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tcpcp is a mechanism that allows cooperating applications to pass ownership of TCP connection endpoints from one Linux host to another one. Such functionality should be useful in load-balancing and failover applications. tcpcp can be used between hosts using different architectures and does not need the other endpoint of the connection to cooperate (or even to know what's going on). This project started in 2002 as a prototype study, went on hiatus for most of 2003, and is now continuing as one of my spare time activities.

Download

The current version is tcpcp-11 (59 kB), released 19-APR-2005. Changes since the previous version: upgraded to the 2.6.11 kernel added a UML-based demonstration in demo/ Older versions can be found here.

Mailing list

General discussion of tcpcp takes place on the tcpcp mailing list. Also announcements of new versions are posted to this list. The mailing list is archived at http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum=tcpcp-general

Documentation

Usage information: Documentation is included in various README files inside the tcpcp package. Papers: "TCP Connection Passing", Ottawa Linux Symposium, July 2004 (PDF) Presentations: "TCP Connection Passing", Segundas Jornadas de GNU/Linux y Software Libre en Ingeniería, July 2004 (Postscript: gziped)

Links

Related material: I had the idea of writing tcpcp when listening to a talk by Fabio Olive Leite on address sharing: Load-Balancing HA Clusters with No Single Point of Failure The Linux Virtual Server Project explores several other address sharing approaches that aim at better scalability

Last update: 19-APR-2005   Werner Almesberger