Filtering millions of packets per second on commodity NICs
In a previous post we discussed the performance limitations of the Linux kernel network stack. We detailed the available kernel bypass techniques allowing user space programs to receive packets with high throughput.
How to achieve low latency with 10Gbps Ethernet
In a recent blog post we explained how to tweak a simple UDP application to maximize throughput. This time we are going to optimize our UDP application for latency. Fighting with latency is a great excuse to discuss modern features of multiqueue NICs.
League of Legends Chat Service Architecture
League of Legends players collectively send millions of messages every day. They're asking friends to duo-queue, suggesting a team comp on the champ select screen, and thanking opponents for a good game. On July 21st of this year (I p…
No, it’s not the end of XMPP for Google Talk
There’s some recent discussion about the sky falling for XMPP at Google. See this blog post by Dan York for example. In reality, we don’t know the state of XMPP inside Google because they don’t share their use of XMPP with the XSF. …
Telegram stalking
Update 20151216: This quick post got far more attention than expected. I regret not mentioning that the leakage can easily be prevented via a setting. In practice the problem remains, users in general will have no idea about this being a relevant setting to change and will stay with the default. The best discussion on…
OS X 10.10.3 seems to have done something bad to wifi drivers
As a PSA (public service announcement), I'm reporting here that updating your Yosemite system to 10.10.3 is incredibly toxic if you use WiFi...
Why is Bitcoin forking?
A tale of differing visions
HTTP/2 Approved
After more than two years of discussion, over 200 design issues, 17 drafts, and 30 implementations, the HTTP/2 and HPACK specifications have now been approved by the IETF’s steering group for publication as standards-track RFCs.
Solaris adopting OpenBSD's pf
Yet another proprietary tech titan turns to the free OpenBSD operating system as their source of innovation in the networking and security ...
How Microsoft Bing Censors the Middle East
Shortly after Microsoft Bing launched in 2009, researchers at the Berkman Center for Internet...
The best ping story I've ever heard
Yes, it's true! I'm the author of ping for UNIX. Ping is a little thousand-line hack that I wrote in an evening which practically everyone seems to know about. :-)
Detecting VPN (and its configuration) and proxy users on the server side
A lot of people use VPN every day. Somebody use it in always-on mode to circumvent government or corporative internet censorship, while…
The Federal HTTPS-Only Standard: Necessary and Overdue
The White House Office of Management and Budget has published a new standard recommending full HTTPS on all federal web sites and web services. They are accepting public comments until April 14; if you care about privacy and security, you should weigh in.This post is our public comment: we whole-...
Poor man's VPN via ssh socks proxy
Redpill Linpro Tech Blog
HFT in my backyard – V
It’s time to finish the “HFT in my backyard” series. The last week was intense here and around me, and I think at some point it’s good to keep silent. What’s more, this Part V abo…
Goodbye, OpenStack
I just removed myself from every OpenStack mailing list and meetup. I’m sure I’ll still use it, but I don’t see myself as part of that community any longer. When I was at DreamHost, I really felt like part of that community and that I could help make it better. However, in the three years since I’ve left DreamHost, I…
HFT in my backyard – VI
When you think about it, it really is one tangled, small cottage industry. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody knows what everybody is doing, and nobody talks. One of my informants. This is the f…
How a bad RJ45 termination can ruin a cable
There are at least two good ways to make a bad Ethernet cable. One can start with badly-made bulk cable -- this seems to be the usual explanation for Chinese-made Ethernet cables -- or one can take good cable and do a terrible job of putting connectors on it. Some types of connectors -- a crimp BNC, for example -- are…
Opportunistic Encryption for Firefox
Firefox 37 brings more encryption to the web through opportunistic encryption of some http:// based resources. It will be released the week ...
HTTP/2 for TCP/IP Geeks
I attended a TCP/IP Geeks Stockholm meetup yesterday and did a talk about HTTP/2. Below is the slide set, but as usual it might not be entirely self explanatory... HTTP/2 - for TCP/IP Geeks Stockholm from Daniel Stenberg