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diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc6971.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc6971.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a0d87ef --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc6971.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2299 @@ + + + + + + +Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) U. Herberg, Ed. +Request for Comments: 6971 Fujitsu +Category: Experimental A. Cardenas +ISSN: 2070-1721 University of Texas at Dallas + T. Iwao + Fujitsu + M. Dow + Freescale + S. Cespedes + Icesi University + June 2013 + + + Depth-First Forwarding (DFF) in Unreliable Networks + +Abstract + + This document specifies the Depth-First Forwarding (DFF) protocol for + IPv6 networks, a data-forwarding mechanism that can increase + reliability of data delivery in networks with dynamic topology and/or + lossy links. The protocol operates entirely on the forwarding plane + but may interact with the routing plane. DFF forwards data packets + using a mechanism similar to a "depth-first search" for the + destination of a packet. The routing plane may be informed of + failures to deliver a packet or loops. This document specifies the + DFF mechanism both for IPv6 networks (as specified in RFC 2460) and + for "mesh-under" Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (LoWPANs), + as specified in RFC 4944. The design of DFF assumes that the + underlying link layer provides means to detect if a packet has been + successfully delivered to the Next Hop or not. It is applicable for + networks with little traffic and is used for unicast transmissions + only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 1] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +Status of This Memo + + This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is + published for examination, experimental implementation, and + evaluation. + + This document defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet + community. This document is a product of the Internet Engineering + Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF + community. It has received public review and has been approved for + publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Not + all documents approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of + Internet Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 5741. + + Information about the current status of this document, any errata, + and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at + http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6971. + +Copyright Notice + + Copyright (c) 2013 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the + document authors. All rights reserved. + + This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal + Provisions Relating to IETF Documents + (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of + publication of this document. Please review these documents + carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect + to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must + include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of + the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as + described in the Simplified BSD License. + +Table of Contents + + 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 + 1.1. Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 + 1.2. Experiments to Be Conducted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 + 2. Notation and Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 + 2.1. Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 + 2.2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 + 3. Applicability Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 + 4. Protocol Overview and Functioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 + 4.1. Overview of Information Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 + 4.2. Signaling Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 + 5. Protocol Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 2] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + 6. Information Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 + 6.1. Symmetric Neighbor List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 + 6.2. Processed Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 + 7. Packet Header Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 + 8. Protocol Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 + 9. Data Packet Generation and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 + 9.1. Data Packets Entering the DFF Routing Domain . . . . . . . 16 + 9.2. Data Packet Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 + 10. Unsuccessful Packet Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 + 11. Determining the Next Hop for a Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 + 12. Sequence Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 + 13. Modes of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 + 13.1. Route-Over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 + 13.1.1. Mapping of DFF Terminology to IPv6 Terminology . . . 22 + 13.1.2. Packet Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 + 13.2. Mesh-Under . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 + 13.2.1. Mapping of DFF Terminology to LoWPAN Terminology . . 24 + 13.2.2. Packet Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 + 14. Scope Limitation of DFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 + 14.1. Route-Over MoP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 + 14.2. Mesh-Under MoP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 + 15. MTU Exceedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 + 16. