RE: Is the IP layer the right place to support location information

["Tang Haitao (NRC/Helsinki)" <haitao.tang@nokia.com>]

Hello:

IMHO, IP layer is certainly one of the right places needed to 
support various spatial location based applications. 
The applications are user applications, networking applications, 
mgmt applications, billing applications, security applications, 
etc. (not just catching a bus, not only of querying a central 
database...).

There are three reasons for the comment:

1. It is to realize the system-independent/inter-operable interface 
with the link layer (L-2) spatial location sources. Those sources 
are major location data sources currently. Of course, user interface 
is also a major source of the location data while a user could say 
that he/she leaves on the Mars. We haven't seen any convincing 
reason to disable this real need for an IPSLP (or called such as 
LIP or ISLP) in the discussions.

2. It is to achieve the application-independent location data 
exchanging over the Internet. The location capability will therefore 
not die with someone's one-time location-based killer applications 
(I believe the spirit of the Internet Community). By the way, 
Web stuffs (HTML/XML/... with HTTP/HTCP/CMP...) are very powerful 
and successful things currently. They help all of us a lot! 
However, there are still limitations with the web stuffs, 
especially on the content exchanging over the Internet. Who could 
comment on if any improvement has been achieved here? Shall we use 
the hierarchical Squid object caches for the location data 
exchanging? Could some folk from W3C comment on why the Squid is not
that successful? Could the folk comment also the following discussion 
(by Bob Walder):

A common cry from the confused user these days goes something
like: "how do I access the internal Web server in the marketing
department?"

"Easy", replies the beleaguered administrator, "just point your Web
browser at dilbert.marketing.UK.NSS.com"

"Oh, very obvious! How was I supposed to guess that one? And while
we're at it, how can I get a listing of all the users in the UK 
Marketing group?"

"Er... you can't. At least, not very easily"   

---- Why?
 
Another question is: could the Web continues its current success 
without depending on various searching engines that do wild searching 
and collecting of the content info from the world? 

3. It is to meet some networking needs. The spatial location info 
can help traffic mgmt, routing mgmt, network optimization ...


Haitao

I have a petition to all in the list: Let's try to talk with tech.
facts, not others, not like war. All folks here are in fact friends. 

Anyway, IETF can decide itself "Whether or not it should cover 
the spatial location issues.

(Sorry for not available yesterday)