Subject: [IPsec] Issue #34 Message ID still undefined, do not mention

From: Tero Kivinen <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:16:29 +0300

> >  1.3.  The CREATE_CHILD_SA Exchange
> ...
> >     The CREATE_CHILD_SA response for creating a new CHILD_SA is:
> >
> >                                  <--  HDR, SK {SA, Nr, [KEr],
> >                                           TSi, TSr}
> >
> >     The responder replies (using the same Message ID to respond) with the
>      		  	   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 
> This is confusing, as we have not introduced message id at all at this
> point. I suggest removing the "(using the same Message ID to
> respond)".
> 
> ===Not done. Disagree. It is important here.

I disagree it being important here, but if you want to keep it here,
it would then require moving the description of message id so it is
introduced before this.

If the implementors have not understood how message IDs work in
general to pair up request and responses, then this text is not going
to really help. It just proofs the point that we have not explained
Message ID properly before this.

So one way to fix it (and keep the confusing text still there), is to
move some or all of the section 2.2 before this. Perhaps add some more
text to Introduction section, where it talks about request and reply
pairs, or at least put forward reference there. Perhaps something like
this:

   All IKE communications consist of pairs of messages: a request and a
   response.  The pair is called an "exchange".  We call the first ...

   =>

   All IKE communications consist of pairs of messages: a request and a
   response.  The request and the corresponding response are
   matched up by the Message ID field in the fixed header (see section
   2.2).  The pair is called an "exchange".  We call the first ...

When I was reading the document the sudden text about something about
Message ID which had not been introduced yet, just seemed like there
was something missing in the document.

Another posibility is to move the request / response description from
the introduction section to its own section (before 1.2) and add more
text about request / response and message ids there, but that would
require much bigger rewrite. 
-- 
[email-masked]
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