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+Network Working Group                          National Research Council
+Request for Comments: 942
+                                                           February 1985
+
+                        TRANSPORT PROTOCOLS FOR
+                         DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
+                             DATA NETWORKS
+
+
+STATUS OF THIS MEMO
+
+This RFC is distributed for information only.  This RFC does not
+establish any policy for the DARPA research community or the DDN
+operational community.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
+
+This RFC reproduces the National Research Council report resulting from
+a study of the DOD Internet Protocol (IP) and Transmission Control
+Protocol (TCP) in comparison with the ISO Internet Protocol (ISO-IP) and
+Transport Protocol level 4 (TP-4).
+
+
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+
+
+
+                        Transport Protocols for
+                         Department of Defense
+                             Data Networks
+                                    
+                                    
+
+                  Report to the Department of Defense
+                  and the National Bureau of Standards
+                                    
+                                    
+                                    
+                                    
+                                    
+
+         Committee on Computer-Computer Communication Protocols
+                                    
+                                    
+
+  Board on Telecommunications and Computer Applications Commission on
+                   Engineering and Technical Systems
+                       National Research Council
+
+                                    
+                                    
+
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+
+
+                         National Academy Press
+                    Washington, D.C.  February 1985
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page i]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                                 NOTICE
+
+The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the
+Governing Board on the National Research Council, whose members are
+drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the
+National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.  The
+members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for
+their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
+
+This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors,
+according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting
+of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of
+Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
+
+The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of
+Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and
+technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of
+advising the federal government.  The Council operates in accordance
+with general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of
+its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a
+private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation.  The Council
+has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy
+of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of
+their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and
+engineering communities.  It is administered jointly by both Academies
+and the Institute of Medicine.  The National Academy of Engineering and
+the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970,
+respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences.
+
+This is a report of work supported by Contract No. DCA-83-C-0051 between
+the U.S. Defense Communications Agency and the National Academy of
+Sciences, underwritten jointly by the Department of Defense and the
+National Bureau of Standards.
+
+Copies of this publication are available from:
+
+ Board on Telecommunications and Computer Applications Commission on
+ Engineering and Technical Systems
+ National Research Council
+ 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
+ Washington, D.C. 20418
+
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+National Research Council                                      [Page ii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+          BOARD ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS -- COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
+         COMMITTEE ON COMPUTER-COMPUTER COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS
+
+Chairman
+
+ C. CHAPIN CUTLER, Professor of Applied Physics, Stanford University,
+ Stanford, California
+
+Members
+
+ HERBERT D. BENINGTON, Technical Director, System Development
+ Corporation, McLean, Virginia
+
+ DONALD L. BOYD, Director, Honeywell Corporate Computer Sciences Center,
+ Honeywell Corporate Technology Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
+
+ DAVID J. FARBER, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Professor of
+ Computer Science, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of
+ Delaware, Newark, Delaware
+
+ LAWRENCE H. LANDWEBER, Professor, Computer Sciences Department,
+ University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
+
+ ANTHONY G. LAUCK, Manager, Distributed Systems Architecture and
+ Advanced Development, Digital Equipment Corporation, Tewksbury,
+ Massachusetts
+
+ KEITH A. LUCKE, General Manager of Control Data Technical Standards,
+ Control Data Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota
+
+ MISCHA SCHWARTZ, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer
+ Science, Columbia University, New York, New York
+
+ ROBERT F. STEEN, Director of Architecture, Communication Products
+ Division IBM Corporation, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
+
+ CARL A. SUNSHINE, Principal Engineer, Sytek, Incorporated, Los Angeles
+ Operation, Culver City, California
+
+ DANIEL J. FINK, (Ex-officio), President, D.J. Fink Associates, Inc.,
+ Arlington, Virginia
+
+ JAMES L. FLANAGAN, (CETS LIAISON MEMBER), Head, Acoustics Research
+ Department, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
+
+Staff
+
+ RICHARD B. MARSTEN, Executive Director
+ JEROME D. ROSENBERG, Senior Staff Officer and Study Director
+ LOIS A. LEAK, Administrative Secretary
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                     [Page iii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
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+National Research Council                                      [Page iv]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+            COMMISSION ON ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SYSTEMS
+          BOARD ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS -- COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
+
+Chairman
+
+ DANIEL J. FINK, President, D.J. Fink Associates, Inc., Arlington,
+ Virginia
+
+Past Chairman
+
+ BROCKWAY MCMILLAN, Vice President (Retired), Bell Laboratories,
+ Sedgwick, Maine
+
+Members
+
+ ARTHUR G. ANDERSON, Vice President (Retired), IBM Corporation, San
+ Jose, California
+
+ DANIEL BELL, Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences, Department of
+ Sociology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
+
+ HERBERT D. BENINGTON, Technical Director, System Development
+ Corporation, McLean, Virginia
+
+ ELWYN R. BERLEKAMP, Professor of Mathematics, Department of
+ Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley, California
+
+ ANTHONY J. DEMARIA, Assistant Director of Research for Electronics and
+ Electro-Optics Technology, United Technologies Research Center, East
+ Hartford, Connecticut
+
+ GERALD P. DINNEEN, Vice President, Science and Technology, Honeywell
+ Incorporated, Minneapolis, Minnesota
+
+ GEORGE GERBNER, Professor and Dean, The Annenberg School of
+ Communications, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
+
+ ANNE P. JONES, Partner, Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan, Washington,
+ D.C.
+
+ ADRIAN M. MCDONOUGH, Professor of Management and Decision Sciences
+ (Retired), The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Havertown,
+ Pennsylvania
+
+ WILBUR L. PRITCHARD, President, Satellite Systems Engineering, Inc.,
+ Bethesda, Maryland
+
+ MICHAEL B. PURSLEY, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of
+ Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
+
+ IVAN SELIN, Chairman of the Board, American Management Systems, Inc.,
+ Arlington, Virginia
+
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page v]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ MISCHA SCHWARTZ, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer
+ Science, Columbia University, New York, New York
+
+ ERIC E. SUMNER, Vice President, Operations System and Network Planning,
+ AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, New Jersey
+
+ KEITH W. UNCAPHER, Executive Director, USC-Information Sciences
+ Institute Associate Dean, School of Engineering, University of Southern
+ California, Marina del Rey, California
+
+ JAMES L. FLANAGAN, (CETS LIAISON MEMBER), Head, Acoustics Research
+ Department, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
+
+Staff
+
+ Richard B. Marsten, Executive Director
+ Jerome D. Rosenberg, Senior Staff Officer
+ Karen Laughlin, Administrative Coordinator
+ Carmen A. Ruby, Administrative Assistant
+ Lois A. Leak, Administrative Secretary
+
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+National Research Council                                      [Page vi]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                                CONTENTS
+
+PREFACE ............................................................  ix
+
+EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................  xi
+
+I     Introduction ..................................................  1
+
+II    Review of NBS and DOD Objectives ..............................  3
+
+III   Comparison of DOD and ISO Protocols ..........................  13
+
+IV    Status of DOD and ISO Protocol
+      Implementations and Specifications ..........................   25
+
+V     Markets ......................................................  31
+
+VI    Development of Standard Commercial versus
+      Special Commercial Products ..................................  39
+
+VII   Responsiveness of International Standards
+      Process to Change ............................................  43
+
+VIII  Options for DOD and NBS ......................................  45
+
+IX    Cost Comparison of Options ..................................   47
+
+X     Evaluation of Options ........................................  53
+
+XI    Recommendations ..............................................  61
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+National Research Council                                     [Page vii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
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+National Research Council                                    [Page viii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                                PREFACE
+
+This is the final report of the National Research Council Committee on
+Computer-Computer Communication Protocols.  The committee was
+established in May l983 at the request of the Department of Defense
+(DOD) and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), Department of
+Commerce, to develop recommendations and guidelines for resolving
+differences between the two agencies on a data communications transport
+protocol standard.
+
+Computer-based information and transaction-processing systems are basic
+tools in modern industry and government.  Over the past several years
+there has been a growing demand to transfer and exchange digitized data
+in these systems quickly and accurately.  This demand for data transfer
+and exchange has been both among the terminals and computers within an
+organization and among those in different organizations.
+
+Rapid electronic transport of digitized data requires electronic
+communication links that tie the elements together.  These links are
+established, organized, and maintained by means of a layered series of
+procedures performing the many functions inherent in the communications
+process.  The successful movement of digitized data depends upon the
+participants using identical or compatible procedures, or protocols.
+
+The DOD and NBS have each developed and promulgated a transport protocol
+as standard.  The two protocols, however, are dissimilar and
+incompatible.  The committee was called to resolve the differences
+between these protocols.
+
+The committee held its first meeting in August l983 at the National
+Research Council in Washington, D.C.  Following this two-day meeting the
+committee held five more two-day meetings, a three-day meeting, and a
+one-week workshop.
+
+The committee was briefed by personnel from both agencies.  In addition,
+the committee heard from Jon Postel, University of Southern California's
+Information Sciences Institute; Dave Oran, Digital Equipment
+Corporation; Vinton Cerf, MCI; David Wood, The Mitre Corporation; Clair
+Miller, Honeywell, and Robert Follett, IBM, representing the Computer
+and Business Equipment Manufacturer's Association; and John Newman,
+Ultimate Corporation.  In most cases the briefings were followed by
+discussion.
+
+The committee wishes to thank  Philip Selvaggi of the Department of
+Defense and Robert Blanc of the NBS, Institute of Computer Sciences and
+
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+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page ix]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+Technology, for their cooperation as their agency's liaison
+representatives to the committee.  The committee appreciates the
+contributions and support of Richard B. Marsten, Executive Director of
+the Board on Telecommunications -- Computer Applications (BOTCAP), and
+Jerome D. Rosenberg, BOTCAP Senior Staff Officer and the committee Study
+Director.  We also wish to thank Lois A. Leak for her expert
+administrative and secretarial support.
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+National Research Council                                       [Page x]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                           EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
+
+Computer communication networks have become a very important part of
+military and commercial operations.  Indeed, the nation is becoming
+dependent upon their efficiency and reliability, and the recent
+proliferation of networks and their widespread use have emphasized the
+importance of developing uniform conventions, or protocols, for
+communication between computer systems.  The Department of Defense (DOD)
+and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) have been actively engaged in
+activities related to protocol standardization.  This report is
+concerned primarily with recommendations on protocol standardization
+within the Department of Defense.
+
+Department of Defense's Transmission Protocol
+
+ The DOD's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been
+ conducting and supporting research on computer networks for over
+ fifteen years (1).  These efforts led to the development of modern
+ packet-switched network design concepts.  Transmission between
+ computers is generally accomplished by packet switching using strict
+ protocols for the control and exchange of messages.  The Advanced
+ Research Projects Agency network (ARPANET), implemented in the early
+ 1970s, provided a testing ground for research on communications
+ protocols.  In 1978, after four years of development, the DOD
+ promulgated versions of its Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and an
+ Internet Protocol (IP) and mandated their use as standards within the
+ DOD.  TCP is now widely used and accepted.  These protocols meet the
+ unique operational and functional requirements of the DOD, and any
+ changes in the protocols are viewed with some trepidation by members of
+ the department.  DOD representatives have stated that standardizing TCP
+ greatly increased the momentum within the DOD toward establishing
+ interoperability between networks within the DOD.
+
+International Standards Organization's Transport Protocol
+
+ The NBS Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology (ICST), in
+ cooperation with the DOD, many industrial firms, and the International
+ Standards Organization (ISO), has developed a new international
+ standard
+
+ 
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+-----
+(1)  The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was reorganized and
+became the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 1973.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page xi]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ Transport Protocol (TP-4) and a new Internetwork Protocol (2).  These
+ protocols will soon be available as commercial products.  Although in
+ part derived from TCP, the new protocols are not compatible with
+ TCP (3).  The U.S. standards organizations are supporting TP-4 in
+ international operations, and the Department of Commerce is proposing
+ TP-4 as a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) for use by all
+ federal agencies.
+
+DOD OPERATIONAL AND TECHNICAL NEEDS
+
+ The DOD has unique needs that could be affected by the Transport and
+ Internet Protocol layers.  Although all data networks must have some of
+ these capabilities, the DOD's needs for operational readiness,
+ mobilization, and war-fighting capabilities are extreme.  These needs
+ include the following:
+
+  Survivability--Some networks must function, albeit at reduced
+  performance, after many nodes and links have been destroyed.
+
+  Security--Traffic patterns and data must be selectively protected
+  through encryption, access control, auditing, and routing.
+
+  Precedence--Systems should adjust the quality of service on the basis
+  of priority of use; this includes a capability to preempt services in
+  cases of very high priority.
+
+  Robustness--The system must not fail or suffer much loss of capability
+  because of unpredicted situations, unexpected loads, or misuse.  An
+  international crisis is the strongest test of robustness, since the
+  system must operate immediately and with virtually full performance
+  when an international situation flares up unexpectedly.
+
+  Availability--Elements of the system needed for operational readiness
+  or fighting must be continuously available.
+
+  Interoperability--Different elements of the Department must be able to
+  "talk" to one another, often in unpredicted ways between parties that
+  had not planned to interoperate.
+
+  
+
+-----
+(2)  The ISO Transport Protocol and ISO Internetwork Protocol became
+Draft International Standards in September 1983 and April 1984,
+respectively. Commercial vendors normally consider Draft International
+Standards to be ready for implementation.
+
+(3)  Except where noted, the abbreviation TCP generally refers to both
+the DOD's Transmission Control Protocol and its Internet Protocol.
+Similarly, the abbreviation TP-4 refers to both the ISO Transport
+Protocol class 4 and its Internetwork Protocol.  (Transport Protocol
+classes 0 to 3 are used for special purposes not related to those of
+this study.)
+
+National Research Council                                     [Page xii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ These operational needs reflect themselves into five technical or
+ managerial needs:
+
+  1.   Functional and operational specifications (that is, will the
+       protocol designs meet the operational needs?);
+  2.   Maximum interoperability;
+  3.   Minimum procurement, development, and support costs;
+  4.   Ease of transition to new protocols; and
+  5.   Manageability and responsiveness to changing DOD requirements.
+
+ These are the criteria against which DOD options for using the ISO
+ transport and internet protocols should be evaluated.
+
+ Interoperability is a very important DOD need.  Ideally, DOD networks
+ would permit operators at any terminal to access or be accessed by
+ applications in any computer.  This would provide more network power
+ for users, integration of independently developed systems, better use
+ of resources, and increased survivability.  To increase
+ interoperability, the Office of the Secretary of Defense has mandated
+ the use of TCP for the Defense Communication System's Defense Data
+ Network (DDN), unless waivers are granted.  In addition, the Defense
+ Communication Agency (DCA) is establishing standards for three
+ higher-level "utility" protocols for file transfer, terminal access,
+ and electronic mail.  Partly as a result of these actions, it has
+ become clear that there is growing momentum toward accepting
+ interoperability and a recognition that it is an important operational
+ need.
+
+ It is very important, however, to recognize that functional
+ interoperability is only achieved with full generality when two
+ communication nodes can interoperate at all protocol levels.  For the
+ DOD the relevant levels are as follows:
+
+  1.   Internet, using IP;
+  2.   Transport, using TCP;
+  3.   Utility, using file, terminal, or mail protocols; and
+  4.   Specific applications that use the above protocols for their
+       particular purpose.
+
+ Accordingly, if a network is developed using one transport protocol, it
+ would generally not be able to interoperate functionally with other
+ networks using the same transport protocol unless both networks were
+ also using the higher-level utility and application protocols.  In
+ evaluating whether or not to convert to TP-4 and in developing a
+ transition plan, the following factors must be considered:
+
+  The DOD contains numerous communities of interest whose principal need
+  is to interoperate within their own members, independently. Such
+  communities generally have a specific, well-defined mission.
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                    [Page xiii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  The DOD Intelligence Information System (DODIIS) and the World Wide
+  Military Command and Control System (WWMCCS) are examples.
+  Interoperability is needed primarily between the higher layer
+  applications programs initially unique to each community of interest.
+
+  There are many different kinds of operations needed between
+  communities of interest.  Examples of such operations are
+  headquarters' need for access to several subordinate communities and
+  the communities' need for some minimum functional interoperability
+  with each other (such as mail exchange).
+
+  The need for functional interoperability can arise, unexpectedly and
+  urgently, at a time of crisis or when improved management
+  opportunities are discovered.  Widespread standardization of TP-4 and
+  higher-level protocols can readily help to achieve these needs.
+  Often, special development of additional applications that cost time
+  and money will be necessary.
+
+  The DOD needs functional interoperability with many important external
+  agencies that are committed to ISO standards:  The North Atlantic
+  Treaty Organization (NATO), some intelligence and security agencies,
+  and other parts of the federal government.
+
+  The same objectives that have prompted the use of standardized
+  protocols at higher-level headquarters will lead to their use by
+  tactical groups in the field.
+
+SOME COMPARISONS
+
+ A detailed comparison of the DOD Transmission Control Protocol and the
+ ISO Transport Protocol indicates they are functionally equivalent and
+ provide essentially similar services.  Because it is clear that a great
+ deal of care and experience in protocol development have gone into
+ generating the specifications for TP-4, the committee is confident that
+ TP-4 will meet military requirements.
+
+ Although there are differences between the two protocols, they do not
+ compromise DOD requirements.  And, although in several areas, including
+ the data transfer interface, flow control, connection establishment,
+ and out-of-band, services are provided in different ways by the two
+ protocols, neither seems intrinsically superior.  Thus, while existing
+ applications may need to be modified somewhat if moved from TCP to
+ TP-4, new applications can be written to use either protocol with a
+ similar level of effort.
+
+ The TCP and TP-4 protocols are sufficiently equivalent in their
+ security-related properties in that there are no significant technical
+ points favoring the use of one over the other.
+
+ While TCP currently has the edge in maturity of implementation, TP-4 is
+ gaining rapidly due to the worldwide support for and acceptance of the
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                     [Page xiv]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ Open System Interconnection (OSI) international standards.
+ Experimental TCP implementations were completed in 1974 at Stanford
+ University and BBN Communications Corporation.  Between 1974 and 1982 a
+ large number of implementations were produced.  The Defense Advanced
+ Research Projects Agency (ARPA) network switched to a complete use of
+ TCP in January 1983. Operations have been satisfactory and its use is
+ growing.  A number of TCP implementations are also in commercial use in
+ various private networks.
+
+ In contrast, TP-4 has not yet been implemented in any large operational
+ system.  It has been tested experimentally, however, and has received
+ endorsement by many commercial vendors worldwide.  In addition,
+ substantial portions of TP-4 have been demonstrated at the National
+ Computer Conference in July 1984.
+
+ The Internet Protocol (IP) part of the standards is not believed to be
+ a problem.  The ISO IP is not as far along as TP-4, but it is much less
+ complex.  The ISO IP, based very strongly on the DOD IP, became a draft
+ international standard in April 1984.
+
+ The rapidity of the progress in ISO and the results achieved over the
+ past two years have surprised even the supporters of international
+ standards. The reasons for this progress are twofold:  strong market
+ demands stemming from the growing integration of communications and
+ data processing and the progress in networking technology over the past
+ years as the result of ARPA and commercial developments.
+
+ Although the DOD networks have been a model upon which the ISO
+ transport standards have been built, the rest of the world is adopting
+ TP-4. Because the DOD represents a small fraction of the market and
+ because the United States supports the ISO standard, it is not
+ realistic to hope that TP-4 can be altered to conform with TCP.  This
+ raises the question as to what action should be taken by the DOD with
+ respect to the ISO standard.
+
+SOME ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS
+
+ The DOD has a large and growing commitment in operational TCP networks,
+ and this will increase by 50 to 100 percent in the next eighteen
+ months.  This rate of investment will probably continue for the next
+ five years for new systems and the upgrading of current ones.  The
+ current Military Network (MILNET) and Movement Information Network
+ (MINET) systems are expanding and will shortly be combined.  The
+ Strategic Air Command Digital Information Network (SACDIN) and DODIIS
+ are undergoing major upgrading.  When these changes are completed,
+ there are plans to upgrade the WWMCCS Intercomputer Network (WIN) and
+ to add separate SECRET and TOP SECRET networks.  There are plans to
+ combine these six networks in the late 1980s, and they will become
+ interoperable and multilevel secure using an advanced technology now
+ under development.  If these plans are implemented on schedule, a delay
+ of several years in moving to TP-4 would mean that the DOD networks in
+ the late 1980s would be virtually all TCP-based. Subsequent conversion
+ to international standards would be very expensive
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page xv]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ if hastily attempted in order to maintain established DOD
+ interoperability and gain interoperability with a large body of users.
