Subject: Draft Applicability Statement

From: "M. Scott Corson" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 16:10:15 -0400 (EDT)

Everyone,

At the end of the meeting, there was discussion and consensus on the
need for an "applicability statement" to be incorporated into every
proposed protocol.  As I understood it, the intent of this is to permit
readers not intimately familiar with the particulars of a given
protocol to quickly assess its characteristics, strengthes, weaknesses 
and intended application context.

It seems to me that this should be a qualitative comparison regarding
*what* the protocol does and *how* the protocol works (its function and
characteristics), not how *well* it does the job (this is a performance
issue and is quantitative in nature).  Does this make sense?

Anyway, whatever its final form, I guess this statement (once
determined) will become a mandatory section in every proposed protocol.
I believe that is the intent.

So, here's a first ``strawman" cut at an applicability statement.  
It's just a list of questions regarding protocol functionality. 
I've never written one before, so please suggest additions, deletions,
modifications, etc.

-Scott

*******************************************************************************

M. Scott Corson                                 Institute for Systems Research
[email-masked]                              A.V. Williams Bldg. (115)
Phone: 301-405-6630 (Rm. 2205 AVW)              University of Maryland     
Fax:   301-314-8586                             College Park, MD  20742

*******************************************************************************

MANET Routing Protocol Applicability Statement

Context:

* Please describe the intended networking context for the protocol; 
  i.e., the type of networking environment for which the protocol
  is best suited.

Characteristics:

* Does the protocol provide support for unidirectional links? (if so,
how?)

* Does the protocol require the use of tunneling? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol require the use of flooding? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol require using some form of source routing? (if so,
how?)

* Does the protocol require the use of periodic messaging? (if so,
how?)

* Does the protocol require the use of reliable or sequenced packet
delivery? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol provide support for routing through a
multi-technology routing fabric? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol provide support for multiple hosts per router? (if
so, how?)

* Does the protocol support the IP addressing architecture? (if so,
how?)

* Does the protocol require link or neighbor status sensing (if so,
how?)

* Does the protocol have dependence on a central entity? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol function reactively? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol function proactively? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol provide loop-free routing? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol provide support for sleep period operation or 
  some form of energy conservation? (if so, how?)

* Does the protocol provide some form of security? (if so, how?)