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5 Hacks for “Taskifying” the Coursebook

After a bit of a longer COVID chaos-enforced hiatus than I would have liked, this guest post is from Neil Anderson. It is a little longer than most posts here – but we will excuse that given the the wealth of knowledge and useful insights into incorporating more of a task-based approach into our lessons. In all honesty, his blog (co-written with Neil McCutcheon) has saved me hours in lesson planning and is one of the few that offers lessons that I don’t feel the need to tweak!

Is there a case against coursebooks?

You could be forgiven for feeling that discussion of coursebooks – their pros and in particular their cons – has been done to death in recent years. It’s not, though, a topic that will disappear so long as we continue to use them as the basis of our language courses, whether in private language schools or primary / secondary education. The SLB podcast hosted by Neil McMillan recently covered the topic (https://www.slb.coop/the-slb-podcast/). On the one side, Nick White and Matthew Ellman offered a robust defence of coursebooks, how they are used and the extent to which they matter; on the other, Geoff Jordan reiterated the persuasive arguments against them that he has deployed elsewhere (e.g. https://applingtesol.wordpress.com/2019/03/24/coursebooks-a-recap/).

There was in the end broad agreement that coursebooks are not monolithic, that some are more effective than others, and that in general they serve a need for teachers. What was not really addressed in this particular episode – hopefully it will feature in a follow-up – was Jordan’s central objection to coursebooks being based on a synthetic syllabus.

Synthetic Syllabuses

A synthetic syllabus is organised around the language to be taught; this is divided up into convenient elements (discrete grammatical and lexical items) and these are sequenced in some way (often by perceived difficulty – simpler structures first, more complex ones later); the learner is expected to master them one by one, “synthesising” the knowledge into a communicative whole. Many coursebooks follow a mixed syllabus (with topics and skills as playing a part in organising units) but the approach to language is synthetic – lessons are arranged around gradual mastery of a language point, from analysis to use. PPP (present, practice, produce) is the mainstay of a synthetic syllabus: a language item is studied, practised in more restricted ways and then produced through some form of (hopefully) communicative task.

This is familiar, well-established and comfortable for teachers and learners. So, what is the problem with it? You can argue against it from various perspectives:

  • it presupposes that language items are mastered one at a time, in a linear fashion, and this is not borne out by much SLA (second language acquisition) research; the process is more complicated and does not seem to follow the order dictated by explicit instruction (see Long, 2015, pp.21-25 for a detailed summary);
  • assuming you consider yourself to be a communicative language teacher, authentic production should be a significant lesson event and yet with PPP this is largely relegated to the end of the class: it takes a backseat. Pressures of time and pacing may even mean it does not occur in the lesson (especially in contexts where lessons are only 45 minutes long e.g. secondary schools);
  • it can be input-impoverished: much classroom time is focused on a single structure at the expense of a wider range of grammatical and lexical items;
  • as much time may be spent discussing the language as using the language.

Analytic Syllabuses and TBL/TBLT

An alternative is an analytic syllabus, which is organised according to the communicative purposes for using language rather than individual language items. Learners engage in holistic input and output-oriented tasks and analyse the samples of language they are exposed to.

An example would be a task-based syllabus in which the primary focus of given a lesson is the completion of some form of communicative task – for instance, learners share experiences, or compare opinions, or work together to solve a problem, perhaps using different sources of information (e.g. some form of jigsaw). They do so to achieve an outcome rather than display (temporary) mastery of a single language item. And in doing so, there are opportunities for learners to notice language, to enquire about the language they need and to receive reactive focus on form from the teacher.

We can argue that task-based learning, or task-based language teaching (TBL / TBLT) potentially confers the following advantages:

  • there is, in theory, motivation to process and use language as there is a goal or outcome for the main task;
  • learners are exposed at different points to a range of samples of language;
  • communicative use of language is the central focal point of the lesson;
  • there is still a focus on form, one that is largely reactive and therefore responds to learners at the point of need.

Following Willis (1996), a task-based sequence is broadly made up of:

  • a pre-task to ready the students for the task (e.g. set the context, establish and prepare for the task);
  • the task cycle itself (students complete the task, report back on their findings);
  • post-task language focus (e.g. students examine related texts for language, teacher gives feedback on learner output).

With its prioritisation of the task and delayed language focus, it resembles, as Willis notes, PPP “upside down”, albeit with the potential for a much richer focus on language as it does not prioritise a single language point. It is inaccurate to say there is no focus on accuracy; it is just that meaning and fluency comes first, and the language focus emerges from this.

A Third Way? “Taskifying” the coursebook.

There are, though, significant issues with implementing a task-based approach. Even if we want to, most teachers of general English are not free to do so, because we have to use coursebooks. Nor do we have the freedom or resources to carry out extensive needs analysis, as Long (2015) proposes, to identify the target tasks that are useful for our learners.

I think the key question is not whether or not we should use a coursebook, but how we can use it well. My colleague Neil McCutcheon and I have an abiding interest in task-based learning. Over the years as both teachers and teacher educators, we have adopted (and adapted) a few strategies that help more closely align a coursebook – particularly the language focus part of a unit – with some of the principles of task-based learning. These five practical tips or “hacks” are as follows:

  1. Turn the unit on its head:  ignore the grammar / lexical set, and instead look for the “language production” stage, usually at the end of the particular section. Use this as the starting point (after generating interest and establishing the context): create a central task. Sometimes there is no decent language production stage in the book; in this case, devise one that creates a need for the upcoming language input. For instance, if the lesson is focusing on be going to for holiday plans, students can start the lesson by sharing their plans.
  2. Give this task a goal or outcome: check if the production in the book is communicative i.e. it encourages the learners to both speak and listen to each other. If it is not, build in a reason for learners to interact e.g. find commonalities or differences in opinion / experience, try to reach agreement, evaluate / react to their partner’s position. For example, if students are discussing holiday plans, they can listen to their partner and decide if this is a holiday they would enjoy; or (even richer from the perspective of negotiating meaning), they can plan and report on a joint holiday.
  3. Cast your net wide: although you may have a particular language point in mind (that which is in the coursebook e.g. be going to), don’t limit yourself to this or you fall into the trap of input-impoverished PPP. It is highly likely that while students are preparing for, doing or reflecting on the task, there will be plenty of emergent opportunities for learning, with the students needing certain language items to help them complete the task (or post-task, when they may be curious about salient language they could have used). This language can be captured and added to the learning via e.g Quizlet, meaning the syllabus now has an emergent dimension.
  4. Mine texts: if you follow the Willis framework outlined above, the post-task language focus can centre around the texts / tapescripts present in the unit of the coursebook. Set simple tasks that encourage learners to mine the texts for relevant language e.g. find 3 positive adjectives used to describe the holiday; find 4 collocations to describe holiday activities. Note that there is no guarantee that these texts will provide rich, authentic samples of language (though I believe most coursebooks are increasingly good at this); an alternative where possible is to devise your own “live listening” to provide learners with comprehensible input.
  5. Repeat the task: have the students repeat the central task, but with variables in place to keep it fresh and interesting e.g. a new goal, new partners, tweaked content (e.g. plan a holiday in a different place / different time of year) or with different demands (e.g. a written rather than spoken itinerary). A number of researchers have reported improvements to task performance in terms of complexity, accuracy and fluency based on task repetition (Ahmadian, 2012).

The coursebook is going nowhere soon – and nor should it, unless useful alternatives that work effectively for underpaid and overworked teachers emerge. I do think though, given the significance of the coursebook to many ELT courses, it is useful for teachers to reflect on how to use it effectively with their learners, while keeping in mind some key findings of SLA. Teacher educators also have a responsibility to facilitate this process.

Reference List

Ahmadian, M.J., 2012. Task Repetition in ELT. English Language Teaching Journal. 66(3). [online] Available at: <https://academic.oup.com/eltj/article/66/3/380/439513> [Accessed 20th July 2020]

Long, M. 2015. Second Language Acquisition and Task-Based Language Teaching. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

Willis, J. 1996. A Framework for Task-Based Learning. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.


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A few weeks ago, we explained how to manually modify certain parameters in PUBG Mobile to improve the looks of the game. Luckily, we now have the possibility to make these changes automatically thanks to a handy dandy new app. GFX Tool is a free app for Android that lets you increase the resolution and apply a series of aesthetic improvements to Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds for Android.

