Hi all, I'm posting a message that I suspect a number of Linux users will sympathize with.

There have been various Kernel patches (2.4 and 2.6) for H.323 support in netfilter/conntrack for 4+ years now. But to be honest many of them have been flaky, and re-compiling kernels has become a last resort for me when I'm dealing with a production system (I prefer the stock kernel provided with the distribution).

My question is:

Since various patches for H.323 have been around for SO LONG now, why hasn't the functionality become a core part of the Linux Kernel by now? What's the delay? This is a MAJOR problem for any organization with video or voice over IP.

This is an area that I honestly expected to be fixed years ago, but for some reason it has been left aside (for far too long).

It's embarrassing when $50.00 off the shelf broadband routers can handle H.323 now and my Linux box can't.

To the Linux developers: You've done a great job with everything regarding Linux and you deserve a pat on the back. But H.323 needs to be addressed as it's been an outstanding issue for years. The days of patching a kernel to enable H.323 NAT support should be long gone by now.

Please reply to this message and show your support. Perhaps with a significant number of posts, the Linux development community will realize a number of users want to see this functionality made core.