








     RFC 907






                    HOST ACCESS PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION



                                 July 1984








                               prepared for

                 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
                           1400 Wilson Boulevard
                         Arlington, Virginia 22209








                                    by

                   Bolt Beranek and Newman Laboratories
                             10 Moulton Street
                      Cambridge, Massachusetts 02238
















     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     Preface (Status of this Memo)

          This document specifies  the  Host  Access  Protocol  (HAP).
     Although  HAP was originally designed as the network-access level
     protocol for the DARPA/DCA sponsored  Wideband  Packet  Satellite
     Network,  it is intended that it evolve into a standard interface
     between hosts and  packet-switched  satellite  networks  such  as
     SATNET  and  TACNET (aka MATNET) as well as the Wideband Network.
     The HAP specification presented here is a minor revision of,  and
     supercedes,  the  specification  presented  in  Chapter  4 of BBN
     Report No. 4469, the  "PSAT  Technical  Report".   As  such,  the
     details  of  the  current  specification  are  still most closely
     matched to the characteristics if the Wideband Satellite Network.
     Revisions  to  the  specification  in the "PSAT Technical Report"
     include  the  definition  of  three  new  control  message  types
     (Loopback Request, Link Going Down, and NOP), a "Reason" field in
     Restart Request control messages, new Unnumbered Response  codes,
     and  new  values  for  the setup codes used to manage streams and
     groups.

          HAP is an experimental protocol, and  will  undergo  further
     revision as new capabilities are added and/or different satellite
     networks  are  supported.   Implementations  of  HAP  should   be
     performed  in coordination with satellite network development and
     operations personnel.




























     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                             Table of Contents




     1   Introduction.......................................... 1
     2   Overview.............................................. 3
     3   Datagram Messages..................................... 8
     4   Stream Messages...................................... 14
     5   Flow Control Messages................................ 17
     6   Setup Level Messages................................. 24
     6.1   Stream Setup Messages.............................. 32
     6.2   Group Setup Messages............................... 44
     7   Link Monitoring...................................... 58
     8   Initialization....................................... 62
     9   Loopback Control..................................... 68
     10   Other Control Messages.............................. 72



























                                     i








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                                  FIGURES




     DATAGRAM MESSAGE.......................................... 9
     STREAM MESSAGE........................................... 15
     ACCEPTANCE/REFUSAL WORD.................................. 19
     ACCEPTANCE/REFUSAL MESSAGE............................... 21
     UNNUMBERED RESPONSE...................................... 22
     SETUP MESSAGE HEADER..................................... 26
     NOTIFICATION MESSAGE..................................... 29
     SETUP ACKNOWLEDGMENT..................................... 31
     STREAM EXAMPLE........................................... 33
     CREATE STREAM REQUEST.................................... 35
     CREATE STREAM REPLY...................................... 37
     CHANGE STREAM PARAMETERS REQUEST......................... 39
     CHANGE STREAM PARAMETERS REPLY........................... 41
     DELETE STREAM REQUEST.................................... 42
     DELETE STREAM REPLY...................................... 43
     GROUP EXAMPLE............................................ 45
     CREATE GROUP REQUEST..................................... 47
     CREATE GROUP REPLY....................................... 48
     JOIN GROUP REQUEST....................................... 50
     JOIN GROUP REPLY......................................... 52
     LEAVE GROUP REQUEST...................................... 53
     LEAVE GROUP REPLY........................................ 55
     DELETE GROUP REQUEST..................................... 56
     DELETE GROUP REPLY....................................... 57
     STATUS MESSAGE........................................... 59
     HAP LINK RESTART STATE DIAGRAM........................... 64
     RESTART REQUEST.......................................... 65
     RESTART COMPLETE......................................... 67
     LOOPBACK REQUEST......................................... 71
     LINK GOING DOWN.......................................... 73
     NO OPERATION (NOP)....................................... 75








                                    ii








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     1  Introduction

          The Host Access Protocol (HAP) specifies the  network-access
     level communication between an arbitrary computer, called a host,
     and a packet-switched satellite network.  The  satellite  network
     provides  message  delivery services for geographically separated
     hosts: Messages containing data which are meaningful to the hosts
     are submitted to the network by an originating (source) host, and
     are passed transparently through  the  network  to  an  indicated
     destination host.  To utilize such services, a host interfaces to
     the satellite network via an access link to a  dedicated  packet-
     switching  computer,  known  as  a  Satellite  Interface  Message
     Processor (Satellite IMP or SIMP).   HAP  defines  the  different
     types  of  control messages and (host-to-host) data messages that
     may be exchanged over the access link connecting  a  host  and  a
     SIMP.   The  protocol establishes formats for these messages, and
     describes procedures for determining when each  type  of  message
     should be transmitted and what it means when one is received.

          The term "Interface Message  Processor"  originates  in  the
     ARPANET, where it refers to the ARPANET's packet-switching nodes.
     SIMPs differ from ARPANET IMPs in that SIMPs form a  network  via
     connections  to a common multiaccess/broadcast satellite channel,
     whereas ARPANET IMPs are interconnected  by  dedicated  point-to-
     point   terrestrial   communications   lines.   This  fundamental
     difference between  satellite-based  and  ARPANET-style  networks
     results in different mechanisms for the delivery of messages from
     source  to   destination   hosts   and   for   internal   network
     coordination.   Additionally,  satellite  networks  tend to offer
     different type of service options to their connected  hosts  than
     do  ARPANET-style  networks.   These  options are included in the
     Host Access Protocol presented here.

          Several types of Satellite IMPs have  been  developed  on  a
     variety  of processors for the support of three different packet-
     switched satellite networks.  The original SIMP was  employed  in
     the Atlantic Packet Satellite Network (SATNET).  It was developed
     from one of the models of ARPANET IMP, and was implemented  on  a
     Honeywell  316  minicomputer.   The  316  SIMPs were succeeded in
     SATNET by  SIMPs  based  on  BBN  C/30  Communications  Processor
     hardware.   The  C/30 SIMPs have also been employed in the Mobile



                                     1








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     Access Terminal Network (MATNET).  The SATNET  and  MATNET  SIMPs
     implement  a  network-access  level protocol known as Host/SATNET
     Protocol.  Host/SATNET Protocol is the precursor to  HAP  and  is
     documented  in  Internet  Experiment  Note  (IEN)  No.  192.  The
     Wideband  Satellite  Network,  like  SATNET,  has  undergone   an
     evolution  in  the development of its SIMP hardware and software.
     The original Wideband Network  SIMP  is  known  as  the  Pluribus
     Satellite  IMP,  or  PSAT,  having  been  implemented  on the BBN
     Pluribus Multiprocessor.  Its successor, the BSAT,  is  based  on
     the  BBN  Butterfly  Multiprocessor.   Both the PSAT and the BSAT
     communicate with their connected network hosts via HAP.

          Section 2 presents an  overview  of  HAP.   Details  of  HAP
     formats and message exchange procedures are contained in Sections
     3  through  10.   Further  explanation  of  many  of  the  topics
     addressed  in  this  HAP specification can be found in BBN Report
     No. 4469, the "PSAT Technical Report".

          The protocol used to provide sufficiently  reliable  message
     exchange  over the host-SIMP link is assumed to be transparent to
     the network-access protocol defined in this  document.   Examples
     of  such  link-level protocols are ARPANET 1822 local and distant
     host, ARPANET VDH protocol, and HDLC.





















                                     2








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     2  Overview

          HAP can  be  characterized  as  a  full  duplex  nonreliable
     protocol  with  an optional flow control mechanism.  HAP messages
     flow simultaneously in both directions between the SIMP  and  the
     host.  Transmission is nonreliable in the sense that the protocol
     does not provide any guarantee of error-free sequenced  delivery.
     To  the  extent that this functionality is required on the access
     link  (e.g.,  non-collocated  SIMP  and  host  operating  over  a
     communication  circuit),  it  must be supported by the link-level
     protocol  below  HAP.   The  flow  control   mechanism   operates
     independently in each direction except that enabling or disabling
     the mechanism applies to both sides of the interface.

          HAP  supports  host-to-host  communication  in   two   modes
     corresponding  to  the  two  types of HAP data messages, datagram
     messages and stream messages.  Each type of message can be up  to
     approximately  16K bits in length.  Datagram messages provide the
     basic transmission service in the  satellite  network.   Datagram
     messages transmitted by a host experience a nominal two satellite
     hop end-to-end network delay. (Note that this delay, of about 0.6
     sec  excluding  access  link  delay,  is associated with datagram
     transmission between hosts on different SIMPs.  The  transmission
     delay  between  hosts  on  the  same  SIMP  will  be much smaller
     assuming the destination is not a group address.  See  Section  3
     and  6.2.)  A  datagram control header, passed to the SIMP by the
     host along with message text, determines the  processing  of  the
     message  within the satellite network independent of any previous
     exchanges.

          Stream  messages  provide  a   one   satellite   hop   delay
     (approximately  0.3  sec)  for  volatile traffic, such as speech,
     which  cannot  tolerate  the  delay  associated   with   datagram
     transmission.   Hosts  may  also use streams to support high duty
     cycle applications which require  guaranteed  channel  bandwidth.
     Host  streams are established by a setup message exchange between
     the host and the network prior to the commencement of data  flow.
     Although  established host streams can have their characteristics
     modified by subsequent setup messages while they are in use,  the
     fixed  allocation  properties  of  streams  relative to datagrams
     impose rather strict requirements on the source  of  the  traffic



                                     3








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     using  the stream.  Stream traffic arrivals must match the stream
     allocation  both  in  interarrival  time  and  message  size   if
     reasonable efficiency is to be achieved.  The characteristics and
     use of datagrams and streams are described in detail in  Sections
     3 and 4 of this document.

