> On Fri, 28 Feb 1997, Nathan Bryant wrote:
> > Okay I started reading some kernel code in 2.0.29 and I came across this
> > section, which appears to be identical in 2.1.27, btw.
> >
> > >From net/core/dev.c, about line 650, in net_bh():
> >
> > /*
> > * We got a packet ID. Now loop over the "known protocols"
> > * list. There are two lists. The ptype_all list of taps (normally empty)
> > * and the main protocol list which is hashed perfectly for normal protocols.
> > */
> >
> > pt_prev = NULL;
> > for (ptype = ptype_all; ptype!=NULL; ptype=ptype->next)
> > {
> > if(pt_prev)
> > {
> > struct sk_buff *skb2=skb_clone(skb, GFP_ATOMIC);
> > if(skb2)
> > pt_prev->func(skb2,skb->dev, pt_prev);
> > }
> > pt_prev=ptype;
> > }
> >
> > Either this is a bug or my brain isn't functioning properly. (The latter
> > is a distinct possibility as it's almost midnight. :)
> >
> > The problem I see is with the pt_prev variable. Why is it even there? It
> > looks like this loop will never process the last entry in the ptype_all
> > list.
>
> Check further down, after the second loop:
>
> if(pt_prev)
> pt_prev->func(skb, skb->dev, pt_prev);
>
> I believe the use of pt_prev is to avoid doing a skb_clone unnecessarily
> in the case where there's only one function waiting for that packet.
Ah, okay. I knew my brain wasn't functioning. :)
> On the subject of this bit of code: I posted a patch to linux-kernel way
> back in the 2.0.14-ish days to fix a problem where _all_ packets are
> forwarded to ETH_P_ALL sockets bound to a specific device. It made it into
> one of Alan's accumulated patches, but then seems to have disappeared. It
> bites (at least) diald, since diald binds to the proxy SLIP device to
> avoid processing every packet that comes through the machine, but ends up
> getting all the traffic anyway. Try tcpdump on a machine running diald on
> a busy ethernet - diald sucks lots of CPU all of a sudden as promisc mode
> goes on.
So in other words, bind()'ing a SOCK_PACKET only affects what is
transmitted, right?
>
> I don't have the patch to hand, but essentially all that is needed is to
> insert the same check for binding to devices that is used in the
> protocol-specific loop, into the ptype_all loop above.
>
> Oliver
> --
> "The flames are all long gone / But the pain lingers on..."
>
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