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Re: IETF Sub-IP area: request for input (fwd)

2002-12-06 08:11:32

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.