body-drain: add -role server|client|both and -header-timeout

Lets each side run out of fds in its own process; document ulimit -Hn (Go raises soft limit to hard) and Linux hang vs macOS RST difference. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01GbnJj9ZqEx9nUvzkjdwfMq
2026-08-28 23:55:05 +02:00
parent 8dd8381b8c
commit 57349285b4
2 changed files with 197 additions and 56 deletions
@@ -6,9 +6,46 @@ properly drain+close response bodies so connections are reused").
 ```
 go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode all
 go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode leak -n 200
-ulimit -n 64 && go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode leak -n 200   # watch it die
 ```

+## Two processes: watch each side run out of fds on its own
+
+In one process the client and server share one fd limit and each leaked
+request costs *two* fds (client socket + accepted server socket). The server
+usually loses first — `accept` fails with `too many open files`, its accept
+loop retries with backoff forever, and the client silently hangs waiting for
+headers on a connection nobody will ever accept. Realistic, but confusing. So
+split them:
+
+```
+# terminal 1
+go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -role server
+
+# terminal 2 — client is the one out of fds
+ulimit -Hn 64; ulimit -Sn 64
+go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -role client -mode leak -n 200
+#   request 60 failed: dial tcp 127.0.0.1:8099: socket: too many open files
+```
+
+Now swap: limit the *server* terminal instead. It logs
+`http: Accept error: accept tcp ...: too many open files; retrying in 5ms`,
+while the client (unlimited) either hangs (Linux — pass `-header-timeout 3s`
+to turn that into `timeout awaiting response headers`) or gets
+`read: connection reset by peer` (macOS).
+
+Which error string you see tells you which side is exhausted:
+
+| error | who ran out |
+|---|---|
+| `dial tcp ...: socket: too many open files` | the client (this process) |
+| `http: Accept error: accept ...: too many open files` | the server |
+| `timeout awaiting response headers` / `connection reset by peer` | the client is fine; the *server* can't accept |
+
+Note on `ulimit`: since Go 1.19 the runtime raises the soft `RLIMIT_NOFILE`
+to the hard limit at startup, so lowering only the soft limit does nothing.
+bash's plain `ulimit -n 64` sets both; zsh's sets only the soft one, hence
+the explicit `-Hn`.
+
 ## What it does

 A local `httptest.Server` returns a 1 MiB body and counts accepted TCP
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Experiment — what happens when you don't drain/close an HTTP response body
 //
-// A local server hands out 1 MiB responses and counts every TCP connection it
+// A server hands out 1 MiB responses and counts every TCP connection it
 // accepts. The client performs N sequential GETs against it in one of three
 // modes and we observe:
 //
@@ -15,25 +15,46 @@
 //	close  — body.Close() only                          → connection thrown away, new dial every time
 //	leak   — neither                                    → connection AND 2 goroutines AND 1 fd leaked per request
 //
-// Run:  go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode drain
-//       go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode close
-//       go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode leak
-//       go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode all      (all three, fresh transport each)
+// Roles (so you can watch each side fail on its own, with its own fd limit):
 //
-// To see the leak actually kill the process, lower the fd limit first:
-//       ulimit -n 64 && go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode leak -n 200
+//	both    — server + client in one process (default)
+//	server  — only serve on -addr, print connection stats every second, Ctrl-C to stop
+//	client  — only run the client against -url
+//
+// Run in one process:
+//
+//	go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -mode all
+//
+// Run as two processes (two terminals):
+//
+//	go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -role server
+//	ulimit -Hn 64; ulimit -Sn 64; go run ./99-experiments/body-drain -role client -mode leak -n 200
+//
+// (Lower the HARD limit too: since Go 1.19 the runtime raises the soft
+// RLIMIT_NOFILE to the hard limit at startup. bash's `ulimit -n 64` sets both;
+// zsh's sets only the soft one.)
+//
+// With the client alone at 64 fds you'll see the CLIENT die:
+//
+//	dial tcp 127.0.0.1:8099: socket: too many open files
+//
+// With the limit on the SERVER terminal instead, the SERVER logs
+// "accept: too many open files" and the client either hangs waiting for
+// headers (Linux — use -header-timeout 3s) or gets "connection reset by
+// peer" (macOS).
 package main

 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
-	"net/http/httptest"
 	"net/http/httptrace"
 	"os"
+	"os/signal"
 	"runtime"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
@@ -49,40 +70,95 @@ const (
 	modeLeak  mode = "leak"
 )

