xref: /netbsd-src/sbin/sysctl/sysctl.8 (revision eb961d0e02b7a46a9acfa877b02df48df6637278)
1.\"	$NetBSD: sysctl.8,v 1.144 2006/03/06 00:51:48 christos Exp $
2.\"
3.\" Copyright (c) 2004 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
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62.\"	@(#)sysctl.8	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93
63.\"
64.Dd March 5, 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.cryptodevallowsoft	int	yes
293.It kern.defcorename	string	yes
294.It kern.domainname	string	yes
295.It kern.dump_on_panic	integer	yes
296.It kern.drivers	struct	no
297.It kern.file	struct	no
298.It kern.forkfsleep	integer	yes
299.It kern.fscale	integer	no
300.It kern.fsync	integer	no
301.It kern.hardclock_ticks	integer	no
302.It kern.hostid	integer	yes
303.It kern.hostname	string	yes
304.It kern.iov_max	integer	no
305.It kern.job_control	integer	no
306.It kern.labeloffset	integer	no
307.It kern.labelsector	integer	no
308.It kern.login_name_max	integer	no
309.It kern.logsigexit	integer	yes
310.It kern.mapped_files	integer	no
311.It kern.maxfiles	integer	yes
312.It kern.maxpartitions	integer	no
313.It kern.maxphys	integer	no
314.It kern.maxproc	integer	yes
315.It kern.maxptys	integer	yes, special
316.It kern.maxvnodes	integer	raise only
317.It kern.mbuf.mblowat	integer	yes
318.It kern.mbuf.mclbytes	integer	no
319.It kern.mbuf.mcllowat	integer	yes
320.It kern.mbuf.mclsize	integer	no
321.It kern.mbuf.msize	integer	no
322.It kern.mbuf.nmbclusters	integer	raise only
323.It kern.memlock	integer	no
324.It kern.memlock_range	integer	no
325.It kern.memory_protection	integer	no
326.It kern.monotonic_clock	integer	no
327.It kern.msgbuf	integer	no
328.It kern.msgbufsize	integer	no
329.It kern.ngroups	integer	no
330.It kern.ntptime	struct	no
331.It kern.osrelease	string	no
332.It kern.osrevision	integer	no
333.It kern.ostype	string	no
334.It kern.pipe.kvasize	integer	no
335.It kern.pipe.maxbigpipes	integer	yes
336.It kern.pipe.maxkvasz	integer	yes
337.It kern.pipe.maxloankvasz	integer	yes
338.It kern.pipe.nbigpipes	integer	no
339.It kern.posix1version	integer	no
340.It kern.posix_barriers	integer	no
341.It kern.posix_reader_writer_locks	integer	no
342.It kern.posix_semaphores	integer	no
343.It kern.posix_spin_locks	integer	no
344.It kern.posix_threads	integer	no
345.It kern.posix_timers	integer	no
346.It kern.proc	struct	no
347.It kern.proc2	struct	no
348.It kern.proc_args	string	yes
349.It kern.prof	node	not applicable
350.It kern.rawpartition	integer	no
351.It kern.root_device	string	no
352.It kern.root_partition	integer	no
353.It kern.rtc_offset	integer	yes
354.It kern.saved_ids	integer	no
355.It kern.sbmax	integer	yes
356.It kern.securelevel	integer	raise only
357.It kern.somaxkva	integer	yes
358.It kern.synchronized_io	integer	no
359.It kern.sysvipc_info	struct	no
360.It kern.sysvmsg	integer	no
361.It kern.sysvsem	integer	no
362.It kern.sysvshm	integer	no
363.It kern.timex	struct	no
364.It kern.tkstat.cancc	quad	no
365.It kern.tkstat.nin	quad	no
366.It kern.tkstat.nout	quad	no
367.It kern.tkstat.rawcc	quad	no
368.It kern.urandom	integer	no
369.It kern.userasymcrypto	int	yes
370.It kern.usercrypto	int	yes
371.It kern.veriexec.verbose	integer	yes
372.It kern.veriexec.strict	integer	raise only
373.It kern.veriexec.algorithms	string	no
374.It kern.veriexec.count.dev_\*[Lt]id\*[Gt]	quad	no
375.It kern.version	string	no
376.It kern.vnode	struct	no
377.It machdep.console_device	dev_t	no
378.It net.bpf.maxbufsize	integer	yes
379.It net.bpf.stats	struct	no
380.It net.bpf.peers	struct	no
381.It net.inet.arp.prune	integer	yes
382.It net.inet.arp.keep	integer	yes
