Re: [PATCH] Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt tcp_tw_recycle & tcp_tw_reuse

[matt mooney <mfm@muteddisk.com>]

On 19:32 Mon 04 Oct     , Sami Kerola wrote:
> From: Sami Kerola <kerolasa@iki.fi>
> 
> Instead of saying 'consult your technical export' the
> documentation needs to assist an export to decide whether to keep
> these settings off or set them on.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Sami Kerola <kerolasa@iki.fi>
> ---
>  Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt |   20 +++++++++++++-------
>  1 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt b/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt
> index f350c69..01e2948 100644
> --- a/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt
> @@ -444,15 +444,21 @@ tcp_tso_win_divisor - INTEGER
>  	Default: 3
>  
>  tcp_tw_recycle - BOOLEAN
> -	Enable fast recycling TIME-WAIT sockets. Default value is 0.
> -	It should not be changed without advice/request of technical
> -	experts.
> +	Enable fast recycling TIME-WAIT sockets. See also caution
> +	wrote to tcp_tw_reuse. Default value is 0.
>  
>  tcp_tw_reuse - BOOLEAN
> -	Allow to reuse TIME-WAIT sockets for new connections when it is
> -	safe from protocol viewpoint. Default value is 0.
> -	It should not be changed without advice/request of technical
> -	experts.
> +	Allow to reuse TIME-WAIT sockets for new connections when it is safe
> +	from protocol viewpoint. One should enable also tcp_timestamps when
> +	this is enabled. Default value is 0.
> +
> +	Caution. Both tcp_tw_recycle and tcp_tw_reuse can cause problems. You
> +	should not enable either without being sure about network topology in
> +	between node(s) which are using, or used by, the node(s) where the
> +	parameter is enabled. Connections that go via TCP state aware nodes,
> +	such as firewalls, NAT devices or load balancers may start drop frames
> +	because of the setting. The more there are connections the greater is
> +	the likelyhood you will see this issue.
>  
>  tcp_window_scaling - BOOLEAN
>  	Enable window scaling as defined in RFC1323.

This is poorly written and contains numerous grammatical errors. To name a few:

The use of "also" is all wrong; I think you're trying to use it as a conjunction
but instead it is being used as an adverb, which is modifying a noun (there are
very few instances where adverbs come before nouns). "wrote" is the wrong form
of the verb; moreover, the sentence itself is an imperative, so the main verb is
"see," and there should not be another conjugated verb in the sentence. Next,
"which" is wrong here; the clause that follows "which" is restrictive and
therefore "that" should be used instead. The last issue I will mention is
"likelyhood" is not a word, but I am sure you meant "likelihood."

-mfm