ChangeLogTag:Sun Nov 28 05:14:24 2004 Balachandran Natarajan <bala@dre.vanderbilt.edu>

18 files changed, 616 insertions, 181 deletions

diff --git a/TAO/ChangeLog b/TAO/ChangeLog
index 8e1f20f3bb8..6276f70fe66 100644
--- a/TAO/ChangeLog
+++ b/TAO/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,73 @@
+Sun Nov 28 05:14:24 2004  Balachandran Natarajan  <bala@dre.vanderbilt.edu>
+
+ 	* tao/Connector_Registry.cpp:
+
+	  Used an auto_ptr <> instead of using delete's in the error
+	  paths. 
+
+	The following checkin adds a simple command line option which
+        allows configuring the client ORB during initializing with a
+        capability to choose preferred interface(s). This is very useful
+        for clients on a multihomed hosts, allowing clients to choose
+        specific interfaces/networks to communicate with a remote
+        target. This capability comes through two options
+        -ORBPreferredInterfaces, and
+	-ORBEnforcePreferredInterfaces. Please see docs/Options.html for
+        more details.
+	
+	* tao/Endpoint.h:
+
+	  Cosmetic fixes.
+	
+	* tao/IIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp:
+
+	  Added a debug statement 
+
+	* tao/IIOP_Connector.cpp:
+	  
+	  Used the local addr for connect () instead of using the default
+	  ACE_Addr::sap_any.  
+	
+	* tao/IIOP_Endpoint.cpp:
+	* tao/IIOP_Endpoint.h:
+
+	  Added preferred_interfaces (), and a copy constructor. The
+	  former is used to parse the option and store the preferred path
+	  for every target end point. A list of preferred paths are
+	  organized as multiple endpoints (with same target) with different
+	  preferred networks stringed through the next_ pointer. This
+	  allows the Invocation code path to pick things through its
+	  iteration process. 
+	
+	* tao/IIOP_Profile.cpp:
+
+	  Called TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::preferred_interfaces () from within
+	  decode_profile ().
+	
+	* tao/IIOP_Profile.h:
+
+	  Added documentation. 
+	
+	* tao/ORB_Core.cpp:
+
+	  Added the two new options. 
+	
+	* tao/params.cpp:
+	* tao/params.h:
+
+	  Stored the options. 
+	
+	* tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp:
+	* tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connector.cpp:
+	* tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.cpp:
+	* tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.h:
+	* tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.cpp:
+	* tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.h:
+
+	  Cut and pasted the changes from IIOP for SCIOP. There is too
+	  much of similar code out here. We can do some nice
+	  implementation inheritance to save some footprint.
+
 Sat Nov 27 12:52:57 2004  Ciju John  <john_c@ociweb.com>
 
         * orbsvcs/orbsvcs/Notify/XML_Loader.h:
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Connector_Registry.cpp b/TAO/tao/Connector_Registry.cpp
index 12659bb973b..587bcd1a72b 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Connector_Registry.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/Connector_Registry.cpp
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ TAO_Connector_Registry::get_connector (CORBA::ULong tag)
 int
 TAO_Connector_Registry::open (TAO_ORB_Core *orb_core)
 {
-  TAO_ProtocolFactorySet *pfs = orb_core->protocol_factories ();
+  TAO_ProtocolFactorySet *pfs =
+    orb_core->protocol_factories ();
 
   // The array containing the TAO_Connectors will never contain more
   // than the number of loaded protocols in the ORB core.
@@ -68,22 +69,22 @@ TAO_Connector_Registry::open (TAO_ORB_Core *orb_core)
        factory != end;
        ++factory)
     {
-      TAO_Connector * connector =
-        (*factory)->factory ()->make_connector ();
+      auto_ptr <TAO_Connector> connector (
+        (*factory)->factory ()->make_connector ());
 
-      if (connector)
+      if (connector.get ())
         {
          if (connector->open (orb_core) != 0)
            {
-             delete connector;
-
              ACE_ERROR_RETURN ((LM_ERROR,
                                 ACE_LIB_TEXT ("TAO (%P|%t) unable to open connector for ")
                                 ACE_LIB_TEXT ("<%s>.\n"),
                                 ACE_TEXT_CHAR_TO_TCHAR((*factory)->protocol_name ().c_str ())),
                                -1);
            }
-         this->connectors_[this->size_++] = connector;
+
+         this->connectors_[this->size_++] =
+           connector.release ();
         }
       else
         return -1;
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Endpoint.h b/TAO/tao/Endpoint.h
index 88dad57dc35..4e214943836 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Endpoint.h
+++ b/TAO/tao/Endpoint.h
@@ -109,14 +109,6 @@ protected:
   /// Cache the hash value
   CORBA::ULong hash_val_;
 
-private:
-
-  /// Endpoints should not be copied.
-  ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC (TAO_Endpoint (const TAO_Endpoint&))
-  ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC (void operator= (const TAO_Endpoint&))
-
-private:
-
   /// IOP tag, identifying the protocol for which this endpoint
   /// contains addressing info.
   CORBA::ULong tag_;
@@ -128,6 +120,11 @@ private:
    */
   CORBA::Short priority_;
 
