[clue-tech] a network mystery - traceroute

[Collins Richey]

On 4/1/07, David L. Anselmi <anselmi at anselmi.us> wrote:
> Collins Richey wrote:
> [...]
> > I downloaded and installed traceroute_1.4a12-18_i386.deb from Debian
> > stable, but the mystery continues.
> >
> > traceroute produces the same results as tracepath on my system!!!
> >

> >
> > I'm wondering if this is a debian networking problem. Maybe I still
> > have a bootable non-debian system on my desktop.
>
> Yes, this is an issue between Debian and Comcast.
>
> Windows tags its traces differently that Unix does, see:
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314868/
>
> Most Linux distributions ship a modified traceroute that mimics the
> Windows tagging so it behaves the same.  But since MS regards their
> tagging as proprietary, and Debian are nazis when it comes to
> proprietary software, Debian won't ship a compatible traceroute, even in
> non-free.  You might be able to get a RH version of traceroute to
> install using alien and that might show you the same results as Windows.
>
> Comcast knows about this issue, but their routers are set to recognize
> Windows traceroute (that's all their network support people use) and
> they won't fix it.  Their tone indicates that they don't really care
> about Linux and are actually hostile to Debian.  You can understand
> their position since Debian users are quite the minority, and most of
> them are tightwads anyway.  See:
>
> http://slashdot.org/articles/06/05/03/1525240.shtml
>
> There's a link there to the Comcast forum that discusses this (I can't
> get to it since I'm a Debian user, not a Comcast user).
>
> Probably your best bet is to post your Windows tracert output and don't
> admit that you use Linux.  Then they won't laugh at you and say, "fix it
> yourself, genius."
>

Hmmm, verra interesting.

FYI, the traceroute shipped with CentOS 5 (RHEL 5) has the same
problem as the debian/ubuntu version.

Now that I'm gathering information to diagnose the (intermittent)
problem, I'm getting proof of Murphy's Law of Debugging - the
instrumented circuit does not fail <grin> Everything Comcast-wise is
working ike a champ since I began to pay more careful attention.

As a side note, I'm not surprised to hear that they are "actually
hostile to debian". The nazi element in debian development circles has
not made itself beloved to many besides themselves and RMS.

I'll checkout the Comcast forums reference.

-- 
Collins Richey
     If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries
     of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.