          Both datagram  and  stream  transmission  in  the  satellite
     network  use  logical  addressing.   Each  host on the network is
     assigned a permanent 16-bit logical address which is  independent
     of  the physical port on the SIMP to which it is attached.  These
     16-bit logical addresses are provided  in  all  Host-to-SIMP  and
     SIMP-to-Host data messages.

          Hosts may also be members of groups.   Group  addressing  is
     provided  primarily  to  support  the  multi-destination delivery
     required for  conferencing  applications.   Like  streams,  group
     addresses are dynamically created and deleted by the use of setup
     messages exchanged between a host and the network.  Membership in
     a  group  may consist of an arbitrary subset of all the permanent
     network hosts.   A  message  addressed  to  a  group  address  is
     delivered to all hosts that are members of that group.

          Although HAP does not guarantee error-free  delivery,  error
     control is an important aspect of the protocol design.  HAP error
     control is concerned with both local transfers between a host and
     its local SIMP and transfers from SIMP-to-SIMP over the satellite
     channel.  The  SIMP  offers  users  a  choice  of  network  error
     protection  options based on the network's ability to selectively
     send messages over the  satellite  channel  at  different  coding
     rates.  These forward error correction (FEC) options are referred
     to as reliability levels.  Three reliability levels (low, medium,
     and high) are available to the host.

          In  addition  to  forward  error  correction,  a  number  of
     checksum  mechanisms are employed in the satellite network to add
     an error detection capability.  A host has  an  opportunity  when
     sending  a  message  to  indicate  whether  the message should be
     delivered to its destination or discarded  if  a  data  error  is
     detected  by  the  network.  Each message received by a host from
     the network will have a flag indicating whether or not  an  error
     was  detected in that particular message.  A host can decide on a



                                     4








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     per-message basis whether or not it wants to  accept  or  discard
     transmissions containing data errors.

          For connection of a host and SIMP in close proximity,  error
     rates  due  to  external noise or hardware failures on the access
     circuit may reasonably be expected to be much  smaller  than  the
     best satellite channel error rate.  Thus for this case, little is
     gained by using error detection and retransmission on the  access
     circuit.   A  16-bit  header  checksum  is  provided, however, to
     insure that SIMPs do not act on  incorrect  control  information.
     For    relatively    long   distances   or   noisy   connections,
     retransmissions over  the  access  circuit  may  be  required  to
     optimize  performance  for both low and high reliability traffic.
     It is expected that link-level error control procedures (such  as
     HDLC) will be used for this purpose.

          Datagram and stream messages being presented to the  network
     by  a  host may not be accepted for a number of reasons: priority
     too low, destination dead, lack of buffers in  the  source  SIMP,
     etc.  The host faces a similar situation with respect to handling
     messages from the SIMP.  To permit the receiver of a  message  to
     inform  the  sender  of  the local disposition of its message, an
     acceptance/refusal (A/R) mechanism is implemented.  The mechanism
     is  the external manifestation of the SIMP's (or host's) internal
     flow and congestion control algorithm.  If A/Rs are  enabled,  an
     explicit  or  implicit  acceptance or refusal for each message is
     returned to the host by the SIMP (and conversely).   This  allows
     the  host  (or  SIMP) to retry refused messages at its discretion
     and can provide information useful for optimizing the sending  of
     subsequent  messages if the reason for refusals is also provided.
     The A/R mechanism can be disabled to  provide  a  "pure  discard"
     interface.

          Each message submitted to the SIMP by a host  is  marked  as
     being  in one of four priority classes, from priority 3 (highest)
     through priority 0 (lowest).  The priority class is used  by  the
     SIMP  for  arbitrating  contention  for  scarce network resources
     (e.g., channel time).  That is, if the network cannot deliver all
     of the offered messages, high priority messages will be delivered
     in  preference  to  low  priority  messages.   In  the  case   of
     datagrams,  priority  level  is  used  by  the  SIMP for ordering



                                     5








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     satellite channel reservation requests at  the  source  SIMP  and
     message  delivery  at  the  destination  SIMP.   In  the  case of
     streams, priority is associated with the ability of one stream to
     preempt another stream of lower priority at setup time.

          While the A/R mechanism allows control of individual message
     transfers,  it  does not facilitate regulation of priority flows.
     Such regulation is handled by passing advisory status information
     (GOPRI)   across   the   Host-SIMP   interface  indicating  which
     priorities  are  currently  being  accepted.   As  long  as  this
     information, relative to the change in priority status, is passed
     frequently, the sender can avoid originating messages  which  are
     sure to be refused.

          HAP defines both data messages (datagram messages and stream
     messages)  and  control messages.  Data messages are used to send
     information  between  network  hosts.    Control   messages   are
     exchanged  between  a  host  and  the network to manage the local
     access link.  HAP can also be viewed in  terms  of  two  distinct
     protocol  layers,  the  message  layer  and the setup layer.  The
     message layer is associated with the transmission  of  individual
     datagram  messages and stream messages.  The setup layer protocol
     is associated with the establishment, modification, and  deletion
     of  streams  and  groups.   Setup  layer  exchanges  are actually
     implemented as datagrams transmitted between the user host and an
     internal SIMP "service host."

          Every HAP message consists of an integral number  of  16-bit
     words.   The  first  several  words of the message always contain
     control information and are referred to as  the  message  header.
     The  first  word  of  the  message  header identifies the type of
     message which follows.  The second word of the message header  is
     a  checksum  which  covers  all  header information.  Any message
     whose received  header  checksum  does  not  match  the  checksum
     computed  on  the  received header information must be discarded.
     The format of the rest of the  header  depends  on  the  specific
     message type.

          The formats and use of  the  individual  message  types  are
     detailed  in the following sections.  A common format description
     is used for this  purpose.   Words  in  a  message  are  numbered



                                     6








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     starting  at  zero  (i.e.,  zero  is  the first word of a message
     header).  Bits within  a  word  are  numbered  from  zero  (least
     significant) to fifteen (most significant).  The notation used to
     identify a particular field location is:

     <WORD#>{-<WORD#>}  [ <BIT#>{-<BIT#>} ]  <description>

     where optional elements in {} are used to specify the (inclusive)
     upper  limit  of a range.  The reader should refer to these field
     identifiers for precise field size specifications.  Fields  which
     are  common  to  several  message  types are defined in the first
     section which uses them.  Only the name of the field will usually
     appear in the descriptions in subsequent sections.

          Link-level protocols used to support HAP can differ  in  the
     order  in which they transmit the bits constituting HAP messages.
     For HDLC  and  ARPANET  VDH,  each  word  of  a  HAP  message  is
     transmitted  starting  with the least significant bit (bit 0) and
     ending with the most significant bit (bit 15).  The words of  the
     message  are transmitted from word 0 to word N.  For ARPANET 1822
     local and distant host interfaces, the order of bit  transmission
     within  each  word is the reverse of that for HDLC and VDH, i.e.,
     the transmission is from bit 15 to bit 0.





















                                     7








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     3  Datagram Messages

          Datagram messages are one of the two types of message  level
     data  messages  used to support host-to-host communication.  Each
     datagram can contain up to 16,384 bits of  user  data.   Datagram
     messages  transmitted  by  a  host  to  a  host  on a remote SIMP
     experience a nominal two satellite hop end-to-end  network  delay
     (about  0.6  sec),  excluding  delay  on  the access links.  This
     network delay is due to the reservation  per  message  scheduling
     procedure  for datagrams which only allocates channel time to the
     message for the duration of the actual transfer.  Since  datagram
     transfers between permanent hosts on the same SIMP do not require
     satellite channel scheduling prior  to  data  transmission,   the
     network delay in this case will be much smaller and is determined
     strictly  by  SIMP  processing  time.  Datagrams  sent  to  group
     addresses  are treated as if they were addressed to  remote hosts
     and are  always sent over the satellite channel.  It is  expected
     that  datagram  messages  will be used to support the majority of
     computer-to-computer and terminal-to-computer  traffic  which  is
     bursty in nature.

          The format of datagram messages and the purpose of  each  of
     the header control fields is described in Figure 1.





















                                     8








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      0      | 0|LB|GOPRI|  XXXX  | F|     MESSAGE NUMBER    |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      1      |               HEADER CHECKSUM                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      2      |                      A/R                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      3      | 0|IL| D| E| TTL | PRI | RLY |      RLEN       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      4      |            DESTINATION HOST ADDRESS           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      5      |              SOURCE HOST ADDRESS              |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     6-N     |                     DATA                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                        Figure 1 . DATAGRAM MESSAGE



     0[15]     Message Class.  This bit identifies the  message  as  a
               data message or a control message.

                    0 = Data Message
                    1 = Control Message

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.  This bit allows the sender of a  message
               to determine if its own messages are being looped back.
               The host and the SIMP each use  different  settings  of
               this bit for their transmissions.  If a message arrives
               with the loopback bit set equal to its outgoing  value,
               then the message has been looped.

                    0 = Sent by Host
                    1 = Sent by SIMP




                                     9








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     0[12-13]  Go-Priority.   In  SIMP-to-Host  messages,  this  field
               provides  advisory  information  concerning  the lowest
               priority currently being accepted  by  the  SIMP.   The
               host  may optionally choose to provide similar priority
               information to the SIMP.

                    0 = Low Priority
                    1 = Medium-Low Priority
                    2 = Medium-High Priority
                    3 = High Priority

     0[9-11]   Reserved.

