Subject: SIG meeting minutes

From: "Ralph Case" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 96 11:21:19 EDT

MINUTES OF ARCHITECTURE REFERENCE SIG AT AIW11
 ______________________________________________

 This SIG discusses clarifications, fixes, and minor enhancements to the APPN
 architecture.  The focus is on improving the quality and interoperability of
 APPN Implementations.

 I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the discussions at the SIG
 meeting, and especially those who took the time to prepare presentations or
 lead discussions:

     Candy Elder
     Matthew Finlayson
     Ed Tremblay

 If we've missed something from the meeting, or if you have additional
 questions or comments, please post them here or send them directly to us.

 ARCHITECTURE UPDATES AND DISCUSSIONS
 ____________________________________

 This is a brief record of the discussions.  See the various mail logs for
 additional discussion on many of the topics.

 PREREQUISITES FOR SESSION SERVICES EXTENSIONS NNS SUPPORT OPTION SET

 Option set 1060 (Prerequisites for SSE) is split to show those functions
 required for SSE NNS, and EBN.

 The proposal is documented in "arch8357.psbin".  Approval of this item was
 requested at the meeting, but it was felt that a better understanding of the
 SSE functions was needed before the function split was approved.  These
 functions were reviewed at the Border Node SIG and there was agreement that
 this item be APPROVED.

 END NODE TG VECTOR REGISTRATION OPTION SET

 This is a new option set that is also a prerequisite for SSE NNS and EBN.

 The proposal is documented in "arch8356.psbin".  Approval of this item was
 requested at the meeting, but it was felt that a better understanding of the
 SSE functions was needed before the function split was approved.  This
 function was reviewed at the Border Node SIG and there was agreement that
 this item be APPROVED, although there was some concern that it might not
 really be a required function for border node capability.

 PCID MODIFIER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND FIX

 The PCID Modifier function was described, and clarifications to the APPN
 Architecture were reviewed.

 This function is documented in "arch8380.psbin" and "arc8380a.psbin".  This
 is a CLARIFICATION.

 UPDATE DLUR BIND ADAPTIVE PACING PROCESSING

 A change was proposed to make the DLUR boundary function match the NCP
 boundary function more closely.

 The proposal is documented in "abs8385.txt" and "arch8385d.psbin".  This item
 is now APPROVED.

 UPDATE DLUR BIND PROCESSING TO UNEXTEND AN EXTENDED BIND

 A change was proposed to fix DLUR processing to match NCP.

 The proposal is documented in "abs8393.txt" and "arch8385d.psbin".  This item
 is now APPROVED.

 UPDATE DLUR BIND PROCESSING OF CV X'0C' ON +RSP(ACTLU)

 A change was proposed to make the DLUR boundary function match the NCP
 boundary function more closely.

 The proposal is documented in "abs8394.txt" and "arch8385d.psbin".  This item
 is now APPROVED.

 REQDISCONT DEFINITE RESPONSE

 Investigation of this issue from the mail exploder continues.  It looks like
 there is a definite response from VTAM/NCP, but testing is underway to get
 traces to confirm.  This may be a change to the DLUR architecture in the
 future.

 PARALLEL TGS AND CP-CP SESSIONS RE-ESTABLISHMENT

 Matthew Finlayson (DCL) presented a problem they had seen and led a
 discussion of possible solutions.  The problem was presented on the mail
 exploder.  There was agreement that the solution should be based on the
 function described in "Topology Awareness of CP-CP Sessions." A concern was
 raised that when a node receives a BIND for a CP-CP session on a NN-NN link,
 it must either send a BIND for a CP-CP session in the opposite direction or
 reject the incoming BIND.  At the meeting, it was stated that we didn't think
 the architecture actually specifies this today, but this function is included
 in "Topology Awareness of CP-CP Sessions." See "arch7844.psbin" section
 5.3.4.2 - Network Node Rules for Establishing CP-CP Sessions.

 There was a concern that this solution may be too expensive to deploy if most
 NN implementations have not yet stepped up to the "Topology awareness of
 CP-CP sessions" function.  AIW members are requested to post here whether
 this is a problem for their implementations or not.

 Other alternatives discussed were:

 CONTROL FLOWS OVER RTP:  This solves the problem, but requires a lot of new
 function.  The SIG was interested in solving this problem easily for non-HPR
 nodes.

 SET THE DLC LINK IDLE TIMER LOWER:  The issue of link timers is a much larger
 discussion and doesn't completely solve the problem since it can only make
 the window smaller but not eliminate it.

 ACCEPT A SECOND BIND FOR CP-CP SESSIONS:  The existing sessions must be
 brought down and new ones established.  There was also a suggestion that the
 node receiving the second BIND create traffic (ping) on the existing sessions
 to verify that the old sessions are down first.  This was rejected due to
 concerns over session thrashing and managability.

 APPN "HELLO":  Add a new control flow between network nodes to ensure that
 session failures are detected quickly.  This was rejected as too complex,
 adding more network control traffic, and not solving the problem - it only
 shortens the window.

 PU, LU, AND NETWORK NAMES IN ACTLU AND ACTPU

 There was no further discussion of this item.  IBM owes a statement about
 what makes most sense for VTAM/NCP.

 DOCUMENTS
 _________

 I mentioned an intent to move toward softcopy only documents.  There was a
 concern that not all people can read all types of softcopy documents.  In
 particular, there is no IBM Bookreader for Sun.  Before any changes to the
 publication options are made, they will be reviewed at the AIW.

 All references to the "architecture repository" in these minutes refer to the
 appropriate directory on the networking.raleigh.ibm.com host.  Files are
 available via anonymous FTP.  Most files were also included in the binder for
 easy reference at the meeting.

 I will update the "architem" file to reflect these new status changes to the
 architecture items.

     Ralph Case
     AIW APPN Reference SIG chair
     IBM Networking
     "[email-masked]"
     (919)254-1882