Annotation of embedaddon/dhcp/doc/api+protocol, revision 1.1.1.1

1.1       misho       1: This file documents the protocol that the ISC DHCP server and ISC
                      2: Object Management clients (clients that use the ISC Object Management
                      3: API) speak between one another.
                      4: 
                      5: Protocol:
                      6: 
                      7: All multi-byte numbers are represented in network byte order.
                      8: 
                      9: On startup, each side sends a status message indicating what version
                     10: of the protocol they are speaking.   The status message looks like
                     11: this:
                     12: 
                     13: +---------+---------+
                     14: | version | hlength |
                     15: +---------+---------+
                     16: 
                     17: version - a 32-bit fixed-point number with the decimal point between
                     18:          the third and second decimal digits from the left,
                     19:          representing the version of the protocol.   The current
                     20:          protocol version is 1.00.   If the field were considered as
                     21:          a 32-bit integer, this would correspond to a value of 100
                     22:          decimal, or 0x64.
                     23: 
                     24: hlength - a 32-bit integer representing the length of the fixed-length
                     25:          header in subsequent messages.   This is normally 56, but
                     26:          can be changed to a value larger than 56 by either side
                     27:          without upgrading the revision number.
                     28: 
                     29: 
                     30: The startup message is not authenticated.   Either side may reject the
                     31: other side's startup message as invalid by simply closing the
                     32: connection.   The only fixed part of the startup message is the
                     33: version number - future versions may delete hlength, or add further
                     34: startup information.
                     35: 
                     36: Following the startup message, all messages have the same format.
                     37: Currently, the format includes a fixed-length header (the length in
                     38: hlength, above)
                     39: 
                     40: +--------+----+--------+----+-----+---------+------------+------------+-----+
                     41: | authid | op | handle | id | rid | authlen | msg values | obj values | sig |
                     42: +--------+----+--------+----+-----+---------+------------+------------+-----+
                     43: 
                     44: The fixed-length header consists of:
                     45: 
                     46: authid = a 32-bit authenticator handle.
                     47:        For an original message (one not in response to some other
                     48:        message), this will be chosen by the originator.   For a
                     49:        message in response to another message, the authenticator for
                     50:        that message is used, except if the response is an error
                     51:        message indicating that the authenticator used was unknown,
                     52:        in which case the null authenticator is used.   Messages that
                     53:        are generated as the result of a notify registration use the
                     54:        authenticator used in the original notify registration.
                     55:        The authenticator itself is generated by having one side of
                     56:        the connection send an object of type "authenticator" to the
                     57:        other side with values that indicate what kind of
                     58:        authentication mechanism to use and what key to use.   The two
                     59:        most likely things here are a Kerberos V principal name or the
                     60:        name of a shared secret that can be used to calculate an MD5
                     61:        hash.   The mechanism for doing this has yet to be finalized.
                     62:        If authid is zero, the message is not authenticated.
                     63: 
                     64: op = 32-bit opcode, one of:
                     65:        open = 1
                     66:        refresh = 2
                     67:        update = 3
                     68:        notify = 4
                     69:        error = 5
                     70:        delete = 6
                     71: handle = 32-bit object handle
                     72:        A handle on the object being opened, created, refreshed or
                     73:        updated.   If no handle is yet available (e.g., with open and
                     74:        new), then the value zero is sent.
                     75: id = 32-bit transaction id of the message - a monotonically increasing
                     76:      number that starts with some randomly chosen number at the
                     77:      beginning of the life of the connection.   The value should never
                     78:      be zero.
                     79: rid = 32-bit transaction ID of the message to which this message is a
                     80:       response, or zero if this message is not in response to a
                     81:       message from the other side.
                     82: 
                     83: authlen = a 32-bit number representing the length of the authenticator
                     84: 
                     85: msg values = a series of name+value pairs, specific to this message.