+
+ As the Department of Defense policy recognizes, there are significant
+ advantages in using commercial vendor products if they meet the
+ department's operational needs.  The major advantages are as follows:
+
+  Costs to the DOD for development, production, and maintenance are
+  significantly lower because (1) vendors spread the cost over a much
+  larger user base, (2) commercial vendors are generally more efficient
+  in their operations, and (3) vendors look for ways to improve their
+  product to meet competition.
+
+  The department generally gets more effective products because vendors
+  integrate the protocol functions into their entire software and
+  hardware product line.  Thus the DOD may be able eventually to use
+  commercial software products that are built on top of, and thereby
+  take advantage of, the transport protocols.
+
+  By depending on industry to manage the development and maintenance of
+  products, the department can use its scarce management and technical
+  resources on activities unique to its mission.
+
+ Because the costs of transport and internet protocol development and
+ maintenance are so intertwined with other factors, it is impossible to
+ give a precise estimate of the savings that would be achieved by using
+ commercial products.  Savings will vary in individual cases.  The
+ marginal savings should range from 30 to 80 percent.
+
+RECOMMENDATIONS
+
+ The ISO protocols are now well specified but will not generally be
+ commercially available for many months.  Nevertheless, this committee
+ believes that the principles on which they are based are
+ well-established, and the protocols can be made to satisfy fully DOD's
+ needs.  The committee recommends that the DOD move toward adoption of
+ TP-4 as costandard with TCP and toward exclusive use of TP-4.
+
+ Transition to the use of the ISO standards, however, must be managed in
+ a manner that will maintain DOD's operational capabilities and minimize
+ risks.  The timing of the transition is, therefore, a major concern.
+
+ Descriptions of two options that take this requirement into account
+ follow.  A majority of the committee recommends the first option, while
+ a minority favors the second.  A third option--to defer action--is also
+ described but not recommended.
+
+ Option 1
+
+  The first option is for the DOD to immediately modify its current
+  transport policy statement to specify TP-4 as a costandard along with
+  TCP.  In addition, the DOD would develop a military specification for
+
+
+National Research Council                                     [Page xvi]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  TP-4 that would also cover DOD requirements for discretionary options
+  allowed under the NBS protocol specifications.  Requests for proposals
+  (RFPs) for new networks or major upgrades of existing networks would
+  specify TP-4 as the preferred protocol.  Contracts for TP-4 systems
+  would be awarded only to contractors providing commercial products,
+  except for unique cases.
+
+  Existing networks that use TCP and new networks firmly committed to
+  the use of TCP-based systems could continue to acquire implementations
+  of TCP.  The DOD should carefully review each case, however, to see
+  whether it would be advantageous to delay or modify some of these
+  acquisitions in order to use commercial TP-4 products.  For each
+  community of users it should be decided when it is operationally or
+  economically most advantageous to replace its current or planned
+  systems in order to conform to ISO standards without excessively
+  compromising continued operations.
+
+  United States government test facilities would be developed to enable
+  validation of TP-4 products (4).  The Department of Defense would
+  either require that products be validated using these test facilities
+  or that they be certified by the vendor.  The test facilities could
+  also be used to isolate multivendor protocol compatibility problems.
+  The existing NBS validation tools should be used as the base for the
+  DOD test facilities.
+
+  Because under this option networks based on both TCP and TP-4 would
+  coexist for some time, several capabilities that facilitate
+  interoperability among networks would need to be developed.  The
+  Department of Defense generally will not find them commercially
+  available.  Examples are gateways among networks or specialized hosts
+  that provide services such as electronic mail.  The department would
+  need to initiate or modify development programs to provide these
+  capabilities, and a test and demonstration network would be required.
+
+ Option 2
+
+  Under Option 2 the Department of Defense would immediately announce
+  its intention to adopt TP-4 as a transport protocol costandard with
+  TCP after a satisfactory demonstration of its suitability for use in
+  military networks.  A final commitment would be deferred until the
+  demonstration has been evaluated and TP-4 is commercially available.
+
+  The demonstration should take at most eighteen months and should
+  involve development of TP-4 implementations and their installation.
+  This option differs from Option 1 primarily in postponing the adoption
+  of a TP-4 standard and, consequently, the issuance of RFPs based on
+  TP-4 until successful completion of a demonstration.  The department,
+
+  
+-----
+(4)  Validation means a systematic and thorough state-of-the-art testing
+of the products to assure that all technical specifications are being
+achieved.
+
+National Research Council                                    [Page xvii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  however, should proceed with those provisions of Option 1 that may be
+  completed in parallel with the demonstration.  Early issuance of a
+  TP-4 military specification, development of validation procedures, and
+  implementation of means for interoperability would be particularly
+  important in this regard.
+
+ Option 3
+
+  Under the third option the DOD would continue using TCP as the
+  accepted transport standard and defer any decision on the use of TP-4
+  indefinitely.  The department would be expected to stay well informed
+  on the development and use of the new protocol in the commercial and
+  international arena and, with the National Bureau of Standards, work
+  on means to transfer data between the two protocol systems.  Testing
+  and evaluation of TP-4 standards by NBS would continue.  The DOD might
+  eventually accommodate both protocol systems in an evolutionary
+  conversion to TP-4.
+
+ Comparison of Options
+
+  The committee believes that all three options equally satisfy the
+  functional objectives of the DOD, including matters of security.  It
+  believes the two protocols are sufficiently similar and no significant
+  differences in performance are to be expected if the chosen protocol
+  implementation is of equal quality and is optimized for the given
+  environment.
+
+  The primary motivation for recommending Option 1 is to obtain the
+  benefits of standard commercial products in the communication protocol
+  area at an early date.  Benefits include smaller development,
+  procurement, and support costs; more timely updates; and a wider
+  product availability. By immediately committing to TP-4 as a
+  costandard for new systems, Option 1 minimizes the number of systems
+  that have to be converted eventually from TCP.  The ability to manage
+  the transition is better than with Option 2 since the number of
+  systems changed would be smaller and the time duration of mixed TCP
+  and TP-4 operation would be shorter. Interoperability with external
+  systems (NATO, government, commercial), which presumably will also use
+  TP-4, would be brought about more quickly. Option 1 involves greater
+  risk, however, since it commits to a new approach without as complete
+  a demonstration of its viability.
+
+  As with Option 1, a primary benefit of following Option 2 would be
+  obtaining the use of standard commercial products.  Unit procurement
+  costs probably would be lower than with Option 1 because the
+  commercial market for TP-4 will have expanded somewhat by the time DOD
+  would begin to buy TP-4 products.  Risk is smaller, compared to Option
+  1, because testing and demonstration of the suitability for military
+  use will have preceded the commitment to the ISO protocols.
+  Transition and support costs would be higher than for Option 1,
+  however, because more networks and systems would already have been
+  implemented with TCP.  Also this is perhaps the most difficult option
+  to manage since the largest number of system conversions and the
+
+National Research Council                                   [Page xviii]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  longest interval of mixed TCP and TP-4 operations would occur.  In
+  addition, interoperability with external networks through
+  standardization would be delayed.
+
+  The principal benefit of exercising Option 3 would be the elimination
+  of transition cost and the risk of faulty system behavior and delay.
+  It would allow the most rapid achievement of full internal
+  interoperability among DOD systems.  Manageability should be good
+  because only one set of protocols would be in use (one with which the
+  DOD already has much experience), and because the DOD would be in
+  complete control of system evolution. Procurement costs for TCP
+  systems would remain high compared with standard ISO protocol
+  products, however, and availability of implementations for new systems
+  and releases would remain limited.  External interoperability with
+  non-DOD systems would be limited and inefficient.
+
+  In summary, Option 1 provides the most rapid path toward the use of
+  commercial products and interoperability with external systems.
+  Option 2 reduces the risk but involves somewhat greater delay and
+  expense.  Option 3 involves the least risk and provides the quickest
+  route to interoperability within the Defense Department at the least
+  short-term cost.  These are, however, accompanied by penalties of
+  incompatibility with NATO and other external systems and higher
+  life-cycle costs.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                     [Page xix]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                                      
+
+     
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page xx]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                            I.  INTRODUCTION
+
+For the past two decades industry and government have experienced an
+increasing need to share software programs, transfer data, and exchange
+information among computers.  As a result, computer-to-computer data
+communications networks and, therefore, communication formats and
+procedures, or protocols, have proliferated.  The need to interconnect
+these networks is obvious, but the problems in establishing agreements
+among users on the protocols have heightened.
+
+The Department of Defense (DOD) has been conducting research and
+development on protocols and communication standards for more than
+fifteen years.  In December 1978 the DOD promulgated versions of the
+Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Transmission Control
+Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) as standards within DOD.  With
+the participation of major manufacturers and systems houses, the DOD has
+implemented successfully over twenty different applications of these
+standards in DOD operational data communications networks.
+
+The Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology (ICST) of the
+National Bureau of Standards (NBS) is the government agency responsible
+for developing network protocols and interface standards to meet the
+needs of federal agencies.  The Institute has been actively helping
+national and international voluntary standards organizations develop
+sets of protocol standards that can be incorporated into commercial
+products.
+
+Working with both industry and government agencies, the ICST has
+developed protocol requirements based, in terms of functions and
+services, on the DOD's TCP.  These requirements were submitted to the
+International Standards Organization (ISO) and resulted in the
+development of a transport protocol (TP-4) that has the announced
+support of twenty computer manufacturers.
+
+Although the ISO's TP-4 is based on the DOD's TCP, the two protocols are
+not compatible.  Thus manufacturers who wish to serve DOD, while
+remaining able to capture a significant share of the worldwide market,
+have to field two product lines that are incompatible but perform the
+same function.  The Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology would
+like to have a single set of protocol standards that serves both the
+DOD, other government agencies, and commercial vendors.
+
+It would be to the advantage of the DOD to use the same standards as the
+rest of the world.  The dilemma, however, is understandable:  The DOD
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 1]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+has well satisfied its requirements by its own tried and proven
+protocols, the agency has invested heavily in systems operating
+successfully with TCP, and the Armed Forces is increasingly adopting the
+protocol.  Thus, although DOD's policy is to use commercial standards
+whenever suitable, it is hesitant about converting to the ISO TP-4
+protocols.  In addition, the DOD is not certain whether the ISO TP-4
+completely satisfies military requirements.
+
+In 1983 both DOD and the ICST agreed that an objective study of the
+situation was needed.  Each requested assistance from the National
+Research Council.  The National Research Council, through its Board on
+Telecommunications and Computer Applications (BOTCAP), appointed a
+special Committee on Computer-Computer Communication Protocols to study
+the issues and develop recommendations and guidelines for ways to
+resolve the differences in a mutually beneficial manner.
+
+ The six items composing the committee's scope of work are as follows:
+
+ 1.   Review the technical aspects of the DOD transmission control and
+      ICST transport protocols.
+
+ 2.   Review the status of the implementation of these protocols.
+
+ 3.   Review the industrial and government markets for these protocols.
+
+ 4.   Analyze the technical and political implications of the DOD and
+      ICST views on the protocols.
+
+ 5.   Report on time and cost implications to the DOD, other federal
+      entities, and manufacturers of the DOD and ICST positions.
+
+ 6.   Recommend courses of action toward resolving the differences
+      between the DOD and ICST on these protocol standards.
+
+The committee devoted considerable effort to reviewing the objectives
+and goals of the DOD and NBS that relate to data communications, the
+technical aspects of the two protocols, the status of their
+implementation in operating networks, and the market conditions
+pertaining to their use. This process included hearing government and
+industry presentations and reviewing pertinent literature.  The results
+of this part of the study are presented in Sections II through VII.
+Concurrent with this research and analysis, the committee developed ten
+possible options that offered plausible resolutions of the problem.
+These ranged from maintaining the status quo to an immediate switchover
+from one protocol to the other. From these ten initial options three
+were determined to hold the greatest potential for resolving the
+problem.
+
+Section VIII describes the three options, Section IX provides a cost
+comparison, and Section X provides an overall evaluation of the three
+options.  Section XI presents the committee's basic and detailed
+recommendations for how best the DOD might approach the differences
+between its protocol and the ISO protocol.
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 2]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                 II.  REVIEW OF NBS AND DOD OBJECTIVES
+
+The National Bureau of Standards and the Department of Defense are such
+disparate organizations that the committee felt it needed to begin its
+study with a definition of the roles and expectations of each with
+regard to the protocol issues in question.  The following provides a
+review of each organization's objectives (5).
+
+NBS OBJECTIVES
+
+ The National Bureau of Standards has three primary goals in computer
+ networking:
+
+  1.   To develop networking and protocol standards that meet U.S.
+       government and industry requirements and that will be implemented
+       in off-the-shelf, commercial products.
+
+  2.   To develop testing methodologies to support development and
+       implementation of computer network protocols.
+
+  3.   To assist government and industry users in the application of
+       advanced networking technologies and computer and communications
+       equipment manufacturers in the implementation of standard
+       protocols.
+
+ Development of Networking and Protocol Standards
+
+  The Bureau accomplishes the first objective through close coordination
+  and cooperation with U.S. computer manufacturers and communications
+  system developers.  Technical specifications are developed
+  cooperatively with U.S. industry and other government agencies and
+  provided as proposals to voluntary standards organizations.
+
+  Because the Department of Defense is potentially the largest
+  government client of these standards, DOD requirements are carefully
+  factored into these proposals.  In addition, protocols for
+  computer-to-computer communications developed within the DOD research
+  community are used as an
+
+  
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+-----
+(5)  The objectives were reviewed by representatives of NBS and DOD,
+respectively.
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 3]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  exact statement of DOD functional needs for a particular protocol and
+  form a basis for the functions, features, and services of NBS-proposed
+  standards.
+
+  To further the development of commercial products that implement
+  standards, the NBS gives priority to the needs of U.S. computer
+  manufacturers who wish to market their products nationally and
+  internationally, not just to the U.S. government.  The NBS
+  participates, therefore, in national and international voluntary
+  standards organizations toward the development of an international
+  consensus based on United States needs.  Specifications, formal
+  description techniques, testing methodologies, and test results
+  developed by the NBS are used to further the international
+  standardization process.
+
+ Development of Testing Methodologies
+
+  The National Bureau of Standards has laboratory activities where
+  prototypes of draft protocol standards are implemented and tested in a
+  variety of communications environments supporting different
+  applications on different kinds and sizes of computers.
+  Communications environments include, for example, global networks,
+  local networks, and office system networks.  Applications may, for
+  example, include file transfer or message processing.  The primary
+  purposes are to advance the state of the art in measurement
+  methodologies for advanced computer networking technologies and
+  determine protocol implementation correctness and performance.
+
+  The NBS views testing as a cooperative research effort and works with
+  other agencies, private-sector companies, and other countries in the
+  development of methodologies.  At this time, this cooperation involves
+  five network laboratories in other countries and over twenty computer
+  manufacturers.
+
+  The testing methodologies developed at the NBS are well documented,
+  and the testing tools themselves are developed with the objective of
+  portability in mind.  They are made available to many organizations
+  engaged in protocol development and implementations.
+
+ Assisting Users and Manufacturers
+
+  The NBS works directly with government agencies to help them use
+  evolving network technologies effectively and apply international and
+  government networking standards properly.  When large amounts of
+  assistance are required, the NBS provides it under contract.
+
+  Assistance to industry is provided through cooperative research
+  efforts and by the availability of NBS testing tools, industry wide
+  workshops, and cooperative demonstration projects.  At this time, the
+  NBS is working directly with over twenty computer manufacturers in the
+  implementation of network protocol standards.
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 4]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  Consistent with overall goals, NBS standards developments, research in
+  testing methodologies, and technical assistance are characterized by
+  direct industry and government
+  cooperation and mutual support.
+
+DOD OBJECTIVES
+
+ The DOD has unique needs that could be affected by the Transport and
+ Internet Protocol layers.  Although all data networks must have some of
+ these capabilities, the DOD's needs for operational readiness,
+ mobilization, and war-fighting capabilities are extreme.  These needs
+ include the following:
+
+  Survivability--Some networks must function, albeit at reduced
+  performance, after many nodes and links have been destroyed.
+
+  Security--Traffic patterns and data must be selectively protected
+  through encryption, access control, auditing, and routing.
+
+  Precedence--Systems should adjust the quality ot service on the basis
+  of priority of use; this includes a capability to preempt services in
+  cases of very high priority.
+
+  Robustness--The system must not fail or suffer much loss of capability
+  because of unpredicted situations, unexpected loads, or misuse.  An
+  international crisis is the strongest test of robustness, since the
+  system must operate immediately and with virtually full performance
+  when an international situation flares up unexpectedly.
+
+  Availability--Elements of the system needed for operational readiness
+  or fighting must be continuously available.
+
+  Interoperability--Different elements of the Department must be able to
+  "talk" to one another, often in unpredicted ways between parties that
+  had not planned to interoperate.
+
+ These operational needs reflect themselves into five technical or
+ managerial needs:
+
+  1.   Functional and operational specifications (that is, will the
+       protocol designs meet the operational needs?);
+
+  2.   Maximum interoperability;
+
+  3.   Minimum procurement, development, and support costs;
+
+  4.   Ease of transition to new protocols; and
+
+  5.   Manageability and responsiveness to changing DOD requirements.
+
+ These are the criteria against which DOD options for using the ISO
+ transport and internet protocols should be evaluated.
+
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 5]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ Performance and Functionality
+
+  The performance and functionality of the protocols must provide for
+  the many unique operational needs of the DOD.  The following
+  paragraphs discuss in some detail both these needs and the ways they
+  can impact protocol design.
+
+  Survivability includes protecting assets, hiding them, and duplicating
+  them for redundancy.  It also includes endurance--the assurance that
+  those assets that do survive can continue to perform in a battle
+  environment for as long as needed (generally months rather than
+  hours); restoral--the ability to restore some of the damaged assets to
+  operating status; and reconstitution--the ability to integrate
+  fragmented assets into a surviving and enduring network.
+
+  The DOD feels that an important reason for adopting international and
+  commercial standards is that under cases of very widespread damage to
+  its own communications networks, it would be able to support DOD
+  functions by using those civil communications that survive.  This
+  would require interoperability up to the network layer, but neither
+  TCP nor TP-4 would be needed.  The committee has not considered the
+  extent to which such increased interoperability would increase
+  survivability through better restoral and reconstitution.
+
+  Availability is an indication of how reliable the system and its
+  components are and how quickly they can be repaired after a failure.
+  Availability is also a function of how badly the system has been
+  damaged. The DDN objective for system availability in peacetime varies
+  according to whether subscribers have access to l or 2 nodes of the
+  DDN.  For subscribers having access to only one node of the DDN, the
+  objective is that the system be available 99.3 percent of the time,
+  that is, the system will be unavailable for no more than 60 hours per
+  year.  For subscribers having access to 2 nodes, the objective is that
+  the system be available 99.99 percent of the time, that is, the system
+  will be unavailable for no more than one hour per year.
+
+  Robustness is a measure of how well the system will operate
+  successfully in face of the unexpected.  Robustness attempts to avoid
+  or minimize system degradation because of user errors, operator
+  errors, unusual load patterns, inadequate interface specifications,
+  and so forth.  A well designed and tested system will limit the damage
+  caused by incorrect or unspecified inputs to affect only the
+  performance of the specific function that is requested.  Since
+  protocols are very complex and can be in very many "states",
+  robustness is an important consideration in evaluating and
+  implementing protocols.
+
+  Security attempts to limit the unauthorized user from gaining both the
+  information communicated in the system and the patterns of traffic
+  throughout the system.  Security also attempts to prevent spoofing of
+  the system:  an agent attempting to appear as a legitimate user,
+  insert false traffic, or deny services to users by repeatedly seeking
+  system services.
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 6]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  Finally, Security is also concerned with making sure that electronic
+  measures cannot seriously degrade the system, confuse its performance,
+  or cause loss of security in other ways.
+
+  Encryption of communication links is a relatively straightforward
+  element of security.  It is widely used, fairly well understood,
+  constantly undergoing improvement, and becoming less expensive.  On
+  the other hand, computer network security is a much newer field and
+  considerably more complex.  The ability of computer network protocols
+  to provide security is a very critical issue.  In the past decade much
+  has been learned about vulnerability of computer operating systems,
+  development of trusted systems, different levels of protection, means
+  of proving that security has been achieved, and ways to achieve
+  multilevel systems or a compartmented mode.  This is a dynamic field,
+  however, and new experience and analysis will probably place new
+  requirements on network protocols.
