Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!snorkelwacker!husc6!m2c!wpi!aej
From: aej@wpi.wpi.edu (Allan E Johannesen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.encore
Subject: Re: telnet/rlogin "bouncing"
Message-ID: <8020@wpi.wpi.edu>
Date: 9 Feb 90 14:15:49 GMT
References: <1052@thor.wright.EDU>
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass.
Lines: 26
In-reply-to: dcourte@eve.wright.edu's message of 6 Feb 90 21:50:04 GMT

I've complained bitterly and repeatedly to Encore about this bug.
I've sent many dumps with specific pointers to ptys being broken in
the dumps (I never crashed a system due to the problem, but indicated
whether there were hung ptys in the system if it did crash).

My "solution" was a cheap hack which grabbed a pty in the same order
as all the pty-handlers (telnetd, script, etc.) and just detach and
hang onto the thing.  The theory was that the "broken" state of the
pty would still be detectable in the dump, but it would be out of the
way so we could operate our system.  I guess it was pointless, since
the bug has yet to be fixed.

Someone at Encore must believe it was a bug.  At one point, they gave
me a telnetd, script, etc. which grabbed ptys at random, the theory
being that you wouldn't be solidly locked out if a pty died.  You'd
have some statistical chance to get through on your second try.  I
preferred suffering with the old way so that I could continue to know
when it happen, identify the situation in dumps, etc.

The unfortunate news is that it is STILL in 4.3.  Two of the major
reasons I wanted to Beta test 4.3 was to get away from the pty bug (I
see another is vainly hoping for relief from the bug by 4.3, so I no
longer feel foolish in thinking my suffering would be over) and so
that I could run my 2,000 student system with quotas that wouldn't
crash the system (the quota code was entirely replaced in 4.3, but
still crashes the system).