This idea has been used in ethernet backplanes (as well as cell based) in switches/routers. The term is frequenty referred to as "super framing" and has been for at least 20 years.
Maybe a suggestion of "super-packet" would be more appropriate. The idea works well in short/higher-reliability paths (between cards inside a switch backplane/internal-switch-fabric) but not sure it can be scaled up to a packet network. Note making packets gratiusioly large creates more elephant flows and head-of-line-blocking considerations. Dino > On Dec 21, 2021, at 10:02 AM, Alexandre Petrescu > <alexandre.petre...@gmail.com> wrote: > > The title and abstract are great. > > About the title, just one little note. This word 'parcel' is very well > adapted and suggestive for an English speaker. I think I heard it very > well in US English, even though not sure about UK English - to they also > use 'parcel' to mean a package sent in mail? Probably yes. > > An 'IP Parcel' is a new concept, akin to an IP packet, IP datagram, or > to a TCP segment: it is also a delimited 'chunk' of data sent in the > network. It is different than an IP packet in that it is made to be > able to carry more IP packets inside. An IP tunnel also is known to > carry another IP packet which itself could carry another packet > (encapsulated tunnels); however an IP parcel would be different than an > IP tunnel in that there are less IP headers, presumably, and no trailers > at all (IP tunnel encapsulation involves trailers, IIRC). Maybe I could > understand that if I read the draft. > > The name 'parcel', to a French speaker, makes think it might be a > 'parcelle'. That 'parcelle' is a limited domain, like a part of land. > In our current discussions of 'limited domains' in the Internet, that > 'parcelle' confuses me. It is not an 'IP parcelle' limited domain, but > an 'IP parcel' packet, even though it is pronounced the same. > > Le 18/12/2021 à 02:06, Templin (US), Fred L a écrit : >> Here's one that should help with shipping, just in time for Christmas. >> Thanks to everyone for the past and future list exchanges. >> Fred >> -----Original Message----- From: I-D-Announce >> [mailto:i-d-announce-boun...@ietf.org] On Behalf Of internet-dra...@ietf.org >> Sent: Friday, December 17, 2021 5:00 PM To: >> i-d-annou...@ietf.org Subject: I-D Action: >> draft-templin-intarea-parcels-00.txt >> A New Internet-Draft is available from the on-line Internet-Drafts >> directories. >> Title : IP Parcels Author : Fred L. Templin Filename >> : draft-templin-intarea-parcels-00.txt Pages : 8 >> Date : 2021-12-17 >> Abstract: IP packets (both IPv4 and IPv6) are understood to contain a >> unit of data which becomes the retransmission unit in case of loss. >> Upper layer protocols such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) >> prepare data units known as "segments", with traditional arrangements >> including a single segment per packet. This document presents a new >> construct known as the "IP Parcel" which permits a single packet to >> carry multiple segments. > > It sounds interesting. > > But I wonder whether the IP parcel carries multiple TCP segments (TCP > payloads that dont have IP headers) or rather multiple IP packets (an IP > packet might carry a TCP payload)? > > Maybe it's written in the draft, I will have to look. > >> The parcel can be opened at middleboxes on the path with the included >> segments broken out into individual packets, then rejoined into one >> or more repackaged parcels to be forwarded further toward the final >> destination. Reordering of segments within parcels is unimportant; >> what matters is that the number of parcels delivered to the final >> destination should be kept to a minimum, and that loss or receipt of >> individual segments (and not parcel size) determines the retransmission unit. > > The _segment_ is retransmitted upon segment loss or the entire parcel is? > > Alex > >> The IETF datatracker status page for this draft is: >> https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-templin-intarea-parcels/ >> There is also an htmlized version available at: >> https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-templin-intarea-parcels-00 >> >> >> >> Internet-Drafts are also available by rsync at >> rsync.ietf.org::internet-drafts >> _______________________________________________ I-D-Announce mailing >> list i-d-annou...@ietf.org >> https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/i-d-announce Internet-Draft >> directories: http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html or >> ftp://ftp.ietf.org/ietf/1shadow-sites.txt >> _______________________________________________ Int-area mailing >> list Int-area@ietf.org >> https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/int-area > > _______________________________________________ > Int-area mailing list > Int-area@ietf.org > https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/int-area _______________________________________________ Int-area mailing list Int-area@ietf.org https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/int-area