+private:
+
+  /// Endpoints should not be copied.
+  ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC (TAO_Endpoint (const TAO_Endpoint&))
+  ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC (void operator= (const TAO_Endpoint&))
 };
 
 
diff --git a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp
index 33d476e0806..a42e8f49e97 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp
@@ -142,6 +142,12 @@ TAO_IIOP_Connection_Handler::open (void*)
   if (this->peer ().get_local_addr (local_addr) == -1)
     return -1;
 
+  if (TAO_debug_level > 2)
+    ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
+                ACE_TEXT("TAO(%P|%t) - IIOP_Connection_Handler::open, ")
+                ACE_TEXT("The local addr is (%s) \n"),
+                local_addr. get_host_addr ()));
+
   if (local_addr.get_ip_address () == remote_addr.get_ip_address ()
       && local_addr.get_port_number () == remote_addr.get_port_number ())
     {
diff --git a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connector.cpp b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connector.cpp
index f8eefc25128..367f636c3a5 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connector.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Connector.cpp
@@ -41,10 +41,10 @@ template class ACE_NonBlocking_Connect_Handler<TAO_IIOP_Connection_Handler>;
 #endif /* ACE_HAS_EXPLICIT_TEMPLATE_INSTANTIATION */
 
 TAO_IIOP_Connector::TAO_IIOP_Connector (CORBA::Boolean flag)
-  : TAO_Connector (IOP::TAG_INTERNET_IOP),
-    lite_flag_ (flag),
-    connect_strategy_ (),
-    base_connector_ ()
+  : TAO_Connector (IOP::TAG_INTERNET_IOP)
+  , lite_flag_ (flag)
+  , connect_strategy_ ()
+  , base_connector_ ()
 {
 }
 
@@ -143,6 +143,15 @@ TAO_IIOP_Connector::make_connection (TAO::Profile_Transport_Resolver *r,
   const ACE_INET_Addr &remote_address =
     iiop_endpoint->object_addr ();
 
+  bool pn =
+    iiop_endpoint->is_preferred_network ();
+
+  ACE_INET_Addr local_addr;
+
+  if (pn)
+    local_addr.set ((u_short) 0,
+                    iiop_endpoint->preferred_network ());
+
   if (TAO_debug_level > 2)
     ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
                 "TAO (%P|%t) - IIOP_Connector::make_connection, "
@@ -168,11 +177,11 @@ TAO_IIOP_Connector::make_connection (TAO::Profile_Transport_Resolver *r,
 
   TAO_IIOP_Connection_Handler *svc_handler = 0;
 
-  // Connect.
   int result =
     this->base_connector_.connect (svc_handler,
                                    remote_address,
-                                   synch_options);
+                                   synch_options,
+                                   local_addr);
 
   // The connect() method creates the service handler and bumps the
   // #REFCOUNT# up one extra.  There are four possibilities from
@@ -347,7 +356,7 @@ TAO_IIOP_Connector::check_prefix (const char *endpoint)
   const size_t slot = ACE_OS::strchr (endpoint, ':') - endpoint;
   if (slot == 0) // an empty string is valid for corbaloc.
     return 0;
-                                                                                                                  
+
   const size_t len0 = ACE_OS::strlen (protocol[0]);
   const size_t len1 = ACE_OS::strlen (protocol[1]);
 
diff --git a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.cpp b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.cpp
index 3f08ce0943a..0b9b6a91138 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "IIOP_Endpoint.h"
-#include "IOPC.h"
+#include "IOP_IORC.h"
 #include "debug.h"
+#include "ORB_Core.h"
 
 #include "ace/Log_Msg.h"
 #include "ace/Guard_T.h"
@@ -21,11 +22,12 @@ ACE_RCSID (tao,
 TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (const ACE_INET_Addr &addr,
                                       int use_dotted_decimal_addresses)
   : TAO_Endpoint (IOP::TAG_INTERNET_IOP)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (683) // default port (IANA assigned)
-    , object_addr_ (addr)
-    , object_addr_set_ (false)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ ()
+  , port_ (683) // default port (IANA assigned)
+  , object_addr_ (addr)
+  , object_addr_set_ (false)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
   this->set (addr, use_dotted_decimal_addresses);
 }
@@ -36,23 +38,23 @@ TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (const char *host,
                                       CORBA::Short priority)
   : TAO_Endpoint (IOP::TAG_INTERNET_IOP,
                   priority)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (port)
-    , object_addr_ (addr)
-    , object_addr_set_ (false)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ (host)
+  , port_ (port)
+  , object_addr_ (addr)
+  , object_addr_set_ (false)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
-  if (host != 0)
-    this->host_ = host;
 }
 
 TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (void)
   : TAO_Endpoint (IOP::TAG_INTERNET_IOP)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (683)  // default port (IANA assigned)
-    , object_addr_ ()
-    , object_addr_set_ (false)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ ()
+  , port_ (683)  // default port (IANA assigned)
+  , object_addr_ ()
+  , object_addr_set_ (false)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
 }
 
@@ -60,11 +62,12 @@ TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (const char *host,
                                       CORBA::UShort port,
                                       CORBA::Short priority)
   : TAO_Endpoint (IOP::TAG_INTERNET_IOP)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (port)
-    , object_addr_ ()
-    , object_addr_set_ (false)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ ()
+  , port_ (port)
+  , object_addr_ ()
+  , object_addr_set_ (false)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
   if (host != 0)
     this->host_ = host;
@@ -76,6 +79,18 @@ TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::~TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (void)
 {
 }
 
+TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (const TAO_IIOP_Endpoint &rhs)
+  : TAO_Endpoint (rhs.tag_,
+                  rhs.priority_)
+  , host_ (rhs.host_)
+  , port_ (rhs.port_)
+  , object_addr_ (rhs.object_addr_)
+  , object_addr_set_ (rhs.object_addr_set_)
+  , preferred_path_  (rhs.preferred_path_)
+  , next_ (0)
+{
+}
+
 int
 TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::set (const ACE_INET_Addr &addr,
                         int use_dotted_decimal_addresses)
@@ -155,11 +170,9 @@ TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::duplicate (void)
 {
   TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *endpoint = 0;
 
+  // @@ NOTE: Not exception safe..
   ACE_NEW_RETURN (endpoint,
-                  TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (this->host_.in (),
-                                     this->port_,
-                                     this->object_addr_,
-                                     this->priority ()),
+                  TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (*this),
                   0);
 
   return endpoint;
@@ -215,6 +228,90 @@ TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::object_addr_i (void) const
     }
 }
 
+CORBA::ULong
+TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::preferred_interfaces (TAO_ORB_Core *oc)
+{
+  ACE_CString tmp (
+    oc->orb_params ()->preferred_interfaces ());
+
+  ssize_t pos = 0;
+
+  pos = tmp.find (this->host_.in ());
+
+  TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *latest = this;
+
+  CORBA::ULong count = 0;
+
+  while (pos != ACE_CString::npos)
+    {
+      ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
+                  "(%P|%t) Pos value is [%d] \n",
+                  pos));
+
+      // Do we have a "," or an '\0'?
+      ssize_t new_pos = tmp.find (",",
+                                  pos + 1);
+
+      // Length of the preferred path
+      int length = 0;
+
+      if (new_pos == ACE_CString::npos)
+        length = tmp.length () - pos;
+      else
+        length = new_pos - pos;
+
+      ACE_CString rem_tmp = tmp.substr (pos, length);
+
+      // Search for the ":"
+      ssize_t col_pos = rem_tmp.find (":");
+
+      if (col_pos == ACE_CString::npos) continue;
+
+      ACE_CString path = rem_tmp.substr (col_pos + 1);
+
+      latest->preferred_path_.host =
+        CORBA::string_dup (path.c_str ());
+
+      if (TAO_debug_level > 3)
+        ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
+                    "(%P|%t) Adding path [%s] "
+                    " as preferred path for [%s] \n",
+                    path.c_str (), this->host_.in ()));
+
+      pos = tmp.find (latest->host_.in (),
+                      pos + length);
+
+      if (pos != ACE_CString::npos)
+        {
+          TAO_Endpoint *tmp_ep =
+            latest->duplicate ();
+
+          latest->next_ = dynamic_cast<TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *> (tmp_ep);
+
+          if (latest->next_ == 0) return count;
+
+          latest = latest->next_;
+          ++count;
+        }
+    }
+
+  if (tmp.c_str () != 0 &&
+      !oc->orb_params ()->enforce_pref_interfaces ())
+    {
+      TAO_Endpoint *tmp_ep = latest->duplicate ();
+
+      latest->next_ =
+        dynamic_cast<TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *> (tmp_ep);
+
+      if (latest->next_ == 0) return count;
+
+      latest->next_->preferred_path_.host = (const char *) 0;
+      ++count;
+    }
+
+  return count;
+}
+
 CORBA::Boolean
 TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::is_equivalent (const TAO_Endpoint *other_endpoint)
 {
@@ -258,3 +355,15 @@ TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::hash (void)
 
   return this->hash_val_;
 }
+
+bool
+TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::is_preferred_network (void) const
+{
+  return (this->preferred_path_.host.in () != 0);
+}
+
+const char *
+TAO_IIOP_Endpoint::preferred_network (void) const
+{
+  return this->preferred_path_.host.in ();
+}
diff --git a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.h b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.h
index d2c7d30459a..be22c89ef4a 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.h
+++ b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Endpoint.h
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
  */
 //=============================================================================
 
-
 #ifndef TAO_IIOP_ENDPOINT_H
 #define TAO_IIOP_ENDPOINT_H
 
@@ -25,6 +24,7 @@
 
 #include "tao/Endpoint.h"
 #include "tao/CORBA_String.h"
+#include "tao/IIOP_EndpointsC.h"
 
 class TAO_IIOP_Connection_Handler;
 
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ public:
                      CORBA::UShort port,
                      CORBA::Short priority);
 
+
+
   /// Destructor.
   ~TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (void);
 
@@ -71,6 +73,7 @@ public:
   // Endpoint.h for their documentation.
 
   virtual TAO_Endpoint *next (void);
+
   virtual int addr_to_string (char *buffer, size_t length);
 
   /// Makes a copy of @c this
@@ -102,6 +105,12 @@ public:
   /// Set the port number.
   CORBA::UShort port (CORBA::UShort p);
 
+  /// Do we have a preferred local network for the target?
+  bool is_preferred_network (void) const;
+
+  /// Return the preferred network if any.
+  const char *preferred_network (void) const;
+
 private:
 
   /// Helper method for setting INET_Addr.
@@ -111,6 +120,18 @@ private:
   /// Helper method for object_addr () call.
   void object_addr_i (void) const;
 
