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Date:      Thu, 15 Nov 2001 12:30:01 -0800 (PST)
From:      "Crist J. Clark" <cristjc@earthlink.net>
To:        freebsd-bugs@FreeBSD.org
Subject:   Re: kern/31891: Change mask of loopback net breaks compatibility with older versions
Message-ID:  <200111152030.fAFKU1X58552@freefall.freebsd.org>

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The following reply was made to PR kern/31891; it has been noted by GNATS.

From: "Crist J. Clark" <cristjc@earthlink.net>
To: .@babolo.ru
Cc: FreeBSD-gnats-submit@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: kern/31891: Change mask of loopback net breaks compatibility with older versions
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 12:23:51 -0800

 On Thu, Nov 15, 2001 at 07:23:11PM +0300, .@babolo.ru wrote:
 > Crist J. Clark writes:
 > > On Sat, Nov 10, 2001 at 07:11:26AM +0300, .@babolo.ru wrote:
 > > [snip]
 > > 
 > > > >Description:
 > > > 
 > > > There was 4.2 RELEASE, where packets with 127.0.0.0/24 source address
 > > > droped on input interfaces. Now it changed to 127.0.0.0/8,
 > > > which is incombatible with old configuration.
 > > > This net - 127.0.0.0/8 is extremly useful
 > > > as private net in clustering environment,
 > > > so I propose configuration variable MYLOOP_MASKLEN,
 > > > with default meaning that conforms RFC1122
 > > > 
 > > > >How-To-Repeat:
 > > > 
 > > > Try P2P addresses in 127.0.0.0/8 net.
 > > 
 > > This is a feature, not a bug. See RFC1122, "Requirements for Internet
 > > Hosts,"
 > > 
 > >             (g)  { 127, <any> }
 > > 
 > >                  Internal host loopback address.  Addresses of this form
 > >                  MUST NOT appear outside a host.
 > > 
 > > The 127/8 is never valid when coming from another host.
 > > 
 > > Do not use 127/8 as a private network, that's what RFC1918 addresses
 > > are for.
 > OK.
 > Lets it be feature.
 > Consider please case where more then one
 > kernel looks for outside world as one entity.
 > May be name "cluster" is good enough in this case.
 > There no protection beetween kernels in such
 > environment and use of 127.X nets for interface
 > inside cluster somehow protects from outside world.
 
 Using 127/8 affords no more "protection" from the outside world than
 using an RFC1918 network. None of those networks is routed on the
 Internet-at-large. Of course, none of that will protect you from
 source routing. For a cluster as you describe, I would recommend a
 firewall or better yet, disconnection from public networks.
 
 But in any case, the Internet Standard is clear. 127/8 packets must
 not ever be seen outside of a host. You should never see those
 crossing a physical interface. It makes even less sense to treat
 127/24 or some subnet of 127/8 like this, but not 127/8 as a whole.
 Of course, you can feel free to break any standards you wish on your
 own network (but don't complain too much when things stop working);
 you already have the patches to do so. But I don't think there is any
 desire to incorporate them into the base FreeBSD IP stack.
 -- 
 Crist J. Clark                     |     cjclark@alum.mit.edu
                                    |     cjclark@jhu.edu
 http://people.freebsd.org/~cjc/    |     cjc@freebsd.org

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