1. August 2005
doc.: IEEE /1166r0
Sept 08
Discussion paper relating to options for resolving issues related to WAPI & in ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6
Jesse Walker (Intel)
Submission

2. Sept 08
The remainder of this presentation is a draft that could be submitted to ISO/IEC on behalf of the WG
In July 2008, Jesse Walker attended an ad hoc meeting of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 in Xi’an on behalf of the IEEE WG
The meeting discussed options for international standardisation of WAPI
The Chinese believed there were three feasible options
Jesse Walker believed two of them warranted further investigation and committed to bring them back to the IEEE WG for consideration
The rest of this presentation summarises the situation and a possible response to the various options
It is in a form that can be used for discussion within the IEEE WG and, with modification, in the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6
Jesse Walker (Intel)

3. Sept 08
Submission to ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 on behalf of the IEEE WG in relation to options for WAPI standardisation
November 2008
Jesse Walker (Intel)

4. Sept 08
The IEEE WG believe there is a feasible process for considering WAPI standardisation
The Chinese delegation at the ad hoc ISO JTC1/SC6 meeting in Xi’an in July 08 identified three acceptable options for processing WAPI
The IEEE liaison in Xi’an agreed that two of these options deserved further investigation
The IEEE WG now believe the “Technical Report (TR )” option:
Is the only potentially feasible option
Can be refined to meet the needs of all stakeholders
Can be used to strengthen the relationship between ISO and IEEE
Jesse Walker (Intel)

5. Sept 08
The Chinese delegation in Xi’an in July 08 identified three acceptable options for processing WAPI
Four options were proposed at the meeting in Xi’an in July 08 by the Chinese delegation
“Integration”
“Annex”
“International Standard (IS)”
“Technical Report (TR)”
The Chinese delegation in July 08 determined that only the “Integration” option was unacceptable
There was a concern that “Integration” would take too long and be too controversial within JTC1/SC6/WG1
The Chinese delegation also asserted that WAPI could not be contributed directly to the IEEE WG for standardisation
Jesse Walker (Intel)

6. International Standard (IS)
Sept 08
Four options were proposed at the meeting in Xi’an in July 08 by the Chinese delegation #
Option
Description 1
Integration
Integrate the WAPI functionality into ISO/IEC (2006), probably using a methodology similar to an amendment
Note: it is implied that the integration process would occur in ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6/WG1 2
Annex
Start with WAPI document from that balloted in 2006
Develop a normative annex in the form of an amendment to ISO/IEC (2006) that is eventually consolidated into a new edition 3
International Standard (IS)
Same as Annex option, except the document is published as a stand alone ISO/IEC standard with normative references to ISO/IEC (2006) 4
Technical Report (TR)
Publish WAPI in some form as an ISO/IEC Technical Report
Establish a project to fully integrate WAPI into the series
Note: the forum for the integration process was not defined
Jesse Walker (Intel)

7. Sept 08
The Annex & IS options use the structure with normative references, amendment & replacements
Proposed principles for constructing a:
WAPI Annex
WAPI IS
The proposed Annex or IS will copy the clause structure of ISO/IEC :2006, and will then define WAPI by variously:
Normatively referring to ISO/IEC :2006
Amending text copied from ISO/IEC :2006
Completely relacing text from ISO/IEC :2006
Example:
Normative reference
Annex X Destination address does not equal destination
See of ISO/IEC :2006
Example:
Amended text
Annex X Beacon frame format
<Text copied from of ISO/IEC :2006 and amended>
Example:
Replaced text
Annex X.8 Security
<Completely new text replacing text from ISO/IEC :2006
Jesse Walker (Intel)

8. Comments from Chinese delegation
Sept 08
The Chinese delegation in July 08 determined that three of the proposed options were acceptable #
Option
Comments from Chinese delegation
Acceptable? 1
Integration
Requires a lot of work and so will take a long time
“There are possibilities that nonessential technical dispute may drag the work into lengthy and controversial process.”  2
Annex
WAPI is described as an easy-to-read technical solution
ISO/IEC (2006) only needs slight revision to provide reference to the annex  3
International Standard (IS)
Best choice (from Xi’an minutes)  4
Technical Report (TR)
Not an ideal solution (from Xi’an minutes) 
Jesse Walker (Intel)

9. Sept 08
The Chinese delegation also asserted that WAPI could not be standardised in the IEEE WG
The IEEE WG has offered on multiple occasions to host an effort to integrate elements of WAPI into the standard, and subsequently into ISO/IEC
The WG even set up a Study Group in 2005 to study the possibilities for standardising WAPI
Unfortunately, WAPI was never formally proposed to the Study Group and so the Study Group’s charter expired,
A Standing Committee on the topic was subsequently established
The possibility of standardising WAPI within the IEEE WG was discussed again at the meeting in in Xi’an in July 08.
The Chinese delegation believe this was not possible because legal restriction do not allow a Chinese National Standard such as WAPI to be submitted to an SDO unless the SDO is recognised by China as an international SDO
China’s list of approved international SDOs includes ISO/IEC and ITU-T, and does not include the IEEE
Jesse Walker (Intel)

