Microsoft KB Archive/161179

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WinSock Zero-Length Packet Not Sent on Network

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Q161179

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows 95

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SYMPTOMS
In Windows 95, if the Windows Sockets Send function is used to send zero-length packets using a stream-oriented socket over IPX/SPX, the function returns a success status, but no packet is sent on the network.

CAUSE
The WinSock specifications do not require that a Send function with a length of zero actually result in a packet being sent over the network when the Send function is called on a stream-oriented socket. Windows 95 does not actually send a packet across the network when the Send function is called with a length of zero over a stream-oriented socket over SPX/IPX.

RESOLUTION
This issue is resolved by the following updated file for Windows 95 and OSR2, and later versions of this file:

  WSIPX.VXD  version 4.00.951  dated 7/25/96  14,545 bytes A version of this file that also resolves this problem is included in the Windows Sockets 2.0 Update for Windows 95. For information about obtaining this update, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

"Q182108 Availability of Windows Sockets 2.0 for Windows 95"

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a limitation of Microsoft Windows 95. An update to address this limitation is in development, but has not been regression tested and may be destabilizing in production environments. Microsoft does not recommend implementing this update at this time. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for more information about the availability of this update.

This issue is resolved in Microsoft Windows 98.

MORE INFORMATION
According to the WinSock 2.0 specification, calling the Send function with a length of zero is to be treated by implementations as successful. In this case, the Send function may return 0 as a valid return value. For message-oriented sockets, a zero-length transport datagram is sent.

For additional information about issues resolved by updates to this component, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q171352 Large Data Transfer Using WinSock Over SPX May Not Work

Q163378 Microsoft Exchange Hangs Sending Message Using SPX

Q163329 Fatal Exception 0E in WSIPX Using Windows Sockets Program

Q155675 IPX Headers Not Returned to WinSock Program

"Q159254 Windows Sockets Applications Using WSIPX May Fail"

For additional information about Windows 95 updates, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

"Q161020 Implementing Windows 95 Updates" Keywords : kbnetwork osr2 win95 kbAPI kbSDKPlatform kbWinsock kbGrpDSNet

Issue type : kbprb

Technology : kbWin95search kbWin95