**Session Date/Time:** 20 Mar 2024 23:30

# bess

## Summary
The BESS working group meeting covered several topics related to EVPN, MVPN, and SRv6 technologies. Discussions included updates on existing drafts, potential new drafts, and adoption calls. Key themes revolved around improving multicast forwarding, optimizing IRB, enhancing security, and ensuring backward compatibility across different network domains.

## Key Discussion Points
*   **Draft Status Updates:** Review of documents in RFC editor queue, ISG review, and documents under shepherd review.
*   **L2 Gateway Protocol:** Discussion on reviving the L2 gateway protocol draft and addressing clarification questions.
*   **Post-stack First Nibble:** Presentation on documenting and deprecating certain uses of the post-stack first nibble in MPLS.  Concerns raised about load balancing implementations and need for mandatory control word.
*   **IP Aliasing in Intercept Net Forwarding:**  Presentation and discussion on improving fast convergence using IP aliasing and its applicability to EVPN layer 3 routes.
*   **Inter-Domain Option B Solution for EVPN:** Presentation on summarizing the impact of inter-domain option B connectivity in EVPN procedures, requesting working group adoption.  Implementation report requested.
*   **Multicast Forwarding for EVPN Gateways:** Addressing the gap in multicast forwarding between EVPN domains via service gateways, requesting working group adoption.
*   **MVPN Source Active Route Advertisement:** Proposal to allow any PE learning a source to advertise source active routes, improving reliability.
*   **RFC 6514 Bis:** Discussion on consolidating and updating RFC 6514 for MVPN, addressing protocol issues and desired enhancements.
*   **EVPN First Hop Security:** Update on the draft to enhance security features in EVPN deployments and requesting working group adoption.
*   **EVPN Centralized Gateway:** Discussion about architecture and operations for EVPN centralized gateway, with questions on its relation to existing asymmetric IRB specifications.
*   **BGP Enabled Service for SRv6:**  Proposal to add encryption support for specific flows in SRv6 networks. New tunnel type required.
*   **VXLAN Group Policy ID:** Merger of data plane and control plane drafts for VXLAN group policy, and questions on the location of the work within the IETF (BESS vs. NVO3).
*   **Optimized IRB:** Proposal to reduce local host map size with optimized IRB for intersubnet traffic forwarding.

## Decisions and Action Items
*   **L2 Gateway Protocol:** Authors to address clarification questions and work towards progressing the draft.
*   **Post-stack First Nibble:**  Authors to review RFC 7432 and discuss mandatory control word usage on the mailing list, including MPLS Working Group.
*   **Inter-Domain Option B Solution for EVPN:** Authors to include an implementation report with the draft.
*   **Multicast Forwarding for EVPN Gateways & EVPN First Hop Security:** Requested adoption call for both documents.
*   **RFC 6514 Bis:** Discuss outstanding protocol issues and proposed solutions. Decide whether to pursue a bis draft.
*   **VXLAN Group Policy ID:**  Chairs to consult with AD and authors to discuss best path forward for this document (BESS vs. NVO3), also discussing whether it will be Standards Track or Informational.

## Next Steps
*   Continue discussions on mailing lists for specific drafts.
*   Address action items and provide updates.
*   Prepare for potential working group last calls and adoption calls.