Subject: [IPFIX] RFC 5101bis: On Interoperability Testing

From: Brian Trammell <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2012 13:37:08 +0200

Greetings, all,

The largest remaining open issue in RFC5101bis is that of interoperability. As per the presentation in Paris, the following things have never been successfully interop tested:

1. Template withdrawal and ID reuse (section 8.1)
2. Template stream separation in SCTP (section 8.3)
3. Template expiration in UDP (section 8.4)
4. Multiple-stream export in SCTP (section 10.2.6)
5. DTLS over SCTP and UDP (section 11.1)

Of these, 1 requires a resolution to the discussion on simplified template management, and 5 requires a resolution to the discussion on MTI transport protocols. 2-4 are stable features with no change or clarification in 5101bis, and could be in theory tested immediately by any compliant implementation.

As I expect the limiting factor on the publication of 5101bis and the advancement of the protocol is the successful interoperability testing of these features (along with the basic operation of the protocol), IMO it makes sense to begin planning interop testing ASAP. We need to discuss location and timeframe, but more important is:

1. who has an implementation of an IPFIX EP and/or CP ready for test, and is willing to participate in interoperability testing?

2. of the five missing features listed above, who has a working implementation of them (subject, of course, to the other noted discussions...)?

Once we have an idea of who and what, we can start talking when and where, I think.

Best regards,

Brian