NetBSD/share/man/man9/mbuf.9

.\"	$NetBSD: mbuf.9,v 1.1 1997/10/04 14:04:18 kleink Exp $
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.Dd Oct 3, 1997
.Dt MBUF 9
.Os NetBSD
.Sh NAME
.Nm MBUF
.Nd functions and macros for managing memory used by networking code
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Fd #include <sys/mbuf.h>
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_get "int nowait" "int type"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_getclr "int nowait" "int type"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_gethdr "int nowait" "int type"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_devget "char *buf" "int totlen" "int off0" "struct ifnet *ifp" "void (*copy) __P((const void *, void *, size_t))"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_copym "struct mbuf *m" "int off0" "int len" "int wait"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_copypacket "struct mbuf *m" "int how"
.Ft void
.Fn m_copydata "struct mbuf *m" "int off" "int len" "caddr_t cp"
.Ft void
.Fn m_copyback "struct mbuf *m0" "int off" "int len" "caddr_t cp"
.Ft void
.Fn m_cat "struct mbuf *m" "struct mbuf *n"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_prepend "struct mbuf *m" "int len" "int how"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_pullup "struct mbuf *n" "int len"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_split "struct mbuf *m0" "int len0" "int wait"
.Ft void
.Fn m_adj "struct mbuf *mp" "int req_len"
.Ft struct mbuf *
.Fn m_free "struct mbuf *m"
.Ft void
.Fn m_freem "struct mbuf *m"
.Ft int
.Fn mtod "struct mbuf *m" "datatype"
.Ft u_long
.Fn mtocl "void *datapointer"
.Ft caddr_t
.Fn cltom "u_long clusternum"
.Ft void
.Fn MGET "struct mbuf *m" "int how" "int type"
.Ft void
.Fn MGETHDR "struct mbuf *m" "int how" "int type"
.Ft void
.Fn MEXTMALLOC "struct mbuf *m" "int len" "int how"
.Ft void
.Fn MEXTADD "struct mbuf *m" "caddr_t buf" "int type" "void (*free) __P((caddr_t, u_int, void *))" "void *arg"
.Ft void
.Fn MCLGET "struct mbuf *m" "int how"
.Ft void
.Fn M_COPY_PKTHDR "struct mbuf *to" "struct mbuf *from"
.Ft void
.Fn M_ALIGN "struct mbuf *m" "int len"
.Ft void
.Fn MH_ALIGN "struct mbuf *m" "int len"
.Ft int
.Fn M_LEADINGSPACE "struct mbuf *m"
.Ft int
.Fn M_TRAILINGSPACE "struct mbuf *m"
.Ft void
.Fn M_PREPEND "struct mbuf *m" "int plen" "int how"
.Ft void
.Fn MCHTYPE "struct mbuf *m" "int type"
.Ft void
.Fn MEXTREMOVE "struct mbuf *m"
.Ft void
.Fn MFREE "struct mbuf *m" "struct mbuf *n"
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
functions and macros provide an easy and consistent way to handle
a networking stack's memory management needs.
An
.Nm mbuf
consists of a header and a data area.
It is of a fixed size,
.Dv MSIZE
(defined in <machine/param.h>),
which includes overhead.
The header contains a pointer to the next
.Nm mbuf
in the
.Nm mbuf chain ,
a pointer to the next
.Nm mbuf chain ,
a pointer to the data area, the amount of data in this mbuf, its type
and also a
.Dv flags
variable.
.Pp
The
.Dv type
variable can signify:
.Bl -tag -compact -offset indent -width "XXXXXXXXXXX"
.It Dv MT_FREE
the mbuf should be on the ``free'' list
.It Dv MT_DATA
data was dynamically allocated
.It Dv MT_HEADER
data is a packet header
.It Dv MT_SONAME
data is a socket name
.It Dv MT_SOOPTS
data is socket options
.It Dv MT_FTABLE
data is the fragments reassembly header
.It Dv MT_CONTROL
mbuf contains ancillary \&(protocol control\&) data
.It Dv MT_OOBDATA
mbuf contains out-of-band data.
.El
.Pp
The
.Dv flags
variable contains information describing the
.Nm mbuf ,
notably:
.Bl -tag -compact -offset indent -width "XXXXXXXXXXX"
.It Dv M_EXT
has external storage
.It Dv M_PKTHDR
is start of record
.It Dv M_EOR
is end of record
.It Dv M_CLUSTER
external storage is a cluster.
.El
.Pp
If an
.Nm mbuf
designates the start of a record
.Dv (M_PKTHDR) ,
its
.Dv flags
variable may contain additional information describing the content of
the record:
.Bl -tag -compact -offset indent -width "XXXXXXXXXXX"
.It Dv M_BCAST
sent/received as link-level broadcast
.It Dv M_MCAST
sent/received as link-level multicast
.It Dv M_LINK0 , M_LINK1, MLINK2
three link-level specific flags.
