Options Utility
Comprehensive system configuration & service management — boot options, kernel parameters,
and OviOS-specific flags
1 Overview
The options command manages all system-wide behaviors in OviOS: persistent configuration,
service control, ZFS pool tuning, networking, security, and monitoring. Changes take effect immediately and
persist across reboots.
⚙️
Command Usage
Get, set, reset, or get help on any option with a single consistent syntax.
🚩
Global Flags
Silent mode, show only changed options, factory reset, and version information.
📋
9 Categories
System, ZFS, Backup, NFS, SMB, iSCSI, Security, Monitoring, and Multi-value options.
🔄
Live & Persistent
All changes are applied immediately and written to persistent config automatically.
2 Command Syntax
options [--silent|--no-silent] [--show-changed] [--reset-all] [--version]
options all # list all options and current values
options <name> # get current value of an option
options <name> help # show help text for an option
options <name> reset # reset a single option to default
options <name> <value> # set an option to a new value
💡
Run options <name> help on any option to see its full description, accepted values, and
current state directly in the shell.
3 Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--silent |
Suppress most output messages (default behavior) |
--no-silent |
Show full service actions and verbose output |
--show-changed |
Display only options that differ from their defaults |
--reset-all |
Factory reset all options to defaults |
--version |
Show the options utility version |
Searches option names and descriptions across all categories
4 System & Core
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| cockpit.enable | Bool | off | Cockpit web management console |
| ssh.enable | Bool | on | SSH service |
| cron.enable | Bool | off | Cron daemon for scheduled tasks |
| ntp.enable | Bool | off | NTP time synchronization service |
| ntp.servers | String | time.google.com | NTP server list (space-separated) |
| multipathd.enable | Bool | off | DM-Multipath daemon |
| options.coloured | Bool | on | Colorized shell output |
| keep.tmp | Bool | off | Preserve /tmp contents on reboot |
| s3.enable | Bool | off | S3-compatible object storage service |
| s3.ui.enable | Bool | off | S3 web UI |
5 ZFS & Storage
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| arc.size | Int | 50 | ZFS ARC cache size as a percentage of total RAM. Recommended: 60–80% for dedicated NAS/SAN. |
| zfs.dio.enable | Multi | None | Enable Direct I/O per pool. Accepts pool name, all, or reset. |
| zfs.zil.disable | Multi | None | Disable ZFS Intent Log for a pool. Only disable with UPS protection in place. Use reset
to re-enable all. |
| zfs.trim.enable | Multi | None | Enable TRIM on SSD-backed pools. Accepts pool name, all, or reset. |
| zfs.scrub.auto | Bool | off | Enable monthly automatic scrub timer across all pools |
| force.import | Bool | off | Force import pools even if they appear to be in use |
| skip.import | Bool | on | Skip automatic ZFS pool import on boot. Enabled by default on first run. |
| import.src | String | device | Set where to import pools from (default: device). Valid values: cache or
device.
|
| import.all.read-write | Bool | off | Import degraded pools in read-write mode |
| exclude.pools | Multi | None | Exclude specific pools from OviOS management |
6 Backup & Restore
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| autosync.enable | Bool | off | Automatically run sync-config after every configuration change. Strongly recommended in
production. |
| auto.restore.enable | Bool | off | Automatically restore OviOS configuration on boot if a backup is found |
| system.backup.pool | String | None | Target pool where sync-config writes backup archives. Must be set before using backup
features. |
💡
Set system.backup.pool and enable autosync.enable on immediately after initial
setup. This ensures your configuration is always recoverable.