     0[8]      Force Channel Transmission Flag.  This flag can be  set
               by  the  source  host to force the SIMP to transmit the
               message over the satellite channel even if the  message
               contains   permanent   destination   and   source  host
               addresses corresponding to hosts which  are  physically
               connected to the same SIMP.

                    0 = Normal operation
                    1 = Force channel transmission

     0[0-7]    Message Number.  This field contains the identification
               of  the  message  used  by the acceptance/refusal (A/R)
               mechanism (when enabled).  If  the  message  number  is
               zero,  A/R  is disabled for this specific message.  See
               Section  5  for  a  detailed  description  of  the  A/R
               mechanism.

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  This field contains a checksum  which
               covers  words  0-5.   It is computed as the negation of
               the 2's-complement sum  of  words  0-5  (excluding  the
               checksum word itself).

     2[0-15]   Piggybacked   A/R.    This   field   may   contain   an
               acceptance/refusal word providing A/R status on traffic
               flowing in the opposite direction.  Its  inclusion  may
               eliminate  the  need for a separate A/R control message
               (see Section 5).  A value of zero for this word is used
               to  indicate  that  no  piggybacked  A/R information is



                                    10








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



               present.

     3[15]     Data Message Type.  This  bit  identifies  whether  the
               message is a datagram message or a stream message.

                    0 = Datagram Message
                    1 = Stream Message

     3[14]     Internet/Local Flag.  This flag is set by a source host
               to  specify  to  a  destination  host  whether the data
               portion of the message contains a standard DoD Internet
               header.   This  field  is  passed  transparently by the
               source  and  destination  SIMPs  for  traffic   between
               external   satellite   network  hosts.  This  field  is
               examined by internal  SIMP  hosts  (e.g.,  the  network
               service host) in order to support Internet operation.

                    0 = Internet
                    1 = Local


     3[13]     Discard Flag.   This  flag  allows  a  source  host  to
               instruct   the   satellite   network   (including   the
               destination host) what to do with the message when data
               errors  are  detected  (assuming the header checksum is
               correct).

                    0 = Discard message if data errors detected.
                    1 = Don't discard message if data errors detected.


               The value of this flag, set  by  the  source  host,  is
               passed on to the destination host.

     3[12]     Data Error Flag.  This flag is used in conjunction with
               the  Discard  Flag  to indicate to the destination host
               whether any data  errors  have  been  detected  in  the
               message  prior  to  transmission  over the SIMP-to-Host
               access link.  It is used only if Discard Flag = 1.   It
               should be set to zero by the source host.




                                    11








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                    0 = No Data Errors Detected
                    1 = Data Errors Detected


     3[10-11]  Time-to-Live Designator.  The  source  host  uses  this
               field  to  specify  the  maximum  time  that a  message
               should be allowed to exist within the satellite network
               before being deleted.  Messages may be discarded by the
               network prior to this maximum elapsed time.

                    0 = 1 seconds
                    1 = 2 seconds
                    2 = 5 seconds
                    3 = 10 seconds


               The Time-to-Live field is undefined  in  messages  sent
               from a SIMP to a host.

     3[8-9]    Priority.  The source host uses this field  to  specify
               the  priority  with which the message should be handled
               within the network.

                    0 = Low Priority
                    1 = Medium-Low Priority
                    2 = Medium-High Priority
                    3 = High Priority


               The  priority  of  each  message  is  passed   to   the
               destination host by the destination SIMP.

     3[6-7]    Reliability.   The  source  host  uses  this  field  to
               specify  the  basic  bit error rate requirement for the
               data portion of this message.   The  source  SIMP  uses
               this   field   to   determine   the  satellite  channel
               transmission parameters required to  provide  that  bit
               error rate.

                    0 = Low Reliability
                    1 = Medium Reliability



                                    12








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                    2 = High Reliability
                    3 = Reserved


               The Reliability field is  undefined  in  messages  sent
               from a SIMP to a host.

     3[0-5]    Reliability Length.  This source host uses  this  field
               to  specify  a portion of the user data which should be
               transmitted at the highest  reliability  level  (lowest
               bit error rate).  Both the six message header words and
               the first Reliability Length words of user data will be
               transmitted at Reliability=2 while the remainder of the
               user data will be transmitted at  whatever  reliability
               level  is  specified  in field 3[6-7].  The reliability
               length mechanism gives the user the ability to transmit
               private  header  information (e.g., IP and TCP headers)
               at a higher reliability level than the remainder of the
               data.   The  Reliability  Length  field is undefined in
               messages sent from a SIMP to a host.

     4[0-15]   Destination Host  Address.   This  field  contains  the
               satellite  network  logical  address of the destination
               host.

     5[0-15]   Source Host Address.  This field contains the satellite
               network logical address of the source host.

     6-N       Data.  This field contains up to 16,384 bits (1024  16-
               bit words) of user data.














                                    13








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     4  Stream Messages

          Stream messages are the second type of  message  level  data
     messages.   As  noted  in  Section  2, streams exist primarily to
     provide a one satellite hop delay for volatile  traffic  such  as
     speech.   Hosts  may  also use streams to support high duty cycle
     applications which require guaranteed channel bandwidth.

          Streams must be created before stream messages can flow from
     host  to  host.   The  protocol  to accomplish stream creation is
     described  in  Section  6.1.   Once  established,  a  stream   is
     associated   with  a  recurring  channel  allocation  within  the
     satellite network.  This fixed allocation imposes  rather  strict
     requirements  on  the  host using the stream if efficient channel
     utilization is to be achieved.  In  particular,  stream  messages
     must  match  the  stream allocation both in terms of message size
     and message interarrival time.

          Within the bounds  of  its  stream  allocation,  a  host  is
     permitted  considerable  flexibility  in how it may use a stream.
     Although the priority, reliability,  and  reliability  length  of
     each  stream  message  is  fixed  at  stream  creation  time, the
     destination logical address  can  vary  from  stream  message  to
     stream  message.   A host can, therefore,  multiplex a variety of
     logical flows onto a single host stream.  The  format  of  stream
     messages is described in Figure 2.


















                                    14








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      0      | 0|LB|GOPRI|   XXXX    |     MESSAGE NUMBER    |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      1      |               HEADER CHECKSUM                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      2      |                      A/R                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      3      | 1|IL| D| E| TTL |       HOST STREAM ID        |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      4      |            DESTINATION HOST ADDRESS           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      5      |              SOURCE HOST ADDRESS              |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     6-N     |                     DATA                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                         Figure 2 . STREAM MESSAGE



     0[15]     Message Class = 0 (Data Message).

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.

     0[12-13]  Go-Priority.

     0[8-11]   Reserved.

     0[0-7]    Message Number.  This field serves the same purpose  as
               the  message  number  field  in  the  datagram message.
               Moreover, a single message number sequence is used  for
               both datagram and stream messages (see Section 5).

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  Covers Words 0-5.

     2[0-15]   Piggybacked A/R.



                                    15








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     3[15]     Data Message Type = 1 (Stream).

     3[14]     Internet/Local Flag.

     3[13]     Discard Flag.

     3[12]     Data Error Flag.

     3[10-11]  Time-to-live Designator.

                    0 = Reserved
                    1 = 1 second
                    2 = Reserved
                    3 = Reserved

     3[0-9]    Host Stream ID.  The service host uses  this  field  to
               identify  the  host stream over which the message is to
               be sent by the SIMP.  Host stream IDs  are  established
               at  stream  creation time via host exchanges with their
               network service host (see Section 6.1).

     4[0-15]   Destination Host Address.

     5[0-15]   Source Host Address.

     6-N       Data.  This field contains up to 16,000  bits  of  user
               data (multiple of 16-bits).

















                                    16








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     5  Flow Control Messages

          The SIMP supports an acceptance/refusal (A/R)  mechanism  in
     each  direction  on  the  host access link.  The A/R mechanism is
     enabled for the link by the host by setting a bit in the  Restart
     Complete  control  message  (see  Section  8).  Each datagram and
     stream message contains an 8-bit message number used to  identify
     the  message  for  flow  control purposes.  Both the host and the
     SIMP increment this number modulo 256 in successive messages they
     transmit.   Up  to  127  messages  may  be  outstanding  in  each
     direction at any time.  If the receiver of a message is unable to
     accept  the  message, a refusal indication containing the message
     number of the refused message and the reason for the  refusal  is
     returned.   The  refusal  indication  may  be piggybacked on data
     messages in the opposite direction over the link or may  be  sent
     in a separate control message in the absence of reverse traffic.

          Acceptance indications are returned  in  a  similar  manner,
     either  piggybacked  on  data  messages or in a  separate control
     message.  An acceptance is returned by the receiver  to  indicate
     that   the   identified  message  was  not  refused.   Acceptance
     indications returned  by  the  SIMP  do  not,  however,  imply  a
     guarantee of delivery or even any assurance that the message will
     not be intentionally discarded by the network at  a  later  time.
     They  are  sent  primarily to facilitate buffer management in the
     host.

          To reduce the number of A/R messages exchanged, a single A/R
     indication   can   be  returned  for  multiple  (lower  numbered)
     previously  unacknowledged  messages.   Explicit  acceptance   of
     message  number  N  implies  implicit  acceptance  of outstanding
     messages  with  numbers  N-1,  N-2,  etc.,   according   to   the
     definition  of  acceptance  outlined  above.  (Note that explicit
     acceptance of message number N  does not imply that  all  of  the
     unacknowledged  outstanding  messages  have  been  received.)  An
     analogous interpretation of refusal  message  number  allows  the
     receiver  of  a  group  of  messages  to  reject  them as a group
     assuming that they all are being refused for the same reason.  As
     a  further  efficiency  measure,  HAP  permits  a  block  of  A/R
     indications to be aggregated into a single A/R  control  message.
     Such  a  message might be used, for example, to reject a group of



                                    17








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     messages where the refusal code on each is different.

