Jeremy, I can confirm that SYNcookies are NOT part of the firewall mechanism of the kernel.
CONFIG_NETFILTER option in linux 2.6 is the toggle for linux packet filtering support called 'netfilter'(iptables)... There are many sub- choices/options for netfilter. CONFIG_SYN_COOKIES however is a different choice, that allows you to enable/disable compiling support for SYNcookies SYN-flood-defense support. Please also note that you generally cannot properly 'firewall out' a typical spoofed-source SYN flood without preventing legitimate access to your server. -- proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_syncookies=1 should be seriously considered to permit SYN flood defense... https://launchpad.net/bugs/57091 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs