[RFC] Q&A propose to add into FAQ

Warren Block wblock at wonkity.com
Sun Feb 3 00:20:28 UTC 2013


> Q8: This server of mine is a public DNS and it seems to be rejecting
> connections because of too many TCP connections with "TIME_WAIT" status
> (from "netstat -an"). How can I reduce the timeout?
> A8: In short, tune the sysctl value "net.inet.tcp.msl" to something
> modern and acceptable, such as 7500.
> In detail, the default timeout value for TIME_WAIT status is set to 60
> seconds. This value is based on RFC 793. Since this RFC is drafted in
> year 1981, equipments & bandwidth of that time wasn't as fast as what we
> have now. A 60 seconds of waiting, for TCP session to terminate is a
> long time. For a busy server opening & closing TCP connections, this
> value should set to a fairly short time, such as 15 seconds.
> The value of "net.inet.tcp.msl" is not the usual "literal" seconds
> though. In order to reduce from the default 60 seconds to 15 seconds,
> convert it to milliseconds and then divide it by 2. For example,
> when 15 seconds is converted to 15,000 milliseconds, it then should
> divide by 2, which sums up as "7500". This will be the value for
> "net.inet.tcp.msl".

> Q9: I just updated /etc/newsyslog.conf. How do I check for syntax error?
> A9: Use the parameter "-nvv" when executing "newsyslog". For example,
> "newsyslog -nvv" would tell what are each of the lines in
> /etc/newsyslog.conf would do when the time comes.

While these are helpful, they are not frequently asked.  They would be 
better suited to the Configuration and Tuning chapter of the Handbook.


More information about the freebsd-doc mailing list