Re: [Int-area] IP parcels

This idea has been used in ethernet backplanes (as well as cell based) in switches/routers. The term is frequenty referred to as "super framing" and has been for at least 20 years.

Maybe a suggestion of "super-packet" would be more appropriate. 

The idea works well in short/higher-reliability paths (between cards inside a switch backplane/internal-switch-fabric) but not sure it can be scaled up to a packet network. Note making packets gratiusioly large creates more elephant flows and head-of-line-blocking considerations.

Dino

> On Dec 21, 2021, at 10:02 AM, Alexandre Petrescu <alexandre.petrescu@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> The title and abstract are great.
> 
> About the title, just one little note.  This word 'parcel' is very well
> adapted and suggestive for an English speaker.  I think I heard it very
> well in US English, even though not sure about UK English - to they also
> use 'parcel' to mean a package sent in mail?  Probably yes.
> 
> An 'IP Parcel' is a new concept, akin to an IP packet, IP datagram, or
> to a TCP segment: it is also a delimited 'chunk' of data sent in the
> network.  It is different than an IP packet in that it is made to be
> able to carry more IP packets inside.  An IP tunnel also is known to
> carry another IP packet which itself could carry another packet
> (encapsulated tunnels); however an IP parcel would be different than an
> IP tunnel in that there are less IP headers, presumably, and no trailers
> at all (IP tunnel encapsulation involves trailers, IIRC).  Maybe I could
> understand that if I read the draft.
> 
> The name 'parcel', to a French speaker, makes think it might be a
> 'parcelle'.  That 'parcelle' is a limited domain, like a part of land.
> In our current discussions of 'limited domains' in the Internet, that
> 'parcelle' confuses me.  It is not an 'IP parcelle' limited domain, but
> an 'IP parcel' packet, even though it is pronounced the same.
> 
> Le 18/12/2021 à 02:06, Templin (US), Fred L a écrit :
>> Here's one that should help with shipping, just in time for Christmas. Thanks to everyone for the past and future list exchanges.
>> Fred
>> -----Original Message----- From: I-D-Announce [mailto:i-d-announce-bounces@ietf.org] On Behalf Of internet-drafts@ietf.org Sent: Friday, December 17, 2021 5:00 PM To:
>> i-d-announce@ietf.org Subject: I-D Action: draft-templin-intarea-parcels-00.txt
>> A New Internet-Draft is available from the on-line Internet-Drafts directories.
>> Title           : IP Parcels Author          : Fred L. Templin Filename        : draft-templin-intarea-parcels-00.txt Pages : 8
>> Date : 2021-12-17
>> Abstract: IP packets (both IPv4 and IPv6) are understood to contain a
>> unit of data which becomes the retransmission unit in case of loss.
>> Upper layer protocols such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
>> prepare data units known as "segments", with traditional arrangements
>> including a single segment per packet.  This document presents a new
>> construct known as the "IP Parcel" which permits a single packet to
>> carry multiple segments.
> 
> It sounds interesting.
> 
> But I wonder whether the IP parcel carries multiple TCP segments (TCP
> payloads that dont have IP headers) or rather multiple IP packets (an IP
> packet might carry a TCP payload)?
> 
> Maybe it's written in the draft, I will have to look.
> 
>> The parcel can be opened at middleboxes on the path with the included
>> segments broken out into individual packets, then rejoined into one
>> or more repackaged parcels to be forwarded further toward the final
>> destination.  Reordering of segments within parcels is unimportant;
>> what matters is that the number of parcels delivered to the final
>> destination should be kept to a minimum, and that loss or receipt of
>> individual segments (and not parcel size) determines the retransmission unit.
> 
> The _segment_ is retransmitted upon segment loss or the entire parcel is?
> 
> Alex
> 
>> The IETF datatracker status page for this draft is: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-templin-intarea-parcels/
>> There is also an htmlized version available at: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-templin-intarea-parcels-00
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Internet-Drafts are also available by rsync at rsync.ietf.org::internet-drafts
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