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CarraFix v2.5 FAQ
Last Update on the 10 february 2003, 19:59
- 1. Server Questions
- 1.1. Can i use CarraFix with other application than Carracho ?
Yes, CarraFix acts on the TCP level, so all TCP Servers/Client should work. CarraFix has been tested sucessfully with Hotline, mlDonkey, http, Acquisition and iChat. You just need to know the right upload/download port for this server.
NOTE : CFx doesn't work easily with FTP servers. Just checking port 21 in the CFx main window does NOT work. You need to use netstat to see which ports does tcp uses. Please look at this article: http://www.macosxhints.com
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- 1.2. How do i know if a server actually use CarraFix ?
there isn't any way in fact ! Now, in the case of Carracho, the server admin may have change his server name and added "[Cfx]".
In Carracho tracker, type "Cfx" then refresh, you'll more than 100 servers declaring using it. But in fact they are much more :-)
You'll see that these servers offer better chat delay and faster browse of the folders.
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- 1.3. Everything was OK, CarraFix was running perfectly but suddendly, users complain that they can't download or upload anymore !?
There is 2 possibilities here :
- You have a dynamic IP adress and your FAI changed it. CarraFix doesn't know that (it will in another version) and try to acts on wrong adress. Just quit the app then relaunch it, it should be ok now.
- It is an internal CarraFix bug, again quit and relaunch should do it ! (it must have been fixed since v2.0)
If these tricks doesn't fix it, you should try this :
- Quit and Deactivate all firewalls (in particular BrickHouse and OS X 10.2 Firewall)
- launch the Terminal and type (need root rights) :
sudo ipfw -f flush
Take care since this command erase most Firewall settings (BrickHouse and OS X 10.2 Firewall) after having done that you should re-apply the firewall protection if any.
NOTE : since v2.0, this bug should have been fixed. But some rare persons still encounter it on high bandwidth connections. If you have any informations on this bug (when does it occur...) please inform me at altimac@wanadoo.fr
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1.4. Why do CarraFix has sometimes problem with Firewalls ? isn't it dangerous ? Jaguar warns me about another firewall running !
Not at all. CarraFix is compatible with most Firewalls. (if you have NetBarrier, please upgrade it) CarraFix doesn't open any port or door to the internet, all work is done locally.
It is only sometimes incompatible with FireWalls because it uses some sort of firewall techniques too.
Jaguar default Firewall complains that "Other firewall software is running on your computer", but the firewall *STILL* protects you, you just can't parameter it if CarraFix is running. Just quit CarraFix, modify the firewall then relaunch CarraFix ! Your computer is SAFE.
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1.5. CarraFix shows that user A and B are downloading but in fact it's user C and D ! what happens ?
CarraFix may take up to 30 seconds to refresh its internal tables. Wait just few seconds, it should behave correclty. However, Carracho b8 introduced a bug in its log file. There is a lack of structure which make most Carracho log analyzer crazy ;-) You can try to quit te the server and clean this file by removing old entries and letting only recent lines.
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- 1.6. I have my Carracho Server on port 8000 (or other random number...), i checked the "Carracho" port checkbox , but i don't really see any difference with CarraFix...
When you check "Carracho" Port in CarraFix, in fact you make CarraFix acts on STANDART Carracho port which is 6701. If your server is on port 8000 you must check "Other " Port and type 8001. Note that you add 1 to the Server actual port. This is applicable to Hotline servers too.
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- 2. CarraFix Application Questions
- 2.1. I launch CarraFix, it appears in the dock just a second then quit. what happens ?
Please launch the console (in the Applications/Utilities/ folder) before CarraFix and look at the error messages which appears when running CarraFix.
most frequent error is :
/sbin/ipfw: socket: Operation not permitted
error : can't apply CarraFix rule. Please remove the lowest rules: No such file or directory
If you have NetBarrier installed, please upgrade it.