          In  some  circumstances   the   overhead   associated   with
     processing A/R messages may prove unattractive.  For these cases,
     it is possible to disable the A/R mechanism and operate  the  HAP
     interface  in  a purely discard mode.  The ability to effect this
     on a link basis has already been noted (see Sections  2  and  8).
     In  addition,  messages  with  sequence number  zero are taken as
     messages for which the A/R mechanism is selectively disabled.  To
     permit  critical  feedback,  even when operating in discard mode,
     HAP defines an "Unnumbered Response" control message.

          The format shown in  Figure 3  is used both for piggybacking
     A/R  indications on data messages (word 2), and for providing A/R
     information in separate control messages.  When separate  control
     messages  are  used to transmit A/R indications, the format shown
     in  Figure  4  applies.   Flow  control  information  and   other
     information  which cannot be sent as an A/R indication is sent in
     an Unnumbered Response control message.  The format of this  type
     of message is illustrated in Figure 5.
























                                    18








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
             |AR|    REFUSAL CODE    |  A/R MESSAGE NUMBER   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                    Figure 3 . ACCEPTANCE/REFUSAL WORD



     [15]      Acceptance/Refusal Type.  This field identifies whether
               A/R information is an acceptance or a refusal.

                    0 = Acceptance
                    1 = Refusal

     [8-14]    Refusal Code.  When the Acceptance/Refusal  Type  =  1,
               this field gives the Refusal Code.

                    0 = Priority not being accepted
                    1 = Source SIMP congestion
                    2 = Destination SIMP congestion
                    3 = Destination host dead
                    4 = Destination SIMP dead
                    5 = Illegal destination host address
                    6 = Destination host access not allowed
                    7 = Illegal source host address
                    8 = Message lost in access link
                    9 = Nonexistent stream ID
                   10 = Illegal source host for stream ID
                   11 = Message length too long
                   12 = Stream message too early
                   13 = Illegal control message type
                   14 = Illegal refusal code in A/R
                   15 = Illegal reliability value
                   16 = Destination host congestion

     [0-7]     A/R Message Number.  This field contains the number  of



                                    19








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



               the  message  to  which this acceptance/refusal refers.
               It  also  applies  to  all  outstanding  messages  with
               earlier  numbers.   Note  that  this field can never be
               zero since a message number of zero  implies  that  the
               A/R mechanism is disabled.







































                                    20








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      0      | 1|LB|GOPRI|   XXXX    |  LENGTH   |     1     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      1      |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      2      |                      A/R                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      .      .                      ...                      .
      .      .                      ...                      .
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      N      |                      A/R                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                   Figure 4 . ACCEPTANCE/REFUSAL MESSAGE



     0[15]     Message Class = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.

     0[12-13]  Go-Priority.

     0[8-11]   Reserved.

     0[4-7]    Message Length.  This field contains the  total  length
               of this message in words (N+1).

     0[0-3]    Control Message Type = 1 (Acceptance/Refusal).

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  The checksum covers words 0-N.

     2[0-15]   Acceptance/Refusal Word.

     3-N       Additional Acceptance/Refusal Words (optional).




                                    21








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      0      | 1|LB|GOPRI|   XXXX    | RES-CODE  |     5     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      1      |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      2      |                 RESPONSE INFO                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      3      |                 RESPONSE INFO                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 5 . UNNUMBERED RESPONSE



     0[15]     Message Class = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.

     0[12-13]  Go-Priority.

     0[8-11]   Reserved.

     0[4-7]    Response Code.

                    3 = Destination unreachable
                    5 = Illegal destination host address
                    7 = Illegal source host address
                    9 = Nonexistent stream ID
                   10 = Illegal stream ID
                   13 = Protocol violation
                   15 = Can't implement loop

     0[0-3]    Control Message Type = 5 (Unnumbered Response).

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  Covers words 0-3.




                                    22








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     2[0-15]   Response Information. If Response Code is:

                    3, Destination Host Address
                    5, Destination Host Address
                    7, Source Host Address
                    9, Stream ID (right justified)
                   10, Stream ID (right justified)
                   13, Word 0 of offending message
                   15, Word 0 of Loopback Request message

     3[0-15]   Response Information. If Response Code is:

                    3,5,7, or 9. Undefined
                    10, Source Host Address
                    13, Word 3 of offending message, or zero if
                        no word 3
                    15, Word 2 of Loopback Request message



























                                    23








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     6  Setup Level Messages

          Setup  level   protocol   is   provided   to   support   the
     establishment,  modification,  and deletion of groups and streams
     in the packet satellite network.  A host wishing to  perform  one
     of  these  generic  operations interacts with the network service
     host  (logical  address  zero).   The  service  host  causes  the
     requested action to be carried out and serves as the intermediary
     between the user and the rest of the network.  In the process  of
     implementing the requested action, various network data bases are
     updated to reflect the current state of the referenced  group  or
     stream.

          The communication between the host and the service  host  is
     implemented  via special-purpose datagrams called setup messages.
     Each interaction initiated by a host involves  a  3-way  exchange
     where: (1) the user host sends a Request to the service host, (2)
     the service host returns a Reply to the user host,  and  (3)  the
     user  host  returns  a  Reply Acknowledgment to the service host.
     This procedure  is  used  to   insure  reliable  transmission  of
     requests  and  replies.   In  order  to allow more than one setup
     request message from a host to be outstanding,  each  request  is
     assigned   a   unique  Request  ID.   The  associated  Reply  and
     subsequent Reply Acknowledgment are identified by the Request  ID
     that they contain.  Hosts should generally expect a minimum delay
     of about two satellite round-trip times between the  transmission
     of  a setup Request to the SIMP and the receipt of the associated
     Reply.  (Note that the Join Group Request  and  the  Leave  Group
     Request  require  only local communication between a host and its
     SIMP.  The  response  time  for  these  requests,  therefore,  is
     dependent   solely   on   SIMP  processing  time  and  should  be
     considerably shorter  than  two  round-trip  times.)  This  delay
     establishes  a  maximum rate at which changes can be processed by
     the SIMP.  The user should receive a reply  to  a  setup  request
     requiring  global  communication  within 2 seconds and to a setup
     request requiring local communication within 1 second.  The  host
     should respond to a SIMP Reply with a Reply Acknowledgment within
     1 second.






                                    24








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



          Setup exchanges can also be initiated  by  the  SIMP.  SIMP-
     initiated  setup messages are used to notify a host of changes in
     the status of an associated group or  stream.  Each  notification
     involves  a  2-way  exchange  where: (1) the service host sends a
     Notification to the user host, and (2) the user  host  returns  a
     Notification  Acknowledgment  to  the  service  host. In order to
     allow more than one Notification  to  be  outstanding,  each   is
     assigned    a    unique   Notification   ID.   The   Notification
     Acknowledgment returned by the user host to the service host must
     contain the Notification ID.

          The general format of every setup message is:

                         <DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER>
                        <OPTIONAL INTERNET HEADER>
                          <SETUP MESSAGE HEADER>
                           <SETUP MESSAGE BODY>

     The service host accepts setup requests  in  either  Internet  or
     non-Internet  format.   Replies  from the service host will be in
     the same form as the request,  that  is,  Internet  requests  get
     Internet  replies,  and  non-Internet  requests  get non-Internet
     replies.

          The format of the combined datagram message header and setup
     message header is illustrated in Figure 6.  The body of the setup
     messages depends on the particular setup  message  type.   Stream
     request  and  reply messages are described in Section 6.1.  Group
     request and reply messages are  described  in  Section  6.2.   To
     simplify  the  presentation  in both of these sections, the setup
     messages are assumed to be exchanged between  a  local  host  and
     SIMP  even  though Internet group and stream setups are supported
     (see Figure 6).  The format of notifications, which  consists  of
     only  a  single  word  beyond the basic setup header, is shown in
     Figure 7.  Since the SIMP does not retain the  optional  Internet
     header  information  that  can  be  included  in  setup requests,
     Internet  notifications  are  not  supported.   The   format   of
     acknowledgment   messages   associated   with  request/reply  and
     notification setups is illustrated in Figure 8.





                                    25








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     6-N     |          <OPTIONAL INTERNET HEADER>           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     N+1     |      SETUP TYPE       |      SETUP CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     N+2     |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     N+3     |                   SETUP  ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 6 . SETUP MESSAGE HEADER



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.  Each  setup  message  begins
                with the six word datagram message header (see Section
                3).

     6-N        Internet  Header  (Optional).   These   fields,   when
                present, conform to the DoD Standard Internet Protocol
                (IP). The Internet header size  is  a  minimum  of  10
                words  but  can  be  longer  depending  on  the use of
                optional  IP   facilities.    (Internet   notification
                messages are not supported.)

     N+1[8-15]  Setup Type.  This field determines the type  of  setup
                message.

                     0 = Acknowledgment
                     1 = Request
                     2 = Reply
                     3 = Notification

     N+1[0-7]   Setup Code.  For requests,  this field identifies  the



                                    26








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                Request Type.

                     1 = Create group address
                     2 = Delete group address
                     3 = Join group
                     4 = Leave group
                     5 = Create stream
                     6 = Delete stream
                     7 = Change stream parameters
                     8 = Reserved

                For Replies, this field provides the Reply Code.  Some
                of  the  Reply  Codes  can  be  returned  to any setup
                request and others are request specific.

