Joe> Many of these discussions (layer 2 VPNs, in particular) would be better
Joe> served by occuring within the context of their original host
Joe> organization (i.e., IEEE for ethernet over IP), since it was those
Joe> organizations that defined those LANs, and they who would best comment
Joe> on the correctness (or lack) of proposed solutions.
IEEE is certainly not the right place to determine how to carry ethernet
data and control frames over IP networks. Nor is it the right place to
design the auto-discovery mechanisms for figuring out which IP systems need
to connect to which other IP systems in order to provide layer 2 VPN
services. Nor is it the right place to determine how the characteristics of
IP networks may be leveraged to optimize for layer 2 VPNs. Nor is it the
right place to address the scalability, security, and applicability issues
of layer 2 VPNs over IP networks. In fact, the IEEE 802.1 participants who
are following the layer 2 VPN work have not even claimed that these issues
fall within their scope.
While I am not a big fan of emulating ethernet networks over IP networks, this
is a pretty clear example of a topic that has both IETF and IEEE components,
and which needs attention from BOTH groups.