[H-GEN] Telstra ADSL

[Robert Brockway]

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Hi all.  I've got one for the hard basket.

I've setup a Linux (RH 7.3) box to connect to Bigpond ADSL using the 
rp-pppoe package (it even came with directions for Bigpond :)

Anyway, after a bit of mucking around I got the connection established, 
etc but then there was a weird problem:

Any given tcp connection will just freeze after a while (typically when it 
tries to dump large amounts of data).  New connections can be established 
without a problem but the frozen ones stay frozen for as long as I cared 
to leave them (30 minutes or more).  I'm quite certain that it locks the 
session for any amount of data greater than 1 packet (evidence later).  
MTU is 1492 (default).

This seems to occur for http, smtp & ssh traffic (and undoubtedly 
others).

I RTFMed and determined that the size of the CLAMPMSS setting might be to 
blame.  This site http://www.roaringpenguin.com/pppoe/how-to-connect.txt 
indicates to drop it down until this problem goes away (in lots of 
approximately 100).

Right now I'm not physically near the box so to avoid repeated calls to 
the people who are near the box I dropped it to 500 and rebooted the box 
(the only reasonable way I had to reset the link under the circumstances).

The box is now (apparently) uncontactable [1].  To make matters worse it
keeps changing IP on each ADSL restart & I'm getting the people onsite to
browse from a windows box behind the Linux server to a web page I control
so I can spot the new IP (these people know _nothing_ about unix).  Due to 
the other problems I have not yet implemented a script to mailout the IP 
to myself & the owner (the link lockups are hampering development 
somewhat).

[1] I know the box reboots fine.  I did it last thing last night as a test 
while I was physically close.  I'm 100% certain it has come up fine, and 
the ADSL has connected.  But no talky talky.

Anyway, given that lowering the CLAMPMSS has apparently not worked, is 
there anyone who has worked with Bigpond ADSL who has some suggestions, or 
even seen this before.

Cheers,
	-Rob

-- Robert Brockway B.Sc. email: robert at timetraveller.org  ICQ: 104781119
   Linux counter project ID #16440 (http://counter.li.org)
   avon: up 10 days, 21:43,  2 users,  load average: 0.22, 0.05, 0.02
   "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens" -Baha'u'llah


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