Is SSLSocketFactory thread-safe?

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Scott W Gifford - 20 Jan 2006 00:54 GMT

Hello,

I'm writing a multi-threaded application that uses SSL sockets for
communication. I'm wondering if I need to provide any synchronization
around the SocketFactory returned by SSLSocketFactory.getDefault(), if
it's possible many threads will be creating new connections
simultaneously? Can they all use the same SocketFactory, or should
they each call SSLSocketFactory.getDefault() to get their own?

Currently, my client provides methods like these:

private static SocketFactory sockFac = null;
private static SocketFactory getSocketFac() {
if (sockFac == null)
sockFac = SSLSocketFactory.getDefault();
return sockFac;
}

public SearchClient(InetAddress host, int port) throws IOException {
this(getSocketFac().createSocket(host,port));
}

Should this be thread-safe?

Thanks!

----ScottG.

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Thomas Hawtin - 20 Jan 2006 01:30 GMT

> I'm writing a multi-threaded application that uses SSL sockets for
> communication. I'm wondering if I need to provide any synchronization
> around the SocketFactory returned by SSLSocketFactory.getDefault(), if
> it's possible many threads will be creating new connections
> simultaneously? Can they all use the same SocketFactory, or should
> they each call SSLSocketFactory.getDefault() to get their own?

http://download.java.net/jdk6/docs/api/javax/net/ssl/SSLSocketFactory.html#getDefault()
"Returns the default SSL socket factory."

There should only be one. So it doesn't matter if your code fetches the
same value more the once.

I was going to check the source, but the SSLSocketFactory.java is in a
docs directory and has an explanatory comment. (Thunderbird wants to
call SSLSocketFactory unsatisfactory.)

/*
* NOTE:
* Because of various external restrictions (i.e. US export
* regulations, etc.), the actual source code can not be provided
* at this time. This file represents the skeleton of the source
* file, so that javadocs of the API can be created.
*/

However, there are no export restriction on javap and the object code
looks safe.

> Currently, my client provides methods like these:
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> return sockFac;
> }

You don't need to do that. Just calling SSLSocketFactory.getDefault()
should be fine.

If you did need to keep hold of the reference for some reason, you could
write it more simply and safely as:

private static final SocketFactory socketFactory =
SSLSocketFactory.getDefault();

> Should this be thread-safe?

Yup, although in general you'd need to either initialise it as part of
the static initialiser or perhaps synchronise.

Tom Hawtin

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Is SSLSocketFactory thread-safe?

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