Why do requests and responses get lost?

Question

Even on big-time sites such as Google, I sometimes make a request and the browser just sits there. The hourglass will turn indefinitely until I click again, after which I get a response instantly. So, the response or request is simply getting lost on the internet.

As a developer of ASP.NET web applications, is there any way for me to mitigate this problem, so that users of the sites I develop do not experience this issue? If there is, it seems like Google would do it. Still, I'm hopeful there is a solution.

Edit: I can verify, for our web applications, that every request actually reaching the server is served in a few seconds even in the absolute worst case (e.g. a complex report). I have an email notification sent out if a server ever takes more than 4 seconds to process a request, or if it fails to process a request, and have not received that email in 30 days.

Answer 1

They get lost because the internet is a big place and sometimes packets get dropped or servers get overloaded. To give your users the best experience make sure you have plenty of hardware, robust software, and a very good network connection.

Answer 2

It's so hard to tell sometimes whether this is a browser issue or traffic issue. What browser are you using?

Answer 3

This problem/situation isn't only ASP related, but it covers the whole concept of keeping your apps up and its called informally the "5 nines" or "99.999% availability".

The wikipedia article is here

If you lookup the 5 nines you'll find tons of useful information, which you can apply as needed to your apps.

Answer 4

You cannot control the pipe from the client all the way to your server. There could be network connectivity issues anywhere along the pipeline, including from your PC to your ISP's router which is a likely place to look first.

The bottom line is if you are having issues bringing Google.com up in your browser then you are guaranteed to have the same issue with your own web application at least as often.

That's not to say an ASP application cannot generate the same sort of downtime experience completely on it's own... Test often and code defensively are the key phrases to keep in mind.

Let's not forget browser bugs. They aren't nearly perfect applications themselves...

Answer 5

It's possible that a request made from the client took a particular path which happened to not work at that particular moment. These are unavoidable - they're simply a result of the internet, which is built upon unstable components and which TCP manages to ensure a certain kind of guarantee for.

Like someone else said - make sure when a request hits your server, you'll be ready to reply. Everything else is out of your hands.