Maximum segment lifetime is the time a TCP segment can exist in the internetwork system. It is arbitrarily defined to be 2 minutes long.
The Maximum Segment Lifetime value is used to determine the TIME_WAIT interval (2*MSL)
The command that can be used to many Unix systems determine the TIME_WAIT interval is:
ndd -get /dev/tcp tcp_time_wait_interval60000 (60 seconds) is a common value.
On most linux systems, this value can be checked by the command below:
sysctl net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeoutOr simply view the file in /proc:
cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_fin_timeoutFamous quotes containing the words maximum and/or lifetime:
“Only at his maximum does an individual surpass all his derivative elements, and become purely himself. And most people never get there. In his own pure individuality a man surpasses his father and mother, and is utterly unknown to them.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Only Socrates knew, after a lifetime of unceasing labor, that he was ignorant. Now every high-school student knows that. How did it become so easy?”
—Allan Bloom (1930–1992)