[NTLUG:Discuss] TCP/IP Socket Connection - Was: localhost vs "real" IP address

[Dennis Rice]

George wrote:

Dennis, 
Thanks for your explanation of *why* this works the way it does when using ICMP messages.  Do you know if it is safe to assume a similar operation for TCP/IP socket connections?
George

George,
Not too sure if I fully understand the question, but will give it a stab.

Assume that you are attempting an Applications Layer connection between 
a client and server.  This could be for http, ftp, dns, telnet, etc.  I 
would start by saying that you have one server system performing all of 
the previously specified services to make the response time equal with 
respect to all other equipment.  I would think that from the client the 
time to generally connect would be the same, but the big difference 
would be the response time of the server, which could vary due to many 
issues including the server application response, cpu load, and the 
number of clients that are hitting the server.

Beyond this quick discussion, we need to dig deeper into the requirement 
and what possible measurements might exist (Chris Cox would be the 
expert there).

Dennis