Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 18:05:38 -0600 (MDT)
From: Marc Slemko <marcs@worldgate.com>
To: new-httpd@apache.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] create fd slack (take 2)
In-Reply-To: <199706240001.UAA04765@devsys.jaguNET.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.95q.970623180412.29377A-100000@valis.worldgate.com>
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On Mon, 23 Jun 1997, Jim Jagielski wrote:

> Marc Slemko wrote:
> > 
> > On Mon, 23 Jun 1997, Randy Terbush wrote:
> > 
> > > 
> > > This raises the question, "Does this really belong in 1.2.1?"
> > 
> > Yes, but I am open to suggestions that it be disabled by default.
> > 
> > This is a problem.  Many people upgrading from 1.1 to 1.2 who use lots of
> > fds on broken systems have Apache die horribly because it allocates
> > descriptors in a different order.
> > 
> 
> I am still unclear why Apache needs to worry about the order in
> which fd's are allocated... Is it because the OS allocates a higher
> fd that it should? Or what?

Because even though the OS may be able to mostly deal with "high" fds
(generally above 256, but could be above 128, 1024, etc. on different
systems), some libraries can't without recompiling them.  Since there are
only a few of these (like BIND), you can prevent them from dying by
leaving a few low fds free, using high ones for the things that have no
problems using high ones.