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OS X and iOS Kernel Programming
book

OS X and iOS Kernel Programming

by Ole Henry Halvorsen, Douglas Clarke
December 2011
Intermediate to advanced
485 pages
15h 47m
English
Apress
Content preview from OS X and iOS Kernel Programming

Network Kernel Extensions

The kernel supports extending the network stack at multiple levels through the Network Kernel Extensions (NKE) mechanism. An NKE is no different from a regular KEXT; it is merely a term used to describe a KEXT that interfaces with or extends the network stack.

As such, NKEs are also dynamically loadable and unloadable at runtime. NKEs are not part of the I/O Kit, but located in the BSD layer. The NKE mechanism is unique to Mac OS X and not found in BSD UNIX flavors, such as FreeBSD.

An NKE can be used for many purposes. Some examples of use include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Custom firewall or security mechanisms, such as encryption
  • Adding support for new protocols
  • Adding support for new network interfaces ...
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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781430235361Purchase book