Set TIPC node identity and inspect peer nodes

You will use tipc node to read the local TIPC address and network ID, change either value when you have a planned configuration, and list visible peer nodes. The command belongs to iproute2; the installed package here is 6.1.0-1ubuntu6.4.

Allow about ten minutes for a read-only check, or longer if you are changing a live cluster identity. You need a shell and the tipc command. Reading state is normally unprivileged. Changing kernel networking state generally requires elevated privilege, such as the capability granted by sudo.

1. Confirm the command and TIPC availability

Check which executable your shell will run. This is an ordinary read-only command:

$ command -v tipc
/usr/sbin/tipc

Then ask the command for node help:

$ tipc node --help

On this machine, all TIPC probes fail with Unable to get TIPC nl family id (module loaded?) and status 255, because the TIPC netlink family is not available in the current environment. That is a prerequisite failure, not evidence that the syntax is wrong. Load or enable TIPC through your normal kernel and service-management process before continuing. This guide does not change module loading or boot configuration.

Checkpoint: do not run a state-changing command until tipc node --help and at least one node query can reach the TIPC netlink family.

2. Record the current local identity

The node address uses three unsigned integers in x.y.z form. The network ID identifies a TIPC cluster and can separate clusters sharing the same media. Query both values before making a change:

$ tipc node get address
$ tipc node get netid

Write down the complete output from each command. Output formatting is supplied by the installed iproute2 build, so preserve the exact values rather than transcribing only part of a line. These queries do not modify the node.

If either command reports that the TIPC netlink family cannot be obtained, stop here and resolve availability first. If it returns a permissions error, retry the query only with the minimum privilege required by your host policy:

$ sudo tipc node get address
$ sudo tipc node get netid

Do not use sudo automatically. Privilege does not create a missing TIPC family, and an ordinary read-only query may already work as your current user.

3. Set a planned node address

Use the set form followed by address and the approved x.y.z value. The following is a placeholder, not a value to copy into a real cluster:

$ sudo tipc node set address 1.2.3

The command has changed kernel state if it exits successfully. Verify it immediately:

$ tipc node get address

If the query needs privilege on your host, use sudo for the verification too. Confirm that the reported address is the value you intended. A successful command is not a complete cluster check: peers, services and any address-based configuration must still be tested.

4. Set a planned network ID

Set the network identity with the same pattern, replacing the placeholder with the approved value for this cluster:

$ sudo tipc node set netid 12345

The manpage defines netid as the network identity used to create individual TIPC clusters on the same media. It does not define a universal value that is safe for every deployment. Verify the value after the change:

$ tipc node get netid

Changing the network ID can make existing peers or services appear to be in a different cluster. Treat a loss of peer visibility after this command as an expected configuration symptom to investigate, not as a reason to keep changing values at random.

5. List peer nodes

Once the local identity is configured and the relevant TIPC bearers and links are operating, list peer nodes:

$ tipc node list

The manpage specifies this as the peer-list operation but does not promise a fixed output layout. Compare the result with the nodes expected for this network. An empty or incomplete list can mean that peers are absent, links are not established, the network ID is wrong, or TIPC is not available. Investigate those conditions before changing the local identity again.

For a repeatable check, save the command status separately from its output:

$ tipc node list
$ status=$?
$ printf 'tipc node list status: %s\n' "$status"

Exit status 0 means the command succeeded; a positive status means it failed. The local unavailable-family probe above returns 255, so scripts should report that failure instead of treating it as an empty peer list.

6. Recover from a mistaken change

There is no generic undo command in tipc node. Recovery means setting the old value back explicitly. Use the values you recorded in step 2:

$ sudo tipc node set address OLD.X.Y
$ sudo tipc node set netid OLD_NETID
$ tipc node get address
$ tipc node get netid
$ tipc node list

Replace OLD.X.Y and OLD_NETID with the exact recorded values. Do not run these lines literally. If you did not record the old identity, stop making changes and recover it from the approved host configuration or cluster documentation. After restoration, verify peer visibility and the dependent service, because reverting the local values does not repair a peer that has already reacted to the temporary identity.

Common traps

• Confusing address and network ID: the address is the node's logical x.y.z identity; netid selects the TIPC cluster boundary.
• Assuming a missing family is an empty network: Unable to get TIPC nl family id indicates that this command cannot reach TIPC, not that it found zero peers.
• Changing both values without a record: if a cluster stops responding, you need the original address and network ID to restore the node.
• Expecting node list to configure links: it reports peers; it does not replace the separate TIPC bearer or link configuration commands.