- 1 - Network Working Group Jack Houldsworth INTERNET DRAFT ICL Enterprise Systems October 1993 SC6 Documents on Liaison with the IETF in the CIDR Environment Status of this Memo This document is an Internet Draft. Internet Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its Areas, and its Working Groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet Drafts. Internet Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months. Internet Drafts may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is not appropriate to use Internet Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as a ``working draft'' or ``work in progress.'' Please check the 1id-abstracts.txt listing contained in the internet-drafts Shadow Directories on nic.ddn.mil, nnsc.nsf.net, nic.nordu.net, ftp.nisc.sri.com, or munnari.oz.au to learn the current status of any Internet Draft. 1 Introduction This document includes the following documents produced by the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 at its meeting in Seoul, October 1993: - "ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 Liaison Contribution to the Internet Society" (SC6 N8419) - "Statement of Expected Benefits Resulting From Liaison Between ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 and the Internet Society" (SC6 N8420) Section 2 contains the first document. Section 3 contains the second document. 2 ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 Liaison Contribution to the Internet Society Expiration Date April 1994 [Page 1] - 2 - Attached to this liaison statement is SC 6 N 8420 entitled "Statement of Expected Benefits Regarding Liaison between the Internet Society and ISO/TEC JTC 1/SC 6", which SC 6 is sending to JTC 1 in support of its liaison initiative with the Internet Society and its principal Internet standards-making body (the IETF). It is apparent to SC 6 that there are clear benefits to be obtained from identifying and agreeing on common goals and objectives from both the ISO and Internet perspectives. SC 6 offers a draft set of goals and benefits in N 8420. In order for the current liaison initiative to succeed, it is essential for the Internet Society and JTC 1, in particular its SC 6, to adopt a common "memorandum of understanding (MOU)" that expresses and agreement between affected parties concerning the expected goals and benefits of liaison. SC 6 hopes to pursue such an MOU with the Internet Society, with the objective of making the MOU the basis of a liaison relationship. It is expected that such an MOU would also address the change control mechanisms. SC 6 views favourably granting Category A liaison to the Internet Society, but the nature and terms of the liaison relationship will of course be matters of agreement between the ITTF, JTC 1 and the Internet Society. Identification of Issues Concerning Effective Liaison between the Internet Society and SC6 1. SC 6 recognizes the existence of a multiprotocol environment that includes both open and proprietary standards and that TCP/IP forms an essential component of this environment. 2. SC 6 observes that there are a number of different initiatives which have either been taken or may be undertaken: - The IETF is working on issues related to the deployment and operations of CLNP in the Internet ("Guidelines for NSAP allocation"; NOOP WG0. CLNP was adopted by SC 6 in 1988 because it was the best available protocol for connectionless internetworking in the context of OSI. SC 6, therefore, strongly encourages this initiative and views it as a very positive development. - The IETF is considering the use of TUBA as its IPng protocol. SC 6 encourages fair consideration of this approach. - The IETF is already working on adapting the use of OSI routeing protocols (ISIS, IDRP) in the Internet. Expiration Date April 1994 [Page 2] - 3 - - Both SC6 and the IETF are working on the provision of new network layer capabilities such as multicast, mobility, and support for multimedia applications. 3. These areas should be evaluated independently and SC 6 encourages collaboration in all of them. This work should continue regardless of the status of discussions on liaison relationships. 3 Statement of Expected Benefits Resulting From Liaison Between ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 and the Internet Society Background on OSI Protocols and Related Work by the Internet Society Interconnection and internetworking protocols have been developed by ISO/IEC and ITU-T in accordance with the OSI reference model architecture. They are known colloquially as OSI protocols. The Internet community has developed difference protocols for the same basic purposes. These protocols are known formally as the Internet Protocol Suite (IPS) but they are nearly always referred to colloquially as TCP/IP protocols (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). TCP and IP incorporate the functions of the OSI class 4 transport and connectionless Network layer protocols, ie the networking part of the IPS. Goals and Benefits The establishment and pursuit of a collaborative effort is expected to: - Simplify the deployment and operation of the global communications infrastructure; - Facilitate and accelerate the growth of a global communications infrastructure based on open systems networking standards; - Reduce the complexity and cost of open systems networking to the users and providers of network products and services by reducing the number of alternatives. Expiration Date April 1994 [Page 3] - 4 - - More efficiently use the scarce worldwide resource of networking experts involved in the definition of new and improved open systems networking protocols; - Enable ISO/IEC to develop and evolve its standards in such a way as to promote their usage within the global communications infrastructure. The IETF and JTC 1 SC 6 have begun to develop new capabilities such as multicast mobility, and multimedia applications. Effective liaison will focus the resources of the two groups on common solutions to these problems, accelerating the development of these new capabilities and their deployment within the global communications infrastructure. Methodology Details of the technical interaction will be developed jointly by SC 6 and the Internet Society within the terms of agreement that may be reached between the Internet Society and JTC 1 within respect to liaison. Background to the Liaison Initiative At its 1992 plenary meeting in San Diego, SC 6 instructed its chairman in initiate a dialogue with external bodies with whom SC 6 shares a mutual interest, such as the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and the Frame Relay Forum, with a view to establishing liaison relationships between those bodies and SC 6 (see Resolution 138 of SC 6/N 7684). In the absence of a chairman of SC 6 following the San Diego meeting, the action was undertaken in late 1992 on an interim Society (ISOC) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). Discussion of the purpose and form of a liaison relationship between SC 6 and the Internet Society took place over a period of months that included IAB participation in the February 1993 meetings of SC 6 working groups in London and Mr Houldsworth's participation in a meeting of the IAB in Columbus, Ohio in March 1993. JTC 1 was informed of these liaison initiatives at their March 1993 plenary meeting in Berlin. JTC 1 instructed SC 6 to proceed immediately with the establishment of a Category C relationship with the IAB in accordance with he JTC 1 Directives (see Resolution 44 of SC 6 N 8055). JTC 1 also instructed other specific SCs to consider their requirements for liaison with the Internet Society. Expiration Date April 1994 [Page 4] - 5 - [NOTE: The IAB, which desires a relationship with JTC 1 and its subcommittees broader than that offered by a Category C relationship with SC 6, has written to the ITTF to request Category A liaison status with JTC 1. Pending the completion of this initiative with JTC 1, the IAB has explicitly stated its reluctance to enter into a Category C relationship with SC 6 (or with SC 21 or SC 18, which have also discussed the possibility of establishing Category C relationships with the Internet Society).] The JTC 1 Directives state that a subcommittee wishing to establish a liaison must provide a statement of the benefits that the relationship will bring. Therefore, in accordance with clause 4.3.2 of the JTC 1 Directives, the attached document is submitted to JTC 1 to assist in the formal establishment of a liaison relationship. SC 6 proposes to JTC 1 that a Category A liaison relationship between SC 6 and the Internet Society would be mutually beneficial. Further, subject to JTC 1 approval SC 6 offers to develop with the Internet Society a "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) describing the precise nature of the liaison relationship. SC 6 suggests that the subject MOU could be applicable to the situation in which other JTC 1 SCs might find themselves with respect to the liaison with the Internet Society. 4 Author's Address Jack Houldsworth ICL Enterprise Systems Cavendish Road, Stevenage Herts SG1 2DY, UK Phone: +44 438 313361 (ext 6112) EMail: j.houldsworth@ste0906.wins.icl.co.uk Expiration Date April 1994 [Page 5]