Subject: RE: AH and flow label

From: "Christian Huitema" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 09:29:34 -0700

The suggestions of making the flow label immutable and protecting it by
AH look like bad ideas. The 20 bits in the "flow label" are the only
reserved bits in the header. These bits should be available for future
innovation. If we make them strictly immutable, how will we able to
create something like ECN in the future?

-- Christian Huitema

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From: Pekka Savola <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 08:01:00 +0300 (EEST)

> create something like ECN in the future?

That seems like a moot point now, as the flow label *is* 20 bits.  I
guess it'd be very challenging to take any of that "back".

FWIW, when we last discussed flow label, I suggested shortening it
down to 16 bits and leaving 4 bits reserved, exactly for the purpose
you said.  That didn't get much traction..

-- 
Pekka Savola                 "You each name yourselves king, yet the
Netcore Oy                    kingdom bleeds."
Systems. Networks. Security. -- George R.R. Martin: A Clash of Kings