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TCP Tuning for HTTP
draft-stenberg-httpbis-tcp-00

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Author Daniel Stenberg
Last updated 2015-11-06
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draft-stenberg-httpbis-tcp-00
httpbis                                                      D. Stenberg
Internet-Draft                                                   Mozilla
Intended status: Best Current Practice                  November 6, 2015
Expires: May 9, 2016

                          TCP Tuning for HTTP
                     draft-stenberg-httpbis-tcp-00

Abstract

   This document records current best practice for using all versions of
   HTTP over TCP.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
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   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
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   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on May 9, 2016.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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   described in the Simplified BSD License.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Notational Conventions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Socket planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.1.  Number of open files  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.2.  Number of concurrent network messages . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.3.  Number of incoming TCP SYNs allowed to backlog  . . . . .   4
     2.4.  Use the whole port range for local ports  . . . . . . . .   4
     2.5.  Lower the TCP FIN timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.6.  Re-use sockets in TIME_WAIT state . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.7.  Give the the TCP stack enough memory  . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.8.  Set maximum allowed TCP window sizes  . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.9.  Timers and time-outs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  TCP handshake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  TCP Fast Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.2.  Initial Congestion Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.3.  TCP SYN flood handling  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  TCP transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.1.  Packet Pacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.2.  Explicit Congestion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.3.  Nagle's Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.4.  Keep-alive  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Re-using connections  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.1.  Slow Start after Idle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.2.  TCP-Bound Authentications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   6.  Closing connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     6.1.  Half-close  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     6.2.  Abort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     6.3.  Close Idle Connections  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     6.4.  Tail Loss Probes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   8.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     9.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     9.3.  URIs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   Appendix A.  Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9

1.  Introduction

   HTTP version 1.1 [RFC7230] as well as HTTP version 2 [RFC7540] are
   defined to use TCP [RFC0793], and their performance can depend
   greatly upon how TCP is configured.  This document records best
   current practice for using HTTP over TCP, with a focus on improving
   end-user perceived performance.

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   These practices are generally applicable to HTTP/1 as well as HTTP/2,
   although some may note particular impact or nuance regarding a
   particular protocol version.

   There are countless scenarios, roles and setups where HTTP is being
   using so there can be no single specific "Right Answer" to most TCP
   questions.  This document intends only to cover the most important
   areas of concern and suggest possible actions.

1.1.  Notational Conventions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

2.  Socket planning

   Your HTTP server or intermediary may need configuration changes to
   some system tunables and timeout periods to perform optimally.
   Actual values will depend on how you are scaling the platform,
   horizontally or vertically, and other connection semantics.  Changing
   system limits and altering thresholds will change the behavior of
   your web service and it's dependencies, these dependencies are
   usually common to other services running on the same system so good
   planning and testing is advised.

   This is a list of values to consider and some general advice on how
   they can be modified on Linux systems.

2.1.  Number of open files

   A modern HTTP server will serve a large number of TCP connections and
   in most systems each open socket equals on open file.  Make sure that
   limit isn't a bottle neck.  In Linux, the limit can be raised like
   this:

   fs.file-max = <number of files>

2.2.  Number of concurrent network messages

   Raise the number of packets allowed to get queued when a particular
   interface receives packets faster than the kernel can process them.
   In Linux, this limit can be raised like this:

   net.core.netdev_max_backlog = <number of packets>

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2.3.  Number of incoming TCP SYNs allowed to backlog

   The number of new connection requests that are allowed to queue up in
   the kernel.  In Linux, this limit can be raised like this:

   net.core.somaxconn = <number>

2.4.  Use the whole port range for local ports

   To make sure the TCP stack can take full advantage of the entire set
   of possible sockets, give it a larger range of local port numbers to
   use.

   net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65535

2.5.  Lower the TCP FIN timeout

   Lower the timeouts during which connections are in FIN-WAIT-2 state
   so that they can be re-used faster and thus increase number of
   simultaneous connections possible.

   net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout = <number of seconds>

2.6.  Re-use sockets in TIME_WAIT state

   Especially when running backend servers that are having edge servers
   fronting them to the Internet, allow reuse of sockets in TIME_WAIT
   state for new connections when it is safe from the network stack's
   perspective.

   net.ipv4.tcp_tw_reuse = 1

2.7.  Give the the TCP stack enough memory

   Systems meant to handle and serve a huge number of TCP connections at
   high speeds need a significant amount of memory for TCP stack
   buffers.  On some systems you can tell the TCP stack what default
   buffer sizes to use and how much they are allowed to dynamically grow
   and shrink.  On a Linux system, you can control it like:

   net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = <minimum size> <default size> <max size in bytes>
   net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = <minimum size> <default size> <max size in bytes>

2.8.  Set maximum allowed TCP window sizes

   You may have to increase the largest allowed window size.

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   net.core.rmem_max = <number of bytes>
   net.core.wmem_max = <number of bytes>

2.9.  Timers and time-outs

   Fail fast.  Do not allow very long time-outs.  Wasting several
   minutes for various network related attempts won't make any users
   happy.

   Avoid long-going TCP flows that are (seemingly) idle.  Use HTTP
   continuations instead, or redirects, 202s or similar.

3.  TCP handshake

3.1.  TCP Fast Open

   TCP Fast Open (a.k.a.  TFO, [RFC7413]) allows data to be sent on the
   TCP handshake, thereby allowing a request to be sent without any
   delay if a connection is not open.