+
+  Crisis-performance needs are a form of global robustness.  The nature
+  of a national security crisis is that it is fraught with the
+  unexpected.  Unusual patterns of communication traffic emerge.
+  Previously unstressed capabilities become critical to national
+  leaders.  Individuals and organizations that had not been
+  communicating must suddenly have close, secure, and reliable
+  communications.  Many users need information that they are not sure
+  exists, and if it does, they do not know where it is or how to get it.
+  The development of widely deployed, interoperable computer networks
+  can provide important new capabilities for a crisis, particularly if
+  there is some investment in preplanning, including the higher-level
+  protocols that facilitate interoperability.  Presidential directives
+  call for this. This will become a major factor in DOD's need for
+  interoperability with other federal computer networks.  The DOD, as
+  one of the most affected parties, has good reason to be concerned that
+  its network protocols will stand the tests of a crisis.
+
+  In addition, there are performance and functionality features that are
+  measures of the capability of the network when it is not damaged or
+  stressed by unexpected situations.  Performance includes quantifiable
+  measures such as time delays, transmission integrity, data rates and
+  efficiency, throughput, numbers of users, and other features well
+  understood in computer networks.  Equally important is the extent of
+  functionality: What jobs will the network do for the user?
+
+  The DDN has established some performance objectives such as end-to-end
+  delays for high-precedence and routine traffic, the probability of
+  undetected errors, and the probability of misdelivered packets.  Such
+  objectives are important to engineer a system soundly.  The DOD must
+  place greater emphasis on more complex performance issues such as the
+  efficiency with which protocols process and communicate data.
+
+  The DOD has stated a need for an effective and robust system for
+  precedence and preemption.  Precedence refers to the ability of the
+  system to adaptively allocate network resources so that the network
+  performance is related to the importance of the function being
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 7]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  performed.  Preemption refers to the ability of the system to remove
+  users (at least temporarily) until the needs of the high-priority user
+  are satisfied.  The ARPANET environment in which the protocols were
+  developed did not emphasize these capabilities, and the current MILNET
+  does not function as effectively in this regard as DOD voice
+  networks.
+
+  The DOD has also stated a need for connectionless communications and a
+  broadcast mode.  In the majority of network protocols, when two of
+  more parties communicate, virtual circuits are established between the
+  communicating parties.  (For reliability, additional virtual circuits
+  may be established to provide an in place backup.)  DOD needs a
+  connectionless mode where the message can be transmitted to one or
+  more parties without the virtual circuit in order to enhance
+  survivability; provide a broadcast capability (one sender to many
+  receivers); and handle imagery, sensor data, and speech traffic
+  quickly and efficiently.
+
+  If intermediate nodes are destroyed or become otherwise unavailable,
+  there is still a chance that the data can be sent via alternate paths.
+  The broadcast capability is particularly important in tactical
+  situations where many parties must be informed almost simultaneously
+  and where the available assets may be disappearing and appearing
+  dynamically.  The Department of Defense requires an internetting
+  capability whereby different autonomous networks of users can
+  communicate with each other.
+
+ Interoperability
+
+  Presidential and DOD directives place a high priority on
+  interoperability, which is related to the internetworking previously
+  discussed.
+
+  Interoperability is primarily important at two levels:  network access
+  and applications.  To achieve interoperability at the level of network
+  access,users of backbone communications nets must utilize the same
+  lower-level protocols that are utilized by the network.  Generally
+  these protocols are layers 1, 2, and 3, up to and including part of
+  the IP layer.  In other words, interoperability for network access
+  does not depend on either implementation of the transport layer (TP-4
+  or TCP) or of all of the internet (IP) layer.  The primary advantages
+  of network access interoperability are twofold:
+
+   1.   Significant economies of scale are possible since the various
+        users can share the resources of the backbone network including
+        hardware, software, and development and support costs.
+
+   2.   Network survivability for all users can be increased
+        significantly since the network has high redundancy and, as the
+        threat increases, the redundancy can also be increased.
+
+  Interoperability at the applications layer allows compatible users at
+  different nodes to talk to each other, that is, to share their data,
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 8]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  support each other, and thereby coordinate and strengthen the
+  management of forces and other assets.  Interoperability at the
+  applications layer can be achieved through the use of specialized
+  software that performs those functions of higher-layer protocols (such
+  as TCP or TP-4, file transfer, and virtual terminal) that are needed
+  by the particular application.  If some of the higher-layer transport
+  and utility protocols have been developed for particular hosts or work
+  stations, their use greatly reduces development, integration, and
+  support costs, although with a potential sacrifice of performance.
+  Interoperability at the applications level, that is, full functional
+  interoperability, is important to specialized communities of users
+  such as the logistics, command and control, or research and
+  development communities.  As these different communities utilize the
+  DDN, they have the advantages of shared network resources. Within each
+  community there is full functional interoperability but generally
+  there is much less need for one community to have functional
+  interoperability with members of another community.
+
+  The implementation of TCP or TP-4 within network users, but without
+  the implementation of higher-level protocols and application
+  interoperability, is not generally an immediate step in increasing
+  interoperability. It does have these immediate advantages:
+
+   It represents an important step in investing in longer-term
+   interoperability.
+
+   It generally represents an economical near-term investment on which
+   communities of interest can build their own applications.
+
+   It facilitates the development of devices for general network use
+   such as Terminal Access Controllers (TACs).
+
+  Interoperability at the applications level will become increasingly
+  important among the following communities:  Worldwide Military Command
+  and Control Systems, including systems of subordinate commands;
+  Department of Defense Intelligence Information Systems; U.S. tactical
+  force headquarters (fixed and mobile); NATO force headquarters; other
+  U.S. intelligence agencies; the State Department; and the Federal
+  Bureau of Investigation and other security agencies.
+
+  Although interoperability of applications within the DOD has the
+  highest priority, it is clear that government wide and international
+  interoperability will be an objective with increasing priority.  The
+  NATO situation is especially important (6).
+
+  
+
+
+
+-----
+(6)  Europe has been a major force in the development of ISO standards.
+Consistent with this is a NATO commitment to adopt ISO standards so long
+as they meet military requirements.
+
+National Research Council                                       [Page 9]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  In a somewhat longer time period, DOD will want applications
+  interoperability with many commercial information services.  As
+  interoperable computer networks become more common, processing and
+  data services will burgeon in the marketplace.  These will include
+  specialized data bases and analytic capabilities that all large
+  organizations will need in order to be up-to-date and competitive.
+
+  With regard to interoperability at the network level, DOD will want to
+  be able to utilize commercially available networks for both
+  survivability and operational effectiveness and economy.  In the case
+  of a major war in Europe, for example, the United States would want to
+  be able to use surviving PTTs (Postal, Telegraphy, and Telephony
+  Ministries) for restoral and reconstitution.  During peacetime there
+  will be cases where special DOD needs can be best satisfied with
+  commercially available capabilities.
+
+  As technology continues to provide less expensive, smaller, and more
+  reliable data processing equipment, computer networks will become
+  increasingly prevalent at lower levels of the tactical forces--land,
+  air, and sea.  It will be important that these tactical networks be
+  capable of interoperability with each other (for example, air support
+  of ground forces) and with headquarters.  It is likely that the
+  tactical network will need a network architecture and protocols that
+  are different from the ARPA-\and ISO-derived protocols.  If so, the
+  developments will place requirements on the higher-level DOD
+  protocols.
+
+  If the DOD chooses to move from TCP to TP-4, this can be done in
+  phases for different communities of interest and subnetworks.  In this
+  way if there is difficulty in converting one subnet, the rest of the
+  network need not be degraded.  Also the different subnets will be able
+  to make the transition at the most suitable time in terms of cost,
+  risk, and the need to interoperate with other subnets.  As a result if
+  DOD uses TP-4 for some new nets or major upgrade of existing nets,
+  this will generally not reduce interoperability in the near term
+  unless interoperability of applications is needed between two
+  communities.  In this case specific interoperability needs may be
+  satisfied with specialized gateways for mail or data exchange.
+
+  The DOD points out that it desires all networks to be interoperable
+  since it is not possible to predict when one community will need to
+  communicate with another or use the resources of the other.  As
+  previously indicated, however, unexpected needs for full functional
+  interoperability can only be met when appropriate higher-layer
+  software is developed.
+
+ Minimize Costs
+
+  The Department of Defense seeks to minimize costs of development,
+  procurement, transition (if it decides to move to ISO protocols), and
+  support.  Generally the objective is to limit life-cycle costs, that
+  is, the total costs over a 5-to-8-year period with future costs
+  suitably discounted (10 to 20 percent per year).
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 10]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  The Department of Defense has already made a heavy investment in
+  protocols, and the investment has paid off in the success of current
+  protocols operational in many networks.  On the other hand, the DOD
+  acknowledges the potential advantages of using the ISO protocols if
+  made available as commercially supported products.  Development costs
+  for these protocols can be small since their development cost is
+  amortized by the commercial vendor over a larger market.  Support
+  costs for these protocols (including minor modifications, integration
+  into other products, documentation, and training) are also
+  significantly reduced because of vendor-supplied services.  These cost
+  factors are further discussed in Section IX in terms of the three
+  options presented in Section VIII.
+
+ Ease of Transition and Manageability
+
+  Networks must be manageable and capable of growth and improvement. The
+  Department of Defense generally makes the fastest progress in
+  developing complex information systems if it evolves these
+  capabilities while working in concert with the users and the acquiring
+  agencies.  In this light, the following factors are important:
+
+   Minimal interruption of current service--For most DOD networks it is
+   essential that they operate continuously.  If there is to be
+   transition to new protocol services (whether based on current DOD
+   versions or ISO), it is important that these transitions be planned,
+   designed, and pretested so that the transition will be nondisruptive.
+
+   Verifiability--It is essential to have a testing capability where new
+   protocol implementations can be thoroughly tested to ensure that they
+   will interoperate, have full functionality specified, do not contain
+   errors, are robust, and meet quantitative performance needs.  The
+   National Bureau of Standards has established such a capability, and
+   it is being used to verify a number of TP-4 implementations,
+   including those demonstrated at the National Computer Conference in
+   July 1984.  An IP-testing capability is being added.  The Department
+   of Defense is planning a similar protocol test facility for TCP, but
+   work is just getting underway.  If the DOD plans to migrate promptly
+   to TP-4, there is a question whether this investment is warranted.
+
+   Compatibility with higher protocols--As the transport and
+   lower-protocol layers evolve, it is essential that they maintain full
+   compatibility with higher-layer protocols.  This is particularly
+   important for the DOD because it will increasingly have
+   inter-operability at the applications level.
+
+   Responsiveness to evolving DOD needs--Current DOD needs will change
+   or new needs may arise.  It is very likely, for example, that subtle
+   performance problems may be discovered in a protocol that are unique
+   to the strenuous DOD-operating environment and that could have
+   serious operational consequences.  If the DOD is using commercial
+   protocols products based upon international standards, the DOD will
+   need two commitments when critical deficiencies are discovered.  It
+   will need a commitment from the manufacturer that critical problems
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 11]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+   will be promptly fixed and a commitment from the NBS that it will
+   move quickly to change federal standards and seek changes in
+   international standards.
+
+   Minimal risks--The DOD needs are so large and important, it cannot
+   afford to take otherwise avoidable risks.
+
+   Maintenance of manageability--The DDN is new and is using a new
+   approach after the cancellation of AUTODIN II (7).  There are
+   pressing operational needs and many impatient users.  If the DOD
+   delays in moving to ISO protocols and later decides to do so, the
+   costs and disruption will be large.  On the other hand, moving now to
+   ISO will be less disruptive.
+
+  
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+-----
+(7)  AUTODIN II was a program to develop a data communications system
+for the DOD.  The program envisioned relatively few large packet
+switches.  It was cancelled in 1982 in favor of ARPANET-derived designs
+because of considerations of security, architecture, survivability, and
+cost.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 12]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+               III.  COMPARISON OF DOD AND ISO PROTOCOLS
+
+This section presents a general description of the major functional
+differences between the ISO and DOD protocol sets at the transport and
+network layers and then discusses particular aspects of the protocols:
+performance, security, and risk.
+
+COMPARISON OF DOD AND ISO TRANSPORT LAYERS
+
+Differences between the Defense Department's TCP protocol and the
+International Standards Organization's TP-4 protocol are described in
+terms of items visible to users of the protocol.  Internal differences
+in mechanism that have no effect on the service seen by the user are not
+considered. A second much simpler protocol, the User Datagram Protocol
+(UDP), providing datagram or connectionless service at the transport
+layer is also briefly considered.
+
+In summary, the services provided by TCP and TP-4 are functionally quite
+similar.  Several functions, however, including data transfer interface,
+flow control, connection establishment binding, and out-of-band signals
+are provided in significantly different ways by the two protocols.
+Neither seems intrinsically superior, but some effort would be required
+to convert a higher-level protocol using TCP to make use of TP-4.  The
+exact amount of work needed will vary with the nature of the
+higher-level protocol implementations and the operating systems in which
+they are embedded.  A programmer experienced with the higher-level
+protocols would require about six months to design, implement, and test
+modifications of the three major DOD higher-level protocols (file
+transfer, mail, and Telnet) to work with TP-4.
+
+There are several areas in which the openness and lack of experience
+with the TP-4 specification leave questions about just what
+functionality is provided and whether incompatibilities are allowed.
+These areas include connection-establishment binding, flow control,
+addressing, and provision of expedited network service.  The best way to
+resolve these questions seems to be to implement and test TP-4 in a
+military environment and to further specify desired procedures where
+there is unwanted latitude allowed by the standard (see the
+recommendations section XI).
+
+There is one area in which the NBS-proposed Federal Information
+Processing Standard (FIPS) differs from the ISO specification:  The FIPS
+provides a graceful closing service as in TCP, while the ISO does not.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 13]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+Data Transfer Interface
+
+TCP is stream oriented.  It does not deliver any End of Transmission
+(EOT), but accepts a "push" on the send side which has an effect much
+like an EOT causes data being buffered to be sent.
+
+TP-4 is block oriented and does deliver EOT indications.  By indicating
+EOT, a sending user should be able to accomplish the same effect as
+"push" in TCP in most reasonable TP-4 implementations.
+
+The impact of this is uncertain.  Neither type of interface is
+inherently better than the other.  Some applications will find it more
+convenient to have a stream-type interface (for example, interactive
+terminal handling), while others might prefer a block mode (for example,
+file transfer).  It should be possible for TP-4 to approximate the
+stream mode by forwarding data without an EOT from the sending user and
+delivering data to the receiving user before an EOT is received.  Some
+work would have to be done on applications using one type of protocol to
+modify them to use the other.
+
+Flow Control
+
+TCP has octet units of allocation, with no EOT and hence no impact of
+EOT on the allocation.  The segment size, Transport Protocol Data Unit
+(TPDU) size, used by the protocol is invisible to the user, who sees
+allocations in units of octets.
+
+TP-4 has segment units of allocation, with a common segment size for
+both directions negotiated as part of connection establishment.
+Although in some implementations the protocol's flow control is not
+directly visible to the users, in others it is.  In the latter case,
+users of TP-4 will see allocations in units of segments and will have to
+be aware of the segment size for this to be meaningful (for example, to
+know that a window of four 100-byte segments seen will be consumed by
+two messages of 101 to 200 bytes each).
+
+The impact is uncertain.  Both octet and segment units of flow control
+can be argued to have their advantages for different types of
+application. The former makes it easy to indicate buffering limits in
+terms of total bytes (appropriate for stream transfer), while the latter
+makes it easy to indicate buffering limits in terms of messages
+(appropriate for block mode).  The way in which flow control is exerted
+over an interface is complex and one of the most performance-sensitive
+areas of protocols, so a significant conversion and tuning effort would
+be required to get an application used with one type of high-level
+protocol to be able to perform using another.
+
+Error Detection
+
+TCP applies ones-complement addition checksum.  TP-4 uses an ISO
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 14]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+algorithm (8).  The error-detection properties of the TCP procedure have
+not been studied carefully, but the ISO algorithm is thought to be
+somewhat stronger and hence allows fewer nondetected errors in data
+passed to users.  It should be noted that the TCP checksum is defined to
+include certain fields from the IP level including addresses so that
+double protection against misdelivery errors is provided.  The practical
+difference in error-detection power is probably not important.
+
+Simultaneous Call Between Same Users
+
+TCP will establish one call.  TP-4 will establish two calls if both
+sides support multiple calls, no call if they allow only one call (that
+is, see each other as busy), or in very unusual circumstances, one call.
+The impact is minor since most applications naturally have an initiator
+and a responder side.
+
+Multiple Calls Between Same Addresses_
+
+TCP allows only one call between a given pair of source and destination
+ports.  TP-4 allows more than one by using reference numbers.  The
+impact is minor since it is easy to generate a new per-call port number
+on the calling side in most cases.  This can be a problem in TCP,
+however, if both are well-known ports.
+
+Addressing
+
+TCP provides sixteen bit ports for addressing within a node identified
+by the internet layer.  Some of these ports are assigned to well-known
+applications, others are free for dynamic assignment as needed.
+
+TP-4 provides a variable-length transport suffix (same as Transport
+Service Access Point Identifier) in the call-request packet.  The use of
+addresses at different levels in the ISO model has not yet been
+solidified, but it seems likely that addressing capabilities similar to
+TCP's will eventually be provided by TP-4 (or possibly the session
+layer) along with standard addresses for common applications.
+
+The impact is likely to be minimal, but this is an open area of the ISO
+specifications that may need further definition for use by DOD.
+
+Binding User Entities to Connections
+
+TCP requires a prior Listen Request from a user entity for it to be able
+to accept an incoming connection request.  Normally a user entity must
+exist and declare itself to TCP, giving prior approval to accept
+
+
+
+
+-----
+(8)  For additional information, see Information Processing Systems,
+Open Systems Interconnection, Connection-Oriented Transport Protocol
+Specifications, ISO DIS 8073, Section 6.17, page 45.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 15]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  a call from a specific or general remote entity.  In some
+  implementations it may be possible for a nonresident user entity to
+  cause a Listen Request to be posted and an instance of the entity to
+  be created when a matching connection request arrives.  TCP does not
+  queue an incoming connection request with no matching Listen Request
+  but instead rejects the connection.
+
+  TP-4 requires no prior request but passes a Call Indication to a user
+  entity whenever a Call Request is received.  It is, however, left open
+  as an implementation decision as to how TP-4 finds and/or creates an
+  appropriate user entity to give the Call Indication; that is, the
+  service does not include or define how user applications make
+  themselves available for calls (no Listen Service Primitive).  The
+  implementation guidelines indicate that well-known addresses, prior
+  process existence, and Call Request queuing are all facilities that
+  may or may not be provided at the implementor's choice (9).  This
+  would seem to allow for different choices and hence failure to
+  establish a connection between standard implementations (for example,
+  caller expects requests not to be queued, while callee does queuing,
+  and hence never responds).
+
+  The practical impact is uncertain due to lack of experience with how
+  the various options allowed by the TP-4 standard will be used in
+  practice. TCP seems more oriented to a prior authorization mode of
+  operation, while TP-4 most easily supports an
+  indication-with-later-acceptance scenario. It is not clear how TP-4
+  will support rejecting calls to nonexistent or inactive user entities
+  and how user entities could control how many calls they would accept.
+  This area may require DOD refinement.
+
+ Out-of-Band Signals
+
+  TCP allows the user to specify an urgent condition at any point in the
+  normal data stream.  Several such indications may be combined, with
+  only the last one shown to the destination.  There is no limit to the
+  number of urgent indications that can be sent.  The TCP urgent
+  messages are sent requesting expedited service from the network layer
+  so network bottlenecks can be bypassed as well.
+
+  TP-4 allows users to send expedited data units carrying up to sixteen
+  octets of user data.  These are only half synchronized with the normal
+  data stream since they may be delivered before previously sent normal
+  data, but not after subsequently sent normal data.  Each expedited
+  data unit is delivered to the destination, and only one can be
+  outstanding at a time.  ISO has indicated its intention to allow
+  transport protocols to use network-level expedited service, but this
+
+  
+-----
+(9)  Specification of a Transport Protocol for Computer Communications,
+Vol. 5:  Guidance for the Implementor, Section 2.11.2.  National Bureau
+of Standards, Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology,
+(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Department of Commerce, January 1983.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 16]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  is not yet defined.