10. Sept 08
The IEEE liaison in Xi’an agreed that the IS & TR options deserved further investigation
Jesse Walker was the IEEE liaison at the meeting in Xi’an in July 2008
Jesse did not have the authority to make any formal agreements at the meeting
However, Jesse expressed a view at the meeting that the IS and TR options have some merit and deserve further examination
Jesse explicitly agreed to discuss the IS option with the WG
Jesse indicated that the WG had not addressed the TR option and would need to discuss it
Jesse told the meeting that he would attempt to determine a IEEE WG position
Jesse agreed to provide a report to the Convener of the SC6 ad hoc group, to the SC6 Secretariat, and to ITTF (Mr. Barta and Mr. Brannon) by 15 Sept 08
The intention is be ready for further action at the SC6 meeting in Montreaux on 3-7 Nov 08
Jesse Walker (Intel)

11. Sept 08
The IEEE WG believe the TR option is the only potentially feasible option of the four proposed
These issues are defined on the following pages
Issue
Option
Integration
Annex IS TR
1: Expertise available?    ?
2: One standard?    ?
3: Within scope?    ?
4: Copyright issues? ? ? ? ?
Feasible?    ?
Jesse Walker (Intel)

12. Sept 08
Issue 1: the expertise & “organisational memory” required to modify is not in JTC1/SC6/WG1
is a very complex document that has been written and refined over many years by the IEEE WG, with any changes requiring a deep understanding of why the document is written the way it is
This understanding is part of the “organisational memory” of the IEEE WG and cannot be easily be documented or duplicated
The description of the “Integration” option suggests that the work would occur in ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6/WG1
However, such an effort would inevitably “break” many aspects of the existing version of without collaboration from the IEEE WG
Unfortunately, the recently signed IEEE/ISO PSDO agreement omits the details necessary for such a collaboration to operate successfully
Filling in the details would represent a major project and divert focus from the more important technical issues
It is unclear whether the “TR” option has this issue because the process after the Technical Report by ISO/IEC JTC1 is approved is currently undefined
Jesse Walker (Intel)

13. Sept 08
Issue 2: the Integration, Annex & IS options risk setting the WAPI version up as an “orphan”
The Integration, Annex & IS options for integrating WAPI into ISO/IEC (2006) all effectively create two independent standards
One based on ISO/IEC (2006) amended by IEEE e/g/j/i/ma/n/p/r/s/u/v/w/y/z/aa/… in the IEEE WG
Another based on ISO/IEC (2006) amended by WAPI in ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6/WG1
It will be very difficult to keep these independent efforts synchronised and consistent now and in the future
It is guaranteed that the WAPI version of ISO/IEC (2006), which is actually IEEE (2003), will become an orphan that cannot practically be updated to include later amendments
The creation of two standards also generally runs counter to the principle defined in the ISO Strategic Plan , which states,
“One standard, one test, and one conformity assessment procedure accepted everywhere”
It is unclear whether the TR option has this issue because the process after the Technical Report is approved is currently undefined
Jesse Walker (Intel)

14. Sept 08
Issue 3: some elements of WAPI are not within the scope of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6/WG1
ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6/WG1 has a defined scope
It is chartered to specify physical and data link layers
However, some elements of WAPI are not even within the scope of ISO/IECJTC1/SC6
eg the WAI certificate & protocol definition
The Integration, Annex and IS options all suffer from this issue
A process is required to consider the standardisation (and maintenance) of some elements of WAPI in more appropriate forums
It might be possible to standardise various elements of WAPI in more than one ISO/IEC JTC1 SC or jointly with other SC’s
It might be possible to standardise various elements of WAPI in other international SDO’s
The TR option also potentially has this issue but it is unclear because the process after the Technical Report is approved is currently undefined
Jesse Walker (Intel)

15. Sept 08
Issue 4: all options require approval from the IEEE to resolve copyright issues
It appears that each of the proposed options either:
Modifies a document for which the IEEE owns the copyright
Uses at least some text from a document for which the IEEE owns the copyright
IEEE permission is thus probably required to proceed with any of the four options
There is no reason to think that the IEEE will not provide copyright permission, so long as the particular option is in the best interests of WLAN users
Jesse Walker (Intel)

16. Sept 08
The IEEE WG believe that the TR option can be refined to meet the needs of all stakeholders
The TR option is the only one of the options discussed that may be feasible
However, the TR option’s feasibility depends on refining it to enure any doubts about the four highlighted issues are resolved
The WG would like to propose a refined TR option that meets the needs of all stakeholders
It meets the goals of the IEEE WG and Wi-Fi users
It should meet the needs of the Chinese NB
It strengthens the relationship between ISO and the IEEE
Jesse Walker (Intel)