383.It net.inet.arp.down	integer	yes
384.It net.inet.arp.refresh	integer	yes
385.It net.inet.icmp.maskrepl	integer	yes
386.It net.inet.icmp.errppslimit	integer	yes
387.It net.inet.icmp.rediraccept	integer	yes
388.It net.inet.icmp.redirtimeout	integer	yes
389.It net.inet.icmp.returndatabytes	integer	yes
390.It net.inet.ip.allowsrcrt	integer	yes
391.It net.inet.ip.anonportmax	integer	yes
392.It net.inet.ip.anonportmin	integer	yes
393.It net.inet.ip.checkinterface	integer	yes
394.It net.inet.ip.directed-broadcast	integer	yes
395.It net.inet.ip.do_loopback_cksum	integer	yes
396.It net.inet.ip.forwarding	integer	yes
397.It net.inet.ip.forwsrcrt	integer	yes
398.It net.inet.ip.gifttl	integer	yes
399.It net.inet.ip.grettl	integer	yes
400.It net.inet.ip.hostzerobroadcast	integer	yes
401.It net.inet.ip.maxfragpackets	integer	yes
402.It net.inet.ip.lowportmax	integer	yes
403.It net.inet.ip.lowportmin	integer	yes
404.It net.inet.ip.mtudisc	integer	yes
405.It net.inet.ip.mtudisctimeout	integer	yes
406.It net.inet.ip.random_id	integer	yes
407.It net.inet.ip.redirect	integer	yes
408.It net.inet.ip.subnetsarelocal	integer	yes
409.It net.inet.ip.ttl	integer	yes
410.It net.inet.ip.ifq.drops	integer	no
411.It net.inet.ip.ifq.len	integer	no
412.It net.inet.ip.ifq.maxlen	integer	yes
413.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_cleartos	integer	yes
414.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_net_deflev	integer	yes
415.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_offsetmask	integer	yes
416.It net.inet.ipsec.ah_trans_deflev	integer	yes
417.It net.inet.ipsec.def_policy	integer	yes
418.It net.inet.ipsec.dfbit	integer	yes
419.It net.inet.ipsec.ecn	integer	yes
420.It net.inet.ipsec.esp_net_deflev	integer	yes
421.It net.inet.ipsec.esp_trans_deflev	integer	yes
422.It net.inet.ipsec.inbound_call_ike	integer	yes
423.It net.inet.tcp.ack_on_push	integer	yes
424.It net.inet.tcp.compat_42	integer	yes
425.It net.inet.tcp.cwm	integer	yes
426.It net.inet.tcp.cwm_burstsize	integer	yes
427.It net.inet.tcp.delack_ticks	integer	yes
428.It net.inet.tcp.do_lookback_cksum	integer	yes
429.It net.inet.tcp.init_win	integer	yes
430.It net.inet.tcp.init_win_local	integer	yes
431.It net.inet.tcp.keepcnt	integer	yes
432.It net.inet.tcp.keepidle	integer	yes
433.It net.inet.tcp.keepintvl	integer	yes
434.It net.inet.tcp.log_refused	integer	yes
435.It net.inet.tcp.mss_ifmtu	integer	yes
436.It net.inet.tcp.mssdflt	integer	yes
437.It net.inet.tcp.newreno	integer	yes
438.It net.inet.tcp.recvspace	integer	yes
439.It net.inet.tcp.rfc1323	integer	yes
440.It net.inet.tcp.rstppslimit	integer	yes
441.It net.inet.tcp.sack.enable	integer	yes
442.It net.inet.tcp.sack.globalholes	integer	no
443.It net.inet.tcp.sack.globalmaxholes	integer	yes
444.It net.inet.tcp.sack.maxholes	integer	yes
445.It net.inet.tcp.sendspace	integer	yes
446.It net.inet.tcp.slowhz	integer	no
447.It net.inet.tcp.syn_bucket_limit	integer	yes
448.It net.inet.tcp.syn_cache_interval	integer	yes
449.It net.inet.tcp.syn_cache_limit	integer	yes
450.It net.inet.tcp.timestamps	integer	yes
451.It net.inet.tcp.win_scale	integer	yes
452.It net.inet.tcp.ident	struct	no
453.It net.inet.tcp.debug	struct	no
454.It net.inet.tcp.debx	integer	no
455.It net.inet.udp.checksum	integer	yes
456.It net.inet.udp.do_loopback_cksum	integer	yes
457.It net.inet.udp.recvspace	integer	yes
458.It net.inet.udp.sendspace	integer	yes
459.It net.ns.spp.debug	struct	yes
460.It net.ns.spp.debx	integer	yes
461.It net.inet6.icmp6.errppslimit	integer	yes
462.It net.inet6.icmp6.mtudisc_hiwat	integer	yes
463.It net.inet6.icmp6.mtudisc_lowat	integer	yes
