Uncoordinated Protocol Development Considered Harmful
RFC 5704
Network Working Group S. Bryant, Ed.
Request for Comments: 5704 M. Morrow, Ed.
Category: Informational For the IAB
November 2009
Uncoordinated Protocol Development Considered Harmful
Abstract
This document identifies problems that may result from the absence of
formal coordination and joint development on protocols of mutual
interest between standards development organizations (SDOs). Some of
these problems may cause significant harm to the Internet. The
document suggests that a robust procedure is required prevent this
from occurring in the future. The IAB has selected a number of case
studies, such as Transport MPLS (T-MPLS), as recent examples to
describe the hazard to the Internet architecture that results from
uncoordinated adaptation of a protocol.
This experience has resulted in a considerable improvement in the
relationship between the IETF and the ITU-T. In particular, this was
achieved via the establishment of the "Joint working team on
MPLS-TP". In addition, the leadership of the two organizations
agreed to improve inter-organizational working practices so as to
avoid conflict in the future between ITU-T Recommendations and IETF
RFCs.
Whilst we use ITU-T - IETF interactions in these case studies, the
scope of the document extends to all SDOs that have an overlapping
protocol interest with the IETF.
Status of This Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
Bryant, et al. Informational [Page 1]
RFC 5704 Uncoordinated Harmful November 2009
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
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described in the BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................2
2. Protocol Design Rules ...........................................3
2.1. Protocol Safety ............................................3
2.2. Importance of Invariants ...................................4
2.3. Importance of Correct Identification .......................4
2.4. The Role of the Design Authority ...........................4
2.5. Ships in the Night .........................................5
3. Examples of Miscoordination .....................................6
3.1. T-MPLS as a Case Study .....................................6
3.2. PPP over SONET/SDH (Synchronous Optical Network /
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy ..............................6
4. Managing Information Flow .......................................7
4.1. Managing Information Flow within an SDO ....................7
4.2. Managing Information Flow between SDOs .....................7
5. MPLS-TP as Best Practice ........................................7
6. IETF Change Process .............................................8
7. Security Considerations .........................................8
8. Acknowledgments .................................................8
9. IAB Members at the Time of This Writing .........................8
10. Emerging Issues ................................................9
11. Conclusion .....................................................9
12. Informative References .........................................9
Appendix A. A Review of the T-MPLS Case ..........................12
A.1. Multiple Definitions of Label 14 ..........................12
A.2. Redefinition of TTL Semantics .............................13
A.3. Reservation of Additional Labels ..........................13
A.4. Redefinition of MPLS EXP Bits .............................14
A.5. The Consequences for the Network Operators ................14
A.6. The Consequences for the SDOs .............................15
1. Introduction
The uncoordinated adaptation of a protocol, parameter, or code-point
by a standards development organization (SDO), either through the
allocation of a code-point without following the formal registration
procedures or by unilaterally modifying the semantics of the protocol
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