NAME

     dhcp6ctl — DHCPv6 client and server control utility

SYNOPSIS

     dhcp6ctl [-C -| -S] [-k keyfile] [-p port] [-s address] command

DESCRIPTION

     dhcp6ctl controls the operation of a DHCPv6 process, which is either dhcp6c or dhcp6s, a
     DHCPv6 client or a server.  By default, dhcp6ctl controls a client.  The type of the process
     can also be specified explicitly by the -C or -S options.

     dhcp6ctl communicates with the DHCPv6 process over a TCP connection, sending commands
     authenticated with digital signatures.  Currently, the only supported authentication
     algorithm is HMAC-MD5, which uses a shared secret on each end of the connection.

     Command line options are as below:

     -C      Control a DHCPv6 client.  This option is exclusive with the -S option.

     -S      Control a DHCPv6 server.  This option is exclusive with the -C option.

     -k keyfile
             Use keyfile to provide the shared secret to communicate with the process.  The
             default file name used when unspecified is /etc/wide-dhcpv6/dhcp6cctlkey with a
             client, and /etc/wide-dhcpv6/dhcp6sctlkey with a server.

     -p port
             Specify port as the listening port of the process.  The default port number used
             when unspecified is 5546 for a client, and 5547 for a server.

     -s address
             Specify address as the listening address of the process.  The default address used
             when unspecified is ::1.

KEY FILE

     Since the operation available with the dhcp6ctl command is powerful, the communication
     between the command and dhcp6c or dhcp6s must be authenticated.  The supported algorithm for
     authentication is HMAC-MD5, which requires a shared secret, and the secret is stored in the
     key file.  The key file must consist of a single line, in which the secret value is written
     in the form of BASE-64 encoding.

COMMANDS

     Each command specifies a single control operation.  Supported commands are as follows:

     reload  This command specifies the process to reload the configuration file.  Existing
             bindings, if any, are intact.
     remove arguments
             This command is only applicable to a server.  This specifies the server to remove a
             run-time object specified by arguments from the server.  Currently, the only
             possible object is one particular IA_NA or IA_PD binding, which is specified as
             ‘binding IA IA_NA IAID DUID’ or ‘binding IA IA_PD IAID DUID’ where IAID is a decimal
             number specifying the IAID of the IA, and DUID is a DHCP Unique Identifier of the
             binding.  The format of DUID is the same as that specified in dhcp6s.conf(5).
     start interface ifname
             This command is only applicable to a client.  It tells the client to release the
             current configuration information (if any) on the interface ifname and restart the
             DHCPv6 configuration process on the interface.
     stop interface ifname
             This command is only applicable to a client.  It tells the client to release the
             current configuration information (if any) on the interface ifname.  Any timer
             running for the interface will be stopped, and no more DHCPv6 messages will be sent
             on the interface.  The configuration process can later be restarted by the start
             command.
     stop    This command stops the specified process.  If the process is a client, it will
             release all configuration information (if any) and exits.

FILES

     /etc/wide-dhcpv6/dhcp6cctlkey  is the default key file to communicate with a client.
     /etc/wide-dhcpv6/dhcp6sctlkey  is the default key file to communicate with a server.

SEE ALSO

     dhcp6s.conf(5) dhcp6s(8)

HISTORY

     The dhcp6ctl command first appeared in WIDE/KAME IPv6 protocol stack kit.