WinInet limits connections per server (183110)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer (Programming) 6.0
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer (Programming) 5.5
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer (Programming) 5
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer (Programming) 4.01
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer (Programming) 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows Internet Services (WinInet)
This article was previously published under Q183110

SUMMARY

WinInet limits the number of simultaneous connections that it makes to a single HTTP server. If you exceed this limit, the requests block until one of the current connections has completed. This is by design and is in agreement with the HTTP specification and industry standards.

MORE INFORMATION

WinInet limits connections to a single HTTP 1.0 server to four simultaneous connections. Connections to a single HTTP 1.1 server are limited to two simultaneous connections. The HTTP 1.1 specification (RFC2616) mandates the two-connection limit. The four-connection limit for HTTP 1.0 is a self-imposed restriction that coincides with the standard that is used by a number of popular Web browsers.

The only evidence of this limitation to your application is that calls such as HttpSendRequest and InternetOpenURL appear to take longer to complete because they wait for previous connections to be freed up before their requests are sent.

You can configure WinInet to exceed this limit by creating and setting the following registry entries:

Note By changing these settings, you cause WinInet to go against the HTTP protocol specification recommendation. You should only do this if absolutely necessary and then you should avoid doing standard Web browsing while these settings are in effect:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

MaxConnectionsPerServer REG_DWORD (Default 2)
Sets the number of simultaneous requests to a single HTTP 1.1 Server

MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server REG_DWORD (Default 4)
Sets the number of simultaneous requests to a single HTTP 1.0 Server

These settings are made for a particular user and will have no affect on other users who log on to the computer.

In Internet Explorer 5, it is possible to change the connection limit programmatically by calling the InternetSetOption function on NULL handle with the following flags (note that it will change connection limit for the whole process):

INTERNET_OPTION_MAX_CONNS_PER_SERVER INTERNET_OPTION_MAX_CONNS_PER_1_0_SERVER

Note If the process has established a connection to a server, if you change the connection limit by calling InternetSetOption, the function does not have any effect to subsequent connections on the same server. This occurs even if a previous connection is disconnected prior to the call to InternetSetOption. Connection limit does affect all other servers.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/23/2006
Keywords:kbinfo KB183110
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