Re: [tcpm] Wes's edits on tcp-ao-crypto-02 (was: Re: closing WGLC for TCP-AO)

[Joe Touch <[e-mail]>]

See below.

Gregory Lebovitz wrote:
> Comments line. 
> 
> Joe, there is one in here for you, where we need to align our two docs.
> Pls take a quick look below and let me know what you think.
...
>     7) editorial, section 7.1:
> 
> I think you mean 3.2 of the -crypto doc, and 7.1 of the auth-opt doc, yeah?
>  
>     use of Output_Length included here is not consistent with
>     the way that the main auth-opt draft defines this.
> 
> From auth-opt-10, sect 7.1, it uses "Output" as the MAC result itself.
> Then below that it explains that "output-length" is different than
> "Output", that:
> 
> "the output length, so no separate output length parameter is required.
> This is specified as described in [Le09
> <http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-tcpm-tcp-auth-opt-10#ref-Le09>]. "
> 
> Having said that, I agree that using "Output" is confusing, because in
> auth-opt 7.1, "OUTPUT: MAC" and in tcp-ao-crypto sect 3.2 "Output" is an
> element of the definition of each MAC_alg's usage, specifically
> "Output: The final length of the bits used in the TCP-AO MAC field. This
> value may be a truncation of the MAC function's original output length."
> 
> Proposed resolution (1):
> change auth-opt document, replace "Output" with "Result" in 7.1

auth-opt uses the term "OUTPUT:" to label and describe the outputs of
both the MAC (7.1) and traffic key algorithms (7.2). It's similarly
already used in Fig 1 of ao-crypto.

The term is used consistently throughout auth-opt as far as I can tell.

> another possible resolution (2) is to change -ao-crypto doc, sect 3.2,
> as follows:  s/Output/MAC_Length/

I read ao-crypto, and the current version appears clear, and appears to
use "output" in ways consistent with auth-opt now.

IMO, I'd leave this as it currently stands.

Joe