INTERNET DRAFT Michael Borella Expires October 1999 David Grabelsky 3Com Corp. Jeffrey Lo Kunihiro Tuniguchi NEC USA April 1999 Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. Abstract This draft presents a protocol that enables an alternative to network address translation (NAT). Realm-Specific IP (RSIP) defines an architecture in which an RSIP server is a multi-homed host connecting two routing realms. An RSIP client in the first routing realm may be assigned a plurality of routing parameters from the second routing realm. The RSIP client will be allowed to create packets using these parameters, and tunnel them across the first routing realm. For example, more than one host from a private address space using RSIP may share one or more public address. Unlike NAT, RSIP does not Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 1] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 break the end-to-end integrity of protocols. We present a general, extensible negotiation protocol to be operated between RSIP clients and servers which facilitates the assignment of parameters and resources from the server to the client. 1. Introduction Network Address Translation (NAT) has gained popularity as a method of separating public and private address spaces, and alleviating network address shortages. A NAT translates the addresses of packets leaving a first routing realm to an address from a second routing realm, and performs the reverse function for packets entering the first routing realm from the second routing realm. This translation is performed transparently to the hosts in either space, and may include modification of TCP/UDP port numbers as well as IP addresses. While a NAT does not require hosts to be aware of the translation, it will require an application layer gateway (ALG) for any protocol that transmits IP addresses or port numbers in packet payloads (such as FTP). Additionally, a NAT will not work with protocols that require IP addresses and ports to remain unmodified between the source and destination hosts, or protocols that prevent such modifications to occur (such as some IPSEC modes). An alternative to a transparent NAT is an architecture that allows the clients within the first (e.g., private) routing realm to directly use addresses and other routing parameters from the second (e.g., public) routing realm. This form of Realm-Specific IP (RSIP) requires that an RSIP server (a router or gateway between the two realms) assign at least one address from the second routing realm, and perhaps some other resources, to each RSIP client host in the first routing realm that needs to establish end-to-end connectivity to a host, entity or device in the second routing realm. Thus, the second routing realm is not transparent to RSIP client, but this system allows packets to maintain their integrity from RSIP client to destination. In order to resolve addressing and routing ambiguities in the first routing realm, all publicly routed packets are tunneled between RSIP client and the RSIP server, or tunneled such that the RSIP server can perform a NAT function on the outer IP header only. ALGs are not required in the RSIP server. A disadvantage to RSIP is that it requires that hosts be modified so that they tunnel externally-bound packets and place some number of layer three, layer four or other values from those assigned by the RSIP server in each packet bound for the second routing realm. This draft discusses a method for assigning parameters to an RSIP client from an RSIP server. The requirements, scope and Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 2] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 applicability of RSIP are discussed in a companion framework draft [RSIP-FRAME]. 1.1. Specification of Requirements The keywords "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", and "MAY" that appear in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119]. 