7 NFS
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| nfs.enable | Bool | off | NFS server service |
| nfs.port | Int | — | NFS server port override |
| nfs.threads | Int | — | Number of NFS server threads |
| nfs.idmap | Bool | off | NFSv4 ID mapping daemon |
| nfs4.domain | String | localdomain | NFSv4 ID mapping domain |
| nfs.tcp.disable | Bool | off | Disable NFS over TCP |
| nfs.udp.disable | Bool | off | Disable NFS over UDP |
| nfs.disable.vers | String | None | Disable specific NFS versions (e.g. 3 to force NFSv4 only) |
| nfs.debug | Bool | off | Enable NFS debug logging |
| nfs.sys.log | Bool | off | Enable NFS system logging |
8 SMB
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| smb.enable | Bool | off | SMB/CIFS file sharing service |
| smb.port | String | None | SMB port override |
| smb.multichannel | Bool | on | SMB3 Multichannel — aggregates bandwidth across NICs. Requires Windows 8 / Server 2012 or newer on clients. |
| smb.signing.required | Bool | off | Require SMB packet signing on all connections |
| smb.min.protocol | String | SMB3 | Minimum SMB protocol version. Recommended: SMB3 or SMB3_02 for security.
|
| netbios.enable | Bool | off | NetBIOS name service (legacy; not required for modern clients) |
| smb.debug.level | Int | — | Samba debug log level |
| winbind.debug.level | Int | — | Winbind debug log level (Active Directory) |
| netbios.debug.level | Int | — | NetBIOS debug log level |
9 iSCSI
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| iscsi.enable | Bool | off | iSCSI target service |
| iscsi.address | IP | None | Portal IP address to bind the iSCSI service to. If blank, binds to all interfaces. Must match a valid current interface IP after a restore. |
| iscsi.port | Int | 3260 | iSCSI portal port (default is the standard iSCSI port) |
| iscsi.debug | Bool | off | Enable iSCSI target debug logging |
ℹ️
After a system restore, if iscsi.address is bound to an IP that no longer exists on the
hardware, the iSCSI service will fail to start. Update it to the current interface IP:
options iscsi.address 192.168.10.20
10 Security
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| auditd.enable | Bool | off | Linux audit daemon for security event logging |
| ssh.allow.root | Bool | off | Allow direct root login over SSH. Disabled by default for security. |
| ssh.pubkey.auth | Bool | on | SSH public key authentication |
| ssh.pwauth.enable | Bool | on | SSH password authentication |
| ssh.port | Int | 22 | SSH listening port |
| ssh.sessions | Int | — | Maximum concurrent SSH sessions |
| ssh.timeout | Int | — | SSH idle session timeout (seconds) |
11 Monitoring
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| ovios-web.enable | Bool | off | OviOS web monitoring interface and PDF report generation |
| smartd.enable | Bool | off | S.M.A.R.T. disk monitoring daemon with email alerting |
| snmpd.enable | Bool | off | SNMP daemon for NMS integration |
| snmptrapd.enable | Bool | off | SNMP trap daemon |
| smtp.server | String | None | SMTP relay server for email alerts |
| smtp.port | Int | 25 | SMTP server port |
| smtp.user | String | None | SMTP authentication username |
| smtp.starttls | Bool | off | Enable STARTTLS for SMTP connections |
| sendlogs.from | String | localhost@localdomain | Sender address for diagnostic log emails |
| sendlogs.to | String | None | Recipient address for diagnostic log emails |
12 Multi-Value Options
The following options accept a pool name, the keyword all (to apply to every pool), or
reset (to clear the setting):
| Option | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| zfs.trim.enable | options zfs.trim.enable tank |
Recommended for all SSD-backed pools |
| zfs.dio.enable | options zfs.dio.enable all |
Enable Direct I/O globally |
| zfs.zil.disable | options zfs.zil.disable tank |
Only with UPS; use reset to re-enable all |
| exclude.pools | options exclude.pools backup |
Exclude pools from OviOS management |
13 Examples
# Service control
options ssh.enable on
options ntp.enable on
options smartd.enable on
# ZFS tuning
options arc.size 70
options zfs.trim.enable tank
options zfs.dio.enable all
options zfs.scrub.auto on
# SMB hardening
options smb.min.protocol SMB3_02
options smb.signing.required on
# Backup configuration
options system.backup.pool osb
options autosync.enable on
# Email alerts
options smtp.server mail.example.com
options smtp.user backup-admin
options sendlogs.to admin@example.com
# Diagnostics
options --show-changed # review all non-default settings
options --reset-all # factory reset (use with caution)