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diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc2067.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc2067.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0e6f084 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc2067.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1683 @@ + + + + + + +Network Working Group J. Renwick +Request for Comments: 2067 NetStar, Inc. +Category: Standards Track January 1997 +Obsoletes: 1374 + + + IP over HIPPI + +Status of This Memo + + This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the + Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for + improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet + Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state + and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. + +Abstract + + ANSI Standard X3.218-1993 (HIPPI-LE[3]) defines the encapsulation of + IEEE 802.2 LLC PDUs and, by implication, IP on HIPPI. ANSI X3.222- + 1993 (HIPPI-SC[4]) describes the operation of HIPPI physical + switches. The ANSI committee responsible for these standards chose + to leave HIPPI networking issues largely outside the scope of their + standards; this document describes the use of HIPPI switches as IP + local area networks. + + This memo is a revision of RFC 1374, "IP and ARP on HIPPI", and is + intended to replace it in the Standards Track. RFC 1374 has been a + Proposed Standard since November, 1992, with at least 10 + implementations of IP encapsulation and HIPPI switch discipline. No + major changes to it are required. However, the ARP part of RFC 1374 + has not had sufficient implementation experience to be advanced to + Draft Standard. The present document contains all of RFC 1374 except + for the description ARP, which has been moved into a separate + document. + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + 1 Introduction............................................. 2 + 2 Scope.................................................... 3 + 2.1 Changes from RFC 1374.............................. 3 + 2.2 Terminology........................................ 4 + 3 Definitions.............................................. 4 + 4 Equipment................................................ 5 + 5 Protocol ................................................ 7 + 5.1 Packet Format...................................... 7 + 5.2 48 bit Universal LAN MAC addresses................. 11 + 5.3 I-Field Format..................................... 12 + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 1] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + 5.4 Rules For Connections.............................. 13 + 5.5 MTU................................................ 15 + 6 Camp-on ................................................. 16 + 7 Path MTU Discovery....................................... 17 + 8 Channel Data Rate Discovery.............................. 17 + 9 Performance.............................................. 18 + 10 Sharing the Switch....................................... 20 + 11 References............................................... 21 + 12 Security Considerations.................................. 21 + 13 Author's Address......................................... 21 + 14 Appendix A -- HIPPI Basics............................... 22 + 15 Appendix B -- How to Build a Practical HIPPI LAN......... 27 + +1 Introduction + + The ANSI High-Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI) is a simplex + data channel. Configured in pairs, HIPPI can send and receive data + simultaneously at nearly 800 megabits per second. (HIPPI has an + equally applicable 1600 megabit/second option.) Between 1987 and + 1991, the ANSI X3T9.3 HIPPI working group drafted four documents that + bear on the use of HIPPI as a network interface. They cover the + physical and electrical specification (HIPPI-PH [1]), the framing of + a stream of bytes (HIPPI-FP [2]), encapsulation of IEEE 802.2 LLC + (HIPPI-LE [3]), and the behavior of a standard physical layer switch + (HIPPI-SC [4]). HIPPI-LE also implies the encapsulation of Internet + Protocol[5]. The reader should be familiar with the ANSI HIPPI + documents, copies of which are archived at the site "ftp.network.com" + in the directory "hippi", and may be obtained via anonymous FTP. + + HIPPI switches can be used to connect a variety of computers and + peripheral equipment for many purposes, but the working group stopped + short of describing their use as Local Area Networks. This memo + takes up where the working group left off, using the guiding + principle that except for length and hardware header, Internet + datagrams sent on HIPPI should be identical to the same datagrams + sent on a conventional network, and that any datagram sent on a + conventional 802 network[6] should be valid on HIPPI. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 2] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +2 Scope + + This memo describes the HIPPI interface between a host and a + crosspoint switch that complies with the HIPPI-SC draft standard. + Issues that have no impact on host implementations are outside the + scope of this memo. Host implementations that comply with this memo + are believed to be interoperable on a network composed of a single + HIPPI-SC switch. They are also interoperable on a simple point-to- + point, two-way HIPPI connection with no switch between them. They + may be interoperable on more complex networks as well, depending on + the internals of the switches and how they are interconnected; + however, these details are implementation dependent and outside the + scope of this memo. + + Within the scope of this memo are: + + 1. Packet format and header contents, including HIPPI-FP, HIPPI- + LE, IEEE 802.2 LLC[7] and SNAP. + + 2. I-Field contents + + 3. Rules for the use of connections. + + Outside of the scope are + + 1. Address Resolution (ARP) + + 2. Network configuration and management + + 3. Host internal optimizations + + 4. The interface between a host and an outboard protocol + processor. + +2.1 Changes from RFC 1374 + + RFC 1374 described the use of ARP on HIPPI, but because of + insufficient implementation experience, the description of ARP has + been separated from IP encapsulation and moved to an Informational + memo. It may be returned to the standards track in the future if + interest and implementations warrant it. + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 3] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + RFC 1374's specification of IP over HIPPI has been changed in this + document. Certain packet format options, permitted in RFC 1374, are + no longer allowed: + + 1. Optional short burst first; + + 2. D1 fill bytes; + + 3. Nonzero D2 offset. + + That is, the header format is no longer variable and is required to + be that which is recommended by RFC 1374. + + With these changes, it is possible to send packets which conform to + the ANSI standards but not to this memo. Because there are no RFC + 1374 implementations in use that used these options, we believe that + all existing RFC 1374 implementations are compliant with the + requirements of this memo, and there should be no interoperability + problems associated with these changes. + +2.2 Terminology + + In this document the use of the word