+
+  The impact is primarily for applications like terminal traffic
+  handlers that must deal with interrupt-type signals of various types.
+  The need to read an arbitrary amount of normal data and recognize
+  urgent data in the normal stream are difficulties with TCP urgent
+  service, but it has been used successfully by the Telnet protocol.
+  The lack of full synchronization of the signal and normal data in TP-4
+  may require users to insert their own synchronization marks in the
+  normal data stream [as was the case with the old ARPA Network Control
+  Program (NCP)], and the limitation of one outstanding signal may be
+  restrictive.  Some effort would be required to convert higher-level
+  protocols using one transport protocol to using the other.
+
+ Security
+
+  The committee has determined that the TCP and TP-4 are sufficiently
+  equivalent in their security-related properties so that no significant
+  technical points favor the use of one over the other.
+
+  The DOD protocol architecture assigns the security-marking function to
+  the IP layer and provides an 11-byte security option with a defined
+  coding in the IP header.
+
+  TP-4 provides a variable-length security option carried in Call
+  Request packets.  A variable-length security option field is also
+  provided in the ISO IP.  Standard encoding of security markings are
+  under consideration but not yet defined and accepted.
+
+  In addition to these explicit security-marking fields, the existence,
+  coding, and placement of other header fields have security
+  implications. If data is encrypted, for example, a checksum is usually
+  used to determine if the decrypted data is correct, so the strength of
+  the checksum has security implications.
+
+ Precedence
+
+  TCP supports precedence by using three bits provided in IP headers of
+  every packet.  TP-4 provides a 2-byte priority option in Call Request
+  packets.  A 2-byte priority option in the ISO IP header is also under
+  consideration.  Currently, no implementations make use of precedence
+  information (to support preemption, for example).  There should be no
+  impact, therefore, of changing from one protocol to the other.
+
+ Type of Service
+
+  The types of network service that can be requested via TCP and TP-4
+  are somewhat different.  The impact seems minimal since few networks
+  do anything with the type of service fields at present with the
+  exception of DARPA's packet radio and satellite nets.  This may become
+  more important in the future.
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 17]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ Datagram Service
+
+  TCP provides only reliable session service.  A separate User Datagram
+  Protocol (UDP) in the DOD architecture supports transaction or
+  connectionless-type interaction where individual messages are
+  exchanged.  UDP is merely an addition of the port-addressing layer to
+  the basic datagram service provided by IP.  No delivery confirmation
+  or sequencing is provided (although IP provides fragmentation and
+  reassembly).
+
+  The NBS TP-4 specification originally presented to the committee
+  provided unit-data-transfer service within the same protocol framework
+  as sessions (10).  This material has since been deleted to bring the
+  NBS proposal into conformance with ISO work.  A separate ISO datagram
+  protocol similar to UDP has been defined and is expected to become a
+  draft proposed standard in June 1984.
+
+ Closing
+
+  TCP provides a graceful closing mechanism that ensures that all data
+  submitted by users are delivered before the connection is terminated.
+  The NBS TP-4 provides a similar mechanism, but is not included in the
+  ISO standard TP-4, which provides only an immediate disconnect
+  service.  Impact is significant if the ISO version is used because
+  users would then have to add their own graceful termination handshake
+  if desired.
+
+COMPARISON OF DOD AND ISO INTERNET LAYERS
+
+ The internet protocols of DOD and ISO are much more similar to one
+ another than the transport protocols.  This is not surprising since the
+ Defense Department's IP was used as the basis for the International
+ Standards Organization's IP.  Some reformatting, renaming, and recoding
+ of fields has been done.  Hence not only are the services to higher
+ layers essentially equivalent, but the protocol mechanisms themselves
+ are also nearly identical.  Due to the format changes, however, the two
+ protocols are incompatible.
+
+ It should be noted that the IP itself forms only part of the internet
+ layer.  For clarity it should also be noted that the internet layer in
+ ISO is considered to be the top sublayer within the network layer.
+
+ In DOD, there is an additional Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
+ that deals with error conditions, congestion control, and simple
+ routing updates to host computers.  There is also a Gateway-to-Gateway
+ Protocol (GGP) that deals with internet management and routing updates
+ for gateways.  In the ISO, only the IP itself has so far been
+
+ 
+-----
+(10)  National Bureau of Standards, Specification of a Transport
+Protocol for Computer Communications, Vol. 3, Class 4 Protocol,
+ICST/HLNP-83-3, February 1983.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 18]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ considered, while most error reporting, control, and routing functions
+ are considered "management" functions that remain to be addressed in
+ the future.
+
+ The only significant differences in the IPs themselves are in the areas
+ of addressing and error reporting.  The DOD IP has a fixed-length,
+ 32-bit source and destination addresses (identifying network and host)
+ plus an 8-bit "protocol number" field to identify the higher-level
+ protocol for which the IP data is intended.  The ISO IP has
+ variable-length source and destination addresses whose format and
+ content are not yet specified, although preliminary documentation
+ indicates that ISO intends to support a similar level of addressing
+ (network/host) in a more global context which would allow use of
+ current DOD addresses as a subset.  There is no equivalent of the DOD
+ protocol number field, although possibly the tail of the
+ variable-length ISO addresses could be used for this purpose.
+
+ Error reporting is provided within the ISO IP by means of a separate
+ packet type, while the DOD provides more complete error- and
+ status-reporting functions via the separate Internet Control Message
+ Protocol (ICMP), including routing "redirect" messages to hosts that
+ have sent datagrams via nonoptimal routes.
+
+ In summary, from the functional point of view, DOD and ISO IP can be
+ considered essentially equivalent with the provision that the
+ ISO-addressing scheme is suitably resolved.  The absence of routing and
+ control procedures from the ISO internet layer means that additional
+ procedures beyond IP would be needed to produce a complete,
+ functioning, internet even if the ISO IP were adopted.  It appears that
+ the existing DOD ICMP and GGP or its successors could be modified to
+ operate with the ISO IP with modest effort, but this requires further
+ study and validation in an operational system.
+
+ A table at the end of this chapter compares DOD and ISO IP packet
+ formats.
+
+COMPARISON ON THE BASIS OF PERFORMANCE, SECURITY, AND RISK
+
+ Performance
+
+  The performance of a transport protocol, such as TCP or TP-4, is a
+  function of its implementation as well as its inherent design.
+  Experience in implementing TCP and other proprietary protocols has
+  demonstrated that implementation considerations usually dominate.
+  This makes it difficult to compare protocols, since a wide range in
+  efficiency of implementations is possible.  Furthermore, there are a
+  number of dimensions along which an implementation can be optimized.
+
+  Despite the difficulties, protocol designers have developed several
+  metrics for comparing transport protocols.  These view protocol
+  performance from a variety of perspectives, including  (1) user
+  response time, (2) throughput on a single connection, (3) network and
+  host computer resource utilization.  Protocol efficiency can also be
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 19]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  significantly affected by the communications environment.  Protocol
+  efficiency must be considered in a wide range of communication
+  environments, including local area networks, satellite links,
+  terrestrial links, and packet-switched networks.
+
+  The critical algorithms most affecting protocol performance are those
+  that perform end-to-end error control and end-to-end flow control.
+  These algorithms affect the response time, throughput, and resource
+  utilization of the protocol during the data transfer phase.  The
+  efficiency of the connection management procedures may also be
+  important in applications involving frequent connections of brief
+  duration.
+
+  The committee compared the algorithms and message formats specified
+  for each protocol for critical functions, including flow-and
+  error-control and connection management.  They concluded that since
+  the two protocols were sufficiently similar there would be no
+  significant difference in performance of TCP or TP-4 implementations
+  of equal quality optimized for a given environment.
+
+  The committee compared the error-and-flow-control algorithms of TCP/IP
+  and TP-4.  Both employ window-based techniques using large-sequence
+  number spaces and both permit large window sizes.  Their differences
+  are minor. TCP performs its error-and-flow-control in units of octets,
+  rather than the protocol data units employed by TP-4.  This adds a
+  small amount of overhead to TCP calculation in return for a finer
+  control over host buffer memory.  The committee did not consider the
+  difference significant, assuming that appropriate buffer management
+  strategies are implemented by transport and higher-level protocols.
+  TP-4 employs more sophisticated techniques to ensure that flow-control
+  information is reliably transmitted than does TCP.  These more
+  sophisticated techniques may reduce TP-4 protocol overhead during
+  periods of light load in some applications, possibly adding slightly
+  more CPU load in other cases.  The committee did not consider these
+  effects significant.
+
+  Both protocols employ a three-way handshake for establishing a
+  transport connection.  The differences between the TCP and TP-4
+  handshake are related to the addressing conventions employed for
+  establishing connections and do not affect protocol efficiency.  In
+  the common cases where a client process requests a connection to a
+  server process, the TCP and TP-4 operations are equivalent.
+
+  Both protocols permit a range of policy decisions in their
+  implementation. These include (1) selection of timer values used to
+  recover from transmission errors and lost packets, (2) selection of
+  window sizes at the receiver and transmitter, and (3) selection of
+  protocol data unit sizes.  Both permit substantial reduction in
+  control message overhead by expanding window sizes.  Both permit
+  credits to be granted "optimistically," permitting receiver buffers to
+  be shared over several transport connections and permitting credit
+  reduction in the event of buffer congestion. Both permit optimizing
+  protocol efficiency by delaying control message traffic when it does
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 20]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  not need to be transmitted, combining it with later data or control
+  traffic.
+
+  The most significant difference between TCP and TP-4 flow control
+  derives from slight differences in expression of flow control at the
+  transport layer service interface.  TCP employs a stream model while
+  TP-4 uses a message model.  These two models are equivalent in
+  function; however, some higher-level applications protocols may be
+  more naturally expressed in one model than the other.  The committee
+  considered the possibility that current ARPA protocols might require
+  some adaptation to operate more efficiently with TP-4.  For this
+  reason the committee recommends that the DOD study the operation of
+  current DOD higher-level protocols on TP-4 (recommendation 5, Chapter
+  XI).
+
+ Security
+
+  The committee considered the impact of security requirements on
+  transport protocols primarily and also on overall protocol hierarchies
+  in the DOD, The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and ISO.
+  Based on the information the committee received, it finds that:
+
+   The current TCP-4 and TP-4 are sufficiently equivalent in their
+   security-related properties that no significant technical points
+   would favor the use of one over the other.
+
+   There is no technical impediment to their equivalent evolution over
+   time in the security area.
+
+ Risk
+
+  There are several risks in implementing a new protocol or protocol
+  family.  These include (1) fatal flaws in protocol design not easily
+  rectified, (2) errors in protocol specification, (3) ambiguities in
+  protocol specification, (4) errors in protocol implementation, (5)
+  performance degradation due to inefficient implementation, (6)
+  performance degradation due to "untuned" implementation, and (7)
+  performance degradation due to untuned application protocols.
+
+  This list of risks comes from experience in implementing computer
+  networks based on the DOD protocols and proprietary commercial
+  protocols. Considering that it took more than ten years for the
+  current TCP protocols to reach their current state of maturity and
+  that the TP-4 protocol is only about two years old, the committee
+  devoted considerable attention to the maturity of TP-4.
+
+ Fatal Flaws in Protocol Design
+
+  Early ARPANET protocols had a number of "fatal" design errors that
+  resulted in deadlocks or other serious system failures.  Commercial
+  networks had similar problems in early design phases.  The committee
+  considered the possibility that TP-4 could suffer from similar faults
+  and concluded that this was unlikely.  TP-4 employs design techniques
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 21]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  similar to those of TCP and proprietary transport protocols.  The
+  faults encountered in the ARPANET are now well known.  Indeed, the
+  state of the art in transport protocol design is now quite mature.
+  The developers of the TP-4 protocol were familiar with the earlier
+  protocols and their problems.
+
+ Errors and Ambiguities in Protocol Specification
+
+  Early in the development of TP-4, NBS developed a formal protocol
+  specification and a test environment based on this specification.  A
+  protocol implementation can be partially compiled automatically from
+  the formal specification.  Other implementations can be tested against
+  this master implementation.  The NBS protocol laboratory was used to
+  debug the formal specification of TP-4 and is currently being used to
+  certify other implementations of TP-4.  The laboratory has also
+  developed and employed tools to analyze the specification for possible
+  problems.  The existence of this laboratory and the results obtained
+  to date led the committee to conclude that there is no substantial
+  risk associated with the TP-4 protocol specification.
+
+  In contrast TCP has only recently received a formal specification. To
+  the committee's knowledge most existing TCP implementations predate
+  the formal TCP specification and have not been derived from the formal
+  specification.  In the committee's opinion the formal TCP
+  specification is likely to have more bugs or ambiguities than the TP-4
+  specification.
+
+  At the present time NBS has developed the only formal specification
+  for ISO TP-4.  ISO is currently developing standards for formal
+  specification techniques that are similar to those used by NBS.  When
+  these specifications are complete ISO will update the TP-4
+  specification to include a formal description.  In translating the
+  current informal ISO specification into the formal specification there
+  is a risk that the ISO specification may be changed such that it is no
+  longer consistent with the current NBS specification.  The National
+  Bureau of Standards is playing a key role in developing the ISO formal
+  specification techniques and formal specification.  It plans to
+  generate automatically an implementation of the ISO formal
+  specification and verify it against the NBS specification using the
+  NBS test tools.  In the committee's opinion this makes the risk of
+  unintentional changes in the ISO specification quite low.
+
+  One possible risk remains.  The ISO specification for TP-4 that was
+  approved is an informal document subject to the ambiguities of
+  informal protocol specifications.  The formalization may remove
+  ambiguities that have gone undetected and that were the basis of its
+  approval.  It is conceivable that once these ambiguities are exposed,
+  the current consensus for TP-4 may dissolve.  The committee considers
+  this risk to be very low. The areas of ambiguity in protocol
+  specifications are typically only of concern to protocol implementors.
+  The current protocol implementors through much of the world are
+  typically using the NBS formal specifications as a basis of their
+  implementations of TP-4 and have access to the NBS test tools for
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 22]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  certifying their implementations.  In the event of a possible
+  conflict, the majority of implementors could be expected to support
+  resolution of ambiguities in favor of the current NBS formal
+  specification, making it unlikely that ISO would approve an alternate
+  resolution.
+
+ Errors in Protocol Implementation
+
+  Several factors influence the likelihood of errors in a protocol
+  implementation.  These include the complexity of the protocol, quality
+  of the protocol specification, the experience of the implementors, and
+  the availability of test tools.  Based on the availability of the NBS
+  test tools and formal protocol specification for TP-4, the committee
+  did not see any significant risk of errors in implementing TP-4.
+
+ Performance Issues
+
+  The largest risk in implementing TP-4 concerns the performance of the
+  implementations.  This risk is not inherent in the protocol as
+  specified, but is present in new implementations of any transport
+  protocol.  Experience has shown that performance can often be improved
+  by a factor of two or more by careful attention to implementation
+  details and careful performance measurement and tuning.  The committee
+  considered it likely that some initial implementations of TP-4 will
+  have significantly lower performance than the current mature
+  implementations of TCP.  Evidence to support this conclusion may be
+  found in data supplied by the DOD which show a wide range of
+  performance of TCP implementations.
+
+  Some members of the committee expressed the belief that over the long
+  term, TP-4 will afford better performance due to widespread commercial
+  support.  Vendors will be highly motivated to optimize performance of
+  their TP-4 implementations, since a large number of users will
+  benchmark implementation performance.  Many individuals will become
+  familiar with implementations of TP-4 and with configuring and
+  operating networks based on TP-4.  Initially, this expertise will be
+  found in organizations developing TP-4 implementations and
+  installation.
+
+  The committee believes that the largest performance risks are short
+  term.  The performance of existing DOD high-level protocols may be
+  affected by subtle differences between TP-4 and TCP interfaces.
+  Highlevel DOD implementations and protocols may require retuning to
+  attain some high-level efficiency using TP-4.  Another short-term risk
+  is potential lack of experience in configuring and operating
+  TP-4-based networks.  The committee believes that a program of testing
+  and development would minimize these risks, ensuring that the current
+  high-level DOD protocols run effectively on TP-4-based networks.
+
+  There is a possibility that the equivalent, but different, protocol
+  mechanisms and interfaces in TP-4 may manifest some undesirable
+  behavior that is not expected and which cannot easily be removed by
+  tuning.  In this event ISO may find it necessary to make some
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 23]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  modifications to TP-4. It is unlikely that such problems will be
+  serious enough to prevent an early transition to TP-4.  If such
+  problems are discovered, it is expected that they can be handled
+  through the normal standards process of periodic enhancement.  A
+  number of proprietary commercial networking protocols are similar in
+  operation to TP-4 and do not have serious performance problems. Any
+  enhancements that may be desirable can probably be added to TP-4 in a
+  compatible fashion, permitting interoperation of enhanced and
+  unenhanced implementations.
+
+TABLE:  Comparison of DOD and ISO IP Packet Formats
+
+ DOD                               ISO (not in correct order)
+ ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Protocol version:  4 bits         Version:  8 bits
+ Header Length (in 32-bit words):  [Header] Length (in bytes):  8 bits
+    4 bits
+ Type of service:  8 bits          Quality of service**:  8 bits
+    (includes 3-bit Precedence)    Precedence**:  8 bits
+ Total Length:  16 bits            Segment Length:  16 bits
+ ID:  16 bits                      Data Unit ID*:  16 bits
+ Don't Fragment flag               Segmentation Permitted flag
+ More Fragments flag               More Segments flag
+ Fragment offset:  13 bits         Segment offset*:  16 bits
+ Time to live (sec):  8 bits       Lifetime (.5 sec):  8 bits
+ Protocol number:  8 bits          ---
+ Header checksum:  16 bits         Header checksum:  16 bits
+    (provided by subnet layer)     Network Layer Protocol ID:  8 bits
+ ---                               [Generate] Error flag
+ (in ICMP)                         Type:  5 bits
+ ---                               Total Length*:  16 bits
+ .............                     .............
+ Source address:  32 bits          Source address length:  8 bits
+                                   Source address:  var.
+ Dest. address:  32 bits           Dest. address length:  8 bits
+                                   Dest. address:  var.
+ .............                     .............
+
+ OPTIONS: NOP, Security,           OPTIONS: Padding, Security
+ Source Route, Record Route,       Source Route, Record Route,
+ Stream ID, Time Stamp             Quality of service, Precedence,
+                                   Error reason (only for error type)
+ .............                     .............
+ DATA                              DATA
+ ......................................................................
+
+  *  only present if segmentation is in use
+  ** in options
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 24]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ IV.  STATUS OF DOD AND ISO PROTOCOL IMPLEMENTATIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS
+
+DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
+
+ The DOD internetting protocol was first introduced in 1974 and later
+ split into separate TCP and IP specifications.  From 1974 until 1978,
+ when they were adopted as DOD standards, the protocols underwent a
+ number of major revisions.  These revisions were largely a result of
+ extensive experience gained by researchers working on the DARPA
+ Internet project. The DARPA "Request for Comment" and "Internet
+ Experimental Note" technical report series document the conclusions of
+ numerous protocol-related studies and discussions.  Successive
+ specifications of TCP and other internet protocols are also given by
+ reports in these series.  Most of these specifications were informally
+ presented and were accompanied by discussions that affected design
+ choices.  The most recent TCP documents introduce a more formal style
+ of presentation (11).
+
+ The first experimental TCP implementations were completed in 1974 at
+ Stanford University and Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., for the
+ PDP-11/ELF and DEC-10/TENEX systems, respectively.  Today
+ implementation exists for numerous computer systems.  While many of
+ these were implemented at and are supported by university and other
+ research groups, several are available as commercial products.
+
+ Testing of TCP was done on the ARPANET (12), other DOD networks
+ (Satellite net, packet radio), and a variety of local networks. For
+ several years a number of DARPA contractors used TCP in parallel with
+ the old ARPANET transport protocol (NCP).  In addition, for about six
+ months preceding the January 1, l983, ARPANET cutover from NCP to TCP,
+ these hosts were joined by additional TCP-only hosts (for a total of
+ approximately thirty).  This extensive testing prior to the cutover to
+ TCP enabled the networks involved to maintain operational capability
+ throughout
+
+ 
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+-----
+(11)  Transport Control Protocol, DOD MIL-STD-1778, August 1983.
+
+(12)  The ARPANET is a data communications network established in 1969
+by the DOD's Advanced Research Projects Agency to interconnect the
+computer resources at selected research centers at substantially lower
+costs than systems then available.  The ARPANET is a fully operational
+80-node network that interconnects over 200 host computers in the United
+States, the United Kingdom, and Norway.  ARPA became the Defense
+Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 1973.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 25]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ the transition and to achieve normal service levels in a few months.
