I'm accepting a connection from a client and then passing that connected socket off to another object, however, that socket needs to be non-blocking. I'm trying to use getChannel().configureBlocking(false) but that does not seem to be working. It needs to be non-blocking because this the method below is called every 100ms. Is there some other way that I should be making this non-blocking? Thanks for any help!
public void checkForClients() {
DataOutputStream out;
DataInputStream in;
Socket connection;
InetAddress tempIP;
String IP;
try {
connection = serverSocket.accept();
connection.getChannel().configureBlocking(false);
System.err.println("after connection made");
in = new DataInputStream(connection.getInputStream());
out = new DataOutputStream(connection.getOutputStream());
tempIP = connection.getInetAddress();
IP = tempIP.toString();
System.err.println("after ip string");
// create a new user ex nihilo
connectedUsers.add(new ConnectedUser(IP, null, connection, in, out));
System.err.println("after add user");
} catch (SocketTimeoutException e) {
System.err.println("accept timeout - continuing execution");
} catch (IOException e) {
System.err.println("socket accept failed");
}
}
Two things:
Why aren't you using a ServerSocket if you're listening for connections?
If you want to accept multiple clients you want to use a loop.
The basic structure of a multi-client server is:
while (true) {
// accept connections
// spawn thread to deal with that connection
}
If the issue is blocking on the accept() call, well that's what accept() does: it blocks waiting for a connection. If that's an issue I suggest you have a separate thread to accept connections.
See Writing the Server Side of a Socket.
I would expect your code to block on the accept call, never getting to the configureBlocking call.
I typically spin off a separate thread for each socket connection, and let it block until a connection is actually made/accepted This allows the main thread to continue unblocked while it is waiting for client connections.
If you're looking for non-blocking sokets, my suggestion is to use Selectors and ServerSocketChannels with the NIO package.
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/guide/nio/
If the typical blocking socket doesn't give you the availability you need (a connection every 100ms does seem tight). You should look at a non-blocking socket. Here is a tutorial. You can also look at Apache MINA to make this easier.
One approach is to use an I/O loop (event loop) in a single threaded environment. Take a look at Deft web server for inspiration. (Especially the start() method in IOLoop)
Related
I'm in the process of writing a messaging program, and I'm running into a spot where I'm having trouble understanding how to pass a socket over to a new thread for handling outbound messages via TCP. I'm currently using UDP packets for messages coming from a client, to the server, which, being UDP, doesn't require very much processing, as it's simply listening for incoming packets, before it de-serializes the objects, and processes them as needed in a separate thread. My problem now is, I'm setting up a client initiated TCP socket for reverse traffic, from the server to the assorted clients that connect. I've done a bit of research, and I already understood that each client should have their own thread for handling outgoing messages, along with another thread simply for accepting the incoming connections. I'm unsure of how to actually achieve this, and I've done some research into the topic.
I've found this: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/networking/sockets/clientServer.html
The resource above basically verified my original suspicion that this would have to be handled by threads dedicated to the client. They included psuedo code here, which is representing my listener thread.
while (true) {
accept a connection;
create a thread to deal with the client;
}
I'm a bit of a visual learner, and I have been searching for some type of an example where this is done. I'm unsure of what variable I'd be passing over to the thread that keeps the original connection open, and pushes data back to clients. I'm also having a little bit of trouble grasping whether it even keeps the same socket open, or if a new one needs to be established, which then, makes me believe a firewall could interfere, but I know that won't be the case.
Can somebody explain this for me in detail? If possible, an example would be greatly appreciated!
I'll be likely replying and commenting on responses in about 15-30 minutes from the time this is posted.
What you are doing sounds correct. I typically implement a server like this (simplified version with no tracking of the clients and so on):
#Override
public void run() {
//start listening on the port
try {
serverSocket = new ServerSocket(port);
logger.info("Listening for connections on port " + port);
} catch (IOException e) {
logger.error("Cannot start SocketListener on port " + port + ". Stopping.", e);
return;
}
while (!stopped) {
try {
//wait for connection
Socket newSocket = serverSocket.accept();
ClientThread client = new ClientThread(newSocket);
Thread clientThread = new Thread(client, MEANINGFUL_THREAD_ID);
clientThread.start();
} catch ...