.El
.Pp
An
.Nm mbuf
may add a single
.Nm mbuf cluster
of
.Dv MCLBYTES
bytes (also defined in <machine/param.h>), which has no additional overhead
and is used instead of the internal data area; this is done when at least
.Dv MINCLSIZE
bytes of data must be stored.
.Bl -tag -width compact
.It Fn m_get "int nowait" "int type"
Allocates an mbuf and initializes it to contain internal data. The
.Fa nowait
parameter is a choice of
.Dv M_WAIT / M_DONTWAIT
from caller.
.Dv M_WAIT
means the call cannot fail, but may take forever. The
.Fa type
parameter is an mbuf type.
.It Fn m_getclr "int nowait" "int type"
Allocates an mbuf and initializes it to contain internal data. Also
bzeros the data area. The
.Fa nowait
parameter is a choice of
.Dv M_WAIT / M_DONTWAIT
from caller. The
.Fa type
parameter is an mbuf type.
.It Fn m_gethdr "int nowait" "int type"
Allocates an mbuf and initializes it to contain a packet header and internal
data. The
.Fa nowait
parameter is a choice of
.Dv M_WAIT / M_DONTWAIT
from caller. The
.Fa type
parameter is an mbuf type.
.It Fn m_devget "char *buf" "int totlen" "int off0" "struct ifnet *ifp" "void (*copy) __P((const void *, void *, size_t))"
Copies
.Fa len
bytes from device local memory into mbufs using copy routine
.Fa copy .
If parameter
.Fa off
is non-zero, the packet is supposed to be trailer-encapsulated and
.Fa off
bytes plus the type and length fields will be skipped before copying.
Returns the top of the mbuf chain it created.
.It Fn m_copym "struct mbuf *m" "int off0" "int len" "int wait"
Creates a copy of an mbuf chain starting
.Fa off0
bytes from the beginning, continuing for
.Fa len
bytes.  If the
.Fa len
requested is
.Dv M_COPYALL ,
the complete mbuf chain will be copied.
The
.Fa wait
parameter is a choice of
.Dv M_WAIT / M_DONTWAIT
from caller.
.It Fn m_copypacket "struct mbuf *m" "int how"
Copies an entire packet, including header (which must be present).
This function is an optimization of the common case
.Fn m_copym "m" "0" "M_COPYALL" "how" .
.It Fn m_copydata "struct mbuf *m" "int off" "int len" "caddr_t cp"
Copies
.Fa len
bytes data from mbuf chain
.Fa m
into the buffer
.Fa cp ,
starting
.Fa off
bytes from the beginning.
.It Fn m_copyback "struct mbuf *m0" "int off" "int len" "caddr_t cp"
Copies
.Fa len
bytes data from buffer
.Fa cp
back into the mbuf chain
.Fa m0 ,
starting
.Fa off
bytes from the beginning, extending the mbuf chain if necessary.
.It Fn m_cat "struct mbuf *m" "struct mbuf *n"
concatenates mbuf chain
.Fa n
to
.Fa m .
Both chains must be of the same type; packet headers will
.Em not
be updated if present.
.It Fn m_prepend "struct mbuf *m" "int len" "int how"
Lesser-used path for
.Fn M_PREPEND :
allocates new mbuf
.Fa m
of size
.Fa len
to prepend to the chain, copying junk along. The
.Fa how
parameter is a choice of
.Dv M_WAIT / M_DONTWAIT
from caller.
.It Fn m_pullup "struct mbuf *m" "int len"
Rearanges an mbuf chain so that
.Fa len
bytes are contiguous
and in the data area of an mbuf (so that
.Fn mtod
will work for a structure of size
.Fa len ) .
Returns the resulting
mbuf chain on success, frees it and returns null on failure.
If there is room, it will add up to
.Dv max_protohdr
-
.Fa len
extra bytes to the
contiguous region in attempt to avoid being called next time.
.It Fn m_split "struct mbuf *m0" "int len0" "int wait"
Partitions an mbuf chain in two pieces, returning the tail,
which is all but the first
.Fa len0
bytes.  In case of failure, it returns
.Dv NULL
and attempts to
restore the chain to its original state.
.It Fn m_adj "struct mbuf *mp" "int req_len"
Shaves off
.Fa req_len
bytes from head or tail of the (valid) data area. If
.Fa req_len
is greater than zero, front bytes are being shaved off, if it's smaller,
from the back (and if it is zero, the mbuf will stay bearded).
This function does not move data in any way, but is used to manipulate the
data area pointer and data length variable of the mbuf in a non-clobbering
way.
.It Fn m_free "struct mbuf *m"
Frees mbuf
.Fa m .
.It Fn m_freem "struct mbuf *m"
Frees the mbuf chain beginning with
.Fa m .
This function contains the elementary sanity check for a
.Dv NULL
pointer.
