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From: tcp-ip@ucbvax.ARPA
Newsgroups: fa.tcp-ip
Subject: A Noop Strategy for TCP
Message-ID: <9317@ucbvax.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 25-Jul-85 12:37:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.9317
Posted: Thu Jul 25 12:37:20 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Jul-85 03:13:46 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.ARPA
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 14

From: ucdla@ucbtopaz.CC


I am wondering if anyone has developed a strategy by which TCP can inquire
on the aliveness of connections on some regular interval (perhaps time
driven). A problem has occurred for us in TELNET where connections
abort or otherwise go away without being properly closed and our TELNET
never finds out about if there is no activity on the connection. The
INTERNET Implemation workbook suggests having TELNET negotiate some
meaningless option every so often as a way of finding out if the other
side is still there. This will fix our problem but I would like to fix it
in TCP if possible so that they same fix will apply to all higher level
protocols that use TCP without the need for them to do it themselves.
Comments and suggestions would be most welcome