1. 6LoWPAN Interoperability
Jonathan Hui
Zach Shelby
David Culler
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

2. 69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG
Motivation
6LoWPAN format doc approved as Proposed Standard
Several 6LoWPAN implementations
Had not yet seen independent implementations interoperating
No excuse even if some protocols are TBD
Demonstrating interoperability of the format doesn’t require them
Pin down routing tables, manually assign configurations
To elevate to Draft Standard, need to show independent implementations interoperating
Need a framework to start thinking about interoperability
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

3. 69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG
Format Complexity
6LoWPAN format takes many forms, cross-product of:
Adaptation Layer
Short vs. extended addresses
Dispatch, Mesh, and Fragmentation header
Escape values for dispatch and hop limit
LOWPAN_HC1
Prefix compression (source and dest)
Interface identifier compression (source and dest)
Traffic Class and Flow Label
LOWPAN_HC2 (HC_UDP)
Port compression (source and dest)
Length compression
 Thousands of permutations!
The same header can take multiple forms
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

4. Beginnings of Interop Testing
Not all forms can be tested in all situations, so lets layer it
Mesh, broadcast, and fragmentation still to be added
Level 0 – Establish that we are talking IPv6 (uncompressed)
Level 0.0
Link-local communication
Extended source and destination addresses
No mesh or fragmentation header
Level 0.1
Global communication
Level 1 – Communication over LOWPAN_HC1
Level 1.0
Maximally compressed (no addresses in IP header)
Level 1.1
Global Communication
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

5. 69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG
A Long Ways to Go!
A small step for the 6LoWPAN format
Interoperability will eventually encompass other 6LoWPAN protocols as well:
Configuration
Routing
Forwarding
Multicast
Some things to keep in mind as we move forward…
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

6. Interoperability between…
Two embedded nodes in the same PAN?
Two embedded nodes in different PANs?
An embedded node and a gateway/router?
An embedded node an any arbitrary IP device?
Yes to all of these, of course
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

7. Interoperability over…
IEEE beacon mode or non-beacon mode?
Basic CSMA without PAN coordinators?
GTS? Other TDMA?
Power management?
 does not define power management in peer-to-peer
6LoWPAN is taking a non-traditional approach
Tight integration with layer 2: assumes headers
The 6LoWPAN format is MAC/power management agnostic
But, starting to making some suggestions/assumptions about the existence of beacons and PAN coordinators
Should be careful when making assumptions about the underlying MAC
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

8. 69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG
Summary
6LoWPAN interoperability testing considerations
Embedded nature of nodes
MAC layer options and settings can affect interoperability
LoWPANs operating in isolation or as part of larger IP networks
Future interoperability
Format relies on header, but can operate over different MAC configurations
Next steps
Extend interop levels to cover entire 6LoWPAN format
Addition of test cases
Release of example test code
Encouragement of interop testing between implementations
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG

9. Interop Demo (after the meeting)
End-to-end
Terminal
07/24/2007
69th IETF Meeting - 6LoWPAN WG