Subject: multihomed host

From: Yoshihiro Ohba <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2002 15:28:41 -0400

Hi,

I have one question about multihomed host.

In the multi6 WG charter, there is the following definition 
for multihomed "site":

  A multihomed site is a site that has more than one connection to the
  public internet with those connections through either the same or
  different ISPs.  Sites choose to multihome for several reasons,
  especially to improve fault tolerence, perform load balancing, etc.

Is there any definition for multihomed "host"?  

Of cource, a definition would be quickly made by just replacing a
word "site" in the above definition with "host", but please let me
know if there is other definition.

Regards,
Yoshihiro Ohba

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From: Margaret Wasserman <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 15:42:47 -0400

>Is there any definition for multihomed "host"?

I don't know if there is an official definition, but I
have usually heard the term "multihomed host" used to
refer to multi-interface systems that do not function
as routers (i.e. they don't forward packets).

Margaret

---

From: Yoshihiro Ohba <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2002 16:09:20 -0400

Thanks for your quick response.

There may be some scenario in which a single-interface host is connected
to multiple ISPs on the same link, which seems to be not covered in
the usual definition for "multihomed host".

I don't know what to call the model, but is such a model already 
common?  Or is there any ongoing work on this model?

> as routers (i.e. they don't forward packets).

Thanks,

Yoshihiro Ohba

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From: Bill Sommerfeld <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 09 Oct 2002 16:31:28 -0400

> as routers (i.e. they don't forward packets).

For what it's worth, I've occasionally heard the term used in an
application-layer context to refer to hosts having multiple IP
addresses rather than/in addition to multiple interfaces. 

						- Bill