+ Today the TCP-based DOD networks includes hundreds of hosts (over 300
+ on DDN alone) and serves thousands of users.  Traffic on just the
+ ARPANET component is now approximately 500 million packets per month.
+
+ TCP is also extensively used on local area networks including Ethernet
+ and Pronet, as well as on CSNET, the Computer Science Research Network
+ (Telenet hosts).
+
+ In addition to TCP, the DOD protocol architecture includes internet
+ layer protocols for communication between hosts and gateways (ICMP) and
+ between gateways (GGP).  Experience indicates that the design of robust
+ and powerful gateways that internet numerous networks and provide
+ survivability is a complex challenge.  DOD is developing new gateway
+ protocols that could be adapted to work with either DOD's or ISO's IP.
+
+ The higher-level protocols currently used on DDN for electronic mail
+ (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), file transfer (File Transfer
+ Protocol), and remote log-in (Telnet) are TCP-specific.  Their
+ specifications are stable, and numerous implementations exist.  The DOD
+ has indicated its intent to adopt ISO higher-level protocols when they
+ are specified and implementations are available.
+
+ The committee has concluded that the DOD transport and internet
+ protocols are well tested and robust.  It is unlikely that major
+ problems with their design or specifications will be uncovered.  No
+ comprehensive facility or procedures for testing new implementations of
+ TCP now exist, although efforts in this area are being started at
+ Defense Communications Agency (DCA).
+
+INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ORGANIZATION
+
+ Standardization and development of the ISO IP and ISO TP-4 are
+ proceeding in a relatively independent fashion.  Currently, TP-4 is
+ further along in the standardization process.  The local area network
+ communications environment has created an immediate need for TP-4
+ functions; however, communications within a single Local Area Network
+ (LAN) do not need an internet capability.  A "null" IP has been defined
+ to enable TP-4 to be used on a single LAN without the necessity of a
+ complete IP.  It is quite likely that some early TP-4 products will
+ implement this null IP, leaving implementation of the complete IP for
+ future product development. In the following discussion, TP-4 and IP
+ will be treated separately due to this potential independence.
+
+ TP-4 Status and Plans
+
+  The ISO TP-4 became a Draft International Standard in September 1983.
+  The final stages in standardization are primarily procedural.  The
+  committee expects products that implement TP-4 to be widely available
+  in the market within about two years.  It normally takes twelve to
+  eighteen months for implementations and testing prior to product
+  announcement. Some vendors apparently began implementation and testing
+  the protocol
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 26]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  soon after it became a draft proposal in June 1982, because the
+  protocol was essentially frozen at that time.
+
+  At present, INTEL and Able Computer have announced the availability of
+  products that implement TP-4 for use over LANs.  The committee does
+  not know, however, whether these products have been delivered or
+  incorporated into systems.  In addition, more than twenty companies
+  have indicated their support of TP-4 and their intention to
+  incorporate TP-4 into future products, without announcing specific
+  products or availability dates.  Most companies do not make specific
+  product announcements until relatively late in the product development
+  process.
+
+  In December 1982 six vendors and network users interested in early
+  development of TP-4 products requested NBS to hold a series of
+  workshops on the operation of TP-4 in a LAN environment.  To date,
+  four workshops have been held, with more than thirty companies in
+  attendance.  The first workshop set a goal of demonstrating
+  multivendor networking at a major U.S. national computer conference.
+  The second workshop, held in April 1983, determined that
+  demonstrations would include a file transfer application and would be
+  developed on two local area network technologies currently
+  standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
+  (IEEE).  These technologies are the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with
+  Collision Detection, which is standardized by IEEE committee 802.3,
+  and the Token Bus, which is standardized by IEEE committee 803.4.  The
+  workshop selected the National Computer Conference in July 1984 for
+  the demonstrations.
+
+  Vendors committed to the demonstration developed and tested TP-4
+  implementations using the NBS test tools.  The workshops defined a
+  schedule that called for individual testing through April 1984 with
+  multivendor testing commencing thereafter.  While the vendors that
+  participated in the demonstration have emphasized that participation
+  in the demonstration is not a commitment to product development, a
+  number of large customers have indicated that there will be an
+  immediate market demand for TP-4 implementation as soon after the
+  demonstration as practical.  The committee considers it highly likely
+  that many commercial vendors will announce commitments to deliver TP-4
+  products shortly after the demonstration.
+
+ Internetwork Protocol Status and Plans
+
+  The ISO Internetwork Protocol (IP) became a Draft International
+  Standard (DIS) in May 1984 (13).  The DIS was out for ballot for the
+  previous eight months.  Attaining DIS status freezes the technical
+  approach, permitting implementations to begin.
+
+  
+-----
+(13)  ISO Draft Proposal, Information Processing Systems -- Data
+Communications -- Protocol for Providing Connectionless Network
+Services, DP 8473, May 1984.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 27]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  The ISO IP specification is only one of several specifications needed
+  to completely specify the Network Layer.  A number of other
+  specifications are needed, including a Gateway-to-Host error protocol,
+  a network wide addressing plan, and a Gateway-to-Gateway Protocol for
+  managing routing information.  A complete specification is needed
+  before an internetwork, consisting of gateways and hosts, can be
+  deployed.  Most of the complexity of the Network Layer, however, is
+  confined to the gateways.  A complete standardization of the Network
+  Layer is not required to develop and deploy host systems.
+
+  The International Standards Organization is currently developing
+  proposals for conveying error information between hosts and gateways.
+  It is expected that responses to the Draft Proposal by ISO members
+  will include proposals to provide these functions.  The committee does
+  not consider this a controversial area and expects that these
+  capabilities will be included in the ISO standard by the time it
+  reaches Draft International Status.
+
+  Addressing is a more complex issue.  The addressing structure of a
+  computer internetwork depends on complex trade-offs between
+  implementation complexity, flexibility, network cost, and network
+  robustness.  Addressing structure in a large network can influence the
+  range of possible policy decisions available for routing network
+  traffic.  The trade-offs for a military environment may be
+  significantly different from those of a commercial environment.  The
+  ISO has considered these factors in its existing IP.  A flexible
+  addressing scheme is provided, permitting implementation of a variety
+  of addressing structures.  Host computers need not be concerned with
+  the internal structure of addresses.  The committee considers that the
+  IP-addressing scheme has sufficient flexibility that host
+  implementations can be constructed that will support the full range of
+  addressing philosophies allowed by ISO, including those needed by DOD.
+
+  Routing algorithms, like addressing, are complex and often
+  controversial. For this reason ISO has not yet attempted
+  standardization of routing algorithms.  A routing algorithm is a key
+  part of a Gateway-to-Gateway Protocol.  A single network must
+  implement a common routing algorithm.  In the absence of an ISO
+  routing algorithm, a network must be based on either proprietary
+  routing algorithms or on other standards.
+
+  The committee has studied the current ISO IP and the current ISO
+  addressing structure.  It believes that it will be possible to map the
+  current DOD IP-addressing structure and routing algorithm into the ISO
+  network layer.  In practice this means that the Gateway-to-Host
+  Protocols and addressing formats will fully comply with the ISO
+  standards, while gateways will need to include additional DOD
+  capabilities.  (This is addressed in recommendations, section IX.)
+  This approach will enable DOD to procure commercial host
+  implementations, while retaining the need for procuring DOD-specific
+  gateways.  The committee believes these hybrid DOD-ISO gateways can be
+  readily developed by modifying existing DOD gateway implementations.
+  Since the majority of systems in a network are hosts and not gateways,
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 28]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  the committee considers this approach worthwhile.
+
+  To the committee's knowledge no vendor has yet announced plans to
+  support the ISO Internetwork Protocol.  This is not surprising, since
+  the ISO IP attained Draft Proposal status only recently.  The
+  committee has considered the possibility that the ISO IP may not
+  attain the same wide level of market demand and vendor support
+  anticipated by TP-4.  Since host support of IP is necessary for DOD to
+  migrate to ISO protocols, the committee has considered this question
+  in some depth.
+
+  While it is possible to operate TP-4 directly over a LAN or directly
+  over an X.25-based, wide-area network, some form of internetwork
+  capability or alternative approach is needed to interconnect systems
+  attached to multiple LANs via Wide Area Networks (WANs).  In the
+  current ISO open systems architecture, this function is to be provided
+  by the Network layer. There are two possible Network layer services,
+  connectionless and connection oriented.  The ISO architecture permits
+  both of these services, leaving it to the market place to determine
+  which approach is to be selected.  The DOD believes that the
+  connectionless approach best suits their needs.
+
+  Developing a connection-oriented network that operates over a mixed
+  LAN and WAN environment is considerably more difficult than developing
+  a connectionless one.  Existing LANs are inherently connectionless and
+  existing (X.25) WANs are inherently connection oriented.  A protocol
+  to provide internetwork service between these LANs must arrive at a
+  common subnetwork capability.  It is a relatively simple matter to
+  adapt a connection-oriented to a connectionless service since it can
+  be done by ignoring unneeded functions of the connection-oriented
+  service.  Adapting a connectionless subnetwork to the needs of a
+  connection-oriented network service is much more difficult.  Many of
+  the functions provided by TP-4 would be needed in the network layer to
+  build such a service.
+
+  Some work is currently going on in European Computer Manufacturer's
+  Association (ECMA) to interconnect WANs and LANs in a
+  connection-oriented fashion.  There is considerable controversy
+  surrounding several proposals, since some participants in the
+  standards process do not believe the proposals conform to the ISO
+  Reference Model for Open Systems Interconnection. This, plus their
+  complexity, makes it unlikely that a connection-oriented network
+  standard will gain support in ISO in the immediate future.
+
+  There is an immediate need for users to build networks consisting of
+  interconnected LANs and WANs.  Such networks are currently in place
+  using vendor proprietary architectures.  Market pressures to build
+  multivendor LAN and WAN networks make it quite likely that vendors
+  will adopt the immediate solution and implement the connectionless ISO
+  IP.  The committee believes that DOD can enhance the early
+  availability of ISO IP by announcing its intention to use it.
+  Commercial availability of IP is an important part of a migration
+  strategy, as described in the section on recommendations. The
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 29]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  committee believes that vendors would be responsive to DOD requests
+  for IP, since IP is quite simple to implement in comparison with TP-4
+  and since they foresee the need to operate in mixed LAN-WAN
+  environments.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 30]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                              V.  MARKETS
+
+The committee reviewed the market demand and its potential with respect
+to both TCP and TP-4 to provide an indication of the likelihood and
+rapidity with which competition and its benefits will develop.  The
+committee concludes that the market demand for TCP protocols will be
+small outside the United States.  The demand for TP-4, on the other
+hand, is expected to be worldwide.
+
+In this report we use the term market demand to indicate the potential
+or actual demand for products using the protocols under discussion.  A
+large market is characterized by a broad demand from all sectors of the
+marketplace:  consumers, businesses, and governments.  The broadest
+demand is an international demand in all sectors.  We distinguish the
+demand for products from the supply that usually develops as a result of
+the demand. It is assumed here that a broad market demand will result in
+a broad range of products, competitive in price, quality, function, and
+performance.
+
+The demand for products implementing computer communication protocols is
+discussed in relation to the requirements placed on the potential
+customer. Specifically, the customer may be required to acquire products
+that meet one or the other of the standards under discussion or may have
+no obligation to use either of the two.  That is, customers will fall
+into one of the following classes with respect to these standards:
+
+ 1.  DOD standards required.
+
+ 2.  International or National standards required.
+
+ 3.  No requirement with respect to standards.
+
+Although customers in the third class may be under no formal obligation
+to use standards, they may still prefer a standard solution for several
+possible real or perceived benefits.  They may, for example, obtain a
+broader selection of products using the standard solution or may obtain
+a more competitive price.  They may also require a specific
+communication protocol in order to share information with products that
+are required by fiat to implement certain standard protocols.  This need
+for compatible protocols to communicate is a powerful driving force
+toward communication standards.
+
+DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NETWORKS MARKET STATUS AND PLANS
+
+ The major networks of the Defense Data Network include the following:
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 31]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  Military Network (MILNET)--operational and growing.
+
+  Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET)--operational and
+  growing.
+
+  WWMCCS Intercomputer Network (WIN)--to be upgraded.
+
+  DOD Intelligence Information System (DODIIS)--to be upgraded.
+
+  Strategic Air Command Digital Information Network (SACDIN)--to be
+  upgraded.
+
+  Movement Information Network (MINET)--to be established in 1984.
+
+  Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) net--to be established in
+  1985.
+
+  TOP SECRET (TS) net--to be established in 1985.
+
+  SECRET net--to be established in 1986.
+
+ Initially, each of these networks has its own backbone.  The networks
+ will be integrated into a common Defense Data Network in a series of
+ phases starting in 1984 with the integration of MILNET and MINET.  It
+ is planned that by 1988 they will all be integrated but communities of
+ interest will operate at different security classifications
+ interconnected with Internet Private Line Interfaces (IPLIs).  When
+ appropriate technology becomes available in the late 1980s, the network
+ will have the capability for multilevel security, including end-to-end
+ encryption, and will achieve interoperability between all users.
+
+ The following observations are relevant to the TCP and TP-4 issue:
+
+  The DOD currently has two major networks, MILNET and ARPANET,
+  currently comprising the DDN.  About sixty subnets and hundreds of
+  hosts are internetted and most use TCP.
+
+  This year a European network, MINET, will be activated and integrated
+  into the DDN.  It uses TCP.
+
+  In the second half of 1983, fifteen additional subscribers have been
+  added to MILNET and current planning estimates hundreds more
+  additional subscribers in 1984 and 1985.
+
+  For the many DDN users that are, or shortly will be, interconnected
+  over common backbones, there are groups of users that need
+  interoperability within the group.  These groups are determined by the
+  military department they are part of as well as by functions such as
+  logistics, maintenance, training, and many others.
+
+  The Air Force and the Army are both committed to the use of TCP for
+  some of their networks or subnetworks (including Local Area
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 32]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  Networks) and active acquisition programs are underway, or will be
+  initiated, during the next twelve to eighteen months.
+
+  The DDN Program Office has procured, or shortly will procure, devices
+  to facilitate terminal and host access to DDN hosts and terminals.
+  These devices employ TCP.
+
+  NATO has discussed protocol standards and has selected ISO as an
+  approach, subject to its being adapted to meet military requirements,
+  if such adaptation is necessary.  There is no definitive planning
+  underway, however, to develop a NATO computer network.
+
+  The Mail Bridge that will allow traffic to pass between the classified
+  segment and the unclassified segment will use TCP and is scheduled for
+  a 1987 Initial Operational Capability (IOC).
+
+  In general, the backbone in the various networks provides functions at
+  layers below TCP and TP-4.  As a result a backbone (such as MILNET)
+  could support users of either protocol set.  The users of one set
+  could not, however, interoperate with the users of another unless
+  additional steps are taken.
+
+ In summary, there is a large TCP community operational today and the
+ community is growing rapidly.  In addition, there are, or shortly will
+ be, procurements underway that plan to use TCP.  The rate of growth
+ cannot be precisely estimated in part because of uncertainties in
+ demand and availability of trunks and cryptographic equipment.  On the
+ other hand, interconnection of several major networks will not take
+ place until 1987 or later; and for those elements that are
+ interconnected, there are many groups of users that primarily require
+ interoperability with each other.
+
+ System Descriptions
+
+  MILNET is a network for handling the unclassified operational data of
+  the DOD.  It was created after the decision in 1982 to cancel the
+  AUTODIN II system by dividing the ARPANET into two nets, MILNET and
+  ARPA Research Net.  The majority of the capacity of ARPANET was
+  assigned to MILNET, and the number of subscribers is growing rapidly.
+  The network backbone does not require the use of TCP but its use is
+  generally mandated for subscribers. To achieve TCP functions, the DDN
+  will procure some interface devices and thereby take the burden off
+  some subscribers.
+
+  ARPANET supports most of the research organizations sponsored by
+  DARPA.  It generally uses TCP but some users continue to use NCP.
+
+  MINET is a European network scheduled for Initial Operational
+  Capability (IOC) in 1984 to handle unclassified operational traffic,
+  mostly logistical, and tie into the MILNET.  It will have 8 nodes, 8
+  TACs, and 3 hosts to process electronic mail.  These hosts and others
+  to be added to the net will use TCP and the File Transfer Protocol
+  (FTP).
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 33]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  The Department of Defense Intelligence Information System currently
+  uses a home-grown protocol.  Sometime after 1984 its plans are to
+  upgrade it to TCP.  It will be a 3-node, 3-host net with plans to
+  upgrade it to 20 to 30 nodes and about 50 hosts.  The net is run at a
+  high-security level (SCI) for communicating compartmented data.  The
+  SCI network consists of those users of SCI who are outside of DODIIS.
+
+  SACDIN is an upgrade of the digital communications system of the
+  Strategic Air Command.  The IOC is planned for about 1985.  At
+  present, TCP is not planned initially as a protocol.  SACDIN will
+  operate with multilevel security up to Top Secret sensitive
+  information.
+
+  WIN is the WWMCCS Information Network.  It is currently operational
+  and uses NCP as a transport protocol. There is a major effort underway
+  to modernize the WWMCCS, including upgrading or replacing current
+  computers, providing Local Area Networks at major centers throughout
+  the world, and providing common software packages for utilities and
+  some applications. The upgrading of the transport protocols is part of
+  this effort.  Schedules are still uncertain but there is a target of
+  1986 for the protocol upgrading.
+
+  TOP SECRET is a network that will support top secret users other than
+  WIN and SACDIN.
+
+  SECRET net is a network that will operate at the Secret level.  It
+  should be very useful for a large community that does not routinely
+  need top secret or compartmented information.  This is a community
+  primarily outside the command and intelligence communities and
+  includes missions such as logistics, procurement, and research and
+  development.  DOD will start the system as soon as there is sufficient
+  cryptographic equipment; by 1986 they hope to have a 90-node network
+  with several hundred subscribers.
+
+  The Army plans to establish a Headquarters Net tying together major
+  headquarters with an IOC of 1986.  It will use TCP.
+
+  The Air Force has established a Program Office to help in the
+  development of Local Area Networks at major Air Force installations.
+  These could be internetted using the DDN and thereby also gain access
+  to other nodes. TCP has been mandated.  Initial procurements are
+  underway.
+
+  Mail Bridge will provide gateways between ARPA Research Net and other
+  elements of the DDN.  These would use TCP and are scheduled for IOC in
+  1987.
+
+  During 1984 the DDN is procuring two capabilities that will facilitate
+  use of the network and higher-level protocols.
+
+  The first capability will be provided shortly by Network Access
+  Controllers (NAC).  The NACs provide three elements all based on TCP:
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 34]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+   1.   Terminal Access Controllers (TACs) allow a cluster of terminals
+        to access hosts on the DDN.  Many are in operation today as a
+        legacy of the ARPANET developments.  New ones will be
+        competitively procured.
+
+   2.   Terminal Emulation Processes (TEP) allow the connection of a
+        high-capacity host to the DDN through a number of terminal-like
+        lines.
+
+   3.   Host Front-End Processors (HFP) allow high-capacity host
+        connection to the DDN through use of a Network Front End that
+        off loads much processing capacity from the host.
+
+  The second capability will be provided by software the DDN is
+  currently procuring for up to seventeen families of specific
+  combinations of hosts and their commercially available operating
+  systems.  The software packages will include 1822 or X.25, TCP, and
+  utility protocols for terminal access, mail, and file transfer.
+  Initial operational capability is planned for late 1985.
+
+ Integration
+
+  MINET will be connected to MILNET in 1984.  This will be an
+  unclassified network.
+
+  WIN, DODIIS, SECRET, and SACDIN will be integrated as a classified
+  network in 1987 at the earliest.  Since they all operate at different
+  security levels, they will be able to use the same DDN backbone but
+  will be cryptologically isolated.
+
+  Integration and interoperability of all the networks will not be
+  possible until the late 1980s at the earliest, since this will require
+  successful implementation of an advanced technology for end-to-end
+  cryptological networking and the development of techniques for
+  multilevel security in individual and netted computer systems.
