes	integer	no
338.It kern.posix1version	integer	no
339.It kern.posix_barriers	integer	no
340.It kern.posix_reader_writer_locks	integer	no
341.It kern.posix_semaphores	integer	no
342.It kern.posix_spin_locks	integer	no
343.It kern.posix_threads	integer	no
344.It kern.posix_timers	integer	no
345.It kern.proc	struct	no
346.It kern.proc2	struct	no
347.It kern.proc_args	string	yes
348.It kern.prof	node	not applicable
349.It kern.rawpartition	integer	no
350.It kern.root_device	string	no
351.It kern.root_partition	integer	no
352.It kern.rtc_offset	integer	yes
353.It kern.saved_ids	integer	no
354.It kern.sbmax	integer	yes
355.It kern.securelevel	integer	raise only
356.It kern.somaxkva	integer	yes
357.It kern.synchronized_io	integer	no
358.It kern.sysvipc_info	struct	no
359.It kern.sysvmsg	integer	no
360.It kern.sysvsem	integer	no
361.It kern.sysvshm	integer	no
362.It kern.timex	struct	no
363.It kern.tkstat.cancc	quad	no
364.It kern.tkstat.nin	quad	no
365.It kern.tkstat.nout	quad	no
366.It kern.tkstat.rawcc	quad	no
367.It kern.urandom	integer	no
368.It kern.veriexec.verbose	integer	yes
369.It kern.veriexec.strict	integer	raise only
370.It kern.veriexec.algorithms	string	no
371.It kern.veriexec.count.dev_\*[Lt]id\*[Gt]	quad	no
372.It kern.version	string	no
373.It kern.vnode	struct	no
374.It machdep.console_device	dev_t	no
375.It net.bpf.maxbufsize	integer	yes
376.It net.bpf.stats	struct	no
377.It net.bpf.peers	struct	no
378.It net.inet.arp.prune	integer	yes
379.It net.inet.arp.keep	integer	yes
380.It net.inet.arp.down	integer	yes
381.It net.inet.arp.refresh	integer	yes
382.It net.inet.icmp.maskrepl	integer	yes
383.It net.inet.icmp.errppslimit	integer	yes
384.It net.inet.icmp.rediraccept	integer	yes
385.It net.inet.icmp.redirtimeout	integer	yes
386.It net.inet.icmp.returndatabytes	integer	yes
387.It net.inet.ip.allowsrcrt	integer	yes
388.It net.inet.ip.anonportmax	integer	yes
389.It net.inet.ip.anonportmin	integer	yes
390.It net.inet.ip.checkinterface	integer	yes
391.It net.inet.ip.directed-broadcast	integer	yes
392.It net.inet.ip.do_loopback_cksum	integer	yes
393.It net.inet.ip.forwarding	integer	yes
394.It net.inet.ip.forwsrcrt	integer	yes
395.It net.inet.ip.gifttl	integer	yes
396.It net.inet.ip.grettl	integer	yes
397.It net.inet.ip.hostzerobroadcast	integer	yes
398.It net.inet.ip.maxfragpackets	integer	yes
399.It net.inet.ip.lowportmax	integer	yes
400.It net.inet.ip.lowportmin	integer	yes
401.It net.inet.ip.mtudisc	integer	yes
402.It net.inet.ip.mtudisctimeout	integer	yes
403.It net.inet.ip.random_id	integer	yes
404.It net.inet.ip.redirect	integer	yes
405.It net.inet.ip.subnetsarelocal	integer	yes
406.It net.inet.ip.ttl	integer	yes
407.It net.inet.ip.ifq.drops	integer	no
408.It net.inet.ip.ifq.len	integer	no
409.It net.inet.ip.ifq.maxlen	integer	yes
410.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_cleartos	integer	yes
411.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_net_deflev	integer	yes
412.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_offsetmask	integer	yes
413.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_trans_deflev	integer	yes
414.It net.inet.ipsec.def_policy	integer	yes
415.It net.inet.ipsec.dfbit	integer	yes
416.It net.inet.ipsec.ecn	integer	yes
417.It net.inet.ipsec.esp_net_deflev	integer	yes
418.It net.inet.ipsec.esp_trans_deflev	integer	yes
419.It net.inet.ipsec.inbound_call_ike	integer	yes
420.It net.inet.tcp.ack_on_push	integer	yes
421.It net.inet.tcp.compat_42	integer	yes
422.It net.inet.tcp.cwm	integer	yes
423.It net.inet.tcp.cwm_burstsize	integer	yes
424.It net.inet.tcp.delack_ticks	integer	yes
425.It net.inet.tcp.do_lookback_cksum	integer	yes
426.It net.inet.tcp.init_win	integer	yes
427.It net.inet.tcp.init_win_local	integer	yes
428.It net.inet.tcp.keepcnt	integer	yes
429.It net.inet.tcp.keepidle	integer	yes
430.It net.inet.tcp.keepintvl	integer	yes
431.It net.inet.tcp.log_refused	integer	yes
432.It net.inet.tcp.mss_ifmtu	integer	yes
433.It net.inet.tcp.mssdflt	integer	yes