                     86:         Each name+value pair starts with a 16-bit name length,
                     87:         followed by that many bytes of name, followed by a 32-bit
                     88:         value length, followed by that many bytes of value.   If the
                     89:         length is zero, this is a value of the blank string.   If the
                     90:         length is all ones (2^32-1), then there is no value - for an
                     91:         update, this means the value for this name and the name
                     92:         itself should be deleted from the object, which may or may
                     93:         not be possible.   The list of name/value pairs ends with a
                     94:         zero-length name, which is not followed by a value
                     95:         length/value pair.
                     96: 
                     97: obj values = a series of name+value pairs, as above, specific to the
                     98:        object being created, updated or refreshed.
                     99: 
                    100: signature = authlen bytes of data signing the message.   The signature
                    101:            algorithm is a property of the authenticator handle.
                    102: 
                    103: Message types:
                    104: 
                    105: 1: open
                    106:    relevant input values:
                    107:        object-type = the name of the type of object
                    108:        open:create = boolean - create the object if it doesn't yet exist
                    109:        open:exclusive = boolean - don't open the object if it does exist
                    110:        open:update = boolean - update the object with included values
                    111:                      if it matches.
                    112:        the handle should always be the null handle
                    113: 
                    114:    The input value must also contain key information for the type of
                    115:    object being searched that uniquely identifies an object, or search
                    116:    information that matches only one object.  Each object has a key
                    117:    specification (a key is something that uniquely identifies an
                    118:    object), so see the key specification for that object to see
                    119:    what to send here.   An open message with the create flag set must
                    120:    specify a key, and not merely matching criteria.   Some objects may
                    121:    allow more than one key, and it may be that the union of those keys
                    122:    is required to uniquely identify the object, or it may be that any
                    123:    one such key will uniquely identify the object.   The documentation
                    124:    for the type of object will specify this.
                    125: 
                    126:    An open message will result in an immediate response message whose
                    127:    opcode will either be "error" or "update".   The error message may
                    128:    include an error:reason value containing a text string explaining
                    129:    the error, and will always include an error:code value which will
                    130:    be the numeric error code for what went wrong.   Possible error
                    131:    codes are:
                    132: 
                    133:        not found - no such object exists
                    134:        already exists - object already exists, and exclusive flag was
                    135:                         set.
                    136:        not unique - more than one object matching the specification
                    137:                     exists.
                    138:        permission denied - the authenticator ID specified does not
                    139:                            have authorization to access this object,
                    140:                            or if the update flag was specified, to
                    141:                            update the object.
                    142: 
                    143:    If the response is an update message, the update message will
                    144:    include the object handle and all of the name/value pairs
                    145:    associated with that object.
                    146: 
                    147: 2: refresh
                    148: 
                    149:    no input values except the handle need be specified.   The null
                    150:    handle may not be specified.   If the handle is valid, and the
                    151:    authenticator ID specified has permission to examine the object,
                    152:    then an update message will be sent for that object.   Otherwise,
                    153:    one of the following errors will be sent:
                    154: 
                    155:        invalid handle - the handle does not refer to a known object
                    156:        permisson denied - the handle refers to an object that the
                    157:                           requestor does not have permission to
                    158:                           examine. 
                    159: 
                    160: 3: update
                    161: 
                    162:    Requests that the contents of the specified object be updated with
                    163:    the values included.   Values that are not specified are not
                    164:    updated.   The response will be either an error message or an
                    165:    update-ok message.   If rid is nonzero, no response will be
                    166:    generated, even if there was an error.   Possible errors include:
                    167: 
                    168:        invalid handle - no such object was found
                    169:        permission denied - the handle refers to an object that the
                    170:                            requestor does not have permission to
                    171:                            modify.
                    172:        not confirmed - the update could not be committed due to some
                    173:                        kind of resource problem, for example
                    174:                        insufficient memory or a disk failure.
                    175: 
                    176: 4: notify
                    177: 
                    178:    Requests that whenever the object with the specified handle is
                    179:    modified, an update be sent.   If there is something wrong with the
                    180:    request, an error message will be returned immediately.
