NG_EIFACE(4)           FreeBSD Kernel Interfaces Manual           NG_EIFACE(4)

NAME
     ng_eiface - generic Ethernet interface netgraph node type

SYNOPSIS
     #include <netgraph/ng_eiface.h>

DESCRIPTION
     The eiface netgraph node implements the generic Ethernet interface.  When
     an eiface node is created, a new interface appears which is accessible
     via ifconfig(8).  These interfaces are named "ngeth0", "ngeth1", etc.
     When a node is shut down, the corresponding interface is removed, and the
     interface name becomes available for reuse by future eiface nodes.  New
     nodes always take the first unused interface.

HOOKS
     An eiface node has a single hook named ether, which should be connected
     to the Ethernet downstream, for example, to the ng_vlan(4) node.  Packets
     transmitted via the interface flow out this hook.  Similarly, packets
     received on the hook go to the protocol stack as packets received by any
     real Ethernet interface.

CONTROL MESSAGES
     This node type supports the generic control messages, plus the following:

     NGM_EIFACE_SET (set)
          Set link-level address of the interface.  Requires struct ether_addr
          as an argument.  This message also has an ASCII version, called
          "set", which requires as an argument an ASCII string consisting of 6
          colon-separated hex digits.

     NGM_EIFACE_GET_IFNAME (getifname)
          Return the name of the associated interface as a NULL-terminated
          ASCII string.

     NGM_EIFACE_GET_IFADDRS
          Return the list of link-level addresses associated with the node.

SHUTDOWN
     This node shuts down upon receipt of a NGM_SHUTDOWN control message.  The
     associated interface is removed and its name becomes available for reuse
     by future eiface nodes.

     Unlike most other node types, an eiface node does not go away when all
     hooks have been disconnected; rather, an explicit NGM_SHUTDOWN control
     message is required.

SEE ALSO
     netgraph(4), ng_ether(4), ng_iface(4), ng_vlan(4), ifconfig(8), ngctl(8)

HISTORY
     The eiface node type was implemented in FreeBSD 4.6.

AUTHORS
     The eiface node type was written by Vitaly V Belekhov.  This manual page
     was written by Gleb Smirnoff.

FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE-p6          May 14, 2019          FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE-p6