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 + 16.1. Attacks That Are Out of Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 + 16.2. Protection Mechanisms of DFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 + 16.3. Attacks That Are in Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 + 16.3.1. Denial of Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 + 16.3.2. Packet Header Modification . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 + 16.3.2.1. Return Flag Tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 + 16.3.2.2. Duplicate Flag Tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 + 16.3.2.3. Sequence Number Tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 + 17. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 + 18. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 + 19. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 + 19.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 + 19.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 + Appendix A. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 + A.1. Example 1: Normal Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 + A.2. Example 2: Forwarding with Link Failure . . . . . . . . . 37 + A.3. Example 3: Forwarding with Missed Link-Layer + Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 + A.4. Example 4: Forwarding with a Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 + Appendix B. Deployment Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 + B.1. Deployments in Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 + B.2. Kit Carson Electric Cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 + B.3. Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 + B.4. Open-Source Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 3] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +1. Introduction + + This document specifies the Depth-First Forwarding (DFF) protocol for + IPv6 networks, both for IPv6 forwarding [RFC2460] (henceforth denoted + "route-over"), and also for "mesh-under" forwarding using the LoWPAN + adaptation layer [RFC4944]. The protocol operates entirely on the + forwarding plane but may interact with the routing plane. The + purpose of DFF is to increase reliability of data delivery in + networks with dynamic topologies and/or lossy links. + + DFF forwards data packets using a "depth-first search" for the + destination of the packets. DFF relies on an external neighborhood + discovery mechanism that lists a router's neighbors that may be + attempted as Next Hops for a data packet. In addition, DFF may use + information from the Routing Information Base (RIB) for deciding in + which order to try to send the packet to the neighboring routers. + + If the packet makes no forward progress using the first selected Next + Hop, DFF will successively try all neighbors of the router. If none + of the Next Hops successfully receives or forwards the packet, DFF + returns the packet to the Previous Hop, which in turn tries to send + it to alternate neighbors. + + As network topologies do not necessarily form trees, loops can occur. + Therefore, DFF contains a loop detection and avoidance mechanism. + + DFF may provide information that may -- by a mechanism outside of + this specification -- be used for updating the cost of routes in the + RIB based on failed or successful delivery of packets through + alternative Next Hops. Such information may also be used by a + routing protocol. + + DFF assumes that the underlying link layer provides means to detect + if a packet has been successfully delivered to the Next Hop or not, + is designed for networks with little traffic, and is used for unicast + transmissions only. + +1.1. Motivation + + In networks with dynamic topologies and/or lossy links, even frequent + exchanges of control messages between routers for updating the + routing tables cannot guarantee that the routes correspond to the + effective topology of the network at all times. Packets may not be + delivered to their destination because the topology has changed since + the last routing protocol update. + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 4] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + More frequent routing protocol updates can mitigate that problem to a + certain extent; however, this requires additional signaling, + consuming channel and router resources (e.g., when flooding control + messages through the network). This is problematic in networks with + lossy links, where further control traffic exchange can worsen the + network stability because of collisions. Moreover, additional + control traffic exchange may drain energy from battery-driven + routers. + + The data-forwarding mechanism specified in this document allows for + forwarding data packets along alternate paths for increasing + reliability of data delivery, using a depth-first search. The + objective is to decrease the necessary control traffic overhead in + the network and, at the same time, to increase delivery success + rates. + + As this specification is intended for experimentation, the mechanism + is also specified for forwarding on the LoWPAN adaption layer + (according to Section 11 of [RFC4944]), in addition to IPv6 + forwarding as specified in [RFC2460]. Other than different header + formats, the DFF mechanism for route-over and mesh-under is similar, + and is therefore first defined in general and then more specifically + for both IPv6 route-over forwarding (as specified in Section 13.1) + and LoWPAN adaptation layer mesh-under (as specified in + Section 13.2). + +1.2. Experiments to Be Conducted + + This document is presented as an