2. Architecture For simplicity, for the remainder of this document we will assume that the RSIP clients in the first routing realm (network) use private (e.g. see RFC 1918) IP addresses, and that the second routing realm (network) uses public IP addresses. The RSIP server connects the public and private realms and contains interfaces to both. Other NAT terminology found in this document is defined in [NAT-TERM]. The diagram below describes an exemplary reference architecture for RSIP. Some number of RSIP clients are attached via a private network to an RSIP server, which also acts as a router or gateway between the private and public networks. This router has been assigned some number of public addresses that it may use or allocate for use on the public network. +-------------+ | RSIP client | | 1 +--+ | 10.0.0.2 | | +-------------+ +-------------+ | 10.0.0.1 | | 149.112.240.0/24 +-----------------+ RSIP server +------------------- +-------------+ | | | | RSIP client | | +-------------+ | 2 +--+ private public | 10.0.0.3 | | network network +-------------+ | | | ... RSIP MAY be based on either the Basic NAT or the NAPT model. In the Basic NAT model, a unique public IP address is assigned to each private NAT client that is actively communicating with the public network. Only one NAT client uses a given public address. In the NAPT model, one public address is shared by one or more NAT clients. One or more NAT clients may use the same public address by limiting the ports that they use to disjoint subsets of the port space. The NAT server assigns these disjoint port sets to each host, along with Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 3] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 the public IP address. For the remainder of this document we will assume the NAPT model unless otherwise stated. With respect to RSIP, we refer to these models as the Realm Specific Address IP (RSA-IP) method (NAT) and Realm Specific Address and Port IP (RSAP-IP) method (NAPT). The RSIP method determines the demultiplexing field of the packets coming from the public network to the private network. The RSIP method is extensible to other yet-to-be-defined demultiplexing fields. A demultiplexing field must be able to uniquely identify an RSIP client. RSIP may be deployed incrementally. An RSIP server may be co-located with a NAT router such that RSIP clients can use the RSIP server, but non-RSIP clients can use the NAT. For purposes of illustration, we will provide a brief example of the transport operation of RSIP with respect to the above architecture. We assume that RSIP client 10.0.0.2 has been assigned public address 149.112.240.10 and port set 10000-10015 (the actual mechanism for this assignment is discussed below). Packets transmitted from this client to a WWW server at the external address of 128.153.4.3 will appear as follows on the private network: Outer IP Inner IP TU Ports +--------------+----------------+----------+ Src: | 10.0.0.2 | 149.112.240.10 | 10000 | +--------------+----------------+----------+ Dst: | 10.0.0.1 | 128.153.4.3 | 80 | +--------------+----------------+----------+ Note that 10000 was chosen arbitrarily from the port set by the kernel port selection code of the RSIP client. Upon reaching the RSIP server, the outer IP header is stripped off, and the remaining packet is transmitted on the public network. Incoming packets to the RSIP client are demultiplexed based on the RSIP method and tunneled from the RSIP server to the RSIP client. Note that the architecture and protocols for RSIP may allow for cascading of RSIP servers. For example, RSIP server A may assign some number of public IP addresses and port sets to RSIP server B, which is entirely inside of the private network. RSIP server B will then assign some of these addresses and port sets to private hosts. This architecture conforms to the model in which a corporation (in charge of RSIP server B) buys public network access from an ISP (in charge of RSIP server A). In this scenario, RSIP server B and end hosts within the corporation could be considered the RSIP client of RSIP server A and RSIP server B respectively. 2.1. RSIP Parameter Negotiation Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 4] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 An RSIP client initiates a binding request with an RSIP server by transmitting a REGISTER_REQUEST message. This allows the RSIP server to become aware of the RSIP client. The RSIP server will assign a unique identifier to the RSIP client. An RSIP client must then use one of the ASSIGN_REQUEST messages to request an IP address, port set and/or other parameters from the public realm. Negotiation of tunnel type may also occur. These parameters will be assigned with a lease time, after which their assignment must be renewed. After parameters have been assigned, the RSIP client may use the parameters to transmit packets to the public network. The RSIP method is also specified in the ASSIGN_REQUEST message. If an RSIP client no longer needs some parameters that it has been assigned, it may release them by transmitting a FREE_REQUEST message to the RSIP server, and specifying the parameters to release within that