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| docs:guide-developer:netifid [2018/03/04 13:05] – ↷ Links adapted because of a move operation | docs:guide-developer:netifid [2018/11/27 09:05] (current) – merged back bobafetthotmail |
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| ====== netifd (Network Interface Daemon) – Technical Reference ====== | [[docs:techref:netifd|netifd (Network Interface Daemon) – Technical Reference]] |
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| * [[https://git.lede-project.org/?p=project/netifd.git;a=summary|Project's git]] | |
| * netifd first appeared in OpenWrt [[https://dev.openwrt.org/changeset/28499|R28499 (trunk)]] and is published under the GPLv2. | |
| * [[https://git.lede-project.org/?p=project/netifd.git;a=blob;f=DESIGN|Design of netifd]] | |
| | |
| ==== What is netifd? ==== | |
| ''netifd'' is an [[wp>Remote procedure call|RPC]]-capable [[wp>Daemon (computing)|daemon]] written in [[wp>C (programming language)|C]] for better access to kernel APIs with the ability to listen on [[wp>Netlink|netlink events]]. ''Netifd'' has replaced the old //OpenWrt-network configuration scripts//, the actual scripts that configured the network, e.g. | |
| * ''/lib/network/*.sh'', | |
| * ''/sbin/ifup'' | |
| * some scripts in ''/etc/hotplug.d''.) | |
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| ''netifd'' is intended to stay compatible with the existing format of ''[[docs:guide-user:base-system:basic-networking|LEDE network configuration]]'', the only exceptions being rare special cases like | |
| aliases or the overlay variables in ''/var/state'' (though even most of those can be easily emulated). | |
| | |
| ==== Help with the development of netifd ==== | |
| - test what has been ported | |
| - review of the code | |
| - help porting more of our protocol handler scripts (so far, static, ppp, pppoe, pppoa and dhcp are supported) | |
| | |
| ==== Why do we want netifd? ==== | |
| One thing that ''netifd'' does much better then old //OpenWrt-network configuration scripts// is handling configuration changes. With ''netfid'', when the file ''/etc/config/network'' changes, you no longer have to restart all interfaces.\\ | |
| Simply run **''/etc/init.d/network reload''**. This will issue an ''ubus''-call to ''netifd'', telling it to figure out the difference between runtime state and the new config and apply only that. This works on a per-interface level, even with protocol handlers written as shell scripts. | |
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| It boils down to the fact that the current network and interface setup mechanisms (via network configuration scripts) are rather constrained and inflexible: | |
| * lack of statefulness | |
| * tendency for raceconditions | |
| * inability to properly nest protocols | |
| * limited featureset of the ash shell which will not allow for complex interface operations like e.g. calculating [[wp>Unique local address|ULAs]] | |
| * you name it | |
| | |
| ''Netifd'' will be able to manage even complex interface configurations with a mix of bonding, vlans, bridges, etc. and handle the dependencies | |
| between interfaces properly - and of course all that without adding unnecessary bloat.\\ | |
| AFAIK there are no alternatives to netifd, e.g. [[https://connman.net/|connman]] seems to be centered around one specifific use case only: having a mobile device access the internet through multiple connections. | |