+
+  The use of gateways as elements to integrate networks is under
+  consideration.  Gateways are currently operational to interconnect
+  MILNET with (l) ARPANET (six gateways primarily used to exchange mail
+  between authorized users), (2) MINET (one gateway for use prior to
+  integration of the two networks into one), and (3) eight
+  developmentally oriented networks. There are many more gateways
+  internetting ARPANET with other research nets.  Most of these gateways
+  use the ARPA-developed Gateway-to-Gateway Protocol.  It is now
+  realized that this protocol is deficient for widespread use and ARPA
+  has been investigating alternatives.
+
+  The earliest requirement for additional gateways in the operational
+  elements of the DDN will be to internet Local Area Networks into
+  global networks of the DDN.  A new "stub" protocol has been developed
+  that might meet this need.  The DDN is reviewing its requirements for
+  available gateways and approaches.
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 35]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL STANDARD MARKET DEMAND FOR TP-4
+
+ In the United States and most countries of the world, national
+ standards organizations adopt international data communication
+ standards.
+
+ In the United States the standards for the transport protocols are
+ established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).  The
+ same standards for the federal sector are established by the NBS with
+ an exception for DOD's military needs which may be established by MIL
+ standards. Market demand for the latter was previously discussed.
+
+ Outside the DOD there are numerous government agencies and
+ organizations such as the Federal Aviation Agency, Internal Revenue
+ Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Reserve
+ Banks which have, or will have, networks that fall under the guidance
+ of the NBS and will probably use the NBS-specified standard protocols
+ when the NBS standard is issued.  Already the Federal Reserve is
+ procuring its computer networking products using the X.25 protocol.
+
+ National Support of International Standards
+
+  The earliest evidence of demand for TP-4 products is in countries that
+  give strong support for ISO standards.  Most countries outside of the
+  United States give the international standards much stronger
+  governmental support than the United States does for a variety of
+  reasons. First, in most cases these governments own the postal and
+  telecommunication monopolies.  Frequently, the responsibility for
+  these organizations is at a ministerial level in the government.
+  Furthermore, many of the modern countries have concluded that the
+  information industry is a national resource and one of the growth
+  industries of the future.  International standards that are neutral,
+  in the sense that no manufacturer has a head start, give the companies
+  in these countries the additional margin they feel is necessary to
+  compete in the worldwide market.  It is also recognized by many that a
+  worldwide market is much better than a market demand fragmented by
+  national geographic and political considerations. Finally, the PTTs
+  have traditionally provided information services equivalent to those
+  for which some of the ISO computer communication protocols are
+  designed.  The best example is Teletext, which is an upgraded version
+  of the Telex system used widely outside the United States.
+
+  Consequently, government networks in many countries use the
+  international ISO standards or the national standards derived from the
+  international standards.  Bid requests for government networks in
+  France and Germany, for example, have required support for ISO
+  protocols for over a year even though the standards are not yet fully
+  approved.  These bids ask the respondent only to state support for the
+  protocols.  No doubt, as the ISO protocols become stable, these
+  countries will require the protocols for their networks.  These
+  government networks will further influence the implementation of
+  networks not actually required to use the international and national
+  standards.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 36]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+MARKET SEGMENTS NOT REQUIRED TO USE TCP OR TP-4
+
+ Most of the demand for communication protocols comes from potential
+ customers who are under no government fiat to use either TCP or TP-4
+ protocols in their networks or network products.  Many of these will
+ use existing supplier-specified protocols.  Such protocols have been
+ embedded in products for over ten years and are well tested both
+ formally and through field experience in thousands of networks.
+ Continuing demand for these protocols will not contribute to the
+ relative demand for either TCP or TP-4.
+
+ There are widely recognized advantages in using international standard
+ protocols for computer communications.  First, there is tremendous
+ value in exchanging information with other information users.  As the
+ standard protocols become widely used, the value of the information
+ accessible through networks using these protocols is normally greater
+ than the value of information accessible through less widely used
+ networks protocols. This is the reason that industry groups such as
+ airlines, banks, and insurance companies band together to set up common
+ networks.  Similarly, it is recognized that there are economies of
+ scale for widely used networking protocols both in the sense that
+ equipment can be obtained at lower cost and in the sense that the
+ manufacturer's improvements in performance, function, and cost will be
+ repaid by market demand.  In addition, many network protocol users wish
+ to have the option to procure equipment from a wide variety of vendors.
+ Sometimes international standards encourage this environment.  Finally,
+ international organizations would prefer to have common procurement of
+ equipment and software for worldwide operations.  Thus international
+ standards are preferred for operational as well as logistic
+ considerations.
+
+ In the United States much of the demand for TP-4 will develop in the
+ industries that exchange information regularly with entities of the
+ federal government.  If the Federal Reserve were to use the TP-4
+ standard for exchanging information with member banks, for example,
+ there would be pressure on the banks to use TP-4.  Similarly, if DOD
+ suppliers wish to have easy access to DOD employees using a system
+ based on TCP, they would need to use TCP.  Also many of the
+ university-oriented networks use the ARPANET protocols to exchange
+ information with other university ARPANET users.
+
+ The committee concludes that the demand for TP-4 in the United States
+ will significantly out weigh the demand for TCP independent of DOD's
+ adoption of TP-4.  If DOD adopts the ISO TP-4 immediately or if DOD
+ adopts TP-4 after a demonstration, the U.S. market demand for TCP
+ protocols will disappear as the current networks are converted to TP-4.
+ If DOD chooses to use the DOD TCP indefinitely, clearly the DOD and
+ ARPANET demand for TCP will continue.
+
+ A similar set of market forces operates outside the United States
+ except that the foreign governments are more strongly in favor of
+ international and national standards and have smaller investments in
+ nonstandard equipment.  Thus there are even more industries drawn to
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 37]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ the standards in order to share information.  This is illustrated by
+ the extremely strong support for ISO efforts.  The European Computer
+ Manufacturers Association has been active in the TP-4 standardization
+ effort.  NATO appears committed to TP-4 implementations, and there is
+ likely to be intense competition in this arena.  Lacking the federal
+ government support of two different protocol suites, there is a
+ stronger force to adopt a single international standard in most
+ countries.  There are other countries with a similar problem, however.
+ Germany is beginning to install systems based on its unique national
+ standard but has committed to convert eventually to ISO protocols.
+
+ The committee concludes that there will be little market demand for the
+ TCP protocols outside the United States.  The strong international
+ demand will be for ISO protocols, including TP-4.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 38]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+   VI.  DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARD COMMERCIAL VERSUS SPECIAL COMMERCIAL
+PRODUCTS
+
+DOD has expressed a desire to use off-the-shelf commercial products
+because they are expected to be less costly.  It is expected that
+performance of commercial products will be optimized to increase
+competitiveness. User cost will be lower because of a large commercial
+customer base over which to amortize costs for development, continuous
+improvements, and maintenance.  Furthermore, the DOD may benefit from
+having more vendors compete for their business.  This section examines
+the way vendors select standard products for development and the
+implications in cost, continuing supports, and improvements.
+
+PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT VERSUS SYSTEM INTEGRATION
+
+ It is assumed in this discussion that off-the-shelf commercial products
+ can be used through system integration to construct system solutions.
+ Most vendors supply both standard products and system integration
+ services.  Some vendors supply only the integration functions, using
+ other vendors' products.  System integration adds value to the product
+ and in some cases results in modifications of the product to meet
+ system requirements. When standard products are used, the
+ responsibility for continuing maintenance and improvements almost
+ always can be passed to the product developer.  Thus in this discussion
+ we assume that off-the-shelf commercial products are standard products
+ supplied by vendors to implement one or more transport-level protocols
+ for the DOD.
+
+CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF STANDARD PRODUCTS
+
+ The product vendor's choice to develop a standard product is governed
+ by market requirements, economic opportunities, and other design
+ considerations. In the case of data transmission products, market
+ requirements include competition, connection to the installed base of
+ products, market growth, and satisfaction of the standards requirements
+ of customers.
+
+ Often the vendor will develop a product that supports several protocols
+ as options.  Usually only one or two protocols will be selected for
+ primary support, and all other options are considered for secondary
+ support. The primary protocols selected for implementation are based
+ upon the largest potential market for the vendor.  These protocols
+ become the vendor's standard products.  Standard products are announced
+ for sale and supported on a continuing basis.  Implementations of
+ secondary protocols are often adaptations of the implementations of
+ standard protocols and may be suboptimal with respect to performance
+ and continuing vendor support. Often secondary implementations are
+ created when an RFP is issued and the vendor who wishes to respond to
+ the RFP must create a special product to do so.  This committee
+ believes that, in general, future standard data transmission products
+ will be either TP-4 or vendor-unique protocols and TCP will be a
+ special product.
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 39]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+STANDARD VERSUS SPECIAL PRODUCT
+
+ Within the OSI architectural model, seven layers are defined, each of
+ which will have protocols defined for interconnection of systems.
+ These protocols are controlled by standards.  TP-4 is an example of a
+ protocol for the transport layer.  These protocols will be implemented
+ on many vendor systems that have different systems architecture,
+ different operating system architectures, and, therefore, differences
+ in the specifics of the layer interface.  The vendor systems will be
+ designed to optimize the specific environments that each vendor has
+ determined are most important to satisfy the major market objective for
+ that vendor's particular computer architectures.  This determines the
+ vendor's standard system and architecture. Support of special
+ requirements will frequently be designed as modifications to a standard
+ system, using translators and other techniques to bridge the
+ differences in layer interface definitions, operating systems
+ structure, and protocols.  Most support activity, optimization of
+ performance and resource usage will be directed at the standard system
+ architecture selected by the supplier.
+
+ Special-Product Process
+
+  Special-product development is initiated to meet customer
+  specifications. The specifications, schedule, and cost assume that
+  special products are released using an existing version of the
+  software system (operating system, language, communications, and data
+  manager).  Support for the special product is conditioned on a support
+  contract.  The special product is tested and released with that
+  system.  This provides the fastest availability of the product, since
+  the schedule will only include the time to develop the product and
+  test it with the selected system.  It is likely that by the time a
+  product and its software system are delivered, a newer version of the
+  software system containing code corrections and added functions and
+  other new products will have been released.  Additional cost to the
+  customer is required if the vendor is to modify the special product to
+  operate on this new version of software.  This occurs frequently in a
+  rapidly developing technology.  If the special product is not
+  modified, operational and maintenance expenses may increase.
+
+ Standard-Product Process
+
+  A standard product is developed to meet the market requirements of a
+  market area.  The development of a standard product generally has a
+  target date that is used as a basis for scheduling system development,
+  fabrication, and testing into a planned software system release.  The
+  product then is included in the test and integration plan for the
+  system release and integration into a systems test procedure to assure
+  operation with the other parts of the software system.  The standard
+  product then becomes a part of the software system, and as new
+  releases of the system are made, the product is tested as a part of
+  the integrated system to assure that it still operates with the
+  revised, new system.  The product may also be enhanced to satisfy new
+  requirements or resolve problems of the earlier version.  The product
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 40]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  then will operate with the latest software system release.
+
+  The integration process complicates the development process.  The
+  increased complexity may result in a longer development schedule or
+  may require more resources than special products require since (1) the
+  cycle may involve a longer product requirement definition, (2)
+  additional planning and integration testing may be needed to
+  coordinate the product design with other system activities, and (3)
+  there is the possibility of up to twelve months' delay in scheduling a
+  software system release, which for most vendors generally occurs at 6-
+  to 12 month intervals.  The product may be maintained with a
+  corrective code released in intermediate system fabrication and
+  integrated into the following software release. Different categories
+  of support may be available and these categories may vary by product.
+  The support categories may range from no support to full unlimited
+  warranty.
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+ The committee concludes that there are significant benefits for the
+ Department of Defense in using standard commercial products that meet
+ the department's operational needs:
+
+  Costs to the DOD for development, production, and maintenance are
+  significantly lower because (l) vendors spread the cost over a much
+  larger user base, (2) commercial vendors have to be efficient in their
+  operations in view of the competition in the market, and (3) vendors
+  look for ways to upgrade their product to meet competition.
+
+  The department may get additional useful products because vendors
+  integrate the protocol function into their corporate software and
+  hardware product lines.  Thus the DOD may be able eventually to use
+  standard commercial software application products that are built on
+  top of, and thereby take advantage of, the transport protocols.  The
+  DOD will thereby have a wider selection of standard commercial
+  application products to choose from.  By depending on industry to
+  manage the development, maintenance, and upgrade of products, the DOD
+  can use its scarce management and technical resources on activities
+  unique to its mission.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 41]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                                      
+
+     
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 42]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+   VII.  RESPONSIVENESS OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS PROCESS TO CHANGE
+
+The international standards process has proven its ability to respond
+quickly to new requirements and protocol problems uncovered during
+standardization. The United States, through organizations such as the
+NBS, the ANSI, and IEEE has a leadership role in this process.  The
+committee concludes that the process can be responsive to DOD's needs.
+
+The DOD will benefit from active participation in the international
+protocol standardization efforts.  This will ensure that the DOD's
+evolving computer communications needs will be met in future commercial
+products. Also the DOD will have access to a broad spectrum of protocol
+experts and have access to those developing future commercial products.
+These benefits will far out weigh the costs of participation.
+
+There will probably be very few high-priority instances where DOD will
+require immediate changes to its operational commercial software. These
+may relate to security or survivability.  In order to accommodate these
+changes in the short run, the DOD will need agreements with its
+commercial suppliers for quick fixes to be made while the standard is
+being changed.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 43]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                                      
+
+     
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 44]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                     VIII.  OPTIONS FOR DOD AND NBS
+
+The committee believes that the Department of Defense is committed to
+adopting commercial standards when they are suitable and available and,
+therefore, will adopt the ISO standards eventually as the military
+standard for transport-level communication protocol.  Further, the DOD
+realizes the benefits in cost and reliability of obtaining its data
+communications equipment from vendors who offer it as standard products.
+Of the three options identified by the committee, the first two are ways
+for the DOD to realize these benefits while the third option would
+withhold the benefits from the DOD indefinitely.
+
+The primary difference between Option l and Option 2 is in the timing of
+the transition from TCP to TP-4.  This timing difference has
+implications in risk, cost, and manageability of the transition.  (This
+is discussed in Chapter X in greater detail.)
+
+Option 1
+
+ The first option is for the DOD to immediately modify its current
+ transport policy statement to specify TP-4 as a costandard along with
+ TCP.  In addition, the DOD would develop a military specification for
+ TP-4 that would also cover DOD requirements for discretionary options
+ allowed under the NBS protocol specifications.  Requests for proposals
+ (RFPs) for new networks or major upgrades of existing networks would
+ specify TP-4 as the preferred protocol.  Contracts for TP-4 systems
+ would be awarded only to contractors providing commercial products,
+ except for unique cases.
+
+ Existing networks that use TCP and new networks firmly committed to the
+ use of TCP-based systems could continue to acquire implementations of
+ TCP.  The DOD should carefully review each case, however, to see
+ whether it would be advantageous to delay or modify some of these
+ acquisitions in order to use commercial TP-4 products.  For each
+ community of users it should be decided when it is operationally or
+ economically most advantageous to replace its current or planned
+ systems in order to conform to ISO standards without excessively
+ compromising continued operations.
+
+ United States government test facilities would be developed to enable
+ validation of TP-4 products.  The Department of Defense would either
+ require that products be validated using these test facilities or be
+ certified by the vendor.  The test facilities could also be used to
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 45]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ isolate multivendor protocol compatibility problems.  The existing NBS
+ validation tools should be used as the base for the DOD test
+ facilities.
+
+ Because under this option networks based on both TCP and TP-4 would
+ coexist for some time, several capabilities that facilitate
+ interoperability among networks would need to be developed.  The
+ Department of Defense generally will not find them commercially
+ available.  Examples are gateways among networks or specialized hosts
+ that provide services such as electronic mail.  The department would
+ need to initiate or modify development programs to provide these
+ capabilities, and a test and demonstration network would be required.
+
+Option 2
+
+ Under Option 2 the Department of Defense would immediately announce its
+ intention to adopt TP-4 as a transport protocol costandard with TCP
+ after a satisfactory demonstration of its suitability for use in
+ military networks.  A final commitment would be deferred until the
+ demonstration has been evaluated and TP-4 is commercially available.
+
+ The demonstration should take at most eighteen months and should
+ involve development of TP-4 implementations and their installation.
+ This option differs from Option 1 primarily in postponing the adoption
+ of a TP-4 standard and, consequently, the issuance of RFPs based on
+ TP-4 until successful completion of a demonstration.  The department
+ should, however, proceed with those provisions of Option 1 that may be
+ completed in parallel with the demonstration.  Early issuance of a TP-4
+ military specification, development of validation procedures, and
+ implementation of means for interoperability would be particularly
+ important in this regard.
+
+Option 3
+
+ Under the third option the DOD would continue using TCP as the accepted
+ transport standard and defer any decision on the use of TP-4
+ indefinitely. The department would be expected to stay well informed of
+ the development and use of the new protocol in the commercial and
+ international arena and, with the National Bureau of Standards, work on
+ means to transfer data between the two protocol systems.  Testing and
+ evaluation of TP-4 standards by NBS would continue.  The DOD might
+ eventually accommodate both protocol systems in an evolutionary
+ conversion to TP-4.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 46]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                    IX.  COST COMPARISON OF OPTIONS
+
+There are so many variables affecting cost, it is impossible to compare
+precisely the cost for each option over time.  The estimates in this
+section are, therefore, mostly qualitative.  They are based on the wide
+experience of several committee members in commercial networking (14).
+
+Cost comparisons among the three options are difficult for two reasons:
+
+ 1.   There are an unlimited number of scenarios that can be considered
+ for the growth of DOD's data communication networks in the next fifteen
+ to twenty years, involving questions such as (a) How many different
+ implementations will there be? (b) What economies of scale can be
+ achieved? (c) How much software will be shared between different
+ implementations? (d) How much will the standards change for greater
+ effectiveness or to accommodate higher-layer standards? and (e) What
+ will happen to manpower costs in this high-skill area?
+
+ 2.   It is difficult to isolate the costs attributable to developing,
+ implementing, and maintaining the protocols at issue.  This is
+ especially true if we assume DOD continues to use its own unique
+ protocols.  For both in-house and contractor efforts, the costs
+ associated with TCP are folded into many other efforts. If DOD moves to
+ commercial protocols, the marginal costs may be more visible.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+-----
+(14)  The committee has had some access to a study recently conducted by
+the Defense Communication Agency that compares the costs of commercially
+maintained versus government-maintained operating systems for the
+Honeywell computers used in WWMCCS.  Although the WWMCCS example has
+many fewer dimensions and systems than are covered by this analysis, the
+committee urges the DOD to review this study as a good example of
+potential savings from commercially vended software.  (WWMCCS-ADP System
+Software Economic Analysis.  J. Stephens and others, Joint Data Systems
+Support Center, Defense Communications Agency, Technical Report, in
+draft.)
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 47]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+A major motivation expressed by the DOD for using commercial protocols
+is that the commercial protocols are significantly cheaper.  If this is
+the case, then many in the DOD would like to know the savings over the
+next ten to twenty years if DOD adopts TP-4.  This is not a question we
+will try to answer in this report, but the concept of opportunity costs
+is significant.  If DOD can successfully move to commercial standards,
+then it will eventually be able to use DOD's scarce management and
+technical resources to strengthen its efforts in other areas of
+information communications and processing that are more unique to the
+DOD.  Given the finite pool of such resources available to the DOD, the
+value of this transfer may be significantly greater than the dollars
+saved by adopting the international standards.
+
+The following assumptions have been used in trying to estimate the cost
+factors if DOD moves toward adopting TP-4 using either Option 1 or 2:
+
+ No major subsystem of the DDN (which includes MILNET, DODIIS, WWMCCS,
+ and so forth) would use both protocols at the same time except possibly
+ for a brief transition period.
+
+ In only a few selected cases would a capability be required to handle
+ both protocols.  These cases could include select hosts that use both,
+ special servers (most likely mail servers) that could provide functions
+ between several communities of interest using both protocols, or
+ translating gateways between networks.
+
+ Within the DDN both sets of protocols would be used for a period of
+ five to ten years starting eighteen months after the DOD approves the
+ use of TP-4 in a new system.
+
+ In virtually all cases, the phase-over from TCP to TP-4 in a subsystem
+ of the DDN would be performed at a time when there is a major upgrade
+ of subsystem elements that include TCP as a part. In other words, the
+ transition is not merely a substitution of transport or internet
+ software except in cases where the hardware currently being used is
+ from a vendor who has started to offer TP-4 as a commercial product.
+ Where this is not the case, the transition includes the substitution of
+ new hardware whose vendor provides TP-4 commercially.