                    181:    Otherwise, whenever a change is made to the object, an update
                    182:    message will be sent containing whatever changes were made (or
                    183:    possibly all the values associated with the object, depending on
                    184:    the implementation).   Possible errors:
                    185: 
                    186:        invalid handle
                    187:        permission denied - the handle refers to an object that the
                    188:                            requestor does not have permission to
                    189:                            examine.
                    190:        not supported - the object implementation does not support
                    191:                        notifications
                    192: 
                    193: 5: status
                    194: 
                    195:    Sends a status code in response to a message.  Always sent in
                    196:    response to a message sent by the other side.  There should never
                    197:    be a response to this message.
                    198: 
                    199: 6: delete
                    200: 
                    201:    Deletes the specified object.   Response will be either request-ok,
                    202:    or error.   Possible errors include:
                    203: 
                    204:        invalid handle - no such object was found
                    205:        permission denied - the handle refers to an object that the
                    206:                            requestor does not have permission to
                    207:                            modify.
                    208:        not confirmed - the deletion could not be committed due to
                    209:                        some kind of resource problem, for example
                    210:                        insufficient memory or a disk failure.
                    211: 
                    212: 7: notify-cancel
                    213: 
                    214:    Like notify, but requests that an existing notification be cancelled.
                    215: 
                    216: 8: notify-cancelled
                    217: 
                    218:    Indicates that because of a local change, a notification that had
                    219:    been registered can no longer be performed.   This could be as a
                    220:    result of the permissions on a object changing, or an object being
                    221:    deleted.   There should never be a response to this message.
                    222: 
                    223: internals:
                    224: 
                    225: Both client and server use same protocol and infrastructure.   There
                    226: are many object types, each of which is stored in a registry.
                    227: Objects whose type is not recognized can either be handled by the
                    228: generic object type, which is registered with the type "*".   If no
                    229: generic object type is registered, then objects with unknown types are
                    230: simply not supported.   On the client, there are probably no special
                    231: object handlers (although this is by no means forbidden).   On the
                    232: server, probably everything is a special object.
                    233: 
                    234: Each object type has the following methods:
                    235: 
                    236: 
                    237: 
                    238: 
                    239: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_connect (dhcpctl_handle *connection,
                    240:                                char *server_name, int port,
                    241:                                dhcpctl_handle *authinfo)
                    242:        synchronous
                    243:        returns nonzero status code if it didn't connect, zero otherwise
                    244:        stores connection handle through connection, which can be used
                    245:        for subsequent access to the specified server. 
                    246:        server_name is the name of the server, and port is the TCP
                    247:        port on which it is listening.
                    248:        authinfo is the handle to an object containing authentication
                    249:        information.
                    250: 
                    251: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_open_object (dhcpctl_handle h,
                    252:                                    dhcpctl_handle connection,
                    253:                                    int flags)
                    254:        asynchronous - just queues the request
                    255:        returns nonzero status code if open couldn't be queued
                    256:        returns zero if open was queued
                    257:        h is a handle to an object created by dhcpctl_new_object
                    258:        connection is a connection to a DHCP server
                    259:        flags include:
                    260:           DHCPCTL_CREATE - if the object doesn't exist, create it
                    261:           DHCPCTL_UPDATE - update the object on the server using the
                    262:                            attached parameters 
                    263:           DHCPCTL_EXCL - error if the object exists and DHCPCTL_CREATE
                    264:                          was also specified
                    265: 
                    266: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_new_object (dhcpctl_handle *h,
                    267:                                   dhcpctl_handle connection,
                    268:                                   char *object_type)
                    269:        synchronous - creates a local handle for a host entry.
                    270:        returns nonzero status code if the local host entry couldn't
                    271:        be created
                    272:        stores handle to host through h if successful, and returns zero.
                    273:        object_type is a pointer to a NUL-terminated string containing
                    274:        the ascii name of the type of object being accessed - e.g., "host"
                    275: 
                    276: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_set_callback (dhcpctl_handle h, void *data,
                    277:                                     void (*callback) (dhcpctl_handle,
                    278:                                                       dhcpctl_status, void *))
                    279:        synchronous, with asynchronous aftereffect
                    280:        handle is some object upon which some kind of process has been
                    281:        started - e.g., an open, an update or a refresh.
