[apps-discuss] Peter's Apps Report #3

[Peter Saint-Andre <[e-mail]>]

This is my third report as co-director (with Alexey Melnikov) of the
IETF Applications Area. My apologies for the delay since my last report.
This one covers June 4 through July 16, 2010. My next report will come
out a week or two after IETF 78 in Maastricht.


1. WORKING GROUP STATUS

Here are reports on the 9 working groups that I currently advise (Alexey
advises the other 8 Apps Area WGs).


1.1. ALTO (Application-Layer Traffic Optimization)

Chairs: Vijay Gurbani, Enrico Marocco, & Jon Peterson

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/alto/

Abstract: The ALTO WG is designing a technology for Application-Layer
Traffic Optimization (ALTO), which will enable peer-to-peer applications
to perform better-than-random initial peer selection.

Report...

New versions of both the requirements document and the protocol spec
have been published since my last report:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-alto-reqs/

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-alto-protocol/

The group held a virtual interim meeting on June 16, which was a
productive way to maintain the momentum between IETF 77 and IETF 78.
Minutes are here:

http://trac.tools.ietf.org/wg/alto/trac/wiki/Interim20100616

In other ALTO-related news:

- WG co-chair Enrico Marocco authored an article for the IETF Journal
(with P2PSIP WG co-chair David Bryan) on "The Peer-to-Peer Invasion" to
bring more attention to the range of peer-to-peer work happening within
the IETF. Visit http://www.isoc.org/tools/blogs/ietfjournal/?p=1746 for
all the details.

- The chairs have begun discussions about rechartering. I'll ping the
chairs about that to see if we can present proposed text at IETF 78.

- I've reviewed draft-irtf-p2prg-alto-survey ("A Survey on Research on
the Application-Layer Traffic Optimization Problem") in accordance with
the rules in RFC 5742 ("IESG Procedures for Handling of Independent and
IRTF Stream Submissions"). The IESG did not find any conflicts between
that document and IETF work, so it should go into the RFC Editor queue
before too long.

- The mailing list has been active with discussion about several of the
non-WG items as well, including draft-song-alto-server-discovery and
draft-lee-alto-chinatelecom-trial.

- The authors of draft-stiemerling-alto-deployments will make a
presentation to the Operations & Management Area Open Meeting as a way
of getting feedback about ALTO deployment issues.

The ALTO WG will be meeting in Maastricht, and the draft agenda is here:

http://www.ietf.org/proceedings/78/agenda/alto.html


1.2. CALSIFY (Calendaring and Scheduling Standards Simplification)

Chair: Eliot Lear

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/calsify/

Abstract: The CALSIFY WG is revising the Calendaring and Scheduling
standards defined in RFC's 2445, 2446, and 2447.

Report...

As I mentioned last time, the only remaining work item is the iMIP draft:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-calsify-rfc2447bis/

Alexey Melnikov has completed some edits based on my AD review and now
we're waiting for input from other folks on the list. If you provided
comments on this draft in the past, please check to make sure that it
has been addressed so that the WG can finish the only remaining item on
its charter.

The CALSIFY WG won't meet in Maastricht.


1.3. CORE (Constrained RESTful Environments)

Chairs: Carsten Bormann & Cullen Jennings

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/core/

Abstract: The CORE WG is defining a REST-style protocol for the
manipulation of simple resources over constrained IP networks such as
those used for sensor monitoring and device management applications.

Report...

The group has accepted one of the many CORE-related drafts as an
official WG item:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-core-coap/

List discussion has been quite lively and the group has been making good
use of the issue tracker:

http://trac.tools.ietf.org/wg/core/trac/report/6

True to the IETF philosophy of running code, some interested developers
will hold a "plugfest" on the Sunday before the IETF meeting (July 25th)
for testing and code debugging. Details here:

http://trac.tools.ietf.org/wg/core/trac/wiki/PlugFest

The CORE WG will be meeting in Maastricht, and the draft agenda is here:

http://www.ietf.org/proceedings/78/agenda/core.txt


1.4. HTTPSTATE (HTTP State Management Mechanism)

Chair: Jeff Hodges

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/httpstate/

Abstract: The HTTPSTATE WG is canonically specifying how cookies are
actually used in existing HTTP implementations and deployments, thus
obsoleting RFC 2109 and updating RFC 2965.

Report...

Since my last report, the group has completed a Working Group Last Call
regarding the one spec on its current charter:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-httpstate-cookie/

All of the submitted issues have been closed but there was quite a bit
of feedback during the WGLC (which continues in current mailing list
threads), so I'd expect to see a revised I-D after IETF 78.

