[ntpwg] Pending NTP WG Last Call on Autokey

[Danny Mayer]

Dave,

The problem that I'm trying to work around is that you put private 
autokey data in a public place. That limits the usability of the 
extension type field. The type/version/opcode encoding should reside 
within the extension and not outside. This is what is creating the 
ghetto not what I am suggesting. Doing whatever you want in a particular 
field requires that you keep it private to the protocol rather than 
public as you have done.

It makes any future extensions difficult if not impossible and that's 
what needs to be addressed.

Danny
David L. Mills wrote:
> Danny,
> 
> Don't fool with the length field. This goes cross puposes with other 
> protocols such as IP and UDP. We are not going to see hundreds or even 
> dozens of extension field types in NTP. What you suggest creates a 
> ghetto for Autokey and does not provide a framework for 
> type/version/opcode encoding. No proposal is complete without that 
> encoding. The solution I proposed is completely adequate for whatever 
> purpose extension fields might be used for; the implied generality is 
> not worth the obscurity and incompatible model it creates.
> 
> Dave
> 
> Danny Mayer wrote:
> 
>> Dave,
>>
>> Absolutely not. We need to do this now before there are too many 
>> implementations in the field. Do it now and get it over with.
>>
>> Danny