SYSCTL(9) | Kernel Developer's Manual | SYSCTL(9)

# NAME

`sysctl` — system variable control interfaces

# SYNOPSIS

`#include <sys/param.h>`
`#include <sys/sysctl.h>`

Primary external interfaces:
void
`sysctl_init`(void);

int
`sysctl_lock`(struct lwp *l, void *oldp, size_t savelen);

int
`sysctl_dispatch`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

void
`sysctl_unlock`(struct lwp *l);

int
`sysctl_createv`(struct sysctllog **log, int cflags, const struct sysctlnode **rnode, const struct sysctlnode **cnode, int flags, int type, const char *namep, const char *desc, sysctlfn func, u_quad_t qv, void *newp, size_t newlen, ...);

int
`sysctl_destroyv`(struct sysctlnode *rnode, ...);

void
`sysctl_free`(struct sysctlnode *rnode);

void
`sysctl_teardown`(struct sysctllog **);

int
`old_sysctl`(int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, void *newp, size_t newlen, struct lwp *l);

Core internal functions:
int
`sysctl_locate`(struct lwp *l, const int *name, u_int namelen, const struct sysctlnode **rnode, int *nip);

int
`sysctl_lookup`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

int
`sysctl_create`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

int
`sysctl_destroy`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

int
`sysctl_query`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

Simple “helper” functions:
int
`sysctl_needfunc`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

int
`sysctl_notavail`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

int
`sysctl_null`(const int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, const void *newp, size_t newlen, const int *oname, struct lwp *l, const struct sysctlnode *rnode);

# DESCRIPTION

The SYSCTL subsystem instruments a number of kernel tunables and other data structures via a simple MIB-like interface, primarily for consumption by userland programs, but also for use internally by the kernel.

# LOCKING

All operations on the SYSCTL tree must be protected by acquiring the main SYSCTL lock. The only functions that can be called when the lock is not held are `sysctl_lock`(), `sysctl_createv`(), `sysctl_destroyv`(), and `old_sysctl`(). All other functions require the tree to be locked. This is to prevent other users of the tree from moving nodes around during an add operation, or from destroying nodes or subtrees that are actively being used. The lock is acquired by calling `sysctl_lock`() with a pointer to the process's lwp l (`NULL` may be passed to all functions as the lwp pointer if no lwp is appropriate, though any changes made via `sysctl_create`(), `sysctl_destroy`(), `sysctl_lookup`(), or by any helper function will be done with effective superuser privileges).

The oldp and savelen arguments are a pointer to and the size of the memory region the caller will be using to collect data from SYSCTL. These may also be `NULL` and 0, respectively.

The memory region will be locked via `uvm_vslock`() if it is a region in userspace. The address and size of the region are recorded so that when the SYSCTL lock is to be released via `sysctl_unlock`(), only the lwp pointer l is required.

# LOOKUPS

Once the lock has been acquired, it is typical to call `sysctl_dispatch`() to handle the request. `sysctl_dispatch`() will examine the contents of name, an array of integers at least namelen long, which is to be located in kernel space, in order to determine which function to call to handle the specific request.

The following algorithm is used by `sysctl_dispatch`() to determine the function to call:

- Scan the tree using `sysctl_locate`().
- If the node returned has a “helper” function, call it.
- If the requested node was found but has no function, call `sysctl_lookup`().
- If the node was not found and name specifies one of `sysctl_query`(), `sysctl_create`(), or `sysctl_destroy`(), call the appropriate function.
- If none of these options applies and no other error was yet recorded, return `EOPNOTSUPP`.

The oldp and oldlenp arguments to `sysctl_dispatch`(), as with all the other core functions, describe an area into which the current or requested value may be copied. oldp may or may not be a pointer into userspace (as dictated by whether l is `NULL` or not). oldlenp is a non-`NULL` pointer to a size_t. newp and newlen describe an area where the new value for the request may be found; newp may also be a pointer into userspace. The oname argument is a non-`NULL` pointer to the base of the request currently being processed. By simple arithmetic on name, namelen, and oname, one can easily determine the entire original request and namelen values, if needed. The rnode value, as passed to `sysctl_dispatch`() represents the root of the tree into which the current request is to be dispatched. If `NULL`, the main tree will be used.

The `sysctl_locate`() function scans a tree for the node most specific to a request. If the pointer referenced by rnode is not `NULL`, the tree indicated is searched, otherwise the main tree will be used. The address of the most relevant node will be returned via rnode and the number of MIB entries consumed will be returned via nip, if it is not `NULL`.

The `sysctl_lookup`() function takes the same arguments as `sysctl_dispatch`() with the caveat that the value for namelen must be zero in order to indicate that the node referenced by the rnode argument is the one to which the lookup is being applied.

