This module manages the "Flow Table." Once a connection is established, its details are entered into a flow table so subsequent packets can bypass the standard slow path. kmod-nft-nat:
: On certain chipsets, such as the ipq40xx , performance may not reach expected levels due to driver-level bugs or configuration errors in the nftables implementation. Managing the Module in OpenWrt
Here's an example nftables configuration:
Hardware-level switching handles packets at wirespeed. This removes the variable delay introduced by CPU scheduling, resulting in lower ping times and stable gaming streams. Hardware Compatibility
or installation (e.g., "Unknown package"), ensure your package lists are updated via opkg update kmod-nft-offload
Flow offloading operates on a simple premise: only the first few packets of a communication stream need deep inspection.
nft add rule ip filter forward iif eth0 oif eth1 ip daddr 192.168.1.0/24 offload
Report bugs or send patches to the GitHub issue tracker. Tested on Mellanox ConnectX-5 / ARM DPU – other platforms welcome.
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The kernel module changes this dynamic. It relies on a structural chain of dependencies within the OpenWrt kernel subsystem :
nft add table ip filter nft add flowtable ip filter f hook ingress priority filter + 1 devices = lan0, lan1, lan2, lan3, eth1 counter\; flags offload\; nft add chain ip filter forward type filter hook forward priority filter\; policy accept\; nft add rule ip filter forward ip protocol tcp, udp flow add @f
The nftables framework provides a more modern, consistent, and feature-rich API for managing network traffic. Its integration with hardware offload via the kmod-nft-offload module is a testament to its position as the successor to iptables .
Once offloaded, the hardware processes the packets independently, freeing up the CPU for other tasks (like routing, VPN encryption, or serving files). This removes the variable delay introduced by CPU
If the module is loaded, you should see nft_offload in the output.
table ip filter # 1. Define the flowtable flowtable f1 hook ingress priority 0; devices = eth0, eth1 ;
Flow offloading generally falls into two distinct categories within modern OpenWrt setups: Software Flow Offloading