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Using Linux To Make a Slow, Awful WAN Connection
Julie188 writes "This is a brilliant little Linux trick from Windows fanboy Tyson Kopczynski. He wanted to test a new Windows 7 feature called Branch Cache, which caches remote data on the local machine to reduce traffic on a stressed out WAN connection. But how to fake a crappy WAN? Linux. 'The command that I executed (tc) made use of Linux Traffic Control (a kernel thing) which allows me to easily interject 100ms latency on eth1. Boff, Bonk, Pow, Plop, Kapow, swa-a-p, whamm, zzzzzwap, bam ... instant WAN crappiness,' he writes."
Linux: Because sometimes you want slow and awful.
Linux has to be forced to degrade network performance. Windows does it automatically.
Did MS ever fix that 10 TCP/IP connection limit?
Why not just use a Vista box and play an MP3?
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What is the point of doing this? Is this even of remote interest to anyone other than the author of the article? If there's a genuine reason for this to be important or at least intriguing, someone please speak...
how did that windows caching stuff he was testing out perform? or is this article just a synopsis of the man page for a common command .... ?
The problem with slashdot is that most of its users were bullied and stuffed into lockers as kids!
Such capability is very useful to network folks to predict application behavior and best management approaches in various environments. We used FreeBSD for that purpose, but the effect was the same. We injected 350ms latency in each direction, and presto - satellite communication. That is enough to cripple TCP connectivity through a sizable pipe (latency will preclude the flow from taking entire pipe). By testing various acceleration methodologies, you can see first hand which one will allow you to fully utilize the bandwidth you are paying for, all in the comfort of your lab.
End anonymous moderation and posting on
*raises hand*
Intel 8945J integrated wireless on my laptop. Dual boot, Zenwalk Linux and XP MCE 2005. Until the most recent driver from Intel, the wireless card was *significantly* stabler under Linux. It's now just as stable under Windows (though I replaced by router with a new D-Link 802.11n router recently too), but the throughput at long range is still better in Linux.
As an example of the latter under Windows the useable range on my wlan caps out at about 25m. that's enough to cover my house, and much of the front lawn. Under Linux, I was able to connect to my network from the picnic table at the park across the street, about 100m. I was only getting 1mbit of throughput, probably less, but it was definitely getting better error correction and a more useable connection at that range than under Windows.
If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
I like how you felt the need to provide a wikipedia link, just in case we wouldn't know what that was.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear some kids on my lawn.
Fnord.
Intel 8945J integrated wireless on my laptop. Dual boot, Zenwalk Linux and XP MCE 2005. Until the most recent driver from Intel, the wireless card was *significantly* stabler under Linux.
Who needs wireless - I've got an Atherlos L1 gigabit ethernet controller on the motherboard - despite it being years old, all vista drivers for it are dogshit slow AND crash under any significant load. Under linux it works just fine. For the one vista system I must run I had to waste as slot on a PCIe gig-e card and use that instead.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
They were shocked when I introduced them to another tester who tested board games in the 1970's.
Oh wow, so before video games people used to play with pieces of lumber? :D
Fnord.
You know, I have noticed this with my laptop in my house. Under windows xp I get one bar of connection and its flaky at best. Granted this is on the other side of the house from the router and also on a different floor, so I am not surprised by that. But in the same location on the same laptop running an Ubuntu liveCD gets better signal and a much more reliable connection.
My guess is that the linux driver allows for a higher power setting, though over the years I've come to think that the Linux TCP/IP stack seems a little speedier than Windows... I dunno if that is really the case, but I like to think so :-)
What could possibly hurt the security of the American people more than giving our own government the ability to hide its
...as demonstrated by "VIM rocks" in his text.
Ezekiel 23:20
Author of TFA said his original intent was to highlight using Linux to simulate network crapfulness, but enough folks have asked your question that he's planning a followup with the actual caching results.
SCOX(Q) DELENDA EST!!