Understanding Linux Network Internals

Background Information

Some knowledge of operating systems would help. The networking code, like any other component of the operating system, must follow both common sense and implicit rules for coexistence with the rest of the kernel, including proper use of locking; fair use of memory and CPU; and an eye toward modularity, code cleanliness, and good performance. Even though I occasionally spend time on those aspects, I refer you to the other two O'Reilly kernel books mentioned earlier for a deeper and detailed discussion on generic operating system services and design.

Some knowledge of networking, and especially IP, would also help. However, I think the theory overview that precedes each implementation description in this book is sufficient to make the book self-contained for both newcomers and experienced readers.

The theoretical description of the topics covered in the book does not require any programming experience. However, the descriptions of the associated implementations require an intermediate knowledge of the C language. Chapter 1 will go through a series of coding conventions and tricks that are often used in the code, which should help especially those with less experience with C and kernel programming.