.\" Ouroboros man pages CC-BY 2017 - 2021 .\" Dimitri Staessens <dimitri@ouroboros.rocks> .\" Sander Vrijders <sander@ouroboros.rocks> .TH OUROBOROS 8 2020-11-29 Ouroboros "Ouroboros User Manual" .SH NAME Ouroboros - the free IPC subsystem .SH SYNOPSIS \fIirmd\fR [--stdout] [--version] \fIirm\fR [ipcp] <command> <args> .SH DESCRIPTION Ouroboros is an Inter-Process Communication (IPC) subsystem consisting of an IPC Resource Manager (IRM), a number of IPC Processes (IPCPs) and a library. It provides an API to establish communication between processes, regardless of whether they are running locally or remote. See \fBouroboros-tutorial\fR(7) to get started. This page provides an overview of the command options for the \fBirmd\fR and associated \fBirm\fR toolset. You can learn more about individual commands with "irm [command] help". .SH IRM DAEMON The \fBIPC Resource Manager (IRM)\fR is the core component of the Ouroboros subsystem. It manages \fIIPC processes\fR and the datastructures used for communication over Ouroboros. Before using Ouroboros, an IRM daemon must be running on your system. The IRM daemon can be started as a process at the command line (as a superuser): $ irmd or, if your system uses systemd, Ouroboros can be started as a service: $ systemctl start ouroboros When started from the command line, the IRM has the following options: .PP \-\-stdout .RS 4 The \fIIRM\fR daemon and \fIIPCPs\fR will print output to stdout instead of the system logs. .RE .PP \-\-version .RS 4 The \fIIRM\fR daemon will print the Ouroboros version to stdout and exit. .RE .SH IRM TOOL The \fBirm\fR tool is used to command the Ouroboros subsystem or individual IPCPs. .SH WORKFLOW To setup a \fIflow\fR between processes, Ouroboros has a number of steps that must be taken. These steps can be taken in (almost) any order. .RS 4 \fBBinding a name to a program or process\fR tells the IRMd that a certain \fIprogram\fR or \fIprocess\fR will respond to \fIflow allocation\fR requests for the bound name. Multiple programs and processes can be bound to the same name, and a program or process can be bound to multiple names. This only works for programs that use the Ouroboros API. \fBCreating an IPC Process\fR will instantiate a new IPCP in the system. This IPCP will be empty, with only a name and type specified, and ready for either \fIbootstrapping\fR into a new layer or \fIenrolling\fR in an existing layer. \fBBootstrapping an IPC Process\fR gives it the necessary information from the command line to start operating as a \fIlayer\fR. Each IPCP type has its own set of configuration options. \fBEnrolling an IPC Process\fR in a layer configures it by contacting another IPCP that is already a member of that layer (bootstrapped or enrolled). After \fIenrollment\fR, the IPCP is configured, and may or may not have connections to the layer. \fBRegistering a name in a layer\fR inserts the name in that \fIlayer\fR's \fIdirectory\fR. Once a name is \fIregistered\fR in a layer, the name can be used as a destination handle for \fIflow allocation\fR. Ouroboros unicast IPCPs are just like any other process, and will need to be bound and registered in a lower-rank layer before they can be accessed by other processes. In order to enroll an IPC process in a layer, some other member will have to be reachable over a lower layer. IPCPs that wrap a legacy transmission technology are all bootstrapped and thus need not enroll as they work directly over a physical connection. Ouroboros currently supports IPCPs over shared memory (local), L2 (eth-llc and eth-dix) and L3 (udp). The unicast and broadcast layers require connections to be established between IPCP components for its operation. \fBConnecting the management components\fR using \fImanagement flows\fR allows management information to be sent between IPCPs so that resources for flows can be allocated. Currently the only component that requires management flows is the routing component. \fBConnecting the data transfer components\fR using \fIdata transfer flows\fR allows the routing system to forward packets between IPCPs. This establishes adjacencies in a network of IPCPs. Components that rely on data transfer flows are the \fIdirectory\fR