The HTTPSTATE WG will be meeting in Maastricht, and the draft agenda is
here:

http://www.ietf.org/proceedings/78/agenda/httpstate.txt

Notice that the agenda includes discussion about possible future work
items, such as:

- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-pettersen-cookie-v2/
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-pettersen-cookie-origin/
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-pettersen-subtld-structure/
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-salgueiro-secure-state-management/


1.5. IRI (Internationalized Resource Identifiers)

Chairs: Marc Blanchet & Addison Philipps

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/iri/

Abstract: The IRI WG is revising the definition of Internationalized
Resource Identifiers from RFC 3987.

Report...

The mailing list has been quiet but the IRI WG will meet in Maastricht.
The chairs are working to identity the remaining issues and assign
owners for those issues. Based on my conversations with the chairs, I
would say that the issues are few but somewhat thorny, so expect some
interesting discussions at IETF 78.

The IRI WG will be meeting in Maastricht. Expect an agenda in the next
few days.


1.6. OAUTH (Open Authentication Protocol)

Chairs: Blaine Cook & Hannes Tschofenig

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/oauth/

Abstract: The OAUTH WG is defining the second iteration of an open
protocol for delegating access to protected resources over the web.

Report...

Following up on the interim meeting held on May 20th, document editor
Eran Hammer-Lahav has cranked out five subsequent versions of the
group's core spec:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-oauth-v2/

List discussion has been extremely active, even overwhelming at times,
but the group has been making good progress.

The OAUTH WG will be meeting in Maastricht. Expect an agenda in the next
few days.



1.7. PRECIS (Preparation and Comparison of Internationalized Strings)

Chairs: Marc Blanchet & Yoshiro Yoneya

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/precis/

Abstract: The PRECIS WG is assessing whether a new method based on the
IDNA2008 algorithmic approach is the appropriate path forward for
existing stringprep (RFC 3454) usages as well as for other application
protocols requiring internationalized strings.

Report...

This group formed based on strong consensus in the NEWPREP BoF at IETF
77 that the IETF needs to define more modern methods for the preparation
and comparison of internationlized strings in application protocols.

To jump-start discussion, WG co-chair Marc Blanchet has published two
drafts:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-blanchet-precis-problem-statement/

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-blanchet-precis-framework/

Because it's never a good idea for the primary author to be chair of the
WG, Marc, Yoneya-san, and I are actively seeking out editors for those
specifications (and for the other deliverables on the group's charter).

The PRECIS WG will hold its first meeting in Maastricht. Expect an
agenda in the next few days.


1.8. VCARDDAV (vCard and CardDAV)

Chairs: Marc Blanchet & Kurt Zeilenga

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/vcarddav/

Abstract: The VCARDDAV WG is revising the vCard standard from RFC 2426
and defining an XML representation of vCards.

Report...

The group has completed Working Group Last Call on its two remaining
deliverables:

- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-vcarddav-vcardrev/

- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-vcarddav-vcardxml/

Comments continue to trickle in and several open issues will be
discussed at IETF 78. After that I would expect the authors to submit
revised I-Ds and the chairs (at their discretion) to issue a second WGLC.

The VCARDDAV WG will be meeting in Maastricht, and the draft agenda is here:

http://www.ietf.org/proceedings/78/agenda/vcarddav.txt

The final item on the agenda is discussion about whether to recharter
the WG or to declare success and close down the WG.


1.9. VWRAP (Virtual World Region Agent Protocol)

Chairs: Joshua Bell & Barry Leiba

Website: http://tools.ietf.org/wg/vwrap/

Abstract: The VWRAP WG is defining a protocol that enables users to
interact as digital representations in collaborative 3-dimensional
virtual environments.

Report...

The group recently accepted 5 specs as WG items:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-vwrap-authentication
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-vwrap-foundation
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-vwrap-intro
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-vwrap-launch
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-vwrap-type-system

Unfortunately, Linden Lab, the prime mover behind the VWRAP effort, has
cut back a bit on its standardization efforts:

http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/vwrap/current/msg00171.html

However, other WG participants have maintained their involvement, as
have several folks from Linden in their spare time (including co-chair
Joshua Bell). And the mailing list has been active of late, too. So
progress continues.

The VWRAP WG will not be meeting in Maastricht.


