Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!EAST.BERKELEY.EDU!phil
From: phil@EAST.BERKELEY.EDU (Phil Lapsley)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: LSRR and RR IP options
Message-ID: <8803171737.AA11945@east.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 17 Mar 88 17:37:58 GMT
Sender: uucp@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 15

These options can be extremely useful for figuring out what routes are
being used to get from point A to point B.  Although some gateways
crash when presented with an IP datagram with LSRR/RR options (and almost
as bad, other gateways simply drop the packet), things are generally getting
better.  Proteon gateways now (version 7.4) correctly handle LSRR/RR,
and 4.3 BSD now does the right thing as well (although it had a bug that
caused it to do some wrong stuff for a while).  Buttergates also do the
right thing.  Ultrix (2.0) simply eats the packets, as does HPUX and Dynix
(sequent OS).  As mentioned, Suns often crash in the action of forwarding
the packets.  I don't know how the Fuzz fares under IP option attack.

Still, one shouldn't say that the options are useless.  Rather, one
should beat on the vendors for selling joe code.  (Call 1-800-USA4SUN
and complain! :-)

							Phil