Re: [gentoo-user] Bizarre SSH connection reset

[Mick <michaelkintzios@gmail.com>]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2931 bytes --]

On Sunday 09 March 2008, Collin Starkweather wrote:
> To preface the question, I should mention that I'm currently residing
> in China, so communication with the networking guys on this end is a
> bit difficult because the communication algorithm typically begins,
> "Step 1: Learn Chinese."

I would argue that your Chinese domain is blacklisted due to exhaustive number 
of owned MSWindows boxen and botnets that ping the rest of us without 
respite, from China.  I really wish their step 1 was "learn how to protect 
your PC, even if it runs an illegitimate Mickey Mouse OS".  </sarcasm>

> I am having difficulties with getting bumped out of an SSH connection
> from a server in the U.S. with "Connection reset by peer" maybe 5-10
> seconds after logging in.
>
> It *only* occurs in my apartment; i.e., when I go to a local wifi
> hotspot, I have no difficulties whatsoever.  So I don't think it's
> coming from my end, and I don't think it's coming from the server I'm
> logging in to.
>
> Some details:
>
> 1) To ensure that I'm not having problems with keepalives, I
> configured SSHD on the other end very liberally (with some
> impressively fast typing, if I do say so myself).  In sshd_config, I
> have
>
> TCPKeepAlive no
> ClientAliveInterval 15
> ClientAliveCountMax 12

Why don't you leave keepalive On?  I would switch that flag to yes and perhaps 
increase the Interval to 60 seconds or more?

> 2) I then set ethereal running.  Just as I got bumped, it indicated
>
>    Source        Destination  Protocol  Info
>    (the server)  (my laptop)   TCP      22 > 1259 [RST, ACK] Seq=5357
>                                         Ack=4037 Win=63856 Len=0

The packet flag [RST, ACK] indicates that the port is closed.

> I'm not a networking guy, but I think that means a reset packet is
> being sent, ostensibly from the server.

Yep, to indicate that the port has closed.

> 3) When I get bumped, ssh -vvv gives the following
>
>    debug1: channel 0: free: client-session, nchannels 1
>    debug3: channel 0: status: The following connections are open:
>      #0 client-session (t4 r0 i0/0 o0/0 fd 4/5 cfd -1)
>    debug3: channel 0: close_fds r 4 w 5 e 6 c -1
>    Read from remote host www.bogusdomain.com: Connection reset by peer
>    Connection to www.bogusdomain.com closed.
>    debug1: Transferred: stdin 0, stdout 0, stderr 126 bytes in 17.1 seconds
>    debug1: Bytes per second: stdin 0.0, stdout 0.0, stderr 7.4
>    debug1: Exit status -1

The server closes the connection.

> If the reset is not coming from the server or the client (I don't have
> any problems when I'm at a hotspot), where could it be coming from?

Are you using the same NIC on the laptop?  If yes, then the issue could be 
related to your router configuration., but my money is on your keepalive 
settings.  See if my suggestions above help.
-- 
Regards,
Mick

[-- Attachment #2: This is a digitally signed message part. --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 189 bytes --]