Dick,
> Quoted from RFC791, the IP specification, in the section on loose
> source routing, page 19 [emphasis added]:
>
> If the address in destination address field has been reached and
> the pointer is not greater than the length, the next address in
> the source route replaces the address in the destination address
> field, and the recorded route address REPLACES THE SOURCE
> ADDRESS just used, and pointer is increased by four.
You have misread the specification. That "source" is not (IP Header)
"Source Address" that you imply, but the "source" mentioned earlier in
the sentence, i.e., "address in the source route" (option).
The IP Header Source Address is not changed by the source routing options.
(Nor in the case of IPv6 style source routing.)
[If you think about it, the interpretation you emphasized above will
not result in a capability for bi-directional communication.]
Charlie