SHALL in capital letters + indicates mandatory points of compliance. + +3 Definitions + + Conventional + + Used with respect to networks, this refers to Ethernet, FDDI and + 802 LAN types, as distinct from HIPPI-SC LANs. + + Destination + + The HIPPI implementation that receives data from a HIPPI Source. + + Node + + An entity consisting of one HIPPI Source/Destination pair that is + connected by parallel or serial HIPPI to a HIPPI-SC switch and + that transmits and receives IP datagrams. A node may be an + Internet host, bridge, router or gateway. This memo uses the term + node in place of the usual "host" to indicate that a host might be + connected to the HIPPI LAN not directly, but through an external + adaptor that does some of the protocol processing for the host. + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 4] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + Serial HIPPI + + An implementation of HIPPI in serial fashion on coaxial cable or + optical fiber, informally standardized by implementor's agreement + in the Spring of 1991. + + Switch Address + + A value used as the address of a node on a HIPPI-SC network. It + is transmitted in the I-field. HIPPI-SC switches may map Switch + Addresses to physical port numbers. + + Source + + The HIPPI implementation that generates data to send to a HIPPI + Destination. + + Universal LAN Address (ULA) + + A 48 bit globally unique address, administered by the IEEE, + assigned to each node on an Ethernet, FDDI, 802 network or HIPPI- + SC LAN. + +4 Equipment + + A HIPPI network can be composed of nodes with HIPPI interfaces, HIPPI + cables or serial links, HIPPI-SC switches, gateways to other + networks. + + Each HIPPI interconnection between a node and a switch SHALL consist + of a pair of HIPPI links, one in each direction. + + If a link between a node and the switch is capable of the 1600 + Megabit/second data rate option (i.e. Cable B installed for 64 bit + wide operation) in either direction, the node's HIPPI-PH + implementation SHALL also be capable of 32 bit operation (Cable B + data suppressed) and SHALL be able to select or deselect the 1600Mb/s + data rate option at the establishment of each new connection. + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 5] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + The following figure shows a sample HIPPI switch configuration. + + +-----+ + | H 4 | + | +--+--+ + | +----+ +----+ +----+ | + | | H1 | | H2 | | H3 | +-++ + | +--+ +-++-+ +-++-+ +-++-+ |PP| + +---+H5| || || || ++++ + | +--+ || || || || + | +---++--------++--------++------++----+ + | | | + | +----+ | HIPPI-SC | + +---+ G1 +--------+ | + | | +--------+ Switch | + | +----+ | | + | +---++--------++--------++------++----+ + | +--+ || || || || + +---+H6| || ++++ + | +--+ +-++-+ |PP| + | | | +-++ + | | G2 | | + | | | +--+--+ + | +--+-+ | H 7 | + | | +-----+ + | + -----+------------+-------+-----------+-------------+------ + | | | | + | | | | + +--+--+ +--+--+ +--+--+ +--+--+ + | H 8 | | H 9 | | H10 | | H11 | + +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ + + Legend: ---+---+---+-- = 802 network, Ethernet or FDDI + || = Paired HIPPI link + H = Host computer + PP = Outboard Protocol Processor + G = Gateway + + A possible HIPPI configuration + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 6] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + A single HIPPI-SC switch has a "non-blocking" characteristic, which + means there is always a path available from any Source to any + Destination. If the network consists of more than one switch, the + path from a Source to a Destination may include a HIPPI link between + switches. If this link is used by more than one Source/Destination + pair, a "blocking" network is created: one Source may be blocked from + access to a Destination because another Source is using the link it + shares. Strategies for establishing connections may be more + complicated on blocking networks than on non-blocking ones. + + This memo does not take blocking issues into account, assuming that + the HIPPI LAN consists of one HIPPI-SC switch or, if the network is + more complex than that, it presents no additional problems that a + node must be aware of. + +5 Protocol + +5.1 Packet Format + + The HIPPI packet format for Internet datagrams SHALL conform to the + HIPPI-FP and HIPPI-LE draft standards, with further restrictions as + imposed by this memo. Because this memo is more restrictive than the + ANSI standards, it is possible to send encapsulated IP datagrams that + conform to the ANSI standards, but are illegal according to this + memo. Destinations may either accept or ignore such datagrams. + + To summarize the additional restrictions on ANSI standards found + here: + + Any short burst must be the last burst of the packet. + Leading short bursts are not permitted. + + Nonzero values for the HIPPI-FP D2_Offset field are not + permitted. + + The D1_AreaSize SHALL be 3 (64-bit words). No D1 Fill is + permitted. + + Note: Although this document is for IP over HIPPI, the encapsulation + described below accommodates ARP as well. + + The HIPPI-FP D1_Area SHALL contain the HIPPI-LE header. The HIPPI-FP + D2_Area, when present, SHALL contain one IEEE 802.2 Type 1 LLC + Unnumbered Information (UI) PDU. Support of IEEE 802.2 XID, TEST and + Type 2 PDUs is not required on HIPPI, and Destinations that receive + these PDUs may either ignore them or respond correctly according to + IEEE 802.2 requirements. + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 7] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + The length of a HIPPI packet, including trailing fill, SHALL be a + multiple of eight bytes as required by HIPPI-LE. + + +----------+-----------+---------------------+----------- ------+ + | | | | 0 - 7 | + | HIPPI-FP | HIPPI-LE | IEEE 802.2 LLC/SNAP | IP . . . bytes | + |(8 bytes) |(24 bytes) | (8 bytes) | fill | + +----------+-----------+---------------------+----------- ------+ + + HIPPI Packet Structure + + ULP-id (8 bits) SHALL contain 4. + + D1_Data_Set_Present (1 bit) SHALL be set. + + Start_D2_on_Burst_Boundary (1 bit) SHALL be zero. + + Reserved (11 bits) SHALL contain zero. + + D1_Area_Size (8 bits) SHALL be sent as 3. + + D2_Offset (3 bits) SHALL be zero. + + D2_Size (32 bits) Shall contain the number of bytes in the + IEEE 802.2 LLC Type 1 PDU, or zero if no PDU is present. It + SHALL NOT exceed 65,288. This value includes the IEEE 802.2 + LLC/SNAP header and the IP datagram. It does not include + trailing fill bytes. (See "MTU", below.) + +HIPPI-LE Header + + FC (3 bits) SHALL contain zero unless otherwise defined by local + administration. + + Double_Wide (1 bit) SHALL contain one if the Destination associated + with the sending Source supports 64 bit HIPPI operation. Otherwise + it SHALL contain zero. + + Message_Type (4 bits) contains a code identifying the type of HIPPI- + LE PDU. Defined values are: + + 0 Data PDU + 1 Address Resolution Request PDU (AR_Request) + 2 Address Resolution Response PDU (AR_Response) + 3 Self Address Resolution Request PDU (AR_S_Request) + 4 Self Address Resolution Response PDU (AR_S_Response) + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 8] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + Destination_Switch_Address is a 24-bit field containing the + Switch