RFC 176 (rfc176) - Page 1 of 5

Comments on "Byte size for connections"

Network Working Group                          A. Bhushan, MIT
Request for Comments #176                      R. Kanodia, MIT
NIC #7100                                      R. Metcalfe, MIT
Categories: C and D                            J. Postel, UCLA
                                               14 June 1971



                 Comments on Byte Size for Connections
                 -------------------------------------



     There are at least the following three views on the use of
byte size for network connections*:

     1)   Byte size should not be used at all.

     2)   Byte size is solely for the convenience of NCP's.

     3)   Byte size choice is a user-level prerogative.


     According to the first view, network connections are bit
streams, and messages should contain bit counts (i.e., a
byte size of 1).  This view existed before the "Glitch Cleaning"
of RFC 107, and was discarded in favour of byte stream because
of stated reasons of efficiency in storage management and
message concatenation.

     The second view represents a special interpretation of
RFC 107.  According to this interpretation, byte size is
entirely a 2nd level (i.e., NCP) issue.  There is no require-
ment that 3rd level user processes be able to specify byte size.
This view is indicated in RFC 151 by Shoshani.





----------------------
* Byte size for connection is the byte size selected by
sending NCP, as explained in RFC 107 (Output of Host-Host
Protocol Glitch Cleaning Committee).