message. If an RSIP client no longer needs to communicate with the public network, it may use the DE-REGISTER_REQUEST message to notify the RSIP server of such. Use of the DE-REGISTER_REQUEST message effectively releases all of the RSIP client's parameters. It must register and be assigned parameters once more before it transmits packets to the public network again. The ERROR_RESPONSE message may be used at any time by the RSIP server to indicate that an RSIP client's request was denied or malformed. All *_REQUEST messages from an RSIP client are replied to by with either the appropriate *_RESPONSE message, or and ERROR_RESPONSE by the RSIP server. An RSIP server may deallocate the parameters of a given client with the DEALLOCATE message. 2.2. Operation In the case of RSA-IP, an RSIP client MUST request an IP address, but not any ports. In RSAP-IP method, an RSIP client MUST request an IP address and a port range in the same ASSIGN_REQUEST message. If the resources requested are temporarily unavailable, an RSIP server MAY either commit a subset of the resources requested or return an ERROR message indicating that the requested resource was temporarily unavailable. An RSIP client is free to attempt another ASSIGN_REQUEST for the same or other resources after an Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 5] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 interval of time. An RSIP server MUST NOT allocate ports without an associated IP address. An RSIP server MAY allow freeing to be done on a subset of an assigned port range for RSAP-IP. Child ranges as a result of a subset free MUST retain the same binding. If an RSIP server receives a FREE_REQUEST message that refers to parameters not assigned to the originating RSIP client, an ERROR_RESPONSE message indicating that the parameter range was invalid MUST be returned. If an RSIP server receives a FREE message referring to an unknown binding, an ERROR_RESPONSE message indicating that the binding is unknown MUST be returned. If an RSIP client wishes to extend the duration of an existing binding, an ASSIGN_REQUEST with the same Bind ID and the desired extension duration MAY be sent. The RSIP server SHOULD either grant the request, grant a smaller duration than that requested or deny the request. If a smaller duration is granted, this duration MUST be included in the response message to the ASSIGN_REQUEST. In the case when the request is denied, the appropriate ERROR_RESPONSE MUST be sent. RSIP servers SHOULD NOT forward packets from a RSIP client without checking the validity of the packets' demultiplexing parameters. Other necessary policy based routing checks SHOULD also be made. Improper use of demultiplexing parameters or other parameters, or any RSIP client using a resource or parameter assigned to a different RSIP client are auditable events. Note that the RSIP control protocol operates on a simple request/response basis, as described above. However, an RSIP client MAY transmit an OK message upon receiving a response from an RSIP server. Such OK messages serve to complete a three-way handshake and are useful for verifying the authenticity of a request. However, use of a three-way handshake over an unreliable transport mechanism leads to more complicated client and server state maintenance. If an RSIP server must deallocate the resources associated with an RSIP client's Bind ID, it may do so with a DEALLOCATE message. This message must be followed by an OK message from the RSIP client. 2.3. Subnet Query In some cases it is not possible for an RSIP client to know whether a packet should be tunneled to the RSIP server or Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 6] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 transmitted using the local (private) routing realm only. The RSIP protocol provides a subnet query mechanism through which an RSIP client may query an RSIP server to ask whether a particular subnet falls within the private domain. An RSIP client queries the server using the QUERY_REQUEST message with the subnet included in the IP address field of the message. The RSIP server uses the QUERY_RESPONSE to reply to this message. The RSIP server MAY confirm the subnet queried or MAY return the whole range of subnets supported so as to enable the RSIP client to cache the entries. The RSIP server may be manually configured to know the topology of the private domain. 