                     0 = Group or stream created
                     1 = Group or stream deleted
                     2 = Group joined
                     3 = Group left
                     4 = Stream changed
                     5 = Reserved
                     6 = Bad request type
                     7 = Reserved
                     8 = Network trouble
                     9 = Bad key
                    10 = Group address/stream ID nonexistent
                    11 = Not member of group/creator of stream
                    12 = Stream priority not being accepted
                    13 = Reserved
                    14 = Reserved
                    15 = Illegal interval
                    16 = Reserved
                    17 = Insufficient network resources
                    18 = Requested bandwidth too large
                    19 = Reserved
                    20 = Reserved
                    21 = Maximum messages per slot not consistent with
                         slot size
                    22 = Reply lost in network
                    23 = Illegal reliability value




                                    27








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                For   Notifications,   this   field    contains    the
                Notification Type.

                     0 = Stream suspended
                     1 = Stream resumed
                     2 = Stream deleted
                     3 = Group deleted by host
                     4 = Group deleted by SIMP
                     5 = All streams deleted
                     6 = All groups deleted

                For   Acknowledgments,   this   field   contains   the
                Acknowledgment Type.

                     0 = Reply acknowledgment
                     1 = Notification acknowledgment

     N+2[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  The checksum covers the  three  setup
                message  header  words and the setup message body data
                words.  Setups received with  bad  checksums  must  be
                discarded.

     N+3[0-15]  Setup ID.  This field  is  assigned  by  the  host  to
                uniquely  identify  outstanding  requests (Request ID)
                and  by  the  service  host   to   uniquely   identify
                outstanding notifications (Notification ID).


















                                    28








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           3           |   NOTIFICATION TYPE   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                 NOTIFICATION ID               |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |                NOTIFICATION INFO              |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 7 . NOTIFICATION MESSAGE



     0-5         Datagram Message Header (see Section 3).

       6[8-15]   Setup Type = 3 (Notification).

       6[0-7]    Notification Type.

                      0 = Stream suspended
                      1 = Stream resumed
                      2 = Stream deleted
                      3 = Group deleted by host
                      4 = Group deleted by SIMP
                      5 = All streams deleted
                      6 = All groups deleted

       7[0-15]   Setup Checksum. Covers words 6-9.

       8[0-15]   Notification ID.

       9[0-15]   Notification Information.  This  field  contains  the
                 16-bit   group   address  in  the  case  of  a  group



                                    29








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                 notification (types 3 and  4)  and  the  10-bit  host
                 stream  ID  (right justified) in the case of a stream
                 notification (types 0-2).  This  field  is  zero  for
                 Notification  Types  5  and  6,  which pertain to ALL
                 streams and groups, respectively.







































                                    30








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           0           |        ACK TYPE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                   SETUP  ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 8 . SETUP ACKNOWLEDGMENT



     0-5         Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]   Setup Type = 0 (Acknowledgment).

       6[0-7]    Acknowledgment Type.

                     0 = Reply acknowledgment
                     1 = Notification acknowledgment

       7[0-15]   Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-8.

       8[0-15]   Setup  ID.   This  is  either  a  Request  ID  or   a
                 Notification ID.












                                    31








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     6.1  Stream Setup Messages

          Hosts use  streams to support high duty  cycle  applications
     and   applications   requiring   a   one  satellite  hop  network
     transmission delay.  Host streams must be set  up  before  stream
     data messages can flow.  The stream setup messages defined by HAP
     are Create Stream Request, Create  Stream  Reply,  Delete  Stream
     Request,  Delete  Stream Reply, Change Stream Parameters Request,
     and Change Stream Parameters Reply.  The use of these messages is
     illustrated  in  the scenario of exchanges between a host and its
     local SIMP shown in Figure 9 where the host establishes a stream,
     sends  some data, modifies the stream characteristics, sends some
     more data, and finally closes down the stream.

          It is worthwhile noting that the setup exchanges in Figure 9
     are  completely  between  the host originating the stream and its
     local SIMP.  Other SIMPs and hosts are essentially unaware of the
     existence   of   the  stream.   Stream  messages  received  by  a
     destination  host  are,  therefore,  processed   identically   to
     datagram  messages.   (All SIMPs must, of course, be aware of the
     channel allocation associated with a  host  stream  in  order  to
     perform  satellite  channel  scheduling.)   Not  illustrated, but
     implicit in this  scenario,  are  the  optional  A/R  indications
     associated with each of the stream setup messages.




















                                    32








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






                                              Host       SIMP

             Create Stream Request                ------>
             Create Stream Reply                  <------
             Reply Acknowledgment                 ------>
             Stream Message                       ------>
                  .
                  .
             Stream Message                       ------>
             Change Stream Parameters Request     ------>
             Change Stream Parameters Reply       <------
             Reply Acknowledgment                 ------>
             Stream Message                       ------>
                  .
                  .
             Stream Message                       ------>
             Delete Stream Request                ------>
             Delete Stream Reply                  <------
             Reply Acknowledgment                 ------>



                         Figure 9 . STREAM EXAMPLE



          Host streams have six characteristic  properties  which  are
     selected  at stream setup time.  These properties, which apply to
     every message transmitted in the stream, are: (1) slot size,  (2)
     interval,  (3) reliability, (4) reliability length, (5) priority,
     and (6) maximum messages per slot.  To establish  a  stream,  the
     host  sends  the  Create  Stream  Request  message illustrated in
     Figure 10 to the SIMP.  After the satellite network has processed
     the Create Stream Request, the SIMP will respond to the host with
     a Create Stream Reply message formatted as shown  in  Figure  11.
     Assuming  that the reply code in the Create Stream Reply  is zero
     indicating that the stream has  been  created  successfully,  the
     host may proceed to transmit stream data messages after sending a



                                    33








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     Reply Acknowledgment.

          During the lifetime of a stream, the host which  created  it
     may  decide that some of its six characteristic properties should
     be modified.  All of the properties except  the  stream  interval
     can  be  modified  using  the  Change  Stream  Parameters Request
     message.  The format of this command is illustrated in Figure 12.
     After  the  network  has  processed  the Change Stream Parameters
     Request, the  SIMP  will  respond  by  sending  a  Change  Stream
     Parameters  Reply to the host with the format shown in Figure 13.
     A host requesting a reduced channel  allocation  should  decrease
     its  sending  rate immediately without waiting for receipt of the
     Change Stream Parameters Reply.  A host requesting  an  increased
     allocation  should  not  proceed to transmit according to the new
     set of parameters without first having received a Reply Code of 4
     indicating that the requested change has taken effect.

          When the host which created the host stream determines  that
     the  stream  is  no  longer  needed  and the associated satellite
     channel allocation can be freed up, the host sends its local SIMP
     a  Delete Stream Request message formatted as indicated in Figure
     14.  After the network has processed the Delete  Stream  Request,
     the  SIMP  will  respond  by sending a Delete Stream Reply to the
     host with the format shown in Figure 15.




















                                    34








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           1           |           5           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |  MAX MES  | INT | PRI | RLY |      RLEN       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     10      |                   SLOT SIZE                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                     Figure 10 . CREATE STREAM REQUEST



     0-5         Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]   Setup Type = 1 (Request).

       6[0-7]    Request Type = 5 (Create Stream).

       7[0-15]   Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-10.

       8[0-15]   Request ID.

       9[12-15]  Maximum Messages Per Slot.  This field specifies  the
                 the  maximum number of stream messages that will ever
                 be delivered to the SIMP by the host for transmission
                 in one stream slot.

       9[10-11]  Interval.  This  field  specifies  the  interval,  in
                 number of 21.2 ms  frames, between stream slots.




                                    35








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                      0 = 1 frame
                      1 = 2 frames
                      2 = 4 frames
                      3 = 8 frames

                 As an example, an interval of 4 frames corresponds to
                 an allocation of Slot Size words every 85 ms.

       9[8-9]    Priority.  This field specifies the priority at which
                 all messages in the host stream should be handled.

                      0 = Low priority
                      1 = Medium Low Priority
                      2 = Medium High Priority
                      3 = High Priority

       9[6-7]    Reliability.  This field  specifies  the  basic  bit-
                 error  rate  requirement  for the data portion of all
                 messages in the host stream.

                      0 = Low Reliability
                      1 = Medium Reliability
                      2 = High Reliability
                      3 = Reserved

       9[0-5]    Reliability Length.  This field  specifies  how  many
                 words  beyond  the  stream  message  header should be
                 transmitted at maximum reliability for  all  messages
                 in the host stream.

       10[0-15]  Slot Size.  This field specifies  the  slot  size  in
                 16-bit  words of stream message text.  Stream message
                 header words are excluded from this count.  The  host
                 can partition this allocation on a slot-by-slot basis
                 among a variable number of messages as  long  as  the
                 maximum  number  of messages per slot does not exceed
                 MAX MES.







                                    36








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           2           |      REPLY CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |      XXXXX      |       HOST STREAM ID        |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 11 . CREATE STREAM REPLY



     0-5          Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]    Setup Type = 2 (Reply).

       6[0-7]     Reply Code.

                       0 = Stream created
                       8 = Network trouble
                      12 = Stream priority not being accepted
                      17 = Insufficient network resources
                      18 = Requested bandwidth too large
                      21 = Maximum messages per slot not consistent
                           with slot size
                      22 = Reply lost in network
                      23 = Illegal reliability value

       7[0-15]    Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-9.

       8[0-15]    Request ID.




                                    37








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



       9[10-15]   Reserved.

