Linux Netlink


On recent Linux kernels (2.0.x and 2.2.x), there is a kernel/user communication support called netlink. It makes asynchronous communication between kernel and Zebra possible, similar to a routing socket on BSD systems.

Before you use this feature, be sure to select the kernel/netlink support option Kernel/User network link driver and Routing messages.

Today, the /dev/route special device file is obsolete. Netlink communication is done by reading/writing over netlink socket. After the kernel configuration, please reconfigure and rebuild Zebra. You can use netlink as a dynamic routing update channel between Zebra and the kernel.


(C) Copyright 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation.