Viewing Kernel
Parameters
Mike Bunch
LINUX TRAINING ARCHITECT
VIEWING KERNEL PARAMETERS
Lesson Objectives and Overview
Lesson Objective
View boot-time and run-time kernel parameters using resources such as /proc/cmdline, as well as the
tools dmesg, and sysctl.
Lesson Notes
Why care about kernel parameters?
Kernel parameters are values that can be modified to change the functionality, and performance
available in the kernel, making them a good place to start when looking to optimize system performance.
Types of kernel parameters
Command line - Parameters that are made available to the kernel at boot time and are managed by the
bootloader configuration.
Run time - Parameters that are made available to the kernel after the boot process has been completed.
VIEWING KERNEL PARAMETERS
Command Examples from the Lesson
# View boot-time parameters using /proc/cmdline
cat /proc/cmdline
# View boot-time parameters using /proc/cmdline
dmesg | grep "Command line"
- This command will only work if the kernel ring buffer has not been cleared.
# View all run-time kernel paramters
sudo sysctl -a
# Use wc command to count the number of run-time kernel parameters
sudo sysctl -a | wc -l
VIEWING KERNEL PARAMETERS
Command Examples from the Lesson
# Filter output using grep
sudo sysctl -a | grep ipv4.ip
# View a specific run-time kernel parameter
sudo sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward_update_priority
# View the value of a specific run-time kernel parameter
sudo sysctl -n net.ipv4.ip_forward_update_priority
# View the value of a specific run-time kernel parameter using /proc/sys
cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward_update_priority
- To identify the path, replace periods in the parameter with forward slashes.
