Hi Les,

From: Lsr <lsr-boun...@ietf.org> on behalf of "Les Ginsberg (ginsberg)" 
<ginsberg=40cisco....@dmarc.ietf.org>
Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 1:17 PM
To: "Acee Lindem (acee)" <acee=40cisco....@dmarc.ietf.org>, "lsr@ietf.org" 
<lsr@ietf.org>
Subject: Re: [Lsr] WG Last Call fo "IS-IS Flood Reflection" 
-draft-ietf-lsr-isis-flood-reflection-05

When I look at this request, I see it in a larger context.

There are two drafts which attempt to address the same problem in very 
different ways:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-lsr-isis-flood-reflection/

and

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-lsr-isis-area-proxy/

Both of them discuss in their respective introductions the motivation – which 
is to address scaling issues in deployment scenarios where the existing IS-IS 
hierarchy is being asked to “stand on its head” i.e., interconnection between 
different L1 areas is not to be achieved by utilizing an L2 backbone – rather 
it is the L1 areas themselves which are required to be used for interconnection 
of sites (e.g., two datacenters) and the scaling properties of the existing 
protocol hierarchy when used in this way are not attractive.

I find no technical basis on which to choose between the two proposed solutions 
– so in my mind a last call for “Flood-Reflection” presupposes a last call for 
“Area Proxy” – and therein lies my angst.
The end result will be that multiple incompatible solutions to the same problem 
will be defined. It will then be left to customers to try to determine which of 
the solutions seems best to them – which in turn will put the onus on vendors 
to support both solutions (depending on the set of customers each vendor 
supports).
This – to me – represents an utter failure of the standards process. We are 
reduced to a set of constituencies which never find common ground – the end 
result being sub-optimal for the industry as a whole.

It seems to me that the proper role of the WG is to address the big questions 
first:

1)Is this a problem which needs to be solved by link-state protocols?
We certainly have folks who are clever enough to define solutions – the two 
drafts are a proof of that.
But whether this is a wise use of the IGPs I think has never been fully 
discussed/answered.
Relevant to this point is past experience with virtual links in OSPF – use of 
which was problematic and which has largely fallen out of use.
Also, many datacenters use BGP (w or w/o IGP) and therefore have other ways to 
address such issues.
Although I am familiar with the “one protocol is simpler” argument, whether 
that justifies altering the IGPs in any of the proposed ways is still an 
important question to discuss.

Given the discussions of these solutions over the last two years in LSR, I 
don’t think we need to rehash this – especially on the experimental track.

2)If link state protocols do need to solve this problem, what is the preferred 
way to do that?
This requires meaningful dialogue and a willingness to engage on complex 
technical issues.

The alternative is to do what we seem to be doing – allowing multiple solutions 
to move forward largely without comment. In which case I see no basis on which 
to object – anyone who can demonstrate a deployment case should then be allowed 
to move a draft forward – and there are then no standardized solutions.
(The Experimental Track status for these drafts reflects that reality.)

Are you saying you don’t want any experimental solutions unless we have one 
standardized solution that everybody agrees on? Please review this one as part 
of WG last call.

Thanks,
Acee

   Les

P.S.  (Aside: There is a third draft offering a solution in this space 
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-lsr-isis-ttz/  - but as that draft 
continues to promote its primary usage as a means of more easily changing area 
boundaries (merging/splitting) I have not discussed it here. However, if the 
authors of that draft claim it as a solution to the same problem space claimed 
by Area Proxy/Flood Reflection then the WG would have no basis but to also 
progress it – which would result in three solutions being advanced.)



From: Lsr <lsr-boun...@ietf.org> On Behalf Of Acee Lindem (acee)
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2021 11:47 AM
To: lsr@ietf.org
Subject: [Lsr] WG Last Call fo "IS-IS Flood Reflection" 
-draft-ietf-lsr-isis-flood-reflection-05

This begins the WG Last for draft-ietf-lsr-isis-flood-reflection-05. Please 
post your support or objection to this list by 12:00 AM UTC on Dec 14th , 2021. 
Also please post your comments on the draft. I’m allowing as extra week as I 
like to get some additional reviews – although my comments have been addressed.

Thanks,
Acee

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