>>   (Reassembly at the forwarder also means different fragments cannot 
>> choose different paths; maybe a more theoretical consideration.)
 
This is absolutely not a theoretical consideration.  We call these networks and 
headers "mesh" for a reason: there's an intuitive sense that multiple routes 
provide better performance.  This intuition is now supported by substantial 
empirical evidence (in addition to theory and simulation): implementations that 
say "mesh" and deliver quasi-static trees are not reliable.  Zigbee did a 
disservice to the community by defining "mesh" to be "multi-hop" in the 2003 
standard.
 
Phil makes a good case for single-hop reassembly in his 12/14 treatise, and his 
arguments are valid from a tinyOS and/or Zigbee perspective.  F, X, and L will 
be large, and if link-level acknowledgements are not used, then the energy cost 
of multi-hop reassembly will be prohibitive.  Indeed, the probability of 
success decreases so rapidly with increasing F and X that the question "does it 
work at all?" takes precedence over "is it energy efficient?".
 
There are two international sensor networking standards in the works right now 
(HART and SP100) which will both include mesh routing and link-level 
acknowledgements.  Both will support energy-efficient fragmentation and 
end-to-end reassembly with large F, X, and L.  Both are based on existing 
products built on top of 802.15.4.
 
I think that option 2 below is probably still fine.  Giving people this level 
of flexibility is still useful as we explore this comparatively young space, 
but let's do it informed by the pre-existing solutions to similar problems.
 
ksjp
Prof. EECS, UC Berkeley
Founder and CTO, Dust Networks

________________________________

From: Carsten Bormann [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sun 1/7/2007 12:09 PM
To: gabriel montenegro
Cc: Carsten Bormann; [email protected]
Subject: Re: SV: [6lowpan] WG last call on Format document



> I'd suggest capturing Phil's issue in the writeup used by the
> chairs to advance the document as per:
>
>    http://www.ietf.org/IESG/content/Doc-Writeup.html
>
> That way we can invite discussion from the IESG on this item.

While it is always a good thing to obtain input from the IESG, I 
don't think delegating this issue to the IESG during document 
submission is the right approach here.

The WG is the domain expert on the kind of network we are discussing 
here.
The WG should come to a conclusion.
The IESG can then check that we followed process and that the 
document fits into the wider IETF picture (which is *not* dominated 
by the relevant considerations here).

<wg-chair hat="off">
   On the reassembly issue, I see two approaches:

   1) keep with the reassembly at destination
   2) open up the sequence such that reassembly-before-forwarding 
becomes an alternative, chosen by the sender.
   3) only allow reassembly before forwarding, i.e. forward only full 
datagrams.

   (As far as I can see, nobody argues for 3, that's why I see *two* 
approaches.)

   The advantage of 2 is more options (Philip has explained why this 
can be a good thing).

   The obvious disadvantage of 2 is more options (i.e., increased 
burden on an implementation).
   With 2, the sender gets to decide whether a forwarder has to 
reassemble before forwarding; the forwarder has to play with that 
decision.
   (Reassembly at the forwarder also means different fragments cannot 
choose different paths; maybe a more theoretical consideration.)
</wg-chair>

I'd like to hear more people taking sides on 1 or 2 before we declare 
consensus.

Gruesse, Carsten


_______________________________________________
6lowpan mailing list
[email protected]
https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/6lowpan



_______________________________________________
6lowpan mailing list
[email protected]
https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/6lowpan

Reply via email to