Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!GATEWAY.MITRE.ORG!barns
From: barns@GATEWAY.MITRE.ORG (Bill Barns)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Multiplexing algorithms for transport connections
Message-ID: <8809261350.AA20707@gateway.mitre.org>
Date: 26 Sep 88 13:50:21 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 24

I would like to hear what algorithms people are using to decide when to
multiplex Transport connections on Network connections.  The case of most
immediate interest to me is TCP/IP over DDN Standard X.25 connections.
As far as I know, there is no standard or published guideline which
would stop me from multiplexing everything (to the same Network-level
destination, of course) on a single X.25 connection; at the other extreme,
I might open a new X.25 connection for each datagram.

The same issue arises with ISO TP over X.25.  Does it follow that the same
algorithm is "best" for both cases?

The case of ISO CLNP over X.25 seems to combine the two cases above.  This
is what I understand GOSIP to specify for the future, so this case is also
interesting.

I've heard that some problems in the ARPANET transition to PSN 7.0 had to
do with this topic.  So I imagine there are some interesting issues
somewhere underlying the decisions an implementor might make, and perhaps
some interoperation problems with some choices.  I'd like to get a handle
on this whole area.  You're all invited to describe the behavior of
existing implementations or your conception of the Right Thing To Do.

Thanks in advance for all info, insights, comments, and suggestions...
Bill Barns / MITRE-Washington / barns@gateway.mitre.org