sysctl – Manage entries in sysctl.conf

Synopsis

  • This module manipulates sysctl entries and optionally performs a /sbin/sysctl -p after changing them.

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
ignoreerrors
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Use this option to ignore errors about unknown keys.
name
- / required
The dot-separated path (aka key) specifying the sysctl variable.

aliases: key
reload
boolean
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
If yes, performs a /sbin/sysctl -p if the sysctl_file is updated. If no, does not reload sysctl even if the sysctl_file is updated.
state
-
    Choices:
  • present ←
  • absent
Whether the entry should be present or absent in the sysctl file.
sysctl_file
-
Default:
"/etc/sysctl.conf"
Specifies the absolute path to sysctl.conf, if not /etc/sysctl.conf.
sysctl_set
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Verify token value with the sysctl command and set with -w if necessary
value
-
Desired value of the sysctl key.

aliases: val

Examples

# Set vm.swappiness to 5 in /etc/sysctl.conf
- sysctl:
    name: vm.swappiness
    value: '5'
    state: present

# Remove kernel.panic entry from /etc/sysctl.conf
- sysctl:
    name: kernel.panic
    state: absent
    sysctl_file: /etc/sysctl.conf

# Set kernel.panic to 3 in /tmp/test_sysctl.conf
- sysctl:
    name: kernel.panic
    value: '3'
    sysctl_file: /tmp/test_sysctl.conf
    reload: no

# Set ip forwarding on in /proc and verify token value with the sysctl command
- sysctl:
    name: net.ipv4.ip_forward
    value: '1'
    sysctl_set: yes

# Set ip forwarding on in /proc and in the sysctl file and reload if necessary
- sysctl:
    name: net.ipv4.ip_forward
    value: '1'
    sysctl_set: yes
    state: present
    reload: yes

Status

Red Hat Support

More information about Red Hat’s support of this module is available from this Red Hat Knowledge Base article.

Authors

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