and the \fIflow allocator\fR. .SH IRM IPCP COMMANDS .PP \fBirm ipcp create\fR type \fItype\fR name \fIname\fR .RS 4 creates an IPCP process of type \fItype\fR in the system with name \fIname\fR. Allowable values for \fItype\fR are: .PP \fBlocal\fR - create a loopback IPCP. .PP \fBeth-llc\fR - create an IPCP that attaches to Ethernet using LLC frames. .PP \fBeth-dix\fR - create an IPCP that attaches to Ethernet using DIX frames. .PP \fBudp\fR - create an IPCP that attaches to a UDP socket. .PP \fBunicast\fR - create a unicast IPCP that uses lower level layers. .PP \fBbroadcast\fR - create a broadcast IPCP that uses lower level layers. .RE .PP \fBirm ipcp destroy\fR name \fIname\fR .RS 4 destroys the IPCP process with name \fIname\fR. .RE .PP \fBirm ipcp bootstrap\fR type \fItype\fR name \fIname\fR layer \fIlayer\fR \ [\fIparams\fR] [\fIautobind\fR] .RS 4 bootstraps an IPCP process of type \fItype\fR and name \fIname\fR in a layer \fIlayer\fR. If an IPCP with that name does not exist yet, the IPCP will be created. .PP Values for [\fIparam\fR] are dependent on \fItype\fR: .PP \fBlocal\fR .RS 4 .PP [hash \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the hash function used for the directory, .br \fIpolicy\fR: SHA3_224, SHA3_256, SHA3_384, SHA3_512. .br default: SHA3_256. .RE .PP \fBeth-llc\fR .RS 4 .PP dev \fIinterface\fR specifies the interface to bind the IPCP to. .PP [hash \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the hash function used for the directory, .br \fIpolicy\fR: SHA3_224, SHA3_256, SHA3_384, SHA3_512. .br default: SHA3_256. .RE .PP \fBeth-dix\fR .RS 4 .PP dev \fIinterface\fR specifies the interface to bind the IPCP to. .PP [ethertype \fIethertype\fR] specifies the ethertype used for the layer. .br default: 0xA000. .PP [hash \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the hash function used for the directory, .br \fIpolicy\fR: SHA3_224, SHA3_256, SHA3_384, SHA3_512. .br default: SHA3_256. .RE .PP \fBudp\fR .RS 4 .PP ip \fIip\fR specifies the local IP address to bind to .PP [dns \fdns\fR] specifies an optional DDNS server that will be used for the directory. .PP [cport \fcport\fR] specifies a client UDP port that will be used for sending packets. .br default: A random UDP port in the ephemeral range .PP [sport \fsport\fR] specifies a server UDP port that is used for receiving ouroboros traffic. This must be the same for the entire UDP layer. Parallel UDP layers should use different ports. This UDP port needs to be forwarded if the server is behind a NAT. .br default: 3435 .RE .PP \fBunicast\fR .RS 4 .PP [addr \fIaddress_size\fR] specifies the size of an address in bytes. .br default: 4 bytes. .PP [fd \fIfd_size\fR] specifies the size of the flow descriptor field (for identifying internal components using the DT component) in bytes. .br default: 2 bytes. .PP [ttl] specifies the maximum value for the time-to-live field. .PP [addr_auth \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the address authority policy. .br \fIpolicy\fR: flat. .br default: flat. .PP [routing \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the routing policy. .br \fIpolicy\fR: .RS 4 link_state: default shortest-path link-state routing. .br lfa: loop-free alternate resilient routing. .br ecmp: equal-cost multipath routing. .RE .br default: link_state. .PP [congestion \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the congestion avoidance policy. .br \fIpolicy\fR: .RS 4 none: no congestion avoidance. .br mb-ecn: Multi-bit explicit congestion notification and avoidance. .RE .br default: mb-ecn. .PP [hash \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the hash function used for the directory. .br \fIpolicy\fR: SHA3_224, SHA3_256, SHA3_384, SHA3_512. .br default: SHA3_256. .PP [autobind] will automatically bind a unicast or broadcast IPCP to its name and the layer name. .RE .PP \fBbroadcast\fR .RS 4 .PP [hash \fIpolicy\fR] specifies the hash function used for the layer name. .br \fIpolicy\fR: SHA3_224, SHA3_256, SHA3_384, SHA3_512. .br default: SHA3_256. .RE .RE .PP \fBirm ipcp enroll\fR name \fIname\fR [type \fItype\fR] [dst \fIdst\fR] \ [layer \fIlayer\fR] [\fIautobind\fR] .RS 4 enrolls a unicast ot broadcast IPCP \fIname\fR with a dst IPCP into a layer. Either dst or layer need to be specified. .PP [type \fItype\fR] specifies the IPCP type (unicast or broadcast). .PP [dst \fIdst\fR] specifies the destination name to enroll with .PP [layer \fIlayer\fR] specifies the name of the layer. Only specifying the layer name is a shorthand for the destination name being the same as the layer name. .PP [autobind] will automatically bind this IPCP to its name and the layer name. .RE \fBirm ipcp connect\fR name \fIname\fR component \fIcomponent\fR dst \fIdestination\fR .RS 4 connects a \fIcomponent\fR (\fBdt\fR or \fBmgmt\fR) of a unicast or broadcast IPCP with name \fIname\fR to that component of the destination IPCP within the same layer. .RE \fBirm ipcp disconnect\fR name \fIname\fR component \fIcomponent\fR dst \fIdestination\fR .RS 4 disconnects \fIcomponent\fR (\fBdt\fR or \fBmgmt\fR) of a unicast or broadcast IPCP with name \fIname\fR from that component of the destination IPCP within the same layer. .RE \fBirm ipcp list\fR type \fItype\fR name \fIname\fR layer \fIlayer\fR .RS 4 lists IPCPs in the system. You can filter by type, by name or by layer. .RE .RE .SH IRM BIND COMMANDS .PP \fBirm bind\fR program \fiprogram\fR name \fIname\fR [[\fIauto\fR] -- \ [\fIparam\fR] [\fIparam\fR] ... [\fIparam\fR]] .RS 4 bind a program \fIprogram\fR, referenced by its binary, to a certain name. The binary can be specified by an absolute or relative path, and will be searched for in all directories specified in the \fBPATH\fR variable. If \fIname\fR is registered in a layer, all instances of \fIprogram\fR will accept flows for \fIname\fR. If the \fIauto\fR keyword is specified, the IRMd will start instances if there are no readily available instances when a new flow is requested and any arguments \fIparam\fR that are passed after -- are passed to the application when it is started. .RE .PP \fBirm bind\fR process \fIpid\fR name \fIname\fR .RS 4 bind a process \fIpid\fR to a certain name. If \fIname\fR is registered in a layer, the process \fIpid\fR will accept flows for that name. .RE .PP \fBirm bind\fR ipcp \fIipcp\fR name \fIname\fR .RS 4 bind an IPCP \fIipcp\fR to a \fIname\fR. If \fIname\fR is registered in a layer, \fIipcp\fR will accept flows for \fIname\fR. This is a shorthand for binding the pid of \fipcp\fR. .RE .PP \fBirm unbind\fR program \fIprogram\fR name \fIname\fR .RS 4 remove the binding between \fIprogram\fR and \fIname\fR. Instances of \fIprogram\fR will not accept future flow allocation requests for \fIname\fR. .RE .PP \fBirm unbind\fR process \fIpid\fR name \fIname\fR .RS 4 remove the binding between \fIpid\fR and \fIname\fR. The process \fIpid\fR will not accept future flow allocation requests for \fIname\fR. .RE .PP \fBirm unbind\fR ipcp \fIipcp\fR name \fIname\fR .RS 4 remove the binding between \fIipcp\fR and \fIname\fR. This IPCP will not accept future flow allocation requests for \fIname\fR. .RE .SH IRM NAME COMMANDS .PP \fBirm name create \fIname\fR \fIlb\fR policy .RS 4 Create a name \fIname\fR with a load-balancing policy .br \fIpolicy\fR: round-robin, spillover .br .RE .PP \fBirm name destroy \fIname\fR .RS 4 Destroy name \fIname\fR. This does not unregister or unbind it. .RE .PP \fBirm name register \fIname\fR \fIipcp\fR ipcp [\fIipcp\fR ...] layer [layer \fIlayer\fR ...] .RS 4 Register name \fIname\fR in ipcps \fIipcp\fR ipcp and layers \fIlayer\fR. .RE .PP \fBirm name unregister \fIname\fR \fIipcp\fR ipcp [\fIipcp\fR ...] layer [layer \fIlayer\fR ...] .RS 4 Unregister name \fIname\fR in ipcps \fIipcp\fR ipcp and layers \fIlayer\fR. .RE .PP \fBirm name list \fIname\fR .RS 4 List names in the system. \fIname\fR can be used as a prefix to filter the names. .RE .SH TERMINOLOGY Please see \fBouroboros-glossary\fR(7). .SH AUTHORS Ouroboros was started and is currently maintained by Dimitri Staessens and Sander Vrijders. .SH REPORTING BUGS Report bugs on the bugzilla tracker at https://ouroboros.rocks/bugzilla .SH SEE ALSO .BR flow_alloc "(3), " ouroboros-tutorial "(7), " ouroboros-glossary (7) .SH COLOPHON This page is part of the Ouroboros project, found at http://ouroboros.rocks These man pages are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/