Although the game itself already offers various configuration options, many of them are limited since the high graphics mode isn’t available for certain devices. Plus, the game’s output resolution doesn’t correspond to the device’s native levels by default, so this app takes care of selecting the one you want. The only limit is the capacity of your device to move the game.

The app is compatible both with the international version of the game and the Chinese (Lightspeed) version, and allows you to modify the frames per second, the style (in terms of color intensity), shadows, and the type of anitaliasing. Playing around with these parameters can make the game really shine and almost makes you feel like you’re playing the desktop version. You can see an example of these changes in the video above.

To apply the changes, you simply have to open the app GFX Tool and, once you’ve selected the configurable parameters you like, tap the accept button to automatically start playing the game. That said, you’ll have to go through this process each and every time you want to access it, since these changes can’t be saved permanently.

GFX Tool for Android on Uptodown [APK] | Download
PUBG Mobile for Android on Uptodown [APK] | Download

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Industry Interview: Scotland Food and Drink Skills Academy

sfdsa_logoAs 2015 celebrates Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink, a recent Scottish Government report shows industry sector growth of 20% in four years. Currently employing 360,000 people, Scotland’s Food and Drink industry is estimated to be worth over £16bn by 2017 and will clearly play a significant role in Scotland’s future economic success.

To ensure the industry achieves its ambitious target, Food and Drink employers must look at how to attract, retain and develop talent into what is becoming an increasingly competitive sector.

Providing services and support designed to influence Government policy, develop new training initiatives and promote best practice, the Scotland Food and Drink Skills Academy (SFDSA) is one organisation focussed on skills development across the industry.

To find out more about the services they offer, where they fit into the supply chain and how Food and Drink organisations can benefit from their work, we spoke with Angie Foreman, Operations and Partnership Manager at SFDSA:

Hi Angie, thanks for talking to us about the work of the SFDSA.  Tell us, how long has The Skills Academy been established and who is involved?
The Academy is relatively new and still in its infancy; we launched midway through 2013 and our board combines industry and stakeholder representatives including employers from Scotland’s distillery, fresh produce, meat, dairy and bakery sectors and representatives from Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Food and Drink Federation, Scotland Food & Drink and the Scottish Funding Council.

What is your role within Scotland’s Food and Drinks industry?
Our focus is on providing training solutions for manufacturing and processing sectors within the food and drink industry. We have an enthusiastic network of approved food and drink specialist training providers. By working closely with industry and relevant stakeholder groups such as Skills Development Scotland, we aim to ensure the availability of cost effective training for staff and managers to help businesses achieve their organisational objectives through the attraction and development of knowledgeable, skilled and motivated employees.

How are you supported and funded?
We are funded by the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland, and are fortunate enough to be hosted by Abertay University. Additionally we have strong ties with the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink, based in York. They have a tried and tested model which has been running for 8 years allowing us to learn from their experience and share their knowledge.

What services do you provide and how will employers benefit from working with The Skills Academy?
Our services to employers in the food manufacturing sector are currently free of charge. Specifically, our experienced consultants work with employers to identify training gaps before recommending a short-list of suitable and experienced training providers who understand the food and drink industry. We also ensure all funding opportunities and partnerships programmes are explored, such as ‘Skills for Growth Programme’. By continuously working closely with a range of employers we can advise our training network on industry needs and where training gaps exist, allowing them to create resources and offer relevant training solutions.

The Academy also collaborates with Further and Higher Education institutions, as well as stakeholder groups such as Scottish Enterprise, Highland and Island Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland to ensure relevant spending is focused in the right ways and that industry needs are being met now and in the future.

We know that by investing in training, employees add real economic value to their employer organisations, there is increased capacity to adopt new methods, increased ability to change and increased motivation, all of which result in reduced employee turnover, increased ability to attract higher calibre staff and increased efficiencies and profitability.

What do you believe are the key issues currently facing Scottish Food and Drink employers?
There are quite a few key issues which directly impact on the skills and training required within the industry. For example, the changes in the way consumers are buying food have impacted on the manufacturing process which in turn has increased the need for new and different skills within engineering. The sector as a whole loses a lot of engineers to competitive industries and many food and drink companies have found it hard to compete when trying to attract talent.

Additionally, new developments in dietary requirements and health trends have created new skill requirements and career opportunities within food science and technology.

The academy is working with industry and education to support these changes in demand, for example currently there are no specific qualification for engineering designed for the food and drink industry in Scotland and we are working with Improve the Sector Skills Council to make this available.

Looking ahead, what do you believe the future holds for the Scottish food and drink industry?
Scotland Food and Drink – the industry’s leadership body is driving forward the ‘Land of Food and Drink Action Plan’ with passion and energy. This has led to increased productivity, new product development, innovation and reduction in waste. With the support of Scotland Development International our exports continue to increase along with investment. Our reputation for quality, variety of produce and provenance is a real strength: from whisky to craft beer, Angus beef to Arbroath Smokies or Artisan cheese to oatcakes – the richness in our larder is plentiful, as are the opportunities for all who are involved in this dynamic and growing industry.

Do you have any advice for people looking to move into the industry or further their career within food and drink?
The Scottish food and drink industry can offer individuals real diversity across a range of sectors throughout their career. There are opportunities for employees to apply their skills across different subsectors such as dairy, bakery, brewing, fresh produce etc and develop their career further within the industry in Scotland or globally. Employers are generally very open to attracting talent from other industries, and for individuals with the right core skills, many employers are happy to invest in the required training to ensure they can succeed in the food and drink sector.

Employees can find out more about the industry by contacting us, Skills Development Scotland or the Scottish Food and Drink Federation.

How do you believe employers can prepare their organisations to succeed in attracting/developing/retaining talent?
Employers can sell themselves to potential candidates, for example highlighting their successes, their values, training opportunities, incentives, leadership and culture. Other areas, vital in attracting and retaining talent, include creating real career paths, investing in training, creating opportunities for promotion and flexibility.

How can Food and Drink Manufactures in Scotland get involved?
There is no criteria set as to who we will work with and employers are welcome to contact us by phone (07975 233 656) or via email ( to find out how we can support their organisation. Employers can also find out more at

Thanks to Angie Foreman from the SFDSA for talking with us. You can find out more at:

Escape recruit for a number of food and drink employers across Scotland. View our latest jobs and register your CV for future opportunities at

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  1. Pingback: Industry Interview: Opportunities and challenges for 2016 | Escape: the blog

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A babygrow for an ultra-fast baby

I’ve known my friend Vicky through Run dem Crew for years now, and have run many, many miles alongside her on our Tuesday night sessions. She’s a good friend, and outside of the Crew has run multiple marathons and ultras, too. Last summer, she ran the Serpent Trail ultra with another good friend, and she ended up finishing on the podium as 3rd place lady!!

But even more incredible is that she found out later that she was actually pregnant when she ran it! So when she announced she was going to have a little pre-baby pizza & beer get together with our running friends, I knew I had to make her a babygrow. First I thought I’d upcycle a Run dem Crew shirt for the little speedy baby, but then I saw another friend mention on Twitter how happy he was to see the Serpent being run again this year and I got in touch to a) find out if the race even had teeshirts, b) if he had one, and c) if he could send it to me to refashion. It was Yesses all around so I got cutting!

A Great British Baby Grow

If you are in the UK, you doubtless are already aware that the latest season of the Great British Sewing Bee is well underway! Not only have they got a new location (which looks uncannily like the old one in Wapping, but is now coincidentally located right by my office), but also a new judge, with Esme Young replacing May Martin as Patrick Grant’s wing-woman.

I wasn’t able to be as involved on the production side for this season as I was last time around due to my working four days a week at my office job, but I was able to help out with some sewn samples for the latest Sewing Bee book, instructions and illustrations, but also make the odd “Perfect” for the show, too!

An upcycled baby onesie

This is a much smaller project than my lace dress but one I wanted to share anyway as it involves upcycling a teeshirt into something more useful. One of my very first sewing projects as an adult was transforming a XXL promotional teeshirt into something more stylish, and I think a lot of beginners find teeshirt refashions to be both inspiring and approachable – after all, there’s no question of how much fabric to buy, or if you’ve got the wrong kind, as teeshirts are pretty universal.