       9[0-9]     Host Stream ID.  This field contains a  host  stream
                  ID  assigned by the network.  It must be included in
                  all stream data messages sent by the host  to  allow
                  the SIMP to associate the message with stored stream
                  characteristics and the reserved  satellite  channel
                  time.




































                                    38








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           1           |           7           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |      XXXXX      |       HOST STREAM ID        |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     10      |  MAX MES  | INT | PRI | RLY |      RLEN       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     11      |                   SLOT SIZE                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


               Figure 12 . CHANGE STREAM PARAMETERS REQUEST



     0-5          Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]    Setup Type = 1 (Request).

       6[0-7]     Request Type = 7 (Change Stream Parameters).

       7[0-15]    Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-11.

       8[0-15]    Request ID.

       9[10-15]   Reserved.

       9[0-9]     Host Stream ID.

       10[12-15]  New Maximum Messages Per Slot.




                                    39








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



       10[10-11]  Interval.   This  field  must  specifiy   the   same
                  interval  as  was  specified  in  the  Create Stream
                  Request message for this stream.

       10[8-9]    New Priority.

       10[6-7]    New Reliability.

       10[0-5]    New Reliability Length.

       11[0-15]   New Slot Size.

































                                    40








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           2           |      REPLY CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                Figure 13 . CHANGE STREAM PARAMETERS REPLY



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 2 (Reply).

       6[0-7]   Reply Code.

                     4 = Stream changed
                     8 = Network trouble
                    10 = Stream ID nonexistent
                    11 = Not creator of stream
                    12 = Stream priority not being accepted
                    15 = Illegal interval
                    17 = Insufficient network resources
                    18 = Requested bandwidth too large
                    21 = Maximum messages per slot not consistent with
                         slot size
                    22 = Reply lost in network
                    23 = Illegal reliability value

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-8.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.



                                    41








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           1           |           6           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |      XXXXX      |       HOST STREAM ID        |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                     Figure 14 . DELETE STREAM REQUEST



     0-5      Datagram Message Header.

     6[8-15]  Setup Type = 1 (Request).

     6[0-7]   Request Type = 6 (Delete Stream).

     7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-9.

     8[0-15]  Request ID.

     9[10-15] Reserved.

     9[0-9]   Host Stream ID.










                                    42








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           2           |      REPLY CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 15 . DELETE STREAM REPLY



     0-5      Datagram Message Header.

     6[8-15]  Setup Type = 2 (Reply).

     6[0-7]   Reply Code.

          1 = Stream deleted
          8 = Network trouble
         10 = Stream ID nonexistent
         11 = Not creator of stream
         17 = Insufficient network resources
         22 = Reply lost in network

     7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-8.

     8[0-15]  Request ID.









                                    43








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     6.2  Group Setup Messages

          Group addressing allows  hosts  to  take  advantage  of  the
     broadcast  capability  of  the satellite network and is primarily
     provided to support the multi-destination delivery  required  for
     conferencing   applications.   Group  addresses  are  dynamically
     created and deleted via setup messages  exchanged  between  hosts
     and  the  network.   Membership  in  a  group  may  consist of an
     arbitrary subset of all the permanent network hosts.  A  datagram
     message  or  stream  message  addressed to a group is always sent
     over the satellite channel and delivered to all  hosts  that  are
     members of that group.  The group setup messages are Create Group
     Request, Create Group Reply, Delete Group Request,  Delete  Group
     Reply, Join Group Request, Join Group Reply, Leave Group Request,
     and Leave Group Reply.

          The use of group setup messages is shown in Figure 16.   The
     figure  illustrates a scenario of exchanges between two hosts and
     their local SIMPs.  In the scenario one host, Host A,  creates  a
     group  which  is  joined by a second host, Host B.  After the two
     hosts have exchanged some data mesages addressed  to  the  group,
     Host  B  decides  to leave the group and Host A decides to delete
     the group.  As in the scenario in Section  6.1,  A/R  indications
     have been omitted for clarity.

          Part of the group creation procedure involves  the   service
     host  returning a 48-bit key along with a 16-bit group address to
     the host creating the group.  The creating host must pass the key
     along with the group address to the other hosts which it wants as
     group members.  These other hosts must supply the key along  with
     the  group address in their Join Group Requests.  The key is used
     by the network  to  authenticate  these  operations  and  thereby
     minimize the probability that unwanted hosts will deliberately or
     inadvertently become members of the group.  The procedure used by
     a  host to distribute the group address and key is not within the
     scope of HAP.








                                    44








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






                                   Host   SIMP    SIMP   Host
                                    A      A       B      B

        Create Group Request         ------>
        Create Group Reply           <------
        Reply Acknowledgment         ------>
             .
             .
                                     >>Group Address,Key>>
             .
             .
        Join Group Request                          <------
        Join Group Reply                            ------>
        Reply Acknowledgment                        <------

        Data Message 1               ------>
        Data Message 1               <------        ------>
        Data Message 2                              <------
        Data Message 2               <------        ------>
        Leave Group Request                         <------
        Leave Group Reply                           ------>
        Reply Acknowledgment                        <------
        Delete Group Request         ------>
        Delete Group Reply           <------
        Reply Acknowledgment         ------>


                         Figure 16 . GROUP EXAMPLE




          Any host no longer wishing to participate  in  a  group  may
     choose  to  drop out.  This can be accomplished by either a Leave
     or a Delete.  Both Leave and Delete operations are  authenticated
     using  the 48-bit key.  Leave is a local operation between a host
     and its SIMP which removes the requesting  host  from  the  group
     membership  list  but  does not alter the global existence of the



                                    45








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     group.  A Delete, on the other hand, expunges  all  knowledge  of
     the  group  from  every SIMP in the network.  HAP will permit any
     member of a group to delete the group at any time.   Thus,  group
     addresses  can  be  deleted  even  if  the  host which originally
     created the group has left the group or has  crashed.   Moreover,
     groups may exist for which there are currently no members because
     each member has executed  a  Leave  while  none  has  executed  a
     Delete.  It  is the responsibility of the hosts to coordinate and
     manage the use of groups.

          The Create Group Request message sent to the service host to
     establish a group address is illustrated in Figure 17.  After the
     network has processed the Create Group Request, the service  host
     will  respond  by  sending  a  Create  Group Reply to the host as
     illustrated in Figure 18.

          A host may become a member of a  group  once  it  knows  the
     address  and key associated with the group by sending the service
     host the Join Group Request message  shown  in  Figure  19.   The
     service  host  will respond to the Join Group Request with a Join
     Group Reply formatted as indicated in Figure 20.  The host  which
     creates  a  group  automatically  becomes  a member of that group
     without any need for an explicit Join Group Request.

          At any time after becoming a member of a group, a  host  may
     choose  to  drop out of the group.  To effect this the host sends
     the service host a Leave Group  Request  formatted  as  shown  in
     Figure  21.   The  service  host  will respond to the Leave Group
     Request with a Leave Group Reply formatted as shown in Figure 22.

          Any member of a group can  request  that  the  service  host
     delete  an existing group via a Delete Group Request.  The format
     of the Delete Group  Request  setup  message  is  illustrated  in
     Figure  23.   After  the  network  has processed the Delete Group
     Request, the service host will respond to the host with a  Delete
     Group Reply formatted as illustrated in Figure 24.








                                    46








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           1           |           1           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                     Figure 17 . CREATE GROUP REQUEST



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 1 (Request).

       6[0-7]   Request Type = 1 (Create Group).

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-8.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.
















                                    47








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           2           |      REPLY CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |                 GROUP ADDRESS                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     10      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     11      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     12      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 18 . CREATE GROUP REPLY



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 2 (Reply).

       6[0-7]   Reply Code.

                     0 = Group created
                     8 = Network trouble
                    17 = Insufficient network resources
                    22 = Reply lost in network

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-12.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.



                                    48








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



       9[0-15]  Group Address.  This field contains a  16-bit  logical
                address  assigned  by the network which may be used by
                the host as a group address.

       10-12    Key.  This field contains a 48-bit key assigned by the
                network  which  is  associated with the group address.
                It must be provided for subsequent  Join,  Leave,  and
                Delete requests which reference the group address.




































                                    49








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           1           |           3           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |                 GROUP ADDRESS                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     10      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     11      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     12      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 19 . JOIN GROUP REQUEST



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 1 (Request).

       6[0-7]   Request Type = 3 (Join Group).

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-12.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.

       9[0-15]  Group Address.  This is the  logical  address  of  the
                group that the host wishes to join.

     10-12      Key.  This  is  the  key  associated  with  the  group



                                    50








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                address.











































                                    51








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           2           |      REPLY CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                       Figure 20 . JOIN GROUP REPLY



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 2 (Reply).

       6[0-7]   Reply Code.

                     2 = Group joined
                     9 = Bad key
                    10 = Group address nonexistent
                    17 = Insufficient network resources

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-8.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.











                                    52








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           1           |           4           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |                 GROUP ADDRESS                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     10      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     11      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     12      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 21 . LEAVE GROUP REQUEST



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 1 (Request).

       6[0-7]   Request Type = 4 (Leave Group).

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-12.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.

       9[0-15]  Group Address.  This is the  logical  address  of  the
                group that the host wishes to leave.

     10-12      Key.  This  is  the  key  associated  with  the  group



                                    53








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                address.











































                                    54








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           2            |     REPLY CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                       Figure 22 . LEAVE GROUP REPLY



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 2 (Reply).

       6[0-7]   Reply Code.

                     3 = Group left
                     9 = Bad key
                    10 = Group address nonexistent
                    11 = Not member of group
                    17 = Insufficient network resources

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-8.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.