Address of the Destination if known, otherwise zero. + If the address comprises less than 24 bits, it SHALL be right + justified (occupying the least significant bits) in the + field. + + Destination_Address_Type (4 bits) and Source_Address_Type (4 + bits) contain codes identifying the type of addresses in the + Destination_Switch_Address and Source_Switch_Address fields + respectively. Defined values (binary) are: + + 0 Unspecified + 1 HIPPI-SC Source Route (24 bits) + 2 HIPPI-SC Address (12 bits) + + Source_Switch_Address is a 24-bit field containing the Switch + Address of the Source. If the address comprises less than 24 + bits, it SHALL be right justified (occupying the least + significant bits) in the field. + + Reserved (16 bits) SHALL contain zero. + + Destination_IEEE_Address (48 bits) SHALL contain the 48 bit + Universal LAN MAC Address of the Destination if known, + otherwise zero. + + LE_Locally_Administered (16 bits) SHALL contain zero UNLESS + otherwise defined by local administration. + + Source_IEEE_Address (48 bits) SHALL contain the 48 bit + Universal LAN MAC Address of the Source if known, otherwise + zero. + +IEEE 802.2 LLC + + The IEEE 802.2 LLC Header SHALL begin in the first byte of the + HIPPI-FP D2_Area. + + SSAP (8 bits) SHALL contain 170 ('AA'h). + + DSAP (8 bits) SHALL contain 170 ('AA'h). + + CTL (8 bits) SHALL contain 3 (Unnumbered Information). + +SNAP + + Organization Code (24 bits) SHALL be zero. + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 9] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + EtherType (16 bits) SHALL be set as defined in Assigned Numbers [8]: + IP = 2048 ('0800'h), ARP = 2054 ('0806'h), RARP = 32,821 ('8035'h). + + 31 28 23 21 15 10 7 2 0 + +-----+---------+-+-+-----------+---------+-----+---------+-----+ + 0 | 04 |1|0| Reserved | 03 | 0 | + +---------------+-+-+---------------------+---------------+-----+ + 1 | (n+8) | + +-----+-+-------+-----------------------------------------------+ + 2 |[LA] |W|M_Type | Destination_Switch_Address | + +-----+-+-------+-----------------------------------------------+ + 3 | D_A_T | S_A_T | Source_Switch_Address | + +-------+-------+---------------+-------------------------------+ + 4 | Reserved | [Destination_IEEE_Address] | + +-------------------------------+ | + 5 | | + +-------------------------------+-------------------------------+ + 6 | [LA] | [Source_IEEE_Address] | + +-------------------------------+ | + 7 | | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + 8 | AA | AA | 03 | 00 | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + 9 | 00 | 00 | [EtherType] | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + 10 |Message byte 0 |Message byte 1 |Message byte 2 | . . . | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+--- | + | . . . + | + | -------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + | . . . | byte (n-2) | byte (n-1) | FILL | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + N-1| FILL | FILL | FILL | FILL | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 10] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + HIPPI Packet Format + + Words 0-1: HIPPI-FP Header + Words 2-7: D1 Area (HIPPI-LE Header) + Words 8-9: D2 Area (IEEE 802.2 LLC/SNAP) + Words 10-(N-1): D2 Area (IP message) + (n) is the number of bytes in the IP message. + [LA] fields are zero unless used otherwise locally. + Abbreviations: "W" = Double_Wide field; + "M_Type" = Message_Type field; + "D_A_T" = Destination_Address_Type; + "S_A_T" = Source_Address_Type; + [FILL] bytes complete the HIPPI packet to an even + number of 32 bit words. The number of fill bytes + is not counted in the data length. + +IEEE 802.2 Data + + The IEEE 802.2 Data SHALL begin in the byte following the EtherType + field. Fill bytes SHALL be used following the Data as necessary to + make the number of bytes in the packet a multiple of 8. In + accordance with HIPPI-FP, the amount of this fill is not included in + the D2_Size value in the HIPPI- FP Header. + + The order of the bytes in the data stream is from higher numbered to + lower numbered data signal (left to right) within the HIPPI word, as + specified in HIPPI-FP Clause 7, "Word and byte formats." With the + 1600 megabit/second data rate option (64 bit) bits 32 through 63 are + on Cable B, so that the four bytes on Cable B come logically before + those on Cable A. Within each byte, the most significant bit is the + highest numbered signal. + +5.2 48 bit Universal LAN MAC Addresses + + IEEE Standard 802.1A specifies the Universal LAN MAC Address. The + globally unique part of the 48 bit space is administered by the IEEE. + Each node on a HIPPI-SC LAN should be assigned a ULA. Multiple ULAs + may be used if a node contains more than one IEEE 802.2 LLC protocol + entity. + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 11] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + The format of the address within its 48 bit HIPPI-LE fields follows + IEEE 802.1A canonical bit order and HIPPI-FP bit and byte order: + + 31 23 15 7 0 + +-------------------------------+---------------+---------------+ + | (not used for ULA) |ULA byte 0 |L|G| ULA byte 1 | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + | ULA byte 2 | ULA byte 3 | ULA byte 4 | ULA byte 5 | + +---------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+ + + Universal LAN MAC Address Format + + L (U/L bit) = 1 for Locally administered addresses, 0 for + Universal. + G (I/G bit) = 1 for Group addresses, 0 for Individual. + + The use of ULAs is optional, but encouraged. Although ULAs are not + used by HIPPI-SC switches, they may be helpful for HIPPI Switch + Address resolution, and for distinguishing between multiple logical + entities that may exist within one node. They may also be used by + gateway devices that replace HIPPI hardware headers with the MAC + headers of other LANs. Carrying the ULAs in the HIPPI header may + simplify these devices, and it may also help if HIPPI is used as an + interface to some future HIPPI based LAN that uses ULAs for + addressing. + +5.3 I-Field format + + fi The I-field bits, as defined in HIPPI-SC, SHALL be set as follows: + + Locally Administered (bit 31) SHALL be zero. + + Reserved (bits 30, 29) should be zero. Destinations SHALL + accept any value for these bits. + + Double wide (bit 28) SHALL be set when Source Cable B is + connected and the Source wants a 64 bit connection. It SHALL + be zero otherwise. + + Direction (bit 27) should be sent as zero, however + Destinations SHALL accept either zero or one and interpret + the Routing Control field accordingly, per HIPPI-SC. + + Path Selection (bits 26, 25) SHALL be 00, 01, or 11 (binary) + at the Source's option. 