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diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc2283.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc2283.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..55002ef --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc2283.txt @@ -0,0 +1,507 @@ + + + + + + +Network Working Group T. Bates +Request for Comments: 2283 Cisco Systems +Category: Standards Track R. Chandra + Cisco Systems + D. Katz + Juniper Networks + Y. Rekhter + Cisco Systems + February 1998 + + + Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 + +Status of this Memo + + This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the + Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for + improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet + Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state + and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. + +Copyright Notice + + Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved. + +2. Abstract + + Currently BGP-4 [BGP-4] is capable of carrying routing information + only for IPv4 [IPv4]. This document defines extensions to BGP-4 to + enable it to carry routing information for multiple Network Layer + protocols (e.g., IPv6, IPX, etc...). The extensions are backward + compatible - a router that supports the extensions can interoperate + with a router that doesn't support the extensions. + +3. Overview + + The only three pieces of information carried by BGP-4 that are IPv4 + specific are (a) the NEXT_HOP attribute (expressed as an IPv4 + address), (b) AGGREGATOR (contains an IPv4 address), and (c) NLRI + (expressed as IPv4 address prefixes). This document assumes that any + BGP speaker (including the one that supports multiprotocol + capabilities defined in this document) has to have an IPv4 address + (which will be used, among other things, in the AGGREGATOR + attribute). Therefore, to enable BGP-4 to support routing for + multiple Network Layer protocols the only two things that have to be + added to BGP-4 are (a) the ability to associate a particular Network + Layer protocol with the next hop information, and (b) the ability to + associated a particular Network Layer protocol with NLRI. To identify + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 1] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + + individual Network Layer protocols this document uses Address Family, + as defined in [RFC1700]. + + One could further observe that the next hop information (the + information provided by the NEXT_HOP attribute) is meaningful (and + necessary) only in conjunction with the advertisements of reachable + destinations - in conjunction with the advertisements of unreachable + destinations (withdrawing routes from service) the next hop + information is meaningless. This suggests that the advertisement of + reachable destinations should be grouped with the advertisement of + the next hop to be used for these destinations, and that the + advertisement of reachable destinations should be segregated from the + advertisement of unreachable destinations. + + To provide backward compatibility, as well as to simplify + introduction of the multiprotocol capabilities into BGP-4 this + document uses two new attributes, Multiprotocol Reachable NLRI + (MP_REACH_NLRI), and Multiprotocol Unreachable NLRI + (MP_UNREACH_NLRI). The first one (MP_REACH_NLRI) is used to carry the + set of reachable destinations together with the next hop information + to be used for forwarding to these destinations. The second one + (MP_UNREACH_NLRI) is used to carry the set of unreachable + destinations. Both of these attributes are optional and non- + transitive. This way a BGP speaker that doesn't support the + multiprotocol capabilities will just ignore the information carried + in these attributes, and will not pass it to other BGP speakers. + +4. Multiprotocol Reachable NLRI - MP_REACH_NLRI (Type Code 14): + + This is an optional non-transitive attribute that can be used for the + following purposes: + + (a) to advertise a feasible route to a peer + + (b) to permit a router to advertise the Network Layer address of + the router that should be used as the next hop to the destinations + listed in the Network Layer Reachability Information field of the + MP_NLRI attribute. + + (c) to allow a given router to report some or all of the + Subnetwork Points of Attachment (SNPAs) that exist within the + local system + + The attribute contains one or more triples <Address Family + Information, Next Hop Information, Network Layer Reachability + Information>, where each triple is encoded as shown below: + + + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 2] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Address Family Identifier (2 octets) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Subsequent Address Family Identifier (1 octet) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Length of Next Hop Network Address (1 octet) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Network Address of Next Hop (variable) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Number of SNPAs (1 octet) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Length of first SNPA(1 octet) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | First SNPA (variable) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Length of second SNPA (1 octet) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Second SNPA (variable) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | ... | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Length of Last SNPA (1 