Subject: [TLS] Proliferation of TLS cipher suites

From: Sean Turner <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:08:55 -0400

The TLS WG has had requests to adopt TLS cipher suites I-Ds.  If the 
WG declines (as it has recently), the authors then come to me.  What 
I'd like to layout is a plan for determining what route the I-Ds 
should take through the IETF standardization process.  Here's the 
steps I'm suggesting (I'd like to see if people think these are 
reasonable):

1) Submit an individual I-D documenting the TLS cipher suites
(document the cryptographic algorithm somewhere else).

2) Ask the TLS WG for adoption.  If the answer is no, then jump to #5.

3) Proceed as WG document.  WG selects and requests the track.

4) AD processes the document normally.  In general, this means
progressing on the requested track.  If the WG proposed standards
track, the AD will consider whether there is broad international
support for this algorithm. The AD may decide to request publication
as Informational if support is not broad-based.

5) Authors ask for AD sponsorship of I-D.

6) AD will ask the following question: Is there broad international
support for this algorithm.  If the answer is no, then jump to #8.

7) AD will sponsor the document for publication on standards track.

8) AD will sponsor the document on either informational or
experimental track.

I obviously think that almost all cipher suite I-Ds ought to end up
informational RFCs.  Too many standards track cipher suites leads to
implementation difficulties.  Additionally, the reviews in the WG
aren't on the cryptographic algorithm, it's just on whether the
document properly presents the cipher suites.  For non-standards track
TLS cipher suite assignment, there's an expert review that performs
this role. Regardless of the path followed, the expert reviewer still
has to do their job.  That's how the WG wanted it and we're going to
give it to them.

To summarize, we think there are two ways to get a standards track TLS
cipher suite RFC:

Rule 1 - If the I-D came from the TLS WG.

Rule 2 - If the cipher suite has broad international support.

spt

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From: Peter Saint-Andre <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:25:14 -0600

Overall that seems reasonable to me. Comments inline.

On 6/24/10 12:08 PM, Sean Turner wrote:
> The TLS WG has had requests to adopt TLS cipher suites I-Ds.  If the WG
> declines (as it has recently), the authors then come to me.  What I'd
> like to layout is a plan for determining what route the I-Ds should take
> through the IETF standardization process.  Here's the steps I'm
> suggesting (I'd like to see if people think these are reasonable):
> 

Given that Step 4 says the AD will try to determine if there is broad
international support for standards track, why not make that criterion
part of the WG's deliberations when selecting the track?

Peter

-- 
Peter Saint-Andre
https://stpeter.im/

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From: Nikos Mavrogiannopoulos <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:33:39 +0200

> support for this algorithm.  If the answer is no, then jump to #8.

I'd prefer if this was a bit more specified. Maybe something that
depends on the number of independent implementations or something more
quantitative.

regards,
Nikos

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From: Nicolas Williams <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:42:17 -0500

I thought yours was pretty much a restatement of... current IETF policy :)

Nico
--

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From: Bill Frantz <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:31:42 -0700

>depends on the number of independent implementations or something more

I would think that "broad support" wouldn't be just 
implementations because the algorithm might be too new to have 
attracted many implementations, but rather support from national 
standards bodies, favorable reviews in the literature and the like.

Cheers - Bill

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