00 (source route mode) indicates + that the I-field bits 23-00 contain a 24 bit source route; 01 + or 11 (logical address mode) indicate that bits 23-00 contain + 12 bit Source and Destination Addresses. The value 11 is + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 12] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + meaningful when more than one route exists from a Source to a + Destination; it allows the switch to choose the route. Use + of 01 forces the switch always to use the same route for the + same Source/Destination pair. + + Camp-on (bit 24) may be 1 or 0; however, a Source SHALL NOT + make consecutive requests without Camp-on to the same + Destination while the requests are being rejected. The + purpose of this restriction is to prevent a node from + circumventing the fair share arbitration mechanism of the + switch by repeating requests at a very high rate. + + If logical address mode is used: + + Source Address (bits 23-12) is not used. + + Destination Address (bits 11-0) SHALL contain the Switch + Address of the Destination. + + If source route mode is used: + + Routing control (bits 23-00) SHALL contain the route to + the Destination. + +5.4 Rules For Connections + + The following rules for connection management by Source and + Destination are intended to insure frequent, fair share access to + Destinations for which multiple Sources are contending. If possible, + nodes should transfer data at full HIPPI speeds and hold connections + no longer than necessary. + + A source may hold a connection for as long as it takes to send 68 + HIPPI bursts at what ever speed the two connected nodes can achieve + together. The number of packets sent in one connection is not + limited, except that the number of bursts over all the packets should + not exceed 68. This is not a recommendation to send as many packets + as possible per connection; one packet per connection is acceptable. + The purpose of this limit is to give each Source an fair share of a + common Destination's bandwidth. Without a limit, if there is a + Destination that is constantly in demand by multiple Sources, the + Source that sends the most data per connection wins the greatest + share of bandwidth. + + The limit of 68 bursts is not absolute. An implementation may check + the burst count after transmission of a packet and end the connection + if it is greater than or equal to some threshold. If this is done, + the threshold should be less than 68 depending on the typical packet + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 13] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + size, to ensure that the 68 burst limit is not normally exceeded. + For instance, a Source sending 64K packets would send two per + connection (130 bursts) if it checked for 68 at the end of each + packet. In this situation the Source is required to check for a + value small enough that it will not send a second packet in the same + connection. + + Destinations SHALL accept all packets that arrive during a + connection, and may discard those that exceed its buffering capacity. + A Destination SHALL NOT abort a connection (deassert CONNECT) simply + because too many bursts were received; however a Destination may + abort a connection whose duration has exceeded a time period of the + Destination's choosing, as long as the Source is allowed ample time + to transmit its quota of bursts. + + The rules admonish the node to do certain things as fast as it can, + however there is no absolute measure of compliance. Nodes that + cannot transfer data at full HIPPI speeds can still interoperate but + the faster the implementation, the better the performance of the + network will be. + + Assuming that bursts flow at the maximum rate, the most important + factor in network throughput is the connection switching time, + measured from the deassertion of REQUEST by the Source at the end of + one connection to its first assertion of BURST after the + establishment of the new connection. + + Implementations should keep this time as short as possible. For a + guideline, assuming parallel HIPPI and a single HIPPI-SC switch, ten + microseconds permits nearly full HIPPI throughput with full-sized + packets, and at 60 microseconds the available throughput is reduced + by about 10%. (See "Performance", below.) + + All HIPPI electrical signaling SHALL comply with HIPPI-PH. In every + case, the following rules go beyond what HIPPI-PH requires. + + Rules for the Source + + 1. Do not assert REQUEST until a packet is ready to send. + + 2. Transmit bursts as quickly as READYs permit. Except for + the required HIPPI Source Wait states, there should be no + delay in the assertion of BURST whenever the Source's READY + counter is nonzero. + + 3. Make a best effort to ensure that connection durations do + not exceed 68 bursts. + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 14] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + 4. Deassert REQUEST immediately when no packet is available + for immediate transmission or the last packet of the + connection has been sent. + + Rules for the Destination + + 1. Reject all connections if unable to receive packets. + This frees the requesting Source to connect to other + Destinations with a minimum of delay. Inability to receive + packets is not a transient condition, but is the state of the + Destination when its network interface is not initialized. + + 2. A HIPPI node should be prepared to efficiently accept + connections and process incoming data packets. While this + may be best achieved by not asserting connect unless 68 + bursts worth of buffers is available, it may be possible to + meet this requirement with fewer buffers. This may be due to + a priori agreement between nodes on packet sizes, the speed + of the interface to move buffers, or other implementation + dependent considerations. + + 3. Accept a connection immediately when buffers are + available. The Destination should never delay the acceptance + of a connection unnecessarily. + + 4. Once initialized, a Destination may reject connection + requests only for one of the following reasons: + + 1. The I-field was received with incorrect parity. + + 2. The I-field contents are invalid, e.g. the "W" bit set when the + Destination does not support the 1600 megabit data rate option, + the "Locally Administered" bit is set, the Source is not + permitted to send to this Destination, etc. + + Transient conditions within the Destination, such as temporary + buffer shortages, must never cause rejected connections. + + 5. Ignore aborted connection sequences. Sources may time + out and abandon attempts to connect; therefore aborted + connection sequences are normal events. + +5.5 MTU + + Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is defined as the length of the IP + packet, including IP header, but not including any overhead below IP. + Conventional LANs have MTU sizes determined by physical layer + specification. MTUs may be required simply because the chosen medium + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 15] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + won't work with larger packets, or they may serve to limit the amount + of time a node must wait for an opportunity to send a packet. + + HIPPI has no inherent limit on packet size. The HIPPI-FP header + contains a 32 bit D2_Size field that, while it may limit packets to + about 4 gigabytes, imposes no practical limit for networking + purposes. Even so, a HIPPI-SC switch used as a LAN needs an MTU so + that Destination buffer sizes can be determined. + + The MTU for HIPPI-SC LANs is 65280 bytes. + + This value was selected because it allows the IP packet to fit in one + 64K byte buffer with up to 256 bytes of overhead. The overhead is 40 + bytes at the present time; there are 216 bytes of room for expansion. + + HIPPI-FP Header 8 bytes + HIPPI-LE Header 24 bytes + IEEE 802.2 LLC/SNAP Headers 8 bytes + Maximum IP packet size (MTU) 65280 bytes + ------------ + Total 65320 bytes (64K - 216) + +6 Camp-on + + When several Sources contend for a single Destination, the Camp-on + feature allows the HIPPI-SC switch to arbitrate and ensure that all + Sources have fair access. (HIPPI-SC does not specify the method of + arbitration.) Without Camp-on, the contending Sources would simply + have to retry the connection repeatedly until it was accepted, and + the fastest Source would usually win. To guarantee fair share + arbitration, Sources are prohibited from making repeated requests to + the same Destination without Camp-on in such a way as to defeat the + arbitration. + + There is another important reason to use Camp-on: when a connection + without Camp-on is rejected, the Source cannot determine whether the + rejection came from the requested Destination or from the switch. + The Source also cannot tell the reason for the rejection, which could + be either that the Destination was off line or not cabled, or the I- + field was erroneous or had incorrect parity. Sources should not + treat a rejection of a request without Camp-on as an error. Camp-on + prevents rejection due to the temporary busy case; with one + exception, rejection of a Camp-on request indicates an error + condition, and an error event can be recorded. The exception occurs + when a 64 bit connection is attempted to a Destination that does not + have Cable B connected, resulting in a reject. This case is covered + in "Channel Data Rate Discovery", below. + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 16] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +7 Path MTU Discovery + + RFC 1191 [9] describes the method of determining MTU restrictions on + an arbitrary network path between two hosts. HIPPI nodes may use + this method without modification to discover restrictions on paths + between HIPPI-SC LANs and other networks. Gateways between HIPPI-SC + LANs and other types of networks should implement RFC 1191. + +8 Channel Data Rate Discovery + + HIPPI exists in two data rate options (800 megabit/second and 1600 + megabit/second). The higher data rate is achieved by making the + HIPPI 64 bits parallel instead of 32, using an extra cable containing + 32 additional data bits and four parity bits. HIPPI-SC switches can + be designed to attach to both. Source and Destination HIPPI + implementations can be designed to operate at either rate, selectable + at the time a connection is established. The "W" bit (bit 28) of the + I-field controls the width of the connection through the switch. + Sources with both cables A and B attached to the switch may set the + "W" bit to request a 1600 megabit/second connection. If the + requested destination also has both cables attached, the switch can + connect Source to Destination on both cables. If the requested + Destination has only Cable A, the switch rejects the request. + Sixty-four bit Sources can connect to 32 bit Destinations by + requesting with the "W" bit clear and not using Cable B. Sixty-four + bit Destinations must examine the "W" bit in the received I-field and + use or ignore Cable B accordingly. Note that both INTERCONNECT + signals stay active while a 64 bit HIPPI is used in 32 bit mode. + + The following table summarizes the possible combinations, the + switch's action for each, and the width of the resulting connection. + + Destination + +-------------------+-------------------+ + | 32 | 64 | + +----+-----+-------------------+-------------------+ + | | W=0 | Accept 32 | Accept 32 | + | 32 +-----+-------------------+-------------------+ + | | W=1 | N/A | N/A | + Source +----+-----+-------------------+-------------------+ + | | W=0 | Accept 32 | Accept 32 | + | 64 +-----+-------------------+-------------------+ + | | W=1 | Reject | Accept 64 | + +----+-----+-------------------+-------------------+ + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 17] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +HIPPI Connection Combinations + + If the path between a 64 bit Source and a 64 bit Destination includes + more than one switch, and the route between switches uses a link that + is only 32 bits wide, the switch rejects 64 bit connection requests + as if the Destination did not have 64 bit capability. + + In a mixed LAN of 32 bit and 64 bit HIPPIs, a 64 bit Source needs to + know the data rates available at each Destination and on the path to + it. This can be known a priori by manual configuration, or it can be + discovered dynamically. The only reliable method of discovery is + simply to attempt a 64 bit connection with Camp-on. As long as 64 + bit connections succeed, the Source knows the Destination and path + are double width. If a 64 bit connection is rejected, the Source + tries to connect for 32 bits. If the 32 bit connection succeeds, the + Source assumes that the Destination or path is not capable of double + width operation, and uses only 32 bit requests after that. If the 32 + bit request is rejected, the Source assumes that the Destination or + path is down and makes no determination of its capability. + + The Double_Wide bit in the HIPPI-LE header, if nonzero, gives the + node that receives it a hint that the 64 bit connection attempt may + be worthwhile when sending on the return path. + + Note that Camp-on must be used at least in the 64 bit attempt, + because it removes some ambiguity from the meaning of rejects. If + the request is made with the "W" bit and no Camp-on, a reject could + mean either that the Destination has no Cable B or that it is simply + busy, and no conclusion can be drawn as to its status for 64 bit + connections. + +9 Performance + + The HIPPI connection rules are designed to permit best utilization of + the available HIPPI throughput under the constraint that each + Destination must be made available frequently to receive packets from + different Sources. This discipline asks both Sources and + Destinations to minimize connection setup overhead to deliver high + performance. Low connection setup times are easily achieved by + hardware implementations, but overhead may be too high if software is + required to execute between the initial request of a connection and + the beginning of data transfer. Hardware implementations in which + connection setup and data transfer proceed from a single software + action are very desirable. + + HIPPI connections are controlled by HIPPI Sources; a Destination, + being unable to initiate a disconnect without the possibility of data + loss, is a slave to the Source once it has accepted a connection. + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 18] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + Optimizations of connection strategy are therefore the province of + the HIPPI Source, and several optimizations are permitted. + + If the rate of available message traffic is less than the available + HIPPI throughput and Destinations are seldom busy when a connection + is requested, connection optimizations do not pay off and the + simplest strategy of waiting indefinitely for each connection to be + made and sending messages strictly in the order queued cannot be + improved upon. However if some nodes are slow, or network + applications can send or receive messages at a higher aggregate rate + than the available HIPPI bandwidth, Sources may frequently