RFC 2357 (rfc2357) - Page 2 of 11
IETF Criteria for Evaluating Reliable Multicast Transport and Application Protocols
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 2357 Evaluating Reliable Multicast June 1998 The TSV Area Directors and their Directorate have outlined a set of review procedures that address these questions and set criteria and processes for the publication as RFCs of Internet-Drafts on reliable multicast transport protocols. 1.0 Background on IETF Processes and Procedures In the IETF, work in an area is directed and managed by the Area Directors (ADs), who have authority over the chartering of working groups (WGs). In addition, ADs review individually submitted (not by WGs) Internet-Drafts about work that is relevant to their areas prior to publication as RFCs (Experimental, Informational or, in rare cases, Standards Track). The review is done according to the guidelines set out in the Internet Standards Process, RFC 2026 [InetStdProc96]. The purpose of this document is to present the criteria that will be used by the TSV ADs in reviewing reliable multicast Internet-Drafts for any form of RFC publication. For I-Ds submitted for Standards Track publication, these criteria must be met or else the ADs will decline to support publication of the document, which suffices to prevent publication. For I-Ds submitted as Experimental or Informational, these criteria must be met or else, at a minimum, the Ads will recommend publishing the I-D with an IESG note prepended stating that the protocol fails to comply with these criteria. 2.0 Introduction There is a strong application demand for reliable multicast. Widespread use of the Internet makes the economy of multicast transport attractive. The current Internet multicast model offers best-effort many-to-many delivery service and offers no guarantees. One-to-many and few-to-few services may become more important in the future. Reliable multicast transports add delivery guarantees, not necessarily like those of reliable unicast TCP, to the group-delivery model of multicast. A panel of some major users of the Internet, convened at the 38th IETF, articulated reliable bulk transfer multicast as one of their most critical requirements [DiffServBOF97]. Examples of applications that could use reliable bulk multicast transfer include collaborative tools, distributed virtual reality, and software upgrade services. To meet the growing demand for reliable multicast, there is a large number of protocol proposals. A few were published as RFCs before the impact of congestion from reliable multicast was fully Mankin, et. al. Informational
