RFC 3269 (rfc3269) - Page 2 of 12

Author Guidelines for Reliable Multicast Transport (RMT) Building Blocks and Protocol Instantiation documents

RFC 3269                 RMT Author Guidelines                April 2002


   2.2.1 Applicability Statement ....................................  7
   2.2.2 Architecture Definition ....................................  7
   2.2.3 Conformance Statement ......................................  8
   2.2.4 Functionality Definition ...................................  8
   2.2.5 Packet Formats .............................................  9
   2.2.6 Summary Checklist ..........................................  9
   3 IANA Considerations ............................................  9
   4 Acknowledgements ............................................... 10
   5 References ..................................................... 10
   6 Authors' Addresses ............................................. 11
   7 Full Copyright Statement ....................................... 12

1.  Introduction

   Reliable Multicast Transport (RMT) protocols can be constructed in a
   variety of ways, some of which will work better for certain
   situations than others.  It is believed that the requirements space
   for reliable multicast transport is sufficiently diverse that no one
   protocol can meet all the requirements [RFC 2887].  However, it is
   also believed that there is sufficient commonality between the
   various approaches that it should be possible to define a number of
   building blocks [RFC 3048] from which the various RMT protocols can be
   constructed.

   One key benefit of this approach is that the same building block can
   be used multiple times in different protocol instantiations.  Another
   key benefit is that building blocks may be upgraded as experience and
   understanding is gained.  For this operation to be possible the
   building block needs to be clearly defined in terms of what it does,
   how it interacts with other building blocks, and how it fits into the
   overall architecture of a protocol instantiation.  This description
   should also be sufficiently detailed so that those wishing to improve
   upon a particular building block or protocol instantiation can do so
   with a full understanding of the design decisions and tradeoffs that
   were made earlier.

   The building block approach also presents some dangers that must be
   well understood in order to avoid potential specification flaws.

   The most important danger is related to inappropriate usage of
   building blocks.  Although efforts should be made in order to produce
   a modular and reusable specification of building blocks, for
   practical reasons this goal is not always fully achievable.  This
   results in the specification of building blocks whose applicability
   is context dependent, which in turn creates the potential for the
   risk of co-dependence incompatibilities between building blocks.  An
   example of such an incompatibility would be situation where the




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