NG_VJC(4) BSD Kernel Interfaces Manual NG_VJC(4)
NAME
ng_vjc -- Van Jacobson compression netgraph node type
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <netinet/in_systm.h>
#include <netinet/ip.h>
#include <net/slcompress.h>
#include <netgraph/ng_vjc.h>
DESCRIPTION
The vjc node type performs Van Jacobson compression, which is used over PPP, SLIP, and other point-to-point IP connections to compress TCP
packet headers. The ip hook represents the uncompressed side of the node, while the vjcomp, vjuncomp, and vjip hooks represent the com-
pressed side of the node. Packets received on the ip will be compressed or passed through as appropriate. Packets received on the other
three hooks will be uncompressed as appropriate. This node also supports ``always pass through'' mode in either direction.
Van Jacobson compression only applies to TCP packets. Only ``normal'' (i.e., common case) TCP packets are actually compressed. These are
output on the vjcomp hook. Other TCP packets are run through the state machine but not compressed; these appear on the vjuncomp hook. Other
non-TCP IP packets are forwarded unchanged to vjip.
When connecting to a ng_ppp(4) node, the ip, vjuncomp, vjcomp, and vjip hooks should be connected to the ng_ppp(4) node's vjc_ip, vjc_vjcomp,
vjc_vjuncomp, and vjc_ip hooks, respectively.
HOOKS
This node type supports the following hooks:
ip Upstream (uncompressed) IP packets.
vjcomp Downstream compressed TCP packets.
vjuncomp Downstream uncompressed TCP packets.
vjip Downstream uncompressed IP packets.
CONTROL MESSAGES
This node type supports the generic control messages, plus the following:
NGM_VJC_SET_CONFIG
This command resets the compression state and configures it according to the supplied struct ngm_vjc_config argument. This structure
contains the following fields:
struct ngm_vjc_config {
u_char enableComp; /* Enable compression */
u_char enableDecomp; /* Enable decompression */
u_char maxChannel; /* Number of outgoing channels - 1 */
u_char compressCID; /* OK to compress outgoing CID's */
};
When enableComp is set to zero, all packets received on the ip hook are forwarded unchanged out the vjip hook. Similarly, when
enableDecomp is set to zero, all packets received on the vjip hook are forwarded unchanged out the ip hook, and packets are not accepted
on the vjcomp and vjuncomp hooks. When a node is first created, both compression and decompression are disabled and the node is there-
fore operating in bi-directional ``pass through'' mode.
When enabling compression, maxChannel should be set to the number of outgoing compression channels minus one, and is a value between 3
and 15, inclusive. The compressCID field indicates whether it is OK to compress the CID header field for outgoing compressed TCP pack-
ets. This value should be zero unless either (a) it is not possible for an outgoing frame to be lost, or (b) lost frames can be reli-
ably detected and immediately reported to the peer's decompression engine (see NGM_VJC_RECV_ERROR below).
NGM_VJC_GET_STATE
This command returns the node's current state described by the struct slcompress structure, which is defined in <net/slcompress.h>.
NGM_VJC_CLR_STATS
Clears the node statistics counters. Statistics are also cleared whenever the enableComp or enableDecomp fields are changed from zero
to one by a NGM_VJC_SET_CONFIG control message.
NGM_VJC_RECV_ERROR
When the peer has CID header field compression enabled, this message must be sent to the local vjc node immediately after detecting that
a received frame has been lost, due to a bad checksum or for any other reason. Failing to do this can result in corrupted TCP stream
data.
SHUTDOWN
This node shuts down upon receipt of a NGM_SHUTDOWN control message, or when all hooks have been disconnected.
SEE ALSO
netgraph(4), ng_iface(4), ng_ppp(4), ngctl(8)
V. Jacobson, Compressing TCP/IP Headers, RFC 1144.
G. McGregor, The PPP Internet Control Protocol (IPCP), RFC 1332.
HISTORY
The ng_vjc node type was implemented in FreeBSD 4.0.
AUTHORS
Archie Cobbs <archie@FreeBSD.org>
BUGS
As the initialization routine in the kernel implementation of Van Jacobson compression initializes both compression and decompression at
once, this node does not allow compression and decompression to be enabled in separate operations. In order to enable one when the other is
already enabled, first both must be disabled, then both enabled. This of course resets the node state. This restriction may be lifted in a
later version.
When built as a loadable kernel module, this module includes the file net/slcompress.c. Although loading the module should fail if
net/slcompress.c already exists in the kernel, currently it does not, and the duplicate copies of the file do not interfere. However, this
may change in the future.
BSD
January 19, 1999 BSD