464.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_debug	integer	yes
465.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_delay	integer	yes
466.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_maxnudhint	integer	yes
467.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_mmaxtries	integer	yes
468.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_prune	integer	yes
469.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_umaxtries	integer	yes
470.It net.inet6.icmp6.nd6_useloopback	integer	yes
471.It net.inet6.icmp6.nodeinfo	integer	yes
472.It net.inet6.icmp6.rediraccept	integer	yes
473.It net.inet6.icmp6.redirtimeout	integer	yes
474.It net.inet6.ip6.accept_rtadv	integer	yes
475.It net.inet6.ip6.anonportmax	integer	yes
476.It net.inet6.ip6.anonportmin	integer	yes
477.It net.inet6.ip6.auto_flowlabel	integer	yes
478.It net.inet6.ip6.dad_count	integer	yes
479.It net.inet6.ip6.defmcasthlim	integer	yes
480.It net.inet6.ip6.forwarding	integer	yes
481.It net.inet6.ip6.gifhlim	integer	yes
482.It net.inet6.ip6.hdrnestlimit	integer	yes
483.It net.inet6.ip6.hlim	integer	yes
484.It net.inet6.ip6.kame_version	string	no
485.It net.inet6.ip6.keepfaith	integer	yes
486.It net.inet6.ip6.log_interval	integer	yes
487.It net.inet6.ip6.lowportmax	integer	yes
488.It net.inet6.ip6.lowportmin	integer	yes
489.It net.inet6.ip6.maxfragpackets	integer	yes
490.It net.inet6.ip6.maxfrags	integer	yes
491.It net.inet6.ip6.redirect	integer	yes
492.It net.inet6.ip6.rr_prune	integer	yes
493.It net.inet6.ip6.use_deprecated	integer	yes
494.It net.inet6.ip6.v6only	integer	yes
495.It net.inet6.ip6.ifq.drops	integer	no
496.It net.inet6.ip6.ifq.len	integer	no
497.It net.inet6.ip6.ifq.maxlen	integer	yes
498.It net.inet6.ipsec6.ah_net_deflev	integer	yes
499.It net.inet6.ipsec6.ah_trans_deflev	integer	yes
500.It net.inet6.ipsec6.def_policy	integer	yes
501.It net.inet6.ipsec6.ecn	integer	yes
502.It net.inet6.ipsec6.esp_net_deflev	integer	yes
503.It net.inet6.ipsec6.esp_trans_deflev	integer	yes
504.It net.inet6.ipsec6.inbound_call_ike	integer	yes
505.It net.inet6.udp6.do_loopback_cksum	integer	yes
506.It net.inet6.udp6.recvspace	integer	yes
507.It net.inet6.udp6.sendspace	integer	yes
508.It net.key.ah_keymin	integer	yes
509.It net.key.debug	integer	yes
510.It net.key.esp_auth	integer	yes
511.It net.key.esp_keymin	integer	yes
512.It net.key.kill_int	integer	yes
513.It net.key.spi_max_value	integer	yes
514.It net.key.spi_min_value	integer	yes
515.It net.key.spi_try	integer	yes
516.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].corename	string	yes
517.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.coredumpsize.hard	integer	yes
518.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.coredumpsize.soft	integer	yes
519.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.cputime.hard	integer	yes
520.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.cputime.soft	integer	yes
521.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.datasize.hard	integer	yes
522.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.datasize.soft	integer	yes
523.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.filesize.hard	integer	yes
524.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.filesize.soft	integer	yes
525.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.maxproc.hard	integer	yes
526.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.maxproc.soft	integer	yes
527.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memorylocked.hard	integer	yes
528.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memorylocked.soft	integer	yes
529.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memoryuse.hard	integer	yes