434.It net.inet.tcp.newreno	integer	yes
435.It net.inet.tcp.recvspace	integer	yes
436.It net.inet.tcp.rfc1323	integer	yes
437.It net.inet.tcp.rstppslimit	integer	yes
438.It net.inet.tcp.sack.enable	integer	yes
439.It net.inet.tcp.sack.globalholes	integer	no
440.It net.inet.tcp.sack.globalmaxholes	integer	yes
441.It net.inet.tcp.sack.maxholes	integer	yes
442.It net.inet.tcp.sendspace	integer	yes
443.It net.inet.tcp.slowhz	integer	no
444.It net.inet.tcp.syn_bucket_limit	integer	yes
445.It net.inet.tcp.syn_cache_interval	integer	yes
446.It net.inet.tcp.syn_cache_limit	integer	yes
447.It net.inet.tcp.timestamps	integer	yes
448.It net.inet.tcp.win_scale	integer	yes
449.It net.inet.tcp.ident	struct	no
450.It net.inet.tcp.debug	struct	no
451.It net.inet.tcp.debx	integer	no
452.It net.inet.udp.checksum	integer	yes
453.It net.inet.udp.do_loopback_cksum	integer	yes
454.It net.inet.udp.recvspace	integer	yes
455.It net.inet.udp.sendspace	integer	yes
456.It net.ns.spp.debug	struct	yes
457.It net.ns.spp.debx	integer	yes
458.It net.inet6.icmp6.errppslimit	integer	yes
459.It net.inet6.icmp6.mtudisc_hiwat	integer	yes
460.It net.inet6.icmp6.mtudisc_lowat	integer	yes
461.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_debug	integer	yes
462.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_delay	integer	yes
463.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_maxnudhint	integer	yes
464.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_mmaxtries	integer	yes
465.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_prune	integer	yes
466.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_umaxtries	integer	yes
467.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_useloopback	integer	yes
468.It net.inet6.icmp6.nodeinfo	integer	yes
469.It net.inet6.icmp6.rediraccept	integer	yes
470.It net.inet6.icmp6.redirtimeout	integer	yes
471.It net.inet6.ip6.accept_rtadv	integer	yes
472.It net.inet6.ip6.anonportmax	integer	yes
473.It net.inet6.ip6.anonportmin	integer	yes
474.It net.inet6.ip6.auto_flowlabel	integer	yes
475.It net.inet6.ip6.dad_count	integer	yes
476.It net.inet6.ip6.defmcasthlim	integer	yes
477.It net.inet6.ip6.forwarding	integer	yes
478.It net.inet6.ip6.gifhlim	integer	yes
479.It net.inet6.ip6.hdrnestlimit	integer	yes
480.It net.inet6.ip6.hlim	integer	yes
481.It net.inet6.ip6.kame_version	string	no
482.It net.inet6.ip6.keepfaith	integer	yes
483.It net.inet6.ip6.log_interval	integer	yes
484.It net.inet6.ip6.lowportmax	integer	yes
485.It net.inet6.ip6.lowportmin	integer	yes
486.It net.inet6.ip6.maxfragpackets	integer	yes
487.It net.inet6.ip6.maxfrags	integer	yes
488.It net.inet6.ip6.redirect	integer	yes
489.It net.inet6.ip6.rr_prune	integer	yes
490.It net.inet6.ip6.use_deprecated	integer	yes
491.It net.inet6.ip6.v6only	integer	yes
492.It net.inet6.ip6.ifq.drops	integer	no
493.It net.inet6.ip6.ifq.len	integer	no
494.It net.inet6.ip6.ifq.maxlen	integer	yes
495.It net.inet6.ipsec6.ah_net_deflev	integer	yes
496.It net.inet6.ipsec6.ah_trans_deflev	integer	yes
497.It net.inet6.ipsec6.def_policy	integer	yes
498.It net.inet6.ipsec6.ecn	integer	yes
499.It net.inet6.ipsec6.esp_net_deflev	integer	yes
500.It net.inet6.ipsec6.esp_trans_deflev	integer	yes
501.It net.inet6.ipsec6.inbound_call_ike	integer	yes
502.It net.inet6.udp6.do_loopback_cksum	integer	yes
503.It net.inet6.udp6.recvspace	integer	yes
504.It net.inet6.udp6.sendspace	integer	yes
505.It net.key.ah_keymin	integer	yes
506.It net.key.debug	integer	yes
507.It net.key.esp_auth	integer	yes
508.It net.key.esp_keymin	integer	yes
509.It net.key.kill_int	integer	yes
510.It net.key.spi_max_value	integer	yes
511.It net.key.spi_min_value	integer	yes
512.It net.key.spi_try	integer	yes
513.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].corename	string	yes
514.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.coredumpsize.hard	integer	yes
515.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.coredumpsize.soft	integer	yes
