Next Generation TCP/IP Stack

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest sources of complaints from adopters of Vista and Server 2008 has been the new Networking UI and some of the shit that goes along with it. Yes, even I, have sat staring dumbfounded drooling incessantly as  Vista seemingly takes over and “Network Awareness” tells you that your perfectly configured router is incapable of accessing the internet or you are totally unable to even browse network shares on computers around you. WHY>>>AAARGH!!!!

The frustration, the agony, and the eventual exorcism and sacrifice of the Vista Demon that has brought unspeakable amounts of suffering to you and the pane-glass living room sporting a perfect IBM-sized hole are immeasurable. But wait, why would Microsoft do this, surely there is some reason, right?

Unfortunately, for many of us, that answer for the time being may be “No.” There isn’t a lot of apparent usefulness. But, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any improvements at a lower level actually making the OS work better…in fact there really are (really, I’m not bullshittin ya!). Microsoft, as usual, has done a really terrible job in showing the average user why they should care about any of these configuration options – but for the IT professional- some of these changes DEFINITELY bring increased reliability and lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). 

Vista and Server 2008 have a completely re-written TCP/IP stack that is now referred to as the Next Generation TCP/IP stack. It replaces the venerable, well-known, but buggy standard Windows TCP/IP stack that was basically unchanged since the Windows 95 days. Let’s face it, with the role that TCP/IP has assumed in modern computing, and the demands that have been placed on this protocol suite, it is no wonder that the Microsoft Engineers wanted to tackle this one. Undeniably, nobody imagined that this 70s era protocol would be robust enough and able to keep up with streaming media, VOIP, and the massive routing that packets are forced to go through nowadays. It is the next generation TCP/IP stack that makes it all work just a little better.

One thing I want to say now. DO NOT DISABLE IPV6 IN ANY PRODUCTION SERVER. THE RESULTS CAN BE CATASTROPHIC! (This one is for you Devon) I don’t say this out of personal experience, but my fellow colleague can vouch for it!  With that little not-so-casual warning out of the way…Let’s jump into this.

The changes in the TCP/IP stack not only apply to IPV6, but also apply to our trusted friend IPv4.

Here are some of the changes:

Modified Fast Recovery Algorithm

This feature provides the ability for windows to alter the way in which a sender can increase the sending rate if multiple segments in a data window are lost and the receiver has acknowledged the partial data receipt.  The end result here is greater reliability and speed.

Network Diagnostics Framework

Provides a framework within the stack that can help users recover from networking errors and troubleshoot networking issues. Often, to understand the information this framework present still requires a thorough understanding of networking in general.

Compound TCP 

This is an optimization that is able to increase the amount of data sent in a connection without adversely affecting other TCP/IP sessions.  This often does produce a noticeable speed increase.

Automatic Black Hole Router Detection

This particular enhancement is hugely useful in network segments that have lossy routers and general patchiness. This actually forces TCP connections to not terminate when an intermediate router is silently discarding large TCP segments and will force the connection to stay alive even when error messages and retransmissions occur. The end result here is reliability.

Automatic Dead Gateway Retry 

Similar to above, except that it will actually periodically try to contact and unreachable gateway and will start utilizing it once it is alive. This, too, adds to the overall reliability of a TCP network.

Spurious Retransmission Timeout Detection

Offers correction for sudden increases in retransmission timeouts and prevents unnecessary retransmission of segments. This can have a huge impact on speed in an environment with some unstable routing equipment.

The following apply to IPv6 only.

 

Link-Local Multicast Name Resoulution

At some point in time, this little feature is going to become hugely useful –especially for the technically challenged setting up a Vista or Server 2008 home network.  This little feature will actually allow IPv6 clients to be able to resolve host names without a DNS server provided that the hosts are all on one single subnet.  This will greatly increase reliability, especially in small business environments.

 

Random Interface IDs

This feature helps thwart scanning attacks based on Networking equipment manufacturers company IDs Basically, it generates random interface IDs for auto-configured connections including public and link-local addresses.

 

This list is by no means an exhaustive one, but I hope that it helps highlight some of the strides forward that Microsoft has taken in developing this stack.  While we all hate change, at some point in time we WILL all be using IPv6, so why not get ahead of the curve now and learn how to leverage this technology into grater performance for your IT environment. Change is inevitable, it brings some pain, but 5 years from now we will all be reaping the benefits of our highly robust computing platforms.

Server2008 networking is a giant leap forward, so get your game shoes on and save yourself the cost of a new window!