encounter + a busy Destination. In these cases, certain host output queuing + strategies may enhance channel utilization. Sources may maintain + separate output queues for different HIPPI Destinations, and abandon + one Destination in favor of another if a connection attempt without + Camp-on is rejected or a connection request with Camp-on is not + accepted within a predetermined interval. Such a strategy results in + aborted connection sequences (defined in HIPPI-PH: REQUEST is + deasserted before any data is sent). Destinations must treat these + as normal events, perhaps counting them but otherwise ignoring them. + + Two components of connection setup time are out of the control of + both Source and Destination. One is the time required for the switch + to connect Source to Destination, currently less than four + microseconds in the largest commercially available (32 port) switch. + The second component is the round trip propagation time of the + REQUEST and CONNECT signals, negligible on a standard 25 meter copper + HIPPI cable, but contributing a total of about 10 microseconds per + kilometer on fiber optic links. HIPPI-SC LANs spanning more than a + few kilometers will have reduced throughput. Limited span networks + with buffered gateways or bridges between them may perform better + than long serial HIPPI links. + + A Source is required to drop its connection after the transmission of + 68 HIPPI bursts. This number was chosen to allow the transmission of + one maximum sized packet or a reasonable number of smaller sized + packets. The following table lists some possibilities, with + calculated maximum burst and throughput rates in millions (10**6) of + bytes per second: + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 19] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + Maximum HIPPI Throughput Rates + + Number Number Hold Burst ------Max throughput MB/sec------- + User of of Time Rate Connection Setup Overhead (usec) + Data Packets Bursts (usec) MB/sec 10 30 60 90 120 150 + ---- ------- ------ ------ ------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- + 63K 1 64 654 98.7 97.2 94.4 90.4 86.8 83.4 80.3 + 32K 2 66 665 98.6 97.1 94.3 90.4 86.8 83.5 80.4 + 16K 4 68 667 98.3 96.8 94.1 90.2 86.6 83.3 80.2 + 8K 7 63 587 97.8 96.1 93.0 88.7 84.8 81.2 77.8 + 4K 13 65 551 96.7 95.0 91.7 87.2 83.1 79.4 76.0 + 2K 22 66 476 94.6 92.7 89.0 84.0 79.6 75.6 72.0 + 1K 34 68 384 90.8 88.5 84.2 78.5 73.5 75.8 65.3 + + These calculations are based 259 40 ns clock periods to transmit a + full burst and 23 clock periods for a short burst. (HIPPI-PH + specifies three clock periods of overhead per burst.) A packet of "n" + kilobytes of user data consists of "n" full bursts and one short + burst equal in length to the number of bytes in the HIPPI, LLC, IP + and TCP headers. "Hold Time" is the minimum connection duration + needed to send the packets. "Burst Rate" is the effective transfer + rate for the duration of the connection, not counting connection + switching time. Throughput rates are in megabytes/second, accounting + for connection switching times of 10, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 + microseconds. These calculations ignore any limit on the rate at + which a Source or Destination can process small packets; such limits + may further reduce the available throughput if small packets are + used. + +10 Sharing the Switch + + Network interconnection is only one potential application of HIPPI + and HIPPI-SC switches. While network applications need very frequent + transient connections, other applications may favor longer term or + even permanent connections between Source and Destination. Since the + switch can serve each Source or Destination with hardware paths + totally separate from every other, it is quite feasible to use the + same switch to support LAN interconnects and computer/peripheral + applications simultaneously. + + Switch sharing is no problem when unlike applications do not share a + HIPPI cable on any path. However if a host must use a single input + or output cable for network as well as other kinds of traffic, or if + a link between switches must be shared, care must be taken to ensure + that all applications are compatible with the connection discipline + described in this memo. Applications that hold connections too long + on links shared with network traffic may cause loss of network + packets or serious degradation of network service. + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 20] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +11 References + + [1] ANSI X3.183-1991, High-Performance Parallel Interface - + Mechanical, Electrical and Signalling Protocol Specification + (HIPPI-PH). + + [2] ANSI X3.210-1992, High-Performance Parallel Interface - Framing + Protocol (HIPPI-FP). + + [3] ANSI X3.218-1993, High-Performance Parallel Interface - + Encapsulation of IEEE 802.2 (IEEE Std 802.2) Logical Link + Control Protocol Data Units (802.2 Link Encapsulation) (HIPPI- + LE). + + [4] ANSI X3.222-1993, High-Performance Parallel Interface - Physical + Switch Control (HIPPI-SC). + + [5] Postel, J., "Internet Protocol", STD 5, RFC 791, USC/Information + Sciences Institute, September 1981. + + [6] IEEE, "IEEE Standards for Local Area Networks: Logical Link + Control", IEEE, New York, New York, 1985. + + [7] IEEE, "IEEE Standards for Local Area Networks: Logical Link + Control", IEEE, New York, New York, 1985. + + [8] Reynolds, J.K., and Postel, J., "Assigned Numbers", STD 2, RFC + 1340, USC/Information Sciences Institute, July 1992. + + [9] Mogul, J.C., and Deering, S.E., "Path MTU discovery", RFC 1191, + Stanford University, November, 1990. + +12 Security Considerations + + Security issues are not discussed in this memo. + +13 Author's Address + + John K. Renwick + NetStar, Inc. + 10250 Valley View Road + Minneapolis, MN USA 55344 + + Phone: (612) 996-6847 + EMail: jkr@NetStar.com + + Mailing List: hippi-ext@think.com + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 21] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +14 Appendix A -- HIPPI Basics + + This section is included as an aid to readers who are not completely + familiar with the HIPPI standards. + + HIPPI-PH describes a parallel copper data channel between a Source + and a Destination. HIPPI transmits data in one direction only, so + that two sets are required for bidirectional flow. The following + figure shows a simple point-to-point link between two computer + systems: + + +----------+ +----------+ + | | | | + | +--------+ +--------+ | + | | HIPPI | Cable | HIPPI | | + | | +--------------------->| | | + | | Source | | Dest. | | + | System +--------+ +--------+ System | + | X +--------+ +--------+ Y | + | | HIPPI | Cable | HIPPI | | + | | |<---------------------+ | | + | | Dest. | | Source | | + | +--------+ +--------+ | + | | | | + +----------+ +----------+ + +A Simple HIPPI Duplex Link + + Parallel copper cables may be up to 25 meters in length. + + In this document, all HIPPI connections are assumed to be paired + HIPPI channels. + + HIPPI-PH has a single optional feature: it can use a single cable in + each direction for a 32 bit parallel channel with a maximum data rate + of 800 megabit/second, or two cables for 64 bits and 1600 + megabit/second. Cable A carries bits 0-31 and is used in both