   TFO requires both client and server support, and additionally
   requires application knowledge, because the data sent on the SYN
   needs to be idempotent.  Therefore, TFO can only be used on
   idempotent, safe HTTP methods (e.g., GET and HEAD), or with
   intervening negotiation (e.g, using TLS).

   Support for TFO is growing in client platforms, especially mobile,
   due to the significant performance advantage it gives.

3.2.  Initial Congestion Window

   [RFC6928] specifies an initial congestion window of 10, and is now
   fairly widely deployed server-side.  There has been experimentation
   with larger initial windows, in combination with packet pacing.

   IW10 has been reported to perform fairly well even in high volume
   servers.

3.3.  TCP SYN flood handling

   TCP SYN Flood mitigations [RFC4987] are necessary and there will be
   thresholds to tweak.

4.  TCP transfers

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4.1.  Packet Pacing

   TBD

4.2.  Explicit Congestion Control

   Apple deploying in iOS and OSX [1].

4.3.  Nagle's Algorithm

   Nagle's Algorithm [RFC0896] is the mechanism that makes the TCP stack
   hold (small) outgoing packets for a short period of time so that it
   can potentially merge that packet with the next outgoing one.  It is
   optimized for throughput at the expense of latency.

   HTTP/2 in particular requires that the client can send a packet back
   fast even during transfers that are perceived as single direction
   transfers.  Even small delays in those sends can cause a significant
   performance loss.

   HTTP/1.1 is also affected, especially when sending off a full request
   in a single write() system call.

   In POSIX systems you switch it off like this:

   int one = 1;
   setsockopt(fd, IPPROTO_TCP, TCP_NODELAY, &one, sizeof(one));

4.4.  Keep-alive

   TCP keep-alive is likely disabled - at least on mobile clients for
   energy saving purposes.  App-level keep-alive is then required for
   long-lived requests to detect failed peers or connections reset by
   stateful firewalls etc.

5.  Re-using connections

5.1.  Slow Start after Idle

   Slow-start is one of the algorithms that TCP uses to control
   congestion inside the network.  It is also known as the exponential
   growth phase.  Each TCP connection will start off in slow-start but
   will also go back to slow-start after a certain amount of idle time.

   In Linux systems you can prevent the TCP stack from going back to
   slow-start after idle by settting

   net.ipv4.tcp_slow_start_after_idle = 0

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5.2.  TCP-Bound Authentications

   There are several HTTP authentication mechanisms in use today that
   are used or can be used to authenticate a connection rather than a
   single HTTP request.  Two popular ones are NTLM and Negotiate.

   If such an authentication has been negotiated on a TCP connection,
   that connection can remain authenticated throughout the rest of its
   life time.  This discrepancy with how other HTTP authentications work
   makes it important to handle these connections with care.

6.  Closing connections

6.1.  Half-close

   Client or server is free to half-close after a request or response
   has been completed; or when there is no pending stream in HTTP/2.

   Half-closing is sometimes the only way for a server to make sure it
   closes down connections cleanly so that it doesn't accept more
   requests while still allowing clients to receive the ongoing
   responses.

6.2.  Abort

   No client abort for HTTP/1.1 after the request body has been sent.
   Delayed full close is expected following an error response to avoid
   RST on the client.

6.3.  Close Idle Connections

   Keeping open connections around for subsequent connection re-use is
   key for many HTTP clients' performance.  The value of an existing
   connection quickly degrades and already after a few minutes the
   chance that a connection will successfully get re-used by a web
   browser is slim.

6.4.  Tail Loss Probes

   draft [2]

7.  IANA Considerations

   This document does not require action from IANA.

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8.  Security Considerations

   TBD

9.  References

9.1.  Normative References

   [RFC0793]  Postel, J., "Transmission Control Protocol", STD 7, RFC
              793, DOI 10.17487/RFC0793, September 1981,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc793>.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/
              RFC2119, March 1997,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC7230]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
              Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and Routing", RFC
              7230, DOI 10.17487/RFC7230, June 2014,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>.

   [RFC7540]  Belshe, M., Peon, R., and M. Thomson, Ed., "Hypertext
              Transfer Protocol Version 2 (HTTP/2)", RFC 7540, DOI
              10.17487/RFC7540, May 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7540>.

9.2.  Informative References

   [RFC0896]  Nagle, J., "Congestion Control in IP/TCP Internetworks",
              RFC 896, DOI 10.17487/RFC0896, January 1984,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc896>.

   [RFC4987]  Eddy, W., "TCP SYN Flooding Attacks and Common
              Mitigations", RFC 4987, DOI 10.17487/RFC4987, August 2007,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4987>.

   [RFC6928]  Chu, J., Dukkipati, N., Cheng, Y., and M. Mathis,
              "Increasing TCP's Initial Window", RFC 6928, DOI 10.17487/
              RFC6928, April 2013,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6928>.

   [RFC7413]  Cheng, Y., Chu, J., Radhakrishnan, S., and A. Jain, "TCP
              Fast Open", RFC 7413, DOI 10.17487/RFC7413, December 2014,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7413>.

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9.3.  URIs

   [1] https://developer.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2015/?id=719

   [2] http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-dukkipati-tcpm-tcp-loss-probe-01

Appendix A.  Acknowledgments

   This specification builds upon previous work and help from Mark
   Nottingham, Craig Taylor

Author's Address

   Daniel Stenberg
   Mozilla

   Email: daniel@haxx.se
   URI:   http://daniel.haxx.se

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