+  /// Generate preferred interfaces from the options passed in by the
+  /// user.
+  CORBA::ULong preferred_interfaces (TAO_ORB_Core *oc);
+
+  /// Canonical copy constructor
+  /**
+   * In private section to prevent clients from invoking this
+   * accidentally. Clients should only use duplicate () to make a depp
+   * copy
+   */
+  TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (const TAO_IIOP_Endpoint &);
+
 private:
 
   /// String representing the host name.
@@ -126,10 +147,12 @@ private:
   /// Flag to indicate if the address has been resolved and set.
   mutable bool object_addr_set_;
 
+  /// Preferred path for this endpoint.
+  TAO::IIOP_Endpoint_Info preferred_path_;
+
   /// IIOP Endpoints can be stringed into a list.  Return the next
   /// endpoint in the list, if any.
   TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *next_;
-
 };
 
 
diff --git a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.cpp b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.cpp
index af4d0b85cc3..1d07a977833 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.cpp
@@ -64,7 +64,8 @@ TAO_IIOP_Profile::TAO_IIOP_Profile (const char* host,
 TAO_IIOP_Profile::TAO_IIOP_Profile (TAO_ORB_Core *orb_core)
   : TAO_Profile (IOP::TAG_INTERNET_IOP,
                  orb_core,
-                 TAO_GIOP_Message_Version (TAO_DEF_GIOP_MAJOR, TAO_DEF_GIOP_MINOR)),
+                 TAO_GIOP_Message_Version (TAO_DEF_GIOP_MAJOR,
+                                           TAO_DEF_GIOP_MINOR)),
     endpoint_ (),
     count_ (1)
 {
@@ -104,6 +105,9 @@ TAO_IIOP_Profile::decode_profile (TAO_InputCDR& cdr)
       // Invalidate the object_addr_ until first access.
       this->endpoint_.object_addr_.set_type (-1);
 
+      this->count_ +=
+        this->endpoint_.preferred_interfaces (this->orb_core ());
+
       return 1;
     }
 
@@ -144,7 +148,7 @@ TAO_IIOP_Profile::parse_string_i (const char *ior
                    ACE_LIB_TEXT ("\nTAO (%P|%t) IIOP_Profile: ")
                    ACE_LIB_TEXT ("Host address may be omited only when no port has been specified.\n")));
         }
-          
+
       ACE_THROW (CORBA::INV_OBJREF (
                    CORBA::SystemException::_tao_minor_code (
                      0,
@@ -309,7 +313,7 @@ TAO_IIOP_Profile::add_endpoint (TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *endp)
   endp->next_ = this->endpoint_.next_;
   this->endpoint_.next_ = endp;
 
-  this->count_++;
+  ++this->count_;
 }
 
 char *
diff --git a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.h b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.h
index 2a3ecffb1bd..fc2cf1043d2 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.h
+++ b/TAO/tao/IIOP_Profile.h
@@ -102,10 +102,25 @@ protected:
    * one endpoint.
    *
    * Currently, a profile contains more than one endpoint, i.e.,
-   * list contains more than just the head, only when RTCORBA is enabled.
-   * However, in the near future, this will be used in nonRT
-   * mode as well, e.g., to support TAG_ALTERNATE_IIOP_ADDRESS
-   * feature.
+   * list contains more than just the head, only for two cases
+   * (1) when RTCORBA is enabled and
+   * (2) the ORB is initialized with -ORBPreferredInterfaces option.
+   * However, in the near future, this will be used in for mode as
+   * well, e.g., to support TAG_ALTERNATE_IIOP_ADDRESS  feature.
+   *
+   * This is probably as good a place to discuss how the list of
+   * endpoints is used for #2. If the ORB is configured to use
+   * preferred interfaces for invocation, TAO creates an endpoint per
+   * preferred interface. To be clear, every tuple
+   * <destination:target> will have an endpoint. What TAO essentially
+   * does is that creates it multiple endpoints so that the invocation
+   * code path can use existing iterating techniques to try one
+   * preferred interface after another (if the first did not work). If
+   * the ORB is configured with -ORBEnforcePreferredInterface set to
+   * false in addition to the ORBPreferredInterfaces option , TAO
+   * creates another endpoint with the preferred bit set to null, so
+   * that the invocation code can fall back to a TCP stack returned
+   * local address.
    * Addressing info of the default endpoint, i.e., head of the list,
    * is transmitted using standard IIOP ProfileBody components.  See
    * <encode_endpoints> method documentation above for how the rest of
diff --git a/TAO/tao/ORB_Core.cpp b/TAO/tao/ORB_Core.cpp
index f769ff98941..46be618d904 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/ORB_Core.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/ORB_Core.cpp
@@ -516,59 +516,28 @@ TAO_ORB_Core::init (int &argc, char *argv[] ACE_ENV_ARG_DECL)
           arg_shifter.consume_arg ();
         }
       else if ((current_arg = arg_shifter.get_the_parameter
-                (ACE_TEXT("-ORBPreconnect"))))
+                (ACE_TEXT("-ORBPreferredInterfaces"))))
         {
-#if 0
-          /*
-           *
-           *  TODO: Needs to go. Leaving it around for things to
-           *  settle down.
-           */
-          // Get a string which describes the connections we want to
-          // cache up-front, thus reducing the latency of the first call.
-          //
-          // For example,  specify -ORBpreconnect once for each
-          // protocol:
-          //
-          //   -ORBpreconnect iiop://tango:10015,watusi:10016
-          //   -ORBpreconnect busX_iop://board1:0x07450000,board2,0x08450000
-          //
-          // Or chain all possible endpoint designations together:
-          //
-          //   -ORBpreconnect iiop://tango:10015,watusi:10016/;
-          //              busX_iop://board1:0x07450000,board2,0x08450000/
-          //
-          // The old style command line only works for IIOP:
-          //    -ORBpreconnect tango:10015,tango:10015,watusi:10016
-
-          ACE_CString preconnections (ACE_TEXT_ALWAYS_CHAR(current_arg));
-
-
-          if (this->orb_params ()->preconnects (preconnections) != 0)
-            {
-              ACE_ERROR ((LM_ERROR,
-                          ACE_TEXT ("(%P|%t)\n")
-                          ACE_TEXT ("Invalid preconnect(s)")
-                          ACE_TEXT ("specified:\n%s\n"),
-                          preconnections.c_str ()));
-              ACE_THROW_RETURN (CORBA::BAD_PARAM (
+          if (this->orb_params ()->preferred_interfaces (
+                current_arg) == false)
+            ACE_THROW_RETURN (CORBA::INTERNAL (
                                   CORBA::SystemException::_tao_minor_code (
                                     TAO_ORB_CORE_INIT_LOCATION_CODE,
-                                    EINVAL),
+                                    0),
                                   CORBA::COMPLETED_NO),
                                 -1);
-            }
-#endif /*if 0*/
-
-          // validate_connection() supports the same functionality as
-          // the -ORBPreconnect option, and more.  Multiple
-          // preconnections are also provided by validate_connection()
-          // via "banded connections."
-          ACE_ERROR ((LM_WARNING,
-                      ACE_TEXT ("(%P|%t) -ORBPreconnect is ")
-                      ACE_TEXT ("deprecated.\n")
-                      ACE_TEXT ("(%P|%t) Use validate_connection()")
-                      ACE_TEXT ("at runtime, instead.\n")));
+
+          arg_shifter.consume_arg ();
+        }
+      else if ((current_arg = arg_shifter.get_the_parameter
+                (ACE_TEXT("-ORBEnforcePreferredInterfaces"))))
+        {
+          if (ACE_OS::strcasecmp (current_arg,
+                                  ACE_TEXT("YES")) == 0)
+            this->orb_params ()->enforce_pref_interfaces (true);
+          else if (ACE_OS::strcasecmp (current_arg,
+                                       ACE_TEXT("NO")) == 0)
+            this->orb_params ()->enforce_pref_interfaces (false);
 
