Re: TCP timewait recycle/reuse for IPv6?

[Bill Fink <billfink@mindspring.com>]

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008, David Miller wrote:

> From: Octavian Purdila <opurdila@ixiacom.com>
> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:04:33 +0200
> 
> > While running the same traffic with IPv4, the timewait recyle/reuse
> > features kicks in and keeps the number of TIMEWAIT sockets to under
> > a 1000.
> 
> Timewait recycling should not be enabled if any of your connections
> could even potentially be going through a firewall or NAT box.
> In such cases, the invariants which are necessary for timewait
> recycling to be valid are not present and thus you could risk
> connection or data corruption.
> 
> Timewait recycling depends upon end systems really being end
> systems on a connection level.  With NAT, that is no longer
> true, as the NAT box will reuse the same port for different
> end nodes in subsequent connections.

I have this hope that as IPv6/IPSEC becomes more commonplace, perhaps
it can help get back to the original TCP/IP direct end system to
end system model of communication, and reduce the current need for
such unfortunately necessary kludges as NAT boxes.

						-Bill