[collinf]

> These interposing network elements, called middleboxes, often unwittingly disallow changes to TCP headers and behavior, even if the server and the client are both willing.

There is nothing worse than finding out that someone not even at the company anymore decided years before to deploy some crap like this. Drives me absolutely crazy to impose stuff like this where silos in companies means transitioning involves on the order of 4-5 different "components" need to change.

[marcosdumay]

Oh, modern networks are basically just a single huge middlebox with servers on one side and intra|internet on the other side.

There isn't much opportunity for people to plug random stuff between your server and the middlebox (the main middlebox would disallow it, like anything else), but there is still plenty of crappy rules everywhere and nobody knows why they exist or what they are. And you can't even call your ex-coworker and ask for help, because it's an ex-employee of the middlebox company, not yours.