GETSOCKOPT(2) BSD Programmer's Manual GETSOCKOPT(2) NNAAMMEE ggeettssoocckkoopptt, sseettssoocckkoopptt - get and set options on sockets SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS ##iinncclluuddee <<ssyyss//ttyyppeess..hh>> ##iinncclluuddee <<ssyyss//ssoocckkeett..hh>> _i_n_t ggeettssoocckkoopptt(_i_n_t _s, _i_n_t _l_e_v_e_l, _i_n_t _o_p_t_n_a_m_e, _v_o_i_d _*_o_p_t_v_a_l, _i_n_t _*_o_p_t_l_e_n); _i_n_t sseettssoocckkoopptt(_i_n_t _s, _i_n_t _l_e_v_e_l, _i_n_t _o_p_t_n_a_m_e, _c_o_n_s_t _v_o_i_d _*_o_p_t_v_a_l, _i_n_t _o_p_t_l_e_n); DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN GGeettssoocckkoopptt() and sseettssoocckkoopptt() manipulate the _o_p_t_i_o_n_s associated with a socket. Options may exist at multiple protocol levels; they are always present at the uppermost ``socket'' level. When manipulating socket options the level at which the option resides and the name of the option must be specified. To manipulate options at the socket level, _l_e_v_e_l is specified as SOL_SOCKET. To manipulate options at any other level the protocol number of the appropriate protocol con- trolling the option is supplied. For example, to indicate that an option is to be interpreted by the TCP protocol, _l_e_v_e_l should be set to the pro- tocol number of TCP; see getprotoent(3). The parameters _o_p_t_v_a_l and _o_p_t_l_e_n are used to access option values for sseettssoocckkoopptt(). For ggeettssoocckkoopptt() they identify a buffer in which the value for the requested option(s) are to be returned. For ggeettssoocckkoopptt(), _o_p_t_l_e_n is a value-result parameter, initially containing the size of the buffer pointed to by _o_p_t_v_a_l, and modified on return to indicate the actual size of the value returned. If no option value is to be supplied or returned, _o_p_t_v_a_l may be NULL. _O_p_t_n_a_m_e and any specified options are passed uninterpreted to the appro- priate protocol module for interpretation. The include file <_s_y_s_/_s_o_c_k_e_t_._h> contains definitions for socket level options, described below. Options at other protocol levels vary in format and name; consult the appropriate entries in section 4 of the manual. Most socket-level options utilize an _i_n_t parameter for _o_p_t_v_a_l. For sseettssoocckkoopptt(), the parameter should be non-zero to enable a boolean op- tion, or zero if the option is to be disabled. SO_LINGER uses a _s_t_r_u_c_t _l_i_n_g_e_r parameter, defined in <_s_y_s_/_s_o_c_k_e_t_._h>, which specifies the desired state of the option and the linger interval (see below). SO_SNDTIMEO and SO_RCVTIMEO use a _s_t_r_u_c_t _t_i_m_e_v_a_l parameter, defined in <_s_y_s_/_t_i_m_e_._h>. The following options are recognized at the socket level. Except as not- ed, each may be examined with ggeettssoocckkoopptt() and set with sseettssoocckkoopptt(). SO_DEBUG enables recording of debugging information SO_REUSEADDR enables local address reuse SO_REUSEPORT enables duplicate address and port bindings SO_KEEPALIVE enables keep connections alive SO_DONTROUTE enables routing bypass for outgoing messages SO_LINGER linger on close if data present SO_BROADCAST enables permission to transmit broadcast messages SO_OOBINLINE enables reception of out-of-band data in band SO_SNDBUF set buffer size for output SO_RCVBUF set buffer size for input SO_SNDLOWAT set minimum count for output SO_RCVLOWAT set minimum count for input SO_SNDTIMEO set timeout value for output SO_RCVTIMEO set timeout value for input SO_TYPE get the type of the socket (get only) SO_ERROR get and clear error on the socket (get only) SO_DEBUG enables debugging in the underlying protocol modules. SO_REUSEADDR indicates that the rules used in validating addresses sup- plied in a bind(2) call should allow reuse of local addresses. SO_REUSEPORT allows completely duplicate bindings by multiple processes if they all set SO_REUSEPORT before binding the port. This option per- mits multiple instances of a program to each receive UDP/IP multicast or broadcast datagrams destined for the bound port. SO_KEEPALIVE enables the periodic transmission of messages on a connected socket. Should the connected party fail to respond to these messages, the connection is con- sidered broken and processes using the socket are notified via a SIGPIPE signal when attempting to send data. SO_DONTROUTE indicates that outgo- ing messages should bypass the standard routing facilities. Instead, messages are directed to the appropriate network interface according to the network portion of the destination address. SO_LINGER controls the action taken when unsent messags are queued on socket and a close(2) is performed. If the socket promises reliable de- livery of data and SO_LINGER is set, the system will block the process on the close attempt until it is able to