-// countingServer wraps httptest.Server and counts accepted connections.
+// ---- server ----
+
+// countingServer is an http.Server that counts accepted connections.
 type countingServer struct {
-	*httptest.Server
+	srv         *http.Server
+	ln          net.Listener
 	newConns    atomic.Int64
 	activeConns atomic.Int64
 }

-func newCountingServer() *countingServer {
-	payload := make([]byte, bodySize)
-	s := &countingServer{}
-	s.Server = httptest.NewUnstartedServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		w.Header().Set("Content-Length", fmt.Sprint(bodySize))
-		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
-		w.Write(payload)
-	}))
-	// ConnState is the server-side hook that lets us see the connection lifecycle.
-	s.Config.ConnState = func(c net.Conn, st http.ConnState) {
-		switch st {
-		case http.StateNew:
-			s.newConns.Add(1)
-			s.activeConns.Add(1)
-		case http.StateClosed, http.StateHijacked:
-			s.activeConns.Add(-1)
-		}
+func (s *countingServer) URL() string { return "http://" + s.ln.Addr().String() }
+
+// newCountingServer listens on addr ("127.0.0.1:0" = random port) and starts serving.
+func newCountingServer(addr string) (*countingServer, error) {
+	ln, err := net.Listen("tcp", addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
 	}
-	s.Start()
-	return s
+	payload := make([]byte, bodySize)
+	s := &countingServer{ln: ln}
+	s.srv = &http.Server{
+		Handler: http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Length", fmt.Sprint(bodySize))
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+			w.Write(payload)
+		}),
+		// ConnState is the server-side hook that lets us see the connection lifecycle.
+		ConnState: func(c net.Conn, st http.ConnState) {
+			switch st {
+			case http.StateNew:
+				s.newConns.Add(1)
+				s.activeConns.Add(1)
+			case http.StateClosed, http.StateHijacked:
+				s.activeConns.Add(-1)
+			}
+		},
+	}
+	go s.srv.Serve(ln)
+	return s, nil
 }

-// run performs n GETs in the given mode and reports what it observed.
-func run(m mode, n int, url string) {
+// close force-closes everything. In leak mode the handlers are STILL BLOCKED
+// in Write(): the kernel socket buffers filled up because nobody on the
+// client side is reading the 1 MiB body. A graceful Shutdown would wait for
+// them forever — that's the server-side symptom of a client leak: goroutines
+// and memory pinned per stuck connection. So we use Close(), not Shutdown().
+func (s *countingServer) close() { s.srv.Close() }
+
+func (s *countingServer) report() {
+	fmt.Printf("  server new conns   : %d (ideal: 1)\n", s.newConns.Load())
+	fmt.Printf("  server active conns: %d (ideal after cleanup: 0)\n", s.activeConns.Load())
+}
+
+// serveForever runs the server role: serve until Ctrl-C, printing stats each second.
+func serveForever(addr string) {
+	s, err := newCountingServer(addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "listen:", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("serving on %s  (point the client at it with -url %s)\n", s.URL(), s.URL())
+
+	ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), os.Interrupt)
+	defer stop()
+	tick := time.NewTicker(time.Second)
+	defer tick.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			fmt.Println("\nshutting down")
+			s.close()
+			return
+		case <-tick.C:
+			fmt.Printf("%s  new=%d active=%d goroutines=%d\n",
+				time.Now().Format("15:04:05"), s.newConns.Load(), s.activeConns.Load(), runtime.NumGoroutine())
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// ---- client ----
+
+// runClient performs n GETs in the given mode and reports what it observed.
+func runClient(m mode, n int, url string, headerTimeout time.Duration) {
 	// Fresh transport per run so runs don't share a pool. Cloning keeps sane defaults.
 	tr := http.DefaultTransport.(*http.Transport).Clone()
 	tr.MaxIdleConnsPerHost = 10
+	// Without this, a request whose connection the server can't accept (server
+	// out of fds) blocks forever waiting for headers.
+	tr.ResponseHeaderTimeout = headerTimeout
 	// NOTE: deliberately no Client.Timeout. With a timeout, a leaked body gets
 	// force-closed when the timer fires, which hides the leak (try adding one
 	// and watch the goroutine count drop after the timeout).
@@ -102,6 +178,7 @@ func run(m mode, n int, url string) {
 	goroutinesBefore := runtime.NumGoroutine()
 	start := time.Now()