In any case, this started life as a very oversized promotional teeshirt for the sports personality Alan Brazil, who records his weekly show in my office’s studio and is well-known around the office. He’s particularly loved by our Creative Director, Ben, so we all decided he should have the teeshirt. But Ben is not a XXL, so it just stayed on his desk for ages, and was left there when he went away on paternity leave…

…when I mischievously spirited it home and refashioned it into a onesie for his newborn son!

Two tiny baby jackets

My go-to baby present for many years has been a changing mat – hand towel on one side, fabric and pockets on the other, and it all folds up nicely and fastens with ribbon. I still enjoy making these (and I get great big thumbs up from the parents!), but I wanted to make something different this time around, and I had two lots of Spoonflower organic cotton jerseys I fancied using.

I actually made these way back in early April, but since they were both gifts, I needed to wait until both sets of parents received them before I could share them with you. But since I made them so long ago, the details are a little hazy in my mind, so apologies for anyone looking for a particularly useful pattern review here!

I sifted through my digital pattern archive and selected #145 from the March 2011 Burda magazine (it’s not on the US Burda site so you’ll have to refer to the Russian archive). I liked the versatility of the design, that it looked quite handy to wrap a baby up in, but that it was also easy to sew and could fit into the two fat quarters I had of each of the fabrics.

For our local friends’s newborn baby girl, I selected the meat fabric and used the 3 months size. I knew the parents would laugh their heads off and be happy that it wasn’t predominantly pink, too. I didn’t actually get to see the baby wearing it since she was asleep at the time, but I’m just going to assume she’ll grow into it!

MyImage and B*inspired SS14 magazines AND Giveaway!

It’s been a while, but I’ve got the newest Spring/Summer issues of the Dutch-produced, quadrilingual pattern magazine MyImage to share with you, plus a peek into the second edition of their new children’s pattern magazine, B*inspired, too.

MyImage magazine

I absolutely love the jersey cowl dress on the right! It’s made up in three different prints in the magazine but it just looks so easy to wear for summer – that skirt wrap is an extra layer over a full skirt so there’s no chance of wind-related mishaps, either. On the left, there’s a casual woven shell with deep pleats at the neckline that would be very figure-forgiving, and it’s paired with a basic jeans pattern. I’ve been meaning to sew a pair of MyImage jeans for years now so I really must get on with it…

There are three Plus patterns in this issue – nice basics in the form of a loose, sleeveless shell with hi-lo hem, classic jeans, and this jersey surplice dress. Like the cowl dress above, the front skirt panel overlaps a full layer underneath so there’s no flashing worries, and the shoulder pleats look like they’d provide some nice shaping for larger cup-sizes, too.

Orange and Pink tie-back teeshirt

I’ve got so many finished garments to show you this week, and I thought I’d start with one that I actually made back in February (while I was in a drug-addled shingles haze of pain). This top was a gift for my niece, from the Young Image SS2013 magazine.

I loved it as soon as I got this issue, and I went and traced and sewed it right away! The front has got a subtly curved yoke seam, but the back is where all the action is – a double layer with a tied yoke! It’s kinda hard to tell in the magazine photos though, because they don’t show the back at all, even though it’s the standout feature of this pattern!

I made size 164 and lengthened it as everyone says she’s so tall and thin, but those were the only changes. The only thing I’d change in future is to remove a ton of ease from the sleeve cap – there’s way too much in there, arrgh! Jersey tops really don’t need any ease at all, let alone several inches!

So even though I made this back in February, I had to hold onto it until I visited her in Baltimore in April. The shirt was a big hit, but I didn’t want to impose a photoshoot on the kids there and then, so my dad took these back in Virginia, and they only just came through a week or two ago. Thanks Dad!

Simultaneous sewing

I generally like to only work on one project at a time, but sometimes, for ease of tracing or bulk-cutting, or because (heaven forbid!) I run out of some necessary supply, I end up working on multiple projects at once. For me, this road is the way to Unfinished Objects (UFOs), and a treacherous one to travel down.

Far, far more frequently, though, I get a posting backlog so it just appears as though I’m working on a few things at once!

So right now, my tally is…

The Disco top and leggings

I posted about the leggings in December and the top last week, but I owe you a proper photoshoot for both!

The pink and orange tie-back top

I can’t talk too much about this one here because my niece reads the site, but this one has been finished for a few weeks, and I’ll get some photos of her wearing it when I’m over in the States after Easter.

The striped raglan tee

This is new-to-you, but I’ve also sewed a top for my nephew to give at the same time. I just finished this one this weekend, and I’ll also get photos of him wearing it when I’m in the States.

Young Image Spring/Summer 2013 & giveaway

If you’re not familiar with Young Image magazine, it’s the sister title to My Image and is all about patterns for kids, from babies to teens, boys and girls. Like My Image, it’s produced twice a year (Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer) and provides instructions (albeit sparse) in Dutch, English, German, and French.

First up we’ve got some patterns for boys – a button-down shirt with a bit more detail than your average and a fantastic pair of board shorts that have a lot of versatility – you could change the pockets for cargoes, or make in a different material for swimming trunks even!

Here we’ve got a really cute jersey jacket, a (barely seen) asymmetric knit tanktop, and some of the coolest-looking trousers I’ve seen for ages! Omg, those slanted pockets are just great – can we get them in adult sizes please?

It’s a first for me, but I’ve actually already sewn this next top already, as a present for my niece! I loved it as soon as I got this issue, and I went and traced it right away. The front has got a subtly curved yoke seam, but the back is where all the action is – a double layer with a tied yoke! I’m not going to lie – I love this design so much that I modified my new knit sloper to make a running version of this for myself, too! (If you’re a Pattern Review member you can see a sneak peek of my niece’s present over there in advance of my gifting it to her in April)

Sewn Christmas gift – purple tween tunic

There was a massive sale on My Image and Young Image magazines a few months ago, and since I already own all the My Image issues, I thought I’d take the opportunity to buy all the Young Image ones for my niece Megan, who recently taken up sewing in a big way.

I figured it’d be inspiring for her to see at least one of the designs made up, so I thought I’d sew one for her before sending the magazines back to America.

My mom went through the stack when she was over in October and picked out some designs she thought Megan would like. Ultimately, I decided on Young Image FW12 Y1252 since I already had some perfect purple cotton jersey in my stash (you may also remember it from this skirt), which my mom also thought looked like her style.

Happily, most Young Image designs go up to tween sizes so I made her size 152 as the measurements matched hers almost exactly (she’s 5 feet tall already, how did this happen?!).

The gathering isn’t quite like in the tech drawing, though – the gathering on the pattern pieces is in one section in the centre front, rather than in two segments. I double-checked the pattern sheet to make sure I wasn’t just omitting a mark, and then also experimented to see if the gathering would work concentrated in two spots, but fell back on the one long stretch of gathering, which I think looks really good here.


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Fetish Kinks

BDSM, Fetish, Kinky

miss fk

I have lots of kinks and fetishes but you have to earn the right to know what they all are. If you would like to know more about me get posting yours and i may reward you with a few of mine :)

miss fk

sissy boys

My name is miss fk and i want some sissy boys and miss fk should always get what she wants.

If you think you are worthy to be my sissy boy on this forum then please post here explaining why. Maybe even post a picture of you in pink sissy boy panties.

Who knows you may be featured as pantie wearer of the day.

miss fk x

Welcome to the world of miss fk

Hi im miss fk, I love all things fetish and kinky and welcome you all to fetish kinks.

Please join me and help to make this a community for fetish and kinky lovers everywhere.

Members have a photo gallery to upload to and can freely use these forums to openly discuss anything and everything.

Look forward to chatting with you all.

Have fun

miss fk x

Hello Kinksters

Welcome to the world of Fetish Kinks, a place for us all to meet up and chat about whatever you want to talk about as long as it is naughty! The site is run by kinksters and we are active in the scene. Until now, there has been no coherant place for the likes of us to hang out, all that is about to change. We welcome you all and will grow the community for you. We very much enjoy, BDSM and fetish things, panties and sissy boys, Masters, Mistresses, Doms, Dommes, Princesses, CD's TV's TG's and pretty much anything else.

