1. P802.11aq Waiver request regarding IEEE RAC comments
November 2017
doc.: IEEE /1704r4
November 2017
P802.11aq Waiver request regarding IEEE RAC comments
Date:
Authors:
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

2. November 2017
doc.: IEEE /1704r4
November 2017
Abstract
Waiver for not satisfying specific mandatory coordination comments received from the IEEE RAC during the P802.11aq sponsor ballot
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

3. November 2017
doc.: IEEE /1704r4
November 2017
The P802.11aq ballot resolution committee (BRC) has decided that satisfying specific mandatory coordination comments received from the IEEE RAC impedes the utility of the P802.11aq amendment**. Therefore the P802.11aq BRC requests a waiver from satisfying the mandatory coordination comments.
These specific comments from the P802.11aq sponsor ballot are as follows:
r (9008)
r (10008)
r (10009)
r04-12 (10012)
r (11005) [references r04-9]
r (11006) [references r04-8]
r (11007) [references r04-12]
r (12009)
As detailed in the comment resolution spreadsheet tab “IEEE RAC Comments”
** IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual: (Dec 2016) section
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

4. November 2017
doc.: IEEE /1704r4
November 2017
The following 8 slides summarise the specific comments. These summaries have been produced by the P802.11aq BRC to the best of their ability.
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

5. Comment summary of r03-8 (9008)
November 2017
Comment summary of r03-8 (9008)
Random MAC address assignment would seem to be out-of-scope for the PAR
Response summary:
Rejected
Randomizing the MAC address, as described in P802.11aq clause , is a perfectly reasonable part of the pre-association discovery scope. This avoids revealing privacy compromising information to STAs that are observing the P802.11aq traffic.
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

6. Comment summary of r04-8 (10008)
November 2017
Comment summary of r04-8 (10008)
11aq specifies that devices select a 48-bit MAC address using 46 bits selected randomly (the other two set to indicate local unicast), whereas IEEE Std 802 (since the June 2017 approval of the amendment IEEE Std 802c) provides for four types of local addresses, and the random use of 46 bits will likely cause collisions with this allocation scheme. Further 44 bits is a large enough space.
Response summary:
Revised
The P802.11aq draft behavior has been changed to allow a STA to conform to a local administered address space policy when it associates to a network.
The maximum number of bits of randomization for the MAC is beneficial to address privacy issues associated with network discovery when the STA is in the unassociated state.
Note: see also response summary to r05-6
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

7. Comment summary of r04-9 (10009)
November 2017
Comment summary of r04-9 (10009)
There is nothing in the project scope to inform interested parties that the amendment will include specifications that present potential interoperability problems with many other standards that use IEEE Std 802 specified addressing
Response summary:
Revised
Changes were made to the P802.11aq draft to make the device manageable at layer-2. Privacy enhancements may be required to perform pre-association service discovery. The draft has been modified to minimize the addressing conflicts suggested by the comment.
Any managed network will need to separate unmanaged devices from that network. This can easily achieved with a router, or alternatively enterprise class access points, which can separate devices that they know how to provision, as opposed to those that they can not. Any necessary isolation of the unmanaged devices, can be achieved through such a router. It is the responsibility of the network administrator to configure the network to provide these properties.
Note: see also response summary to r05-5
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

8. Comment summary of r04-12 (10012)
November 2017
Comment summary of r04-12 (10012)
The draft is incompatible with IEEE Std because it doesn't allow for the local administrator administering the local addresses
Response summary:
Revised
Privacy enhancements may be required to perform pre-association service discovery. The P802.11aq draft has been modified to eliminate the addressing conflicts suggested by the comment and allow for the STA to be configured in a mode consistent with a locally administered address space policy.
A managed network would not expect to connect to an unmanaged access network, as it would typically connect via a router. A managed network might connect directly to an access network of enterprise (managed) APs. Those APs would refuse to admit STAs that did not provide management of the local address space.
Note: see also response summary to r05-7
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

9. Comment summary of r05-5 (11005)
November 2017
Comment summary of r05-5 (11005)
The RAC is not satisfied with the response to Comment r04-9 (slide #7). However, considering the scope of the project, per the PAR, it seems apparent that specifying a new method to assign LAN data frame addresses is out of scope
Response summary:
Rejected
The P802.11aq draft does not specify a new method. It incorporates by reference IEEE and IEEE 802c-2017.
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

10. Comment summary of r05-6 (11006)
November 2017
Comment summary of r05-6 (11006)
The RAC is not satisfied with the response to Comment r04-8 (slide #6). During the discovery process, the draft still specifies that station adopts a 46-bit random address
Response summary:
Rejected
In the pre-associated state, the only communication is between STAs. Frames transmitted between a STA and an AP terminate at the AP and never reach the LAN. Security and duplication detection mechanisms prevent frames from a non-associated STA with a conflicting MAC address from affecting any traffic in the BSS. The P802.11aq draft does not specify any number of bits, as it refers to IEEE and IEEE 802c-2017.
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

11. Comment summary of r05-7 (11007)
November 2017
Comment summary of r05-7 (11007)
The RAC is not satisfied with the response to Comment r04-12 (slide #8). The RAC would prefer a direct control functionality by which the network could specify a local address plan and policy. The current draft instead proposes a MIB-based solution without specifying any method to establish the relevant parameter
Response summary:
Rejected
The method used to choose MAC addresses is performed using a MIB variable. This MIB variable can be set by a management agent such as an out-of-band provisioning protocol, for example: Passpoint, using an USB connection.
The MIB variable is the layer-2 part of a mechanism for management that needs additional support from the provisioning protocol. This is no different to the wired case, in that routers are configured through a proprietary management interface.
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

12. Comment summary of r06-9 (12009)
November 2017
Comment summary of r06-9 (12009)
The RAC remains unsatisfied with the responses to unresolved RAC Mandatory Coordination comments. RAC believes all remaining Mandatory Coordination issues can best be satisfied by deleting all references and specifications in the draft to use of random MAC addresses
Response summary:
Revised
The P802.11aq draft has been modified to specify that the STA select a random address from the local address space according to IEEE and IEEE 802c-2017 while in the unassociated state. When the device selects a AP (BSS) for association, the STA checks the value for dot11LocallyAdministeredMACConfig and sets its MAC address according to the MAC address policy set by the Network Administrator for the BSS. Therefore a STA with MAC privacy enabled selects a random address compliant with IEEE 802c-2017 in the unassociated state and uses the Local Address configuration for a BSS once it associates to that BSS.
Stephen McCann, BlackBerry