octet) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Last SNPA (variable) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Network Layer Reachability Information (variable) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + + The use and meaning of these fields are as follows: + + Address Family Identifier: + + This field carries the identity of the Network Layer protocol + associated with the Network Address that follows. Presently + defined values for this field are specified in RFC1700 (see the + Address Family Numbers section). + + Subsequent Address Family Identifier: + + This field provides additional information about the type of + the Network Layer Reachability Information carried in the + attribute. + + Length of Next Hop Network Address: + + A 1 octet field whose value expresses the length of the + "Network Address of Next Hop" field as measured in octets + + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 3] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + + Network Address of Next Hop: + + A variable length field that contains the Network Address of + the next router on the path to the destination system + + Number of SNPAs: + + A 1 octet field which contains the number of distinct SNPAs to + be listed in the following fields. The value 0 may be used to + indicate that no SNPAs are listed in this attribute. + + Length of Nth SNPA: + + A 1 octet field whose value expresses the length of the "Nth + SNPA of Next Hop" field as measured in semi-octets + + Nth SNPA of Next Hop: + + A variable length field that contains an SNPA of the router + whose Network Address is contained in the "Network Address of + Next Hop" field. The field length is an integral number of + octets in length, namely the rounded-up integer value of one + half the SNPA length expressed in semi-octets; if the SNPA + contains an odd number of semi-octets, a value in this field + will be padded with a trailing all-zero semi-octet. + + Network Layer Reachability Information: + + A variable length field that lists NLRI for the feasible routes + that are being advertised in this attribute. When the + Subsequent Address Family Identifier field is set to one of the + values defined in this document, each NLRI is encoded as + specified in the "NLRI encoding" section of this document. + + The next hop information carried in the MP_REACH_NLRI path attribute + defines the Network Layer address of the border router that should be + used as the next hop to the destinations listed in the MP_NLRI + attribute in the UPDATE message. When advertising a MP_REACH_NLRI + attribute to an external peer, a router may use one of its own + interface addresses in the next hop component of the attribute, + provided the external peer to which the route is being advertised + shares a common subnet with the next hop address. This is known as a + "first party" next hop. A BGP speaker can advertise to an external + peer an interface of any internal peer router in the next hop + component, provided the external peer to which the route is being + advertised shares a common subnet with the next hop address. This is + known as a "third party" next hop information. A BGP speaker can + advertise any external peer router in the next hop component, + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 4] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + + provided that the Network Layer address of this border router was + learned from an external peer, and the external peer to which the + route is being advertised shares a common subnet with the next hop + address. This is a second form of "third party" next hop + information. + + Normally the next hop information is chosen such that the shortest + available path will be taken. A BGP speaker must be able to support + disabling advertisement of third party next hop information to handle + imperfectly bridged media or for reasons of policy. + + A BGP speaker must never advertise an address of a peer to that peer + as a next hop, for a route that the speaker is originating. A BGP + speaker must never install a route with itself as the next hop. + + When a BGP speaker advertises the route to an internal peer, the + advertising speaker should not modify the next hop information + associated with the route. When a BGP speaker receives the route via + an internal link, it may forward packets to the next hop address if + the address contained in the attribute is on a common subnet with the + local and remote BGP speakers. + + An UPDATE message that carries the MP_REACH_NLRI must also carry the + ORIGIN and the AS_PATH attributes (both in EBGP and in IBGP + exchanges). Moreover, in IBGP exchanges such a message must also + carry the LOCAL_PREF attribute. If such a message is received from an + external peer, the local system shall check whether the leftmost AS + in the AS_PATH attribute is equal to the autonomous system number of + the peer than sent the message. If that is not the case, the local + system shall send the NOTIFICATION message with Error Code UPDATE + Message Error, and the Error Subcode set to Malformed AS_PATH. + +5. Multiprotocol Unreachable NLRI - MP_UNREACH_NLRI (Type Code 15): + + This is an optional non-transitive attribute that can be used for the + purpose of withdrawing multiple unfeasible routes from service. + + The attribute contains one or more triples <Address Family + Information, Unfeasible Routes Length, Withdrawn Routes>, where each + triple is encoded as shown below: + + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Address Family Identifier (2 octets) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Subsequent