}
}
where serverSocket is a ServerSocket instance variable and stopped is a flag I use to stop the listener thread.
So to answer your questions in the comment, you normally pass the Socket object to each client thread so that that thread can work with the input and output stream and handle closing of the socket and so on. Once you "accept" a socket connection, you do not need to recreate the ServerSocket, you simply call .accept() again to start waiting for a new connection.
In most cases, you will need to keep track of all client threads in your server so that you can stop the server gracefully or do broadcasts for example.
What does the server.accept() method return when no new socket is formed, i.e., when no new connection is made? Is it possible to go to next line of code while sever.accept() is waiting for a new connection?
If you want to do something while the server is waiting for a connection you can use multiple threads. In a single-threaded application you cannot call a function and continue with your work without waiting it to return: either you are waiting for the server to accept a connection, or you are doing other computations.
A possible alternative to threads is setting the SO_TIMEOUT socket option on the server socket. This makes the call to accept throw an exception if a connection is not received within the timeout, allowing you to go to the next line.
For example:
ServerSocket ss = new ServerSocket(8989);
ss.setSoTimeout(10000); // 10 seconds
Socket clientSocket;
try {
clientSocket = ss.accept();
// process connection from client
} catch (SocketTimeoutException ste) {
// connection was not received,
// do something else
}
Another alternative is using non-blocking IO and the Selector class. Here's an example of a non-blocking socket server written this way.
No. server.accept() is a blocking method and it will wait.
From the javadoc
Listens for a connection to be made to this socket and accepts it. The
method blocks until a connection is made.
Is there a way to check for incoming connections to ServerSocket, so my server would not stop when waiting for someone to connect.
I need something like
try {
if (server.thereisarequest()) {
Socket socket = server.accept();
}
}
Are you sure you want this? Having the code presented, only one thread is waiting. Run another threads which handle accepted connections so that your server doesn't stop.
You can also use java non-blocking asynchronous I/O (nio and nio2), but in the background there is a thread on duty anyway.
Keep it simple... use an infinite while loop to make server look for the incoming request... thats how most of the servers works..
while (true) {
incoming = s.accept(); // incoming is of type Socket.
}
You can create a new thread to accept connections.
Then you have 2 choices:
Process the socket in a new thread
Put the sockets in a queue (ConcurrentLinkedQueue) and check it queue from you main thread.
I'm working on a game with a event based structure with the main game logic hosted on a server; currently it's a very small featureset that only allows to host one game between exactly two participants. I've read on various questions about ServerSocket and none of them answers my question. I already took a look at
ServerSocket accept continues to block
ServerSocket.accept()
Java ServerSocket won't accept new connections until close() is called on the accepted socket
ServerSocket accept() method
In my project I utilize ObjectInputStream and ObjectOutputStream. Everything works as expected (receiving / sending both on server and client side), but after both sockets are registered, the accept method of the ServerSocket instance continues to block forever, even if the same code is invoked before. Perhaps it's an issue that appears after communicating over a socket once?
My server log shows the following:
waiting for accept
accepting first socket
sending an event to socket1 for informing about waiting for the opponent
waiting for accept
accept second socket
sending responses to both sockets
waiting for accept (and blocking forever)
When the log says response events where sent, they were properly received and processed at the client side. The client side debug outputs show that the next event is definitely sent. Maybe it's about not closing the client sockets (mentioned in the third linked question)? Anyway I can't close the client sockets because further communication would be impossible.
