[gentoo-user] Re: How to hide a network interface from an application

[Grant Edwards]

On 2020-08-13, Sid Spry <sid@××××.us> wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 13, 2020, at 4:33 PM, Grant Edwards wrote:
>> How does one hide a network interface from a badly-written application?
>>
>> I'm using Plex Media Server as a DVR, it it seems to have been written
>> by Windows programmers who assume that your computer exists for no
>> purpose other than running their program and their program alone.  It
>> spews multicast and broadcast packets on all network interfaces
>> regardless of which interface you configure it to use.
>>
>> Is creating a network namespace that contains only the interfaces Plex
>> is allowed to use the best way to try to fix this problem?  [Assuming
>> the developers won't do anything about it.]
>
> Yes, though you typically have to go out of your way to select a single
> interface.

I'm not sure what "go out of your way" means in this context.  I
assume I'd create a network namespace for Plex, and then use either
macvlan or ipvlan to share one of the physical interaces between the
root namespace and the Plex namespace.  I'd like the 'lo' interfaces
to be shared as well, but I'm not sure that's possible.

> Have you filed a bug report? Can you link to it?

People have been complaining to upstream devs about this for years,
and nothing's been done.  I posted a question the Plex forum about it,
but I doubt anybody will pay any attention. (Plex doesn't seem to use
any sort of bug reporting or tracking system).

--
Grant