# CREATION AND DESTRUCTION OF NODES

New nodes are created and destroyed by the `sysctl_create`() and `sysctl_destroy`() functions. These functions take the same arguments as `sysctl_dispatch`() with the additional requirement that the namelen argument must be 1 and the name argument must point to an integer valued either `CTL_CREATE` or `CTL_CREATESYM` when creating a new node, or `CTL_DESTROY` when destroying a node.

The newp and newlen arguments should point to a copy of the node to be created or destroyed. If the create or destroy operation was successful, a copy of the node created or destroyed will be placed in the space indicated by oldp and oldlenp. If the create operation fails because of a conflict with an existing node, a copy of that node will be returned instead.

In order to facilitate the creation and destruction of nodes from a given tree by kernel subsystems, the functions `sysctl_createv`() and `sysctl_destroyv`() are provided. These functions take care of the overhead of filling in the contents of the create or destroy request, dealing with locking, locating the appropriate parent node, etc.

The arguments to `sysctl_createv`() are used to construct the new node. If the log argument is not `NULL`, a sysctllog structure will be allocated and the pointer referenced will be changed to address it. The same log may be used for any number of nodes, provided they are all inserted into the same tree. This allows for a series of nodes to be created and later removed from the tree in a single transaction (via `sysctl_teardown`()) without the need for any record keeping on the caller's part.

The cflags argument is currently unused and must be zero. The rnode argument must either be `NULL` or a valid pointer to a reference to the root of the tree into which the new node must be placed. If it is `NULL`, the main tree will be used. It is illegal for rnode to refer to a `NULL` pointer. If the cnode argument is not `NULL`, on return it will be adjusted to point to the address of the new node.

The flags and type arguments are combined into the sysctl_flags field, and the current value for `SYSCTL_VERSION` is added in. The following types are defined:

`CTLTYPE_NODE`
  A node intended to be a parent for other nodes.
`CTLTYPE_INT`
  A signed integer.
`CTLTYPE_STRING`
  A NUL-terminated string.
`CTLTYPE_QUAD`
  An unsigned 64-bit integer.
`CTLTYPE_STRUCT`
  A structure.
`CTLTYPE_BOOL`
  A boolean.

The namep argument is copied into the sysctl_name field and must be less than `SYSCTL_NAMELEN` characters in length. The string indicated by desc will be copied if the `CTLFLAG_OWNDESC` flag is set, and will be used as the node's description.

Two additional remarks:

1. The `CTLFLAG_PERMANENT` flag can only be set from SYSCTL setup routines (see SETUP FUNCTIONS) as called by `sysctl_init`().
2. If `sysctl_destroyv`() attempts to delete a node that does not own its own description (and is not marked as permanent), but the deletion fails, the description will be copied and `sysctl_destroyv`() will set the `CTLFLAG_OWNDESC` flag.

The func argument is the name of a “helper” function (see HELPER FUNCTIONS AND MACROS). If the `CTLFLAG_IMMEDIATE` flag is set, the qv argument will be interpreted as the initial value for the new “bool”, “int” or “quad” node. This flag does not apply to any other type of node. The newp and newlen arguments describe the data external to SYSCTL that is to be instrumented. One of func, qv and the `CTLFLAG_IMMEDIATE` flag, or newp and newlen must be given for nodes that instrument data, otherwise an error is returned.

The remaining arguments are a list of integers specifying the path through the MIB to the node being created. The list must be terminated by the `CTL_EOL` value. The penultimate value in the list may be `CTL_CREATE` if a dynamic MIB entry is to be made for this node. `sysctl_createv`() specifically does not support `CTL_CREATESYM`, since setup routines are expected to be able to use the in-kernel ksyms(4) interface to discover the location of the data to be instrumented. If the node to be created matches a node that already exists, a return code of 0 is given, indicating success.

When using `sysctl_destroyv`() to destroy a given node, the rnode argument, if not `NULL`, is taken to be the root of the tree from which the node is to be destroyed, otherwise the main tree is used. The rest of the arguments are a list of integers specifying the path through the MIB to the node being destroyed. If the node being destroyed does not exist, a successful return code is given. Nodes marked with the `CTLFLAG_PERMANENT` flag cannot be destroyed.

