

// Version: $Id: ConcurrentConnectionEstablishment.txt,v 1.3 2007/09/19 12:42:43 belaban Exp $
// Author: Bela Ban



Concurrent initial connection establishment in ConnectionTable
==============================================================

[JIRA: http://jira.jboss.com/jira/browse/JGRP-549]

If we have members A and B, and they don't yet have connections to each other, and start sending messages to each other
at the exact same time, then we run into the following scenario:
- A attempts to connect to B (new Socket())
- B attempts to connect to A
- A accepts B's connection and adds an entry for B into its table
- B adds an entry for A into its table
- B gets the accept() from A, but doesn't add the new Connection into its table because there is already a Connection.
  This leads to a spurious Connection object, which will only be closed and garbage collected once A or B leaves the cluster
- We used to close Connections which were already in the table, but this lead to ping-pong effects where concurrent
  initial senders always closed each others connections
- Even worse: a new Socket() always creates a new Connection object and places it into the table, *regardless* of
  whether a Connection for a given destination already exists or not !


SOLUTION:

We need to have a deterministic algorithm to pick a 'winner' for concurrent connections.

Let's assume our own address is A

On connect to B:
----------------

- Lock CT
- If connection exists for B: return existing connection
- Else:
    - Connect(B)
    - Add connection to CT
- Unlock CT



On connection accept from B:
----------------------------

- Lock CT
- If there is no key for B, we create a connection for B and add it to the CT
  - Else:
      - If B's address > A's address --> remove the existing entry for B (closing the connection !) and add
        the newly created connection for B to the CT
      - Else close the connection which resulted from accept(B)
- Unlock CT