Subject: [TERNLI] question about layer focus

From: Joe Touch <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 09:03:02 -0700

Hi, all,

I noticed that the BOF title and description focuses on transport
interactions with network layer indications.

However, some of the background reading suggests link-transport
interaction. IMO, this has been the previous issue with some previous
attempts near this solution space; is this difference being addressed in
this BOF, or is the BOF setting a boundary (i.e., only transport-net and
net-link are allowed, but not transport-link?)

Joe

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From: Wesley Eddy <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 12:36:33 -0400

> net-link are allowed, but not transport-link?)

I think one idea that some people share is that while transport-link has
been used pretty frequently, implementing these hacks doesn't scale as
the number of link technologies with subtle differences grows, and so it
is architecturally vital to transition to a transport-net model where
link-independent signals are passed.

-- 
Wesley M. Eddy
Verizon Federal Network Systems

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From: Joe Touch <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 10:07:32 -0700

> link-independent signals are passed.

It's more than that, IMO. Any property that is of a link, rather than of
a path, is inappropriate to expose to the transport layer. There are
current exceptions that are based on 'best guess', i.e., starting PMTU
at the MTU of the first link hop as a starting point; that's fine, as
would any other similar starting guess. However, I think of that as a
guess that could as easily have been passed through the layers (i.e.,
the network layer indicates that all paths originating from this IP
address start with the MTU of its link, passing that then from the net
to the transport).

Joe

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From: Lars Eggert <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 00:34:37 +0300

> net-link are allowed, but not transport-link?)

The reading list contains both high-level background material as well  
as documents on specific proposals that various groups have brought  
forth. I'll try to structure the reading list by topic in the next  
update of the BOF proposal.

>  Any property that is of a link, rather than of

I agree with you on this. There will likely be a presentation on the  
approach to the problem space that this document is related to during  
the BOF, hence I listed this as part of the reading list.

Lars
-- 
Lars Eggert                                     NEC Network Laboratories