Subject: Multiple Address Service for Transport (MAST)

From: Dave Crocker <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 23:36:53 -0700

Howdy,

I've just posted a new mobility/multi-homing proposal as an internet-draft.

The multi6 mailing list is probably the most appropriate venue for
discussing this proposal, so it is the only address showing in the TO
field. However, I have blind cc'd additional lists, for notification:

        ietf, because of a current thread about end point identifiers

        HIP, since my proposal is related to theirs

        end-to-end, since that's what this is about.

The I-D name is:

        draft-crocker-mast-proposal-00.txt

It is also available at:

      <http://brandenburg.com/specifications/draft-crocker-mast-proposal-00.txt>

Herewith the abstract for the proposal:

     Classic Internet transport protocols use a single source IP
     address and a single destination IP address, as part of the
     identification for an individual data flow.  TCP includes
     these in its definition of a connection and its calculation
     of the header checksum.  Hence the transport service is tied
     to a particular IP address pair. This is problematic for
     multi-homed hosts and for mobile hosts.  Both have multiple
     IP addresses but cannot use more than one, for any single
     transport association (context).  Multiple Address Service
     for Transport (MAST) defines a mechanism that transparently
     supports association of multiple IP addresses with any
     transport association.  It requires no change to the IP
     infrastructure, and no change to IP modules or transport
     modules in the end-systems. Instead, it defines a wedge
     layer between IP and transport that operates only in the end
     systems and affects only participating hosts.

As the document notes a couple of times, this is an extended proposal,
rather than a complete specification. It's being put forward in the
current form to solicit comments about the approach and the design, and
to find out whether folks are interested in pursuing it further.

d/
--
 Dave Crocker <mailto:[email-masked]>
 Brandenburg InternetWorking <http://www.brandenburg.com>
 Sunnyvale, CA  USA <tel:+1.408.246.8253>, <fax:+1.866.358.5301>