Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!kinetics.UUCP!minshall
From: minshall@kinetics.UUCP (Greg Minshall)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: hosts and gateways and protocols
Message-ID: <8805201641.AA11833@mtxinu.UUCP>
Date: 20 May 88 15:54:49 GMT
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 31

(I said I listen for RIP packets to find a gateway.  Frank Kastenholz
responded...)

> This assumes that your host can understand that the packet is a RIP
> packet. If my routers use another IGP then the hosts will not know that
> it is an IGP packet so they can not "backtrack" to the source of the
> packet and get a router.

Yes, I understand that.  That's why I would like one protocol which
says "I am a router" that *everyone* uses.  Today, however, there is
no such protocol.  As a practical matter I use RIP (and wouldn't mind
using a few more).

(I said...)
> >I also feel for those souls whose routers occasionally crash, and who would
> >like routes to switch automatically.  I don't believe that just because
> >you need this capability once per day that should exclude it from being
> >automated.

> Unfortunately I must strongly disagree with the last sentence. TCP/IP is
> entering the non-technical world very rapidly. The company that I work
>...
> and more networks. the failure recovery mechanism MUST BE AUTOMATIC. The
> recovery mechanism is required for a very simple reason - money. ...

Sorry.  I was in "poor English" mode.  You and I are in total agreement.
I worded my sentence poorly.

Greg Minshall
Kinetics, Inc.
(415)947-0998			...ucbvax!mtxinu!kinetics!minshall