                                    55








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           1           |           2           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |                 GROUP ADDRESS                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     10      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     11      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     12      |                      KEY                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                     Figure 23 . DELETE GROUP REQUEST



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 1 (Request).

       6[0-7]   Request Type = 2 (Delete Group).

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-12.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.

       9[0-15]  Group Address.

     10-12      Key.




                                    56








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0-5     |            DATAGRAM MESSAGE HEADER            |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |           2           |      REPLY CODE       |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                 SETUP CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                  REQUEST ID                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 24 . DELETE GROUP REPLY



     0-5        Datagram Message Header.

       6[8-15]  Setup Type = 2 (Reply).

       6[0-7]   Reply Code.

                     1 = Group deleted
                     8 = Network trouble
                     9 = Bad key
                    10 = Group address nonexistent
                    11 = Not member of group
                    17 = Insufficient network resources
                    22 = Reply lost in network

       7[0-15]  Setup Checksum.  Covers words 6-8.

       8[0-15]  Request ID.








                                    57








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     7  Link Monitoring

          While the access link is operating,  statistics  on  traffic
     load  and  error  rate  are maintained by the host and SIMP.  The
     host and SIMP  must  exchange  status  messages  once  a  second.
     Periodic  exchange  of  status  messages permits both ends of the
     link to monitor flows in both  directions.  Status  messages  are
     required  to  support monitoring by the Network Operations Center
     (NOC).

          The link restart procedure (see Section 8)  initializes  all
     internal  SIMP  counts  and statistics for that link to zero.  As
     data and control messages are processed, counts  are  updated  to
     reflect  the  total  number  of  messages sent, messages received
     correctly, and messages received with different classes of errors
     since  the last link restart.  Whenever a status message arrives,
     a snapshot is taken of the local SIMP counts.  The local  receive
     counts,  in  conjunction  with  a  sent  count  contained  in the
     received status  message,  permits  the  computation  of  traffic
     statistics  in  the  one second update interval assuming that the
     set of counts at the time of the previous monitoring report  have
     been  saved.   By  including  in  the status message sent (in the
     opposite direction) the receive  counts  and  the  received  sent
     count that was used with them, the transmitting end of the access
     link as  well  as  the  receiving  end  can  determine  the  link
     performance  from  sender  to receiver.  The format of the Status
     control message is illustrated in Figure 25.

















                                    58








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      0      | 1|LB|GOPRI|         XXXXX         |     0     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      1      |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      2      |             MOST RECENT A/R SENT              |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      3      |                STREAM CAPACITY                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      4      |                   TIMESTAMP                   |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      5      |                      SBU                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      6      |                      STU                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      7      |                      RNE                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      8      |                      RWE                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
      9      |                      BHC                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     10      |                      HEI                      |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                        Figure 25 . STATUS MESSAGE



     0[15]     Message Class = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.

     0[12-13]  Go-Priority.

     0[4-11]   Reserved.




                                    59








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     0[0-3]    Control Message Type = 0 (Status).

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  Covers words 0-10.

     2[0-15]   Most Recent A/R Sent.  This field is a duplicate of the
               most recent acceptance/refusal word.  It is included in
               the  periodic   status   message   in   case   previous
               transmissions containing A/R information were lost.

     3[0-15]   Stream Capacity.  When sent by  the  SIMP,  this  field
               indicates  how much stream capacity is unused, in units
               of data  bits  per  frame.   Since  available  capacity
               depends directly on a variety of parameters that can be
               selected by the user, the value of this  field  is  the
               maximum  capacity  that  could  be achieved if existing
               host streams were expanded at  low  reliability.   This
               field  is  undefined  in messages sent from the host to
               the SIMP.

     4[0-15]   Timestamp.  This field  indicates  the  time  that  the
               status message was generated.  When sent by a SIMP, the
               time is in  units  of   seconds  since  the  last  link
               restart.   The  host should also timestamp its messages
               in units of seconds.

     5[0-15]   Sent By Us. Count of messages sent by us since the last
               link restart (not including this one).

     6[0-15]   Sent To Us.  Count of messages sent  to  us  since  the
               last  link  restart.   This is the count from word 5 of
               the last status message received.

     7[0-15]   Received, No Errors. This  is  the  count  of  messages
               received  without  errors (since the last link restart)
               at the time that the last status message was received.

     8[0-15]   Received With Errors.  This is the  count  of  messages
               received  with  errors (since the last link restart) at
               the time the last status message was received.

     9[0-15]   Bad Header Checksums. This is  the  count  of  messages



                                    60








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



               received with bad header checksums (since the last link
               restart) at the  time  the  last   status  message  was
               received.

     10[0-15]  Hardware  Error  Indication.   This  is  the  count  of
               messages  received with hardware CRC errors or hardware
               interface  error  indications  (since  the  last   link
               restart)  at  the  time   the  last  status message was
               received.



































                                    61








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     8  Initialization

          The Host Access Protocol uses a number  of  state  variables
     that  must  be  initialized in order to function properly.  These
     variables are  associated  with  the  send  and  receive  message
     numbers   used   by  the  acceptance/refusal  mechanism  and  the
     statistics  maintained  to   support   link   monitoring.    Link
     initialization  should be carried out when a machine is initially
     powered up, when it does a system restart, when the ON state (see
     below)  times  out,  when  a  loopback  condition  times out (see
     Section 9), or whenever the link transitions from non-operational
     to operational status.

          Initialization is accomplished by the  exchange  of  Restart
     Request  (RR)  and  Restart Complete (RC) messages between a host
     and a SIMP.  The state diagram in Figure 26 shows the sequence of
     events  during initialization.  Both SIMP and host must implement
     this state diagram  if  deadlocks  and  oscillations  are  to  be
     avoided.   This  particular initialization sequence requires both
     sides to send and receive the Restart Complete message.   Because
     this  message  is  a  reply  (to  a  Restart  Request  or Restart
     Complete), its receipt  guarantees  that  the  physical  link  is
     operating  in both directions.  Five states are identified in the
     state diagram:

     OFF            Entered  upon  recognition  of  a  requirement  to
                    restart.     The   device   can   recognize   this
                    requirement  itself or be forced  to  restart   by
                    receipt of an RR  message from the other end while
                    in the ON state.

     INIT           Local state variables have  been  initialized  and
                    local  counters  have  been  zeroed but no restart
                    control messages have yet been sent or received.

     RR-SNT         A request to reinitialize (RR) has  been  sent  to
                    the other end but no restart control messages have
                    yet been received.

     RC-SNT         A reply (RC) has been sent to  the  other  end  in
                    response  to  a  received reinitialization request



                                    62








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                    (RR).  The device is waiting for a reply (RC).

     ON             Reply  (RC)  messages  have  been  both  sent  and
                    received.   Data  and  control messages can now be
                    exchanged between the SIMP and host.

          All states have 10-second timeouts (not  illustrated)  which
     return  the  protocol  to  the  OFF state.  The occurrence of any
     events other than those indicated in the diagram are ignored.

          The Restart Request control message illustrated in Figure 27
     is  sent  by  either a host or a SIMP when it wishes to restart a
     link.  The Restart Request causes all the  monitoring  statistics
     to  be  reset  to  zero and stops all traffic on the link in both
     directions.  The Restart Complete message illustrated  in  Figure
     28  is  sent in response to a received Restart Request or Restart
     Complete to complete link initialization.  The  Restart  Complete
     carries  a  field  used  by  the  host  to  enable or disable the
     acceptance/refusal mechanism for the link  being  restarted  (see
     Section 5).  After the Restart Complete is processed, traffic may
     flow on the link.























                                    63








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






                              -------
         Any Timeout or ----->| OFF |<-----------------------------
         Device Down          -------                             |
                                 |                                |
                                 |  Device Up                     |
                                 |  Initialize Variables          |
                                 |                                |
                                 V                                |
                             ---------                            |
                             | INIT  |                            |
                             ---------                            |
                               |   |                              |
                      Rcv RR   |   |   Snd RR                     |
                      Snd RC   |   |                              |
                               |   |                              |
                  --------------   --------------                 |
                  |                             |                 |
                  |                             |                 |
                  V           Rcv RR            V                 |
             ----------       Snd RC        ----------            |
             | RC-SNT |<--------------------| RR-SNT |            |
             ----------                     ----------            |
                  |                             |                 |
         Rcv RC   |                             |   Rcv RC        |
                  |                             |   Snd RC        |
                  V                             V                 |
                  -------------------------------                 |
                                 |                                |
                                 |                                |
                                 V                                |
                              -------                             |
          Rcv Any      ------>| ON  |------------------------------
          Other        |      -------    Rcv RR
                       ----------|


                Figure 26 . HAP LINK RESTART STATE DIAGRAM




                                    64








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0       | 1|LB|     XXXXXXX     |  REASON   |     3     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     1       |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     2       |          HOST ADDRESS / SITE NUMBER           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     3       |                  LINK NUMBER                  |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                        Figure 27 . RESTART REQUEST



     0[15]    Message Type = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]    Loopback Bit.

     0[8-13]  Reserved.

     0[4-7]   Reason.  This field is used by the SIMP or the  host  to
              indicate the reason for the restart as follows:

                   0 = power up
                   1 = system restart
                   2 = link restart
                   3 = link timeout
                   4 = loopback timeout

     0[0-3]   Control Message Type = 3 (Restart Request).

     1[0-15]  Header Checksum.  Covers words 0-3.

     2[0-15]  Host Address  /  Site  Number.   The  host  inserts  its
              satellite  network  address  in  this  field.   The SIMP
              validates that the host address is correct for the  port



                                    65








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



              being  used.   When  sent  by  the SIMP, this field will
              contain the SIMP site number.