2.4. Unreliable Transport A message ID field SHOULD be included in all messages if UDP, or some other unreliable transport mechanism, is used. The message ID starts with zero in the client's REGISTER_REQUEST message and end with a maximum value in the server's DE-REGISTER_RESPONSE message. This field SHOULD be incremented by one for every request issued. Responses MUST include the same message ID as that of the request which it acknowledges. If an RSIP client does not receive a response from the RSIP server for a request, a new request with the same message ID MAY be issued after an interval of time. An RSIP server receiving a request with a message ID smaller than what it previously received (within a REGISTERed session) SHOULD ignore the request. Pipelining of requests and aggregation of responses MUST NOT be allowed. Message ID wraparound is highly unlikely, however it must be considered in both the RSIP clients and servers. 2.5. Parameter Assignment Transport and Mechanisms In order to assign parameters to the RSIP client from the RSIP server, a transport protocol and an assignment mechanism must be used. Design of the RSIP protocol aims to be transport independent, so that existing transport protocols such as UDP or TCP can be used. The assignment mechanisms MAY be DHCP, COPS, DIAMETER or some similar protocol. While these protocols would allow nearly- arbitrary parameters to be assigned to the RSIP clients, our current goal is to determine the parameters that are necessary for RSIP to operate in full generality, and define a basic protocol with which these parameters can be negotiated and assigned. Once the fundamental requirements of RSIP parameter assignment are Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 7] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 specified, it may either be integrated into an existing protocol or left alone as its own protocol. Extending DHCP to support RSIP parameter assignment is particularly advantageous because it would implicitly support router pass through of RSIP requests to RSIP servers that are not present on an RSIP client's local network. 3. General Message and Parameter Formats In this section we define the general message and parameter format. Codes for each parameter and message types will be discussed the following sections. Within an RSIP control packet, the parameters MAY appear in any order, but it is recommended that required parameters precede all optional parameters. The general message format is shown below. 1 byte Variable Variable +-----------+---------------+------------------- | Type | Parameter 1 | Parameter 2 ... +-----------+---------------+------------------- The type field indicates how the parameters are to be interpreted (e.g., request, response, error, etc.). The general format of all parameters is shown below. 1 byte 2 bytes 'Length' bytes +------+----------+---------------------- | Code | Length | Parameter value ... +------+----------+---------------------- All parameters consist of a fixed portion and a variable portion. The fixed portion is a 1 byte code value and a 2 byte length. The remaining portion of the parameter is the parameter value, the length which is the number of bytes indicated by the length field. 4. Parameter Types and Formats 4.1. IP Address Request Code Length +------+--------+ | 0 | 0 | +------+--------+ Used in ASSIGN_REQUEST messages to request an IP address. Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 8] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 4.2. Number of Ports Code Length Number of Ports +------+--------+-------------------+ | 1 | 1 | (1 byte) | +------+--------+-------------------+ Used in ASSIGN_REQUEST messages to request a particular number of ports to be assigned. 4.3. IP Address Code Length IP Address +------+--------+-----------------------+ | 2 | 4 | (4 bytes) | +------+--------+-----------------------+ This field represents the IPv4 address negotiated. Used in ASSIGN_RESPONSE, QUERY_REQUEST and QUERY_RESPONSE messages. 4.4. Port Range Code Length Low Port High Port +------+--------+-----------+-----------+ | 3 | 4 | (2 bytes) | (2 bytes) | +------+--------+-----------+-----------+ The range of ports allocated to an RSIP client. The port range MUST be contiguous and is inclusive. 4.5. Lease Time Code Length Lease Time +------+--------+-----------------------+ | 4 | 4 | (4 bytes) | +------+--------+-----------------------+ Number of seconds that an RSIP client may retain the parameters assigned by an RSIP server. 4.6. Error Code Length Error +------+--------+-----------+ | 5 | 2 | (2 bytes) | +------+--------+-----------+ These error codes allow an RSIP server to inform an RSIP client Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 9] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 why a particular request has failed. 