The network interface for Internet Protocol (IP) multicast datagrams.

The value of this socket option is a NetworkInterface that represents the outgoing interface for multicast datagrams sent by the datagram-oriented socket. For IPv6 sockets then it is system dependent whether setting this option also sets the outgoing interface for multicast datagrams sent to IPv4 addresses.

The initial/default value of this socket option may be null to indicate that outgoing interface will be selected by the operating system, typically based on the network routing tables. An implementation allows this socket option to be set after the socket is bound. Whether the socket option can be queried or changed prior to binding the socket is system dependent.

See Also

java.nio.channels.MulticastChannel

Loopback for Internet Protocol (IP) multicast datagrams.

The value of this socket option is a Boolean that controls the loopback of multicast datagrams. The value of the socket option represents if the option is enabled or disabled.

The exact semantics of this socket options are system dependent. In particular, it is system dependent whether the loopback applies to multicast datagrams sent from the socket or received by the socket. For IPv6 sockets then it is system dependent whether the option also applies to multicast datagrams sent to IPv4 addresses.

The initial/default value of this socket option is TRUE. An implementation allows this socket option to be set after the socket is bound. Whether the socket option can be queried or changed prior to binding the socket is system dependent.

See Also

java.nio.channels.MulticastChannel

The time-to-live for Internet Protocol (IP) multicast datagrams.

The value of this socket option is an Integer in the range 0 <= value <= 255. It is used to control the scope of multicast datagrams sent by the datagram-oriented socket. In the case of an IPv4 socket the option is the time-to-live (TTL) on multicast datagrams sent by the socket. Datagrams with a TTL of zero are not transmitted on the network but may be delivered locally. In the case of an IPv6 socket the option is the hop limit which is number of hops that the datagram can pass through before expiring on the network. For IPv6 sockets it is system dependent whether the option also sets the time-to-live on multicast datagrams sent to IPv4 addresses.

The initial/default value of the time-to-live setting is typically 1. An implementation allows this socket option to be set after the socket is bound. Whether the socket option can be queried or changed prior to binding the socket is system dependent.

See Also

java.nio.channels.MulticastChannel, MulticastSocket#setTimeToLive

The Type of Service (ToS) octet in the Internet Protocol (IP) header.

The value of this socket option is an Integer representing the value of the ToS octet in IP packets sent by sockets to an IPv4 socket. The interpretation of the ToS octet is network specific and is not defined by this class. Further information on the ToS octet can be found in RFC 1349 and RFC 2474. The value of the socket option is a hint. An implementation may ignore the value, or ignore specific values.

The initial/default value of the TOS field in the ToS octet is implementation specific but will typically be 0. For datagram-oriented sockets the option may be configured at any time after the socket has been bound. The new value of the octet is used when sending subsequent datagrams. It is system dependent whether this option can be queried or changed prior to binding the socket.

The behavior of this socket option on a stream-oriented socket, or an IPv6 socket, is not defined in this release.

External Specification

https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1349, https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2474

See Also

DatagramSocket#setTrafficClass

Allow transmission of broadcast datagrams.

The value of this socket option is a Boolean that represents whether the option is enabled or disabled. The option is specific to datagram-oriented sockets sending to IPv4 broadcast addresses. When the socket option is enabled then the socket can be used to send broadcast datagrams.

The initial value of this socket option is FALSE. The socket option may be enabled or disabled at any time. Some operating systems may require that the Java virtual machine be started with implementation specific privileges to enable this option or send broadcast datagrams.

External Specification

https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc919

See Also

RFC 929: Broadcasting Internet Datagrams, DatagramSocket#setBroadcast

Keep connection alive.

The value of this socket option is a Boolean that represents whether the option is enabled or disabled. When the SO_KEEPALIVE option is enabled the operating system may use a keep-alive mechanism to periodically probe the other end of a connection when the connection is otherwise idle. The exact semantics of the keep alive mechanism is system dependent and therefore unspecified.

The initial value of this socket option is FALSE. The socket option may be enabled or disabled at any time.

External Specification

https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1122

See Also

RFC 1122 Requirements for Internet Hosts -- Communication Layers, Socket#setKeepAlive

Linger on close if data is present.

The value of this socket option is an Integer that controls the action taken when unsent data is queued on the socket and a method to close the socket is invoked. If the value of the socket option is zero or greater, then it represents a timeout value, in seconds, known as the linger interval. The linger interval is the timeout for the close method to block while the operating system attempts to transmit the unsent data or it decides that it is unable to transmit the data. If the value of the socket option is less than zero then the option is disabled. In that case the close method does not wait until unsent data is transmitted; if possible the operating system will transmit any unsent data before the connection is closed.

This socket option is intended for use with sockets that are configured in blocking mode only. The behavior of the close method when this option is enabled on a non-blocking socket is not defined.

The initial value of this socket option is a negative value, meaning that the option is disabled. The option may be enabled, or the linger interval changed, at any time. The maximum value of the linger interval is system dependent. Setting the linger interval to a value that is greater than its maximum value causes the linger interval to be set to its maximum value.

See Also

Socket#setSoLinger

The size of the socket receive buffer.

The value of this socket option is an Integer that is the size of the socket receive buffer in bytes. The socket receive buffer is an input buffer used by the networking implementation. It may need to be increased for high-volume connections or decreased to limit the possible backlog of incoming data. The value of the socket option is a hint to the implementation to size the buffer and the actual size may differ.

For datagram-oriented sockets, the size of the receive buffer may limit the size of the datagrams that can be received. Whether datagrams larger than the buffer size can be received is system dependent. Increasing the socket receive buffer may be important for cases where datagrams arrive in bursts faster than they can be processed.

In the case of stream-oriented sockets and the TCP/IP protocol, the size of the socket receive buffer may be used when advertising the size of the TCP receive window to the remote peer.

The initial/default size of the socket receive buffer and the range of allowable values is system dependent although a negative size is not allowed. An attempt to set the socket receive buffer to larger than its maximum size causes it to be set to its maximum size.

An implementation allows this socket option to be set before the socket is bound or connected. Whether an implementation allows the socket receive buffer to be changed after the socket is bound is system dependent.

External Specification

https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1323

See Also

RFC 1323: TCP Extensions for High Performance, Socket#setReceiveBufferSize, ServerSocket#setReceiveBufferSize

Re-use address.

The value of this socket option is a Boolean that represents whether the option is enabled or disabled. The exact semantics of this socket option are socket type and system dependent.

In the case of stream-oriented sockets, this socket option will usually determine whether the socket can be bound to a socket address when a previous connection involving that socket address is in the TIME_WAIT state. On implementations where the semantics differ, and the socket option is not required to be enabled in order to bind the socket when a previous connection is in this state, then the implementation may choose to ignore this option.

For datagram-oriented sockets the socket option is used to allow multiple programs bind to the same address. This option should be enabled when the socket is to be used for Internet Protocol (IP) multicasting.

An implementation allows this socket option to be set before the socket is bound or connected. Changing the value of this socket option after the socket is bound has no effect. The default value of this socket option is system dependent.

External Specification

https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc793

See Also

RFC 793: Transmission Control Protocol, ServerSocket#setReuseAddress

Re-use port.

The value of this socket option is a Boolean that represents whether the option is enabled or disabled. The exact semantics of this socket option are socket type and system dependent.

In the case of stream-oriented sockets, this socket option usually allows multiple listening sockets to be bound to both same address and same port.

For datagram-oriented sockets the socket option usually allows multiple UDP sockets to be bound to the same address and port.

An implementation allows this socket option to be set before the socket is bound or connected. Changing the value of this socket option after the socket is bound has no effect.

Since

9

The size of the socket send buffer.

The value of this socket option is an Integer that is the size of the socket send buffer in bytes. The socket send buffer is an output buffer used by the networking implementation. It may need to be increased for high-volume connections. The value of the socket option is a hint to the implementation to size the buffer and the actual size may differ. The socket option can be queried to retrieve the actual size.

For datagram-oriented sockets, the size of the send buffer may limit the size of the datagrams that may be sent by the socket. Whether datagrams larger than the buffer size are sent or discarded is system dependent.

The initial/default size of the socket send buffer and the range of allowable values is system dependent although a negative size is not allowed. An attempt to set the socket send buffer to larger than its maximum size causes it to be set to its maximum size.

An implementation allows this socket option to be set before the socket is bound or connected. Whether an implementation allows the socket send buffer to be changed after the socket is bound is system dependent.

See Also

Socket#setSendBufferSize

Disable the Nagle algorithm.

The value of this socket option is a Boolean that represents whether the option is enabled or disabled. The socket option is specific to stream-oriented sockets using the TCP/IP protocol. TCP/IP uses an algorithm known as The Nagle Algorithm to coalesce short segments and improve network efficiency.

The default value of this socket option is FALSE. The socket option should only be enabled in cases where it is known that the coalescing impacts performance. The socket option may be enabled at any time. In other words, the Nagle Algorithm can be disabled. Once the option is enabled, it is system dependent whether it can be subsequently disabled. If it cannot, then invoking the setOption method to disable the option has no effect.

External Specification

https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1122

See Also

RFC 1122: Requirements for Internet Hosts -- Communication Layers, Socket#setTcpNoDelay