Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!agate!ucbvax!VENERA.ISI.EDU!braden
From: braden@VENERA.ISI.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: re: default broadcast address
Message-ID: <8807150000.AA00397@braden.isi.edu>
Date: 15 Jul 88 00:00:56 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 20


	
	>> First, try to follow the robustness principle: hosts should accept
	>> AS BROADCASTS all the possible (i.e., legal or formerly legal)
	>> broadcast addresses.
	
	Hosts should also accept AS BROADCASTS any packet that was sent to the
	link layer broadcast (and mulitcast???) address regardless of what the
	IP address was.
							David Bridgham
	
Well, now, I would not put it quite that way.  To be an acceptable
IP broadcast datagram, it must have a recogizable IP broadcast address
in its destination field.  The problem we need to solve is the havoc
(broadcast storms, etc) created by datagrams which arrive by local
network broadcast but do not have a recognizable IP broadcast address.
The discussions in the IETF Host Requirements Working Group have 
concluded that the best thing to do with such datagrams is SILENTLY
IGNORE THEM.

Bob Braden