Comments on GetUsageAllocation

[Bruce Rich <brich@us.ibm.com>]

In the 2nd public review version, section
4.17, the KMIP specification now states that the parameters for GetUsageAllocation
are

Request Payload
Object	REQUIRED	Description
Unique Identifier, see 3.1	No	Determines the object whose usage allocation is being requested. If omitted, then the ID Placeholder is substituted by the server.
Usage Limits Count, see 3.16	Yes	The number of Usage Limits Units to be protected.

However, the interop participants (and
the Use Cases document) only have a Long Integer for the UsageLimitsCount,
rather the structure identified in section 3.16, which is

Object	Encoding	REQUIRED
Usage Limits	Structure
Usage Limits Total	Long Integer	Yes
Usage Limits Count	Long Integer	Yes
Usage Limits Unit	Enumeration, see 9.1.3.2.30	Yes

It would seem that we've introduced
an ambiguity into the spec.  It is now unclear as to what the second
parameter on GetUsageAllocation really is.  The section reference
has heretofore been used to pull in other structures.  But the description
makes it seem like Long Integer might be correct.
And if it's really just a Long Integer,
then we don't really know whether the caller has confused objects with
bytes.  We used to know.
It would seem that GetUsageAllocation
needs to have

Request Payload
Object	REQUIRED	Description
Unique Identifier, see 3.1	No	Determines the object whose usage allocation is being requested. If omitted, then the ID Placeholder is substituted by the server.
Usage Limits Unit, see 9.1.3.2.30	Yes	Enumeration
Usage Count, Long Integer	Yes	The number of Usage Limits Units to be protected.

Bruce A Rich
brich at-sign us dot ibm dot com