We have a no holes barred attitude - but we will not allow, underage (teens/young teens) Animals or Scat - its just not right. But if you want to piss on a butt plugged ass, whilst telling the sub what a pathetic worthless little creature they are - well then that rocks.

Have fun.


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Business Continuity

COVID-19 Response & Resources

A Letter from Highland’s CEO

These are unprecedented times. Almost daily, our society is dealing with new disruptions and unanticipated challenges. But in spite of this unsettled and anxious environment, there is a silver lining. As a society, we are working together to protect and support those who need it most. It’s a commitment that we in the industry make every day to our clients.

At Highland, we understand that this current uncertainty may disrupt how you typically conduct business. But now more than ever, we need to find new ways to communicate with our clients. Their unease over COVID-19—and the market volatility caused by the virus’ spread—needs reassurance of our commitment to them and their respective financial objectives.

Highland is here to support that commitment. As we anticipate and adjust to governmental recommendations, Highland has put in place new business protocols to ensure that we protect our employees while still providing the high level of service and support that you expect.

We also understand the near-constant updates on the virus’ impact can be overwhelming. To ease that, we’re providing an aggregated source of business continuity information through our new microsite, which will include all Highland-specific continuity communications, industry and carrier updates, as well as resources to help you build meaningful client relationships regardless of the physical distance.

The next few weeks will be challenging. But be assured that we at Highland are doing everything we can to minimize uncertainty for you and your clients and keep your business moving forward.

Jim Gelder
Jim Gelder
CEO, Highland Capital Brokerage

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Get yourself into finance! Trading phases and auction calculation

Par | Classé dans Débutant, Finance | Le 01/07/2011

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As you may know, the trading day of exchange places is divided into several specific phases. This article aims to present those main periods and their use. I will specifically address Eurex (derivatives market) and London Stock Exchange (cash market), as they show the periods for two different kinds of equity markets.

Eurex is one of the three largest derivative exchanges with NYSE Euronext Liffe and Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Eurex is owned by Deutsche Börse and based in Frankfurt. London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the largest stock exchange in Europe (in terms of market capitalization) and the fourth largest in the world. As specified in its name, LSE is located in London.

Even if the trading periods are always slightly different in different markets, general ideas remain nearly identical. A trading day usually runs from early morning (7:30 am for Eurex and 8 am for LSE) to late afternoon (4:30 pm for LSE) or even later (10:30 pm for certain products managed by Eurex!).  A trading day is typically made of 3 main phases which will be described in the next sections:

  • Pre-trading
  • Trading
  • Post-trading

These phases can also contain sub-phases depending on the specific market rules of each exchange.

1. Pre-trading period

This first period takes place outside of regular trading hours.

For Eurex, during this phase, traders are allowed to prepare for the opening by entering quotes and orders. However, nothing is executed at this point. At this time, aggregated bid/ask prices and sizes are available. This period starts at 7:30am.

LSE has no pre-trading period as defined by Eurex, but it proposes a “trading reporting” from 7:15pm to 7:50pm. This “trading reporting” will not be addressed in this current summary.

2. Trading period

Following the pre-trading phase is the trading period which consists of several sub-phases. For Eurex and LSE, for example, it is roughly made of 3 main phases:

  • Opening
  • Trading
  • Closing Auction

2.1 Opening

Opening is used to determine the opening price for each product. Therefore, it is used to start the continuous trading subphase. Contrary to trading phase, as we will see later, matching engines does not use price/time priority to determine the opening price. Instead, the opening price is calculated in order to get the maximum executable volume. Below is an example to illustrate this calculation:

  • Example: Auction phase

Let’s consider the following book:

Bid (qy@price) Ask (qy@price)
10 @ 10.00 15 @ 9.00
50 @ 9.50 55 @ 9.50
35 @ 9.00 10 @ 11.85
100 @ 8.75

Now let’s consider the accumulated bid and ask for each price.

Accumulated bids Bid Price Ask

Accumulated asks

Executable volume

    11.85 10 80 0
10 10 10.00   70 10
60 50 9.50 55 70 60
95 35 9.00 15 15 15
195 100 8.75

The executable volume is defined as the minimum between the accumulated bids and asks. The price for which the executable volume is maximized will be the opening price. In this example, 60 contracts will be executed at the price of 9.50.

Price/time priority is used at the end of this auction period to determine which orders will be executed first. As a consequence, the 15 contracts at 9.00 will be executed first and only 45 contracts at 9.50 will be executed, considering the time priority.

Where there are two maximum executable volumes (for two different prices), the following rules are applied: the opening price cannot be higher than the best ask or lower than the best bid immediately after the auction phase.

After determining the opening price, the continuous trading phase is launched. The opening auction lasts 10 minutes for LSE (from 7:50 to 8pm). For Eurex, this phase is slightly more complicated, since the opening period consists of three separated parts: pre-opening, freeze and netting. The “Freeze” component allows Eurex Market Supervision to review the opening price. However, the aim of this period remains the same as for LSE.

2.2 Trading

As soon as the trading period starts, orders and quotes are added and compared continuously in the book for each product. As shown above, a book is divided into the bid side and the ask side. When an order or quote is entered during this phase, it is automatically compared with its corresponding contra-side. If the proposed price is better or equal to existing orders or quotes on its contra-side, then they are automatically matched (trade). Those ones which are not executed are added in the book and can be changed or deleted as required.

During the trading period, each market can have their own individual rules. Normal trading can be interrupted by small period of auction or fast market periods, according to the defined rules for each market.

For example, Eurex allows fast market periods on a per-product basis in case of high volatility (a measure for variation of price of a financial instrument over time). Other markets allow auction phases in case of high volatility. The calculation of the auction price follows the calculation described for the opening price.

At the end of the trading day, each product enters into another auction phase called closing auction.

2.3 Closing auction

Closing auction is used to calculate the closing price which represents the price of a product at the end of the day. The calculation during the closing auction is the same as for the opening auction. All quotes and orders available in the book are automatically transferred into the closing auction. However, if the price differs considerably from a reference price then it can be cancelled and the product may end without a closing price (Eurex).

For LSE the closing auction spans from 16:30 to 16:35. For Eurex, it depends on the product.

3. Post-trading

After a trading period, a product enters post-trading. This phase is different for each market. LSE, for example, defines a maintenance period and a “trade reporting only” phase from 16:35 to 17:00.

Concerning Eurex, right after the auction period, you are still able to enter quotes and orders but only for the next trading day. These quotes and orders will be available for the opening auction the next day.

As previously seen, main trading phases are roughly the same for all markets. However, they are always some differences that can be determined by reading the market rules available on the website of each market. This presentation is far from being exhaustive and other points could be explained more precisely (VWAP, order types available during each phase,…), however we hope to provide a good idea of the general phases during a trading day.

A list of the trading hours for all more markets is present on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_market_opening_times

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International Polar Year

Catching up on previous notes & scribbles.

Did you know that it is the International Polar Year? Check out the website for the focus and research. Note this announcement from Mark on the Megaconference listserv a while back:

As some of you may be aware, the International Polar Year (see ) officially began on March 1, 2007. It builds on prior International Polar Years (or IPY), the first being in 1882-83, the most recent being the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58. Emphasizing polar science and global impacts, this current IPY officially runs through March 2009 but will have momentum for years to come. The key themes are trends in melting snow and ice, the challenges facing Arctic residents, and the role of carbon in the Earth system. Made up of over 200 diverse international projects, with thousands of scientists, educators and enthusiasts from over sixty nations, IPY has tremendous potential to showcase state of the art technology (like I2) and help demystify how scientific research is actually conducted.

Looks like they’ll be participating in the Megaconferences this school year. I wonder what other events could tie in the use of videoconferencing & K12 education? Check out the educator’s section of the IPY site. There are some suggested activities, resources, and more. Maybe some classes could participate in some activities and then videoconference with each other to share results. Do YOU have any ideas?

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Questions to Ask a Potential Employer

So you’re in a job interview and you think everything is going well. You have managed to speak slowly and confidently. You have nailed every question your interviewer has asked. Your hair hasn’t gone frizzy and you don’t feel any sweat on your forehead. You’re crushing it.