           arg_shifter.consume_arg ();
         }
@@ -1928,7 +1897,7 @@ TAO_ORB_Core::run (ACE_Time_Value *tv,
   if (this->has_shutdown () == 1 &&
       this->server_factory_->activate_server_connections ())
       this->tm_.wait ();
-      
+
   if (TAO_debug_level > 2)
     {
       ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp
index fc0cbb0c656..f439eaa4cfe 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connection_Handler.cpp
@@ -160,6 +160,13 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Connection_Handler::open (void*)
   if (this->peer ().get_local_addr (local_addr) == -1)
     return -1;
 
+
+  if (TAO_debug_level > 2)
+    ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
+                ACE_TEXT("TAO(%P|%t) - SCIOP_Connection_Handler::open, ")
+                ACE_TEXT("The local addr is (%s) \n"),
+                local_addr. get_host_addr ()));
+
   if (local_addr.get_ip_address () == remote_addr.get_ip_address ()
       && local_addr.get_port_number () == remote_addr.get_port_number ())
     {
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connector.cpp b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connector.cpp
index 3b49f84ae57..1f476dc6185 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connector.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Connector.cpp
@@ -157,16 +157,25 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Connector::make_connection (TAO::Profile_Transport_Resolver *r,
 
   TAO_Transport *transport = 0;
 
-  while (tao_endpoint != 0) {
-    TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint *sciop_endpoint = this->remote_endpoint (tao_endpoint);
-    if (sciop_endpoint != 0) {
-      transport = make_connection_i (r, desc, timeout, sciop_endpoint);
-      if (transport) {
-        break;
-      }
+  // @@ ATL folks, is this while loop needed?
+  // TAO_Default_Endpoint_Selector has this code already, i.e., the
+  // loop.
+  while (tao_endpoint != 0)
+    {
+      TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint *sciop_endpoint =
+        this->remote_endpoint (tao_endpoint);
+
+      if (sciop_endpoint != 0)
+        {
+          transport =
+            this->make_connection_i (r, desc, timeout, sciop_endpoint);
+          if (transport)
+            {
+              break;
+            }
+        }
+      tao_endpoint = tao_endpoint->next();
     }
-    tao_endpoint = tao_endpoint->next();
-  }
 
   return transport;
 }
@@ -214,10 +223,18 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Connector::make_connection_i (TAO::Profile_Transport_Resolver *r,
 
   ACE_Multihomed_INET_Addr local_address;
 
-  int result = this->base_connector_.connect (svc_handler,
-                                              multihomed,
-                                              synch_options,
-                                              local_address);
+  bool pn =
+    sciop_endpoint->is_preferred_network ();
+
+  if (pn)
+    local_addr.set ((u_short) 0,
+                    sciop_endpoint->preferred_network ());
+
+  int result =
+    this->base_connector_.connect (svc_handler,
+                                   multihomed,
+                                   synch_options,
+                                   local_address);
 
