Re: francois' comments and why RFC4474 not used in the field

[with my individual contributor hat on]

Dan Wing wrote:
> On SIP networks today we have intermediaries modifying SDP in transit.  It's
> happening now, on real networks.  I am really interested in preserving
> identity over those networks.
>    

And I have HTTP proxies that I'd love to send RTP through. At some 
point, we've got to realize that certain types of old dogs aren't even 
remotely suited for particularly demanding new tricks -- at least, not 
without software upgrades.

I think it's important to distinguish among three classes of solutions 
in this space:

   1. Identity that works through existing B2BUAs
   2. Identity that might not work through existing B2BUAs, but that
      B2BUAs can be modified to work with
   3. Identity that precludes the presence of B2BUAs


There are clearly approaches that fit into each of these three 
categories. There are a number of people (and I count myself among them) 
who find the security properties of the proposals that fit into #1 to be 
odious. There are also people who clearly find proposals in class #3 
unacceptable for their lack of pragmatism.

Now, there are also a number of people who have historically staked out 
extremist positions that state that only solutions in category #1 (or 
only solutions in category #3) are acceptable, and that neither of the 
other two options could possibly be acceptable. I think we need to 
ignore people arguing from either of these extreme positions, because 
their positions are mutually exclusive, and can never be rectified with 
each other.

At the risk of suggesting compromise, I'll point out that there *is* a 
way to mutually satisfy those people who reject solutions in class #1 
and those people who reject solutions in class #3. I suspect that useful 
progress lies in that direction only.

/a

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