What does “connection reset by peer” mean?

It’s fatal. The remote server has sent you a RST packet, which indicates an immediate dropping of the connection, rather than the usual handshake. This bypasses the normal half-closed state transition. I like this description:

“Connection reset by peer” is the TCP/IP equivalent of slamming the phone back on the hook. It’s more polite than merely not replying, leaving one hanging. But it’s not the FIN-ACK expected of the truly polite TCP/IP converseur.

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