Obsoleting ndd Utility

Transition Plan for Obsoleting Use of ndd Utility on Link Layer

Overview

The Brussels project aims to define a standardized interface to configure tunable properties for network drivers (see high-level design specifications). The standardized interface to be used is the dladm command, which will be enhanced to include functionalities to configure properties of network drivers. As part of the goal to shift administrators to use the dladm command to configure network driver properties, link-layer functionalities of the ndd utility will be phased out.

• Beginning with Nevada build 90, the ndd utility will remain functional for link-layer usage. However, users will be notified that these link-layer functionalities of ndd are now marked obsolete. Users will be encouraged to use the dladm command instead.
• Legacy support for existing usage of ndd to administer link-layer functionality will continue until ndd is removed in a future Nevada build that is still to be determined. When the build is designated, users will be provided sufficient notification before the ndd functionalities are actually removed.

Technical Details

The following details describe the plan towards declaring the ndd utility obsolete.

• When PSARC 2007/429 integrates, ndd calls in existing drivers that have converted to the GLDv3 framework remain operational. These calls are issued either by /sbin/ndd or by ND_SET or ND_GET ioctls. However, the following notification is generated whenever ndd calls are issued:

WARNING: The ndd commands for datalink administration are obsolete and may be removed in a future release of Solaris. 
Use dladm(1M) to manage data-link tunables.

The man page will also provide a similar notice. See the Notes section of the ndd(1M) man page.

• New drivers that are written after PSARC 2007/429 is delivered into the gate will be required to exclude any ND_SET and ND_GET ioctl-handling code.
• The Brussels component that manages ndd compatibility will clean up existing ndd code in legacy drivers to make support for the ndd ioctls be deflected from the GLDv3 layers (dld or mac). An ndd ioctl will be transmitted to the driver as a Brussels property. Parsing of the data that is passed in or out of the ndd ioctl will be performed in the dld layer.
  This mechanism is intended to provide legacy support for existing ndd commands only. But support for the ndd utility itself will be flagged as obsolete.
• After all known existing applications and scripts have been fixed to use the newer dladm subcommands, the ndd utility will be removed in a future Solaris release that remains to be determined.