X3S3.3/90-87R 20 April, 1990 ACCREDITED STANDARDS COMMITTEE X3 - INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS Proposed Standards Development Project for USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL (UDP) SECRETARIAT: Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (CBEMA) Page 2 1 IDENTIFICATION OF PROPOSED PROJECT 1.1 Title: USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL 1.2 Proposer: Task Group X3S3.3 (Network and Transport Layers) A. Lyman Chapin, Chairman Data General Corporation 4400 Computer Drive Westborough, MA 01580 (508) 870-6056 1.3 Date Submitted: 20 April, 1990 Page 3 2 JUSTIFICATION OF PROPOSED STANDARD The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is one of the set of internet protocols commonly referred to as the "TCP/IP Protocol Suite". It is a connectionless Transport protocol that operates in conjunction with the Internet Protocol. It protects data integrity by means of a checksum, but does not provide mechanisms to guarantee that data units will not be lost, duplicated, or delivered out of sequence. 2.1 Needs The need for an American National Standard for UDP is based on the widespread market penetration and growing commercial importance of computer systems that use UDP for host-to-host communication. Users and vendors would benefit greatly from a consolidated speci- fication of UDP, drawn from the existing Internet Request for Comments (RFC) documentation, which could be used to evaluate the conformance of products that implement it and to place UDP in a formal context in which its relationship to other standard proto- cols may be clearly established. 2.2 Recommended Scope of Standard The proposed standard will specify UDP as it is currently under- stood within the Internet engineering community. The scope of the proposed standards development project does not include the speci- fication of any function or feature that has not been accepted within the community that is currently implementing, deploying, and using UDP. 2.3 Existing Practice in Area of Proposed Standard The proposed standard will formalize accepted existing practice, based on existing documentation, in which UDP is used as a connec- tionless transport protocol in conjunction with the Internet Protocol (IP) and other protocols that are generally referred to as the "TCP/IP protocol suite". Page 4 2.4 Expected Stability of Proposed Standard Technological advance in the area of end-to-end transport protocols has been, and is expected to continue to be, very rapid. However, the architecture of UDP and the closely-related Internet Protocol is well understood and stable. New architectures for end-to-end communications are likely to generate entirely new sets of standards, rather than destabilize the standard for UDP. 3 DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROJECT 3.1 Type of Document The proposed development project will produce an American National Standard for User Datagram Protocol. 3.2 Definitions of Concepts and Special Terms 3.3 Expected Relationship with Approved X3 Reference Models The proposed standard will define a protocol that supports the connectionless end-to-end functions and capabilities associated with the Transport layer of the Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model (ISO 7498) architecture. It will not, however, define an "OSI Transport Layer Protocol". 3.4 Recommended Program of Work The program of work will consist of the preparation, from existing documentation concerning UDP, of a document that captures all of the currently accepted UDP practice, in a form that is as close to the existing internet documentation as the rules for the presenta- tion of American National Standards permit. 3.5 Resources Page 5 The resources of Task Group X3S3.3, Network and Transport Layers, are expected to be available to carry out the program of work. X3S3.3 has 26 voting members, representing a broad spectrum of users and suppliers of computer and communications equipment and services. The resources of the Internet Activities Board, which administers the internet standards that apply to the operation of the internet, and of the Internet Engineering Task Force, which is responsible for the technical specification of UDP (and the other internet protocols), are also expected to be available. 3.6 Recommended X3 Development Technical Committee It is recommended that the proposed project, if approved, be assigned to Task Group X3S3.3, Network and Transport Layers, of X3 Technical Committee X3S3, Data Communications. The proposed project is closely related, both technically and administratively, to project 462, which has previously been assigned to X3S3.3. 3.7 Anticipated Frequency and Duration of Meetings If the proposed project is pursued by task group X3S3.3, as recom- mended above, it is anticipated that the equivalent of one hour during each of the task group's 6 five-day meetings each year will be devoted to work on the project. 3.8 Target Date for dpANS to X3 A draft proposal for an American National Standard Transmission Control Protocol could be conveyed to X3 by October 1, 1990. 3.9 Estimated Useful Life of Standard The useful life of the proposed standard coincides with the useful life of the set of internet standards that comprise the "TCP/IP protocol suite". This lifetime is expected to be very long, spanning at least several decades. Page 6 4 IMPLEMENTATION IMPACTS 4.1 Impact on Existing User Practices and Investments The proposed standard will formalize existing user practice in the area without modification. The impact of the proposed standard will therefore be limited to the salutary regularization of the documentation and points of reference for UDP. 4.2 Impact on Supplier Products and Support As above; with the additional benefit that suppliers of products that implement or use IDP will be able to focus their evaluation of UDP standard compliance requirements on a single reference point. 4.3 Techniques and Costs for Compliance Verification Verification of compliance with the proposed standard will require the development of test purposes and test suites in accordance with ISO 9646, "OSI Conformance Testing Methodology and Framework". The cost of conformance testing is expected to be similar to the costs associated with OSI connectionless Transport protocol conformance testing. 4.4 Legal Considerations No special legal issues are raised by the proposed project, which covers material that is non-proprietary and freely distributed. 5 CLOSELY RELATED STANDARDS ACTIVITIES 5.1 Existing Standards The proposed project will formalize the existing internet standard for UDP, for which the basic references are RFCs 768 and 1122. Page 7 5.2 X3 Standards Development Projects The proposed project is closely related to the work on the OSI connectionless Transport protocol under X3 project 462. 5.3 X3/SPARC Study Groups The proposed project has no relationship to any existing X3/SPARC Study Group. 5.4 Other Related Domestic Standards Efforts The internet standards effort pursued by the Internet Engineering Task Force and its parent organization, the Internet Activities Board, is and will continue to be the source of technical input to the process of developing an American National Standard for UDP. 5.5 ISO Standards Development Projects There is no related ISO standards development project, and it is not anticipated that the proposed project will result in the initiation of any new work in ISO. 5.6 Other Related International Standards Development Projects As above. 5.7 Recommendations for Coordinating Liaison None. 5.8 Recommendations for Close Liaison Close liaison, in the form of joint development work and/or joint meetings, with the Internet Activities Board and the Internet Engineering Task Force (and/or its appropriate working groups) will be essential.