Title: Liaison on the Cooperation Between the IETF and the ITU-T on 
the Development of MPLS Technology for Transport Networks 
Source: IETF, IAB 
For: Action 
Deadline: January 2009 
 
 
Thank you for the liaison contained in TD7 (WP 3/15) entitled "IETF and 
ITU-T cooperation on extensions to MPLS for transport network 
functionality sent to the IETF and IAB in May 2008. 
 
We are pleased to see the spirit of cooperation and the consequent 
excellent progress that is being made by the experts of the IETF and the 
ITU-T on the development of MPLS-TP. 
 
It is important that the two organizations communicate a clear and 
consistent message to the industry that the MPLS-TP design will fully 
satisfy the needs of an MPLS-based transport network.  To that end, it 
is appropriate that we rationalize the nomenclature such that both 
organizations use the term MPLS-TP during the development and 
standardization of this new technology. 
 
We note that Contribution 272 to the SG15 meeting in Geneva next week, 
"Naming Considerations Regarding T-MPLS and MPLS-TP within ITU-T" 
proposes that the ITU-T continue to use the term T- 
MPLS. 
 
The further use of "T-MPLS" is confusing to the industry.  In the 
original liaison from the IAB, July 2007, entitled  "T-MPLS Use of the 
MPLS Ethertypes" we drew to your attention the incompatibility between 
T-MPLS and the IETF MPLS architecture. T-MPLS is not an MPLS-based 
technology. The JWT agreed with this finding as noted in the liaison 
statement TD7[WP3/15]. 
 
Continuing to use the term "T-MPLS" is inappropriate, because of the 
inconsistency between T-MPLS and the IETF MPLS architecture. Therefore, 
and because the use of T-MPLS will cause confusion in the industry, we 
request that the ITU-T discontinue the use of this term. 
 
In order to eliminate any potential confusion related to the existing 
T-MPLS Recommendations, we request that the currently in force T-MPLS 
Recommendations be either withdrawn or modified to clearly indicate that 
they will be superceded by new Recommendations describing the jointly 
developed MPLS-TP technology. 
 
We thank the ITU-T for their continued collaboration, and look forward 
to the successful and timely delivery of MPLS-TP to the industry. 
 
 
For the IAB, 
 
Olaf Kolkman, Chair IAB.