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Re: [MBONED] Last Call: <draft-ietf-mboned-ssmping-08.txt> (Multicast Ping Protocol) to Proposed Standard

2011-07-05 16:41:14
On 7/5/2011 2:10 PM, Tim Chown wrote:
I think this draft specifies a very useful protocol, which we have used at our 
site and which has been a valuable multicast debugging tool.

The specification and implementations have evolved over maybe 5-6 years or so.  
The implementations we've used have been of various stages of the protocol's 
development.  A student at our site implemented an earlier version of the 
protocol successfully.  I don't believe we've used a version at our site based 
on the spec in the final version of the text, so I can't comment on that 
specifically.

There are some parts of the text that I think indicate the protocol has evolved 
over a length of time; if it were rewritten from scratch it would probably be 
somewhat more compact, due to some level of repetition of aspects of the 
protocol.  However, I think it's more important to get the protocol published 
now, so I would support publishing it as is.

The protocol is defined in a fairly loose way, but the core elements are tight 
enough for implementation.  This is reflected in the text at the start of 
Section 6.

I noticed one nit in terms of the client ID. In Section 2 the text says:
"At runtime, a client generates a client ID that is unique for the ping test.  This 
ID is included in all messages sent by the client."
Then later in the more detailed spec, the text says:
"A client SHOULD always include this option in all messages (both Init and Echo 
Request)."
I would have expected the inclusion of the Client ID to be a MUST, based on the earlier 
explanation.  If it is a SHOULD, the introduction text should say "this ID is 
usually included in all messages sent by the client".

Yes, I think it should be changed to say "usually". A basic client could
work without including the ID. But there are good reasons to include it
as listed in the draft.

Stig

It would be nice to consider mechanisms to discover 'public' ssmping test 
servers, but that's a separate text :)

Tim

On 20 Jun 2011, at 18:51, The IESG wrote:


The IESG has received a request from the MBONE Deployment WG (mboned) to
consider the following document:
- 'Multicast Ping Protocol'
  <draft-ietf-mboned-ssmping-08.txt>  as a Proposed Standard

The IESG plans to make a decision in the next few weeks, and solicits
final comments on this action. Please send substantive comments to the
ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org mailing lists by 2011-07-04. Exceptionally, comments 
may be
sent to iesg(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org instead. In either case, please retain the
beginning of the Subject line to allow automated sorting.

Abstract


The Multicast Ping Protocol specified in this document allows for
checking whether an endpoint can receive multicast, both Source-
Specific Multicast (SSM) and Any-Source Multicast (ASM).  It can also
be used to obtain additional multicast-related information such as
multicast tree setup time.  This protocol is based on an
implementation of tools called ssmping and asmping.



The file can be obtained via
http://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-mboned-ssmping/

IESG discussion can be tracked via
http://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-mboned-ssmping/


No IPR declarations have been submitted directly on this I-D.


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