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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>breath-of-life packet</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../B.html" title="B"/><link rel="previous" href="break-even-point.html" title="break-even point"/><link rel="next" href="breedle.html" title="breedle"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">breath-of-life packet</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="break-even-point.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">B</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="breedle.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="breath-of-life-packet"/><dt xmlns="" id="breath-of-life-packet"><b>breath-of-life packet</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">n.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> [XEROX PARC] An Ethernet packet that contains bootstrap (see
<a href="boot.html"><i class="glossterm">boot</i></a>) code, periodically sent out from a working
computer to infuse the &#8216;breath of life&#8217; into any computer on
the network that has happened to crash. Machines depending on such packets
have sufficient hardware or firmware code to wait for (or request) such a
packet during the reboot process. See also
<a href="../D/dickless-workstation.html"><i class="glossterm">dickless workstation</i></a>.</p><p>The notional <span class="firstterm">kiss-of-death
packet</span>, with a function complementary to that of a
breath-of-life packet, is recommended for dealing with hosts that consume
too many network resources. Though &#8216;kiss-of-death packet&#8217; is
usually used in jest, there is at least one documented instance of an
Internet subnet with limited address-table slots in a gateway machine in
which such packets were routinely used to compete for slots, rather like
Christmas shoppers competing for scarce parking spaces.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="break-even-point.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../B.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="breedle.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">break-even point </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> breedle</td></tr></table></div></body></html>