Re: musings

[stev knowles <[e-mail]>]

sometime around 11:45 AM 5/16/1996 -0700, Fred Baker wrote us a message
containing:

>   PPP MUST be supported on all general purpose serial interfaces on a
>   router.  The router MAY allow the line to be configured to use point
>   to point line protocols other than PPP.  Point to point interfaces
>   SHOULD either default to using PPP when enabled or require
>   configuration of the link layer protocol before being enabled.
>   General purpose serial interfaces SHOULD require configuration of the
>   link layer protocol before being enabled.

>Cisco routers, if you enable point to point interface and don't specify an
>encapsulation, use a proprietary protocol that predates PPP. If we change
>that default, we unilaterally change the configuration of our customer's
>routers. Guess what, they would report that as a bug.

if i bring up a cisco router, and attach a serial line to it, with another
router on the end, who will *only* do PPP, will the Cisco router figure that
out automatically, and DTRT? if two cisco' s connect, that will do either
protocol, woudl they default to PPP? if the remote end only did the
proprietary protocol can the local router figure that out, and DTRT?

if so, i feel that you are certainly within the spirit of the above text. i
woudl imagine that, even if in the second instance, with two newer ciscos,
and having them default to the proprietary protocol, would still conform.

the point of it all was to make it easier on the users . . . .