From: Walter Hafner <hafner@informatik.tu-muenchen.de> To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Cc: hafner@informatik.tu-muenchen.de Subject: IP Type of service (FTP proxy in German c`t) Message-ID: <srj6778g2kb.fsf@hprbg5.informatik.tu-muenchen.de>
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The following message is a courtesy copy of an article that has been posted to muc.lists.freebsd.hackers as well. So - it finally happened. The well known german computer magazine c't released an FTP proxy, that sends requests with user-definable IP_TOS entries. The software (for Mac, Windows and Linux) is downloadable under http://www.heise.de/ct/ftp/99/07/194/ The text on the page (an excerpt from the article in the magazine), roughly in english: : Surfing on the fast lane : : Faster downloads with 'Quaility of Service' : : Article from c't 07/99, p. 194 (ju) : : The FTP-Booster accelerates FTP-Downloads, by setting the ToS-bits of : the IP-Header appropriately. After startup it runs as a FTP-Proxy-Server : on 127.0.0.1, port 1414. It has to be added to the browser-preferences : manually. : : The following customizations have to be made: type of connection and : priority. : : Level 0 runs with normal speed, level 1 (bulk) slows down downloads. : Levels 2-7 accelerate. Levels 3-7 are password protected. : : qos-lin.tgz Linux-version of the ftp-Booster : qos-win.tgz Windows-version of the ftp-Booster : qos-mac.hqx Mac-version of the ftp-Booster The passwords for levels 3-6 are phrases in older c't magazines, level 7 is for the c't staff only. Imho it's just a matter of time, until all the passwords are common knowledge or the software gets hacked and the proxy is widely used. (I got the passwords for the levels 3-5 simply by a "strings" ...) I tried the Linux version on a FreeBSD 3.1 box: tcsh > FTPBooster-linux -Modem:128 -Priority:2 FTPBooster 1.0 1999 c't/Matthias Withopf Gestartet auf 127.0.0.1:1414, Uebertragung 128 KBit/s, Stufe 2 - Priority 1... Well ... :-( The article states, that *BSD is the only operating system, that supports a direct setting of the IP_TOS bits via "setsockopt". I donīt know, whether that is true, but I truly and strongly second the comment in /usr/include/netinet/ip.h: /* * Definitions for IP precedence (also in ip_tos) (hopefully unused) */ The c't proxy operates by bypassing the normal IP stacks of the operating systems. c't claims, that in their tests, about 80% of all routers honored the TOS flags. On a sidenote - I just checked the FreeBSD fcpd code and noticed, that IP_TOS calls are in there already. So, what's the purpose of this mail? I don't really know, to be honest. I'd like to see a discussion on what to do now. Disabling the TOS features? Adding switches to the main net applications that allow to set the priority, too? Urging router manufacturers to disable priority handling by default? Imho it's a very bad thing, that users can manipulate IP priorities. Priority handling should be limited to specific applications for which it is really needed! Something must be done about this. Fast. Bye, -Walter [ adding "boosting" capabilities to the FreeBSD kernel - just to be one step ahead. :-( ] -- Walter Hafner__________________________________ hafner@in.tum.de <A href=http://www.tum.de/~hafner/>*CLICK*</A>; "Multiple exclamation marks," he went on, shaking his head, "are a sure sign of a diseased mind." (Terry Pratchett, "Eric") To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
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