The connection time-out mechanism implemented in the Service Assurance Manager makes use of a standard TCP feature known as urgent data or out-of-band data.

The HTTP proxy used with this code must pass the out-of-band data as is.

The RFCs that define the correct operation of HTTP proxies require that the proxies provide a transparent network connection. However, they do not explicitly mention support of out-of-band data.

Because of the large number of HTTP proxy implementations in use, VMware, Inc. is not in a position to indicate which, if any, fail to correctly pass out-of-band data.

Please check if the proxy server you are considering passes out-of-band data. Contact VMware Global Services if the proxy server does not pass TCP urgent data.

If the proxy server fails to pass out-of-band data, connections will time out within about three minutes. The Global Manager or Domain Manager log will contain a message of the following form:

CI-E-EFLOWKEEPALIVESEND-Flow closing due to missed keepalive