Session Date/Time: 06 Nov 2023 10:30

EDM Meeting Minutes

Summary

The EDM (Evolvability, Deployability, and Maintainability) program meeting focused on discussing the "Protocol Greasing" draft document authored by Lucas. The discussion centered around refining the document's scope, incorporating reviewer feedback, and addressing broader considerations like interop testing and long-term protocol viability. Dave volunteered to co-author the document. The group intends to formally adopt the document on the IAB stream and solicit community feedback before the next IETF meeting.

Key Discussion Points

Purpose of Greasing: The document aims to bridge the gap between existing documents on topics like TLS greasing and more general interop issues, providing concrete recommendations for protocol designers regarding code point allocation and handling unexpected protocol behavior.
Scope of the Document: The conversation explored whether the document should focus solely on preventing crashes or have a broader scope that encompasses detecting, logging, and potentially providing feedback on the absence of greasing. This led to a discussion about extensibility mechanisms.
Interop Testing: The importance of interop testing was highlighted. The discussion included ensuring reviewers ask concrete questions about test coverage and the document defines behaviors for when protocol grammars or ordering expectations are violated. The cost and difficulty of writing test suites was acknowledged.
Reviewer Guidance: The idea of including guidance for reviewers in the document, prompting them to ask specific questions about interop considerations during protocol reviews, was well-received.
API Definition: The role of API design in facilitating interop testing was discussed. The IETF's limited scope in defining language-specific APIs was acknowledged.
Greasing Feedback Loop: Dave proposed adding text about whether the receiver should detect, log, or provide feedback on the lack of greasing. This triggered discussion about cases where such feedback might be inappropriate, such as protocols with intermediaries that might drop extensions.
Code Point Allocation: The discussion centered around whether or not reserved code points for greasing are necessary. It also discussed if reserving some code points is better than allocating a whole range to greasing.
Integration with Network-Based Measurements: The potential for greasing to interfere with network-based measurements was raised, suggesting the need to consider how network visibility might be maintained.
Sustainability: The potential connections between EDM and the new sustainability program (e impacts) was raised.

Decisions and Action Items

Dave will become a co-author of the "Protocol Greasing" draft.
The group will revise the document based on the feedback received.
The revised document will be formally adopted by the IAB.
A community feedback period will be initiated before the next IETF meeting.
Dave and Lucas to send updates and PRs to the list to facilitate discussion.

Next Steps

Dave and Lucas will collaborate on revising the "Protocol Greasing" draft to incorporate the discussed feedback and additions.
The revised draft will be submitted for IAB adoption.
A community feedback period will be announced after IAB adoption.