                    282:        data is an anonymous pointer containing some information that
                    283:        the callback will use to figure out what event completed.
                    284:        return value of 0 means callback was successfully set, a nonzero
                    285:        status code is returned otherwise.
                    286:        Upon completion of whatever task is in process, the callback
                    287:        will be passed the handle to the object, a status code
                    288:        indicating what happened, and the anonymous pointer passed to 
                    289: 
                    290: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_wait_for_completion (dhcpctl_handle h,
                    291:                                            dhcpctl_status *s)
                    292:        synchronous
                    293:        returns zero if the callback completes, a nonzero status if
                    294:        there was some problem relating to the wait operation.   The
                    295:        status of the queued request will be stored through s, and
                    296:        will also be either zero for success or nonzero for some kind
                    297:        of failure.    Never returns until completion or until the
                    298:        connection to the server is lost.   This performs the same
                    299:        function as dhcpctl_set_callback and the subsequent callback,
                    300:        for programs that want to do inline execution instead of using
                    301:        callbacks.
                    302: 
                    303: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_get_value (data_string *result,
                    304:                                  dhcpctl_handle h, char *value_name)
                    305:        synchronous
                    306:        returns zero if the call succeeded, a nonzero status code if
                    307:        it didn't. 
                    308:        result is the address of an empty data string (initialized
                    309:        with bzero or cleared with data_string_forget).   On
                    310:        successful completion, the addressed data string will contain
                    311:        the value that was fetched.
                    312:        dhcpctl_handle refers to some dhcpctl item
                    313:        value_name refers to some value related to that item - e.g.,
                    314:        for a handle associated with a completed host lookup, value
                    315:        could be one of "hardware-address", "dhcp-client-identifier",
                    316:        "known" or "client-hostname".
                    317: 
                    318: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_get_boolean (int *result,
                    319:                                    dhcpctl_handle h, char *value_name)
                    320:        like dhcpctl_get_value, but more convenient for boolean
                    321:        values, since no data_string needs to be dealt with.
                    322: 
                    323: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_set_value (dhcpctl_handle h, data_string value,
                    324:                                  char *value_name)
                    325:        Sets a value on an object referred to by a dhcpctl_handle.
                    326:        The opposite of dhcpctl_get_value.   Does not update the
                    327:        server - just sets the value on the handle.
                    328: 
                    329: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_set_string_value (dhcpctl_handle h, char *value,
                    330:                                         char *value_name)
                    331:        Sets a NUL-terminated ASCII value on an object referred to by
                    332:        a dhcpctl_handle.   like dhcpctl_set_value, but saves the
                    333:        trouble of creating a data_string for a NUL-terminated string.
                    334:        Does not update the server - just sets the value on the handle.
                    335: 
                    336: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_set_boolean (dhcpctl_handle h, int value,
                    337:                                    char *value_name)
                    338:        Sets a boolean value on an object - like dhcpctl_set_value,
                    339:        only more convenient for booleans.
                    340: 
                    341: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_object_update (dhcpctl_handle h)
                    342:        Queues an update on the object referenced by the handle (there
                    343:        can't be any other work in progress on the handle).   An
                    344:        update means local parameters will be sent to the server.
                    345: 
                    346: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_object_refresh (dhcpctl_handle h)
                    347:        Queues an update on the object referenced by the handle (there
                    348:        can't be any other work in progress on the handle).   An
                    349:        update means local parameters will be sent to the server.
                    350: 
                    351: dhcpctl_status dhcpctl_object_delete (dhcpctl_handle h)
                    352:        Queues a delete of the object referenced by the handle (there
                    353:        can't be any other work in progress on the handle).   A
                    354:        delete means that the object will be permanently deleted on
                    355:        the remote end, assuming the remote end supports object
                    356:        persistence.
