Anatomy of the Linux networking stack

One of the greatest features of the Linux operating system is its networking stack. It was initially a derivative of the BSD stack and is well organized with a clean set of interfaces. Its interfaces range from the protocol agnostics, such as the common sockets layer interface or the device layer, to the specific interfaces of the individual networking protocols.

This article explores the structure of the Linux networking stack from the perspective of its layers and also examines some of its major structures.