   // This call creates the service handler and bumps the #REFCOUNT# up
   // one extra.  There are three possibilities: (a) connection
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.cpp b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.cpp
index 16ef07973b9..59bb220fd9e 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.cpp
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 #include "ace/Log_Msg.h"
 #include "ace/Synch.h"
 #include "ace/OS_NS_stdio.h"
+#include "ORB_Core.h"
 
 ACE_RCSID (Strategies,
            SCIOP_Endpoint,
@@ -25,11 +26,12 @@ ACE_RCSID (Strategies,
 TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (const ACE_INET_Addr &addr,
                                       int use_dotted_decimal_addresses)
   : TAO_Endpoint (TAO_TAG_SCIOP_PROFILE)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (683)  // default port (IANA assigned)
-    , object_addr_ (addr)
-    , object_addr_set_ (0)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ ()
+  , port_ (683)  // default port (IANA assigned)
+  , object_addr_ (addr)
+  , object_addr_set_ (0)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
   this->set (addr, use_dotted_decimal_addresses);
 }
@@ -40,39 +42,37 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (const char *host,
                                         CORBA::Short priority)
   : TAO_Endpoint (TAO_TAG_SCIOP_PROFILE,
                   priority)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (port)
-    , object_addr_ (addr)
-    , object_addr_set_ (0)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ (host)
+  , port_ (port)
+  , object_addr_ (addr)
+  , object_addr_set_ (0)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
-  if (host != 0)
-    this->host_ = host;
 }
 
 TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (void)
   : TAO_Endpoint (TAO_TAG_SCIOP_PROFILE)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (683)  // default port (IANA assigned)
-    , object_addr_ ()
-    , object_addr_set_ (0)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ ()
+  , port_ (683)  // default port (IANA assigned)
+  , object_addr_ ()
+  , object_addr_set_ (0)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
 }
 
 TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (const char *host,
-                                      CORBA::UShort port,
-                                      CORBA::Short priority)
+                                        CORBA::UShort port,
+                                        CORBA::Short priority)
   : TAO_Endpoint (TAO_TAG_SCIOP_PROFILE)
-    , host_ ()
-    , port_ (port)
-    , object_addr_ ()
-    , object_addr_set_ (0)
-    , next_ (0)
+  , host_ (host)
+  , port_ (port)
+  , object_addr_ ()
+  , object_addr_set_ (0)
+  , preferred_path_ ()
+  , next_ (0)
 {
-  if (host != 0)
-    this->host_ = host;
-
   this->priority (priority);
 }
 
@@ -80,6 +80,18 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::~TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (void)
 {
 }
 
+TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::TAO_IIOP_Endpoint (const TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint &rhs)
+  : TAO_Endpoint (rhs.tag_,
+                  rhs.priority_)
+  , host_ (rhs.host_)
+  , port_ (rhs.port_)
+  , object_addr_ (rhs.object_addr_)
+  , object_addr_set_ (rhs.object_addr_set_)
+  , preferred_path_  (rhs.preferred_path_)
+  , next_ (0)
+{
+}
+
 int
 TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::set (const ACE_INET_Addr &addr,
                         int use_dotted_decimal_addresses)
@@ -148,11 +160,9 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::duplicate (void)
 {
   TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint *endpoint = 0;
 
+  // @@NOTE: Not at all exception safe
   ACE_NEW_RETURN (endpoint,
-                  TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (this->host_.in (),
-                                      this->port_,
-                                      this->object_addr_,
-                                      this->priority ()),
+                  TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (*this),
                   0);
 
   return endpoint;
@@ -252,4 +262,100 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::object_addr_i (void) const
     }
 }
 
+CORBA::ULong
+TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::preferred_interfaces (TAO_ORB_Core *oc)
+{
+  ACE_CString tmp (
+    oc->orb_params ()->preferred_interfaces ());
+
+  ssize_t pos = 0;
+
+  pos = tmp.find (this->host_.in ());
+
+  TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *latest = this;
+
+  CORBA::ULong count = 0;
+
+  while (pos != ACE_CString::npos)
+    {
+      ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
+                  "(%P|%t) Pos value is [%d] \n",
+                  pos));
+
+      // Do we have a "," or an '\0'?
+      ssize_t new_pos = tmp.find (",",
+                                  pos + 1);
+
+      // Length of the preferred path
+      int length = 0;
+
+      if (new_pos == ACE_CString::npos)
+        length = tmp.length () - pos;
+      else
+        length = new_pos - pos;
+
+      ACE_CString rem_tmp = tmp.substr (pos, length);
+
+      // Search for the ":"
+      ssize_t col_pos = rem_tmp.find (":");
+
+      if (col_pos == ACE_CString::npos) continue;
+
+      ACE_CString path = rem_tmp.substr (col_pos + 1);
+
+      latest->preferred_path_.host =
+        CORBA::string_dup (path.c_str ());
+
+      if (TAO_debug_level > 3)
+        ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG,
+                    "(%P|%t) Adding path [%s] "
+                    " as preferred path for [%s] \n",
+                    path.c_str (), this->host_.in ()));
+
+      pos = tmp.find (latest->host_.in (),
+                      pos + length);
+
+      if (pos != ACE_CString::npos)
+        {
+          TAO_Endpoint *tmp_ep =
+            latest->duplicate ();
+
+          latest->next_ = dynamic_cast<TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *> (tmp_ep);
+
+          if (latest->next_ == 0) return count;
+
+          latest = latest->next_;
+          ++count;
+        }
+    }
+
+  if (tmp.c_str () != 0 &&
+      !oc->orb_params ()->enforce_pref_interfaces ())
+    {
+      TAO_Endpoint *tmp_ep = latest->duplicate ();
+
+      latest->next_ =
+        dynamic_cast<TAO_IIOP_Endpoint *> (tmp_ep);
+
+      if (latest->next_ == 0) return count;
+
+      latest->next_->preferred_path_.host = (const char *) 0;
+      ++count;
+    }
+
+  return count;
+}
+
+bool
+TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::is_preferred_network (void) const
+{
+  return (this->preferred_path_.host.in () != 0);
+}
+
+const char *
+TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint::preferred_network (void) const
+{
+  return this->preferred_path_.host.in ();
+}
+
 #endif /* TAO_HAS_SCIOP == 1 */
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.h b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.h
index c36d809202f..7c7791bf007 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.h
+++ b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Endpoint.h
@@ -107,6 +107,12 @@ public:
   /// Set the port number.
   CORBA::UShort port (CORBA::UShort p);
 
