Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Chris Angelico
On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 11:28 AM, Roy Smith  wrote:
> One likely path is to check in /etc/nsswitch.conf to see what data
> sources the resolver should consult.  On the box I'm using at the
> moment, it says:
>
> hosts:  files dns

This is true on Linux, and presumably on various other Unices, but the
OP is on Windows. I think it's hard-coded on Windows to just use the
hosts file and then DNS.

ChrisA
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Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Roy Smith
In article ,
 Ulrich Eckhardt  wrote:

> Some updates on the issue:
> 
> The etc/hosts file contains the following lines:
> 
> # localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
> #   127.0.0.1   localhost
> #   ::1 localhost
> 
> As I understand it, those effectively mean that localhost is not 
> resolved via this hosts file but "within DNS itself", whatever that 
> exactly means.

The path from hostname to IP address is a long and tangled one.  It 
starts with a call to getaddrinfo().  From there, the details depend on 
a wide variety of decisions made by whatever idiots designed, installed, 
and configured your operating system.

One likely path is to check in /etc/nsswitch.conf to see what data 
sources the resolver should consult.  On the box I'm using at the 
moment, it says:

hosts:  files dns

which is pretty typical.  That means, first look in [some set of static 
files, which usually, but not always, means /etc/hosts], and if you 
don't find it there, ask DNS.  Other possibilities include NIS, NISPLUS, 
and maybe some other perverse things.

And, finally, you get to DNS, so now you have to look in (probably) 
/etc/resolv.conf.  I see on my linux box, even that has grown more 
tendrils; there's a whole /etc/resolvconf *directory* full of more 
config files which describe additional ways somebody could have 
misconfigured this mess.

Personally, if I were you (and assuming you don't have some corporate IT 
nazis to deal with), I would just put localhost in /etc/hosts and be 
done with it.
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Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Chris Angelico
On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 11:40 PM, Ulrich Eckhardt
 wrote:
> Concerning the question whether a firewall blocks and unnecessarily delays
> connection attempts to ::1, I haven't determined that yet. I'll ask our
> admins here to verify whether that is the case.

It would only be a software firewall on the local machine that could
be doing that; anything on any other machine can't. If you have no
particular reason to do otherwise, I would recommend removing all
firewalling from localhost - you won't lose much security (two
programs running on your computer are allowed to communicate freely in
plenty of other ways anyway), and it'll make all sorts of things
easier/simpler.

ChrisA
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Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Ulrich Eckhardt

Some updates on the issue:

The etc/hosts file contains the following lines:

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
#   127.0.0.1   localhost
#   ::1 localhost

As I understand it, those effectively mean that localhost is not 
resolved via this hosts file but "within DNS itself", whatever that 
exactly means.



Concerning the question whether ping works, the result is that "ping 
localhost" works and that it uses the IPv6 (sic!) address. I also tried 
"ping ::1" and "ping 127.0.0.1" and both work. Weird, as ipconfig 
doesn't list any IPv6 addresses.



Concerning the question whether a firewall blocks and unnecessarily 
delays connection attempts to ::1, I haven't determined that yet. I'll 
ask our admins here to verify whether that is the case.



Lastly, I tried the same using Python 3.2.3/64bit (the other was 
actually the 32-bit version), and the same issues are there. In summary, 
I guess that it's a problem with the IP configuration not one in 
Python's or my code.


Sorry for the noise...

Uli

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Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Roy Smith
In article <1s42l9-9al@satorlaser.homedns.org>,
 Ulrich Eckhardt  wrote:

> Hi!
> 
> I noticed yesterday that a single HTTP request to localhost takes 
> roughly 1s, regardless of the actually served data, which is way too 
> long. After some digging, I found that the problem lies in 
> socket.create_connection(), which first tries the IPv6 ::1 and only then 
> tries the IPv4 127.0.0.1. The first one times out after 1s, causing the 
> long latency.
> 
> What I'm wondering is this:
> 1. The server only serves on IPv4, changing this to IPv6 would probably 
> help. However, I wouldn't consider this a bug, or?

This is most likely a configuration problem on your server.  You don't 
say what kind of system you're using, so I can only guess at the exact 
answer, but here's some suggestions.