                    357: 
                    358: So a sample program that would update a host declaration would look
                    359: something like this:
                    360: 
                    361:        /* Create a local object into which to store authentication
                    362:           information. */
                    363:        if ((status = dhcpctl_new_object (&auth, dhcpctl_null_handle,
                    364:                                          "authentication-information")))
                    365:                dhcpctl_error ("Can't create authentication information: %m");
                    366: 
                    367:        /* Set up the authenticator with an algorithm type, user name and
                    368:           password. */
                    369:        if ((status = dhcpctl_set_string_value (&auth, "mellon", "username")))
                    370:                dhcpctl_error ("Can't set username: %m", status);
                    371:        if ((status = dhcpctl_set_string_value (&auth, "three blind mice",
                    372:                                                "password")))
                    373:                dhcpctl_error ("Can't set password: %m", status);
                    374:        if ((status = dhcpctl_set_string_value (&auth, "md5-hash",
                    375:                                                "algorithm")))
                    376:                dhcpctl_error ("Can't set authentication algorithm: %m.",
                    377:                               status);
                    378: 
                    379:        /* Connect to the server. */
                    380:        if ((status = dhcpctl_connect (&c, "dhcp.server.com", 612, &auth)))
                    381: 
                    382:                dhcpctl_error ("Can't connect to dhcp.server.com: %m",
                    383:                               status);
                    384: 
                    385:        /* Create a host object. */
                    386:        if ((status = dhcpctl_new_object (&hp, c, "host")))
                    387:                dhcpctl_error ("Host create failed: %m", status);
                    388: 
                    389:        /* Create a data_string to contain the host's client
                    390:           identifier, and set it. */
                    391:        if ((status =
                    392:             data_string_create_from_hex (&client_id,
                    393:                                          "1:08:00:2b:34:1a:c3")))
                    394:                dhcpctl_error ("Can't create client identifier: %m");
                    395:        if ((status = dhcpctl_set_value (hp, client_id,
                    396:                                         "dhcp-client-identifier")))
                    397:                dhcpctl_error ("Host client identifier set failed.");
                    398:        /* Set the known flag to 1. */
                    399:        if ((status = dhcpctl_set_boolean (hp, 1, "known")))
                    400:                dhcpctl_error ("Host known set failed.");
                    401: 
                    402:        /* Open an existing host object that matches the client identifier,
                    403:           and update it from the local context, or if no host entry
                    404:           yet exists matching the identifier, create one and
                    405:           initialize it. */
                    406:        if ((status = dhcpctl_open_object (&hp, c,
                    407:                                           DHCPCTL_CREATE | DHCPCTL_UPDATE)))
                    408:                dhcpctl_error ("Can't open host: %m", status);
                    409: 
                    410:        /* Wait for the process to complete, check status. */
                    411:        if ((status = dhcpctl_wait_for_completion (hp, &wait_status)))
                    412:                dhcpctl_error ("Host create/lookup wait failed: %m", status);
                    413:        if (waitstatus)
                    414:                dhcpctl_error ("Host create/lookup failed: %m", status);
                    415: 
                    416: The API is a bit complicated, for a couple of reasons.   I want to
                    417: make it general, so that there aren't a bazillion functions to call,
                    418: one for each data type.   I want it to be thread-safe, which is why
                    419: each function returns a status and the error printer requires a status
                    420: code for input.   I want it to be possible to make it asynchronous, so
                    421: that it can work in tandem with, for example, an X toolkit.   If
                    422: you're just writing a simple update cgi program, you probably won't
                    423: want to bother to use the asynchronous callbacks, and indeed the above
                    424: example doesn't.
                    425: 
                    426: I glossed over data strings above - basically, they're objects with a
                    427: pointer to a reference-counted buffer structure, an offset into that
                    428: buffer, and a length.   These are used within the DHCP server, so you
                    429: can get an idea of how they work - basically, they're a convenient and
                    430: efficient way to store a string with a length such that substrings can
                    431: easily be taken and such that more than one user at a time can have a
                    432: pointer to the string.
                    433: 
                    434: I will also probably add locking primitives, so that you can get the
                    435: value of something and be sure that some other updator process won't
                    436: modify it while you have the lock.

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