Re: Detecting cable unplug/Network failure
Re: Detecting cable unplug/Network failure
- Subject: Re: Detecting cable unplug/Network failure
- From: email@hidden
- Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 21:09:23 +0000
That will only help if the network cut is on the link directly
connected (or associated, in the 802.11 case) at the endpoint node.
If the cut happens at another L2 or L3 hop, e.g. the uplink on your
ethernet switch is disconnected, then those techniques won't work.
I mention this because I'm always suspicious when I hear application
programmers say they need to know when there's a *physical* network
error, as if it should matter to the application one way or another.
James, from a layman's viewpoint, perhaps there are application-user
epistemologies where it could be helpful to know what's happened
physically - to report to the user.
You know, "Oops, your cable has fallen out! Look on the -left- of
your machine!" "Oh no, the WiFi node in -Starbucks.O2- has lost
power! Get coffee elsewhere!" or "Whoops! A server room in Singapore
has burned down so that web site has become unavailable!" sort of
thing.
{Perhaps it could even know about stuff like, "Ouch! Due to the
credit bubble bursting, it looks like that airline can no longer
supply reservation info!" ...}
This is generally an issue for operating systems programmers, not
applications programmers.
For sure, but you can see where a user (I'm talking in a consumer app
milieu) might like to think of a, say, email client knowing what is
going on in a holistic way.
For sure, for most programming, you wouldn't be interested in where
the problem was.
But if you're specifically making a consumer app (perhaps for
children or, umm, senior citizens??) or the latest iphone shovelware,
I can see where a holistic knowledge of what the heck is going on,
could perhaps be appropriate.
(Really, just using a browser, I would be happy to see messages - at
the browser level - distinguishing between "Damn, your cheap WiFi is
not working again" and "I can reach BT fine but the web site's not
responding" or indeed "Ethernet cable out again bozo?" That would be
neat, really.)
The sort of "assistant" -like set-up apps (in OXS, Windoze and
elsewhere) sort of lean towards that, don't you agree? They tend to
have "deeper than the usual application layer awareness."
"as if it should matter to the application one way or another.."
In a word, in a highly consumer-oriented app., you may want to REPORT
on the specifics to the driver - perhaps that's the answer there?
james woodyatt <email@hidden>
member of technical staff, communications engineering
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