If you want events, standardize events and push them over
a queueing based communications channel to userspace, namely
using netlink sockets.
It sounds like you are proposing a new family for the netlink
subsystem. I've included a list of the families I see in 2.5.70
the end of this note. I'm trying to understand which family handles
events such as link state changes or device initialization failure?
It sounds like you're proposing somethink equivalent to
NETLINK_TCP_DIAG. Is that right?
There seems to be some overlap between netlink and netdev notifier
events. Netdev notifier reports many key events. One event I don't
see reported is any indication that device initialization failed.
#define NETDEV_UP 0x0001
#define NETDEV_DOWN 0x0002
#define NETDEV_REBOOT 0x0003
#define NETDEV_CHANGE 0x0004
#define NETDEV_REGISTER 0x0005
#define NETDEV_UNREGISTER 0x0006
#define NETDEV_CHANGEMTU 0x0007
#define NETDEV_CHANGEADDR 0x0008
#define NETDEV_GOING_DOWN 0x0009
#define NETDEV_CHANGENAME 0x000A
One issue with netdev, is that it doesn't seem to allow
for the flexibility of the information passed that netlink has.
For example, when you issue a NETDEV_CHANGE, it's not clear
from the event what the specific change was.
==============================
NETLINK 2.5.70
netlink.h
#define NETLINK_ROUTE 0 /* Routing/device hook */
#define NETLINK_SKIP 1 /* Reserved for ENskip */
#define NETLINK_USERSOCK 2 /* Reserved for user mode socket protocols */
#define NETLINK_FIREWALL 3 /* Firewalling hook */
#define NETLINK_TCPDIAG 4 /* TCP socket monitoring */
#define NETLINK_NFLOG 5 /* netfilter/iptables ULOG */
#define NETLINK_XFRM 6 /* ipsec */
#define NETLINK_ARPD 8
#define NETLINK_ROUTE6 11 /* af_inet6 route comm channel */
#define NETLINK_IP6_FW 13
#define NETLINK_DNRTMSG 14 /* DECnet routing messages */
#define NETLINK_TAPBASE 16 /* 16 to 31 are ethertap */
Descriptions for many of these events can be found at
http://www.europe.redhat.com/documentation/man-pages/man7/netlink.7.php3
NETLINK_ROUTE
Receives routing updates and may be used
to modify the IPv4 routing table (see
NETLINK_FIREWALL
Receives packets sent by the IPv4 firewall code.
NETLINK_ARPD
For managing the arp table in user space.
NETLINK_ROUTE6
Receives and sends IPv6 routing table updates.
NETLINK_IP6_FW
to receive packets that failed the IPv6 firewall
checks (currently not implemented).
NETLINK_TAPBASE...NETLINK_TAPBASE+15
are the instances of the ethertap device. Ethertap
is a pseudo network tunnel device that allows an
ethernet driver to be simulated from user space.
NETLINK_SKIP
Reserved for ENskip.
NETLINK_USERSOCK
is reserved for future user space protocols.
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