Experimental specification that can + increase reliability of data delivery in networks with dynamic + topology and/or lossy links. It is anticipated that, once sufficient + operational experience has been gained, this specification will be + revised to progress it on to the Standards Track. This experiment is + intended to be tried in networks that meet the applicability + described in Section 3, and with the scope limitations set out in + Section 14. While experimentation is encouraged in such networks, + operators should exercise caution before attempting this experiment + in other types of networks as the stability of interaction between + DFF and routing in those networks has not been established. + + Experience reports regarding DFF implementation and deployment are + encouraged, particularly with respect to: + + o Optimal values for the parameter P_HOLD_TIME, depending on the + size of the network, the topology, and the amount of traffic + originated per router. The longer a Processed Tuple is held, the + more memory is consumed on a router. Moreover, if a tuple is held + too long, a sequence number wrap-around may occur, and a new + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 5] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + packet may have the same sequence number as one indicated in an + old Processed Tuple. However, if the tuple is expired too soon + (before the packet has completed its path to the destination), it + may be mistakenly detected as a new packet instead of one already + seen. + + o Optimal values for the parameter MAX_HOP_LIMIT, depending on the + size of the network, the topology, and how lossy the link layer + is. MAX_HOP_LIMIT makes sure that packets do not unnecessarily + traverse in the network; it may be used to limit the "detour" of + packets that is acceptable. The value may also be issued on a + per-packet basis if hop-count information is available from the + RIB or routing protocol. In such a case, the Hop Limit for the + packet may be a percentage (e.g., 200%) of the hop-count value + indicated in the routing table. + + o Optimal methods to increase the cost of a route when a loop or + lost Layer 2 (L2) ACK is detected by DFF. While this is not + specified as a normative part of this document, it may be of + interest in an experiment to find good values of how much to + increase link cost in the RIB or routing protocol. + + o Performance of using DFF in combination with different routing + protocols, such as reactive and proactive protocols. This also + implies how routes are updated by the RIB or routing protocol when + informed by DFF about loops or broken links. + +2. Notation and Terminology + + The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", + "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and + "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in + [RFC2119]. + + Additionally, this document uses the notation in Section 2.1 and the + terminology in Section 2.2. + +2.1. Notation + + The following notations are used in this document: + + List: A list of elements is defined as [] for an empty list, + [element] for a list with one element, and [element1, element2, + ...] for a list with multiple elements. + + Concatenation of Lists: If List1 and List2 are lists, then List1@ + List2 is a new list with all elements of List1 first, followed by + all elements of List2. + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 6] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + Byte Order: All packet formats in this specification use network + byte order (most significant octet first) for all fields. The + most significant bit in an octet is numbered bit 0, and the least + significant bit of an octet is numbered bit 7. + + Assignment: a := b + An assignment operator, whereby the left side (a) is assigned the + value of the right side (b). + + Comparison: c = d + A comparison operator, returning true if the value of the left + side (c) is equal to the value of the right side (d). + + Flags: This specification uses multiple 1-bit flags. A value of '0' + of a flag means 'false'; a value of '1' means 'true'. + +2.2. Terminology + + The terms "route-over" and "mesh-under", introduced in [RFC6775], are + used in this document, where "route-over" is not only limited to IPv6 + over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPANs) but also + applies to general IPv6 networks. + + Mesh-under: A topology where nodes are connected to a 6LoWPAN Border + Router (6LBR) through a mesh using link-layer forwarding. Thus, + in a mesh-under configuration, all IPv6 hosts in a LoWPAN are only + one IP hop away from the 6LBR. This topology simulates the + typical IP-subnet topology with one router with multiple nodes in + the same subnet. + + Route-over: A topology where hosts are connected to the 6LBR through + the use of intermediate layer-3 (IP) routing. Here, hosts are + typically multiple IP hops away from a 6LBR. The route-over + topology typically consists of a 6LBR, a set of 6LoWPAN Routers + (6LRs), and hosts. + + The following terms are used in this document. As the DFF mechanism + is specified both for route-over IPv6 and for the mesh-under LoWPAN + adaptation layer, the terms are generally defined in this section, + and then specifically mapped for each of the different modes of + operation in Section 13. + + Depth-First Search: "Depth-first search (DFS) is an algorithm for + traversing or searching tree or graph data structures. One starts + at the root (selecting some node as the root in the graph case) + and explores as far as possible along each branch before + backtracking" [DFS_wikipedia]. In this document, the algorithm + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 7] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + for traversing a graph is applied to forwarding packets in a + computer network, with nodes being routers. + + Routing Information Base (RIB): A table stored in the user space of + an operating system of a router or host. The table lists routes + to network destinations, as well as associated metrics with these + routes. + + Mode of Operation (MoP): The DFF mechanism specified in this + document can either be used as the "route-over" IPv6-forwarding + mechanism (Mode of Operation: "route-over") or as the "mesh-under" + LoWPAN adaptation layer (Mode of Operation: "mesh-under"). + + Packet: An IPv6 packet (for "route-over" MoP) or a "LoWPAN- + encapsulated packet" (for "mesh-under" MoP), containing an IPv6 + packet as payload. + + Packet Header: An IPv6 extension header (for "route-over" MoP) or a + LoWPAN header (for "mesh-under" MoP). + + Address: An IPv6 address (for "route-over" MoP), or a 16-bit short + or 64-bit Extended Unique Identifier (EUI-64) link-layer address + (for "mesh-under" MoP). + + Originator: The router that added the DFF header (specified in + Section 7) to a packet. + + Originator Address: An address of the Originator. According to + [RFC6724], this address SHOULD be selected from the addresses that + are configured on the interface that transmits the packet. + + Destination: The router or host to which a packet is finally + destined. In case this router or host is outside of the routing + domain in which DFF is used, the destination is the router that + removes the DFF header (specified in Section 7) from the packet. + This case is described in Section 14.1. + + Destination Address: An address to which the packet is sent. + + Next Hop: An address of the Next Hop to which the packet is sent + along the path to the destination. + + Previous Hop: The address of the previous-hop router from which a + packet has been received. In case the packet has been received by + a router from outside of the routing domain where DFF is used + (i.e., no DFF header is contained in the packet), the Originator + Address of the router adding the DFF header to the packet is used + as the Previous Hop. + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 8] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + Hop Limit: An upper bound denoting how many times the packet may be + forwarded. + +3. Applicability Statement + + This document specifies DFF, a packet-forwarding mechanism intended + for use in networks with dynamic topology and/or lossy links with the + purpose of increasing reliability of data delivery. The protocol's + applicability is determined by its characteristics, which are that + this protocol: + + o Is applicable for use in IPv6 networks, either as a "route-over" + forwarding mechanism using IPv6 [RFC2460], or as a "mesh-under" + forwarding mechanism using the frame format for transmission of + IPv6 packets, as defined in [RFC4944]. + + o Assumes addresses used in the network are either IPv6 addresses + (if the protocol is used as "route-over"), or 16-bit short or + EUI-64 link-layer addresses, as specified in [RFC4944], if the + protocol is used as "mesh-under". In "mesh-under" mode, mixed + 16-bit and EUI-64 addresses within one DFF routing domain are + allowed (if they conform with [RFC4944]), as long as DFF is + limited to use within one PAN (Personal Area Network). It is + assumed that the "route-over" mode and "mesh-under" mode are + mutually exclusive in the same routing domain. + + o Assumes that the underlying link layer provides means to detect if + a packet has been successfully delivered to the Next Hop or not + (e.g., by L2 ACK messages). Examples for such underlying link + layers are specified in IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.11. + + o Is applicable in networks with lossy links and/or with a dynamic + topology. In networks with very stable links and fixed topology, + DFF will not bring any benefit (but also will not be harmful, + other than the additional overhead for the packet header). + + o Works in a completely distributed manner and does not depend on + any central entity. + + o Is applicable for networks with little traffic in terms of numbers + of packets per second, since each recently forwarded packet + increases the state on a router. The amount of traffic per time + that is supported by DFF depends on the memory resources of the + router running DFF, the density of the network, the loss rate of + the channel, and the maximum Hop Limit for each packet: for each + recently seen packet, a list of Next Hops that the packet has been + sent to is stored in memory. The stored entries can be deleted + after an expiration time, so that only recently received packets + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 9] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + require storage on the router. Implementations are advised to + measure and report rates of packets in the network, and also to + report memory usage. Thus, operators can determine memory + exhaustion because of growing information sets or problems because + of too rapid sequence-number wrap-around. + + o Is applicable for dense topologies with multiple paths between + each source and each destination. Certain topologies are less + suitable for DFF: topologies that can be partitioned by the + removal of a single router or link, topologies with multiple stub + routers that each have a single link to the network, topologies + with only a single path to a destination, or topologies where the + "detour" that a packet makes during the depth-first search in + order to reach the destination would be too