SYNOPSIS

l7-filter -f configuration_file [options]

DESCRIPTION

l7-filter reads packets that are queued by Netfilter/iptables and marks them based on what application layer protocol they appear to be.

OPTIONS

-f configuration_file

Mandatory option. This file consists of pairs of protocol names and mark numbers.

-q queue_number

What queue to read packets from. Default is 0.

-b bytes

Match on up to this many bytes of application layer data. The default is 12000.

-n packets

Examine up to this many packets in each connection. If no match has been made after this, l7-filter gives up. The number of packets counts all packets, including the TCP handshake and ACK packets (XXX but not any UDP packets that l7-filter didn't manage to get the conntrack for in time XXX). The default is 10.

-p path

Look for patterns in path instead of the default /etc/l7-protocols. The path and its subdirectories are searched, non-recursively (subsubdirectories are not searched).

-m mask

Use only the bits of the packet mark specified by the given mask. By default, l7-filter uses the whole 32 bit mark, so this is useful if you use other classifiers that set marks. For instance, if you give the mask 0xff000000, l7-filter will only use the first 8 bits of the mark and will completely ignore the rest of it. In this case, the mark numbers given in the configuration file are mapped onto the mask automatically. So if the configuration file says 2 and you've given the mask 0x00ff0000, l7-filter will actually use 0x00020000.

The mask must be contiguous (not, for instance, 0x00000f0f) and it must be at least 2 bits long. The number of protocols that l7-filter can handle is 2^(mask length)-3 since it uses the value 0 to detect when a packet has not been examined yet, 1 to mark packets in connections which are unmatched but still being examined, and 2 to mark packets which it has given up trying to identify.

-c

l7-filter expects its portion of the packet mark (see -m above) to be unmodified by other classifiers. Normally, if it gets a packet whose mark has already been modified (that is, is non-zero) in this region, it will send the packet on with the same mark without trying to classify it and print an error message. This option causes l7-filter instead to clobber the existing mark and classify as if it hadn't been there.

-s

Be silent (don't print anything) except in the case of warnings or errors.

-v

Be verbose. Gives more information about what l7-filter is doing. Multiple -v options increase the verbosity, up to a maximum of 4.

-d

Allow inadvisable configurations. You must give this option before the option which is inadvisable.

UPGRADES

The latest version is always at http://sf.net/projects/l7-filter

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2006-2007 Ethan Sommer <sommereAusers.sf.net> and Matthew Strait <quadongAusers.sf.net>. This is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of the GNU General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.