Hi,

I support this endeavor. I think it's a good idea.

Cheers,
Michael


>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: [email protected]
>> > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bob Briscoe
>> > Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:37 AM
>> > To: tsv-area IETF list
>> > Cc: iccrg IRTF list
>> > Subject: [tsv-area] Congestion Exposure (re-ECN): to BoF or
>> > to Bar BoF?
>> >
>> > TSV Area folks,
>> >
>> > [Please continue this discussion on tsvarea]
>> >
>> > I'd like to launch a concrete protocol-specification activity on
>> > congestion exposure (with re-ECN as a candidate solution) in
>> > Stockholm? Here at the ICCRG in Tokyo, we've just agreed that this
>> > doesn't conflict with the new IRTF ICCRG  design team in this space
>> > or prejudge any consensus on direction (see background below). The
>> > question is purely about timing...
>> >
>> > I'm finding that re-ECN seems to feature somewhere in the plans of
>> > those expressing an opinion in the ICCRG discussions. My concern: the
>> > protocol that will take longest needs to be finished soonest. E.g.
>> > ECN took 7 years from first research paper to proposed standard.
>> >
>> > Therefore, I'd like to propose we get started on a specific protocol
>> > specification activity, in parallel to the ICCRG design team. We have
>> > to set this up so it doesn't imply it is the *official and only* way
>> > forward. But it's a good punt to be starting on.
>> >
>> > My questions are:
>> > * Do you think discussions should start on building a BoF on
>> > "Congestion Exposure" in Stockholm (getting late but still do-able)?
>> > * Or less ambitiously should we arrange another ad hoc BoF (bar BoF)
>> > in Stockholm, building on ICCRG work in Tokyo this week, to get a
>> > community together to form a BoF later?
>> > * Or do people actively oppose anyone doing anything yet on
>> > congestion exposure or re-ECN in the IETF or IRTF?
>> >
>> > Background on TCP-unfriendly and on re-ECN
>> > -------------------------------------------
>> > You may be aware that, in San Francisco we had discussions in TSVArea
>> > (prompted by Matt Mathis's talk) on whether to move beyond
>> > TCP-friendliness as a comprehensive direction for both sharing
>> > Internet capacity and future congestion controls. In the IRTF ICCRG
>> > the same week it was decided to set up a design team to work on the
>> > way forward and propose it in an informational RFC - Matt Mathis has
>> > kicked off a first shot <draft-mathis-iccrg-unfriendly-00.txt>. We
>> > just had the launch meeting of that design team at the ICCRG
>> > here in Tokyo.
>> >
>> > Re-ECN is a change to IP to make congestion as transparent to the
>> > network as it is to the endpoints (hence congestion exposure). Then:
>> > i) causes of excessive congestion can be kept in check if ISPs choose
>> > - but at the bulk packet level like the Internet architecture should
>> > be - agnostic to behaviour of individual flows;
>> > ii) and ISPs that under-provision can be held to account as well.
>> > (see the end for the status of re-ECN).
>> >
>> > Re-ECN status
>> > -------------
>> > We've been keeping a draft spinning on this proposed change to IP
>> > since 2005. It's still an individual contribution waiting for
>> > the right time.
>> > <draft-briscoe-tsvwg-re-ecn-tcp-07>
>> > <draft-briscoe-tsvwg-re-ecn-tcp-motivation-00>
>> >
>> > When we first presented it and had subsequent ad hoc BoFs, the idea
>> > fell on stony ground. I think because back then few could see the
>> > limitations of TCP-friendly. Even if you still think there's
>> > something in TCP-friendly, it was apparent from the lack of any hum
>> > it received in SF that we at least need something wider.
>> >
>> > It seems re-ECN is one of those things people want someone else to
>> > have already done. It gives a permit to be able to work on protocols
>> > that are really safe and fair, but they're not strictly TCP-friendly
>> > (e.g. mTCP, relentless, etc). For instance, re-ECN would allow ISPs
>> > to count how little congestion LEDBAT traffic was causing, so they
>> > need not count it against the user's allowance, etc.
>> >
>> > We've now implemented it. There's now a great amount of security
>> > analysis on trying to game it and attack it and how it defends
>> > itself. People are working on using it as a basis for other DDoS
>> > protection mechanisms. Another is trying to build traffic engineering
>> > over it. Others are interested in deploying it using proxies. It's
>> > potential impact on net neutrality etc is being analysed by
>> > regulatory and economics people. So has it's time come?
>> >
>> > Cheers
>> >
>> >
>> > Bob
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > ________________________________________________________________
>> > Bob Briscoe,               Networks Research Centre, BT Research
>> >
>> >
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> Bob Briscoe,               Networks Research Centre, BT Research
>
>


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