.It Fn mtod "struct mbuf *m" "datatype"
Returns a pointer to the data contained in the specified mbuf
.Fa m ,
type-casted to the specified data type
.Fa datatype .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn mtocl "void *datapointer"
Takes a
.Fa datapointer
within an mbuf cluster and returns the cluster index number of the mbuf
owning the data.
Avoid this; it may be deprecated in the future .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn cltom "u_long clusternum"
Takes an mbuf cluster index number
.Fa clusternum
and returns a pointer to the beginning of the cluster.
Avoid this; it may be deprecated in the future.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MGET "struct mbuf *m" "int how" "int type"
Allocates mbuf
.Fa m
and initializes it to contain internal data. See
.Fn m_get .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MGETHDR "struct mbuf *m" "int how" "int type"
Allocates mbuf
.Fa m
and initializes it to contain a packet header. See
.Fn m_gethdr .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MEXTMALLOC "struct mbuf *m" "int len" "int how"
Allocates external storage of size
.Fa len
for mbuf
.Fa m .
The
.Fa how
parameter is a choice of
.Dv M_WAIT / M_DONTWAIT
from caller.
The flag
.Dv M_EXT
is set upon success.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MEXTADD "struct mbuf *m" "caddr_t buf" "int type" "void (*free) __P((caddr_t, u_int, void *))" "void *arg"
Adds pre-allocated external storage
.Fa buf
to a normal mbuf
.Fa m ;
the parameters
.Fa type ,
.Fa free
and
.Fa arg
describe the external storage.
.Fa type
describes the malloc type of the storage,
The parameter
.Fa free
is a free routine (if not the usual one), and
.Fa arg
is a possible argument to the free routine.
The flag
.Dv M_EXT
is set upon success.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MCLGET "struct mbuf *m" "int how"
Allocates and adds an mbuf cluster to a normal mbuf
.Fa m .
The
.Fa how
parameter is a choice of
.Dv M_WAIT / M_DONTWAIT
from caller.
The flag
.Dv M_EXT
is set upon success.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn M_COPY_PKTHDR "struct mbuf *to" "struct mbuf *from"
Copies the mbuf pkthdr from mbuf
.Fa from
to mbuf
.Fa to .
.Fa from
must have the type flag
.Dv M_PKTHDR
set, and
.Fa to
must be empty.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn M_ALIGN "struct mbuf *m" "int len"
Sets the data pointer of a newly allocated mbuf
.Fa m
.Fa len
bytes from the end of the mbuf data area, so that
.Fa len
bytes data written to the mbuf
.Fa m ,
starting at the data pointer, will be aligned to the end of the data area.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MH_ALIGN "struct mbuf *m" "int len"
Sets the data pointer of a newly allocated packetheader mbuf
.Fa m
.Fa len
bytes from the end of the mbuf data area, so that
.Fa len
bytes data written to the mbuf
.Fa m ,
starting at the data pointer, will be aligned to the end of the data area.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn M_LEADINGSPACE "struct mbuf *m"
Returns the amount of space available before the current start of valid
data in mbuf
.Fa m .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn M_TRAILINGSPACE "struct mbuf *m"
Returns the amount of space available after the current end of valid
data in mbuf
.Fa m .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn M_PREPEND "struct mbuf *m" "int plen" "int how"
Prepends space of size
.Fa plen
to mbuf
.Fa m .
If a new mbuf must be allocated,
.Fa how
specifies whether to wait. If
.Fa how
is
.Dv M_DONTWAIT
and allocation fails, the original mbuf chain is freed and
.Fa m
is set to
.Dv NULL .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MCHTYPE "struct mbuf *m" "int type"
Change mbuf
.Fa m
to new type
.Fa type .
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MEXTREMOVE "struct mbuf *m"
Removes external storage from mbuf
.Fa m .
The flag
.Dv M_EXT
is removed.
Implemented as a macro.
.It Fn MFREE "struct mbuf *m" "struct mbuf *n"
Frees a single mbuf
.Fa m
and places the successor, if any, in mbuf
.Fa n .
Implemented as a macro.
.El
.\" .Sh ERRORS
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr /usr/share/doc/smm/18.net ,
.Xr netstat 1 ,
.Xr malloc 9 .
.Sh AUTHORS
The original mbuf data structures were designed by Rob Gurwitz
when he did the initial TCP/IP implementation at BBN.
.br
Further extensions and enhancements were made by Bill Joy, Sam Leffler,
and Mike Karels at CSRG.
.br
Current implementation of external storage by Matt Thomas
.br
<matt@3am-software.com> and Jason R. Thorpe <thorpej@NetBSD.ORG>.
.Sh FILES
The
.Nm mbuf
management functions are implemented within the file
.Pa sys/kern/uipc_mbuf.c .
Function prototypes, and the functions implemented as macros
are located in
.Pa sys/sys/mbuf.h .
Both pathnames are relative to the root of the
.Nx
source tree,
.Pa /usr/src .
.\" .Sh HISTORY