An Analysis on Scalable and Faster Iptables in Linux Operating System

Alishbah Khan Niazi*, Muhammad Ahmed Ather Usmani **
*-** Department of Computer Science, Bahria University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Periodicity:June - August'2020
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jcom.8.2.17759

Abstract

Linux is a well-known operating system (os) in today's world. It has not only created a name but has also created a whole market for itself. It is today competing with Microsoft Windows which is in fact a giant, os in the computer world. Linux finds its utility in many machines other than computers for example: Servers, Routers, automation controls, etc. Every operating system that existed always needed and always had a way of securing the data that was entrusted to it. Commonly, this kind of security is referred to as a 'Firewall'. Firewalls come with different settings to ensure maximum security and to put up a defense against getting hacked or if considering a server, to fight against a Denial-of-Service attack (DoS). Linux provides such security in the form of a firewall. Firewall filters out the data packets using the rules that were created by the administrator. In firewall, the component that handles the filtering is the net filter/iptables. iptables assist in filtering the packets into different hooks which basically belong to three different categories either input, forward or output. This study discusses the implementations that were devised and would discuss in particular implementations that were able to provide a notable increase in fulfilment of securing and handling data packets at a faster pace while dealing with a high number of rules for packet handling.

Keywords

Firewalls, Linux, bpf-iptables, iptables, nftables

How to Cite this Article?

Niazi, A. K., and Usmani, M. A. A. (2020). An Analysis on Scalable and Faster Iptables in Linux Operating System. i-manager's Journal on Computer Science, 8(2), 32-44. https://doi.org/10.26634/jcom.8.2.17759

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