530.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.memoryuse.soft	integer	yes
531.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.stacksize.hard	integer	yes
532.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].rlimit.stacksize.soft	integer	yes
533.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].stopexec	int	yes
534.It proc.\*[Lt]pid\*[Gt].stopfork	int	yes
535.It security.curtain	integer	yes
536.It security.setid_core	node	not applicable
537.It security.setid_core.dump	integer	yes
538.It security.setid_core.group	integer	yes
539.It security.setid_core.mode	integer	yes
540.It security.setid_core.owner	integer	yes
541.It security.setid_core.path	string	yes
542.It user.bc_base_max	integer	no
543.It user.bc_dim_max	integer	no
544.It user.bc_scale_max	integer	no
545.It user.bc_string_max	integer	no
546.It user.coll_weights_max	integer	no
547.It user.cs_path	string	no
548.It user.expr_nest_max	integer	no
549.It user.line_max	integer	no
550.It user.posix2_c_bind	integer	no
551.It user.posix2_c_dev	integer	no
552.It user.posix2_char_term	integer	no
553.It user.posix2_fort_dev	integer	no
554.It user.posix2_fort_run	integer	no
555.It user.posix2_localedef	integer	no
556.It user.posix2_sw_dev	integer	no
557.It user.posix2_upe	integer	no
558.It user.posix2_version	integer	no
559.It user.re_dup_max	integer	no
560.It vendor.\*[Lt]vendor\*[Gt].*	?	vendor specific
561.It vfs.generic.usermount	integer	yes
562.It vfs.generic.fstypes	string	yes
563.It vfs.ffs.doasyncfree	integer	yes
564.It vfs.ffs.log_changeopt	integer	yes
565.It vfs.nfs.iothreads	integer	yes
566.It vfs.cd9660.utf8_joliet	integer	yes
567.It vfs.sync.delay	integer	yes
568.It vfs.sync.filedelay	integer	yes
569.It vfs.sync.dirdelay	integer	yes
570.It vfs.sync.metadelay	integer	yes
571.It vm.anonmax	integer	yes
572.It vm.anonmin	integer	yes
573.It vm.bufcache	integer	yes
574.It vm.bufmem	integer	no
575.It vm.bufmem_hiwater	integer	yes
576.It vm.bufmem_lowater	integer	yes
577.It vm.execmax	integer	yes
578.It vm.execmin	integer	yes
579.It vm.filemax	integer	yes
580.It vm.filemin	integer	yes
581.It vm.idlezero	integer	yes
582.It vm.inactivepct	integer	yes
583.It vm.loadavg	struct	no
584.It vm.maxslp	integer	no
585.It vm.nkmempages	integer	no
586.It vm.uspace	integer	no
587.It vm.uvmexp	struct	no
588.It vm.uvmexp2	struct	no
589.It vm.vmmeter	struct	no
590.El
591.Pp
592Entries found under
593.Dq vendor. Ns Aq vendor
594are left to be specified (and used) by vendors
595using the
596.Nx
597operating system in their products.
598Values and structure are vendor-defined, and no registry
599exists right now.
600.Sh CREATION AND DELETION
601New nodes are allowed to be created by the superuser when the kernel
602is running at security level 0.
603These new nodes may refer to existing kernel data or to new data that
604is only instrumented by
605.Xr sysctl 3
606itself.
607.Pp
608The syntax for creating new nodes is
609.Dq //create=new.node.path
610followed by one or more of the following attributes separated by
611commas.
612The use of a double separator (both
613.Sq /
614and
615.Sq \&.
616can be used as
617separators) as the prefix tells sysctl that the first series of tokens
618is not a MIB name, but a command.
619It is recommended that the double separator preceding the command not
620be the same as the separator used in naming the MIB entry so as to
621avoid possible parse conflicts.
622The
623.Dq value
624assigned, if one is given, must be last.
625.Pp
626.Bl -bullet -compact
627.It
628.Ar type= Ns Aq Ar T
629where
630.Ar T
631must be one of
632.Dq node ,
633.Dq int ,
634.Dq string ,
635.Dq quad ,
636or
637.Dq struct .