Then, all of the sudden, just as you thought you were off the hook, they grill you with the final and hardest question of the day: “So, do you have any questions for us?”

We all know this question is coming, yet hardly put thought into it. However, the truth is, giving some thought to this question can pay dividends. First, great questions can make you sound interested. You want the potential employer to believe, if you extended, you would absolutely accept their offer. Second, you can learn whether the potential employer is truly a good fit for you. They are getting to know you AND you are getting to know them!

We checked out what general guidance was out there on the internet for employee interviews, and then conducted our own user research by listening to what some of Cabinet’s executive assistants and administrative assistants had to say. The needs of administrative professionals are very different than other roles’ needs at a company.

Here is Cabinet’s list of guaranteed good questions to ask in an interview.

Questions to Ask a Manager or Superior

  1. What qualities make a candidate successful in this position?
  2. What did the previous administrative professional do well in that you’d like to see the new one continue to do?
  3.  Are new tasks being assigned to this position that the previous person wasn’t assigned?
  4.  What should I be able to accomplish on my own within 30/60/90 days?
  5.  What are the current goals that the company is focused on, and how does this team work to support hitting those goals?
  6.  What goals or metrics will my performance be measured against?
  7. What is the number one thing keeping you up at night, and how can the new hire help be part of solution to solving this?

Questions to Ask a Potential Coworker or Fellow Admin

In addition to these questions, it would be wise of you to get a better look into the culture you’re entering. At the end of the day, this is also an interview of the company.

  1. What is the leadership style of the team or executives the new hire would support?
  2. What is degree of autonomy like in the role?
  3. How long have you been at the company?
  4. What do you like most about your job and the company?
  5. What part is most challenging?
  6. How has your role changed since being here?
  7. How has the company changed since you’ve been here?
  8. How would you describe the work environment here—is the work typically collaborative or more independent?

These should be good grounds for a) showing you care about making an impact b) showing you know how to manage expectations and c) discovering whether you will be happy in this work environment.

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Mark These Upcoming Concerts at The Palladium

Empty red seats in an auditorium. The Palladium at the Center For The Performing Arts.

Everyone loves good music, and spring is the perfect time to enjoy it! This spring, check out an exciting live performance from one of these diverse options at The Palladium. About The Palladium The Palladium at The Center for the Performing Arts is a domed 1,600-seat concert hall. Both the audience and performers occupy the […]

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So Much Going On

I s'pose everyone's ideal architecture is different and that the busyness I see in the entrance hall of the Te Kura Hoahoa—School of Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington (catchy eh) is someone else's design heaven.

Freedom from English

Webstock 2008 (11th-15th February, Wellington) celebrates everything that is fine and good about the Web (1.0-2.0+) and as such is an active user of all the grand Web apps out there. For instance they are running a Flickr Group, Webstock 2008 Photo Exhibition: Freedom, from which will be culled a series of prints to peruse during the proceedings - more at my previous blog posting, Webstock the Photo Exhibition.

Whilst I have entered a number of photos culled from the 19,500 or so we have online I also wanna let you show you these fine examples of "Freedom from English" I discovered on the box of a rather cheap and nasty toy Santa left in one of the kids stocking (*ahem*)

Flickr: Freedom from English Flickr: Engrish on a cheap toy box 5


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Jack of all Trades

by Audrey McGinley, NLI Conservation Intern At the start of my conservation internship I was involved with the return of a loan from the National Gallery of Ireland exhibition Jack of all Trades: Yeats’s Punch Cartoons and Illustrations by Irish Painters. This loan included 10 prints and drawings, and 6 bound volumes from our NLI […]


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Monday, 5 November 2018

Embargoes and early releases - Charles 70th MS is the latest

Not so much an embargo breach, but certainly the possibility for early release.

One of our readers sent this picture with the comment below:

so it is hidden until
they allow it, ie less than 24 hours later

"I saw this [Prince Charles Presentation Pack in a Post Office branch] the other day from a distance but today investigated. I was asked "Do you want any?" I was a bit surprised, and 2 packs were produced.  Only problem was that item not on the system to sell.  No instructions to PO about sale dates.  I was told that as nobody had bought any he was going to send them back to stores on Monday!"  (My emphasis - IB)

Crazy, isn't it.  Royal Mail has no proper philatelic outlets in their retail partners' network, and those retail partners have no idea when - or more particularly when not - to put new stamp issues on sale, and take them off again.

  1. It certainly is crazy and to think that so many of our Post Offices will be going the same way.

  2. Now available to buy on Royal Mail site.

  3. All this embargoing of upcoming issues is sheer nonsense. Hong Kong Post releases a whole year's worth of designs several months before the start of each new year and then reinforces collectors' knowledge of them as they are coming up to the release date. That way collectors know what they will be dealing with and can plan what appeals enough to them to want to buy. Other major philatelic sources such as New Zealand Post, Australia Post, Pobjoy Stamps and An Post give good forward news and release the designs of stamps ahead of time to whet collectors' appetites.

    It seems particularly inane that first day cover producers get to depict the new stamps a long way ahead of release when respectable dealers such as yourself - and few I suspect do as much to maintain collectors' interest in modern British stamps as you do - must wait to the last minute to bring news of what new issues look like to their potential customers and the general new issue buying public.

    Royal Mail seems to remain remarkably out of touch with regular collectors who still, surely, must remain the backbone of Royal Mail new issue buyers.

    As for non-collectors who may buy stamp issues because a popular theme such as nostalgia or science fiction appeals to them, I find it hard to believe that they are waiting breathlessly for news of what new stamps look like made known on the actual issue date which then whips them up into such a frenzy of desire to buy that they instantly rush out to post offices and splash out on said stamps.

  4. Yet another Royal Issue in a Mini Sheet containing three (3) Stamps that no one in the Commonwealth will see if they must issue high Values why use a £1.55 Stamp which is for 100g to Europe a place we are getting out of.
    A set of 1st Class would be better as they could be used on normal Mail.
    Just one 1st Class Value has a picture of HRH Prince Charles but other Countries such as Jersey has 6 Stamps, Guernsey has 6 Stamps, Isle of Man has 6 Stamps, and Gibraltar has 6 Stamps.
    And all these Countries have one thing in common they are all single stamps (very good Stamps) with just the Prince on them after all it is his Birthday so WHY can't a Country like Great Britain issue a set of just the Prince, and what do we get not very good designed Stamps again!!

    1. 1. If you are using the MS to send something to Commonwealth countries worldwide, use the £1.55 and a 1st class plus 3 x 1p = £2.25 Worldwide >20g. Job done.

      2. All the stamps picture Prince Charles, some show him with his family. I'd rather have these than some going back to his teens, 20s, 30s, etc.

      3. I really wish Royal Mail had a blog, then people who have to complain about everything could do so there. I don't object to comments, after all that's what the comment box is here for. But there's nothing I can do about it. All you are doing is either preaching to the converted or getting another reader to counter your suggestion.

  5. Received my standing order from Royal Mail today, is this the flimsiest Presentation Pack ever? It's just one side of very thin card, and half of the limited amount of text on it is all in Welsh (I'm not complaining that it's in Welsh, but that it is effectively the same text twice, so even less to read). A very very lazy and cash-in stamp issue, sad.

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Storage Solution Positively Impacts Online Stores, Inc.

Ever wonder what goes on after you make a purchase from a website? At Online Stores, Inc. we follow this system:

A customer places their order; the order is then given to the warehouse where an employee will search or ‘pick’ for the selected items. They are then packed and shipped. Depending on the shipping method, the whole process could’ve taken up to five business days.

Five business days is a long time in today’s fast-paced living. We don’t have time to wait that long. So Online Stores, Inc. had to think of a way to better the organizational system in order to keep up with the demands of the consumer. Before the new system went into place, the most of the time spent, was on searching.

The location of items were never defined by a system, therefore trying to find something specific became a daunting task, especially as more inventory came in. On any average eight hour working day, a single employee would pick about 75-100 orders. New employees coming in would need about a month to learn where products were. This had to be upgraded. Store by store, a more organized and efficient way for storing and picking inventory was put into place.

