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Summary: BitTorrent users used up lots of space in the NAT port table in Windows NT. Because there are only 64k ports available, this is a big problem if more t
by bensummers 17y ago
Summary: BitTorrent users used up lots of space in the NAT port table in Windows NT. Because there are only 64k ports available, this is a big problem if more than a couple of users are using BitTorrent.
Interestingly, they did not not see this as a flaw in the Windows kernel. You can get a data structure which allows 2^48 concurrent connections by NAT on a single IP address if you map based on (destination IP address,port) rather than just (port).
OpenBSD does this, to avoid the very problem these Microsoft people solved by complex tools and a rick roll.
- stcredzero 17y agoAnd who needs more disk partitions than there are letters in the alphabet, anyways? Kids these days! Get Off of My Lawn!
- sid0 17y agoOh come on, you're using a Win9x argument in 2010? :)
- stcredzero 17y agoUh, what do you think I'm arguing about? I'm drawing a parallel between a Microsoft oversight dating from the DOS days and the current oversight with port numbers. But if you think I'm taking a position, please explain. (I'm reminded of Herman Melville reacting to various academic's analysis of symbolism in Moby Dick. Something to the effect that he didn't know that stuff was in there!) Unjustified projection of fictional intention is just as cheap as putting words into another's mouth.
- pmjordan 17y agoFWIW: All Desktop/Server versions of Windows since Windows 2000 (except WinMe) support arbitrary directory-based mount points.
- stcredzero 17y agoI was about to do this, actually, so I can have a 40GB "system" partition and put my "data" partition in "My Documents." But I still get the joy of seeing my "C:" drive in XP.
- MaysonL 17y ago640K FTW!
- topbanana 17y agoI thought the point of NAT was that don't know the destination IP address? It's that of the NAT router.
- bensummers 17y agoI am referring to the mapping on the NAT router. And the source does know the destination IP address, because it addresses the packet to that address. The NAT router rewrites the ports and source address on all the packets traversing it. http://www.google.com/search?q=how+nat+works http://www.google.com/search?q=how+nat+works
- topbanana 17y agoI think you're talking about outgoing connections. The number of incoming connections is the problem here. That's limited in all operating systems as IPv4 only supports 64k ports