[comp.sys.mac.comm] MacTCP has bad segment size

mosemann@sardion.unl.edu (Russell Mosemann) (03/27/91)

   Weeks and weeks ago, people were discussing the problem MacTCP has
with determining the MSS (maximum segment size).  I read the messages
but never wrote anything down or saved it because we didn't have that
problem before.
   A few weeks ago MacPOP (from trident.arc.nasa.gov) started
complaining that there was an error connecting to the POP server.  I
could telnet to the port and issue commands by hand with no problem.
Using a network sniffer, I saw the domain name request get resolved and
the Mac sent out 4 or 5 TCP packets to the POP host, but the host didn't
respond.
   I dug into the packets and found that it was requesting a window size
of *10241*.  Could someone mail the fix for this (I think it was done by
Steve Dorner)?
   What was the explanation for this?  I think it had something to do
with a device on the network advertising the wrong segment size.  If so,
is there any fix for that device besides turning it off?  The other
weird thing is that only the MacPOP software seems to be affected.  I
can telnet with TCP/Connect II and NCSA Telnet just fine.
   Thanks for the help.
--
Russell Mosemann                  Internet:             mosemann@unl.edu
Network Analyst                   Bitnet:               mosemann@unlvax1
Computing Resource Center         UUCP:   ..!uunet!hoss.unl.edu!mosemann
University of Nebraska - Lincoln  Voice:  (402) 472-5930   Fax: 472-5280

mosemann@sardion.unl.edu (Russell Mosemann) (03/27/91)

In <1991Mar26.213034.8544@hoss.unl.edu> mosemann@sardion.unl.edu (Russell Mosemann) writes:

>   Weeks and weeks ago, people were discussing the problem MacTCP has
>with determining the MSS (maximum segment size).  I read the messages
>but never wrote anything down or saved it because we didn't have that
>problem before.
[...]
>   I dug into the packets and found that it was requesting a window size
>of *10241*.  Could someone mail the fix for this (I think it was done by
>Steve Dorner)?
[...]

   OK.  I got the fix, but it didn't solve the problem.  Now for a
little more information.  I'm using MacTCP 1.0, MacPOP 1.5.7, Systems
6.0.5 and 6.0.7, and Ethernet'ed and LocalTalk'ed Macs (SE/30, SE, and
Classic).
   MacPOP tries to establish the tcp connection.  I see the 4 or so
packets go to the POP host, but there is no return response.  Our
sniffer reports:

Ethernet:  ( router -> pop host)  type: IP(0x0800)
Internet:    Mac IP -> pop host IP  hl: 6  ver: 4  tos: 0
 len: 48  id: 0x0009  fragoff: 0  flags: 00  ttl: 58  prot: TCP(6)
 xsum: 0x6a75 bsec resv 4:
TCP:  10593 -> POP-2(109)  seq: 5d60a560  ack: ----
 win: 11648  hl: 6  xsum: 0x3a3a  urg: 0  flags: <SYN>  mss: 576

   Only the Ethernet and IP addresses have been changed.  This is
from a Mac Classic going through a FastPath 4 running version 8.x of
KSTAR.
   I can telnet to the port and issue commands by hand with no problem.
The mss doesn't seem to be the problem that I thought it was.  The
window size seems a little strange, but maybe it's OK, too.  The thing I
have never seen in a TCP packet before is the "bsec resv 4:".  Does
anything look wrong in this packet?  Thanks.
--
Russell Mosemann                  Internet:             mosemann@unl.edu
Network Analyst                   Bitnet:               mosemann@unlvax1
Computing Resource Center         UUCP:   ..!uunet!hoss.unl.edu!mosemann
University of Nebraska - Lincoln  Voice:  (402) 472-5930   Fax: 472-5280

mosemann@sardion.unl.edu (Russell Mosemann) (03/27/91)

In <1991Mar26.213034.8544@hoss.unl.edu> mosemann@sardion.unl.edu (Russell Mosemann) writes:

>   Weeks and weeks ago, people were discussing the problem MacTCP has

   Arg!  I forgot to mention that the pop host is a Sun (we've tried a
Sparc 1 and a Sparc 2) running SunOS 4.1.1.  MacPOP was working a month
or two ago.  One thing that changed in that time was that we moved
from Sun0S 4.0.3 to 4.1 to 4.1.1.
--
Russell Mosemann                  Internet:             mosemann@unl.edu
Network Analyst                   Bitnet:               mosemann@unlvax1
Computing Resource Center         UUCP:   ..!uunet!hoss.unl.edu!mosemann
University of Nebraska - Lincoln  Voice:  (402) 472-5930   Fax: 472-5280

JSIMPSON@MIAMIU.BITNET (Joe Simpson) (03/30/91)

This is a known problem .  MacTCP version 1.0.1 fixed it.