11.8. MARK target
The MARK target is used to set Netfilter mark values that are associated with specific packets. This target is only valid in the mangle table, and will not work outside there. The MARK values may be used in conjunction with the advanced routing capabilities in Linux to send different packets through different routes and to tell them to use different queue disciplines (qdisc), etc. For more information on advanced routing, check out the Linux Advanced Routing and Traffic Control HOW-TO. Note that the mark value is not set within the actual package, but is a value that is associated within the kernel with the packet. In other words, you can not set a MARK for a packet and then expect the MARK still to be there on another host. If this is what you want, you will be better off with the TOS target which will mangle the TOS value in the IP header.
Table 11-6. MARK target options
| Option | --set-mark |
| Example | iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 22 -j MARK --set-mark 2 |
| Explanation | The --set-mark option is required to set a mark. The --set-mark match takes an integer value. For example, we may set mark 2 on a specific stream of packets, or on all packets from a specific host and then do advanced routing on that host, to decrease or increase the network bandwidth, etc. |
 | Works under Linux kernel 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6. |