mops

Summary

The Media Operations (MOPS) working group meeting covered updates on working group documents, an overview of the Media over Quick (MoQ) working group, an analysis of Real-Time Communication (RTC) application protocol usage, and the operational impacts of network overlays on media platforms. The meeting concluded with a discussion about adopting a draft outlining these impacts within the MOPS working group.

Key Discussion Points

Working Group Document Updates: Updates were provided on the status of the extended reality application use case document and the Treatian document, both progressing through the RFC Editor and IESG queues respectively.
MoQ Update (Alan Frindell, Meta):
- MoQ aims to unify low-latency video conferencing and high-scalability live streaming using Quick and WebTransport.
- Key components include Media Over Quick Transport (pub-sub), low overhead container format, and a catalog for manifest-like functionality.
- Design decisions include an object model (tracks, groups, objects), relay architecture, and transport mapping flexibility (streams vs. datagrams).
- Prioritization mechanisms involve subscriber and publisher input, inter-track and intra-track (fidelity vs. freshness) priorities.
- Multiple implementations are in development, with interoperability events planned.
Analysis of RTC Application Protocol Usage (Wu, Penn, Peking, Zau):
- RTC applications often deviate from RFC standards, using proprietary extensions and multiplexing protocols.
- FaceTime, Discord, Zoom, Messenger, and WhatsApp were analyzed on iOS.
- Key findings include protocol multiplexing in a single UDP session (Quick, RTP, STUN), proprietary RTP header extensions, filler packets (Zoom), and custom STUN implementations.
- Messenger was found to be closest to RFC standards.
- The lack of standards compliance hinders code sharing, monitoring, and research.
Operational Impacts of Network Overlays (Glenn Deen, Comcast):
- Network curabilizations (e.g., Apple Private Relay) modify network policies (DNS, routing) and affect CDN cache selection, geolocation, and authentication.
- Changes in routing paths introduce latency, conflicting with the demand for low-latency live sports streaming.
- Applications often lack transparency regarding the network policies applied by overlays.
- Potential mitigation strategies include best practices guides, studies on the operational impact of privacy enhancements, and collaboration with other working groups.
- HTTP vs. HTTPS routing differences were discussed, with emphasis on the potential for unexpected behavior due to Private Relay applying only to HTTP in some cases.
- The importance of both platform and network overlay implementers to follow standards for media transport and peering was discussed.

Decisions and Action Items

MOPS Working Group Adoption: The MOPS working group agreed, via a show of hands, to adopt the draft on unexpected consequences of network overlays as a work item to flush out the list of consequences.

Next Steps

Glenn Deen will continue working on the "Unexpected Consequences of Network Overlays" draft, incorporating feedback from the MOPS working group and potential co-authors.
Explore further collaboration with other relevant IETF working groups to address the challenges posed by network overlays.