A barcode was assigned to each product, defining its location. An employee can now quickly find and send an order to be shipped electronically. With limited space to move inventory laterally, the only other option was to go up. Shelving doubled in height to twelve feet and was replaced with stronger steel shelves. To prevent employees from having to climb ladders, the inventory was stocked by velocity; meaning that the more popular products are on the lower shelves for easier access to prevent constant ladder use.

“By using this technology, we are able to rely on the process, therefore creating less human error. Less error, faster delivery, happier customer,” stated Brian Cerra, President of Operations.

Orders picked have increased over three times the amount and decreased the processing time down to one business day since the new system has been fully operational. Come 2013, no matter the shipping method, processing will be same day.

Organized Storage Solution with Barcodes

The most recent reorganization took place within the United States Flag Store warehouse space. With efforts and materials, the cost to create a more customer friendly system was well over $50,000 in the Flag Store alone. With the way things are going for United States Flag Store and Online Stores, Inc., it won’t be long before the reorganization efforts pay off.

2 thoughts on “Storage Solution Positively Impacts Online Stores, Inc.

  1. Your system still needs to be greatly improved. I am still waiting to get the correct order I placed in November. Due to errors entirely within your company I am still waiting. I will not recommend your company to anyone nor will I place another order with your company.

  2. Hello Sarah. I’m very sorry to hear this. I would be more than happy to look into what has happened and work with you to correct the situation. Could you help me by emailing me the situation at Thank you.

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Welcome to Your OpenTable Year of Dining 2018: Restaurant Trends Revealed

OpenTable Year of Dining 2018

Did you discover a new favorite cuisine this year? Become a regular at a local restaurant? Crush hard on a particular dish? Check your inbox to find out how your OpenTable Year of Dining 2018 looked — we’re sending out wrap-ups to diners who subscribe to our emails! We’ve rounded up a few fun stats to whet your appetite. Read on and start booking for 2019 to make your choices count in next year’s review. And, see how your rewind stacks up against our Chief Dining Officer’s.

SO MANY reservations.

OpenTable diners made a whopping five reservations EVERY second. That’s more than 400,000 bookings in a single day. To put that into perspective, imagine if every single person who passed through New York City’s famed Times Square on a busy day made a reservation on OpenTable.¹

OpenTable Year of Dining 2018

Pasta, FTW!

In a nod to carb lovers and fans of fromage everywhere, Italian fare proved the most popular among OpenTable diners. And with so many top Italian restaurants on OpenTable, such as Casa Lever in New York, RPM Italian in Chicago, and Vetri Cucina, all of which made our 100 Best Restaurants in America 2018 list, we can’t say we’re surprised. Mangiamo!

Dishing on a dish…

OpenTable diners write more than 1 million verified reviews a month. So what are they talking about? This year, it was prime rib. The formerly old school classic has enjoyed a resurgence over the last three years, and more and more restaurants have placed this meaty staple back on the menu. And speaking of reviews, 3,197 diners called their dining experience the “best ever.”

OpenTable Year of Dining 2018

You like to celebrate!

When it comes to cheersing on the last day of the year and treating your loved ones right, you nailed it. The hottest days for dining out in 2018 were New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, and Mothers Day. And, the biggest booking days for all these occasions were often the day before — OpenTable isn’t just great for planners; we’ve got all you procrastinators out there covered with the right restaurant whenever you need it, even if it is at the last minute!

The gang’s all here.

The more, the merrier when it comes to gathering around the table for family-centric holidays. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Easter were the moments when the average party size increased more than 15%. Way to show up for the folks that matter most to you!

How did your stats stack up? Tell us here or on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter using the hashtag #OpenTable365 And, for even more delicious stats, check your inbox for our email.  Remember to snap + share your #dishpics with us on Instagram for a chance to win in our weekly giveaway.

¹ https://www.timessquarenyc.org/do-business/market-research-data/pedestrian-counts


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Megalodon challenge solution

During Sharkfest 2015 I put up a challenge that was different from the usual challenges offered. The pcap files are a lot bigger, the task to solve less specific, and the answer not a simple “easy to verify” answer. I promised to put up my solution a few months after posting the challenge to this blog, but then some things got in the way. And then… some more got in the way. Sorry for that, but sometimes it can’t be helped.

Quite a number of people have taken the challenge in the meantime, and I have to say I received a number of impressive reports going into much greater detail that I did myself on the original analysis job. Of course I had less time to get my results back then, as the customer was going to go live with the application a few days later.

The Megalodon challenge holds a couple of interesting aspects that I wanted participants to experience. First of all, the files I posted are larger than what most people normally look at, so working on them is a challenge on its own. I sanitized the files of course, using TraceWrangler, so no real IP addresses or real application data can be found in the trace files, but the timings and the TCP behavior is still original. Filtering on big files takes time, and finding the real problem is not as easy as when you’re looking just at one small TCP conversation. I received numerous emails with questions and comments from participants, and so I could tell where they got stuck or on the wrong track.  So let’s check a few aspects on how to tackle the Megalodon challenge.

Spoiler Alert: If you want to take the challenge, do not continue to read!

We need Focus

This is something me and Landi preach all the time: focus on the problem. Try to not get distracted. And actually, this is exactly what happened to almost all participants at one point or another. If you look at the challenge details you’ll notice that the problem reported by the customer was specifically about the communication problems between the Windows servers with the IP addresses and So when I worked on the original capture files I completely focused on all TCP conversations between those two IPs only.

The problem: most participants spent a lot of time and energy looking at the conversations between and This is understandable, because those two IPs exchange a lot of data as well:

Megalodon Conversation Statistics

While it may be interesting to see what those two are doing, it isn’t directly related to the problem description. Sure, one of the problem IPs is involved, but that’s not good enough to spend time on those conversations at the start. And, I have to admit, I just left them in the shared trace files for two reasons: distract participants, and make the files bigger (and harder to work on). Mean, I know. But that’s what happens in the real world, too.

So what did I do in the original analysis? As I already said, I kept my focus on everything happening between and – which most of the challenge takers probably had to realize when my answers to questions about was something like “no idea, didn’t look at those at all”. So what I did was this:

  1. Verify if the capture files contain packets that match the problem description
  2. Examine if I can find the reason for the problem to happen
  3. look at other conversations if I need to

As you can see, looking at would be part of the last entry of my list, and I never actually got there. Anyway, the first two tasks are often time consuming, but let’s see how to solve them.

Verifying the problem

This part is very important. You can spend hours reading PCAPs in vain if you are looking for something that can’t be found at all. During capture you should already verify if you see packets from the IP addresses you expect, so when you start the analysis you already know that those are in the files. But you still need to check if you can spot indicators of the problem, because otherwise the PCAPs may not be good enough.

The problem description can be reduced to the following sentence: “At a certain point in time during the test there would be unanswered page requests […]” – so we have to verify if there are TCP connections that show signs of failure. Okay… and how can we do that?

A few things come to mind:

  1. Check if the TCP conversation behavior (handshake, retransmissions, timings etc.)
  2. Check if the application protocol shows signs of trouble, e.g. HTTP errors codes etc.

Since the application protocol is non-plaintext and proprietary (meaning: Wireshark doesn’t decode it at all), filtering for signs of trouble there is not a real option, at least not in the beginning. Sometimes it can’t be helped and you need to work with unknown protocols, basically reverse engineering parts of it, or doing differential analysis.

So let’s check TCP behavior first – which means, we start by trying to find TCP handshake problems to see if we can spot problems establishing a session. To do that we look at the capture on the client side (the Web Application Server), where we can be sure that the outgoing SYN packets are seen. We open up “Web Application Server.pcapng” from the challenge capture files, which contains 2,669,351 packets. That’s a bit too much for efficient manual inspection, but we don’t have to go that far. I hope.

Instead we go for the TCP conversation statistics in Wireshark to get our bearings, but before I that I do something else: filter on the two IP addresses I need to look at, and then export the filtered results to a new file. That way I only have to work with the packets I really need, and loading/filtering times are much faster. My standard way of doing that is to create a sub folder of the current trace working directory called “filtered” and save the extracted packets there (using a good filename that tells me what was filtered and why). That way I always know that they were not original captures but something I extracted with a filter. The fastest way to isolate everything between the two IPs is using the popup menu to filter in Wireshark on the IPv4 conversations:

Megalodon Conversation Filter IPv4

The capture file containing all packets between the two problem IPs has 1,496,099 packets, which is a lot better than before. Opening the conversation statistics shows that there are 36,952 TCP conversations, so let’s find the ones that may show a problem with the connection handshake.

