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smp_86112's avatar
smp_86112
Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
Apr 16, 2012

UDP Buffer Size?

I am being asked this question by a customer of mine about a standard-type UDP VIP:

 

 

Does the BigIP buffer UDP packets before transmitting in either direction, and if so, what is that buffer size?

 

 

My inclination is to say no, but I'm not sure I fully understand all the reasons. Here are the ones that I can come up with:

 

* I find no documentation about UDP buffer sizes.

 

* UDP is connectionless, meaning that each packet is an independent object. So there is no way for the LTM to relate one packet to another, there is no way to buffer.

 

 

Can someone elaborate a bit on the concept of an LTM UDP buffer?

 

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  • nitass's avatar
    nitass
    Icon for Employee rankEmployee
    Apr 17, 2012
    isn't buffer used to handle client and server which is different in speed?

     

     

    i do not know but since we do full proxy, i think udp buffer might be there. anyway, i do not see any document too.
  • smp_86112's avatar
    smp_86112
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Apr 17, 2012
    That is the other side of the argument, yes. But the counterargument is that if a packet gets dropped due to different speeds, that is the nature of UDP (connectionless). Not sure, I sway both ways with this question.