+
+COST FACTORS AND MODEL
+
+ Four major factors must be considered in evaluating the costs of the
+ three options:
+
+  1.   How much lower will be the cost of commercial, standard-product
+       protocols compared to those developed and acquired by the DOD?
+
+  2.   If DOD decides to adopt TP-4, how quickly can it start using it
+       in new systems, and how quickly will it phase TCP out of older
+       systems?
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 48]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  3.   What will be the one-time cost of management and test before DOD
+       is prepared to start using TP-4?
+
+  4.   What will be the marginal costs of maintaining the two standards
+       over the 5- to 10-year transition period?
+
+ Savings Using Commercial Software
+
+  Commercial software providing TP-4 will tend to be cheaper than DOD
+  provided TCP because commercial one-time and recurring costs
+  (especially the former) can be apportioned over a larger consumer
+  base, and the commercial supplier will tend to be more efficient.  As
+  in most cases where one compares the cost of one product provided by
+  two vendors, there will be situations where a DOD vendor providing TCP
+  can do it more cheaply than a commercial vendor providing TP-4.  These
+  occurrences will be rare but they illustrate the difficulty of
+  developing detailed quantitative models that compare the costs.
+  Factors relating to competing suppliers go far beyond the transport
+  protocols themselves and distort such models.
+
+  The first argument relating to the size of the consumer base has many
+  factors.  For the time period under consideration, DOD represents
+  about 3 percent of the commercial U.S. computer base.  It would follow
+  that DOD should pay much less in development and support costs for the
+  commercial products.  But there are other factors.  The number of
+  commercial suppliers is larger than the number of DOD suppliers by a
+  factor of 5-10. The DOD's need for transport and internet protocols
+  will be greater than the average commercial user in the time period
+  under consideration.  If commercial vendors break out the costs of
+  developing these protocol features earlier than planned, DOD will pick
+  up a larger share of the tab. This could be by a factor of 2 or more.
+  A good deal of the one-time development and production costs of TCP
+  have already been spent by the DOD or partly written off by DOD
+  vendors.  This factor would be extremely difficult to estimate, but we
+  do not think it is very significant since the major costs in
+  implementation relate to processes down-the-line from getting a
+  C-language version.  These down-the-line processes must be repeated in
+  great part as families of hardware and software are upgraded with
+  system and technology improvements to meet DOD directives for standard
+  TCP products.  There are also factors that cut in the other direction;
+  if the DOD is only 3 percent of the U.S. commercial user market, it is
+  an even smaller fraction of the international user market.  This
+  latter market is growing;  its need for ISO protocols will be
+  relatively higher than the U.S. market, and market share for U.S.
+  manufacturers, including foreign subsidiaries, is large and holding
+  its own.
+
+  The situation is equally complex when it comes to comparing the
+  efficiency of commercial vendors with DOD vendors when it relates to
+  developing, installing, and maintaining transport and internet
+  protocols.  The elements that favor increased efficiency of the
+  commercial supplier include the following:
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 49]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+   The commercial marketplace is much larger, less regulated, and is
+   forced, therefore, to seek greater efficiency and innovation.
+
+   Transport and internet protocols represent functions that interact
+   very closely with operating systems, the largest portion of which are
+   commercial.  The major sources of expertise for dealing with these
+   operating systems are in the commercial marketplace, primarily with
+   the vendors who supply the hardware as well as with vendors who
+   specialize in related products.
+
+   The commercial sector is in the business of managing the interplay
+   between operating systems, protocols, related software and hardware
+   products, new technology and architecture, and the relationship
+   between all these and the market.  If DOD adopts TP-4, it will be
+   delegating many of these management functions to a marketplace that
+   will generally make better and faster decisions.
+
+  For every dollar that the DOD might invest in TCP, how much would it
+  cost to gain comparable capability with TP-4 procured as vendor
+  standard products?  The many factors involved make a precise estimate
+  impossible. We believe, however, that TP-4 can be procured at
+  substantial savings and with virtually no economic risk if the market
+  develops as we believe it will, with many vendors offering it as a
+  commercial product by mid-1986. On the average, we judge the savings
+  to be 30 to 80 percent including initial installation, field support,
+  and maintenance.
+
+ How Soon Will TP-4 Be Used?
+
+  The sooner that DOD decides to use TP-4, the greater will be DOD's
+  savings.  These savings can offset the adverse cost factors discussed
+  in the next two sections:  the cost to decide to use TP-4 and the
+  added cost for the period when two standards (TCP and TP-4) are in
+  use.
+
+  Currently, TCP is generally used in MILNET, MINET, and ARPANET.  As
+  previously stated in the assumptions, even if DOD decides to move
+  aggressively toward TP-4, there are no evident, strong economic or
+  operational reasons for converting these users to the new standards
+  until a major upgrade of the users' communications and processing
+  subsystems is planned. Also in the next twelve to eighteen months new
+  uses of these nets are planned that will expand existing subnets and
+  these new users would use TCP in order to be interoperable with the
+  current users in their community of interest.
+
+  In some cases the planning for new subnets for new communities of
+  users is well along.  DODIIS is a primary example.  Some of these
+  subnets should very likely proceed with TCP, but others appear to be
+  prime targets for TP-4 if DOD is to move in the direction of adopting
+  TP-4. The WWMCCS and its WIN are probably good examples of the latter.
+  Planning and implementation for all of these subsystems must move
+  ahead, however, and if DOD does not make a firm commitment to TP-4 by
+  mid-1985, the number of systems that will move ahead with TCP will
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 50]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  probably constitute almost half of the growth of the DDN in the next
+  five years.  In other words, delay of a decision to move to TP-4 until
+  1986 would mean that most of the DDN subnets that will exist in the
+  late 1980s will be based on TCP, whereas a decision for TP-4 a year
+  earlier could significantly reduce this number.
+
+ Cost of Decision to Use TP-4
+
+  The costs of the decision to use TP-4 include the one-time management
+  and test costs that DOD decides are needed before a TP-4 commitment
+  and policy can be approved.  Under Option 1 these costs are small.
+  Under Option 2 they are significantly higher, although the amount will
+  depend on the extent and duration of the testing needed.  Under Option
+  3 there will be no management and test costs.
+
+ Marginal Costs of Maintaining Two Standards
+
+  If DOD moves toward the gradual introduction of TP-4, both standards
+  will have to be maintained for five to ten years.  The additional
+  costs of maintaining two standards include the following:
+
+   Management costs of dealing with two standards.
+
+   Costs for developing and maintaining capabilities for limited
+   intercommunication between systems using the different transport and
+   internet protocols.  These include costs for gateways,
+   dual-capability hosts, and special servers such as mail.
+
+   Parallel validation capability.  The DOD is implementing a validation
+   capability for DOD TCP.  This is similar to the currently operational
+   NBS facility for TP-4 testing.  If DOD selects Option 1, there is a
+   question whether this DOD facility should be completed for TCP
+   (because the number of new implementations of TCP would be small
+   several years from now).  If DOD selects Option 2, the facility is
+   probably desirable.
+
+   Costs for maintaining research and development (R&D) programs to
+   improve the standards.  A part of the DARPA and DCA research and
+   development programs in information technology is directed at system
+   issues related to TCP.  This includes work on internet issues,
+   gateways, and higher-level protocols.  The committee has not reviewed
+   the research program for details and cost; however, a commitment to
+   move toward ISO standards should affect the program.  Costs would
+   increase to the extent that the program would be involved with
+   interactions with both protocols.  There would be some decreased
+   requirements for R&D in light of potential dependence on commercial
+   R&D to improve the standards.  In the next several years, however,
+   the committee concludes that dual standards would, on balance,
+   somewhat increase R&D costs because of the DOD's unique operational
+   requirements.
+
+  These costs are roughly the same for Options 1 and 2 and depend on how
+  DOD manages the transition.  Under an austere transition, which does
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 51]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  not provide extensive interoperability between TP-4 and TCP-based
+  systems and minimizes costs in other areas, the overall costs could be
+  low in comparison with potential savings.
+
+ Evaluation of Options by Cost
+
+  In terms of the previously discussed factors, savings can develop in
+  two ways:  by using TP-4 instead of TCP in new systems and by
+  replacement of TCP with TP-4 in existing systems when this can be done
+  smoothly and efficiently.  The earlier that TP-4 is introduced, the
+  greater these savings.
+
+  In contrast costs will be incurred in two ways:  in one-time planning
+  to use TP-4 and in continuing costs of operating two standards.
+
+  The following is a summary of the cost evaluation of the three options
+  in the near term:
+
+  Option 3 is least expensive.  It achieves no commercial savings but
+  has no costs for one-time planning and maintenance of dual standards.
+
+  Option 1 is at most only slightly more expensive than Option 3 since
+  one-time planning costs (which are much lower than for Option 2) and
+  maintenance costs can be significantly offset with commercial savings
+  in the following several years.
+
+  Option 2 is most expensive since it does not realize significant
+  offsetting commercial savings.
+
+  In the longer term (beyond the next several years) commercial savings
+  for Options 1 and 2 should overtake costs of transition, and both
+  these options should cost the same.
+
+  There is a concern on the part of some members of the committee
+  whether the higher near-term costs of Option 2 are adequately offset
+  by the Option's long-term savings to warrant the transition.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 52]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                       X.  EVALUATION OF OPTIONS
+
+We present a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of each option,
+followed by a detailed evaluation for each set of criteria.
+
+SUMMARY
+
+ Option 1's primary benefit is that it would allow the DOD to obtain the
+ benefits of standard commercial products in the communication protocol
+ area at an early date.  These benefits include smaller development,
+ procurement, and support costs; more timely updates; and a wider
+ product availability.  By immediately committing to TP-4 as a
+ costandard for new systems, Option 1 minimizes the number of systems
+ that have to be converted eventually from TCP.  The ability to manage
+ the transition is better than with Option 2 since the number of systems
+ changed would be smaller and the time duration of mixed TCP and TP-4,
+ operation would be shorter.  Interoperability with external systems
+ (NATO, government, and commercial), which presumably will use TP-4,
+ would also be brought about more quickly.  Option 1 involves greater
+ risk, however, since it commits to a new approach without a
+ demonstration of its viability.
+
+ As with Option 1, a primary benefit of following Option 2 would be
+ obtaining the use of standard commercial products.  Unit procurement
+ costs probably would be lower than with Option 1 since the commercial
+ market for TP-4 will have expanded somewhat by the time DOD would begin
+ to buy TP-4 products.  Risk is smaller compared to Option 1 since
+ testing and demonstration of the suitability for military use will have
+ preceded the commitment to the ISO protocols.  Transition and support
+ costs would be higher than for Option 1, however, because more networks
+ and systems would already have been implemented with TCP.  Also this is
+ perhaps the most difficult option to manage since the largest number of
+ system conversions and the longest interval of mixed TCP and TP-4
+ operations would occur.  In addition, interoperability with external
+ networks through standardization would be delayed.
+
+ The principal benefit of exercising Option 3 would be the elimination
+ of transition cost and the risk of faulty system behavior and/or delay.
+ It would allow the most rapid achievement of full internal
+ interoperability among DOD systems.  Manageability should be good,
+ since only one set of protocols would be in use (one with which the DOD
+ already has much experience) and the DOD would be in complete control
+ of system evolution. Procurement costs for TCP systems would remain
+ high compared to standard ISO protocol products, however, and
+ availability of implementations for new systems and releases would
+ remain limited.  External interoperability with non-DOD systems would
+ be limited and inefficient.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 53]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ In summary, Option 1 provides the most rapid path toward the use of
+ commercial products and interoperability with external systems.  Option
+ 2 reduces the risk but involves somewhat greater delay and expense.
+ Option 3 provides a quicker route to interoperability within the
+ Defense Department and at the least risk, but at a higher life-cycle
+ cost and incompatibility with NATO and other external systems.
+
+DEFENSE DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES VERSUS OPTIONS
+
+ The committee has identified a set of DOD objectives for transport
+ protocols, discussed in Section II of this report.  In this section we
+ discuss the potential of each of the three options for achieving those
+ objectives.  The objectives have been grouped into five major
+ categories that serve as criteria for evaluation of options.
+
+ Functional and Performance Objectives
+
+  There are certain functional and performance objectives that standard
+  DOD transport protocols must satisfy.  Key objectives include security
+  capabilities, the ability to establish message precedence in crisis
+  situations, and survivability of continuing operations when failures
+  occur and portions of the network become inoperable.  This implies
+  continuous availability of the primary data transmission network and
+  the ability to reconfigure the networks to operate after some of its
+  nodes are lost.
+
+  As previously stated, the two protocols are functionally equivalent.
+  TCP and TP-4 have equivalent reliability characteristics and are able
+  to detect and recover from failures.  The committee also concludes
+  that robustness, availability, and performance in crises are
+  equivalent using either protocol.  The committee concludes that all
+  three options equally satisfy the functional objectives that DOD
+  requires.
+
+  Since the performance characteristics of TCP versus TP-4 will be a
+  function primarily of the particular implementations, the committee
+  concludes that the two protocols are sufficiently alike that there are
+  no significant differences in performance of a TCP or a TP-4
+  implementation of equal quality when each is optimized for a given
+  environment.
+
+  If Option 1 is selected, early implementations may result in
+  suboptimal performance.  Option 2 specifies that there be a
+  demonstration network established that will provide time for
+  adjustment, testing, and gaining experience.  Option 3 would result in
+  no reduction in performance of current networks.  The maturity of TCP
+  has resulted in many implementations that have demonstrated good
+  performance.  This experience provides a knowledge base for future
+  implementations of either TCP or TP-4. In either case, however,
+  initial implementations of TCP or TP-4 may be suboptimal and require
+  additional development to optimize performance.
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 54]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ Maximizing Interoperability
+
+  A high-priority DOD objective is interoperability among its internal
+  networks and among internal networks and non-DOD, external networks,
+  including NATO.  Interoperability allows users of a network to have
+  access to applications on the same or other networks.
+
+  Option 3 would allow the DOD to increase internal interoperability
+  most rapidly by continuing to mandate use of TCP for all new systems.
+  Interoperability with external systems, however, the vast majority of
+  which are expected to use ISO standard protocols, will remain limited.
+
+  The more quickly DOD moves to use TP-4, the more rapidly external
+  interoperability will improve.  In the short run internal
+  interoperability will be reduced due to the existence of both TCP and
+  TP-4 protocols by different subnets.  This problem is greater with
+  Option 2 then Option 1 since the number of systems and the length of
+  time both protocols are in use is greater.  In both options the
+  problem can be reduced by providing special servers and translating
+  gateways to provide limited interoperability where needed among
+  subnets using different protocols.
+
+ Minimizing Procurement, Development, and Support Costs
+
+  A DOD goal is to assure availability of commercial-grade transport
+  systems from vendors and minimize development, procurement, and
+  continuing support costs.  Both Option 1 and, after demonstration,
+  Option 2 result in DOD adopting the TP-4 standard that has the
+  endorsement of both national (ANSI) and international (ISO) standards
+  organizations.  Further, this protocol has been endorsed for use by
+  NATO, the European Computer Manufacturer's Association, the Computer
+  and Business Equipment Manufacturer's Association (CBEMA), and the NBS
+  Institute of Computer Sciences and Technology for the information
+  processing community of the federal government.
+
+  The result of the endorsements will be widespread use of the standard
+  protocol in worldwide networks and a large number of vendors supplying
+  commercial grade products supporting TP-4.  As previously noted, many
+  vendors have already stated they plan to develop TP-4-based products
+  and many are already doing this in-house.  Thus a large market and
+  large vendor base will assure the availability of commercial grade
+  TP-4 products.
+
+  A large market and supply of commercial-grade products will give DOD a
+  large competitive base from which to select its data transmission
+  systems. The effect will be to reduce DOD acquisition cost because
+  large markets allow vendors to amortize development and support cost
+  over a large base.  This favors adoption of either of the options that
+  results in DOD using TP-4 as its standard.
+
+  With the availability of commercial-grade products, vendors will take
+  the responsibility for continuing maintenance and enhancements of the
+  product.  Transmission products are tightly coupled to the operating
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 55]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  systems on the host computer systems in which they operate.  With
+  vendor support of the products, evolution of both the host computer
+  operating system and transmission system will occur in
+  synchronization.  This again favors the adoption by DOD of either the
+  Option 1 or Option 2 that results in TP-4.  In these options much of
+  the support cost is covered by the vendors and spread over the large
+  market base.  This reduces the development and maintenance cost passed
+  on to the DOD.
+
+  The committee does not believe that a large market beyond the DOD will
+  develop for TCP because worldwide markets for products will be based
+  on the ISO standards.  Consequently, if the DOD chooses Option 3, only
+  the DOD-dedicated vendors would supply TCP as standard products
+  resulting in a smaller market and supply for TCP products and limited
+  availability of TCP products.
+
+  If DOD remains with TCP, many commercial vendors will be forced to
+  develop and support both the commercial standard products (TP-4) and
+  DOD standard special products (TCP) to stay in both markets.  In many
+  cases only the large market-based products such as TP-4 will be
+  considered standard and TCP products will be considered special
+  products.  The effect is higher development and support cost to the
+  vendors which would be passed on to DOD.  Thus the incentive for
+  continuing enhancement to the special product, TCP, would be reduced.
+  This responsibility would be passed to DOD, also resulting in higher
+  costs.
+
+ Ease of Transition
+
+  The DOD is concerned with the ease and risk associated with transition
+  from the current network architecture using TCP to its future network
+  architecture.  The objectives for DOD are to reduce the interruption
+  of data communication services supplied by its active networks;
+  minimize the risk of using an immature, untried protocol; and maximize
+  the use of the critical skills, knowledge, and experience of the
+  engineers who develop the communications products.
+
+  The maturity of TCP and the momentum that exists in the DOD community
+  for implementing future systems using TCP would favor Option 3.
+  Selection of Option 3 would minimize interruption of service and
+  minimize risk. With this option there would be no transition; the DOD
+  would remain with its current policy.  There would be no conversion
+  costs and the only risks for DOD would be associated with poor
+  implementations of new TCP-based products.
+
+  The committee believes that much of the technical risk is associated
+  with implementations.  Therefore, given the relative state of their
+  specifications and implementations as discussed earlier, the committee
+  feels that the risks are comparable for implementing new products for
+  either TCP or TP-4.  Since DOD is acquiring many new networks the
+  implementation risk of either TCP or TP-4 will be equal.
+
+  If DOD chooses Option 1, it will display confidence in the TP-4
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 56]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  specifications and in the vendor's implementations through its
+  immediate commitment for TP-4 use in new military networks.  DOD will,
+  in effect, be making a commitment similar to that of vendors who are
+  planning this protocol for their standard products.  Since most new
+  networks would not use a transport protocol other than TP-4, this
+  minimizes the number of networks and therefore the cost of converting
+  and maintaining TCP networks to TP-4.
+
+  Since the standard TP-4 products from vendors are not available today,
+  DOD endorsement of TP-4 may have the effect of accelerating vendor
+  development of standard products.  These products are expected to be
+  generally available by 1986.  Thus Option 1 can be consistent with the
+  manufacturers' expected product plans.  Option 1 provides, therefore,
+  the least conversion cost but with higher risk for DOD conversion.
+
+  If DOD chooses Option 2, then the risk that TP-4 will not meet DOD
+  needs is reduced since there is no commitment to use this protocol
+  until a successful demonstration is completed.  In the interim, many
+  networks will have been committed using TCP, resulting in higher
+  conversion costs than with Option 1.  In summary, Option 2 provides a
+  lower risk approach for DOD to convert to TP-4, but will encounter the
+  higher conversion cost.
+
+  There is a great deal of experience with TCP and thus there is an
+  engineering community that is highly knowledgeable about it.  As
+  previously noted, however, if DOD remains with TCP, some DOD vendors
+  will be forced to support multiple protocol products.  The functional
+  equivalence and similarities between TCP and TP-4 permit an easy
+  transition for the experienced engineer to move from TCP to TP-4.
+  Option 2 allows more time for this transition to occur, and thereby
+  minimizes the risk associated with a complete switch to TP-4.
+
+  In addition to the transport protocols, a transition from TCP to TP-4
+  also involves the conversion of applications.  The committee has
+  concluded that the services provided by TCP and TP-4 are comparable
+  and applications software can be moved from TCP to TP-4 without loss
+  of functionality.  Obviously, Option 3 requires no conversion to
+  existing applications on current implementations.  Option 2 will
+  result in more applications interfacing to TCP than Option 1, thus
+  potentially increasing conversion costs. In the future DOD could
+  minimize the cost of conversion by standardizing the services provided
+  by the transport layer to the applications.
