Hi Tim,

Thank you for various review rounds and for confirming that the changes are 
satisfactory.

For the Modified-Data-Packet, I also tend to agree with the position expressed 
by Tal but for a distinct reason: “modified” may be (mis)interpreted as if the 
integrity of any enclosed (user) data will be impacted when OAM data is also 
carried in such packets, while that should not be the case.

As I’m there, @authors: is there any reason why you removed this text from the 
abstract?

OLD (-10):
   This document updates RFC 6291 by adding to the guidelines for the
   use of the term "OAM".  It does not modify any other part of RFC
   6291.

(sorry if I missed where this was discussed)

Cheers,
Med

De : Tim Chown <[email protected]>
Envoyé : jeudi 11 septembre 2025 12:53
À : [email protected]; Tal Mizrahi <[email protected]>
Cc : Carlos Pignataro <[email protected]>; [email protected]; 
[email protected]; Ops Area WG 
<[email protected]>; BOUCADAIR Mohamed INNOV/NET <[email protected]>
Objet : Re: [OPS-DIR]Re: [OPSAWG]Re: Opsdir last call review of 
draft-ietf-opsawg-oam-characterization-04


Hi,

I’m generally happy with the updates now in -11, thanks Tal.  I’ve responded 
previously on the specific edits.

To recap, the only ‘nit’ I have is the choice of term of In-Data-Packet, which 
as mentioned by Benoit below does have a history of being conflated with 
In-band, hence my personal preference for Modified-Data-Packet.   But if the 
consensus is stay as is, fine.

Otherwise, it’s good to go.  I think the iterations have now made it a useful, 
more concise document, and the clearer emphasis on deprecating use of (or at 
least recommending against the use of) in-band and out-of-band is welcome.

Best wishes,
Tim

On 10/09/2025, 17:48, 
"[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>" 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:

Dear all,

Great series of comments by Tim.
I don't want to reply for Tim here, but I believe that draft v11 is now clearly.

Three minor observations on my side

- An example of "Hybrid OAM" that is also "In-Data-Packet OAM", is

      an IOAM [RFC9197] trace option that is incorporated into data

      packets.  According to [RFC9197], IOAM '...records OAM information

      within the packet while the packet traverses a particular network

      domain.  The term "in situ" refers to the fact that the OAM data

      is added to the data packets rather than being sent within packets

      specifically dedicated to OAM.'



I would extend the first IOAM acronym, to stress the "in situ" qualifier, 
otherwise the reference to "in situ" comes out of nowhere, unless you know 
RFC9197.

Since this document is about terminology, this seems important.

Should this draft also mention something such as : the "In situ" qualifier 
should not be reused, if possible, and is not advised by this document? Or this 
is going to far?



Note: I saw this note, in the appendix. Is this sufficient?

   In-Data-Packet OAM was in some cases referred to as "in-band".

   Initially, "In situ OAM" [RFC9197] was also referred to as "In-band

   OAM", but was renamed due to the overloaded meaning of "In-band OAM".

   Further, [RFC9232] also intertwines the terms "in-band" with "in

   situ", though [I-D.song-opsawg-ifit-framework] settled on using "in

   Situ".  Other similar uses, including [P4-INT-2.1] and

   [I-D.kumar-ippm-ifa], still use variations of "in-band", "in band",

   or "inband".



-

Appendix A.  Examples of the Use of the Term In-Band



   This appendix provides a few examples of the use of the term "in-

   band".  These are intended to highlight the varying interpretations

   of the term across different contexts.



Do you want to say: These are intended to highlight the varying interpretations

   of the term across different contexts, which led to the guidelines in this 
document.



- nits

measurment

Regards, Benoit (Doc. Shepherd)

Hi Tim,



Thanks for the comments, and thanks for some further offline discussion.



We believe the current version of the draft addresses these comments:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-opsawg-oam-characterization/11/



Please let us know if there are any remaining comments about this version.



Please see my responses below, marked [TM].





On Thu, Sep 4, 2025 at 6:46 PM Tim Chown 
<[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> wrote:



Hi,







Here is my review of -10.  I would still like to see some tweaks (sorry) not 
least due to the divergence from 7799 which I think is counter intuitive as is.







