[vpn-help] New 2.2.0 Alpha Build Available ( PLEASE TEST !!! )

[Matthew Grooms]

All,

So its been quite some time since we have released a new build from the 
head branch which will become the 2.2.0 release version. I'm pleased to 
be moving beyond the 2.1.7 series as there are many enhancements and 
changes in the head branch that have yet to make it into a stable VPN 
client release. I really need everyone's help to test this release as it 
contains a few critical bug fixes in the kernel drivers which will take 
some time to pass through WinQual certification. This was a major 
bottleneck for the 2.1.7 release so we hope to get this completed much 
quicker this time around. All the kernel driver related items on the 
2.2.0 todo list have been completed. Unless regressions are reported ( 
and I don't expect any ), we should be able to qualify this version of 
the driver.

What's new in this release? I'll start with the major bug fixes ...

1) A myriad of tools were used to test user binaries to shake out any 
memory leaks that were present. Embarrassingly, there were at least a 
dozen problems found and corrected, none of them kernel driver related. 
If you noticed a memory leak related to the VPN client on any platform, 
please test this build.

2) The WLAN related problem that could be avoided by disabling the 
Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter problem has now been worked 
around at the driver level. As long as you are connected to an AP, the 
VPN client should operate normally. Using adhoc networks are currently 
unsupported. If you currently have the Virtual WiFi adapter disabled, 
please re-enable it and test this build.

3) The problem related to slow TCP performance when direct adapter mode 
was in use has been corrected. This was due to the miniport TCP Large 
Segment Offload feature not being emulated in the LWF driver send path. 
If you currently have LSO disabled on your adapter, please re-enable it 
and test this build.

4) The daemons no longer wake up every 500ms to check for an exit 
status. It's quite possible that this caused unnecessary CPU activity 
while in a low power state. This may cause a laptop battery to drain 
faster even with the VPN client disconnected. To accomplish this on 
Windows platforms, we now use asynchronous communication functions in 
all driver interface library calls. This has also increased throughput 
on low latency connections by a factor of 3. Less objective tests show 
that this change also has a positive impact on high latency connections 
such as mobile broadband adapters. If you have a native Windows 7 mobile 
broadband connection, please test this build.

A huge number of other minor bug fixes are included in this release when 
compared to the last 2.2.0 alpha. In many ways, this release is likely 
more polished than even the 2.1.7 release. The reason its still marked 
as alpha is that we still have more feature work and the driver 
certification to complete before calling it a beta. If you have time, 
please help test this build! We really need as many eyeballs on it as 
possible to help us located driver bugs or regressions before we spend 
the time and funds to re-certify the drivers.

Thanks to everyone in advance,

-Matthew