Address Family Identifier (1 octet) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + | Withdrawn Routes (variable) | + +---------------------------------------------------------+ + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 5] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + + The use and the meaning of these fields are as follows: + + Address Family Identifier: + + This field carries the identity of the Network Layer protocol + associated with the NLRI that follows. Presently defined values + for this field are specified in RFC1700 (see the Address Family + Numbers section). + + Subsequent Address Family Identifier: + + This field provides additional information about the type of + the Network Layer Reachability Information carried in the + attribute. + + Withdrawn Routes: + + A variable length field that lists NLRI for the routes that are + being withdrawn from service. When the Subsequent Address + Family Identifier field is set to one of the values defined in + this document, each NLRI is encoded as specified in the "NLRI + encoding" section of this document. + + An UPDATE message that contains the MP_UNREACH_NLRI is not required + to carry any other path attributes. + +6. NLRI encoding + + The Network Layer Reachability information is encoded as one or more + 2-tuples of the form <length, prefix>, whose fields are described + below: + + +---------------------------+ + | Length (1 octet) | + +---------------------------+ + | Prefix (variable) | + +---------------------------+ + + The use and the meaning of these fields are as follows: + + a) Length: + + The Length field indicates the length in bits of the address + prefix. A length of zero indicates a prefix that matches all + (as specified by the address family) addresses (with prefix, + itself, of zero octets). + + + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 6] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + + b) Prefix: + + The Prefix field contains address prefixes followed by enough + trailing bits to make the end of the field fall on an octet + boundary. Note that the value of trailing bits is irrelevant. + +7. Subsequent Address Family Identifier + + This document defines the following values for the Subsequent Address + Family Identifier field carried in the MP_REACH_NLRI and + MP_UNREACH_NLRI attributes: + + 1 - Network Layer Reachability Information used for unicast + forwarding + + 2 - Network Layer Reachability Information used for multicast + forwarding + + 3 - Network Layer Reachability Information used for both unicast + and multicast forwarding + + This document reserves values 128-255 for vendor-specific + applications. + + This document reserves value 0. + + Subsequent Address Family Identifiers (other than those reserved for + vendor specific use) are assigned only by the IETF consensus process + and IESG approval. + +8. Security Considerations + + This extension to BGP does not change the underlying security issues. + +9. Acknowledgements + + The authors would like to thank members of the IDR Working Group for + their review and comments. + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 7] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + +10. References + + [BGP-4] Rekhter, Y., and T. Li, "A Border Gateway Protocol 4 + (BGP-4)", RFC 1771, March 1995. + + [IPv4] Postel, J., "Internet Protocol", STD 5, RFC 791, + September 1981. + + [RFC1700] Reynolds, J., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers," STD 2, + RFC 1700, October 1994. (see also + http://www.iana.org/iana/assignments.html) + +11. Author Information + + Tony Bates + Cisco Systems, Inc. + 170 West Tasman Drive + San Jose, CA 95134 + + EMail: tbates@cisco.com + + + Ravi Chandra + Cisco Systems, Inc. + 170 West Tasman Drive + San Jose, CA 95134 + + EMail: rchandra@cisco.com + + + Dave Katz + Juniper Networks, Inc. + 3260 Jay St. + Santa Clara, CA 95054 + + EMail: dkatz@jnx.com + + + Yakov Rekhter + Cisco Systems, Inc. + 170 West Tasman Drive + San Jose, CA 95134 + + EMail: yakov@cisco.com + + + + + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 8] + +RFC 2283 Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4 February 1998 + + +12. Full Copyright Statement + + Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved. + + This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to + others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it + or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published + and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any + kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are + included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this + document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing + the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other + Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of + developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for + copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be + followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than + English. + + The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be + revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. + + This document and the information contained herein is provided on an + "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING + TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING + BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION + HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF + MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Bates, et. al. Standards Track [Page 9] + |