Gerard Bok writes:

> On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 18:48:30 +0200, Yizhar Hurwitz
> <yizhar@mail.dot.com> wrote:
>
>>Gerard Bok wrote:
>>>
>>> I also got word from the ISP involved: they did not raise the
>>> number of simultaneous connections on that mail account.
>>> But that shouldn't matter as XP Home is not able to make more
>>> than 5 connections anyway, I think.
>>> And problems also occur when there's only one single user active.
>
>>You are wrong.
>
> Could be :-)
>
>>The connection limit in Windows XP (both Home and Pro versions) with SP2,
>>refers to embryonic or half-open connections when the XP clients sends the first packet of the TCP handshake,
>>and is waiting for the first response from the server (or whatever device in the other side).
>>
>>If the TCPIP stack on the XP computer reaches that limit, you will find a yellow Event ID 4226 that tells you.
>>So, if you don't see Event 4226, then this is not the issue.
>>
>>You can read more info about this limit and workaround here:
>>SpeedGuide.net :: Windows XP SP2:
>>http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=1497
>
> I think this story is rather different from Q314882 which talks
> about "Any file, print, named pipe, or mail slot session...."
>
> Aren't we talking about mail slot sessions here ?

Correct.

As I explained before, the IMAP server's default settings impose a limit of
5 connections from the same IP address. You have confirmed with your host
that the server's default settings have not been adjusted. So that's your
answer.

Poorly-written Microsoft bugware sometimes opens a separate connection for
each folder in the mailbox. With large mailboxes, Outhouse was observed
attempting to create hundreds of IMAP connections at the same time.

Creating a new IMAP connection, and logging in, is a relatively expensive
process. Passwords must be validated, and memory must be allocated for each
new IMAP login, to hold the related server process information and mailbox
data. Many systems place account and password information on a separate,
hardened server, which must be accessed for each login attempt. Server RAM
is a limited resource. When encryption is available, SSL
encryption/decryption is CPU intensive, and ain't cheap either.

So, to proactively prevent server-wide resource shortages due to a
denial-of-service attack from poorly-designed software, the number of
default incoming connections from the same IP address is limited to five.
So, you'll just have to wait until Microsoft hires some programmers who have
enough knowledge and experience to implement IMAP correctly. Of course,
robust implementation and support of free, non-proprietary, commodity
Internet standards is not likely to rank a priority for Microsoft.

To pass some time, while waiting for the pigs to fly overhead, you might
want to try to get an answer from their fan club why their virus
distribution system can't live without a separate IMAP connection for each
mailbox. What possible "innovation" demands such pig-headed behavior. I
can do everything Outhouse does, IMAP-wise, and I manage to do it all with a
single IMAP connection, no matter how many folders there are in the mailbox.
This is not rocket science. This is simply sloppy programming on
Microsoft's part.




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