As a reminder, an unsuccessful TCP handshake is either:

  • SYN – RST (rejected open port on the server)
  • SYN – RST (firewalled, rejecting packets)
  • SYN…  (firewalled, dropping packets)

Generally, a successful TCP connection has at least 3 handshake packets, plus usually some data exchange, plus teardown packets (FIN-ACK FIN-ACK, or with an RST). For a full connection we should see at least 4 packets.

So, to find unsuccessful connection I focus on conversations with 6 packets or less, because that is most likely giving me those where the SYN wasn’t answered or refused. The Windows TCP stack retries it’s SYN packets three times (even when receiving RSTs), so we see 3 packets when there is no SYN/ACK coming back, and if the SYN is refused we get 6 packets (SYN-RST three times). And if we sort the TCP conversation statistics by the “Packets” column we see a lot of conversations with 3 packets, and can easily filter on one of them:

Megalodon Conversation Statistics on IP pair

The resulting conversations are very interesting:

Megalodon Conversation Problem

We have a couple of things we can tell right away from this filtered conversation – apart from the screenshot showing the red lines at the end apparently having a lower packet number than the previous packets. But that’s just because I didn’t resize the packet column width before taking the screenshot – the real packet numbers at the bottom are 1,241,361 and later, with the leading 1 being cut off (I didn’t retake the screenshot on purpose 😉 ).

There are at least four things of interest:

  1. The conversation statistic showed 3 packets, but when we filtered we got 39 instead
  2. We see a working conversation that is finished with a FIN/ACK – RST combination
  3. Wireshark says “Port numbers reused” next
  4. The three SYNs (including the one saying “Port numbers reused”) of the new connection are unanswered

Now, we can work through all four points, but there’s something more important to do first. Remember that we have captures taken directly at the  client (the Web Application Server) as well as the server (the Content server). To exclude the network as a source for the problem we need to check if we see the same problem on the content server trace. Which is actually really easy: we copy the conversation filter from the filter box to the clipboard, and start a new Wireshark instance. Then we load the content server trace with a read filter we paste into the according edit field, like this:

The read filter makes Wireshark compare each packet from the file with the conversation filter and only load packets that are a match. That way we will end up with a pretty small file we can quickly check:

Megalodon Conversation Content CompareTrace

As you can see, the capture only contains the packets matching the filter. If we compare them to the web application trace we can see that the timings are slightly different, but only for some packets and as little as can be expected from a Gigabit+ LAN setup. Other than that it’s easy to see both sides are identical – so we have no problem caused by the network, at least not for this conversation. In the actual analysis situation I checked multiple conversations to make sure this wasn’t just a coincidence, but it turned out that every connection I checked showed the same result. Which means that our problem is not caused by the network. This is good, because it automatically means one other thing: we can ignore the second trace and just work on one of them instead of having to compare packets between them.

The four findings

Okay, back to our four findings:

  1. We get 39 packets after filtering, not three
  2. We see a working conversation that is finished with a FIN/ACK – RST combination
  3. Wireshark says “Port numbers reused”
  4. The three SYNs (including the one saying “Port numbers reused”) of the new connection are unanswered

Finding 1: 39 packets, not 3

This is actually easy to explain: when Wireshark filtered on the conversation statistic row it did that by building a 5-tuple filter. Since the new session reuses the same source port it has an identical 5-tuple as the previous connection. Which means that both conversations match the filter. Which, in our case, was a good thing because we found something interesting.

Finding 2: FIN/ACK – RST

This finding is not really something we need to spend much time on – while connections used to be terminated by sending a FIN/ACK FIN/ACK pair (client and server each sending a FIN flag and then getting it acknowledged by the other node), things have changed. It is now quite normal to see a connection being “killed” with an RST flag. The RST flag has the advantage of being faster and freeing up stack resources instantly, because the connection state is immediately removed from the according tables. Okay, so no problem here.

Finding 3: Port numbers reused

The Wireshark TCP expert says that port numbers are reused, which is clearly true. We have one successful connection followed by an unsuccessful one, both using the same client port. Many participants thought that this must be the problem, and they had a point. When a client connects to a server it chooses an ephemeral port, with a port range depending on the operating system and stack. As soon as it has used the highest possible port number it starts with the lowest number again. Which means that if a client is opening large number of connections in a short amount of time you’ll see port numbers being reused (simply because it has to).

The stress test that was performed while the captures were taken generated such a high number of connections that it is no surprise to see port numbers being reused. This doesn’t happen quite this often with normal clients, so you usually do not see it this much. Now the question really is: do the reused port numbers hurt or not?

According to RFC1122, a TCP connection terminated by FIN/ACK FIN/ACK must linger in TIME_WAIT state for 2x MSL (Maximum Segment Lifetime). MSL is usually 2 minutes, so the TCP has to wait 4 minutes before it can reuse the port. If we check the delta time between the last packet of the old connection and the first SYN of the new connection we see about 171 seconds, which is less than 4 minutes. This would mean we have a problem, but there’s one simple reason why we don’t: the final packet of the first connection is a reset packet. This means that the connection doesn’t use TIME_WAIT at all, but it dropped instantly – the port could be reused almost immediately without a problem, and most certainly after 171 seconds. So to sum it all up: no, reusing the port is not the problem.

Finding 4: unanswered SYNs

The SYN packets after the first successful connection are not answered at all, neither by a SYN/ACK nor a RST packet. This is very unusual, because that can only happen when a firewall silently drops the SYN packet. And since we already verified that we see the SYNs on the server side as well we know for sure that there is no firewall between the two IPs. Keep in mind that the trace files were both taken with professional full duplex TAPs connecting directly to the network card of the client and the server, so there is nothing between each of the capture points and the devices except for a 2m CAT6 cable.

Many participants got in trouble at this point, sending me tons of questions about this behavior, including

  • maybe the RST is lost on the way to the server, so it is still in TIME_WAIT (no, because we see the RST on the server trace. It could be dropped on the network card of the server, but that’s not very likely)
  • maybe SYN-Flood protection is enabled, leading to the server refusing SYNs coming in in high number? (good idea, but no, that setting wasn’t enabled on the servers)

In the end, there’s still only one reason why we don’t get anything back when sending a SYN, and that’s a firewall. Which is odd, because

  • there is no firewall device between the client and the server
  • we see that the server accepts connections on the port, so any local firewall must be set to allow access to it (and it was)
  • if the application crashed (or just the thread holding the handle to the socket) we should get a RST back until it restarted, because that’s what happens when a socket is not firewalled but not in service (which we did not see)

The plot thickens

Before we continue to investigate the SYN problem let’s check if it happens more than once. This is important, because a single failed connection wouldn’t be enough to cause a problem as big as the one the customer experienced. To do that we could filter on more conversations with only 3-6 packets, and check if they have the same problem.

So while filtering through the conversations we find many conversations having problems with their SYN packets not being answered. We can also find other interesting conversations like this one:

Megalodon Conversation SYNRetry

Here we can see that the first SYN is completely ignored, but the second suddenly works, 3 seconds later. Again, this looks like the socket wasn’t available, but WHY don’t we see a RST packet?

The answer is: there IS a firewall. Wait. Didn’t I say there’s no firewall? Yes and no. There is no additional firewall between client and server, but the local Windows firewall was turned on. And what many people do not know is that the Windows firewall behaves very differently from what you’d expect:

  • When a port is firewalled, it drops incoming packets
  • When a port is not firewalled and an application is listening on that port, a SYN/ACK is sent for each SYN
  • When a port is not firewalled but there is no application listening on that port, it is treated like a firewalled port – and no packet is sent at all (including no RST)

This behavior is mind-boggling, because most people think a port is either firewalled or not firewalled – but the Windows firewall takes advantage of running on the local system and thus knowing if a port is listened to and protecting it against scans when it isn’t.

Now, the next step should be clear, at least it was for me: I needed to take another capture (on the content server side was enough, because we already know it’s not the network). And that’s exactly what I did – I went to the customer site again the next day and asked them for another test, with the Windows firewall disabled.

