Re: multiple TCP connections

["Steve Byan" <steve_byan@hotmail.com>]

I don't understand the motivation for creating the concept of a session
consisting of multiple TCP connections in the iSCSI draft.

If the motiviation is a desire to share the load over multiple physical
paths, IIRC IP already provides this in the form of multihoming. I
suspect there is some current activity in this area, although I'm not
network-literate enough to point to any such work.

If the motiviation is to work around performance flaws in the
implementation of multihoming in some TCP/IP stacks, then I suggest that
it would be better to fix the implementations.

If the motiviation is to work around a fundamental performance flaw in
IP multihoming, then I suggest that IP should be fixed, or that some
other generic solution be engineered.

If the motiviation is to make it easier to implement TCP/IP hardware
acceleration by pushing the aggregation of multiple paths up into the
application protocol, then I suggest that a general solution should be
engineered (one that can be applied to multiple protocols), rather than
creating a special hack for iSCSI.

Is there a rationale for multiple TCP connections that I have missed?

If not, which is the claimed rationale?

Thanks.

Regards,
-Steve

Steve Byan <stephen.byan@quantum.com>
Design Engineer
Quantum Corp.
MS 1-3/E23
333 South Street
Shrewsbury MA 01545
(508) 770-3414
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