Networking improvements in the 2.6 kernel
The new Linux 2.6 kernel offers many improvements over the 2.4 version. One area of technical advancement is in the kernel networking options. Although there are enhancements in most of the files associated with the networking options, this article focuses on major feature improvements and additions that affect entire sections rather than on specific files.
Specifically, in this article we will address improvements to the Networking File System (NFS) and Internet Protocol Security (IPSec). We will also meet two new members of the TCP/IP protocol family, Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).
Network File System and security
The 2.6 kernel improves the Networking File System (NFS) by including version 4. This new version of NFS has better security, allows for more support across different operating systems, and has a reduced server daemon overhead.
The inclusion of version 4 of the Networking File System (NFSv4) into the 2.6 kernel allows for improvements in security and functionality not seen in previous versions of NFS. Users of NFS may now conduct secure transactions using a remote procedure call (RPC) implementation of the General Security Service (GSS) API. Designers also introduced the idea of a compound procedure, which combines multiple RPCs into one call. This combination of calls means that file system operations need fewer RPCs, leading to faster NFS response.
