xinetd per_source limit issues

Issue

Users note availability issues when accessing services backed by xinetd (subversion, rsync, etc.)

Identification

Syslog on the affected server will present multiple lines containing [ccNi]daemon per_source_limit for 0.0.0.0[/ccNi].

Cause

You have exceeded per_source_limit defaults imposed by your xinetd configuration. Many distributions include per_source limits that may not be suitable for your use case. Evaluate your needs carefully.

Resolution

Modify the default setting for per_source in /etc/xinetd.conf or modify the service specific configuration (recommended) under /etc/xinet.d. per_source limits may be set as follows:

per_source = 10

per_source may be set to an integer or UNLIMITED (the number represents the number of connections allowed per host). A sensible fixed value is always better than UNLIMITED.

Reference:

xinetd.conf(5)