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rfc:rfc890

Network Working Group Jon Postel Request for Comments: 890 ISI

                                                         February 1984
         Exterior Gateway Protocol Implementation Schedule

Status of this Memo

 This memo is a policy statement on the implementation of the Exterior
 Gateway Protocol in the Internet.  This is an official policy
 statement of ICCB and DARPA.

The Current Situation

 Currently the Internet has a number of smart gateways and a number of
 dumb gateways.  The smart gateways dynamically exchange routing
 information among themselves using the Gateway Gateway
 Protocol (GGP) [3].  The dumb gateways do not exchange routing
 information dynamically.
 The dumb gateways must be listed in the smart gateway routing tables,
 and changes in dumb gateways status (e.g., adding new dumb gateways)
 in the smart gateways tables requires human intervention.
 The amount of routing traffic between smart gateways depends on the
 number of smart gateways and the total number of networks.  Since
 dumb gateways typically connect a single network at the edge of the
 Internet, there is typically one more network in the routing table
 for each dumb gateway.
 Gateways that connect a single network to the edge of the Internet
 may be called "stub" gateways.
 The current GGP procedures used by the smart gateways are at the
 limits of their capacity.  A significant change to these procedures
 is urgently required.  This is difficult to perform because the smart
 gateways are maintained by several different groups, and because it
 is difficult to isolate a subset of these gateways for testing new
 procedures.

The Future Situation

 In the future, as it is currently envisioned, there will be a number
 of co-equal autonomous systems of gateways.  Each as will have its
 own private internal procedures for maintaining routing information,
 perhaps via an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP).  The smartness of a
 gateway will be the smartness of the IGP used in the autonomous
 system the gateway participates in.  Some gateways of each autonomous
 system will exchange routing informations with some gateways of other
 autonomous systems via an Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP) [2].

Postel [Page 1]

RFC 890 February 1984 EGP Implementation Schedule

 The factoring of the old set of smart gateways into a number of
 autonomous systems allows more flexibility for the development and
 testing of improved routing procedures.  Different autonomous systems
 can adopt different routing procedures internally, as long as they
 communicate with other autonomous systems via the EGP.

The Transition Situation

 The first step in the transition from the current situation to the
 future situation is the replacement of all dumb gateways with
 gateways that implement at least a subset of the EGP.
    This subset is called the "Stub Exterior Gateway Protocol", and is
    described in RFC-888 [1].
 The second step is to factor the existing smart gateways into
 autonomous systems.  The gateways programmed and maintained by
 different groups will become distinct autonomous systems.  As things
 are, this will result in one fairly large autonomous system and three
 or four small autonomous systems.  At this step the large autonomous
 system will be referred to as the "core" autonomous system.  All
 other autonomous systems will be stubs attached to this core via EGP.
 The third step is to specify the full EGP protocol, and to allow a
 rich connectivity between co-equal autonomous systems.

Policy Statement

 After 1-Aug-84 there shall be no dumb gateways in the Internet.
 Every gateway must be a member of some autonomous system.  Some
 gateway of each autonomous system must exchange routing information
 with some gateway of the core autonomous system using the Exterior
 Gateway Protocol.

Implication

 If you have a dumb gateway now, you should start doing something
 today to get it upgraded to, or replaced by, an EGP gateway.

Help Available

 There may be a gateway you can use already developed by someone.
 People at the following places are working on EGP gateways:  BBN,
 MIT, Linkabit, ISI, Honeywell, and Symbolics.  For more information
 send a message to Joyce Reynolds at mailbox "JKReynolds@USC-ISIF".
 There are plans to provide EGP functionality in Berkeley 4.2 Unix.

Postel [Page 2]

RFC 890 February 1984 EGP Implementation Schedule

 Berkeley has indicated an intention to have EGP capability available
 in the standard release of 4.2 Unix before the cut off date for dumb
 gateways.
 The is a mailing list for EGP implementers called "egp-people".  To
 get on or off this list send a message to the mailbox
 "egp-people-request@BBN-UNIX".
 There is a EGP testing program available on TOPS20.  For information
 about using it send a message to Jim Mathis at mailbox
 "Mathis@SRI-KL".
 If you need an autonomous system number send a request to Joyce
 Reynolds at mailbox "JKReynolds@USC-ISIF".

References

 [1]  Seamonson, L., and E. Rosen, "Stub Exterior Gateway Protocol",
      RFC-888, BBN Communications Company, January 1984.
 [2]  Rosen, E., "Exterior Gateway Protocol", RFC-827, Bolt Beranek
      and Newman, October 1982.
 [3]  Hinden, R., and A. Sheltzer, "The DARPA Internet Gateway",
      RFC-823, Bolt Beranek and Newman, September 1982.

Postel [Page 3]

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