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The Linux Networking Stack Exposed
An anonymous reader writes "The Linux source code is a great way to learn about the design of device drivers for a multitude of device types, including network device drivers. This article will show you the basic architecture of the Linux networking stack and dig into its interfaces for system calls, protocols, and device drivers."
Personally I'd say Minix is much easier to navigate, simpler to understand and a much better starting point for new kernel developers or students to begin with (it was designed primarily as an academic project).
I've tried digging around the Linux source code, but find a lot of it fairly confusing simply because of the amount of time and effort you have to invest in understanding the rest of it and general architecture.
With Minix, you can pretty much jump in at any place (being very organized and well separated you can find what you're looking for fast), in 3.0 the core syscalls are separated into different files and the core kernel is only around 5000 lines which you can scan through fairly quickly.
IMHO the networking stack is quite uninteresting. On the bottom, it's constrained by the networking protocols and network interfaces. On the top it's constrained by the Unix and socket interfaces. That doesnt leave a whole lot of room for innovative bits in the middle.
Says she, glancing at the Banyan Vines tape cartridge on the (distant) "Computing History" corner shelf.
For the record, Banyan Vines systems commissioned == 1, Banyan Vines systems taken down the local tip == 9. My garage just couldn't stand the waste of space anymore.