CERN server and HTTP/1 clash?

marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Marc Andreessen)
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 93 13:29:37 -0700
From: marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Marc Andreessen)
Message-id: <9310142029.AA00983@wintermute.ncsa.uiuc.edu>
To: roeber@axcrnb.cern.ch (Frederick G.M. Roeber)
Cc: www-talk@nxoc01.cern.ch
Subject: CERN server and HTTP/1 clash?
In-reply-to: <9310141810.AA11832@dxmint.cern.ch>
References: <9310141810.AA11832@dxmint.cern.ch>
Frederick G.M. Roeber writes:
> A couple days ago I started playing with NCSA Mosaic 2.0.5 (yes, I
> know it's unsupported).  Using it, I receive a lot of errors from
> http servers, particularly the info.cern.ch server (which is
> presumably the CERN httpd).  The error is the usual "Error /
> Requested document (URL blah) could not be accessed.  The
> information server either is not accessible or is refusing to serve
> the document to you."  Bouncing on reload doesn't help.
> 
> I've tried telnetting to port 80 of info when I receive this
> message, and sure enough "Connection refused."  If I wait a little
> while, then I can telnet or reload.
> 
> This can't be just a server problem (like overload) -- it started
> exactly when I started using 2.0.5.  But it can't be just Mosaic, or
> telnetting would work fine.  So I wonder: might 2.0.5's new HTTP/1
> support annoy old HTTP/0 servers like what's running on info?

Nope, that's not it -- the CERN server is the original HTTP/1.0
server.

Believe it or not, I think the CERN server is dying on a SIGPIPE in
some circumstances (i.e. when the connection is interrupted on the
client end -- the socket breaks, the server tries to keep writing, the
client isn't trapping the signal, and boom).  I sent a note around a
while back but never got a response from Tim, and I don't know what he
plans to do about it (if anything), or even if it really is the
problem.

Marc