modes; + Cable B carries bits 32-63 and is use only with the 1600 + megabit/second data rate option. + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 22] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +HIPPI Signal Hierarchy + + HIPPI has the following hardware signals: + + Source to Destination + + INTERCONNECT A + INTERCONNECT B (64 bit only) + CLOCK (25 MHz) + REQUEST + PACKET + BURST + DATA (32 or 64 signals) + PARITY (4 or 8 signals) + + Destination to Source + + INTERCONNECT A + INTERCONNECT B (64 bit only) + CONNECT + READY + + The INTERCONNECT lines carry DC voltages that indicate that the cable + is connected and that the remote interface has power. INTERCONNECT + is not used for signaling. + + The CLOCK signal is a continuous 25 MHz (40 ns period) square wave. + All Source-to-Destination signals are synchronized to the clock. + + The REQUEST and CONNECT lines are used to establish logical + connections. A connection is always initiated by a Source as it + asserts REQUEST. At the same time it puts 32 bits of data on DATA + lines 0-31, called the I-field. The Destination samples the DATA + lines and can complete a connection by asserting CONNECT. Packets + can be transmitted only while both REQUEST and CONNECT are asserted. + + A Destination can also reject a connection by asserting CONNECT for + only a short interval between 4 and 16 HIPPI clock periods (160-640 + nanoseconds). The Source knows a connection has been accepted when + CONNECT is asserted for more than 16 clocks or it receives a READY + pulse. + + Either Source or Destination can terminate a connection by + deasserting REQUEST or CONNECT, respectively. Normally connections + are terminated by the Source after its last Packet has been sent. A + Destination cannot terminate a connection without potential loss of + data. + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 23] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + +------+-------------------------+------+ + | Idle | Connected | Idle | . . . + +------+-------------------------+------+ + / \ + / \ + / \ + / \ + / \ + +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ + |I-field| |Packet | |Packet | |Packet | + +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ + / \ + / \ + / \ + / \ + / \ + / \ + / \ + +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ + |Burst| |Burst|...|Burst| + +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ + + HIPPI Logical Framing Hierarchy + + The Source asserts PACKET for the duration of a Packet transmission, + deasserting it to indicate the end of a Packet. A sequence of Bursts + comprise a Packet. To send a burst, a Source asserts the BURST + signal for 256 clock periods, during which it places 256 words of + data on the DATA lines. The first or last Burst of a Packet may be + less than 256 clock periods, allowing the transmission of any + integral number of 32 or 64 bit words in a Packet. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 24] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + The READY signal is a pulse four or more clock periods long. Each + pulse signals the Source that the Destination can receive one Burst. + The Destination need not wait for a burst before sending another + READY if it has burst buffers available; up to 63 unanswered READYs + may be sent, allowing HIPPI to operate at full speed over distances + of many kilometers. If a Source must wait for flow control, it + inserts idle periods between Bursts. + + +------------------------------------------------+ + REQUEST---+ +---- + +--------------------------------------------+ + CONNECT---------+ +-- + +---------------------------------------+ + PACKET-------------+ +---- + + +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ + READY------------+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +-- + + +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ +-----+ + BURST--------------+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-------- + + DATA------I-field----DATA------DATA------DATA-----DATA---------- + + HIPPI Signal Timing Diagram + +Serial HIPPI + + There is no ANSI standard for HIPPI other than the parallel copper + cable version. However an implementors' agreement exists, specifying + a serial protocol to extend HIPPI signals on optical fiber or coaxial + copper cable. Serial links may be used interchangeably with parallel + links to overcome HIPPI distance limitations; they are transparent to + the Source and Destination, except for the possibility of longer + propagation delays. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 25] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +I-Field and Switch Control + + The REQUEST, CONNECT and I-field features of HIPPI-PH were designed + for the control of switches as described in HIPPI-SC. A switch is a + hub with a number of input and output HIPPI ports. HIPPI Sources are + cabled to switch input ports, and switch output ports are cabled to + HIPPI Destinations. When a HIPPI Source requests a connection, the + switch interprets the I-field to select an output port and + electrically connects the HIPPI Source to the HIPPI Destination on + that port. Once connected, the switch does not interact with the + HIPPIs in any way until REQUEST or CONNECT is deasserted, at which + time it breaks the physical connection and deasserts its output + signals to both sides. Some existing switch implementations can + switch connections in less than one microsecond. There is the + potential for as many simultaneous connections, each transferring + data at HIPPI speeds, as there are input or output ports on the + switch. A switch offers much greater total throughput capacity than + broadcast or ring media. + + 31 28 26 23 11 0 + +-+---+-+-+---+-+-----------------------+-----------------------+ + |L| |W|D|PS |C| Source Address | Destination Address | + +-+---+-+-+---+-+-----------------------+-----------------------+ + + HIPPI-SC I-field Format (Logical Address Mode) + + L = Locally defined (1 => entire I-field is locally defined) + W = Width (1 => 64 bit connection) + D = Direction (1 => swap Source and Destination Address) + PS = Path Selection (01 => Logical Address Mode) + C = Camp-on (1 => wait until Destination is free) + + HIPPI-SC defines I-field formats for two different addressing modes. + The first, called Source Routing, encodes a string of port numbers in + the lower 24 bits. This string specifies a route over a number of + switches. A Destination's address may differ from one Source to + another if multiple switches are used. + + The second format, called Logical Address Mode, defines two 12 bit + fields, Source Address and Destination Address. A Destination's 12 + bit Switch Address is the same for all Sources. Switches commonly + have address lookup tables to map 12 bit logical addresses to + physical ports. This mode is used for networking. + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 26] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + +Control fields in the I-field are: + + L The "Locally Defined" bit, when set, indicates that the I-field + is not in the standard format. The meaning of bits 30-0 are + locally defined. + + W The Width bit, when set, requests a 64 bit connection through + the switch. It is meaningless if Cable B is not installed at + the Source. If