transmit the data or until it de- cides it is unable to deliver the information (a timeout period, termed the linger interval, is specified in the sseettssoocckkoopptt() call when SO_LINGER is requested). If SO_LINGER is disabled and a close is issued, the sys- tem will process the close in a manner that allows the process to contin- ue as quickly as possible. The option SO_BROADCAST requests permission to send broadcast datagrams on the socket. Broadcast was a privileged operation in earlier versions of the system. With protocols that support out-of-band data, the SO_OOBINLINE option requests that out-of-band data be placed in the nor- mal data input queue as received; it will then be accessible with recv or read calls without the MSG_OOB flag. Some protocols always behave as if this option is set. SO_SNDBUF and SO_RCVBUF are options to adjust the normal buffer sizes allocated for output and input buffers, respectively. The buffer size may be increased for high-volume connections, or may be decreased to limit the possible backlog of incoming data. The system places an absolute limit on these values. SO_SNDLOWAT is an option to set the minimum count for output operations. Most output operations process all of the data supplied by the call, de- livering data to the protocol for transmission and blocking as necessary for flow control. Nonblocking output operations will process as much da- ta as permitted subject to flow control without blocking, but will pro- cess no data if flow control does not allow the smaller of the low water mark value or the entire request to be processed. A select(2) operation testing the ability to write to a socket will return true only if the low water mark amount could be processed. The default value for SO_SNDLOWAT is set to a convenient size for network efficiency, often 1024. SO_RCVLOWAT is an option to set the minimum count for input operations. In general, receive calls will block until any (non-zero) amount of data is received, then return with smaller of the amount available or the amount requested. The default value for SO_RCVLOWAT is 1. If SO_RCVLOWAT is set to a larger value, blocking receive calls normally wait until they have received the smaller of the low water mark value or the requested amount. Receive calls may still return less than the low water mark if an error occurs, a signal is caught, or the type of data next in the receive queue is different than that returned. SO_SNDTIMEO is an option to set a timeout value for output operations. It accepts a _s_t_r_u_c_t _t_i_m_e_v_a_l parameter with the number of seconds and mi- croseconds used to limit waits for output operations to complete. If a send operation has blocked for this much time, it returns with a partial count or with the error EWOULDBLOCK if no data were sent. In the current implementation, this timer is restarted each time additional data are de- livered to the protocol, implying that the limit applies to output por- tions ranging in size from the low water mark to the high water mark for output. SO_RCVTIMEO is an option to set a timeout value for input opera- tions. It accepts a _s_t_r_u_c_t _t_i_m_e_v_a_l parameter with the number of seconds and microseconds used to limit waits for input operations to complete. In the current implementation, this timer is restarted each time addi- tional data are received by the protocol, and thus the limit is in effect an inactivity timer. If a receive operation has been blocked for this much time without receiving additional data, it returns with a short count or with the error EWOULDBLOCK if no data were received. Finally, SO_TYPE and SO_ERROR are options used only with ggeettssoocckkoopptt(). SO_TYPE returns the type of the socket, such as SOCK_STREAM; it is useful for servers that inherit sockets on startup. SO_ERROR returns any pend- ing error on the socket and clears the error status. It may be used to check for asynchronous errors on connected datagram sockets or for other asynchronous errors. RREETTUURRNN VVAALLUUEESS A 0 is returned if the call succeeds, -1 if it fails. EERRRROORRSS The call succeeds unless: [EBADF] The argument _s is not a valid descriptor. [ENOTSOCK] The argument _s is a file, not a socket. [ENOPROTOOPT] The option is unknown at the level indicated. [EFAULT] The address pointed to by _o_p_t_v_a_l is not in a valid part of the process address space. For ggeettssoocckkoopptt(), this error may also be returned if _o_p_t_l_e_n is not in a valid part of the process address space. SSEEEE AALLSSOO ioctl(2), socket(2), getprotoent(3) protocols(5) BBUUGGSS Several of the socket options should be handled at lower levels of the system. HHIISSTTOORRYY The ggeettssoocckkoopptt system call appeared in 4.2BSD. 4.3-Reno Berkeley Distribution June 5, 1993 3