2. BIRDS-OF-A-FEATHER (BOF) SESSIONS

I'm the sponsoring AD for two BoFs at IETF 78: HASMAT and URNBIS. Given
the amount of thought and energy that have gone into preparations for
these BoFs, I'm confident that both of them will be quite successful.
The HASMAT organizers held a pre-BoF conference call last week, which I
thought was a productive way to introduce people to the topics that will
be discussed in Maastricht.


3. INDIVIDUAL DRAFTS

In addition to the WG items listed above, I'm also monitoring the
following individual drafts:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-desruisseaux-ischedule (I'll seek
out the authors in Maastricht for further discussion)

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-giralt-schac-ns (I've pinged the
authors several times about a revised I-D, but I haven't received a
response yet)

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-hammer-hostmeta (this one is in
IETF Last Call, and a security directorate review has been completed)

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-oiwa-http-mutualauth (I am still
slowly providing comments to the authors)

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-rosen-urn-nena (a revised I-D
will be submitted after the blackout period, after which I'll work with
the author and document shepherd to move this forward)

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-snell-atompub-link-extensions/
(the author is working to find a document shepherd)

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-snell-atompub-tombstones/ (the
author is working to find a document shepherd)


4. MY DRAFTS

Now that I'm an area director I understand why ADs don't write many
specs during their term of duty -- they're too busy! However, I have a
few Internet-Drafts to finish up, and they're taking quite a bit of time
and energy. Specifically:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-xmpp-3920bis/ has undergone
a WGLC within the XMPP WG in the RAI area, and I processed a lot of issues:

http://trac.tools.ietf.org/wg/xmpp/trac/report/6

A second WGLC is underway to make sure that all feedback has been addressed.

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-xmpp-address/ has undergone
a WGLC as well (it goes along with 3920bis) and I still have a few
comments to process.

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-xmpp-3921bis/ is currently
in WGLC, too. No feedback yet on the [e-mail] list, but I'm sure
it's on the way.

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-saintandre-tls-server-id-check/
is currently in IETF Last Call and I know that Jeff Hodges and I have a
few issues to address for that one. Both draft-ietf-xmpp-3920bis and
draft-daboo-srv-email depend on the server-id-check document, so Jeff
and I want to finish it as soon as possible.

Finally I recently wrote two short specs to spark some discussion in the
applications area:

-
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-saintandre-xdash-considered-harmful/

- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-barnes-hard-problem/ (with
Richard Barnes)

That's way too many I-Ds for me to process with everything else I have
going on (and two of them are over 100 pages long!), so I'm working to
finish them off as quickly as possible to free up more time and energy
for my Area Director responsibilities.


5. IESG ACTIVITIES

I posted DISCUSSes on the following documents during IESG review:

draft-freed-sieve-notary
draft-ietf-bmwg-protection-term
draft-ietf-eai-mailinglist
draft-ietf-enum-enumservices-guide
draft-ietf-hip-hiccups
draft-ietf-netconf-monitoring
draft-ietf-pkix-certimage
draft-keromytis-tls-authz-keynote
draft-kucherawy-authres-header

I also posted COMMENTs on:

draft-hoffman-tls-master-secret-input
draft-ietf-dnsext-dns-tcp-requirements
draft-ietf-nsis-tunnel
draft-ietf-sipping-rtcp-summary
draft-ietf-smime-cms-rsa-kem
draft-josefsson-kerberos5-starttls

I still have unresolved DISCUSSes lodged against the following I-Ds:

draft-ietf-eai-mailinglist
draft-ietf-enum-enumservices-guide
draft-ietf-keyprov-dskpp
draft-ietf-mediactrl-ivr-control-package
draft-ietf-mediactrl-mixer-control-package
draft-ietf-mediactrl-sip-control-framework
draft-ietf-pkix-certimage
draft-ietf-sipcore-info-events
draft-ietf-sipping-config-framework

Hopefully we can get some of those resolved at IETF 78 (or before).


6. UPCOMING EVENTS

The only upcoming event of note is IETF 78, July 25-30 in Maastricht,
The Netherlands. I'll be arriving on Saturday the 24th and departing on
Sunday August 1st along with the rest of the IESG and IAB for a one-day
management meeting with the ITU-T in Geneva on August 2nd. If you have
any questions or concerns about the working groups I advise, specific
Internet-Drafts, DISCUSSes I've lodged, possible future BoFs,
coordination with other standards development organizations, or any
other topic of interest, feel free to seek me out in Maastricht during
the "Hallway WG" or to contact me beforehand so we can arrange a time to
chat.

See you in Maastricht!

Peter

-- 
Peter Saint-Andre
https://stpeter.im/