[2066] in linux-net channel archive
Re: Project: Balancing load between PPP connections
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Snow Cat)
Thu Mar 14 00:22:12 1996
From: Snow Cat <snowcat@math.csufresno.edu>
To: linux-net@vger.rutgers.edu
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 15:01:26 -0800 (PST)
Cc: linux-ppp@vger.rutgers.edu, longyear@netcom.com, alan@cymru.net
In-Reply-To: <199603130327.TAA02384@costello.longyear.com> from "Al Longyear" at Mar 12, 96 07:27:12 pm
Hi,
Al Longyear once wrote:
>
> There are a few issues here.
>
> Linux supports the prioritization of IP frames with the firewall
> code. You can change the priority of the frames as they flow through
> your system on the way outside.
>
> What you can not change is the priority of the frames outside your
> system as they flow into your firewall. Those frames have originated
> at the remote system, somewhere on the Internet. It is that system's
> responsibility to assign the frames the proper priority.
>
> Unfortunately, most systems are based upon the BSD networking and are
> broken as it relates to this issue. All frames have the same priority
> for those systems, whether they are ftp-data or telnet frames.
>
Sure, but what if ppp driver on the other side of the link assigns priority
to frames to or from a certain port? It would be hard for us to have Sun and
NeXT release their kernel under GPL so that we can fix the problem in the
right place :)
>
> As I was against putting the priority code for the out-bound frames in
> the PPP driver, I am against holding off ACK messages in the PPP
> driver. This logic belongs in the networking layer __only__. The PPP
> driver is just that, a network device driver. It must send the frame
> as quickly as possible using the hardware it controls. It should not
> make a determination of the frame and somehow defer its transmission
> just because frames are coming in 'too quickly' as that makes it
> something other than a driver.
>
> > Is anyone working in this direction? If not, I might dig out my networking
> > books and give it a try.
>
> Ok. However, your changes must be to the networking code and not the
> device drivers.
>
Thanks for information! Is there any documentation for Linux networking code
and/or drivers? I would like to try some simple tests on my system first,
like preventing any connection from taking over 2/3 of bandwidth estimated
from baud rate, and see if it makes any difference for interactive performance.
--
Snow ^oo^ Cat <snowcat@math.CSUFresno.EDU>
_ -> <- aka Oleg Kibirev <oleg@math.CSUFresno.EDU>
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