slave_set_ns_maddr(9)

💅 slave_set_ns_maddr(9) — like, the manual, but make it make sense 🎀

okay bestie, so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual (yes, the (9) section, we love a kernel-internals moment ✨) and it's all about slave_set_ns_maddr. sit down, grab a strawberry, we're doing this 🍓

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🌸 NAME 🌸

slave_set_ns_maddr — sets a brand new NS mac address for a slave. that's the whole vibe. no cap. 👑

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

void slave_set_ns_maddr (struct bonding *bond , struct slave *slave ,
struct in6_addr *target , struct in6_addr *slot );

literally just a void function, no return value, we love a function that doesn't need to report back 🫶

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• bond — the bond device 💜
• slave — the slave device, obviously 🌈
• target — the new IPv6 target, the main character of this operation ⭐
• slot — the old IPv6 target that's currently chilling in the slot 🙈

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so what it does: this function tries to replace the old mac address with a new one on the slave. glow-up for the mac address, fr fr ✨💅

⚠️ okay, important note, don't skip this one: the target/slot IPv6 address is the unicast address in the Neighbor Solicitation (NS) message. the dest address of the NS message should be the solicited-node multicast address of the target. and the dest mac of the NS message is converted from that solicited-node multicast address. so like, that chain of address magic is load-bearing, iykyk 🧚

and this function gets called when:

• An IPv6 NS target is added or removed. 🔥

(single bullet, but an iconic single bullet 🌟)

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

the kernel file ./drivers/net/bonding/bond_options.c is the home base for all of these besties:

• bond_opt_parse(9)
• __bond_opt_set(9)
• __bond_opt_set_notify(9)
• bond_opt_tryset_rtnl(9)
• bond_opt_get(9)
• slave_set_ns_maddrs(9) ← yes, plural, it's a different function, don't mix them up bestie 😭

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🎀 sign-off 🎀

this little beauty lives under ./drivers/net/bonding, and the page is dated October 2026. that's it, that's the page, go forth and set those NS mac addresses 💖🦋🌸 periodt.