topic What is Kernel according this output? in Firewall and Security Management

What is Kernel according this output?

sjni01 — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 06:20:00 GMT

What's the means of Kernel according this output?:

# fw ctl affinity -l
eth1: CPU 4
eth5: CPU 0
eth2: CPU 4
eth3: CPU 0
eth7: CPU 4
Mgmt: CPU 0
Kernel fw_0: CPU 7
Kernel fw_1: CPU 3
Kernel fw_2: CPU 6
Kernel fw_3: CPU 2
Kernel fw_4: CPU 5
Kernel fw_5: CPU

This device has 8 Virtual CPU, therefore this device shows only six Kernel instances.

I'd like me known why is it?, I honestly don't understand.

Re: What is Kernel according this output?

PhoneBoy — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 06:51:18 GMT

Gateway CPUs are necessarily split between two functions:

Firewall Kernel (fwk, or workers), which perform various security tasks
Secure Network Distributor (SND), which are assigned to send traffic to/from the NICs

On an 8 core box, the default is a 2/6 split (2 SNDs, 6 workers).
This distribution can be changed either manually (requires a reboot) or, in R80.40+ with Dynamic Workloads, will adjust on the fly.

You can find more about CoreXL and SecureXL in the community or read the following SK for more details: https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails=&solutionid=sk98348

Re: What is Kernel according this output?

sjni01 — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 15:25:48 GMT

Hi PhoneBoy

Thanks a lot for your answer, perfect so 6 Kernels that i saw previously are equal to workers, (0 and 4 SNDs and 1,2,3,5,6,7 fw kernel) It's correct?.

I appreciate your support.

Re: What is Kernel according this output?

PhoneBoy — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 22:17:05 GMT

Yes, this is the default for an 8 core box.