IP over Resilient Packet Rings -- Wakeup Call

Good Morning IPoRPRers

As I'm sure all of you remember, a long time ago
this working group went dormant. We'd put together
a framework draft which broadly described where we
were going. Then we decided to wait for the IEEE
802.17 group to come up with something. Well, it looks
like they have. IIRC, 802.17 is in the final editorial/
commentary stages and expect to have a full proposal
any day now. So, that means that we can get ourselves
back in action and try to produce the things we were
to produce. 

First, some administrivia
1. Albert Herrera and I are still the cochairs of the WG.
   However, due to the transformation in our little corner
   of the corporate world over the past two years, both of
   our email addresses have changed. 

   - Albert is [email protected]
   - I am [email protected]

2. The WG used to be in the "sub-IP" area in the IESG. We've
   moved to the Internet area. Our two area directors are
   Thomas Narten and Erik Nordmark,  [email protected] and
   [email protected], respectively

3. The last thing the WG did was thrash out a charter. Albert and
   I have moved the charter through the IESG and got back some
   comments. The charter said that we'd do two major work
   items, produce a "basic IPoRPR" spec and then an "advanced"
   one. The basic one was the "minimalist" approach, just to get
   some things up and running, treating the ring as a simple
   LAN (though a big one). The advanced one made use of advanced
   features to provide added services.  The IESG requested that
   the charter stick to the basic model, then we'd evaluate
   WG and operator interest to see if we need to do the advanced
   one.  We have a new proposed charter, taking the IESG feedback
   into account. The other big change here is that we've put in
   some real dates...  The proposed charter is included for your
   convenience.
4. We are NOT planning to meet at the Atlanta IETF meeting. There
   is no obvious reason to do so. The next month or so will be taken
   by us all getting up to speed and producing a first cut at the
   basic spec.
5. Under either the charter as we submitted to the IESG or the one 
   with the IESG's comments, we'd only be working on the 'basic' spec 
   at first, so I think that the WG can start that right now, even
   though we are still, technically, dormant. 
6. I have a first-draft of a document that can serve as the beginnings
   of the "basic" draft. I'll be sending it out in a few days. I need
   to go over it again and check it out.


Frank Kastenholz
co-chair, IPoRPR

p.s. 
   Sorry if you get this twice, change of email address
   means that the mailing list software is confused...

p.p.s
   Here's the charter as we've altered it.

                       o /
------------------------x----------------------------------
                       O \

IPORPR CHARTER
-----------------------------

REVISION 1.6  -- 04 November 2002

Resilient Packet Rings, under development within the IEEE's 802.17
RPRWG, will provide substantial enhancements in both efficiency and
flexibility over current bi-directional ring topologies. Benefits of
resilient packet rings (RPRs) will include spatial re-use (full
utilization of both counter-rotating rings) while maintaining
APS-like protection switching during media faults. The 802.17 RPRWG
may develop mechanisms for topology discovery, congestion control,
and protection switching. Reference the IEEE 802.17 RPRWG at
http://www.ieee802.org/17/ for further information. 

IEEE 802.17 is currently work in progress with a planned final draft 
by the end of 2002.

The IPORPR Working Group within the IETF plans to develop the 
necessary standards for efficient interaction between L2 and L3.
The IPORPR Framework draft (draft-ietf-iporpr-framework-##.txt)
defines three levels of 802.17/IP interaction:

1.  L3 view of an RPR ring as a traditional broadcast media.
2.  L3 service interface to an RPR ring for specific 
     resource/services requests.
3.  Enhanced L3 awareness and interaction with an RPR ring.



CURRENT CHARTER:
----------------

Given the work-in-progress nature of 802.17, the IPORPR work group 
is chartered to develop the basic (core) set L3 functionality
as it applies to 802.17. This is the first level of interaction
as outlined on the framework document with a L3 view of the 
RPR ring as a traditional broadcast media similar to Ethernet.

The IPORPR working group will also continue to revise the framework
internet-draft (draft-ietf-iporpr-framework-##.txt as of this
writing). A final publication of this draft will be deferred until 
the first draft of the Extended Protocol specification is
available to allow the framework to evolve based on implementation 
work.



FUTURE WORK:
------------

Following the Core protocol set, a re-charter is required to 
develop an Extended protocol set which will be oriented towards
the second and third level of 802.17/IP interaction.  The
intent is that the Extended protocol will build on the implementation
experience of the first level. A re-chartering might also include 
MIB-related items for development in cooperation with IEEE 802.17.

The following enumerates possible issues and areas to be developed.
The IPORPR working group should evaluate these as work progresses. 
These are some, but not all, of the issues that 'may'  need to be 
addressed.

  - Packet Encapsulation
  - Address Mapping.  This will probably be L3/L2 mapping, but
    the details will be clearer as 802.17 progresses.
  - MTU issues such as default MTU selection
  - Transport of Multicast and Broadcast packets
  - Mapping of Diffserv to any QOS mechanisms developed for 802.17
  - Network Management
  - Routing Protocols
  - MPLS
  - Traffic Engineering
  - Mapping of 802.17 customer separation mechanisms to MPLS/IP/L3
    VPNs

Given the fluid nature of 802.17's work (in-progress), there is no 
degree of certainty as to which of these technical issues need to be 
addressed and which do not. 



IPORPR INTERACTION WITH OTHER STANDARDS BODIES:
-----------------------------------------------

There are no formal liaisons between the IPORPR working group and 
other standards bodies.

The IPORPR working group shall not duplicate work being done in other
working groups nor shall it do work that directly overlaps the
responsibilities of other working groups.  Where such issues arise,
the working group chairs shall direct the participants to the other
relevant working group and shall notify the other relevant working
group's chairs of the issue.

The IPORPR WG will coordinate with relevant working groups within the
IETF to leverage existing work. The WG may also generate requirements
for other IETF WGs as needed. Additionally, the WG may collaborate
with other standards bodies and interoperability forums engaged in IP
over optical activities (e.g., including ITU-T) to share information,
minimize duplication of effort, and coordinate activities in order to
promote interoperability and serve the best interest of the industry.

IPORPR participants are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to take part in any and
all areas of 802.17, which are of interest to them. In particular,
IEEE 802.17 is developing a MIB for the management of 802.17
networks.  IPORPR participants are encouraged to take part in this
effort to ensure that the MIB is appropriate for the Internet's
operational needs.  
  


GOALS AND MILESTONES:
---------------------


November 2002 - Publish first draft of the Core IP-over-RPR
                specification as an Internet Draft. This draft 
                covers the first level of 802.17/IP interaction.

February 2003 - Publish second draft of the Core IP-over-RPR 
                specification as an Internet Draft. This should be
                published in time for the March 2003 IETF meeting.

February 2003 - Publish revised IP-over-802.17 Framework document.

March 2003    - Re-evaluate and re-charter, with specific emphasis 
                on plans for extended features as well as revisions 
                or additions to the IP-over-802.17 Framework document.

April 2003    - Submit final draft to the Core protocol to the 
                IESG for Proposed Standard Status.


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