Re: [Tzdist] WG Review: Time Zone Data Distribution Service (tzdist)

["Cristian F. Perez Monte" <[e-mail]>]

Hi all,
I suggest a new simple network protocol for timezone data distribution
without http for use in thin devices and IoT.
Best Regards
Cristian

On Fri, Jul 18, 2014 at 9:21 AM, The IESG <[e-mail]> wrote:

> A new IETF working group has been proposed in the Applications Area. The
> IESG has not made any determination yet. The following draft charter was
> submitted, and is provided for informational purposes only. Please send
> your comments to the IESG mailing list (iesg at ietf.org) by 2014-07-28.
>
> Time Zone Data Distribution Service (tzdist)
> ------------------------------------------------
> Current Status: Proposed WG
>
> Assigned Area Director:
>   Barry Leiba <[e-mail]>
>
> Mailing list
>   Address: [e-mail]
>   To Subscribe: https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/tzdist
>   Archive: http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/tzdist/
>
> Charter:
>
> Time Zone Data Distribution Service (tzdist)
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> A time zone is a region that has a uniform local time for legal,
> commercial, and social purposes, with some regions using daylight saving
> time (DST) rules for part of the year. A local time is defined as a
> standard offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and a set of DST
> rules.  Time zone data represents the history, current, and future local
> time rules for these regions, together with an associated time zone
> identifier.
>
> Time zone data is a critical element of computer systems and devices that
> make use of local time. In particular, it is critical to any calendaring
> and scheduling system, such as iCalendar (RFC 5545). Daylight saving
> time rules, which affect local UTC offsets, can change - sometimes at
> very short notice (just a few days) - as those rules are typically
> defined by political processes.  Currently, there is no efficient, fast
> way to ensure that time zone data is updated in a timely and reliable
> manner on devices that need it.  Time zone changes are often delivered as
> operating system updates, and are thus tied to release schedules that
> can trail the actual time zone changes by a significant period of time. A
> service is needed that can provide timely, reliable updates.
>
> One added benefit of such a service for iCalendar is the ability for
> calendaring clients and servers to agree on common, standard definitions
> of time zone data, removing the need to pass time zone data directly "by
> value" in iCalendar data. By allowing clients and servers to use
> time zones "by reference" significant network bandwidth and storage
> savings can be achieved.
>
> This working group will:
>
> - Define a time zone data distribution protocol that allows for
> efficient, timely updates of time zone data to be delivered to clients.
> This protocol must scale to vast numbers of clients, such as the
> potential "internet of things" devices, as well as to today's desktop
> computers and servers.
>
> - Define an extension to CalDAV (RFC 4791) to allow clients and servers
> to use time zones "by reference" to improve the efficiency of the overall
> protocol.
>
> The working group will use the following drafts as initial input for its
> work:
> draft-douglass-timezone-service-11
> draft-daboo-caldav-timezone-ref-01
>
> The working group will work under the following parameters:
>
> - The time zone data distribution protocol will initially be targeted at
> iCalendar-based clients, but should be flexible enough to deliver
> time zone data in other formats.
>
> - The time zone data will be based on the Time Zone Database
> (http://www.iana.org/time-zones) but must be able to include any source
> of time zone data.
>
> - The time zone data distribution protocol should also offer an API to
> allow thin clients to easily make use of time zone data by querying for
> UTC offsets, offloading the sometimes complex work of expanding
> recurrence rules to the service. This API should be extensible to
> support other types of time zone operations in the future.
>
> - The time zone data distribution protocol will use current security
> protocols to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the data as
> it is distributed, and may also address these issues with respect
> to retrieval of data from its original source (such as the Time Zone
> Database). Even public time zone data can represent a significant
> privacy exposure when it is associated with the user or endpoint
> that is retrieving it.
>
> The following are Out of scope for the working group:
>
> - Any changes to the Time Zone Database process or infrastructure,
> as documented in RFC 6557. However, the WG may work with IANA
> in order to make integrity checking information, such as public keys,
> readily accessible for protocol use.
>
> - The naming process for time zone identifiers.  The working group can
> consider adding a mechanism, such as a "namespace" prefix, to
> differentiate different time zone sources, but the nature of the time
> zone
> identifiers used will be controlled by the sources themselves.
>
> - Lookup protocols or APIs to map a location to a time zone.
>
> Milestones:
>
> TBD
>
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