[MUD-Dev] datagrams

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad <o.f.grostad@notam.uio]

The technicalities of Internet is not one of my strong points.  I'm
trying to figure out what the best strategy for an UDP based protocol
is, but I don't really have the pragmatic data which would make the
process easier.

1. What is the smallest datagram size that makes sense in combating
packet loss?  Is 256 bytes too big in windy weather? It would be a
relief if I could avoid splitting atomic messages like utterances (say,
emote etc) over many datagrams and still have good performance. What is
the best heuristic for switching to smaller/larger datagrams?

2. Is serial numbering of messages and "acknowledge" messages from the
recipient the best basic structure? (I probably should read a book on
TCP/IP implementation gore, but I don't want to :). Or are there
advantages with having the recipient request "lost serial numbers"?  How
do I combat lost "acknowledge" messages? Should I send them multiple
times in bad weather?

3. Do you use TCP or UDP between your own servers on your local network?
Is the overhead with TCP large enough to warrant using UDP locally?

4. If somebody feel inclined to share the main structure used in their
datagram based protocols, then please do so! :)

--
Ola
(Please don't tell me that sticking to TCP is my best option, I know
that already...)




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