+  /// Do we have a preferred local network for the target?
+  bool is_preferred_network (void) const;
+
+  /// Return the preferred network if any.
+  const char *preferred_network (void) const;
+
 private:
 
   /// Helper method for setting INET_Addr.
@@ -116,6 +122,19 @@ private:
   /// Helper method for object_addr ().
   void object_addr_i (void) const;
 
+  /// Generate preferred interfaces from the options passed in by the
+  /// user.
+  CORBA::ULong preferred_interfaces (TAO_ORB_Core *oc);
+
+  /// Canonical copy constructor
+  /**
+   * In private section to prevent clients from invoking this
+   * accidentally. Clients should only use duplicate () to make a depp
+   * copy
+   */
+  TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (const TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint &);
+
+
   /// String representing the host name.
   CORBA::String_var host_;
 
@@ -129,10 +148,12 @@ private:
   /// Flag to indicate if the address has been resolved and set.
   mutable int object_addr_set_;
 
+  /// Preferred path for this endpoint.
+  TAO::IIOP_Endpoint_Info preferred_path_;
+
   /// SCIOP Endpoints can be stringed into a list.  Return the next
   /// endpoint in the list, if any.
   TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint *next_;
-
 };
 
 
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.cpp b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.cpp
index d01935260ac..52330ee07bc 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.cpp
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ int
 TAO_SCIOP_Profile::decode_profile (TAO_InputCDR& cdr)
 {
   // Decode multiple endpoints, starting with the primary (endpoint_)
-
   CORBA::StringSeq endpointSeq;
   cdr >> endpointSeq;
 
@@ -106,15 +105,20 @@ TAO_SCIOP_Profile::decode_profile (TAO_InputCDR& cdr)
 
   // Add multiple endpoints > 1
 
-  for (int i=endpointSeq.length() - 1; i > 0 ; i--) {
-    TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint *endpoint = 0;
-    ACE_NEW_RETURN (endpoint,
-                    TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (endpointSeq[i].in(),
-                                        this->endpoint_.port_,
-                                        this->endpoint_.priority()),
-                    -1);
-    this->add_endpoint (endpoint);
-  }
+  for (int i=endpointSeq.length() - 1; i > 0 ; i--)
+    {
+      TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint *endpoint = 0;
+      ACE_NEW_RETURN (endpoint,
+                      TAO_SCIOP_Endpoint (endpointSeq[i].in(),
+                                          this->endpoint_.port_,
+                                          this->endpoint_.priority()),
+                      -1);
+
+      this->count_ +=
+        endpoint->preferred_interfaces (this->orb_core ());
+
+      this->add_endpoint (endpoint);
+    }
 
   // SCIOR has a max_streams variable
   // We are ignoring it for now since ACE SCTP code fixes at 1 anyway.
diff --git a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.h b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.h
index 8076034ef79..017f255f363 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.h
+++ b/TAO/tao/Strategies/SCIOP_Profile.h
@@ -103,10 +103,25 @@ protected:
    * one endpoint.
    *
    * Currently, a profile contains more than one endpoint, i.e.,
-   * list contains more than just the head, only when RTCORBA is enabled.
-   * However, in the near future, this will be used in nonRT
-   * mode as well, e.g., to support TAG_ALTERNATE_SCIOP_ADDRESS
-   * feature.
+   * list contains more than just the head, only for two cases
+   * (1) when RTCORBA is enabled and
+   * (2) the ORB is initialized with -ORBPreferredInterfaces option.
+   * However, in the near future, this will be used in for mode as
+   * well, e.g., to support TAG_ALTERNATE_IIOP_ADDRESS  feature.
+   *
+   * This is probably as good a place to discuss how the list of
+   * endpoints is used for #2. If the ORB is configured to use
+   * preferred interfaces for invocation, TAO creates an endpoint per
+   * preferred interface. To be clear, every tuple
+   * <destination:target> will have an endpoint. What TAO essentially
+   * does is that creates it multiple endpoints so that the invocation
+   * code path can use existing iterating techniques to try one
+   * preferred interface after another (if the first did not work). If
+   * the ORB is configured with -ORBEnforcePreferredInterface set to
+   * false in addition to the ORBPreferredInterfaces option , TAO
+   * creates another endpoint with the preferred bit set to null, so
+   * that the invocation code can fall back to a SCTP stack returned
+   * local address.
    * Addressing info of the default endpoint, i.e., head of the list,
    * is transmitted using standard SCIOP ProfileBody components.  See
    * <encode_endpoints> method documentation above for how the rest of
diff --git a/TAO/tao/params.cpp b/TAO/tao/params.cpp
index 1add777ba58..acd06795c40 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/params.cpp
+++ b/TAO/tao/params.cpp
@@ -15,21 +15,23 @@ ACE_RCSID (tao,
 