Else, it is a privilege problem :
i advice you to remove CarraFix, its Preferences and remove the CarraFix .pkg in /Library/Receipts/
then reinstall it as a normal admin user (not root).
don't try to move the app after it has been installed.
it should works now :-)
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- 2.2. What is Global Upload Mode and Priority Mode ?
Global Upload Mode is the old CarraFix mode : you fix a upload rate limit and every downloading users share this bandwidth (you should have noticed that the bandwidth is not fairly shared among users !)
Priority Mode is the new CarraFix 2.0 mode. You still fix a upload rate limit, but you can give each user a priority.
When you increase a user priority, you increase his download speed thus reduce the download speed of the others.
By default, all users have the same Priority : 5 (about 10). The larger the gap between highest and lowest priority, the bigger the download speed between the 2 users is. Their real download rate is also displayed.
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- 2.3. What is "Cap Uploads" button ?
This button allow admins to temporary stop CarraFix effects by uploading at the maximum your connection would allow.
But it keeps the priority management, so the higher the priority is for user A, the faster user A will download.
Note that unchecking this box slow down the download rate dramatically, that's why it should be temporary. Moreover it makes CarraFix consumes even more CPU !
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- 2.4. CarraFix shows that user A and B are downloading but in fact it's user C and D ! what happens ?
CarraFix may take up to 30 seconds to refresh its internal tables. Wait just few seconds, it should behave correclty. However, Carracho b8 introduced a bug in its log file. There is a lack of structure which make most Carracho log analyzer crazy ;-) You can try to quit te the server and clean this file by removing old entries and letting only recent lines.
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- 2.5. Priority doesn't seems to work !?
To test Prioritiy Mode, don't try to ask your users "What's your speed dudes ?". In fact, Carracho Client show them the AVERAGE rate, not the ACTUAL INSTANTANEOUS rate.
This means that if user A is downloading since 2 hours and you suddendly increase its priority to 10 (the max), his Carracho Client will not show this immediatly since it computes an average !
But if he wait another few hours, this new allocated bandwidth will be reflected in his Client too !
Remember that if you increase its priority, the user A REALLY download faster until you decrease its priority If you really want to know his ACTUAL download rate, tell him to use NetMonitor which compute the real download speed, seconds after seconds and is totally free !
NEW : CarraFix version 2.5 display the instantaneous AND the average rate per ip or per flow !
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- 2.6. Does CarraFix exists for OS9 ? or does a similar software exists for classic ?
No, CarraFix is based on UNIX utility called ipfw. So it is almost impossible to make it run under classic Mac OS. I'll never try to port it. sorry, but OS X is the Future ;-)
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- 2.7. Download rate limiting is not very sharp and very sensitive, why ?
To limit download rate, CFx acts on uploaded ACK packets emitting. This technique is a first step to a higher quality download rate limitation. That's why to cap downloads, upload must be capped too.
For the moment, the Download slider is **VERY** sensitive, you should use a tool like NetMonitor to monitor your download rate (free software !) and move the slider very slowly.
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- 2.8. i capped iChat port and upload 3 files to different persons. CarraFix only show me one upload, why ?
iChat works with AOL/AIM servers. When you upload something to somebody you don't connect him directly but pass by AOL servers. So each uploads have the same destination (same IP adress), thus CarraFix only show one upload.
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- 2.9. When i quit and save pref, Cfx often crash, why ?
It is currently a known bug i didn't succeed to fix. Hopefully, this crash should have no repercussion at all on the ipfw rules or on uploads/downloads. Next CarraFix launch/quit should be successful.
If this problem appears *each* time you quit and save, please let me know.
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- 2.10. Is there a way to allocate bandwidth to each service ?
It is currently not possible to do that in Cfx 2.5, but with the help of Priority Mode, you can prioritize a service. You can control upload rate with displayed values in KB/s.
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You can ask for features or help here : mailto:altimac@wanadoo.fr
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