# HELPER FUNCTIONS AND MACROS

Helper functions are invoked with the same common argument set as `sysctl_dispatch`() except that the rnode argument will never be `NULL`. It will be set to point to the node that corresponds most closely to the current request. Helpers are forbidden from modifying the node they are passed; they should instead copy the structure if changes are required in order to effect access control or other checks. The “helper” prototype and function that needs to ensure that a newly assigned value is within a certain range (presuming external data) would look like the following:

    static int sysctl_helper(SYSCTLFN_PROTO);

    static int
    sysctl_helper(SYSCTLFN_ARGS)
    {
    	struct sysctlnode node;
    	int t, error;

    	t = *(int *)rnode->sysctl_data;

    	node = *rnode;
    	node.sysctl_data = &t;
    	error = sysctl_lookup(SYSCTLFN_CALL(&node));
    	if (error || newp == NULL)
    		return (error);

    	if (t < 0 || t > 20)
    		return (EINVAL);

    	*(int *)rnode->sysctl_data = t;
    	return (0);
    }

The use of the `SYSCTLFN_PROTO`, `SYSCTLFN_ARGS, and` `SYSCTLFN_CALL`
macros ensure that all arguments are passed properly. The single argument to the `SYSCTLFN_CALL` macro is the pointer to the node being examined.

Three basic helper functions are available for use. `sysctl_needfunc`() will emit a warning to the system console whenever it is invoked and provides a simplistic read-only interface to the given node. `sysctl_notavail`() will forward “queries” to `sysctl_query`() so that subtrees can be discovered, but will return `EOPNOTSUPP` for any other condition. `sysctl_null`() specifically ignores any arguments given, sets the value indicated by oldlenp to zero, and returns success.

# SETUP FUNCTIONS

Although nodes can be added to the SYSCTL tree at any time, in order to add nodes during the kernel bootstrap phase (and during loadable module initialization), a proper “setup” function must be used. Setup functions are declared using the `SYSCTL_SETUP` macro, which takes the name of the function and a short string description of the function as arguments. (See the `SYSCTL_DEBUG_SETUP` kernel configuration in options(4).)

The address of the function is added to a list of functions that `sysctl_init`() traverses during initialization. For loadable kernel modules (see module(9)), the list of functions is called from the module loader before the module's initialization routine. Any sysctl nodes created for the loadable module are removed using `sysctl_teardown`() after calling the module's termination code.

Setup functions do not have to add nodes to the main tree, but can set up their own trees for emulation or other purposes. Emulations that require use of a main tree but with some nodes changed to suit their own purposes can arrange to overlay a sparse private tree onto their main tree by making the e_sysctlovly member of their struct emul definition point to the overlaid tree.

Setup functions should take care to create all nodes from the root down to the subtree they are creating, since the order in which setup functions are called is arbitrary (the order in which setup functions are called is only determined by the ordering of the object files as passed to the linker when the kernel is built).

# MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS

`sysctl_init`() is called early in the kernel bootstrap process. It initializes the SYSCTL lock, calls all the registered setup functions, and marks the tree as permanent.

`sysctl_free`() will unconditionally delete any and all nodes below the given node. Its intended use is for the deletion of entire trees, not subtrees. If a subtree is to be removed, `sysctl_destroy`() or `sysctl_destroyv`() should be used to ensure that nodes not owned by the sub-system being deactivated are not mistakenly destroyed. The SYSCTL lock must be held when calling this function.

`sysctl_teardown`() unwinds a sysctllog and deletes the nodes in the opposite order in which they were created.

`old_sysctl`() provides an interface similar to the old SYSCTL implementation, with the exception that access checks on a per-node basis are performed if the l argument is non-`NULL`. If called with a `NULL` argument, the values for newp and oldp are interpreted as kernel addresses, and access is performed as for the superuser.

# NOTES

It is expected that nodes will be added to (or removed from) the tree during the following stages of a machine's lifetime:

- initialization — when the kernel is booting
- autoconfiguration — when devices are being probed at boot time
- “plug and play” device attachment — when a PC-Card, USB, or other device is plugged in or attached
- module initialization — when a module is being loaded
- “run-time” — when a process creates a node via the sysctl(3) interface

Nodes marked with `CTLFLAG_PERMANENT` can only be added to a tree during the first or initialization phase, and can never be removed. The initialization phase terminates when the main tree's root is marked with the `CTLFLAG_PERMANENT` flag. Once the main tree is marked in this manner, no nodes can be added to any tree that is marked with `CTLFLAG_READONLY` at its root, and no nodes can be added at all if the main tree's root is so marked.

Nodes added by device drivers, modules, and at device insertion time can be added to (and removed from) “read-only” parent nodes.

Nodes created by processes can only be added to “writable” parent nodes. See sysctl(3) for a description of the flags that are allowed to be used by when creating nodes.

# SEE ALSO

sysctl(3)

# HISTORY

The dynamic SYSCTL implementation first appeared in NetBSD 2.0.

# AUTHORS

Andrew Brown ⟨atatat@NetBSD.org⟩ designed and implemented the dynamic SYSCTL implementation.

September 6, 2022 | NetBSD 11.0