esnet/iperf

Server stops accepting clients: Too many open files

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#683 opened on Jan 7, 2018

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Description

Context

  • Version of iperf3: iperf 3-CURRENT (cJSON 1.5.2) (same issue on git branch STABLE 3.2 and MASTER) (I minimally enhanced debugging output from commit 46cb4b4b904e45c2652006ca339c7cf99c995268)

  • Hardware: RHEL7 Linux VM on KVM

  • Operating system (and distribution, if any): RHEL7 Linux VM on KVM

Bug Report

We're using iperf3 to perform scheduled TCP BW checks from 6 nodes to a central server (every 10m for 10s per probe)

  • Expected Behavior iperf3 server continues to accept clients forever

  • Actual Behavior iperf3 server stops accepting clients after a few hours/days. New clients trigger the following msg (server side log):

### Error IESTREAMCONNECT on accept:iperf3: error - unable to connect stream: Too many open files

(I added the first words to easier detect the source of the msg. It happens at src/iperf_tcp.c#L111, function iperf_tcp_accept(), return from accept() syscall)

The message seems valid: (iperf3 -s -D -p 1234)

# lsof | grep iperf3 | wc -l       
1044
# netstat -n | grep 1234
[...]
tcp6       0      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.182:29839     TIME_WAIT  
tcp6       0      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.182:29770     TIME_WAIT  
tcp6       0      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.182:29857     TIME_WAIT  
tcp6       1      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.213:62330     CLOSE_WAIT 
tcp6       1      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.213:62331     CLOSE_WAIT 
tcp6       0      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.182:29849     TIME_WAIT  
tcp6       1      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.213:62332     CLOSE_WAIT 
tcp6       0      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.182:29775     TIME_WAIT  
tcp6       0      0 10.0.0.107:1234      10.0.1.182:29786     TIME_WAIT  
[...]
  • Steps to Reproduce
    • start iperf3 server daemon: iperf3 -s -D -p 1234
    • use 6 clients to connect to it. Every client connects once every 10m and performs 10s of measurement. If a client gets denied, it waits for a little more than 10s and tries again (up to 3m, then it gives up)
    • The clients disconnect from the network just after the test, so at least in theory, it could happen that the FIN gets lost.
    • issue typically happens after a few hours to a few days.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Investigate the handling of file descriptors in src/iperf tcp.c, particularly the iperf tcp accept() function at line 111. The issue is that the server fails to accept new connections due to reaching the file descriptor limit. Examine how connections are closed, especially the presence of CLOSE WAIT states, indicating incomplete closure. Look at the server's main loop and connection cleanup logic to ensure all file descriptors are properly closed after test completion. Consider adding a configuration option to set the maximum number of concurrent connections or implementing reuse of file descriptors.
Tech stack
c
Domain
backend
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
Basic C knowledgeUnderstanding of file descriptorsTCP connection states
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40