For the challenge I also expected the participants to tell me that they would do that next, and I prepared/sanitized a trace without the firewall for anyone who’d ask – but nobody ever did, much to my surprise.

After taking the capture with the Windows firewall turned off, we can find example conversations like this one:

Megalodon Conversation SYN Reset

As we can see, now the SYNs are rejected with a RST packet. Which means that the socket wasn’t in service at the time, which also means that the application or thread listening on the port released it. If we check how often this happens we see that in the beginning of the stress test everything works fine, but then more and more SYN packets are rejected. If you filter on enough conversations you’ll see that some connection fail with one RST before they are established, then at some point connections fail with two RSTs before they work, and finally we see three RSTs, which means that they fail completely.

Now this a pretty clear problem of the application, because it should always listen on that port for incoming connections. The exact reason why the port wasn’t in service cannot be solved with network analysis, but needs to be addressed by the server admins and application developers.

Final check

As a final check I used Cascade Pilot (now called “SteelCentral Packet Analyzer”) to draw a graph of TCP flags over time, and used that to verify my assumption. This is what it looks like:

Pilot TCP Flags graph

There are always RST packets as we have seen that even the working connections are terminated with a RST packet, but after 1,5 minutes the amount of RST and SYN packets raises dramatically. This is caused by the multiple SYN-RST connection setups failing more and more, while the amount of accepted connection stays at a consistent level. This leads to the assumption that the application just isn’t capable of handling more than 100 connections being established per second.

Possible solutions to the problem are:

  • Have the application developers optimize it for more concurrent sessions being established
  • Add more servers that can be load balanced to handle more overall connections

Lessons learned

  1. Focus. Focus. Focus.
  2. Resize the packet column width if necessary
  3. Port reuse is not always a problem even if it happens faster than 2x MSL
  4. The Windows Firewall protects closed ports even when a rule allows access
  5. Do not be afraid to ask to take another capture if the findings require it

Final words

First of all I have to apologize for not answering emails in the end. For multiple reasons I just could not find the time to work through the often very detailed emails to answer in a good way, so I kept pushing it backwards and never got to it in the end. Sorry for that!

Thanks to all participants, especially for being patient with me. Congratulations on all the great questions and reports I received, especially (in alphabetical order):

  • Andrea Kleedehn / Stefan
  • Christian Reusch
  • Jin
  • Nathan Flowers
  • Philip Storey, who posted his report online
  • Thomas Baudelet
  • Vladimir Gerasimov

I have to say some of you put way more work into the challenge than I ever expected, and you found details that I never even looked at. I basically tried to get to root cause as fast as I could, and once I had the connection problem isolated I was ready to turn in my report. So it is quite possible I overlooked interesting stuff right left and center 🙂

The total time I spent on this problem was about 16 hours, with initial meetings, gathering information, capture setup, capturing data, analysis, capturing more data, final analysis and creating the customer report. The total amount of hours just for the analysis was somewhere between 2-4 hours.

Discussions — 4 Responses

  • Giuseppe May 15, 2016 on 12:40 pm

    Thank you Jasper for the solution!

  • Mario May 16, 2016 on 8:15 pm

    Just found your blog today. I’m fascinated by pcap analysis hope to keep coming back.

  • Kishan May 18, 2016 on 4:18 pm

    Thanks Jasper for sharing valuable packet analysis tips,one similar packet analysis article I found,

    • Jasper Bongertz Kishan May 18, 2016 on 4:39 pm

      Thansk, Kishan – good article, though I always cringe when someone says that the captures were taken on the nodes involved. This can lead to wrong diagnosis results if not careful.


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Archive | October, 2009

Riding the Wave: A History of Real-time Collaboration

23 Oct
Courtesy of thelastminute

Courtesy of thelastminute

Now that I’ve started to talk with analysts and other early adopters about PBworks’ upcoming Real-time Collaboration update (more on that later), one of the very first questions I always get is, “Is that like Google Wave?”

Many people, even industry experts, are under the impression that Google Wave is the first product to offer real-time collaborative editing.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, real-time editing has been around for decades.  So in the interests of the common good, I’m offering this brief history of real-time editing.

While true industry pros will tell you that real-time editing has existed since the PDP-10 era, the first citation that appears on Wikipedia is Instant Update for the Mac, circa 1991.  More recently, the primary real-time editor that people cite is SubEthaEdit, though this product remains relatively unknown outside of developer circles.

In the wiki/collaboration world, real-time editing has been around since JotSpotLive…which, ironically enough, was acquired by Google (and then dumped in the dustbin).

More recently, Etherpad (disclosure, I am a personal investor in its parent company, AppJet) launched its web-based real-time collaboration tool in November of 2008, and has built up a tidy little following.

So by the time that Google Wave emerged in May 2009, real-time collaboration had been around for nearly 20 years, and had even existed as part of the Google family (prior to JotSpot’s burial at sea).

That’s not to say that real-time collaboration, being old rather than new, isn’t groundbreaking.  In fact, we here at PBworks believe it has a ton of potential…the key is figuring out how to apply it to the all-important task of getting work done.

We think we’ve done so, and will be unveiling the PBworks take on real-time collaboration at the Enterprise 2.0 conference (which you can attend for free!).

Those of you who are PBworks customers and users, stay tuned next week for a special sneak preview….

Introducing Network User Signup

19 Oct

One of the recent requests we received from a Project Edition customer asked, “Can I set up my network so that anyone from my company can join the network, without my having to invite them?”

This made a ton of sense, especially as Project Edition gets rolled out to ever larger numbers of corporate customers.  That’s why we’re introducing our simple, two-step Network User Signup system.

Step 1: Specify trusted email domains.

You can now set up your PBworks network so that anyone from a trusted email domain (such as can join the network.  Just click on “Network Access” within the “Settings” tab:

Network Access Settings

You can even whitelist and blacklist specific IP addresses for added security.

2. If you have an email account on a trusted domain, you can now join the network.

First, click the “Join this network” link:

Network Access screen

Next, enter your email address.  We’ll send you an email with instructions on how to set up your network account:

Enter email address screen

You can specify as many email domains and/or IP addresses as you need to.

PBworks Is Announcing Something Big at Enterprise 2.0 (and you can be there)

13 Oct
No, not that Enterprise 2.0

No, not that Enterprise 2.0

Join the PBworks team at Enterprise 2.0 in San Francisco (November 2-5), where we’ll be making a major announcement and giving live demos of groundbreaking new functionality.

You can meet the team, get one-on-one advice, and help us show those Enterprise 2.0 folks just how much we all love PBworks.

Best of all, you can get into the exhibit hall for free–just register using the discount code “EXPOPASS”.

As an added bonus (as if you needed one), every PBworks user who stops by our booth (Pod 22) will get a free T-shirt, and every customer will get a free massage from Kathy, our corporate masseuse.

Stay tuned for more clues about the big news, and see you at the show!

P.S. Think you know what we’re announcing? Leave your best guess as a comment, or better yet, Tweet it using the hashtags #pbworks #e20conf.

PBworks adds support for Google Chrome, drops Firefox 2

6 Oct

I do a lot of cross browser testing as part of my job as Gentleman of Quality (Head of QA) here at PBworks and I keep a close eye on which browsers our users are adopting and which ones are fading away. I’m pleased to announce that we’re adding support for Google Chrome, an excellent browser that is rapidly becoming the standard for high performance on the web. In addition I’m glad to see the vast majority of Firefox users have upgraded to the latest version of that browser. If you haven’t done so already (and just over 1% of our users have not) please take a moment to upgrade. PBworks will no longer fix bugs that appear exclusively in Firefox 2.

Modern browsers are faster, more secure, and much more helpful. We understand there are a number of you who are still forced to use ancient, dangerous, and painfully buggy browsers such as IE6, but overall the adoption of new browsers has been surprisingly quick.

(Note: We are still supporting IE6, since many corporate IT departments mandate it, but if you have a choice to upgrade to IE8 or another modern browser, we *strongly* recommend that you exercise that choice!)

PBworks is excited about the possibilities that modern browsers allow for and want all of our users to share in those benefits. Upgrade your browser today:

Google Chrome
Firefox 3.5
Internet Explorer 8

Ian Danforth
Gentleman of Quality