Meaning of "handle" when using tc filter ... flow hash

[Andrew Beverley <andy@andybev.com>]

Hi,

I've been using the "flow hash keys" feature of tc to evenly distribute
bandwidth across client IP addresses.

In order to get it to work, I have to specify a "handle" value:

$TC filter add dev eth0 parent 4101: protocol ip \
	handle 10 flow hash keys dst divisor 1024

         ^^^^

However, the handle doesn't seem to do anything. No matter what value I
specify, the rule works. If I leave it out, I get an "RTNETLINK answers:
Invalid argument" error.

I would normally expect the handle parameter to specify a netfilter mark
value. In this case though, it doesn't seem to make any difference. Is
there a reason that it needs to be specified?

Thanks,

Andy