638If the type is omitted, the
639.Dq node
640type is assumed.
641.It
642.Ar size= Ns Aq Ar S
643here,
644.Ar S
645asserts the size of the new node.
646Nodes of type
647.Dq node
648should not have a size set.
649The size may be omitted for nodes of types
650.Dq int
651or
652.Dq quad .
653If the size is omitted for a node of type
654.Dq string ,
655the size will be determined by the length of the given value, or by
656the kernel for kernel strings.
657Nodes of type
658.Dq struct
659must have their size explicitly set.
660.It
661.Ar addr= Ns Aq Ar A
662or
663.Ar symbol= Ns Aq Ar A
664The kernel address of the data being instrumented.
665If
666.Dq symbol
667is used, the symbol must be globally visible to the in-kernel
668.Xr ksyms 4
669driver.
670.It
671.Ar n= Ns Aq Ar N
672The MIB number to be assigned to the new node.
673If no number is specified, the kernel will assign a value.
674.It
675.Ar flags= Ns Aq Ar F
676A concatenated string of single letters that govern the behavior of
677the node.
678Flags currently available are:
679.Bl -tag -width www
680.It a
681Allow anyone to write to the node, if it is writable.
682.It h
683.Dq Hidden .
684.Nm
685must be invoked with
686.Fl A
687or the hidden node must be specifically requested in order to see it
688.It i
689.Dq Immediate .
690Makes the node store data in itself, rather than allocating new space
691for it.
692This is the default for nodes of type
693.Dq int
694and
695.Dq quad .
696This is the opposite of owning data.
697.It o
698.Dq Own .
699When the node is created, separate space will be allocated to store
700the data to be instrumented.
701This is the default for nodes of type
702.Dq string
703and
704.Dq struct
705where it is not possible to guarantee sufficient space to store the
706data in the node itself.
707.It p
708.Dq Private .
709Nodes that are marked private, and children of nodes so marked, are
710only viewable by the superuser.
711Be aware that the immediate data that some nodes may store is not
712necessarily protected by this.
713.It x
714.Dq Hexadecimal .
715Make
716.Nm
717default to hexadecimal display of the retrieved value
718.It r
719.Dq Read-only .
720The data instrumented by the given node is read-only.
721Note that other mechanisms may still exist for changing the data.
722This is the default for nodes that instrument data.
723.It w
724.Dq Writable .
725The data instrumented by the given node is writable at any time.
726This is the default for nodes that can have children.
727.It 1
728.Dq Read-only at securelevel 1 .
729The data instrumented by this node is writable until the securelevel
730reaches or passes securelevel 1.
731Examples of this include some network tunables.
732.It 2
733.Dq Read-only at securelevel 2 .
734The data instrumented by this node is writable until the securelevel
735reaches or passes securelevel 2.
736An example of this is the per-process core filename setting.
737.El
738.Pp
739.It
740.Ar value= Ns Aq Ar V
741An initial starting value for a new node that does not reference
742existing kernel data.
743Initial values can only be assigned for nodes of the
744.Dq int ,
745.Dq quad ,
746and
747.Dq string
748types.
749.El
750.Pp
751New nodes must fit the following set of criteria:
752.Pp
753.Bl -bullet -compact
754.It
755If the new node is to address an existing kernel object, only one of the
756.Dq symbol
757or
758.Dq addr
759arguments may be given.
760.It
761The size for a
762.Dq struct
763type node must be specified; no initial value is expected or permitted.
764.It
765Either the size or the initial value for a
766.Dq string
767node must be given.
768.It
769The node which will be the parent of the new node must be writable.
770.El
771.Pp
772If any of the given parameters describes an invalid configuration,
773.Nm
774will emit a diagnostic message to the standard error and exit.
775.Pp
776Descriptions can be added by the super-user to any node that does not
777have one, provided that the node is not marked with the
778.Dq PERMANENT
779flag.
780The syntax is similar to the syntax for creating new nodes with the
781exception of the keyword that follows the double separator at the
782start of the command:
783.Dq //describe=new.node.path=new node description .
784Once a description has been added, it cannot be changed or removed.
785.Pp
786When destroying nodes, only the path to the node is necessary, i.e.,
787.Dq //destroy=old.node.path .
