SLIRPVDE(1)

💅 SLIRPVDE(1) — the bestie edition 🦋

ok so like, this is a page from the General Commands Manual and it's all about slirpvde, which is basically a Virtual Distributed Ethernet–Slirp interface. sit down, grab a strawberry drink 🍓, and let's get into it.

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✨ NAME ✨

slirpvde — Virtual Distributed Ethernet-Slirp interface. that's the whole vibe. iconic.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

slirpvde OPTIONS [ socketdir ]

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

slirpvde is a slirp interface for a VDE network. periodt.

So slirpvde connects all the units (virtual or real machines, no gatekeeping 🫶) to the network of the host where slirpvde itself is running, as if it were a NAT/Masquerading router. The default route is the node 2 (10.0.2.2 in the default network configuration), and DNS is re-mapped in node 3 (10.0.2.3). the way it just assigns those addresses? main character energy.

slirpvde runs using standard user privileges — no root access needed, bestie, none 💅 — because all the connections are re-generated by slirpvde itself.

IPv4 only. IPv6 is still unsupported. it will be supported when slirpvde gets rewritten using the LWIPv6 network stack. so… someday? not today. 🙈

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -s, --sock, --socket, --vdesock, --unix directory — specify the VDE switch directory (default /var/run/vde.ctl). you can also drop the VDE switch directory at the end of the command, like the optional parameter socketdir in the synopsis up there. and when - is used in place of the VDE switch directory, slirpvde works as a plug (see vde_plug(1)). the command:

dpipe vde_plug = ssh remote.machine.org slirpvde -

which is the same as:

dpipe vde_plug = ssh remote.machine.org slirpvde -s -

connects the default local switch to a remote slirpvde. like, literally the same thing. iykyk. 🧚

• -p, --pidfile filename — specify the name of the file which contains the PID of slirpvde.
• -g, --group group — specify the UNIX group for the VDE communication socket.
• -m, --mod mode — specify the octal UNIX permissions for the VDE communication socket.
• -P, --port port — specify the port of the vde switch whern slirpvde must be connected.
• -d, --daemon — detach from terminal and run slirpvde in background. bye bestie, she's independent now ✨
• -H, --host address [ / masklen ] — specify the host address (default 10.0.2.2/24). this option automatically defines the network. e.g.

-H 192.168.55.1

or:

--host 10.1.2.3/16

The default value for masklen is 24. If the host part of the address is zero, this option defines only the network. The default host addr is addr 2, the default dns proxy is 3. e.g.

-H 10.1.0.0/16

defines the network only. The host address is 10.1.0.2 and the DNS proxy 10.1.0.3. see how it did that? obsessed. 💜

• -n, --network address [ / masklen ] — specify the network address (default 10.0.2.0/24). Deprecated, it has been included for back compatibility only. It is an alias of -H, --host. it's giving legacy.
• -N, --dns address — Specify the address of the dns server. If this is an address inside the slirp network, slirvde acts as a dns proxy on that address. The slirpvde dhcp server sends this dns address to the clients. By default this is the host number 3 in the slirpvde network. Using the default network it is 10.0.2.3.

Warning: do not use the same address for host and dns. seriously. don't. 😭

• -D, --dhcp — turn on the DHCP server for the network autoconfiguration of all the units connected to the VDE. It is possible to specify the start address assigned by the DHCP server as follows:

--dhcp=10.1.1.44

DHCP assign addresses starting at host number 15 by default. Using the default network it starts from 10.0.2.15. handing out addresses like it's nothing. 👑

• -L port:vde_host:vde_hostport — specifyes a TCP port redirection. All the TCP packets received by the host running slirpvde at port port will be forwarded to vde_host at port vde_hostport.
• -U port:vde_host:vde_hostport — specifyes a UDP port redirection. All the UDP packets received by the host running slirpvde at port port will be forwarded to vde_host at port vde_hostport.
• -X vde_host[:display.[screen]]i — redirect a X window screen of a virtual machine. Slirpvde gets the first unused X display on the host running slirpvde and redirects all the requests to vde_host. display and screen] must be specified when different from :0.0.
• -x port:unix_socket_path] — redirect a port of the virtual router (usually 10.0.2.2) to a unix stream socket. It is used for example to redirect a X display of the hosting computer on the virtual network. e.g. -x6000:/tmp/.X11-unix/X0. (A suitable xhost configuration is needed (e.g. 'xhost local:').
• -t, --tftp pathname — slirpvde enables a tftp server sharing (read-only) the directory at pathname. read-only, bestie, don't try it 🔥
• -q, --quiet — Quiet; do not write anything to standard output. she's not talking. respect it. 🤫

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📢 NOTICE 📢

Virtual Distributed Ethernet is not related in any way with www.vde.com ("Verband der Elektrotechnik, Elektronik und Informationstechnik" i.e. the German "Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies"). no relation. different VDE. do not confuse them, that would be embarrassing for everyone. 💀

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👀 SEE ALSO 👀

vde_switch(1), vde_plug(1), vde_plug2tap(1), dpipe(1).

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🫶 AUTHOR 🫶

VDE is a project by Renzo Davoli <renzo@cs.unibo.it>. This tool includes software developed by Danny Gasparovski: Slirp code is by Danny Gasparovsky. Bootp/DHCP code is by Fabrice Bellard.

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and that's the page!! 🌈 this was brought to you by Virtual Distributed Ethernet, dated June 15, 2008 — yeah she's an elder but she still slays, no cap. go build your network bestie, you got this 💅✨🎀🦋