[ih] NIC, InterNIC, and Modelling Administration

[Miles Fidelman]

John Day wrote:
> At 8:35 -0500 2011/02/18, Miles Fidelman wrote:
>> John Day wrote:
>>> At 7:14 -0500 2011/02/18, Miles Fidelman wrote:
>>>> You've said that before.  Can you elaborate with some examples of 
>>>> where ISO has simply codified existing practice?
>> Screw threads, highway signs, paper size, HDLC, Transport Layer, 
>> Session Layer, Network Layer
>>
>> I was all set to buy "screw threads" - until I read the Wikipedia 
>> article on
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw_thread#History_of_standardization
>>
>> Re. Transport, Session, Network layer: how can you say that with a 
>> straight face, after all the recent discussion here?  (I don't see an 
>> ISO number stamped on TCP/IP.)
>
> I figured you would take the bait.  ;-)
>
> TP4 was INWG 96 which was CYCLADES TS which had been operational since 
> 1972.
>
> Network:  X.25 was an ISO standard that had been in use since 1976.
>
> Session:  Was lifted (for better or worse, mostly worse) from SGVIII 
> Videotex standards that were built and operating in France.

Ahhh.... the pick one from column A, pick one from column B, and see if 
they fit together approach.  Which also neglects TP0-3, and as I recall 
ISO-IP (excuse me, CLNP) was crammed in as an afterthought.
>
> No there is no ISO number stamped on TCP.  That decision was worked 
> out in an open process in IFIP WG6.1 prior to start of OSI, which 
> chose a modified CYCLADES TS.
Again, a political, top-down process - rather than one based on moving 
something from experimental->recommended->mandatory status.
>
> As long as we are on the topic, all of the IEEE 802 standards are also 
> ISO standards.  Ethernet was in use for close to 10 years before it 
> was an ISO standard.
Because IEEE is the protocol standards agent for ANSI which is the US 
representative to ISO (if I have the terminology correct).  IEEE 802 is 
a pretty good example of starting with competing products, and then 
creating a standard that forces every vendor to modify their stuff just 
ever so slightly.

Miles


-- 
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In<fnord>  practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra