Beyond Linux® From Scratch (System V Edition) - Version 12.2

Chapter 17. Networking Libraries

libnl-3.10.0

Introduction to libnl

The libnl suite is a collection of libraries providing APIs to netlink protocol based Linux kernel interfaces.

This package is known to build and work properly using an LFS 12.2 platform.

Package Information

Optional Download

Installation of libnl

Install libnl by running the following commands: 

./configure --prefix=/usr     \
            --sysconfdir=/etc \
            --disable-static  &&
make
[Note]

Note

If the make command was executed with multiple parallel jobs enabled, it might disrupt the terminal mode and cause some “amusing” visual effects. In the worst case, this issue may cause keyboard inputs not displayed on the screen at all (but you can still run any command if you can type it correctly). Run the reset to fix such an issue.

If you wish to run the tests, check that the following options are enabled in the kernel configuration and recompile the kernel if necessary. Some of them may not be strictly needed, but they should support a complete test coverage. 

General setup --->
  -*- Namespaces support --->                                       [NAMESPACES]
    [*] User namespace                                                 [USER_NS]
    [*] Network namespace                                               [NET_NS]

[*] Networking support --->                                                [NET]
  Networking options --->
    [*]   TCP/IP networking                                               [INET]
    [*]     IP: advanced router                             [IP_ADVANCED_ROUTER]
    [*]       IP: policy routing                            [IP_MULTIPLE_TABLES]
    <*/M>   IP: tunneling                                             [NET_IPIP]
    <*/M>   IP: GRE demultiplexer                              [NET_IPGRE_DEMUX]
    <*/M>   IP: GRE tunnels over IP                                  [NET_IPGRE]
    <*/M>   Virtual (secure) IP: tunneling                           [NET_IPVTI]
    <*>     The IPv6 protocol --->                                        [IPV6]
      <*/M>   IPv6: IPv6-in-IPv4 tunnel (SIT driver)                  [IPV6_SIT]
      <*/M>   IPv6: IP-in-IPv6 tunnel (RFC2473)                    [IPV6_TUNNEL]
      [*]     IPv6: Multiple Routing Tables               [IPV6_MULTIPLE_TABLES]
    [*]   Network packet filtering framework (Netfilter) --->        [NETFILTER]
      Core Netfilter Configuration --->
        <*/M> Netfilter nf_tables support                            [NF_TABLES]
        [*]     Netfilter nf_tables netdev tables support     [NF_TABLES_NETDEV]
        {*/M}   Netfilter packet duplication support             [NF_DUP_NETDEV]
        <*/M>   Netfilter nf_tables netdev packet forwarding support
                                                           ...  [NFT_FWD_NETDEV]
    <*/M> 802.1d Ethernet Bridging                                      [BRIDGE]
    <*/M> 802.1Q/802.1ad VLAN Support                               [VLAN_8021Q]
    -*-   L3 Master device support                           [NET_L3_MASTER_DEV]

Device Drivers --->
  [*] Network device support --->                                   [NETDEVICES]
    [*]   Network core driver support                                 [NET_CORE]
    <*/M>   Bonding driver support                                     [BONDING]
    <*/M>   Dummy net driver support                                     [DUMMY]
    <*/M>   Intermediate Functional Block support                          [IFB]
    <*/M>   MAC-VLAN support                                           [MACVLAN]
    <*/M>     MAC-VLAN based tap driver                                [MACVTAP]
    <*/M>   IP-VLAN support                                             [IPVLAN]
    <*/M>   Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network (VXLAN)                [VXLAN]
    <*/M>   IEEE 802.1AE MAC-level encryption (MACsec)                  [MACSEC]
    <*/M>   Virtual ethernet pair device                                  [VETH]
    <*/M>   Virtual Routing and Forwarding (Lite)                      [NET_VRF]

To test the results, issue: make check.

Now, as the root user: 

make install

If you wish to install the API documentation, as the root user: 

mkdir -vp /usr/share/doc/libnl-3.10.0 &&
tar -xf ../libnl-doc-3.10.0.tar.gz --strip-components=1 --no-same-owner \
    -C  /usr/share/doc/libnl-3.10.0

Command Explanations

--disable-static: This switch prevents installation of static versions of the libraries.

--disable-cli: Use this parameter if you don't want to install cli tools provided by the package.

Contents

Installed Programs: genl-ctrl-list, idiag-socket-details, nl-class-add, nl-class-delete, nl-classid-lookup, nl-class-list, nl-cls-add, nl-cls-delete, nl-cls-list, nl-link-list, nl-pktloc-lookup, nl-qdisc-add, nl-qdisc-delete, nl-qdisc-list, and 48 other helper programs with nl- and nf- prefixes
Installed Libraries: libnl-3.so, libnl-cli-3.so, libnl-genl-3.so, libnl-idiag-3.so, libnl-nf-3.so, libnl-route-3.so, libnl-xfrm-3.so, and cli modules under /usr/lib/libnl/cli tree
Installed Directories: /etc/libnl, /usr/include/libnl3, /usr/lib/libnl, and /usr/share/doc/libnl-3.10.0

Short Descriptions

genl-ctrl-list

queries the Generic Netlink controller in the kernel and prints a list of all registered Generic Netlink families including the version of the interface that has been registered

nl-class-add

adds, updates, or replaces Traffic Classes

nl-class-delete

deletes Traffic Classes

nl-classid-lookup

is used to resolve qdisc/class names to classid values and vice versa

nl-class-list

lists Traffic Classes

nl-cls-add

adds a classifier

nl-cls-delete

deletes a classifier

nl-cls-list

lists classifiers

nl-link-list

dumps link attributes

nl-pktloc-lookup

allows the lookup of packet location definitions

nl-qdisc-add

adds queueing disciplines (qdiscs) in the kernel

nl-qdisc-delete

deletes queueing disciplines (qdiscs) in the kernel

nl-qdisc-list

lists queueing disciplines (qdiscs) in the kernel

libnl*-3.so

These libraries contain API functions used to access Netlink interfaces in Linux kernel