DBus Specification

The backends are a single executable application containing the following DBus Objects:

GroupsConfig	Controls group settings in /etc/groups
HostsConfig	Controls how to access other hosts (namely, /etc/hosts, DNS servers and search domains
IfacesConfig	Controls the network interfaces configuration (Ethernet, Wireless, Modem, ISDN, ...)
NFSConfig	Controls the NFS exports configuration
NTPConfig	Controls the NTP service configuration
ServicesConfig	Controls the services that start/stop in the available runlevels
SMBConfig	Controls the Samba configuration
TimeConfig	Controls date/time and timezone
UsersConfig	Controls users settings in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow

All these objects implement the org.freedesktop.SystemToolsBackends interface. This interface provides 2 methods:

get	Retrieves the configuration from the system
set	Saves the configuration to the system

The get method will return a data structure, which format depends on the object that has been requested, and the set method will accept exactly the same data structure format for the same object.

Data structure formats

GroupsConfig

Array	Structure (Defines a group)	String		Group name
		String		Group password
		Integer32		Group ID (GID)
		Array	String	List of usernames that are members of the group
Integer32				Minimum GID for non-system groups
Integer32				Maximum GID for non-system groups

HostsConfig

String				Hostname
String				Domainname
Array	Structure (Defines a host alias)	String		IP Address for the static host
		Array	String	Array of names for the static host
Array	String			Array of IP Adresses of DNS Servers
Array	String			Array of search domains

IfacesConfig

Array	Structure (Represents an ethernet interface)	String	Interface name
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled automatically at boot time
		Integer32	Method to obtain the IP address: 1: Static IP 2: DHCP
		String	IP address
		String	Network mask
		String	Network base address
		String	Broadcast address
Array	Structure (Represents a wireless interface)	String	Interface name
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled automatically at boot time
		Integer32	Method to obtain the IP address: 1: Static IP 2: DHCP
		String	IP address
		String	Network mask
		String	Network base address
		String	Broadcast address
		String	Wireless network ESSID
		Integer32	Wireless network encryption method: 0: ASCII key 1: Hexadecimal key
		String	Wireless network key
Array	Structure (Represents a IRLan interface)	String	Interface name
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled automatically at boot time
		Integer32	Method to obtain the IP address: 1: Static IP 2: DHCP
		String	IP address
		String	Network mask
		String	Network base address
		String	Broadcast address
Array	Structure (Represents a PLIP interface)	String	Interface name
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled automatically at boot time
		String	IP address
		String	Remote IP address
Array	Structure (Represents a PPP interface)	String	Interface name
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled automatically at boot time
		String	Phone number
		String	Phone number prefix
		String	Serial port
		Integer32	Modem volume (0-3)
		Integer32	Dial mode: 0: Tones 1: Pulses
		String	Login
		String	Password
		Integer32	Whether to set the interface as the default gateway
		Integer32	Whether to update DNS when the modem connects
		Integer32	Whether to persist if the connection fails
		Integer32	Whether to require the other peer to authenticate itself
Array	Structure (Represents a ISDN interface)	String	Interface name
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled
		Integer32	Whether the interface is enabled automatically at boot time
		String	Phone number
		String	Phone number prefix
		String	Login
		String	Password
		Integer32	Whether to set the interface as the default gateway
		Integer32	Whether to update DNS when the modem connects
		Integer32	Whether to persist if the connection fails
		Integer32	Whether to require the other peer to authenticate itself

NFSConfig

Array	Structure (Represents a NFS share)	String			Path to the shared folder
		Array	Structure (Represents Share ACL)	String	Host/IP address/Network address
				Integer32	TRUE if it's read only for the defined host/group, FALSE otherwise

NTPConfig

Array

String

Hostname or IP Address of a NTP server

ServicesConfig

Array	String				List of runlevel names
String					Name of the current runlevel
Array	Structure (Represents an init.d service)	String			Service name
		Array	Structure (Represents the service state for a runlevel)	String	Runlevel name that the structure represents
				Integer32	0 if the service starts in the runlevel, 1 if it is stopped for the runlevel
				Integer32	Priority for the service in the runlevel. This may be ignored for distributions that don't have this concept.

SMBConfig

Array	Structure (Represents a SMB share)	String	Share name
		String	Path to shared folder
		String	Comment
		Integer32	Whether the share is available
		Integer32	Whether the share is browsable
		Integer32	Whether the share is public
		Integer32	Whether the share is writeable
String			Workgroup
String			Description for other hosts
Integer32			Whether the computer has a WINS Server role
String			WINS Server hostname/IP address

TimeConfig

Integer32	Year
Integer32	Month (From 0 to 11)
Integer32	Month day
Integer32	Hour (UTC)
Integer32	Minutes (UTC)
Integer32	Seconds (UTC)
String	Timezone

UsersConfig

Array	Structure (Represents an user)	String		User login name
		String		User Encrypted Password
		Integer32		User ID (UID)
		Integer32		Main group GID
		Structure	String	First field in GECOS fields, usually full name
			String	Second field in GECOS fields, usually Office/Location
			String	Third field in GECOS fields, usually work phone
			String	Fourth field in GECOS fields, usually home phone
			String	Fifth (and continuing) field(s) in GECOS fields, reserved for aditional data
		String		Home directory path
		String		Shell
Array	String			Available shells
Integer32				Whether the system uses MD5 to store the passwords
Integer32				Minimum UID for new non-system users
Integer32				Maximum UID for new non-system users
String				Default basedir for home directories
String				Default shell for new users
Integer32				Default main group GID for new users