17. Sept 08
The WG would like to propose a refined TR option that meets the needs of all stakeholders
The key to the refined TR option is that WAPI is published as a TR by JTC1 so there is a common understanding among all stakeholders as to what WAPI is
It is likely that the TR will simply be a republication of the Chinese National Standard as submitted by the Chinese NB to ISO/IEC
The IEEE would need to provide any necessary copyright releases
ISO/IEC would then liaise the TR to IEEE WG, asking them to evaluate and standardise the elements of WAPI within the scope of
This process avoids the need for the Chinese NB to submit WAPI to the IEEE WG directly, which is apparently contrary to Chinese legal restrictions
Instead, ISO/IEC would be leveraging the expertise of IEEE WG in matters related to to undertake the standardisation process
This process also has the advantage that it results in one standard rather than two standards, one of which is orphaned
This process is also consistent with the previous SC6 policy for developing amendments to the ISO/IEC 8802 series
Jesse Walker (Intel)

18. August 2005
doc.: IEEE /1166r0
Sept 08
The WG would like to propose a refined TR option that meets the needs of all stakeholders
ISO/IEC would also liaise the TR to other JTC1 SC’s or SDO’s as necessary to standardise elements of WAPI outside the scope of (and )
Eventually, the IEEE WG would send the ratified standard, including appropriate elements of WAPI, back to ISO/IEC for review and standardisation as
Note that the WG is an open organisation and anyone can join
Intermediate review using IEEE Sponsor Ballots could also be arranged using processes similar to those defined in the defunct agreement
Certainly all NB’s (and individuals) would be encouraged to submit comments during the normal IEEE Sponsor Ballot process
JTC1 would probably use the normal fast track ballot process to confirm the revised standard
It is assumed that if the TR option did not lead to a revised standard including elements of WAPI then it would be allowed to expire (after 3 years) or renewed under JTC1 Directives
Note: it is requested that ISO provide suggestions on what project mechanisms are appropriate within ISO JTC1 to make this process work effectively
Jesse Walker (Intel)
Submission

19. Sept 08
The WG would like to propose a refined TR option that meets the needs of all stakeholders
ISO/IEC JTC/SC6/WG1
IEEE WG
Agree on process
Agree on process
Approve Chinese WAPI standard as ISO/IEC TR
Arrange with the IEEE any required copyright approval
Liaise TR to IEEE WG for integration of in-scope elements
Start SG to consider elements of WAPI as part of
Liaise TR to other groups for out of scope elements
Start TG to incorporate elements of WAPI
Continuous review of activities in other SDO’s
Standardise elements of WAPI within
Standardise (inc. elements of WAPI) as
Liaise to ISO/IEC JTC1
Jesse Walker (Intel)

20. Sept 08
A refined TR option meets the goals of the IEEE WG and Wi-Fi user
The IEEE WG believes the goals of the refined TR option resolves all the issues highlighted when evaluating the four options
Any amendments to are undertaken by the IEEE WG, as the group with the most appropriate expertise (Issue 1)
The result is a single standard that can easily be developed further in the future (Issue 2)
Any material outside the scope of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 or the IEEE WG is directed to a more appropriate group either inside or outside ISO/IEC (Issue 3)
Achieving these goals will almost certainly resolve any issue relating to IEEE copyright ownership of the document (issue 4)
The refined TR option also has the highest probability of success because it brings together the WAPI and experts in a single and appropriate forum to develop and agree on a single standard
Jesse Walker (Intel)

21. The refined TR option should meet the needs of the Chinese NB
Sept 08
The refined TR option should meet the needs of the Chinese NB
It is believed that the Chinese NB want to standardise WAPI quickly, within the bounds of Chinese legal restrictions
The refined TR option will almost certainly achieve standardisation with the bounds of Chinese legal restrictions by allowing the Chinese NB to submit WAPI to ISO rather than the IEEE WG
The speed of the standardisation process will depend on the commitment of the Chinese NB and its appointed individuals to assist the integration process within the IEEE WG
The Chair of the WG may offer immediate voting membership for those members of the Chinese NB that attend the first session of the WAPI SG
Any process other than full integration of WAPI into (and ) represents a false economy
It would ultimately lead to an orphaned standard, which could not be developed further to include e/g/h/i/j/k/ma/n/p/r/s/u/v/w/y/z/aa without substantial effort
Jesse Walker (Intel)

22. Sept 08
The refined TR process will strengthen the relationship between ISO and IEEE
The agreement recognised the expertise of the IEEE 802 in matters including WLAN standardisation, particularly within the scope of PHY and MAC
The recent PSDO agreement between IEEE and ISO extends this recognition further
The refined TR option provides an outstanding opportunity for the two organisations to work together in practical manner, each focusing on their particular area of expertise
The IEEE WG can focus on technical issues related to the amendment of IEEE , with the assistance of the WAPI experts from ISO
ISO/IEC JTC1 can focus on full and proper review the IEEE WG activities, as well as standardisation of technology outside the scope of IEEE
This strengthened relationship will assist all stakeholders in the future
Jesse Walker (Intel)

23. Sept 08
Lets gets started …
It is unlikely that the various stakeholders will be able to agree to all the details of the overall process or deliverables at the November SC6 plenary
However, it is important to put ourselves into a position whereby work on WAPI standardisation can occur as soon as possible
We suggest one way of doing this is to start the process of approving the Chinese WAPI National Standard as a ISO/IEC TR as soon as possible
The details of the process and deliverables can be agreed in subsequent meetings of SC6
Jesse Walker (Intel)