TINCD(8) BSD System Manager's Manual TINCD(8)
NAME
tincd — tinc VPN daemon
SYNOPSIS
tincd [-cdDkKnLRU] [--config=DIR] [--no-detach] [--debug[=LEVEL]]
[--kill[=SIGNAL]] [--net=NETNAME] [--generate-keys[=BITS]] [--mlock]
[--logfile[=FILE]] [--pidfile=FILE] [--bypass-security] [--chroot]
[--user=USER] [--help] [--version]
DESCRIPTION
This is the daemon of tinc, a secure virtual private network (VPN) project.
When started, tincd will read it's configuration file to determine what vir‐
tual subnets it has to serve and to what other tinc daemons it should con‐
nect. It will connect to the ethertap or tun/tap device and set up a socket
for incoming connections. Optionally a script will be executed to further
configure the virtual device. If that succeeds, it will detach from the
controlling terminal and continue in the background, accepting and setting
up connections to other tinc daemons that are part of the virtual private
network. Under Windows (not Cygwin) tinc will install itself as a service,
which will be restarted automatically after reboots.
OPTIONS
-c, --config=DIR
Read configuration files from DIR instead of /etc/tinc/.
-D, --no-detach
Don't fork and detach. This will also disable the automatic restart
mechanism for fatal errors. If not mentioned otherwise, this will
show log messages on the standard error output.
-d, --debug[=LEVEL]
Increase debug level or set it to LEVEL (see below).
-k, --kill[=SIGNAL]
Attempt to kill a running tincd (optionally with the specified
SIGNAL instead of SIGTERM) and exit. Under Windows (not Cygwin) the
optional argument is ignored, the service will always be stopped and
removed.
-n, --net=NETNAME
Connect to net NETNAME.
-K, --generate-keys[=BITS]
Generate public/private RSA keypair and exit. If BITS is omitted,
the default length will be 2048 bits. When saving keys to existing
files, tinc will not delete the old keys, you have to remove them
manually.
-L, --mlock
Lock tinc into main memory. This will prevent sensitive data like
shared private keys to be written to the system swap files/parti‐
tions.
--logfile[=FILE]
Write log entries to a file instead of to the system logging facil‐
ity. If FILE is omitted, the default is /var/log/tinc.NETNAME.log.
--pidfile=FILE
Write PID to FILE instead of /var/run/tinc.NETNAME.pid. Under Win‐
dows this option will be ignored.
--bypass-security
Disables encryption and authentication of the meta protocol. Only
useful for debugging.
--chroot
With this option tinc chroots into the directory where network con‐
fig is located (/etc/tinc/NETNAME if -n option is used, or to the
directory specified with -c option) after initialization.
--user=USER
setuid to the specified USER after initialization.
--help Display short list of options.
--version
Output version information and exit.
SIGNALS
ALRM Forces tincd to try to connect to all uplinks immediately. Usually
tincd attempts to do this itself, but increases the time it waits
between the attempts each time it failed, and if tincd didn't suc‐
ceed to connect to an uplink the first time after it started, it
defaults to the maximum time of 15 minutes.
HUP Partially rereads configuration files. Connections to hosts whose
host config file are removed are closed. New outgoing connections
specified in tinc.conf will be made.
INT Temporarily increases debug level to 5. Send this signal again to
revert to the original level.
USR1 Dumps the connection list to syslog.
USR2 Dumps virtual network device statistics, all known nodes, edges and
subnets to syslog.
WINCH Purges all information remembered about unreachable nodes.
The tinc daemon can send a lot of messages to the syslog. The higher the
debug level, the more messages it will log. Each level inherits all mes‐
sages of the previous level:
0 This will log a message indicating tincd has started along with a
version number. It will also log any serious error.
1 This will log all connections that are made with other tinc daemons.
2 This will log status and error messages from scripts and other tinc
daemons.
3 This will log all requests that are exchanged with other tinc dae‐
mons. These include authentication, key exchange and connection list
updates.
4 This will log a copy of everything received on the meta socket.
5 This will log all network traffic over the virtual private network.
FILES
/etc/tinc/
Directory containing the configuration files tinc uses. For more
information, see tinc.conf(5).
/var/run/tinc.NETNAME.pid
The PID of the currently running tincd is stored in this file.
BUGS
The BindToInterface option may not work correctly.
The cryptography in tinc is not well tested yet. Use it at your own risk!
If you find any bugs, report them to tinc@tinc-vpn.org.
TODO
A lot, especially security auditing.
tinc.conf(5), http://www.tinc-vpn.org/, http://www.cabal.org/.
The full documentation for tinc is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the
info and tinc programs are properly installed at your site, the command info
tinc should give you access to the complete manual.
tinc comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software, and you are
welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; see the file COPYING
for details.
AUTHORS
Ivo Timmermans
Guus Sliepen ⟨guus@tinc-vpn.org⟩
And thanks to many others for their contributions to tinc!
April 11, 2010