+	done := 0
 	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
 		req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(httptrace.WithClientTrace(context.Background(), trace), http.MethodGet, url, nil)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -109,10 +186,18 @@ func run(m mode, n int, url string) {
 		}
 		resp, err := client.Do(req)
 		if err != nil {
+			// This is where `leak` eventually dies. Which error you get tells
+			// you which side ran out of fds:
+			//   dial tcp ...: socket: too many open files  → THIS process (client)
+			//   timeout awaiting response headers          → the server can't accept (it's out of fds)
 			fmt.Printf("  request %d failed: %v\n", i, err)
-			// This is where `leak` eventually dies with "socket: too many open files".
+			var ne net.Error
+			if errors.As(err, &ne) && ne.Timeout() {
+				fmt.Println("  (timeout: the server probably can't accept — check its log for 'accept4: too many open files')")
+			}
 			break
 		}
+		done++

 		switch m {
 		case modeDrain:
@@ -130,7 +215,7 @@ func run(m mode, n int, url string) {
 	time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
 	goroutinesAfter := runtime.NumGoroutine()

-	fmt.Printf("  requests           : %d in %v\n", n, elapsed.Round(time.Millisecond))
+	fmt.Printf("  requests           : %d/%d ok in %v\n", done, n, elapsed.Round(time.Millisecond))
 	fmt.Printf("  httptrace GotConn  : reused=%d fresh=%d\n", reused, fresh)
 	fmt.Printf("  goroutines         : before=%d after=%d (delta %+d)\n",
 		goroutinesBefore, goroutinesAfter, goroutinesAfter-goroutinesBefore)
@@ -143,8 +228,12 @@ func run(m mode, n int, url string) {
 }

 func main() {
-	modeFlag := flag.String("mode", "all", "drain | close | leak | all")
-	n := flag.Int("n", 20, "number of requests per mode")
+	role := flag.String("role", "both", "both | server | client")
+	addr := flag.String("addr", "127.0.0.1:8099", "server: address to listen on")
+	url := flag.String("url", "http://127.0.0.1:8099", "client: server URL to hit")
+	modeFlag := flag.String("mode", "all", "client: drain | close | leak | all")
+	n := flag.Int("n", 20, "client: number of requests per mode")
+	headerTimeout := flag.Duration("header-timeout", 0, "client: ResponseHeaderTimeout (0 = none; try 3s when the server is the one out of fds)")
 	flag.Parse()

 	modes := []mode{modeDrain, modeClose, modeLeak}
@@ -152,25 +241,40 @@ func main() {
 		modes = []mode{mode(*modeFlag)}
 	}

-	for _, m := range modes {
-		srv := newCountingServer()
-		fmt.Printf("== mode=%s ==\n", m)
-		run(m, *n, srv.URL)
-		time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
-		fmt.Printf("  server new conns   : %d (ideal: 1)\n", srv.newConns.Load())
-		fmt.Printf("  server active conns: %d (ideal after cleanup: 0)\n", srv.activeConns.Load())
-		fmt.Println()
-		// In leak mode the server's handlers are STILL BLOCKED in Write(): the
-		// kernel socket buffers filled up because nobody on the client side is
-		// reading the 1 MiB body. srv.Close() waits for active conns and would
-		// hang forever (it logs "blocked in Close after 5 seconds" and lists
-		// them). That's the server-side symptom of a client leak: goroutines
-		// and memory pinned per stuck connection. Force-close them first.
-		srv.CloseClientConnections()
-		srv.Close()
-	}
+	switch *role {
+	case "server":
+		serveForever(*addr)

-	if len(modes) == 1 && modes[0] == modeLeak {
-		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "tip: rerun with `ulimit -n 64` and -n 200 to watch it hit 'too many open files'")
+	case "client":
+		for _, m := range modes {
+			fmt.Printf("== mode=%s (client only, target %s) ==\n", m, *url)
+			runClient(m, *n, *url, *headerTimeout)
+			fmt.Println()
+		}
+		if len(modes) == 1 && modes[0] == modeLeak {
+			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "tip: rerun with `ulimit -n 64` and -n 200 to watch the client hit 'too many open files'")
+		}
+
+	case "both":
+		for _, m := range modes {
+			srv, err := newCountingServer("127.0.0.1:0")
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "listen:", err)
+				os.Exit(1)
+			}
+			fmt.Printf("== mode=%s ==\n", m)
+			runClient(m, *n, srv.URL(), *headerTimeout)
+			time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
+			srv.report()
+			fmt.Println()
+			srv.close()
+		}
+		if len(modes) == 1 && modes[0] == modeLeak {
+			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "tip: in one process both sides share the fd limit and the SERVER usually hits it first (accept4 error) while the client hangs. Use -role server / -role client in two terminals to see each side fail alone.")
+		}
+
+	default:
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "unknown -role %q\n", *role)
+		os.Exit(2)
 	}
-}
+}