RE: iSCSI Version Info: Version 1 and not 0

[Black_David@emc.com]

I'm going to put a stop to this here.  The only voice I see for
changing the version number is Andre Hedrick's, hence I believe
there is rough consensus in the IPS WG for not changing the version
number - if anyone other than Andre wants it changed now, please
post to the list and explain why.

As for specific issues about reasons involved in changes or lack
thereof ...

> Considering the handful of changes just related to various parameters
> since the premature changing of the version code to 0x00 after the
> release of the v12 specification in April of 2002.  These alone should
> warrant a final RFC version number.

That's not correct - the reset to 0x00 was late, not premature.  The
version number should not have been incremented as it had been several
times prior to then, and was set back to zero to encourage the premature
extinction of implementations that did not match the specification.
Keeping obsolete implementations of old Internet-Drafts alive is
something the IETF discourages - see the standard I-D boilerplate.

As for "warrant a final RFC version number" - we missed the train on
that one (partly my fault).  The point in time to change that number
would have been completion of WG Last Call.  As of now when there is
no technical change allowed between IESG approval and RFC publication,
changing the version number to indicate that the document is a published
RFC makes little sense.

> This also shows how difficult it is to be backwards compatible with all
> parameter changes since version 0x00 was set almost 11 months ago

That was deliberate.  The goal is that any implementation that is based
on an old version of the iSCSI draft get updated or retired forthwith.
The alternative of having a dozen different version numbers and expecting
implementers to implement a dozen different versions of backwards
compatibility based on the version number is unreasonable.  The
development of this belief that the version number would allow detection
and preservation of old implementations is evidence that the reset to
0x00 was late, not premature.  Any implementation that doesn't comply
to the latest -20 draft is obsolete and needs to be fixed, ASAP.
See the Internet-Draft boilerplate.

> Congrats!  You have pointed to a justified reason to never change the
> version from 0.  Since changing the "wire format" seems unrealistic,
> and this denotes the protocol, it looks like version 0 is glued and
> tatoo'd.

That's a bit extreme.  Any serious incompatible protocol change would be
grounds to change the version number, not just a "wire format" change,
but it is (at least my) strong intention (and hope) that there be no
such changes anytime soon.

> Applying your logic against the success of the "Plugfests", the version is
> a formality ?  This formality logically defines the difference between
> Draft and RFC, otherwise how will the customer know the reported feature
> sets.

Saying that an implementation complies with the final IESG-approved
version of iSCSI or the RFC when the implementation doesn't is usually
called "fraud".  Customers have more than adequate recourse (legal and
otherwise) to deal with vendors who behave in such a fashion.

Thanks,
--David
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David L. Black, Senior Technologist
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