----- snip ----







I have re-reviewed the latest version of the OAM Characterisation draft, 
draft-ietf-opsawg-oam-characterization-10.







The draft seeks to simplify and clarify descriptors used for different types of 
OAM-related traffic, not least due to the archaic use of in-band and 
out-of-band terminology, which this document effectively deprecates.







I consider it a good improvement on the earlier version I reviewed for ops-dir, 
but still have non-trivial Nits with the document that I would like to see 
addressed before it is advanced further.  I appreciate that the document has 
been discussed for some time, but I feel these relatively small changes to make 
would improve the text and future use of the guidance.







General comments:







The document is well written.







The definition of Hybrid still doesn’t sit well with me, I think because of the 
divergence from what is written in RFC7799, which states Hybrid is - quite 
intuitively - a blend of Active and Passive, but this document changes that. 
Hence my comments further below.







The document recommends avoiding the use of in-band and out-of-band.  Perhaps 
it should go further and deprecate their use in future documents?  (This is not 
a strong view, and I’m fine if this isn’t done, but it might be worth doing for 
emphasis.)







Specific comments:







Abstract:







Add at the end of para 1:



“This document recommends they no longer be used when referring to OAM.”



[TM] The abstract was updated with a slightly reworded sentence.





so the abstract makes this feature of the document very clear.  The abstract 
says nothing on this as is.







Section 3.1:







The “Hybrid” term as used here is NOT consistent with RFC 7799.  Hence, I would 
rewrite the definition to be in line with it:







Hybrid OAM:



                Use a combination of active and passive methods which may 
include augmentation or modification of a single data stream of interest, or 
the coordinated use of multiple streams, e.g., an active OAM stream alongside 
an unmodified data stream. (This is in line with Section 3.8 of RFC7799.)



[TM] The Hybrid OAM definition was updated along the lines you suggested.









I would then rename In-Data-Packet OAM to Modified-Data-Packet OAM (it avoids 
the use of “in”, as per “in-band” and does exactly what it says on the tin), as 
a sub type of Hybrid.



[TM] We have had many discussions about this term, and In-Data-Packet

OAM seemed like the most reasonable compromise, so it would be

preferable not to change it.









Modified-Data-Packet OAM:



                OAM-related information is carried in the packets that also 
carry the data traffic, e.g., where OAM-related bits may be added or rewritten 
along the path.  This is a specific case of Hybrid OAM. It was sometimes 
referred to as “in-band”.



[TM] This definition was slightly reworded based on your comment.

However, please note that "OAM-related bits may be added or rewritten

along the path" is not necessarily the general case. IOAM is an

example in which this is true, and it is presented in this section

(the third example). So it seems like the current (updated) text makes

sense.









Then for the examples in this section:



Examples 1-4 are fine (with In- rewritten to Modified-)



Example 5 clarify the active packets here are not ‘probe’ packets but rather 
carry data about observed (passive) network characteristics (loss).



[TM] A clarification was added to the example.





Example 6 is exactly why the Hybrid OAM terms needs to be as I’ve rewritten it 
above, as per 7799.







Section 3.2:







I think this needs to say for Path-Congruent that:



“The OAM information is guaranteed to follow…”



and for Non-Path-Congruent OAM:



“The OAM information does not necessarily follow…”



because it might not.  It’s about certainty, and the possibility/likelihood of 
incongruent traffic.



[TM] The definition of "Non-Path-Congruent OAM" was slightly reworded

along these lines. It does not seem necessary to update

"Path-Congruent". Similarly, "Different-Forwarding-Treatment OAM" was

also updated.









If you look at the IP Ping example in 3.4, you already say “is not guaranteed” 
there. Same principle.







I’d delete the last sentence of the penultimate paragraph and “A further 
concept” as that’s covered below in 3.3



[TM] Agreed.









Section 3.3:







Same thing here



Equal:



“The OAM packets are guaranteed to receive the same…”



and for Different:



“The OAM packets may receive different...”



(adding guaranteed and may)



[TM] Right, as noted above, "Different-Forwarding-Treatment OAM"

definition was reworded.









Appendix A:



Delete the first sentence, as the doc doesn’t discuss in-band examples directly 
anymore.



[TM] This sentence was reworded.









---- snip ----







Best wishes,



Tim



Thanks,

The authors.

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