W is set and either the Source or the requested + Destination has no Cable B to the switch, the switch rejects + the connection. Otherwise the switch connects both Cable A and + Cable B if W is set, or Cable A only if W is clear. This + feature is useful if both Source and Destination + implementations can selectively disable or enable Cable B on + each new connection. + + D The Direction bit, when set, reverses the sense of the Source + Address and Destination Address fields. In other words, D=1 + means that the Source Address is in bits 0-11 and the + Destination Address is in bits 12-23. This bit was defined to + give devices a simple way to route return messages. It is not + useful for LAN operations. + + PS The Path Selection field determines whether the I-field + contains Source Route or Address information, and in Logical + Address mode, whether the switch may select from multiple + possible routes to the destination. The value "01" selects + Logical Address mode and fixed routes. + + C The Camp-on bit requests the switch not to reject the + connection if the selected Destination is busy (connected to + another Source) but wait and make the connection when the + Destination is free. + +15 Appendix B -- How to Build a Practical HIPPI LAN + + "IP on HIPPI" describes the network host's view of a HIPPI local area + network without providing much information on the architecture of the + network itself. Here we describe a network constructed from + available HIPPI components, having the following characteristics: + + 1. A tree structure with a central HIPPI-SC compliant hub and + optional satellite switches + + 2. Each satellite is connected to the hub by just one bidirectional + HIPPI link. + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 27] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + 3. Serial HIPPI or transparent fiber optic HIPPI extender devices + may be used in any link. + + 4. Some satellites may be a particular switch product which is not + HIPPI-SC compliant. + + 5. Host systems are attached either directly to the hub or to + satellites, by single bidirectional links in which both HIPPI cables + go to the same numbered switch port. + +Switch Address Management + + Switch addresses use a flat address space. The 12-bit address is + subdivided into 6 bits of switch number and 6 bits of port number. + + 11 5 0 + +-----------------------+-----------------------+ + | Switch Number | Port Number | + +-----------------------+-----------------------+ + +Logical Address Construction + + Switches may be numbered arbitrarily. A given host's address + consists of the number of the switch it is directly attached to and + the physical port number on that switch to which its input channel is + attached. + + In the singly-connected tree structure, there is exactly one path + between any pair of hosts. Since each satellite must be connected + directly to the hub, the maximum length of this path is three hops, + and the minimum length is one. Each HIPPI-SC compliant switch is + programmed to map each of the host switch addresses to the + appropriate output port: either the port to which the host is + directly attached or a port that is linked to another switch in the + path to it. + +Special Treatment of Nonstandard Switches + + There is one commercially available switch that was designed + before the drafting of HIPPI-SC and is not fully compliant. It is + in common use, so it is worth making some special provisions to + allow its use in a HIPPI LAN. This switch supports only the + Source Route mode of addressing with a four bit right shift that + can be disabled by a hardware switch on each input port. + Addresses cannot be mapped. The switch does not support the "W", + "D", or "PS" fields of the I-field; it ignores their contents. + Use of this switch as a satellite will require a slight deviation + from normal I-field usage by the hosts that are directly attached + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 28] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + to it. Hosts attached to standard switches are not affected. + + For a destination connected to a non compliant satellite, the + satellite uses only the least significant four bits of the I-field + as the address. Since the address contains the destination's + physical port number in the least significant bits, its port will + be selected. Nonstandard switches should be set to disable I- + field shifting at the input from the hub, so that the destination + host will see its correct switch address in the I-field when + performing self-address discovery. I-field shifting must be + enabled on the satellite for each input port to which a host is + attached. + + Hosts attached to nonstandard satellites must deviate from the + normal I-field usage when connecting to hosts on another switch. + It is suggested that all host implementations have this capability + as long as the nonstandard switches remain in use. The host must + know, by some manual configuration method, that it is connected to + a nonstandard switch, and it must have its "link port" number; + that is, the number of the port on the satellite that is connected + to the hub. + + The normal I-field format for a 32-bit connection, per the + document, is this: + + 31 26 23 11 0 + +---------+---+-+-----------------------+-----------------------+ + |0 0 0 0 0|x 1|C| Unused | Destination Address | + +---------+---+-+-----------------------+-----------------------+ + + The special I-field format is: + + 31 26 24 15 4 3 0 + +---------+---+-+---------------+-----------------------+-------+ + |0 0 0 0 0|x 1|C| Unused | Destination Address | Link | + +---------+---+-+---------------+-----------------------+-------+ + + This I-field is altered by shifting the lower 24 bits left by four + and adding the link port number. Camp-on is optional, and the PS + field is set to 01 or 11 (the host's option) as if the switch + supported logical address mode. All other I-field bits are set to + zero. When the host requests a connection with this I-field, the + switch selects a connection through the link port to the hub, and + shifts the lower 24 bits of the I-field right by four bits. The link + port number is discarded and the I-field passed through to the hub is + a proper HIPPI-SC I-field selecting logical address mode. + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 29] + +RFC 2067 IP over HIPPI January 1997 + + + A host on a nonstandard satellite may use the special I-field format + for all connection requests. If connecting to another host on the + same satellite, this will cause the connection to take an + unnecessarily long path through the hub and back. If an optimization + is desired, the host can be given additional information to allow it + to use the standard I-field format when connecting to another host on + the same switch. This information could consist of a list of the + other hosts on the same switch, or the details of address formation, + along with the switch number of the local satellite, which would + allow the host to analyze the switch address to determine whether or + not the destination is on the local switch. This optimization is + fairly complicated and may not always be worthwhile. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Renwick Standards Track [Page 30] + |