[rrg] Where IRON fits in

["Templin, Fred L" <[e-mail]>]

Good to see some activity on this list - I think?

A couple of posts have mentioned IRON, and that work did indeed
originate from this group. However, I have come to the realization
that IRON is really an interior routing solution and not an
Internetworking solution.

In particular, IRON does not use tunneling between the routers
of separate sites across the DFZ the way LISP does; it only uses
tunneling *within* a site, even if that "site" is distributed
across the global Internet.

Where IRON adds value is that it manages mobility and multi-homing
within the site without exposing de-aggregated prefixes to BGP.
The IRON relays can therefore advertise only a few short prefixes
into the BGP instead of lots of long prefixes.

I therefore think IRON is complimentary to either of LISP or ILNP.
It's just that IRON does well for "sites" that are geographically
distributed and/or have lots of mobility internally.

Thanks - Fred
[e-mail]