 
 TAO_ORB_Parameters::TAO_ORB_Parameters (void)
-  : endpoints_map_ (10),
-    mcast_discovery_endpoint_ (),
-    default_init_ref_ (TAO_DEFAULT_INIT_REFERENCE_INITIALIZER),
-    sock_rcvbuf_size_ (ACE_DEFAULT_MAX_SOCKET_BUFSIZ),
-    sock_sndbuf_size_ (ACE_DEFAULT_MAX_SOCKET_BUFSIZ),
-    nodelay_ (1),
-    cdr_memcpy_tradeoff_ (ACE_DEFAULT_CDR_MEMCPY_TRADEOFF),
-    use_lite_protocol_ (0),
-    use_dotted_decimal_addresses_ (0),
-    std_profile_components_ (1),
-    ace_sched_policy_ (ACE_SCHED_OTHER),
-    sched_policy_ (THR_SCHED_DEFAULT),
-    scope_policy_ (THR_SCOPE_PROCESS),
-    single_read_optimization_ (1),
-    disable_rt_collocation_resolver_ (false)
+  : endpoints_map_ (10)
+  , mcast_discovery_endpoint_ ()
+  , default_init_ref_ (TAO_DEFAULT_INIT_REFERENCE_INITIALIZER)
+  , sock_rcvbuf_size_ (ACE_DEFAULT_MAX_SOCKET_BUFSIZ)
+  , sock_sndbuf_size_ (ACE_DEFAULT_MAX_SOCKET_BUFSIZ)
+  , nodelay_ (1)
+  , cdr_memcpy_tradeoff_ (ACE_DEFAULT_CDR_MEMCPY_TRADEOFF)
+  , use_lite_protocol_ (0)
+  , use_dotted_decimal_addresses_ (0)
+  , std_profile_components_ (1)
+  , ace_sched_policy_ (ACE_SCHED_OTHER)
+  , sched_policy_ (THR_SCHED_DEFAULT)
+  , scope_policy_ (THR_SCOPE_PROCESS)
+  , single_read_optimization_ (1)
+  , disable_rt_collocation_resolver_ (false)
+  , pref_network_ ()
+  , enforce_preferred_interfaces_ (false)
 {
   for (int i = 0; i != TAO_NO_OF_MCAST_SERVICES; ++i)
     {
@@ -189,3 +191,51 @@ TAO_ORB_Parameters::parse_and_add_endpoints (const ACE_CString &endpoints,
 
   return status;
 }
+
+bool
+TAO_ORB_Parameters::preferred_interfaces (const char *s)
+{
+  ACE_CString tmp (s);
+
+  ssize_t index = 0;
+  int comma = 0;
+  while ((index = tmp.find (",", index)) != ACE_CString::npos)
+    {
+      ++comma;
+      ++index;
+    }
+
+  index = 0;
+
+  int colon = 0;
+  while ((index = tmp.find (":", index)) != ACE_CString::npos)
+    {
+      ++colon;
+      ++index;
+    }
+
+  if (colon != (comma + 1))
+    return false;
+
+  this->pref_network_ = tmp;
+
+  return true;
+}
+
+const char *
+TAO_ORB_Parameters::preferred_interfaces (void) const
+{
+  return this->pref_network_.c_str ();
+}
+
+void
+TAO_ORB_Parameters::enforce_pref_interfaces (bool p)
+{
+  this->enforce_preferred_interfaces_ = p;
+}
+
+bool
+TAO_ORB_Parameters::enforce_pref_interfaces (void) const
+{
+  return this->enforce_preferred_interfaces_;
+}
diff --git a/TAO/tao/params.h b/TAO/tao/params.h
index 186f11360f4..621f245d6d3 100644
--- a/TAO/tao/params.h
+++ b/TAO/tao/params.h
@@ -168,6 +168,13 @@ public:
   bool disable_rt_collocation_resolver (void) const;
   void disable_rt_collocation_resolver (bool);
 
+  /// Accepts the list of preferred interfaces and does a simple
+  /// semantic check on the string
+  bool preferred_interfaces (const char *s);
+  const char *preferred_interfaces (void) const;
+
+  void enforce_pref_interfaces (bool p);
+  bool enforce_pref_interfaces (void) const;
 private:
   // Each "endpoint" is of the form:
   //
@@ -269,6 +276,11 @@ private:
    * loaded if the RTORB is used.
    */
   bool disable_rt_collocation_resolver_;
+
+  /// Preferred network interfaces as a string
+  ACE_CString pref_network_;
+
+  bool enforce_preferred_interfaces_;
 };
 
 #if defined (__ACE_INLINE__)