Client side code
public void send(Event e) {
try {
ObjectOutputStream out = new ObjectOutputStream(
socket.getOutputStream());
out.writeObject(e);
out.flush();
log.debug("sending event... "+e);
}
catch(IOException ioe) {
log.fatal("constructing oos failed", ioe);
}
}
Server side code
#Override
public void run() {
running = true;
while(running) {
try {
Socket s = socket.accept();
ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(s.getInputStream());
Event event = (Event) ois.readObject();
try {
Event[] response = controller.consume(event);
ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(sockets[0].getOutputStream());
oos.writeObject(response[0]);
oos.flush();
ObjectOutputStream oos2 = new ObjectOutputStream(sockets[1].getOutputStream());
oos2.writeObject(response[1]);
oos2.flush();
}
catch(...) {
// multiple catch clauses for different exceptions
// all just logging (nothing passes silently!)
}
}
}
For shortening, the method for assigning the two sockets to the Socket[] array was left out, but since there are no exceptions, keeping the socket works. Do you have any idea what could cause the described behavior? Thank you in advance.
The accept method only accepts new connections. Since you only have two clients attempting to connect to your server, it will hang indefinitely on your third invocation of accept.
Side note: You don't need to continuously create new ObjectInputStreams and ObjectOutputStreams. You can just create one of each for each Socket and keep references to them for reuse.
Basically I want to create a rock solid server.
while (keepRunning.get()) {
try {
Socket clientSocket = serverSocket.accept();
... spawn a new thread to handle the client ...
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
// NOW WHAT?
}
}
In the IOException block, what to do? Is the Server socket at fault so it need to be recreated? For example wait a few seconds and then
serverSocket = ServerSocketFactory.getDefault().createServerSocket(MY_PORT);
However if the server socket is still OK, then it is a pity to close it and kill all previously accepted connections that are still communicating.
EDIT: After some answers, here my attempt to deal with the IOException. Would the implementation be guaranteeing keeping the server up and only re-create server socket when only necessary?
while (keepRunning.get()) {
try {
Socket clientSocket = serverSocket.accept();
... spawn a new thread to handle the client ...
bindExceptionCounter = 0;
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
recreateServerSocket();
}
}
private void recreateServerSocket() {
while (keepRunning) {
try {
logger.info("Try to re-create Server Socket");
ServerSocket socket = ServerSocketFactory.getDefault().createServerSocket(RateTableServer.RATE_EVENT_SERVER_PORT);
// No exception thrown, then use the new socket.
serverSocket = socket;
break;
} catch (BindException e) {
logger.info("BindException indicates that the server socket is still good.", e);
bindExceptionCounter++;
if (bindExceptionCounter < 5) {
break;
}
} catch (IOException e) {
logger.warn("Problem to re-create Server Socket", e);
e.printStackTrace();
try {
Thread.sleep(30000);
} catch (InterruptedException ie) {
logger.warn(ie);
}
}
}
}
If in doubt, you could try re-creating the server socket, using the same port. If the socket has been closed, then the creation will succeed and you can continue processing new connections. The old connections are gone, but that's outside of your control since the socket was closed. If the socket was not closed, then creating a new instance will fail since the port is still in use, which you can just ignore - i.e. don't replace the current server socket reference.
In general, clients should also assume that connections will be broken and that reconnection is necessary. In other words, it's not just the server that has to be robust - clients should also anticipate connection errors and reconnect.
You can get an IOException on an accept() if the server socket is closed (by you) or you run out of resources, e.g. file handles. Either way, there is not much you can do about it. If the serverSocket is closed (you can test for this) you probably had a good reason to do this. If you run out of resources, you will either have to increase your resource limit, which requires a restart of your application, or you have a resource leak.
Make sure you differentiate between different IOExceptions you might receive. Is it an exception on creating a connection? Is it an exception once a connection has already been established?
The only code you gave is for accept()ing. Generally speaking, an IOException usually means an error on any layer on the physical network.
Probably the best fallback behavior you can implement is to wait for a certain time quantum, and then try to reconnect. Assume you most possibly will not be able to reconnect, since you have lost network connection for more than a temporary period. Make sure you handle this gracefully. As #mdma mentioned, this must be supported by your clients as well.
However if the server socket is still
OK, then it is a pity to close it and
kill all previously accepted
connections that are still
communicating.
Please note that closing the server socket will NOT close previously accepted connections. As soon as a connection has been accepted it lives a separate, joyful life at a different port.