0 Unknown error - An error that cannot be identified has occurred 1 Bind ID not found - The request refers to an invalid Bind ID. 2 Client ID not found - The request refers to an invalid Client ID. 3 Invalid message - The request does not contain an mandatory parameter or cannot be parsed. 4 RSIP method not supported - The request refers to an RSIP method not supported by the RSIP server. 5 Not authorized - The RSIP client is not authorized to make the request. 6 Tunnel type not supported - The request refers to a tunnel type that the RSIP server does not support. 7 Wrong message ID - The request used a message ID that the RSIP server did not expect. 8 Address resource unavailable: The RSIP server was not able to allocate an IP address. 9 Port resource unavailable: The RSIP server was not able to allocate port(s). 4.7. Client ID Code Length Client ID +------+--------+-------------------+ | 6 | 4 | (4 bytes) | +------+--------+-------------------+ A unique number assigned by an RSIP server when an RSIP client registers with the server. It is used to identify the RSIP client. 4.8. Bind ID Code Length Bind ID +------+--------+-------------------+ | 7 | 4 | (4 bytes) | +------+--------+-------------------+ The Bind ID is a unique number allocated for each new assignment. It is returned as part of an ASSIGN_RESPONSE to a successful ASSIGN_REQUEST. Subsequent message exchanges pertaining a bind MUST include its Bind ID. When a or range of parameters is assigned to an RSIP client, the parameter is said to be 'bound' to that client. More than one bind with different Bind IDs may be established between an RSIP client and RSIP server pair. A binding will expire when its lease time runs out or when the RSIP client de-registers itself with the RSIP server. 4.9. Message ID Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 10] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 Code Length Message ID +------+--------+-------------------+ | 8 | 1 | (1 byte) | +------+--------+-------------------+ If the transport protocol is connectionless. such as UDP, the sequence number field MUST be included as a means to order the messages and/or match requests and responses. 4.10. Tunnel Type Code Length Tunnel Type +------+--------+------------+ | 9 | 1 | (1 byte) | +------+--------+------------+ The type of tunnel used between an RSIP client and an RSIP server. Values are assigned as follows: 0 Reserved 1 IP-IP 2 GRE 3 L2TP 4.11. RSIP Method Code Length RSIP Method +------+--------+-------------+ | 10 | 1 | (1 byte) | +------+--------+-------------+ The RSIP method that the server will support. 1 Realm Specific Address IP (RSA-IP) method. 2 Realm Specific Address and Port IP (RSAP-IP) method. 4.12. Vendor Specific Parameter Code Length Vendor ID Subcode Parameter +------+----------+------------+-----------+-----------+ | 11 | n+4 | (2 bytes) | (2 bytes) | (n bytes) | +------+----------+------------+-----------+-----------+ This parameter allows vendors to specify vendor specific information. The Vendor ID field the vendor-specific ID assigned by IANA. Subcodes are defined and used by each vendor. Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 11] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 5. Message Type Apart from the message type field, which MUST appear at the beginning of each message, other parameters MAY appear in any order. Note that message sequencing MAY need to be introduced depending on the transport. The following message types are defined in simple BNF. Required parameters are enclosed in <> and MUST appear. Optional parameters are enclosed in [] and MAY appear. Message type numbers are defined below. 5.1. Message Type Numbers Numbers are assigned to message types as follows: 1 ERROR_RESPONSE 2 REGISTER_REQUEST 3 REGISTER_RESPONSE 4 DE-REGISTER_REQUEST 5 DE-REGISTER_RESPONSE 6 ASSIGN_REQUEST 7 ASSIGN_RESPONSE 8 FREE_REQUEST 9 FREE_RESPONSE 10 QUERY_REQUEST 11 QUERY_RESPONSE 12 DEALLOCATE 13 OK 5.2. ERROR_RESPONSE An ERROR_RESPONSE is used to provide error messages to an RSIP client message. If the error is related to a particular Client ID or Bind ID, these parameters MUST be included. Multiple errors MAY be reported in the same ERROR_RESPONSE. ::= [][] [] 5.3. REGISTER_REQUEST The REGISTER_REQUEST message is used by an RSIP client to register with an RSIP server. An RSIP client MUST register before it requests parameters from the RSIP server. Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 12] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 ::= [] 5.4. REGISTER_RESPONSE The REGISTER_RESPONSE message is used by an RSIP server to confirm the registration of an RSIP client, and to provide a Client ID. ::= [] 5.5. DE-REGISTER_REQUEST The DE-REGISTER_REQUEST message is used by an RSIP client to de- register with an RSIP server. ::= [] 5.6. DE-REGISTER_RESPONSE The DE-REGISTER_RESPONSE message is used by an RSIP server to confirm the de-registration of an RSIP client. ::= [] 5.7. ASSIGN_REQUEST The ASSIGN_REQUEST message is used by an RSIP client to request parameter assignments. In RSA-IP method, ASSIGN_REQUEST_ADDR format MUST be used and an IP address MUST be requested. For RSAP- IP, ASSIGN_REQUEST_PORT format MUST be used, and a port range MUST be requested for every IP address requested. When requesting a renewal of a previously-assigned, but not yet expired lease, ASSIGN_REQUEST_EXT format MUST be used, and a valid Bind ID MUST be specified. All types of ASSIGN_REQUEST message share the same message type. The RSIP client MAY list all of the tunnel types supported. The default tunnel type is IP-IP; thus, if no tunnel type is specified, the RSIP server MUST assume that IP-IP tunneling will be used, unless a different type of tunnel is implied by the RSIP method. All RSIP implementations MUST support IP-IP tunneling. Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 13] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 ::= [] [...] [] ::= [] [...] [] ::= [] [] 5.8. ASSIGN_RESPONSE The ASSIGN_RESPONSE message is used by an RSIP server to deliver parameter assignments to an RSIP client. A client-wise unique Bind ID must be provided for every assignment. If a lease time is not requested by an RSIP client, an RSIP server MUST assign a default lease time. If an ASSIGN_REQUEST is not granted, the appropriate ERROR_RESPONSE message(s) MUST be generated, specifying all reasons why the ASSIGN_REQUEST failed. If the requested RSIP method is not supported, the RSIP server MUST NOT allocate any resources. For RSA-IP, ASSIGN_RESPONSE_ADDR is used. For RSAP-IP, ASSIGN_RESPONSE_PORT is used. When a lease extension is granted, ASSIGN_RESPONSE_EXT is used. All types of ASSIGN_RESPONSE message share the same message type. Note that the chosen tunnel type MUST be included in the message, except for extension requests and when the RSIP method implies that a particular type of tunnel must be used. ::= [] ::= [] ::= [] 5.9. FREE_REQUEST The FREE_REQUEST message is used by an RSIP client to free parameter assignments. The given Bind ID identifies the IP Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 14] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 address and/or port range being freed. Resources may only be freed using the granularity of a Bind ID. ::= [] 5.10. FREE_RESPONSE The FREE_RESPONSE message is used by an RSIP server to acknowledge a FREE_REQUEST sent by an RSIP client. ::= [] 5.11. QUERY_REQUEST A QUERY_REQUEST message is used by an RSIP client to request if a subnet or IP address is supported by an RSIP server. If a subnet is queried, it is placed in an IP address parameter. ::= [] 5.12. QUERY_RESPONSE A QUERY_RESPONSE message is used by an RSIP server to answer a QUERY_REQUEST from an RSIP client. The RSIP server SHOULD respond with a list of all subnets and/or addresses that are on the private side of the network. ::= [...] [] 5.13. DEALLOCATE A DEALLOCATE message is used by an RSIP server to force an RSIP client to relinquish specified resources (e.g., in the case of a lease expiration). The Bind ID of the resources to be relinquished MUST be included. Upon receiving a DEALLOCATE message, an RSIP client MUST stop all use of the said resources and immediately send an OK response to the server. ::= [] 5.14. OK Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 15] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 An OK message MAY be used by an RSIP client to positively acknowledge the receipt of a message from the RSIP server. The OK message MUST be used to respond to a DEALLOCATE message from an RSIP server. ::= [] 6. Miscellaneous Issues TCP TIME_WAIT at external servers: When a TCP server disconnects a socket, it enters the TCP TIME_WAIT state for a period of time. While it is in this state it will refuse to accept new connections using the same socket (i.e., the same source address/port and destination address/port). Consider the circumstance in which an RSIP client terminates a connection with an external server, and immediately frees the port that it was using to source the connection (alternatively, the port may be deallocated by the RSIP server). If the RSIP server immediately allocates this port to another RSIP client, and this client uses the same port to contact the same external server while that server is still in TIME_WAIT, then the client's connection may be rejected by the server. In order to mitigate this problem, it is recommended that RSIP servers hold recently deallocated ports for at least two minutes, which is the greatest duration of TIME_WAIT that is commonly implemented [STEV94]. In situations where ports are scarce, the RSIP server MAY choose to allocate ports in a FIFO fashion from the pool of recently deallocated ports. Split DNS: RSIP requires that DNS traffic from the private network not be propagation on the public network. This issue is not specific to RSIP - it also occurs in NAT. ICMP: Like NAT, RSIP server are required to remember recent ICMP packets for which responses cannot be demultiplexed by port number (i.e., echo request packets). This issue is not specific to RSIP - it also occurs in NAT. External access to internal servers: RSIP does not resolve how external hosts are able to access internal servers. This issue is not specific to RSIP - it also occurs in NAT. See [RSIP-FRAME]. 7. Security Considerations RSIP, in and of itself, does not provide security. It may provide the illusion of security or privacy by hiding a private address Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 16] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 space, but security can only be ensured by the proper use of security protocols and cryptographic techniques. An RSIP implementation must be guarded against potential denial- of- service attacks. A malicious RSIP client may be able to determine the parameters associated with another RSIP client via packet sniffing. An attacker could use or free the resources allocated by the RSIP server by spoofing a data packet or a FREE request, respectively. It is desirable to secure negotiation between an RSIP client and RSIP server with an appropriate authentication mechanism. This general problem is not specific to RSIP - DHCP suffers from the same lack of authentication. However, this security hole is mitigated to some extent by the following: (1) It is much more difficult to sniff packets if the RSIP clients are on a switched LAN, and this is the direction that the industry is moving towards, (2) use of the RSIP Bind ID and message IDs prevents some simple attacks such as packet replay, and (3) all RSIP clients must answer to the authority to which they are borrowing resources from; therefore, once detected, an attacker can be dealt with administratively. Note that although IPSEC could be used for securing the channel between the RSIP client and the RSIP server, it would require implementations on both the client and the server, and may prove to be too heavyweight for practical purposes. 8. To Do - Domains with multiple RSIP servers. - Bi-directional RSIP w/ DNS. 9. Changelog 00 to 01: - Eliminated number of IP addresses and IP address range parameters and fixed other parameters to reflect this change. - Added IP address request message. - Added discussion on authentication to Security Considerations section. - Added Miscellaneous Issues section. - Changed all mention of "sequence number" to "message ID". - Reformatted References section. - Added reference to RSIP framework draft. - Separated request and response messages, then renumbered them. - Required that all RSIP implementations support IP-IP tunneling and RSA-IP. - Modified message semantics slightly. - Added appendix with protocol example. - Added address and port resource error messages. - Specified that multiple error responses may be returned in the same ERROR_RESPONSE message. Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 17] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 - RSIP method may now be specified per binding, so that different methods can be used when connecting to different external systems. - Synched up terminology with the latest NAT terminology draft. - Added mention of RSIP servers also implementing a NAT as a fallback. - Added DEALLOCATE and OK messages. - Tunneling now negotiated per bind rather than per-registration. 10. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Gabriel Montenegro, Pyda Srisuresh, Dan Nessett, Gary Jaszewski, and Rick Cobb for their input. 