---
name: "ggated"
section: "8"
platform: "freebsd"
package: "base"
version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79"
release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)"
platforms: ["freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/ggated"
---

# ggated(8)

GEOM Gate network daemon

## NAME

**ggated** – GEOM Gate network daemon

## SYNOPSIS

**ggated** \[**-h**\] \[**-n**\] \[**-v**\] \[**-a** *address*\] \[**-p** *port*\] \[**-F** *pidfile*\] \[**-R** *rcvbuf*\] \[**-S** *sndbuf*\] \[*exports file*\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **ggated** utility is a network server for the GEOM Gate class. It runs on a server machine to service GEOM Gate requests from workers placed on a client machine. Keep in mind, that connections between [ggatec(8)](/ggatec/8.md) and **ggated** are not encrypted.

Available options:

- **-a** *address*

  Specifies an IP address to bind to.

- **-h**

  Print available options.

- **-n**

  Do not use TCP\_NODELAY option on TCP sockets.

- **-p** *port*

  Port on which **ggated** listens for connections. Default is 3080.

- **-F** *pidfile*

  PID file that **ggated** uses.

- **-R** *rcvbuf*

  Size of receive buffer to use. Default is 131072 (128 KiB).

- **-S** *sndbuf*

  Size of send buffer to use. Default is 131072 (128 KiB).

- **-v**

  Do not fork, run in foreground and print debug information on standard output.

- *exports file*

  An alternate location for the exports file.

The format of an exports file is as follows:

```
1.2.3.4		RO		/dev/cd0
1.2.3.0/24	RW		/tmp/test.img
hostname	WO		/tmp/image
hostname	RW,DIRECT	/tmp/direct-image
hostname	RW,NODIRECT	/tmp/nodirect-image
```

The first column specifies the ip, network with netmask, or the hostname that the export applies to.

The next column is the access flags that apply to the export

- **RO**

  Read-Only the path specified will be exported to the client read only.

- **WO**

  Write-Only the path specified will be exported to the client write only.

- **RW**

  Read-Write the path specified will be exported to the client read-write.

- **DIRECT**

  The path specified will always be opened with O\_DIRECT for clients.

- **NODIRECT**

  The path specified will never be opened with O\_DIRECT for clients.

The final column specifies the path to export.

Files are opened with the least common flags between the client and the server.  A client may request read or write only to a read-write export and the server will honor the client request and open the file in the requested mode.  A client requesting greater access than permissions listed in the file will be rejected.

DIRECT and NODIRECT are used to coerce the use of the O\_DIRECT flag to [open(2)](/open/2.md) when the specified path is opened. If DIRECT is specified the path is always opened with O\_DIRECT. If NODIRECT is specified the path is never opened with O\_DIRECT. DIRECT access limits the cache effects of IO operations on the file.  This has the effect of having clients accessing exports to not impact the cache of the local machine, however it will cause greater IO utilization to the devices on which the files reside.

If neither is specified the server will use the preference specified by the client, with the default to not use O\_DIRECT. If the client specifies a preference against the server's configuration the client preference will be silently ignored.

## FILES

- */var/run/ggated.pid*

  The default location of the **ggated** PID file.

## EXIT STATUS

Exit status is 0 on success, or 1 if the command fails. To get details about the failure, **ggated** should be called with the **-v** option.

## EXAMPLES

Export CD-ROM device, a file, and a file with O\_DIRECT option:

```
# echo "1.2.3.0/24 RO /dev/cd0" > /etc/gg.exports
# echo "client RW /image" >> /etc/gg.exports
# echo "client RW,DIRECT /image2" >> /etc/gg.exports
# echo "client RW,NODIRECT /image3" >> /etc/gg.exports
# ggated
```

## SEE ALSO

[open(2)](/open/2.md), [geom(4)](/geom/4.md), [ggatec(8)](/ggatec/8.md), [ggatel(8)](/ggatel/8.md)

## HISTORY

The **ggated** utility appeared in FreeBSD 5.3.

## AUTHORS

The **ggated** utility as well as this manual page was written by Pawel Jakub Dawidek ⟨*pjd@FreeBSD.org*⟩.