Re: Last Call: 'Unused DHCP Option Codes' to an Informational RFC

["C. M. Heard" <heard@pobox.com>]

On Tue, 8 Jul 2003, The IESG wrote:
> The IESG has received a request from the Dynamic Host
> Configuration WG to consider 'Unused DHCP Option Codes'
> <draft-ietf-dhc-unused-optioncodes-04.txt> as an Informational
> RFC.
> 
> The IESG plans to make a decision in the next few weeks, and
> solicits final comments on this action.  Please send any
> comments to the iesg@ietf.org or ietf@ietf.org mailing lists by
> 2003-07-22.

1.) Major issue:  the intended IANA action with respect to the
options listed in Sections 3 and 4 should to be clarified.

On a first reading of the document, it _appeared_ that the document
was asking that the options in Sections 3 and 4 were to be returned
to IANA.  After a second reading, I've come to understand that was a
misinterpretation; still, it would be best to spell this out.  Here
is what I found confusing:

(a) the title of the document is "Unused DHCP Option Codes"

(b) the Abstract and Introduction both state that the document lists
unused option codes

(c) the IANA Considerations section says:

   When this document has been published as an Informational RFC, IANA
   will be requested to return the unused DHCP option codes to the list
   of available option codes.  These option codes may be reassigned to
   new DHCP options, according to the procedures in RFC 2939 [6].

It was not clear on a first reading that the above instructions
apply only to the option codes listed in Section 2.

Proposed remedy:

- reword the IANA Considerations section as follows:

   When this document has been published as an Informational RFC, IANA
   will be requested to return the unused DHCP option codes listed in
                                                            ^^^^^^^^^
   Section 2 to the list of available option codes.  These option codes
   ^^^^^^^^^
   may be reassigned to new DHCP options, according to the procedures
   in RFC 2939 [6].

- consider making Sections 3 and 4 subsections of a section entitled
"DHCP Option Codes that are the Subject of Work in Progress" or
something along those lines.  The lead-in text of the section might
say this:

   The option codes listed in this section are the subject of ongoing
   work in the dhc WG.  These option codes should remain on the IANA
   assigned option codes list [1] until the dhc WG has made a final
   determination as to their disposition.

Also, in the present Section 4, remove the lines

   Reason to recover: Never published as standard; note that these
      option codes are mentioned in "Extending DHCP Options Codes" [3].

since these options aren't being recovered at this time.

Another option would be to remove Sections 3 and 4 entirely, as they
tend to distract from the purpose of the document as stated in the
Title, Abstract, and Introduction.  (That would remove references
[2] and [3] and make the next comment moot.)


2.) Minor issue:  reference [3], viz.,

   [3]  Volz, B., Droms, R. and T. Lemon, "Extending DHCP Options
        Codes", draft-volz-dhc-extended-optioncodes-00.txt (work in
        progress), September 2000.

is listed as a normative reference.  That means that publication of
<draft-ietf-dhc-unused-optioncodes-04>, and the consequent IANA
action of recovering the unused option codes, would be held up until
[3] is published, too.  But Section 4 (which discusses the option
codes in [3]) says:

   If these option codes are not used for DHCP option code
   extension, they will be returned to IANA for reassignment
   to other DHCP options.

My reading is that the option codes discussed in [3] are to
be dealt with in the future.  So this is really an informative
reference, and should be listed as such.  (I think that the same
logic applies to [2], but that one at least will not hold up
publication.)

Note also that the correct date for [3] is Februrary 2003.


Regards,

Mike Heard