Re: [STDS-802-16] [NETMAN] What is "BS Sector Mac Address" role
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for this.
I can see the following problems with this approach:
A) The idea of BSID being the same as BS Mac Address is not present in
the standard (neither 802.16-2004 nor 802.16e). BS Mac Address is
mentioned only once in 802.16e in the context of Neighbor advertisement
message. The presence of both Neighor BSID and Neighbor Index, which
maps to BS Mac Address may suggest that BSID and Mac Address are
different. In any case the text is not clear about it.
B) Standard doesn't define any mechanism for guaranteeing uniqueness of
BSID (like naming the authority, which would allocates the numbers or at
least mandating global uniqueness), which disqualifies it as an
identifier used for x509 certificate.
C) Mac Address is allocated by manufacturer (Manufacturer code in most
significant bytes of the address) while BSID is assigned by operator
(Operator's ID in most significant bytes of the ID). In other words Mac
Address qualifies better to be a PhysAddress of ifTable and also
qualifies better to be used for certificate x509.
Can you comment on this, please?
Regards,
Krzysztof
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Mandin [mailto:streetwaves@gmail.com]
Sent: 13 February 2005 10:56
To: Krzysztof Dudzinski
Cc: STDS-802-16@listserv.ieee.org
Subject: Re: [STDS-802-16] [NETMAN] What is "BS Sector Mac Address" role
Krzysztof hi,
1. The BS MAC address is the same as the "BS ID" that appears in the
DCD. The SS uses it to (insecurely) select the BS to which it wants to
attach.
2. In 802.16e, the security sublayer enables the SS to authenticate the
BS by its MAC Address/BSId that is additionally contained in the BS's
x509 certificate.
3. The D2 MIB has BSId fields defined in the OFDM and OFDMA Downlink
Channel tables - these don't seem to make sense and should be
deleted. BSId / MAC Address should be contained in ifPhysAddr as you
say.
BRs,
Jeff Mandin
Streetwaves Networking
On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 18:15:16 -0000, Krzysztof Dudzinski
<KDudzins@airspan.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> Hi All,
>
>
>
> As described "802.16_2004_TGF.pdf, draft2, section 9.3.2.2" we decided
> to manage wireless man "BS Sectors" as network interface. As such
> there is one row defined in the interface table (ifTable) per "BS
> Sector" along with required attributes e.g. ifType (propBWAp2Mp),
> IfPhysAddress (Mac Address of BS Sector) etc.
>
> Two questions arise:
>
>
>
> 1. Can anybody think of the scenario where the Mac Address of "BS
Sector"
> would be actually used?
>
> 2. Can the ifPhysAddress be filled with zero length octet string as
> suggest the description of this object in the IF-MIB (see extract
> below) if standard doesn't define the use of it?
>
>
>
> Unlike SS Mac Address the Mac Address of BS (Sector) is not defined in
> the standard 802.16-2004 at all. The BS Mac Address is mentioned in
> the 802.16e/D5a in the context of Neighbor advertisement message. But
> in this context it is not sure what Mac Address the document refers to
> (what type of interface in the interface table).
>
> Nevertheless the issue is with 802.16f MIB, which is designed for
> fixed operation.
>
>
>
> Extract form IF-MIB:
>
> "
>
> ifPhysAddress OBJECT-TYPE
>
> SYNTAX PhysAddress
>
> MAX-ACCESS read-only
>
> STATUS current
>
> DESCRIPTION
>
> "The interface's address at its protocol sub-layer. For
>
> example, for an 802.x interface, this object normally
>
> contains a MAC address. The interface's media-specific
> MIB
>
> must define the bit and byte ordering and the format of
> the
>
> value of this object. For interfaces which do not have
> such
>
> an address (e.g., a serial line), this object should
> contain
>
> an octet string of zero length."
>
> ::= { ifEntry 6 }
>
> "
>
> Regards,
>
> Krzysztof Dudzinski
>
> Airspan Networks
>
>