516.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.cputime.hard	integer	yes
517.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.cputime.soft	integer	yes
518.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.datasize.hard	integer	yes
519.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.datasize.soft	integer	yes
520.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.filesize.hard	integer	yes
521.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.filesize.soft	integer	yes
522.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.maxproc.hard	integer	yes
523.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.maxproc.soft	integer	yes
524.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memorylocked.hard	integer	yes
525.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memorylocked.soft	integer	yes
526.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memoryuse.hard	integer	yes
527.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memoryuse.soft	integer	yes
528.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.stacksize.hard	integer	yes
529.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.stacksize.soft	integer	yes
530.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].stopexec	int	yes
531.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].stopfork	int	yes
532.It security.curtain	integer	yes
533.It security.setid_core	node	not applicable
534.It security.setid_core.dump	integer	yes
535.It security.setid_core.group	integer	yes
536.It security.setid_core.mode	integer	yes
537.It security.setid_core.owner	integer	yes
538.It security.setid_core.path	string	yes
539.It user.bc_base_max	integer	no
540.It user.bc_dim_max	integer	no
541.It user.bc_scale_max	integer	no
542.It user.bc_string_max	integer	no
543.It user.coll_weights_max	integer	no
544.It user.cs_path	string	no
545.It user.expr_nest_max	integer	no
546.It user.line_max	integer	no
547.It user.posix2_c_bind	integer	no
548.It user.posix2_c_dev	integer	no
549.It user.posix2_char_term	integer	no
550.It user.posix2_fort_dev	integer	no
551.It user.posix2_fort_run	integer	no
552.It user.posix2_localedef	integer	no
553.It user.posix2_sw_dev	integer	no
554.It user.posix2_upe	integer	no
555.It user.posix2_version	integer	no
556.It user.re_dup_max	integer	no
557.It vendor.\*[Lt]vendor\*[Gt].*	?	vendor specific
558.It vfs.generic.usermount	integer	yes
559.It vfs.generic.fstypes	string	yes
560.It vfs.ffs.doasyncfree	integer	yes
561.It vfs.ffs.log_changeopt	integer	yes
562.It vfs.nfs.iothreads	integer	yes
563.It vfs.cd9660.utf8_joliet	integer	yes
564.It vfs.sync.delay	integer	yes
565.It vfs.sync.filedelay	integer	yes
566.It vfs.sync.dirdelay	integer	yes
567.It vfs.sync.metadelay	integer	yes
568.It vm.anonmax	integer	yes
569.It vm.anonmin	integer	yes
570.It vm.bufcache	integer	yes
571.It vm.bufmem	integer	no
572.It vm.bufmem_hiwater	integer	yes
573.It vm.bufmem_lowater	integer	yes
574.It vm.execmax	integer	yes
575.It vm.execmin	integer	yes
576.It vm.filemax	integer	yes
577.It vm.filemin	integer	yes
578.It vm.idlezero	integer	yes
579.It vm.inactivepct	integer	yes
580.It vm.loadavg	struct	no
581.It vm.maxslp	integer	no
582.It vm.nkmempages	integer	no
583.It vm.uspace	integer	no
584.It vm.uvmexp	struct	no
585.It vm.uvmexp2	struct	no
586.It vm.vmmeter	struct	no
587.El
588.Pp
589Entries found under
590.Dq vendor. Ns Aq vendor
591are left to be specified (and used) by vendors
592using the
593.Nx
594operating system in their products.
595Values and structure are vendor-defined, and no registry
596exists right now.
597.Sh CREATION AND DELETION
598New nodes are allowed to be created by the superuser when the kernel
599is running at security level 0.
600These new nodes may refer to existing kernel data or to new data that
601is only instrumented by
602.Xr sysctl 3
603itself.
604.Pp
605The syntax for creating new nodes is
606.Dq //create=new.node.path
607followed by one or more of the following attributes separated by
608commas.