11. Appendix: Example RSIP client/server transactions In this appendix, we present an exemplary series of transactions between an RSIP client and an RSIP server. All client to server traffic is denote by `C --> S' and all server to client traffic is denoted by `S --> C'. Message types and message ID's are not included in order to save space. C --> S: REGISTER_REQUEST () The client attempts to register with the server. S --> C: REGISTER_RESPONSE (Client ID = 1) The server responds, assigning a Client ID of 1. C --> S: ASSIGN_REQUEST_PORT: (Client ID = 1, RSIP method = RSAP-IP, IP Address Request, Num Ports = 16, Lease Time = 3600 Tunnel type = IP-IP, Tunnel type = GRE) The client requests an IP address and 16 ports to use with it with RSAP-IP. The client indicates that it would like to use these resources for 3600 seconds with either IP-IP and GRE tunneling. S --> C: ASSIGN_RESPONSE_PORT: (Client ID = 1, RSIP method = RSAP-IP, Bind ID = 0, IP address = 149.112.240.156, Port range = 9000-9015, Lease time = 1800, Tunnel type = IP-IP) The server responds by indicating that a Bind ID of 0 has been assigned to the resources of an IP address of 149.112.240.156 and a port range of 9000-9015 to be used for RSAP-IP. The server also indicates that it will grant a lease time of only 1800 seconds, and indicates that IP-IP tunneling will be used. Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 18] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 The client is now able to communicate with the public network using these resources. C --> S: QUERY_REQUEST: (Client ID = 1, IP address = 10.20.60.0) The client asks the server if the subnet 10.20.60.0 is local. S --> C: QUERY_RESPONSE: (Client ID = 1, IP address = 10.20.60.0, IP address = 10.20.66.0, IP address = 10.20.68.0) The server responds with a list of local subnets, implicitly informing the client that subnet 10.20.60.0 is local. C --> S: ASSIGN_REQUEST_PORT: (Client ID = 1, RSIP method = RSAP-IP, IP Address Request, Num Ports = 8, Lease Time = 1800) The client requests 8 more ports for use with RSAP-IP. A lease of 1800 seconds is requested. IP-IP tunneling is implied by default. S --> C: ASSIGN_RESPONSE_PORT: (Client ID = 1, RSIP method = RSAP-IP, Bind ID = 1, IP address = 149.112.240.156, Port range = 9074-9081, Lease time = 1800) The server grants the request, assigning ports 9074-9081 from IP address 149.112.240.156. IP-IP tunneling is implied by default. C --> S: FREE_REQUEST (Client ID = 1, Bind ID = 0) The client frees Bind ID 0; i.e., ports 9000-9015 from IP address 149.112.240.156. Note that the address itself is still assigned to the client because the client is still assigned ports 9074-9081. S --> C: FREE_RESPONSE (Client ID = 1, Bind ID = 0) The server acknowledges that Bind ID 0 has been freed. C --> S: ASSIGN_REQUEST_EXT (Client ID = 1, Bind ID = 1, Lease Time = 1800) The client request that the lease on Bind ID 1 be extended for 1800 seconds. S --> C: ASSIGN_RESPONSE_EXT (Client ID = 1, Bind ID = 1, Lease Time = 1800) The server confirms the request. Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 19] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 S --> C: DEALLOCATE (Client ID = 1, Bind ID = 1) The server forces the client to deallocate the resources of Bind ID 1. C --> S: OK (Client ID = 1) The client acknowledges that the resources have been deallocated. C --> S: DE-REGISTER_REQUEST (Client ID = 1) The client de-registers with the sever. S --> C: REGISTER_RESPONSE (Client ID = 1) The server acknowledges that the client has de-registered. 12. References [RFC2119] S. Bradner, "Key words for use in RFCs to indicate requirement levels," RFC 2119, Mar. 1997. [RSIP-FRAME] J. Lo, M. Borella, and D. Grabelsky, "Realm Specific IP: A Framework," Internet Draft , Apr. 1999 (work in progress). [NAT-TERM] P. Srisuresh and M. Holdrege, "NAT: Terminology and considerations," Internet Draft , Apr. 1999 (work in progress). [STEV94] W. R. Stevens, "TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1," Addison-Wesley, 1994. 13. Authors' Addresses Michael Borella 3Com Corp. 1800 W. Central Rd. Mount Prospect IL 60056 (847) 342-6093 mike_borella@3com.com David Grabelsky 3Com Corp. 1800 W. Central Rd. Mount Prospect IL 60056 Borella et al. Expires October 1999 [Page 20] INTERNET-DRAFT Realm Specific IP: Protocol Specification April 1999 (847) 222-2483 david_grabelsky@3com.com Jeffrey Lo NEC USA C&C Research Labs. 110 Rio Robles San Jose, CA 95134 (408) 943-3033 jlo@ccrl.sj.nec.com Kunihiro Taniguchi NEC USA C&C Research Labs. 110 Rio Robles San Jose, CA 95134 (408) 943-3031 taniguti@ccrl.sj.nec.com Copyright (c) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved. 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