Editing 869: Server Attention Span
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
| title = Server Attention Span | | title = Server Attention Span | ||
| image = server_attention_span.png | | image = server_attention_span.png | ||
+ | | imagesize = | ||
| titletext = They have to keep the adjacent rack units empty. Otherwise, half the entries in their /var/log/syslog are just 'SERVER BELOW TRYING TO START CONVERSATION *AGAIN*.' and 'WISH THEY'D STOP GIVING HIM SO MUCH COFFEE IT SPLATTERS EVERYWHERE.' | | titletext = They have to keep the adjacent rack units empty. Otherwise, half the entries in their /var/log/syslog are just 'SERVER BELOW TRYING TO START CONVERSATION *AGAIN*.' and 'WISH THEY'D STOP GIVING HIM SO MUCH COFFEE IT SPLATTERS EVERYWHERE.' | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 10: | Line 11: | ||
The comic shows - in human language - part of the conversations that a browser and web server do in order to get the right page. The protocol they use is called {{w|Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP}}. | The comic shows - in human language - part of the conversations that a browser and web server do in order to get the right page. The protocol they use is called {{w|Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP}}. | ||
− | This comic makes fun of the | + | This comic makes fun of the issue that many webservers who see a mobile browser will automatically suggest to load the mobile version of the website, but then serve the front page of the mobile site, not the page the user had requested. |
+ | In quite a few sites, there is no 1-to-1 correspondence of pages between the regular and the mobile site, yet this habit is annoying. | ||
− | A second issue with HTTP is identified in the last | + | A second issue with the HTTP protocol is identified in the last pane. The HTTP protocol is {{w|Stateless_protocol|stateless}}. After serving the web page, the connection is severed. Any new request for a page will have to start afresh - which is where |
+ | the server starts with again: "Hi! I'm a server!". | ||
+ | Of course, browsers don't have egos nor do they hold grudges, so in reality, this is not a problem. For users, it can be annoying, though. It also slows down the browsing experience. | ||
− | The title text is a joke that all the other servers in the rack | + | The title text is a joke that all the other servers in the rack think the web server is being childish. <tt>/var/log/syslog</tt> is where Linux and other posix systems store their system log messages. The 'trying to start conversation' comment is probably a joke on {{w|Address Resolution Protocol|ARP}} discovery packets that are sent out to the network to see who is who. All servers send out ARP packets to see what other machines are on the network, but some machines send them out every 5 minutes, which can be extremely annoying for someone monitoring network traffic logs. |
− | The coffee comment is another jab at web servers. Some websites use {{w| | + | The coffee comment is another jab at web servers. Some websites use {{w|java}}, or other {{w|jvm}} based languages ({{w|Grails}}, {{w|Scala}}, and others) as the back end of the website, as opposed to using {{w|PHP}} or {{w|Active Server Pages|ASP}}. Of course, java is another word for coffee, so a web server running on coffee is likely to be well-caffeinated, and well-caffeinated people tend to bounce off the walls with enthusiasm. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[ | + | :[single blade in a server rack] |
:Server: Hi! I'm a server! Who are you? | :Server: Hi! I'm a server! Who are you? | ||
− | :[ | + | |
+ | :[mobile device with a web browser] | ||
:Browser: I'm a browser. I'd like to see this article. | :Browser: I'm a browser. I'd like to see this article. | ||
− | :Server: Oh boy! I can help! Let me get it | + | |
+ | :Server: Oh boy! I can help! Let me get it for- ..whoa! You're a ''smartphone'' browser? | ||
+ | |||
:Browser: Yeah. | :Browser: Yeah. | ||
:Server: Cooool! Hey, I've got this new mobile version of my site! Check it out! Isn't it pretty? | :Server: Cooool! Hey, I've got this new mobile version of my site! Check it out! Isn't it pretty? | ||
+ | |||
:Browser: Sure, but this is just your mobile site's main page. Where's the article I wanted? | :Browser: Sure, but this is just your mobile site's main page. Where's the article I wanted? | ||
+ | |||
:Server: What article? | :Server: What article? | ||
− | :Browser: The one | + | :Browser: The one I- |
:Server: Who are you? | :Server: Who are you? | ||
− | :Browser: | + | :Browser: I- |
:Server: Hi! I'm a server! | :Server: Hi! I'm a server! | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
+ | |||
[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] | ||
− |