Hi managers !
My original question was:
 -------------------------
QUESTION :
My customer has asked me about the "keepalive" function of TCP/IP. 
Specifically, he wants to know if it is configurable for different times 
(send a packet more often than 2 hours, the default).
For now, I've been said that...
============================================================================  
==============
The "keepalive " function has to do with sockets. Sockets are communication 
channels (ports on a specific host) that enable unrelated processes to 
exchange data locally and over networks. A single socket is one endpoint of 
the two-way communications channel.
A programmer can set certain options on a socket with the setsockopt() 
routine. This routine accepts the SO_KEEPALIVE parameter. This parameter 
enables the periodic transmission of messages to a connected socket. If the 
connected socket  fails to respond to these
messages, the connection is broken and processes using the socket are 
notified with a SIGPIPE signal.
============================================================================  
==============
But I'm not a programmer !
I can't tell from the documentation if the 120 minute interval is settable 
in the kernel (then rebuild) or not. I've been said that SunOS allows to set 
it for a smaller interval. It is important to my customer that he can do 
this. Is it settable, or do we (or OSF) have plans
to make it settable?
For AIX 3.2, I have this ANSWER:
========================================================
     You could configure the 120 minute interval upgrading to AIX ver 3.2. 
 Although this is not documented, AIX ver 3.2 supports user-confugured 
 keepalive interval.
     This is accomplished with the "no"(Network Option) command. The "no" 
command sets and displays kernel network options.  This command must be run 
after each startup or after the network has been changed. Issuing the "no 
 -a" command from the shell prompt  displays the current settings. An example 
partial listing is :
          ...
          tcp_keepintvl = 150
          tcp_keepidle = 14400
          ...
========================================================
But what about SunOS ?
My original answer is:
 ----------------------
The answer is coming from the Sybase Release bulletin for SQL Server 4.9:
"
5.3.1. Adjusting Network Client Time-out for SunOS 4.1.x and Above.
       The length of the time-out period  in  SunOS  4.1.x  is  adjusted
       through  three  symbolic constants.  These constants can be found
       in  /sys/netinet/tcp_timer.h.   Adjustment   of   this   time-out
       requires  that you modify this file and rebuild the kernel.  Make
       a backup copy of this file before you modify it.
       For best server performance, shorten the time-out period  to  one
       minute by changing the constants as shown below:
       from
               #define TCPTV_KEEP_IDLE (120*60*PR_SLOWHZ)
       to
               #define TCPTV_KEEP_IDLE ( 2*60*PR_SLOWHZ)
       from
               #define TCPTV_KEEPINTVL ( 75*PR_SLOWHZ)
       to
               #define TCPTV_KEEPINTVL (  60*PR_SLOWHZ)
       and from
               #define TCPTV_KEEPCNT 8
       to
               #define TCPTV_KEEPCNT 1
       The exact format of these  source  lines  may  vary  slightly  in
       different SunOS releases. The value of TCPTV_KEEP_IDLE determines
       the total time to wait after making a connection  before  probing
       the connection for activity.  We reduced it from two hours to two
       minutes.  We also reduced TCPTV_KEEPCNT from ten minutes  to  one
       minute.    The   total   time-out  interval  is  the  product  of
       TCPTV_KEEPINTVL and TCPTV_KEEPCNT.  One PR_SLOWHZ  time  unit
       is roughly equal to one second.
"
It's working very well. It's very usefull for people who are working on PC 
and running the "Q+E" application.
"Q+E" sometimes reboots the PC but the link still exists towards the SQL 
server (SUN SS10 for example).
The link stay openned for a while that can reach 2 hours by default or 2 
MINUTES if you install these changes.
If many people reboot their PCs several times, the maximum number of 
SQL-connection can be quickly reached.
Thanks to:
     Pierre.Pertsov@sybase.com
     guycole@netcom.com
     lledo@sphinx.cea.fr
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Fri Sep 28 2001 - 23:09:01 CDT