Author: Description: -p flag has OPTIONAL filename cleanup sysctl man page Bug-Debian: http://bugs.debian.org/297144 Bug-Debian: http://bugs.debian.org/282168 Index: b/sysctl.8 =================================================================== --- a/sysctl.8 2009-11-24 20:53:05.000000000 +1100 +++ b/sysctl.8 2009-11-24 21:00:32.000000000 +1100 @@ -10,76 +10,108 @@ .SH NAME sysctl \- configure kernel parameters at runtime .SH SYNOPSIS -.B "sysctl [-n] [-e] variable ..." +.B sysctl +.RB [ \-n ] +.RB [ \-e ] +.I variable +\&... .br -.B "sysctl [-n] [-e] [-q] -w variable=value ..." +.B sysctl +.RB [ \-n ] +.RB [ \-e ] +.RB [ \-q ] +.B \-w +.IR variable = value +\&... .br -.B "sysctl [-n] [-e] [-q] -p " +.B sysctl +.RB [ \-n ] +.RB [ \-e ] +.RB [ \-q ] +.B \-p +.RI [ filename ] .br -.B "sysctl [-n] [-e] -a" +.B sysctl +.RB [ \-n ] +.RB [ \-e ] +.B \-a .br -.B "sysctl [-n] [-e] -A" +.B sysctl +.RB [ \-n ] +.RB [ \-e ] +.B \-A .SH DESCRIPTION .B sysctl is used to modify kernel parameters at runtime. The parameters available are those listed under /proc/sys/. Procfs is required for -.B sysctl(8) +.B sysctl support in Linux. You can use -.B sysctl(8) +.B sysctl to both read and write sysctl data. .SH PARAMETERS .TP -.B "variable" +.I variable The name of a key to read from. An example is kernel.ostype. The '/' separator is also accepted in place of a '.'. .TP -.B "variable=value" -To set a key, use the form variable=value, where variable is the key and -value is the value to set it to. If the value contains quotes or characters +.IR variable = value +To set a key, use the form +.IR variable = value +where +.I variable +is the key and +.I value +is the value to set it to. If the value contains quotes or characters which are parsed by the shell, you may need to enclose the value in double -quotes. This requires the -w parameter to use. +quotes. This requires the +.B \-w +parameter to use. .TP -.B "-n" +.B \-n Use this option to disable printing of the key name when printing values. .TP -.B "-e" +.B \-e Use this option to ignore errors about unknown keys. .TP -.B "-N" +.B \-N Use this option to only print the names. It may be useful with shells that have programmable completion. .TP -.B "-q" +.B \-q Use this option to not display the values set to stdout. .TP -.B "-w" +.B \-w Use this option when you want to change a sysctl setting. .TP -.B "-p" +.B \-p Load in sysctl settings from the file specified or /etc/sysctl.conf if none given. Specifying \- as filename means reading data from standard input. .TP -.B "-a" +.B \-a Display all values currently available. .TP -.B "-A" +.B \-A Display all values currently available in table form. .SH EXAMPLES -.TP -/sbin/sysctl -a -.TP -/sbin/sysctl -n kernel.hostname -.TP -/sbin/sysctl -w kernel.domainname="example.com" -.TP -/sbin/sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.conf +/sbin/sysctl \-a +.br +/sbin/sysctl \-n kernel.hostname +.br +/sbin/sysctl \-w kernel.domainname="example.com" +.br +/sbin/sysctl \-p /etc/sysctl.conf .SH FILES .I /proc/sys +.br .I /etc/sysctl.conf .SH SEE ALSO .BR sysctl.conf (5) .SH BUGS -The -A parameter behaves just as -a does. +The +.B \-A +parameter behaves just as +.B \-a +does. .SH AUTHOR George Staikos,