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Guide to Addressing “Network File Descriptor is Not Connected”

A file descriptor is an integer used by the operating system to identify an open file or other input/output resources, including network sockets.

In network communication, it represents a network socket. This error indicates an attempt to communicate through a socket that does not have an established valid network connection.

When installing SafeLine WAF, executing the installation script may encounter this issue. How can we solve it?

Explanation of the Error

The error message “Network file descriptor is not connected” typically indicates that in network programming or network-related operations, the file descriptor (File Descriptor) is not correctly connected to the network endpoint.

File descriptors are integers used by the operating system to identify open files or other input/output resources, including network sockets. In network communication, it represents a network socket. This error means trying to communicate through a socket that does not have a valid network connection.

Possible Causes and Solutions

1. Socket Not Properly Initialized or Connected

Cause: When using sockets for network communication in programming languages like C or Python, you may forget to call the connect function to establish a connection with the remote server.

For example, in Python socket programming, after creating a socket object, you need to use socket.connect((host, port)) to connect to the specified server and port. If this step is missed and data transmission is attempted directly, this error may occur.

**Solution: **Check the network operation code to ensure that the socket is correctly connected to the target server before data transmission.

In the Python example above, verify that the host and port parameters are correct and that the connect function is correctly called.

2. Unexpected Connection Interruption

**Cause: **Network connections may be unexpectedly interrupted due to network failures, remote server shutdowns, or firewalls.

For example, in a long-running network application, network links may experience short-term failures, or the remote server may shut down the connection due to maintenance or overload.

If the application does not handle this situation correctly and still tries to communicate through the original file descriptor, this error may occur.

**Solution: **Add appropriate error-handling mechanisms in the application to detect connection interruptions.

You can use a heartbeat mechanism (e.g., periodically sending a small data packet to check if the connection is still valid) and try to re-establish the connection when a disconnection is detected.

For server-side connection closures, the client should capture the relevant error signals (such as ConnectionResetError or BrokenPipeError exceptions in Python) and handle reconnections or other appropriate actions accordingly.

3. File Descriptor Reuse Errors

Cause: In some complex network programming scenarios, file descriptor reuse may be involved, such as using select, poll, or epoll system calls. If errors occur during reuse, such as adding an unconnected file descriptor to the reuse set and attempting to communicate through it, this error may occur.

Solution: Carefully check the logic of file descriptor reuse. Ensure that only successfully connected file descriptors are added to the reuse set and verify their connection status before communication.

For example, when using epoll, upon receiving an event notification indicating that a file descriptor is readable or writable, check whether the file descriptor is truly in a valid connection state before performing the corresponding read/write operations.

Conclusion

Carefully analyze error messages and troubleshoot from various aspects such as socket initialization, network connection, and file descriptor reuse.

By gradually checking and adjusting, we can identify the root cause of the problem and resolve the error, ensuring the stable operation of containerized applications.

In a containerized environment, network configuration and service communication are key elements, and understanding these aspects in-depth allows for quick and effective handling of various error issues.

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