788No other parameters are expected or permitted.
789Nodes being destroyed must have no children, and their parent must be
790writable.
791Nodes that are marked with the
792.Dq Dv PERMANENT
793flag (as assigned by the kernel) may not be deleted.
794.Pp
795In all cases, the initial
796.Sq =
797that follows the command (eg,
798.Dq create ,
799.Dq destroy ,
800or
801.Dq describe )
802may be replaced with another instance of the separator character,
803provided that the same separator character is used for the length of
804the name specification.
805.Sh FILES
806.Bl -tag -width xnetinet6/udp6Xvar.hx -compact
807.It Pa /etc/sysctl.conf
808.Nm
809variables set at boot time
810.It Aq Pa sys/sysctl.h
811definitions for top level identifiers, second level kernel, hardware,
812and security identifiers, and user level identifiers
813.It Aq Pa sys/socket.h
814definitions for second level network identifiers
815.It Aq Pa sys/gmon.h
816definitions for third level profiling identifiers
817.It Aq Pa uvm/uvm_param.h
818definitions for second level virtual memory identifiers
819.It Aq Pa netinet/in.h
820definitions for third level IPv4/v6 identifiers and
821fourth level IPv4/v6 identifiers
822.It Aq Pa netinet/icmp_var.h
823definitions for fourth level ICMP identifiers
824.It Aq Pa netinet/icmp6.h
825definitions for fourth level ICMPv6 identifiers
826.It Aq Pa netinet/tcp_var.h
827definitions for fourth level TCP identifiers
828.It Aq Pa netinet/udp_var.h
829definitions for fourth level UDP identifiers
830.It Aq Pa netinet6/udp6_var.h
831definitions for fourth level IPv6 UDP identifiers
832.It Aq Pa netinet6/ipsec.h
833definitions for fourth level IPsec identifiers
834.It Aq Pa netkey/key_var.h
835definitions for third level PF_KEY identifiers
836.It Aq Pa sys/verified_exec.h
837definitions for third level verified exec identifiers
838.El
839.Sh EXAMPLES
840For example, to retrieve the maximum number of processes allowed
841in the system, one would use the following request:
842.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
843sysctl kern.maxproc
844.Ed
845.Pp
846To set the maximum number of processes allowed
847in the system to 1000, one would use the following request:
848.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
849sysctl -w kern.maxproc=1000
850.Ed
851.Pp
852Information about the system clock rate may be obtained with:
853.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
854sysctl kern.clockrate
855.Ed
856.Pp
857Information about the load average history may be obtained with:
858.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
859sysctl vm.loadavg
860.Ed
861.Pp
862To view the values of the per-process variables of the current shell,
863the request:
864.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
865sysctl proc.$$
866.Ed
867can be used if the shell interpreter replaces $$ with its pid (this is true
868for most shells).
869.Pp
870To redirect core dumps to the
871.Pa /var/tmp/ Ns Aq username
872directory,
873.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
874sysctl -w proc.$$.corename=/var/tmp/%u/%n.core
875.Ed
876should be used.
877.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
878sysctl -w proc.curproc.corename=/var/tmp/%u/%n.core
879.Ed
880changes the value for the sysctl process itself, and will not have the desired
881effect.
882.Pp
883To create the root of a new sub-tree called
884.Dq local
885add some children to the new node, and some descriptions:
886.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
887sysctl -w //create=local
888sysctl -w //describe=local=my local sysctl tree
889sysctl -w //create=local.esm_debug,type=int,symbol=esm_debug,flags=w
890sysctl -w //describe=local.esm_debug=esm driver debug knob
891sysctl -w //create=local.audiodebug,type=int,symbol=audiodebug,flags=w
892sysctl -w //describe=local.audiodebug=generic audio debug knob
893.Ed
894Note that the children are made writable so that the two debug
895settings in question can be tuned arbitrarily.
896.Pp
897To destroy that same subtree:
898.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
899sysctl -w //destroy=local.esm_debug
900sysctl -w //destroy=local.audiodebug
901sysctl -w //destroy=local
902.Ed
903.Sh SEE ALSO
904.Xr sysctl 3 ,
905.Xr ksyms 4
906.Sh HISTORY
907.Nm sysctl
908first appeared in
909.Bx 4.4 .
910