ifconfig(8) interface description field

cpghost cpghost at cordula.ws
Tue Nov 18 03:52:25 PST 2008


On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 10:34:24AM +0100, sthaug at nethelp.no wrote:
> > >Oh yeah, since we're in wishful thinking mode, I want interface
> > >descriptions too...
> > 
> > Have you looked at the 'name' and 'group' keywords in ifconfig(8)?
> > If this isn't what you want, please expand on your wish.
> 
> It is not what I want.
> 
> On routers, switches and lots of other boxes from most vendors you can
> associate a description string with each interface - where interface 
> can be a physical port, or for instance a VLAN based interface. This
> description string is useful to document things like
> 
> - what is the box at the other end of the cable connected to this port
> - what is the port at the other end of the cable connected to this port
> - what is the circuit id for the circuit this port is connected to
> - what is this port used for
> 
> etc. Typical example, from one of our switches (Cisco syntax):
> 
> interface GigabitEthernet0/12
>  description TO: fs1.td  ID: BTN-11510092  TXT: gi1/0/7 EoSDH 50 Mbps
>  switchport trunk allowed vlan 123,770,1024,1500,1504,1528,1536
> 
> showing the first three points I mentioned above.
> 
> Such a description string is can normally be retrieved using SNMP.

Yes, that's a very useful addition. I'm administering a lot of Cisco
boxes, and this desc field has been extremely useful over the years.

Maybe an ifi_desc field could be added to:

  /usr/src/sys/net/if.h:struct if_data

and some glue so that ifconfig(8) can read and write to it?
How long should this field be at most?

> Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug at nethelp.no

-cpghost.

-- 
Cordula's Web. http://www.cordula.ws/


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