TINCD(8)

NAME
tincd - tinc VPN daemon

SYNOPSIS
tincd [option]...

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 virtual subnets it has to serve and to what other tinc daemons it should connect. 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 tap 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.

OPTIONS

-c, --config=DIR
    Read configuration options from DIR.

-D, --no-detach
    Don't fork and detach. This will also disable the automatic restart mechanism for fatal errors.

-d  Increase debug level (see below).

-k, --kill
    Attempt to kill a running tincd and exit.

-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 1024 bits.

--help
    Display short list of options.

--version
    Output version information and exit.

SIGNALS

HUP Closes all connections, rereads the configuration file and restarts the daemon.

INT Closes all connections and quits.

USR1
    Dumps the connection list to syslog.

USR2
    Dumps the subnet list to syslog.

ALRM
    Forces tincd to try to connect to an uplink 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 succeed to connect to an uplink the first time after it started, it defaults to the maximum time of 15 minutes.

DEBUG LEVELS
The tinc daemon can send a lot of messages to the syslog. The more -d options are given to tincd, the more messages it will log. Each level inherits all messages of the previous level:

no debug options
    This will log a message indicating tincd has started along with a version number. It will also any serious error.

-d  This will log all connections that are made with other tinc daemons.

-dd This will log status and error messages from other tinc daemons.

-ddd
    This will log all requests that are exchanged with other tinc daemons. These include authentication, key exchange and connection list updates.

-dddd
    This will log a copy of everything received on the meta socket.

-ddddd
    This will log all network traffic over the virtual private network.

FILES

/etc/tinc/netname/tinc.conf
    The configuration file for tincd.

/etc/tinc/netname/tinc-up
    Script which is executed as soon as a tap device has been allocated. Purpose is to further configure that device.

/etc/tinc/netname/tinc-down
    Script which is executed when tinc quits. Purpose is to shut down the tap device.

/etc/tinc/netname/hosts/*
    The directory containing the host configuration files used to authenticate other tinc daemons.

/var/run/tinc.netname.pid
    The PID of the currently running tincd is stored in this file.

BUGS
The TCPonly and IndirectData options 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@nl.linux.org.

TODO
A lot, especially security auditting.

SEE ALSO
tinc.conf(5)

http://tinc.nl.linux.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 <itimmermans@bigfoot.com>
Guus Sliepen <guus@sliepen.warande.net>
And thanks to many others for their contributions to tinc!