Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!VAX.FTP.COM!jbvb
From: jbvb@VAX.FTP.COM (James Van Bokkelen)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re: Default routes in PC/TCP
Message-ID: <9002162140.AA28677@vax.ftp.com>
Date: 16 Feb 90 21:40:01 GMT
References: <9002161957.AA21926@alw.nih.gov>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
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We weren't arguing about it on the panel, but there had been various
opinions expressed during the e-mail discussion which actually put the
RFC together.  At one point, RIP eavesdropping was a SHOULD NOT, but
an early effort at a gateway discovery/dead gateway detection protocol
definition stalled, and those who wanted it to be a MAY made some
headway.  The actual text of RFC 1122 mentions it, as "...commonly
used, but not recommended".

We ship a BOOTP client for DOS, and we provide the CMU freeware BOOTP
server for 4bsd Unix on one of our freeware diskettes.  The way it would
be useful is to change the default in the BOOTP server when a gateway
is scheduled for maintenance, or the configuration changes.  It doesn't
help with transient failures.

What we plan to do with multiple default routers is more or less as
RFC 1122 outlines: fail-over on advice from other protocols (pp 52,53).

James B. VanBokkelen		26 Princess St., Wakefield, MA  01880
FTP Software Inc.		voice: (617) 246-0900  fax: (617) 246-0901