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From: POSTEL@USC-ISIB.ARPA
Newsgroups: mod.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: re: port collisions
Message-ID: <8605150350.AA29649@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Wed, 14-May-86 18:05:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8605150350.AA29649
Posted: Wed May 14 18:05:06 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 16-May-86 03:52:02 EDT
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Organization: The ARPA Internet
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Approved: tcp-ip@sri-nic.arpa



Hi.

The number czar is primarily interested in having the protocols
assigned ports from the reserved space (numbers 0 through 255) be
documented and public.  It does not really matter much if the protocol
is developed for academic internet research or practical commercial
use.  It does matter that there be some good reason for the protocol
and that there be some evidience that some work was actually done on
the protocol.  The number czar dislikes assigning numbers on
speculation (that is, tends to turn down requests of the form "I might
write some protocols, give me a bunch of port numbers").  There are
already a few assignments for essentially private protocols (some that
would not be made today), but in most of these recent cases the
developer was able to send the czar some description of the protocol.

One of the great things about the Internet is that is an "open
system", and what that means is that the protocols are public.  Over
and over the czar has seen people develop some little hack protocol
for their own private use that turns out to be a neat thing and other
people want to use it too but it is not documented.

If there really is a need for a set of port numbers to be assigned to
individuals or companies for private use, the number czar is perfectly
happy to do the work of keeping track of who owns which numbers and
giving the next available number to the next requestor.  If this is a
thing we want to do what part of the port number space should be
allocated to this?  How many numbers should be set aside for this type
of assignment?  What is the impact on existing programs and systems?
Is anyone using the numbers that will suddenly be off limits by this
this reservation of part of the port number space?

Or if the other suggestion is followed (to have a port assigned for a
multiplexing service based on a character string argument), the number
czar is happy to keep the list of unique (initial) strings and who is
the contact person.

--jon.
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