Look at your /etc/hosts file.  What entries do you have for localhost?  
For example, on my OSX laptop, I've got:

127.0.0.1   localhost
::1 localhost 
fe80::1%lo0 localhost

which gives three IP addresses (one IPv4, two IPv6) for "localhost".  
This works because the box is properly configured for IPv6 (i.e. all 
services of interest listen on both protocols).  On the other hand, this 
is on a linux box I have:

127.0.0.1   localhost
::1 ip6-localhost ip6-loopback

Now, localhost only gives me the IPv4 address.  If I want to connect to 
localhost with IPv6, I have to explicitly say "ip6-localhost".

My guess is that you have some variation of the first example, and what 
you need is some variation on the second.

In the alternative, you need to fix up your HTTP server to listen on 
both protocols.  For sure, in the long term, that's the right solution, 
because Real Soon Now, we're going to run out of IPv4 addresses and 
everybody is going to switch to IPv6.  Of course, that's been true for 
about the past 15 years, but now it's really, really true.
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Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Laszlo Nagy



What I'm wondering is this:
1. The server only serves on IPv4, changing this to IPv6 would probably
help. However, I wouldn't consider this a bug, or?

I'd say it's a bug in your TCP/IP stack.  An IP shouldn't take that long
to figure out that it is not configured to connect to IPv6 addresses.
It might also be, that he has a firewall installed that is blocking 
access to ::1. In that case, it takes much more time to figure out that 
you cannot connect. Because in that case, it is not a "connection 
refused" problem, but a "trying to connect to a closed/not responding 
port" problem.

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Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Chris Angelico
On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 8:37 PM, Hans Mulder  wrote:
> I have no experience with win7/64, but on earlier versions of Windows,
> there's a file named "hosts", somewhere in a system directory.  When
> looking up an IP address, this file is consulted first.  Removing the
> ::1 from the entry for localhost might be a sensible work-around.

It ought to be c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts if your Widows is
installed to default location. If localhost isn't there at all, you
can add a line for it.

ChrisA
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Re: bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Hans Mulder
On 17/10/12 09:55:13, Ulrich Eckhardt wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> I noticed yesterday that a single HTTP request to localhost takes
> roughly 1s, regardless of the actually served data, which is way too
> long. After some digging, I found that the problem lies in
> socket.create_connection(), which first tries the IPv6 ::1 and only then
> tries the IPv4 127.0.0.1. The first one times out after 1s, causing the
> long latency.
> 
> What I'm wondering is this:
> 1. The server only serves on IPv4, changing this to IPv6 would probably
> help. However, I wouldn't consider this a bug, or?

I'd say it's a bug in your TCP/IP stack.  An IP shouldn't take that long
to figure out that it is not configured to connect to IPv6 addresses.

> 2. I don't even have any IPv6 addresses configured and I'm not using
> IPv6 in any way, so why does it try those at all?

I have no experience with win7/64, but on earlier versions of Windows,
there's a file named "hosts", somewhere in a system directory.  When
looking up an IP address, this file is consulted first.  Removing the
::1 from the entry for localhost might be a sensible work-around.

> 3. Of course I can optimize the code for IPv4, but then I would be
> pessimizing IPv6 and vice versa...

I'd avoid doing that, if at all possible.

> Any other suggestions?

Try "ping localhost" on the command line.  It that has the same problem,
than the problem is not in Python, but in your IP stack. It might be in
a FAQ list for some windows-specific forum.

> Notes:
>  * Using 127.0.0.1 as host works without the delay.

That make sense: it's the attempt to connect to ::1 that is the problem.

>  * I'm using Python 2.7 on win7/64bit


Hope his helps,

-- HansM
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bad httplib latency due to IPv6 use

2012-10-17 Thread Ulrich Eckhardt

Hi!

I noticed yesterday that a single HTTP request to localhost takes 
roughly 1s, regardless of the actually served data, which is way too 
long. After some digging, I found that the problem lies in 
socket.create_connection(), which first tries the IPv6 ::1 and only then 
tries the IPv4 127.0.0.1. The first one times out after 1s, causing the 
long latency.


What I'm wondering is this:
1. The server only serves on IPv4, changing this to IPv6 would probably 
help. However, I wouldn't consider this a bug, or?
2. I don't even have any IPv6 addresses configured and I'm not using 
IPv6 in any way, so why does it try those at all?
3. Of course I can optimize the code for IPv4, but then I would be 
pessimizing IPv6 and vice versa...


Any other suggestions?

Uli


Notes:
 * Using 127.0.0.1 as host works without the delay.
 * I'm using Python 2.7 on win7/64bit
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