Re: [802.21] HLSI
On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 05:33:09AM -0700, Gupta, Vivek G wrote:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stds-802-21@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG
> [mailto:stds-802-21@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG] On Behalf Of Yoshihiro Ohba
> Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 9:42 AM
> To: Subir Das
> Cc: STDS-802-21@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG
> Subject: Re: [802.21] HLSI
>
> The currently defined Cipher Suites and Authentication Method are too
> 802.11 specific, and not useful information for other media. I think
> what we actually need in basic set is more generic security and qos
> suites like Jesse Walker prensented a couple of meetings before (is
> there updated information about Jesse's work?). We can have
> placeholder Security and QoS IEs at this moment, and continue the work
> of defining their contents for a few months.
>
> Besides that we should also discuss whether media-specific security
> parameters should be defined in basic set or extended set. I think
> they should be defined in extended set in order to avoid definition of
> tons of media-specific TLVs in the 802.21 specification.
>
> [Vivek G Gupta]
>
> The network technology independent IEs are quite few. Based on current
> discussions we are left with:
> { Operator (that provides access to IS), List of Networks Supported }
I think Cost, List Of Roaming Partners, IP_Version, HLSI capabilities
are media-independent. Data_Rates and Neighbor_Maps can be
media-independent if they are specified in a generic way.
>
> The values of most of other IEs are network technology dependent:
> { Operator,
> Cipher_Suites,
> Authentication_Methods,
> Cost (free/not free),
> List Of Roaming Partners (Agreements),
> IP_Version,
> Data_Rates (range),
> QoS Supported,
> Neighbor_Maps,
> HLSI capabilities
> }
>
> In a very generic scenario the steps in querying information can be as
> follows:
> Step 1: Query the list of networks in an area
> Step 2: Query set of properties (listed above) for each network.
I have some doubt about the usefulness of Step 2. Does Step 2 assume
that all PoAs of a given type of network have the same set of
properties? I don't think so. If there are multiple neighboring
802.11 networks each operated by a different roaming partner, we
should not assume these networks have the same set of properties.
> Step 3: Query specific neighbor reports and any other extended detailed
> information
I think Step 3 is more important than other steps to make an efficient
handover decision. I believe this is where schema-based query is
really needed based on a consistent format across different types of
networks and using a standard, flexible query language.
>
> From a basic set perspective we just identify the key IEs that need to
> be supported by different network technologies. Their values are likely
> to be technology specific and hence it probably is not such a good idea
> to club them together etc. Clients could query these IEs for specific
> networks using common query mechanism and expect results in consistent
> format across different networks. The individual network standards could
> be amended so tat the 802.21 Info server (however it is deployed) could
> easily obtain the above parameters from different access networks.
> Other IEs that need to be supported could be vendor/operator/ or network
> technology specific and we could just make a provision for their
> transport.
>
> So not sure if we really need to get into basic/extended schema set type
> discussions and also of trying to collate values of different IEs across
> different network technologies.
Please see my comment above on why schema is needed. Also, without a
schema and a schema-based query language, it is not possible to make
the following types of queries in an efficient way:
- "Give me a list of 802.11g supported neighboring access points
operated by an operator that has a roaming agreement with operator X."
- "Tell me a list of 802.11 access points or 802.16 base stations
within one-mile of the point of attachment to which I am currently
associated."
- "Tell me the IP address and prefix of the access router on the same
IP link as a given point of attachment."
Regards,
Yoshihiro Ohba
>
> Best Regards
> -Vivek