[4.5-R]Problems Uploading via FTP, etc.

The Jetman jetman516 at hotmail.com
Thu Sep 4 17:45:58 PDT 2003


    While this isn't specifically a mobile computing problem, I *believe*
it's due to my Orinoco Silver wireless card *under* FreeBSD.

    About eighteen months ago, I converted a Windows 98-based wireless
gateway/router to FreeBSD 4.5-RELEASE and never looked back.  It took a
week to get it working properly, but once it was, I was totally sold on
FBSD.  I chose it bec I wanted the integrated firewall/bandwidth limiter,
a well-respected TCP stack (I've owned Stevens' classic TCP/IP Illustrated
for many, many moons), and solid, console-based, scriptable OS.

    My question:  using /etc/rc.firewall as my starting point, I've made
a fairly customized firewall for my office.  I can look in on the router
from outside via SSH, PING the outside world, etc (which the stock rc.firewall
doesn't do.)  What I can't do is upload most files from either my FBSD
router or from the interior machines on my LAN (the gateway/router also NATs.)
That's one of the few problems I didn't have under Win98 w/ Sygate, hence it
isn't due to some quirk from my wireless provider's network.

    For example, today I logged into the router and tried to upload a
couple of files to my ISP's Windows NT FTP server, using the stock FTP
client.  The initial file (a < 1K text file) was there in no time, however
the 2nd file (57KB) stalled after transferring the 1st 10KB of the file.
This behavior is reproducible, bec it happens every time w/ any file
that's approx > 10KB.  Below are the only network-related customizations
I've made to the system:

####  drop SYN packets destined to a non-listening tcp/udp port to protect
####  against stealth port scans
net.inet.tcp.blackhole=2
net.inet.udp.blackhole=1
####  increase TCP window size for increase in network performance
net.inet.tcp.recvspace=65535
net.inet.tcp.sendspace=65535

    I think I got these from an article on onlamp.com, regardless I've
played w/ the settings, and all I can do is change the point that the FTP
upload stalls.  HTTP uploads also seem to stall, as well.

    My Wi-Fi connection is pretty fast (512Kb/s), so most xfers shud be
almost instantaneous.  This is certainly the case of downloads.  It's
not the firewall, bec I can switch to the open config of rc.firewall
and the symptoms are the same.  I can't think of anything else to change,
but then there's a lot I still don't know about FBSD.

    Any suggestions ?  TIA....Jet

===============  From the desk of Jethro Wright, III  ================
+      Nothing causes self-delusion quite so readily as power.       =
===  jetman516 at hotmail.com  =========================  Liu Binyan  ===


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