+
+ Manageability and Responsiveness to DOD Requirements
+
+  The final set of objectives is concerned with the degree of difficulty
+  that DOD will experience in managing its installed networks and future
+  networks.  As communications requirements evolve, DOD must have the
+  ability to alter specifications so they will satisfy new requirements.
+  Finally, DOD requires facilities for validation of protocol
+  implementations as they are added to their networks.
+
+  Since Option 3 is to maintain the status quo, no additional management
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 57]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  difficulty is anticipated.
+
+  Both Option 1 and Option 2 will cause some additional management
+  difficulties since they require that the current momentum for adopting
+  TCP to be redirected toward TP-4 without loss of intensity.  In
+  addition to this change, DOD must manage both TCP and TP-4 networks.
+  This will add to its management difficulties.
+
+  Option 2 will result in greater management difficulties than Option l
+  due to the larger number of TCP systems that must eventually be
+  converted and the larger time period over which both protocols must be
+  supported.
+
+  There are benefits from each option.  If Option 3 is selected, DOD and
+  its vendors have sole responsibility for determining what changes are
+  needed, implementing the change, validating the change and the ongoing
+  maintenance of the standard.  If either Option 1 or Option 2 is
+  chosen, then DOD may encounter difficulty in persuading the standards
+  groups to adopt its proposals; however, DOD would gain the experience
+  and knowledge of the industry standards-making bodies.  The industry
+  standards bodies should be receptive to good technical arguments for
+  correction of errors or apparent major deficiencies in the protocol.
+  The standards bodies that maintain the standard should become a
+  technical resource for DOD to develop its military specifications.
+
+  Since TP-4 will be a commercial standard, those vendors who adhere to
+  the standard will insure that validation facilities are in place.  The
+  National Bureau of Standards has a test facility for TP-4.  No such
+  facility exists for TCP.  If Option 1 or Option 2 is chosen, DOD can
+  use this facility to validate vendor implementations.  DOD should work
+  with NBS to develop a similar facility for TCP.  This is particularly
+  important for new implementations of TCP.  DOD should continue working
+  with and through NBS in getting needed protocol revisions introduced
+  into the appropriate standards bodies.
+
+  In summary, Option 3 results in no new management difficulties while
+  Option 2 causes the greatest difficulties.  Option 1 allows DOD to
+  move toward commercialized standard products with the smallest
+  addition of management tasks.
+
+EFFECT OF PROPOSED OPTIONS ON MARKET SHARE
+
+ Option 1 would quickly reduce the market held by TCP products as TP-4
+ products begin to take hold in the marketplace.  In addition, it would
+ enhance the ability of U.S. manufacturers to compete in the world
+ networks market based on ISO standards because they would not have to
+ engage in parallel development nor support two sets of protocols for
+ very long. Option 2 could have a comparable but less pronounced effect
+ in the marketplace and it would be delayed.  Because of the very
+ probable rapid deployment of TCP-based systems in DOD networks while
+ the TP-4 is still in the demonstration phase, however, many more
+ networks than in Option 1 would probably end up using TCP.  This would
+ tend to reduce the U.S. manufacturer's competitive edge in the world
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 58]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ market because their need to develop and maintain both TCP products as
+ well as TP-4 products would dilute their skill resources.  The same
+ thing would happen with Option 3.  Although none of the options would
+ affect the world market for TP-4 greatly, Option 3 would result in a
+ residual market for TCP products in the DOD and related networks.
+
+ Products made specifically for this market would continue to exist, but
+ with functions limited to this specific market, the products would lack
+ some of the advantages of large-scale production and product
+ development.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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+
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+
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+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 59]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                                      
+
+     
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 60]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+                          XI.  RECOMMENDATIONS
+
+We first present our basic recommendation and then provide detailed
+recommendations on aspects that require amplification.  These are
+followed by additional considerations in several important areas
+relating to the transition plans.  Many of our recommendations are
+closely related to each other, and care should be taken not to consider
+any single recommendation in isolation.
+
+BASIC RECOMMENDATION
+
+ The committee unanimously recommends that DOD should adopt the ISO TP-4
+ (and IP) as DOD costandards with its TCP (and IP) and move toward
+ eventual exclusive use of TP-4.  Transition to use of the ISO
+ standards, however, must be managed to maintain operational
+ capabilities and minimize risks.  The timing of the transition to use
+ of these protocols is, therefore, a major concern, and the committee
+ was divided on the best schedule to recommend.
+
+ A majority of the committee favored immediate adoption of the ISO
+ protocols as costandards with TCP, giving major procurements in 1984-85
+ the option of using these standards (Option 1).  A minority favored
+ deferring adoption of the ISO protocols by the DOD until after a
+ demonstration of commercial quality implementations supporting military
+ applications (Option 2).  This difference is reflected in detailed
+ recommendations 2-4 below.  The reasons for the two viewpoints are
+ based on differences within the committee on the extent of the risk
+ associated with adopting a protocol, TP-4, that has not been
+ implemented on operational networks.
+
+DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS
+
+ In the following recommendations the committee provides details about
+ actions that should be taken to implement the basic recommendations.
+ Most of the recommendations involve actions that require the DOD to
+ take the lead role, with occasional support from the NBS Institute for
+ Computer Sciences and Technology.  Some recommendations are directed
+ more toward NBS.  Other government agencies and parties interested in
+ using DOD protocols or in their future evolution may also find these
+ recommendations applicable.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 61]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ (1).  DOD should rapidly identify "open areas" of the ISO TP-4
+ specifications where various options for implementation are allowed and
+ define a required subset for use in DOD systems (a MIL-SPEC version of
+ the standards, for example).  In doing this, the DOD should work with
+ the NBS with the goal of developing a Federal Standard, that has
+ relatively few options for implementation, facilitates maximum federal
+ interoperability, and makes it clear to vendors which functions are
+ required in their commercial products.
+
+ (2).  DOD should aggressively develop and implement a plan for
+ integration of TP-4 as a costandard with TCP and for migration toward
+ its eventual exclusive use.  The plan should include provision for
+ rapid completion of a MIL-SPEC (detailed recommendation 1), either
+ validation or demonstration facilities (detailed recommendation 3),
+ timing for procurement of systems with the new protocols (detailed
+ recommendation 4), development of equipment and procedures to support a
+ period of joint operation with both TCP and TP-4 protocols in use, and
+ guidelines for eventual conversion of TCP systems to the new protocols.
+
+ Whatever timing is chosen for the introduction of ISO protocols, an
+ extended period must be expected when both TCP and TP-4 are in use in
+ different systems.  Hence equipment and procedures must be developed to
+ provide limited communication between systems using the two protocol
+ sets.  This will include dual protocol operation for some gateways,
+ relay hosts, service hosts, and terminal concentrators.  A secondary
+ purpose of the test system described in detailed recommendation 3
+ should be to aid in development of this transition support equipment.
+
+ Both a general transition strategy and specific transition plans for
+ each existing system should be developed.  The switchover from old to
+ new protocols will take place at different times as appropriate for
+ each system during an overall transition period of many years.
+
+ (3).  As soon as possible, the DOD should develop a protocol test
+ facility. If Option 1 is followed, this facility would serve primarily
+ to validate implementations of both old and new protocol sets.  If
+ Option 2 is followed, the facility would initially focus on
+ demonstrating the suitability of the new protocols for use in a
+ military environment as rapidly as possible and then provide for
+ testing of commercially supplied protocol implementations.
+
+ For validation purposes, the NBS protocol-testing facility developed
+ for ISO protocols should serve as a good basis, but extensions to deal
+ with any DOD-specific option for the ISO protocols, performance, and
+ DOD protocols would be necessary.  DOD is now beginning such a program.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 62]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ For a more complete demonstration, commercial-quality implementations
+ of the ISO protocols must be obtained and shown to support military
+ applications in an operational subnetwork such as such as ARPANET or
+ DODIIS. In both cases the facility should also be used for development
+ and demonstration of the transition support equipment mentioned in
+ detailed recommendation 2.
+
+ (4).  Procurements of new networks and major upgrades of existing
+ networks should favor use of ISO TP-4 as rapidly as possible.  If
+ Option 1 is followed, RFPs may specify the new protocols immediately.
+ If Option 2 is followed, this must await successful completion of the
+ demonstration discussed in recommendation 3.  Procurements for existing
+ networks using TCP may continue to require TCP-based equipment until an
+ appropriate conversion point is reached (see detailed recommendation
+ 2).
+
+ The purpose of this recommendation is to minimize spending on new TCP
+ implementations and their subsequent conversion to TP-4 where possible,
+ while recognizing that some additions to TCP-based systems will also be
+ needed.  If Option 2 is followed, immediate requirements for new
+ systems may force new implementations of TCP in these cases also
+ because the demonstration is not completed at the time RFPs must be
+ issued.
+
+ (5).  As part of a transition plan, a transport service interface to
+ higher-level protocols more like that of TP-4 should be developed for
+ TCP and tested with existing higher-layer protocols.
+
+ This should serve as a rapid test of whether existing DOD protocols can
+ make effective use of the somewhat different style of service that TP-4
+ provides.  It should also allow higher-level protocols to be modified
+ to make use of TP-4 in parallel with the implementation of TP-4 itself,
+ making the ultimate transition to TP-4 more rapid and certain of
+ success.  Finally, it may allow use of a single version of the
+ higher-level protocols to be used on both TCP and TP-4 equipment.
+
+ (6).  DOD should continue using existing DOD-specific, higher-level
+ protocols for operational purposes (Telnet, FTP, and Simple Mail
+ Transfer Protocol, for example) but minimize effort on their further
+ development and plan to adopt suitable ISO protocols as they are
+ developed.  Research on protocols providing new services (multimedia
+ mail, compressed video, and voice store-and-forward, for example)
+ should continue.  The committee is pleased to find that DOD is already
+ pursuing this course of action.
+
+ (7).  The NBS Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology should
+ maintain close liaison with DOD to ensure that DOD needs for new
+ protocols and modifications to existing standards are effectively
+ represented to appropriate standards bodies.  This should include
+ research areas such as multimedia mail where there is significant
+ commercial as well as military interest.
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 63]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+ The committee is pleased to find that this is already being done
+ through contracts from DOD for ICST to represent its interests in
+ standardization activities.  Further cooperation (in demonstrating and
+ testing protocols, for example) could occur.
+
+ (8).  The NBS and DOD should collaborate from the outset in the
+ development of new protocols for use as federal standards.  This will
+ ensure early agreement on functions, features, and services of the
+ protocols under development. The NBS should present the developing work
+ early to the ISO standardization activities to expedite convergence on
+ internationally acceptable standards.
+
+ Such collaboration could help ensure that future protocol standards
+ will be developed in a single, coordinated process that results in a
+ single standard accommodating both DOD, other federal agencies, and
+ commercial needs.
+
+ (9).  DOD and NBS should develop additions to protocol specifications
+ to support preemption of limited resources by high-precedence users.
+ Such capabilities are needed during high-load situations such as might
+ develop during wartime or other crisis situations.  They are not yet
+ part of either the TCP or TP-4 specifications or existing
+ implementations.  This should be an example of the sort of
+ collaboration mentioned in detailed recommendations 7 and 8.
+
+ This is important to avoid possible incompatibilities between different
+ implementations of the same specification as discussed in Section III.
+ It is likely that vendors would welcome guidance on how to deal with
+ open areas of the specifications, and early action by DOD could result
+ in their mandated subset becoming the de facto standard for most
+ commercial implementations as well, with consequent benefits to DOD.
+ This is a good area for cooperation between DOD and NBS.
+
+ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
+
+ Transition Plan
+
+  This section describes the major elements of a transition plan from
+  use of TCP to use of TP-4 in DOD systems.  The plan will vary
+  depending on the option chosen.  Both Option 1 and Option 2 share a
+  number of common elements that are discussed first, including
+  development of a MIL-SPEC, protocol-testing facilities, and transition
+  support equipment. If Option 2 is followed, a demonstration of TP-4
+  must also be undertaken.
+
+  MIL-SPEC.  As noted in recommendation 1, several open areas and
+  options in the ISO TP-4 must be specified in order to have complete
+  and compatible protocol implementations.  Completion of this
+  specification by the DOD should be a top priority objective.
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 64]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  Protocol-Testing Facilities.  As noted in recommendation 3, test
+  facilities for protocol implementations are essential.  Under Option
+  1, this facility should serve primarily to validate implementations of
+  both old and new protocol sets.  If Option 2 is followed, the facility
+  should initially focus on demonstrating the suitability of the new
+  protocols for use in a military environment as rapidly as possible,
+  and provide for testing of commercially supplied protocol
+  implementations.
+
+  For validation purposes, the NBS protocol-testing facility developed
+  for ISO protocols should serve as a good basis, but extensions to deal
+  with any DOD-specific options for the ISO protocols, performance, and
+  DOD protocols would be necessary.  The DOD has stated that such a
+  program has been started.
+
+  Transition Support Equipment.  In any transition plan it must be
+  assumed that the large body of systems with existing TCP
+  implementations will take a substantial period of time to switch
+  completely to the use of the ISO protocols.  Some networks will
+  include many different communities sharing a common communications
+  backbone.  Members of one community communicate primarily among
+  themselves, but occasionally outside their community.  While members
+  of one community are likely to change over as a group, different
+  communities will change to use the new protocols at different times.
+
+  Hence an interim period must be anticipated when some systems are
+  using the old protocols and others, the new protocols.  The transition
+  plan must provide some means of allowing interaction between old and
+  new systems where required during this period.  Toward this end, a
+  number of relay hosts may need to be developed that support both old
+  and new protocols.  These will allow automatic-staged forwarding of
+  electronic mail between old and new systems and manually set up file
+  transfer or remote terminal access via the relays.  Performance
+  through these relays will not be as good as with direct connections,
+  but the relays should provide an adequate level of service for
+  occasional interactions among different communities of the internet
+  system.
+
+  When more frequent interaction is anticipated and better service is
+  needed, major service hosts should support both old and new protocol
+  sets concurrently so they can provide service directly without
+  requiring the use of relays.  Such service hosts include widely used
+  time-sharing machines, file servers, and special servers such as
+  Network Information Centers, Network Operations Centers, and
+  Administrator Machines (providing mailboxes of network administrators,
+  for example).  Some dual protocol servers
+  may also act as relays where the load of both functions can be
+  supported.
+
+  Terminal concentrators for general use must also support both protocol
+  sets so that connections to both old and new hosts can be made
+  directly.
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 65]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  Gateways must support both old and new IPs so hosts using either one
+  may send internet traffic.  This requirement could be relaxed in the
+  case of entire networks that will switch over simultaneously and hence
+  will only need one type of IP traffic.  Gateways should not have to
+  translate between old and new IPs--it will be assumed that both source
+  and destination hosts are using the same protocols or going through an
+  explicit relay intermediate host.
+
+  This latter point requires some elaboration.  If one type of IP packet
+  arrives at a destination host or gateway that only handles the other
+  type, it must be discarded.  It would be good if, in addition, a
+  suitable ICMP error packet could be returned in the unsupported
+  protocol so it would be meaningful to the source.  To avoid this
+  situation the internet-host name table maintained by the Network
+  Information Center should indicate which protocol(s) each host
+  supports.  Then when a source host looks up the address of a
+  destination, it will also determine which type protocol to use or if a
+  relay is required.
+
+ Demonstration Plan
+
+  If Option 2 is followed, a major demonstration of the ISO protocols in
+  a military environment must be undertaken.  Any such demonstration
+  should proceed by stages beginning with the implementation of TP-4 in
+  one network (15).  Then the demonstration would be extended to include
+  internetting (still with DOD IP) to validate the suitability of TP-4
+  as a replacement for TCP.  The demonstration would then be further
+  extended to employ the ISO IP in place of DOD IP.
+
+  Stand-Alone TP-4 Network Demonstration.  The first stage of any
+  transition plan must be to establish a demonstration network or
+  subnetwork using TP-4 in place of TCP under existing higher-level
+  protocols. This step will require selection of a suitable network (or
+  subnetwork), procurement of TP-4 implementations for hosts and
+  terminal access controllers on that network, and modification of
+  higher-level protocols to use TP-4.  The demonstration should include
+  sufficient use of real applications to test the protocols in an
+  operational environment.
+
+  To limit the amount of change attempted at one time, the DOD IP may be
+  retained and used under TP-4.  Alternatively, if ISO IP development
+  status seems to warrant it, ISO IP may be installed along with TP-4.
+
+  
+
+
+
+-----
+(15)  For the remainder of this chapter, the use of TCP and TP-4 to
+include their respective IPs will no longer hold.  The four
+entities--Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and its Internet Protocol
+(DOD IP) and the Transport Protocol (TP-4) and its Internetwork Protocol
+(ISO IP)--will be treated individually.
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 66]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  In the latter case, all TP-4 hosts would be on the same network
+  anyway, so that IP will only be used between hosts and no gateways
+  will be involved and no gateway modifications will be needed.
+
+  The hosts involved could be dedicated to the demonstration and hence
+  only support TP-4 and only be able to interact with other
+  demonstration network hosts or be concurrently supporting TCP and DOD
+  IP for operational traffic to other "normal" hosts.  In the latter
+  case, no forwarding or relaying of traffic by hosts between normal and
+  ISO logical networks would be allowed or performed (the demonstration
+  network would be logically closed).
+
+  Stand-Alone TP-4 Internet Demonstration.  The next step would be to
+  expand the demonstration to include more than one network (at least
+  logically) and hence involve gateways.  If only TP-4 is involved, this
+  is a simple extension to test TP-4 over longer internet paths with
+  more variable performance.  If ISO IP is also being tested at the same
+  time, modification of the gateways involved will also be required as
+  indicated in the next section.
+
+  Stand-Alone ISO IP Demonstration.  Once TP-4 has been tested,
+  introduction of the ISO IP to replace DOD IP may commence.  In
+  addition to simply replacing one IP with the other in hosts and
+  gateways, this will require modification of the gateways to perform
+  ICMP and GGP on top of the ISO IP.
+
+  These gateways could either be dedicated to the demonstration and
+  hence have only ISO IP, or could be concurrently supporting normal
+  operational traffic via DOD IP.  In the latter case, once again, no
+  forwarding of traffic between ISO demonstration internet and normal
+  systems would be allowed.
+
+  At the conclusion of these three steps, the ISO TP-4 and IP could be
+  deemed to have demonstrated their basic functional suitability in a
+  military environment.  The transition support equipment described
+  above should have been developed in parallel, providing the capability
+  to smoothly and successfully switch operational systems using the old
+  protocols to use of the new protocols.
+
+ Switchover of User Systems
+
+  Once the above preparations have been made and the demonstration
+  completed, if Option 2 is being followed, the switchover of user
+  systems can commence.  Each network or community within a network
+  should be able to switch at its convenience and maintain the ability
+  to interact with other systems.  The user systems will not be required
+  to support operational use of both protocol sets simultaneously at any
+  time unless they wish to do so for their own reliability purposes.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 67]
+
+RFC 942                                                    February 1985
+Report Transport on Protocols
+
+  Switchover of user systems also requires a personnel-training effort.
+  While earlier steps involved a relatively small number of specialists
+  and support staff at major sites, this step will affect all user
+  sites, and their network support staff must be trained in the new
+  procedures.
+
+  Once switchover of all systems to the new protocol set is complete,
+  support for the old protocols by TACS, service hosts, and gateways can
+  be removed.
+
+ Lessons Learned from the ARPANET NCP-to-TCP Transition
+
+  The following points summarize some important lessons learned during
+  the ARPANET transition from NCP to TCP (16).
+
+   Conversion of TACs and service hosts to support both protocols before
+   the transition of user hosts starts is essential.
+
+   Relay capabilities were heavily used for mail, but used little for
+   other purposes.
+
+   The Network Information Center was not ready to support the new
+   protocols and this caused problems in distributing the host name
+   table.
+
+   There were significant performance problems that required careful
+   analysis and parameter tuning after the transition.  These were
+   unavoidable because no service host had been stressed prior to the
+   switchover, with a full user load over a long time period using the
+   new protocols.
+
+  
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+-----
+(16)  For additional information, see ARPANET Request for Comments:
+NCP/TCP Transition Plan, J. Postel, (Menlo Park, California: SRI
+International Telecommunications Sciences Center, November 1981).
+
+National Research Council                                      [Page 68]
+