Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!decwrl!hayes.ims.alaska.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request
From: oberman@rogue.llnl.gov
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: NSFNet Intercontinental ISO Transmission
Message-ID: <14658@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 13 Nov 90 16:10:02 GMT
Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu
Organization: TELECOM Digest
Lines: 62
Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 818, Message 2 of 9


In article <14625@accuvax.nwu.edu>, mukesh@eng.sun.com (Mukesh Kacker)
writes:

>>The prototype OSI (this, I think is a typo - it should be ISO)
> 	       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>implementation is intended to provide wide area connectivity between
>>OSI networks, including networks using the DECNet Phase V protocols.

> This is not a typo. OSI stands for "Open Systems Interconnectioni"
> which is broad suite of protocols for data transmission in computer
> networks following a seven layer model. The other suite of protocols
> normally used on NSFNET/Internet is called the Internet suite or
> commonly as the TCP/IP suite.

OK. I guess I'll have to pick some nits here. OSI is a reference model
for networking, not a protocol suite. It is an ISO standard itself
(ISO 7498), and any set of protocols which fit this reference model is
OSI. It does not imply interoperability or any such useful thing, but
moves in that direction. For example, there are five different
Transport Protocols that are ISO standards and fit in the OSI model,
cleverly called TP0, TP1, TP2, TP3, and TP4. Each serves different
purposes and political requirements. And just wait until you get to
deal with the 50 or so address formats!

Various bodies, governmental and otherwise, are writing "profiles" to
specify just what protocols they will use and how. In the US and UK
there is a "Government OSI Profile" that is mandated for most
government systems.  Unfortunately, UK GOSIP and US GOSIP don't
interoperate directly bacause UK requires a different set of protocols
at the lower levels then the US. There are enough options in the OSI
world that everyone can have a standard network that won't communicate
with anyone else's.
 
> ISO stands for "International Standards Organization" and is the
> standards body under which the OSI suite of protocols is being
> developed. 

Reasonably accurate except that the name of the body is "The
Organization for International Standardization", at least in English.
The name "ISO" was selected because it "looks right" in a lot of
languages without being an actual acronym for the name of the body in
any language, thus avoiding offending either anglophiles or
francophiles.

This is the sort of silliness international bodies have to go through
to keep users happy and why there are five Transport Protocols, of
which only three are likely to ever be implemented and probably only
two really used much. Of course, some country will probably select TP1
and a major computer vendor select TP3 just to be a pain :-).
 
But enough OSI bashing. Given market forces some rational set of
protocols should emerge and they may even work. And OSI does allow a
lot of neat functionallity beyond what the TCP/IP suite allows. Just
don't expect it tomorrow!


R. Kevin Oberman   Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Internet: oberman@icdc.llnl.gov    415) 422-6955

Disclaimer: Don't take this too seriously. I just like to improve my typing
and probably don't really know anything useful about anything.