IPAccounting setting
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The property IPAccounting is a systemd unit setting used for accounting. It is available since systemd 235.
Purpose: Define if accounting on network packets and bytes should be used
New to securing and tuning systemd services? Start with the how to harden a systemd service unit article to learn tuning step-by-step, including the usage of relevant tools.
Why and when to use IPAccounting
Systemd unit setting IPAccounting can be used to turn on accounting. If set, it will track the number of network packets and bytes that was send to the related service. It will both incoming (ingress) and outgoing (egress).
Configuration
The default option is that IP accounting is disabled for services. This can be validated by looking at the relevant counters, such as IPIngressBytes and IPEgressBytes. The first one will track how much incoming traffic there was (in bytes), the second for outgoing traffic.
# systemctl show nginx.service | grep -E "^IP"
IPIngressBytes=[no data]
IPIngressPackets=[no data]
IPEgressBytes=[no data]
IPEgressPackets=[no data]
If there is already information available, then IP accounting was enabled in the service or by setting DefaultIPAccounting=yes in a global systemd configuration file.
Example to activate IPAccounting
If you want to monitor your nginx service to see how much traffic is coming in, then we need to make adjustments to the service unit.
Override the service unit and add IPAccounting=yes under [Service].
Restart nginx to activate the new settings.
systemctl restart nginx.service
When traffic goes to or comes from the nginx service, it will become visible in the relevant counters.
# systemctl show nginx.service | grep -E "^IP"
IPIngressBytes=5908
IPIngressPackets=24
IPEgressBytes=3325
IPEgressPackets=13
Generic advice
This setting can be helpful to monitor the traffic that goes to a specific service. Especially if it is unclear how much a service is being accessed.
Values
Systemd unit setting IPAccounting expects a boolean (yes/no or true/false).
| Value | Intended action | Available since systemd version |
|---|---|---|
| no | no accounting of IP packets and data traffic - default | 235 |
| yes | enable IP accounting and track network packets and data traffic | 235 |
Example to show the current value of IPAccounting for the ssh service:
systemctl show --property=IPAccounting ssh.service
