Network Working Group D. Walden
Request for Comments: 547 BBN-NET
NIC: 17793 13 August 1973
Change to the Very Distant Host Specification
SPECIAL PACKET BIT ___
|
|
___HELLO/I-HEARD-YOU BIT | ___ UNUSED __
| | | |
| | | |
V V V V
_______________________________________________________________
| | | | | |///////| | |///| |
| | | | | |///////| | |///| |
|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|///|///|___|___|///|___|
^ ^ PACKET WORD COUNT ^ ^ ^ ^
| | ( 6 BITS ) | | | |
| | | | | CHANNEL
| | | | | NUMBER
| | | | |
| PACKET HOST/IMP BIT | CHANNEL ZERO
| ODD/EVEN BIT | ACKNOWLEDGE BIT
| |
LAST PACKET BIT CHANNEL ONE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BIT
Walden [Page 1]
RFC 547 Change to the Very Distant Host Specification13 August 1973
The following algorithm is used to decide whether the circuit between an IMP and a very distant Host is dead or alive. We first define what we call a special packet -- this is (logically) a one word packet consisting of only the control word and having the SPECIAL PACKET bit set to one. All packets which are not special packets (i.e., which are regular data packets or null packets) have the SPECIAL PACKET bit set to zero. In a special packet, none of the control word fields or bits have their usual meanings; consequently, a special packet cannot be used to acknowledge data packets or send data. In a special packet, only one bit other than the SPECIAL PACKET bit has any meaning, the HELLO/I-HEARD-YOU bit.
Walden [Page 2]
RFC 547 Change to the Very Distant Host Specification13 August 1973
Endnotes