609The use of a double separator (both
610.Sq /
611and
612.Sq \&.
613can be used as
614separators) as the prefix tells sysctl that the first series of tokens
615is not a MIB name, but a command.
616It is recommended that the double separator preceding the command not
617be the same as the separator used in naming the MIB entry so as to
618avoid possible parse conflicts.
619The
620.Dq value
621assigned, if one is given, must be last.
622.Pp
623.Bl -bullet -compact
624.It
625.Ar type= Ns Aq Ar T
626where
627.Ar T
628must be one of
629.Dq node ,
630.Dq int ,
631.Dq string ,
632.Dq quad ,
633or
634.Dq struct .
635If the type is omitted, the
636.Dq node
637type is assumed.
638.It
639.Ar size= Ns Aq Ar S
640here,
641.Ar S
642asserts the size of the new node.
643Nodes of type
644.Dq node
645should not have a size set.
646The size may be omitted for nodes of types
647.Dq int
648or
649.Dq quad .
650If the size is omitted for a node of type
651.Dq string ,
652the size will be determined by the length of the given value, or by
653the kernel for kernel strings.
654Nodes of type
655.Dq struct
656must have their size explicitly set.
657.It
658.Ar addr= Ns Aq Ar A
659or
660.Ar symbol= Ns Aq Ar A
661The kernel address of the data being instrumented.
662If
663.Dq symbol
664is used, the symbol must be globally visible to the in-kernel
665.Xr ksyms 4
666driver.
667.It
668.Ar n= Ns Aq Ar N
669The MIB number to be assigned to the new node.
670If no number is specified, the kernel will assign a value.
671.It
672.Ar flags= Ns Aq Ar F
673A concatenated string of single letters that govern the behavior of
674the node.
675Flags currently available are:
676.Bl -tag -width www
677.It a
678Allow anyone to write to the node, if it is writable.
679.It h
680.Dq Hidden .
681.Nm
682must be invoked with
683.Fl A
684or the hidden node must be specifically requested in order to see it
685.It i
686.Dq Immediate .
687Makes the node store data in itself, rather than allocating new space
688for it.
689This is the default for nodes of type
690.Dq int
691and
692.Dq quad .
693This is the opposite of owning data.
694.It o
695.Dq Own .
696When the node is created, separate space will be allocated to store
697the data to be instrumented.
698This is the default for nodes of type
699.Dq string
700and
701.Dq struct
702where it is not possible to guarantee sufficient space to store the
703data in the node itself.
704.It p
705.Dq Private .
706Nodes that are marked private, and children of nodes so marked, are
707only viewable by the superuser.
708Be aware that the immediate data that some nodes may store is not
709necessarily protected by this.
710.It x
711.Dq Hexadecimal .
712Make
713.Nm
714default to hexadecimal display of the retrieved value
715.It r
716.Dq Read-only .
717The data instrumented by the given node is read-only.
718Note that other mechanisms may still exist for changing the data.
719This is the default for nodes that instrument data.
720.It w
721.Dq Writable .
722The data instrumented by the given node is writable at any time.
723This is the default for nodes that can have children.
724.It 1
725.Dq Read-only at securelevel 1 .
726The data instrumented by this node is writable until the securelevel
727reaches or passes securelevel 1.
728Examples of this include some network tunables.
729.It 2
730.Dq Read-only at securelevel 2 .
731The data instrumented by this node is writable until the securelevel
732reaches or passes securelevel 2.
733An example of this is the per-process core filename setting.
734.El
735.Pp
736.It
737.Ar value= Ns Aq Ar V
738An initial starting value for a new node that does not reference
739existing kernel data.
740Initial values can only be assigned for nodes of the
741.Dq int ,
742.Dq quad ,
743and
744.Dq string
745types.
746.El
747.Pp
748New nodes must fit the following set of criteria:
749.Pp
750.Bl -bullet -compact
751.It
752If the new node is to address an existing kernel object, only one of the
753.Dq symbol
754or
755.Dq addr
756arguments may be given.
757.It
758The size for a
759.Dq struct
760type node must be specified; no initial value is expected or permitted.
761.It
762Either the size or the initial value for a
763.Dq string
764node must be given.
765.It
766The node which will be the parent of the new node must be writable.
767.El
768.Pp
769If any of the given parameters describes an invalid configuration,
770.Nm
771will emit a diagnostic message to the standard error and exit.
772.Pp
773Descriptions can be added by the super-user to any node that does not
774have one, provided that the node is not marked with the
775.Dq PERMANENT
776flag.
