[svlug] Adjusting retransmission parameters

[Eric Nickell]

I'm having a problem some of you might be able to help me with:

The main problem is that I'm using Sprint Wireless. (No DSL, no cable
modems available in my area.) The medium is very bursty. High
throughput, long latency, and dropped packets ranging from 1-2% to more
than 50%, depending on time of day.

The second problem is that I'm trying to use my Linux box to open an X
window on a Sun workstation at work.  Downloads and ftp connections are
tolerable on Sprint because the high throughput mitigates the bad
latency, but this sort of round-trip interaction is excruciating.

I suspect (but don't know for sure) that the dropped packets are being
lost from my house to their antenna, not the other way around. 
Moreover, I suspect that I could improve the situation (not fix, just
improve) by adjusting the time my linux box waits before retransmitting
a packet.  I have looked through the documetation for the /proc
variables, but if there's something relevant there, I didn't recognize
it.

My setup is a fairly vanilla install of RH7.0, sitting behind a Ravelin
VPN box.

I'd appreciate any help or hints you might have.

Eric Nickell
650 812 4817