     3[0-15]  Link  Number.   This   field   contains   the   sender's
              identification  of  the  physical link being used.  This
              information is used to identify the link when  reporting
              errors to the Network Operations Center (NOC).





































                                    66








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0       | 1|LB|          XXXXXX          |AR|     4     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     1       |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     2       |          HOST ADDRESS / SITE NUMBER           |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     3       |                  LINK NUMBER                  |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                       Figure 28 . RESTART COMPLETE



     0[15]    Message Type = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]    Loopback Bit.

     0[5-13]  Reserved.

     0[4]     Acceptance/Refusal Control.  This bit  is  used  by  the
              host   to   enable  or  disable  the  acceptance/refusal
              mechanism for all traffic on the link.

                   0 = Disable acceptance/refusal
                   1 = Enable acceptance/refusal

     0[0-3]   Control Message Type = 4 (Restart Complete).

     1[0-15]  Header Checksum.  Covers words 0-3.

     2[0-15]  Host Address / Site Number.

     3[0-15]  Link Number.





                                    67








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     9  Loopback Control

          The Host Access Protocol provides a Loopback Request control
     message  which  can  be  used  by a SIMP or a host to request the
     remote loopback of its HAP messages.  Such requests  are  usually
     the  result of operator intervention for purposes of system fault
     diagnosis.  For clarity in the  following  discussion,  the  unit
     (SIMP  or  host) requesting the remote loopback is referred to as
     the "transmitter" and the unit implementing  (or  rejecting)  the
     loopback  is  referred  to  as  the  "receiver".  The format of a
     Loopback Request control message is illustrated in Figure 29.

          When a transmitter  is  remotely  looped,  all  of  its  HAP
     messages  will  be  returned, unmodified, over the access link by
     the receiver.  The receiver will not send any of its own messages
     to  the  transmitter  while  it  is implementing the loop.  SIMP-
     generated messages are distinguished from host-generated messages
     by means of the Loopback Bit that is in every HAP message header.

          Two types of remote loopback may be requested:  loopback  at
     the  receiver's interface hardware and loopback at the receiver's
     I/O driver software.  HAP does not specify the  manner  in  which
     the  receiver  should  implement  these loops; additionally, some
     receivers may  use  interface  hardware  which  is  incapable  of
     looping the transmitter's messages, only allowing the receiver to
     provide software loops.  A receiver may not be able to  interpret
     the  transmitter's  messages as it is looping them back.  If such
     interpretation is possible, however, the receiver will not act on
     any   of  the  transmitter's  messages  other  than  requests  to
     reinitialize the SIMP-host link  (Restart  Request  (RR)  control
     messages; see Section 8.)

          When a receiver initiates a loopback condition  in  response
     to  a  loopback request, it makes an implicit promise to maintain
     the condition for the duration specified in the Loopback  Request
     message.  However, if an unanticipated condition such as a system
     restart occurs in either the transmitter  or  the  receiver,  the
     affected  unit  will  try  to  reinitialize the SIMP-host link by
     sending an RR message to the other unit.  If the  RR  message  is
     recognized  by  the other unit a link initialization sequence can
     be  completed.   This  will  restore  the  link  to  an  unlooped



                                    68








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     condition  even  if  the  specified  loop  duration  has  not yet
     expired.  If a  receiver  cannot  interpret  a  transmitter's  RR
     messages,  and  in  the  absence  of operator intervention at the
     receiver, the loop will remain in place for its duration.

          HAP does not specify the  characteristics  of  any  loopback
     conditions  that  may be locally implemented by a given unit.  An
     example of such a condition is that obtained when a SIMP commands
     its  host interface to loop back its own messages.  If such local
     loop conditions also cause the reflection  of  messages  received
     from  the  remote unit, the remote unit will detect the condition
     via the HAP header Loopback Bit.

          A specific sequence must be followed for setting up a remote
     loopback  condition.   It  begins  after  the  HAP  link has been
     initialized and a decision is made to request a remote loop.  The
     transmitter then sends a Loopback Request message to the receiver
     and waits for either (1) a  10-second  timer  to  expire,  (2)  a
     "Can't  implement  loop"  Unnumbered  Response  message  from the
     receiver, or (3) one of its own reflected messages.  If event (1)
     or  (2) occurs the request has failed and the transmitter may, at
     its option, try again with a new Loopback  Request  message.   If
     event   (3)  occurs,  the  remote  loopback  condition  has  been
     established.  While waiting for one  of  these  events,  messages
     from  the receiver are processed normally.  Note that RR messages
     arriving from the receiver during this time  will  terminate  the
     loopback request.

          When a receiver gets a Loopback Request message,  it  either
     implements  the  requested  loop  for  the specified duration, or
     returns a "Can't implement loop" response  without  changing  the
     state  of  the  link.  The latter response would be returned, for
     example, if a receiver is incapable of implementing  a  requested
     hardware  loop.   A  receiver should initiate reinitialization of
     the link with an RR  message(s)  whenever  a  loopback  condition
     times out.

          There is  one  asymmetry  that  is  required  in  the  above
     sequence  to resolve the (unlikely) case where both SIMP and host
     request a remote loopback at the same time. If a SIMP receives  a
     Loopback  Request  message from a host while it is itself waiting



                                    69








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     for an event of type (1)-(3), it will return a  "Can't  implement
     loop"  response to the host and will continue to wait.  A host in
     the converse situation, however, will abort its loopback  request
     and will instead act on the SIMP's loopback request.








































                                    70








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0       | 1|LB|GOPRI|   XXXXX   | LOOP TYPE |     8     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     1       |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     2       |                LOOP DURATION                  |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                       Figure 29 . LOOPBACK REQUEST



     0[15]     Message Type = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.

     0[12-13]  Go-Priority.

     0[8-11]   Reserved.

     0[4-7]    Loop Type.  This field indicates the type of loop  that
               is being requested as follows:

                    0 = Undefined
                    1 = Loop at interface (hardware loop)
                    2 = Loop at driver (software loop)
                    3-15 = Undefined

     0[0-3]    Control Message Type = 8 (Loopback Request).

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  Covers words 0-2.

     2[0-15]   Loop  Duration.   The   transmitter   of  a    Loopback
               Request  message uses this field  to specify the number
               of seconds that the loop is to  be  maintained  by  the
               receiver.



                                    71








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



     10  Other Control Messages

          Before a SIMP or a host  voluntarily  disables  a  SIMP-host
     link, it should send at least one Link Going Down control message
     over that link.  The format of such a message is  illustrated  in
     Figure  30.   HAP  does  not  define the action(s) that should be
     taken by a SIMP or a  host  when  such  a  message  is  received;
     informing  the Network Operations Center (NOC) and/or the network
     users of the impending event is a typical course of action.  Note
     that  each Link Going Down message only pertains to the SIMP-host
     link that it is sent over; if a host and a SIMP are connected  by
     multiple links, these links may be selectively disabled.

          A No Operation (NOP) control message may be sent at any time
     by a SIMP or a host.  The format of such a message is illustrated
     in Figure 31.  A NOP message contains up to 32 words of arbitrary
     data which are undefined by HAP.  NOP messages may be required in
     some cases to clear the state of the SIMP-host link hardware.


























                                    72








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0       | 1|LB|GOPRI|   XXXXX   |  REASON   |     7     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     1       |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     2       |               TIME UNTIL DOWN                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     3       |                DOWN DURATION                  |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                        Figure 30 . LINK GOING DOWN



     0[15]     Message Type = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.

     0[12-13]  Go-Priority.

     0[8-11]   Reserved.

     0[4-7]    Reason.  This field is  used by the  SIMP or  the  host
               to  indicate  the  reason  for disabling this SIMP-host
               link  as follows:

                    0 = NOT going down:  Cancel previous Link
                        Going Down message
                    1 = Unspecified reason
                    2 = Scheduled PM
                    3 = Scheduled hardware work
                    4 = Scheduled software work
                    5 = Emergency restart
                    6 = Power outage
                    7 = Software breakpoint
                    8 = Hardware failure



                                    73








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification



                    9 = Not scheduled up
                   10 = Last warning:  The SIMP  or host  is disabling
                        the link in 10 seconds
                   11-15 = Undefined

     0[0-3]    Control Message Type = 7 (Link Going Down).

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  Covers words 0-3.

     2[0-15]   Time Until Down.  This field specifies  the  amount  of
               time  remaining   until the  SIMP or host  disables the
               link (in minutes).  An  entry of  zero  indicates  that
               there is less than a minute remaining.

     3[0-15]   Down Duration.  This field  specifies  the   amount  of
               time   that  the  SIMP-host  link  will   be  down  (in
               minutes).   An entry of  zero indicates  that the  down
               duration  will  be  less than a minute.  An entry of -1
               (all bits set) indicates an indefinite down duration.

























                                    74








     RFC 907                                      Host Access Protocol
     July 1984                                           Specification






              15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0       | 1|LB|            XXXXX            |     6     |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     1       |                HEADER CHECKSUM                |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     2-N     |                ARBITRARY DATA                 |
             +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


                      Figure 31 . NO OPERATION (NOP)



     0[15]     Message Type = 1 (Control Message).

     0[14]     Loopback Bit.

     0[4-13]   Reserved.

     0[0-3]    Control Message Type = 6 (NOP).

     1[0-15]   Header Checksum.  Covers words 0-N.

     2-N       Arbitrary Data.  Up to 32 words of data  may  be  sent.
               The data are undefined by HAP.















                                    75


