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Date:      Wed, 20 Dec 1995 12:56:53 -0500
From:      "Garrett A. Wollman" <wollman@lcs.mit.edu>
To:        FreeBSD-Current Mailing List <current@FreeBSD.ORG>
Subject:   More ancient IP broadcast cruft to be removed
Message-ID:  <9512201756.AA21859@halloran-eldar.lcs.mit.edu>

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ip_input() currently contains the following piece of code:

                        /*
                         * Look for all-0's host part (old broadcast addr),
                         * either for subnet or net.
                         */
                        t = ntohl(ip->ip_dst.s_addr);
                        if (t == ia->ia_subnet)
                                goto ours;
                        if (t == ia->ia_net)
                                goto ours;

The function of this code is to accept `broadcasts' sent to the
host-all-zeros address, which was used in 4.2 as the broadcast
address, IN ADDITION TO anything that happens to be configured as an
explicit broadcast address.

I believe that this code is a waste of time.  If the user wants to
accept broadcasts on the host-all-zeros address, then she should
configure the interface for that broadcast address.  (Using the
standard broadcast address would not work to communicate with old
machines anyway, so this hack doesn't really gain one anything.)

I plan to disable this code, unless someone has a correctly-configured
network which doesn't work without it.  Speak now or forever hold your
peace!

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman   | Shashish is simple, it's discreet, it's brief. ... 
wollman@lcs.mit.edu  | Shashish is the bonding of hearts in spite of distance.
Opinions not those of| It is a bond more powerful than absence.  We like people
MIT, LCS, ANA, or NSA| who like Shashish.  - Claude McKenzie + Florent Vollant



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