Network Use on May 8
A warning about heavy-traffic network experiments
McKenzie, A.M., "Network Use on May 8", RFC 334, DOI 10.17487/RFC0334, May 1972, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc334>.
@misc{rfc334,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 334,
howpublished = {RFC 334},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0334},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc334},
author = {A.M. McKenzie},
title = {{Network Use on May 8}},
pagetotal = 1,
year = 1972,
month = may,
} RFC text
Network Working Group Alex McKenzie
RFC #334 BBN
NIC 9927 1 May 1972
Network Use on MAY 8
Vint Cerf of UCLA Network Measurement Center has just indicated
to us a requirement to carry out certain performance experiments on
the network prior to installation of the new IMP software on May 15.
These experiments are designed to measure network performance under
heavy traffic load to a single site, and thus may cause the network to
"lock up" such that _no_ traffic can flow (a problem which the new IMP
software is de- signed to prevent). Vint has indicated to us that ARPA
regards these experiments as extremely important in spite of the
possibility of lockup; we have therefore agreed to assist with the
experiments and scheduled them for May 8.
Although we do not know whether these experiments will cause
lockup, we suggest that sites do not schedule important network work
for Monday, May 8. We apologize for the lateness of this announcement.
[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the ]
[ direction of Alex McKenzie. 12/96 ]
ISO Plain Language
On this page
§1The Planned Network Test
Vint Cerf of UCLA's Network Measurement Center requested performance experiments before new IMP software was installed on May 15. The experiments were scheduled for May 8 and would measure network performance when heavy traffic was directed to one site.
The researchers planned to send a heavy load of traffic toward one site and measure how the network handled it. They scheduled the test before an IMP software installation.
§2Risk of a Network Lockup
The notice says the experiments might cause the network to lock up so that no traffic could flow. The planned new IMP software was designed to prevent this problem, but the test was considered important despite the risk.
BBN says it agreed to assist with the experiments after ARPA indicated their importance.
The test might stop all network traffic. The new software was intended to prevent that problem, but the researchers still wanted to measure the network before installing it.
§3Advice to Network Sites
BBN did not know whether the experiments would cause a lockup. It advised sites not to schedule important network work on Monday, May 8, and apologized for the late announcement.
Because an outage was possible, BBN asked sites to avoid important network tasks on the test day. The notice also apologized for arriving late.