From: Joel VanderWerf <vjoel@...>
Date: 2005-08-29T04:58:37+09:00
Subject: Re: UDPSocket broadcast to 127.0.0.255

Daniel Brockman wrote:
> Joel,
> 
> 
>>Is my network stack screwy, or is there something strange
>>about UDPSockets in ruby when broadcasting to 127.0.0.255?
> 
> 
> I don't think it's supposed to be possible to send broadcasts
> to loopback interfaces, going by what ifconfig tells me.
> But if it were, I'd think they should go to 127.255.255.255.
> That's the obvious choice of a broadcast address here.
> 
> Any address can function as the broadcast address for the
> network that it's part of, and any address ending in 255
> that isn't the broadcast address is just a normal address.
> So I think 127.0.0.255 is just another loopback address.

Ah, you're right, of course. The mask for lo is 255.0.0.0, so of course
the broadcast addr has to be 127.255.255.255. Funny that it sorta worked
with 127.0.0.255, though.

Thanks!

-- 
      vjoel : Joel VanderWerf : path berkeley edu : 510 665 3407