Subject: RE: LINK (Advice for Internet Subnetwork Designers)

From: "Lai, Wai S (Waisum), ALSVC" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 17:01:48 -0500

Joe,
  We are neither desiging a new LINK nor fixing an old time,
but evolving the protocol so that the same subnet can support
new services without disturbing existing subscribers.
Waisum. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Touch [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2001 4:52 PM
To: Lai, Wai S (Waisum), ALSVC
Cc: Phil Karn; [email-masked]; [email-masked];
[email-masked]; [email-masked]; [email-masked];
[email-masked]; [email-masked]
Subject: Re: LINK (Advice for Internet Subnetwork Designers)

"Lai, Wai S (Waisum), ALSVC" wrote:
> 
> Joe,
>   Regarding "Cartwheels to overcome design flaws are not necessarily
> techniques to recommend" as you mentioned below, the question is:
>    Are you going to throw out the installed base and ask all your
> existing subscribers to spend money to upgrade to use your service?

No. The question is whether the LINK document tells people how to design
a new LINK or to fix an old one. The latter is a huge can of worms that
we might be better staying out of.

>    Furthermore, this is NOT a design flaw.  At the time when DOCSIS 1.0
> was developed, the market was for data.  Now we have enhanced the
> protocol to support for voice also.  Isn't this similar to upgrading
> the best-effort Internet to support Intserv, Diffserv, ...?

Yes - but LINK doesn't say how to upgrade; it says what to include from
the start.

Joe

---

From: Joe Touch <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001 14:31:33 -0800

> new services without disturbing existing subscribers.

That's designing a new link (evolving, desiging, etc.)

I.e., we didn't address evolution of the link at all. The reason is
that, if the design criteria in this document are considered from the
beginning, the need for redesign is reduced.

I'm not debating the utility of the DOCSIS design, only the utility of
discussing its evolution in this document.

Joe

---

From: Lloyd Wood <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 13:57:09 +0000 (GMT)

> discussing its evolution in this document.

Since we're discussing DOCSIS, I'll just note:

http://www.comsoc.org/ci/public/2001/mar/current.html

DOCSIS[tm] Cable Modem Technology 

The authors provide an overview of the cable modem interface standard.
This standard is the foundation for high-speed access to content on
the Internet being offered by North American cable operators.

David Fellows and Doug Jones 

(Can standards be trademarks?)

L.

<[email-masked]>PGP<http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/L.Wood/>