777The syntax is similar to the syntax for creating new nodes with the
778exception of the keyword that follows the double separator at the
779start of the command:
780.Dq //describe=new.node.path=new node description .
781Once a description has been added, it cannot be changed or removed.
782.Pp
783When destroying nodes, only the path to the node is necessary, i.e.,
784.Dq //destroy=old.node.path .
785No other parameters are expected or permitted.
786Nodes being destroyed must have no children, and their parent must be
787writable.
788Nodes that are marked with the
789.Dq Dv PERMANENT
790flag (as assigned by the kernel) may not be deleted.
791.Pp
792In all cases, the initial
793.Sq =
794that follows the command (eg,
795.Dq create ,
796.Dq destroy ,
797or
798.Dq describe )
799may be replaced with another instance of the separator character,
800provided that the same separator character is used for the length of
801the name specification.
802.Sh FILES
803.Bl -tag -width xnetinet6/udp6Xvar.hx -compact
804.It Pa /etc/sysctl.conf
805.Nm
806variables set at boot time
807.It Aq Pa sys/sysctl.h
808definitions for top level identifiers, second level kernel, hardware,
809and security identifiers, and user level identifiers
810.It Aq Pa sys/socket.h
811definitions for second level network identifiers
812.It Aq Pa sys/gmon.h
813definitions for third level profiling identifiers
814.It Aq Pa uvm/uvm_param.h
815definitions for second level virtual memory identifiers
816.It Aq Pa netinet/in.h
817definitions for third level IPv4/v6 identifiers and
818fourth level IPv4/v6 identifiers
819.It Aq Pa netinet/icmp_var.h
820definitions for fourth level ICMP identifiers
821.It Aq Pa netinet/icmp6.h
822definitions for fourth level ICMPv6 identifiers
823.It Aq Pa netinet/tcp_var.h
824definitions for fourth level TCP identifiers
825.It Aq Pa netinet/udp_var.h
826definitions for fourth level UDP identifiers
827.It Aq Pa netinet6/udp6_var.h
828definitions for fourth level IPv6 UDP identifiers
829.It Aq Pa netinet6/ipsec.h
830definitions for fourth level IPsec identifiers
831.It Aq Pa netkey/key_var.h
832definitions for third level PF_KEY identifiers
833.It Aq Pa sys/verified_exec.h
834definitions for third level verified exec identifiers
835.El
836.Sh EXAMPLES
837For example, to retrieve the maximum number of processes allowed
838in the system, one would use the following request:
839.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
840sysctl kern.maxproc
841.Ed
842.Pp
843To set the maximum number of processes allowed
844in the system to 1000, one would use the following request:
845.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
846sysctl -w kern.maxproc=1000
847.Ed
848.Pp
849Information about the system clock rate may be obtained with:
850.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
851sysctl kern.clockrate
852.Ed
853.Pp
854Information about the load average history may be obtained with:
855.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
856sysctl vm.loadavg
857.Ed
858.Pp
859To view the values of the per-process variables of the current shell,
860the request:
861.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
862sysctl proc.$$
863.Ed
864can be used if the shell interpreter replaces $$ with its pid (this is true
865for most shells).
866.Pp
867To redirect core dumps to the
868.Pa /var/tmp/ Ns Aq username
869directory,
870.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
871sysctl -w proc.$$.corename=/var/tmp/%u/%n.core
872.Ed
873should be used.
874.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
875sysctl -w proc.curproc.corename=/var/tmp/%u/%n.core
876.Ed
877changes the value for the sysctl process itself, and will not have the desired
878effect.
879.Pp
880To create the root of a new sub-tree called
881.Dq local
882add some children to the new node, and some descriptions:
883.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
884sysctl -w //create=local
885sysctl -w //describe=local=my local sysctl tree
886sysctl -w //create=local.esm_debug,type=int,symbol=esm_debug,flags=w
887sysctl -w //describe=local.esm_debug=esm driver debug knob
888sysctl -w //create=local.audiodebug,type=int,symbol=audiodebug,flags=w
889sysctl -w //describe=local.audiodebug=generic audio debug knob
890.Ed
891Note that the children are made writable so that the two debug
892settings in question can be tuned arbitrarily.
893.Pp
894To destroy that same subtree:
895.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
896sysctl -w //destroy=local.esm_debug
897sysctl -w //destroy=local.audiodebug
898sysctl -w //destroy=local
899.Ed
900.Sh SEE ALSO
901.Xr sysctl 3 ,
902.Xr ksyms 4
903.Sh HISTORY
904.Nm sysctl
905first appeared in
906.Bx 4.4 .
907