Table of Contents

Proc - Network directory

The subdirectory /proc/net follows the usual pattern.

NOTE: The general rule is that the contents, or even the existence of the /proc/net directory, depends on your kernel configuration. If Networking is not enabled, the /proc/net directory may not exist.

IPv6 info in /proc/net

The following Table shows the additional values you get for IP version 6 if you configure the kernel to support this.

FileContent
udp6UDP sockets (IPv6).
tcp6TCP sockets (IPv6).
raw6Raw device statistics (IPv6).
igmp6IP multicast addresses, which this host joined (IPv6).
if_inet6List of IPv6 interface addresses.
ipv6_routeKernel routing table for IPv6.
rt6_statsGlobal IPv6 routing tables statistics.
sockstat6Socket statistics (IPv6).
snmp6Snmp data (IPv6).

Network info in /proc/net

This table lists the files and their meaning.

FileContent
arpKernel ARP table.
devNetwork devices with statistics.
dev_mcastThe Layer2 multicast groups a device is listening to (interface index, label, number of references, number of bound addresses).
dev_statnetwork device status.
ip_fwchainsFirewall chain linkage.
ip_fwnamesFirewall chain names.
ip_masqDirectory containing the masquerading tables.
ip_masqueradeMajor masquerading table.
netstatNetwork statistics.
rawraw device statistics.
routeKernel routing table.
rpcDirectory containing rpc info.
rt_cacheRouting cache.
snmpSNMP data.
sockstatSocket statistics.
tcpTCP sockets.
tr_rifToken ring RIF routing table.
udpUDP sockets.
unixUNIX domain sockets.
wirelessWireless interface data (Wavelan etc).
igmpIP multicast addresses, which this host joined.
pschedGlobal packet scheduler parameters.
netlinkList of PF_NETLINK sockets.
ip_mr_vifsList of multicast virtual interfaces.
ip_mr_cacheList of multicast routing cache.

You can use this information to see which network devices are available in your system and how much traffic was routed over those devices:

cat /proc/net/dev
 
  Inter-|Receive                                                   |[... 
   face |bytes    packets errs drop fifo frame compressed multicast|[... 
      lo:  908188   5596     0    0    0     0          0         0 [...         
    ppp0:15475140  20721   410    0    0   410          0         0 [...  
    eth0:  614530   7085     0    0    0     0          0         1 [... 
 
  ...] Transmit 
  ...] bytes    packets errs drop fifo colls carrier compressed 
  ...]  908188     5596    0    0    0     0       0          0 
  ...] 1375103    17405    0    0    0     0       0          0 
  ...] 1703981     5535    0    0    0     3       0          0 

In addition, each Channel Bond interface has its own directory. For example, the bond0 device will have a directory called /proc/net/bond0/. It will contain information that is specific to that bond, such as the current slaves of the bond, the link status of the slaves, and how many times the slaves link has failed.