long. Note that the + number of retransmissions of a packet that stipulate a "too long" + path depends on the underlying link layer (capacity and + probability of packet loss), as well as how much bandwidth is + required for data traffic by applications running in the network. + In such topologies, the packet may never reach the destination; + therefore, unnecessary transmissions of data packets may occur + until the Hop Limit of the packet reaches zero, and the packet is + dropped. This may consume channel and router resources. + + o Is used for unicast transmissions only (not for anycast or + multicast). + + o Is for use within stub networks and for traffic between a router + inside the routing domain in which DFF is used and a known border + router. Examples of such networks are LoWPANs. Scope limitations + are described in Section 14. + +4. Protocol Overview and Functioning + + When a packet is to be forwarded by a router using DFF, the router + creates a list of candidate Next Hops for that packet. This list + (created per packet) is ordered, and Section 11 provides + recommendations on how to order the list, e.g., first listing Next + Hops listed in the RIB, if available, ordered in increasing cost, + followed by other neighbors provided by an external neighborhood + discovery. DFF proceeds to forward the packet to the first Next Hop + in the list. If the transmission was not successful (as determined + by the underlying link layer) or if the packet was "returned" by a + Next Hop to which it had been sent before, the router will try to + forward the packet to the subsequent Next Hop on the list. A router + "returns" a packet to the router from which it was originally + received once it has unsuccessfully tried to forward the packet to + all elements in the candidate Next Hop list. If the packet is + eventually returned to the Originator of the packet, and after the + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 10] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + Originator has exhausted all of its Next Hops for the packet, the + packet is dropped. + + For each recently forwarded packet, a router running DFF stores + information about the packet as an entry in an information set, + denoted "Processed Set". Each entry in the Processed Set contains a + sequence number, included in the packet header, identifying the + packet. (Refer to Section 12 for further details on the sequence + number.) Furthermore, the entry contains a list of Next Hops to + which the packet has been sent. This list of recently forwarded + packets also allows for avoiding loops when forwarding a packet. + Entries in the Processed Set expire after a given expiration timeout + and are removed. + +4.1. Overview of Information Sets + + This specification requires a single set on each router, the + Processed Set. The Processed Set stores the sequence number, the + Originator Address, the Previous Hop, and a list of Next Hops to + which the packet has been sent, for each recently seen packet. + Entries in the set are removed after a predefined timeout. Each time + a packet is forwarded to a Next Hop, that Next Hop is added to the + list of Next Hops of the entry for the packet. + + Note that an implementation of this protocol may maintain the + information of the Processed Set in the indicated form, or in any + other organization that offers access to this information. In + particular, it is not necessary to remove tuples from a set at the + exact time indicated, only to behave as if the tuples were removed at + that time. + + In addition to the Processed Set, a list of symmetric neighbors must + be provided by an external neighborhood discovery mechanism, or may + be determined from the RIB (e.g., if the RIB provides routes to + adjacent routers, and if these one-hop routes are verified to be + symmetric). + +4.2. Signaling Overview + + Information is needed on a per-packet basis by a router that is + running DFF and receives a packet. This information is encoded in + the packet header that is specified in this document as the IPv6 Hop- + by-Hop Options header and LoWPAN header, respectively, for the + intended "route-over" and "mesh-under" Modes of Operation. This DFF + header contains a sequence number used for uniquely identifying a + packet and two flags, RET (for "return") and DUP (for "duplicate"). + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 11] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + While a router successively tries sending a data packet to one or + more of its neighbors, RET = 0. If none of the transmissions of the + packet to the neighbors of a router have succeeded, the packet is + returned to the router from which the packet was first received, + indicated by setting the return flag (RET := 1). The RET flag is + required to discern between a deliberately returned packet and a + looping packet: if a router receives a packet with RET = 1 (and DUP = + 0 or DUP = 1) that it has already forwarded, the packet was + deliberately returned, and the router will continue to successively + send the packet to routers from the candidate Next Hop list. If that + packet has RET = 0, the router assumes that the packet is looping and + returns it to the router from which it was last received. An + external mechanism may use this information for increasing the route + cost of the route to the destination using the Next Hop that resulted + in the loop in the RIB or the routing protocol. It is out of scope + of this document to specify such a mechanism. Note that once DUP is + set to 1, loop detection is not possible any more as the flag is not + reset any more. Therefore, a packet may loop if the RIBs of routers + in the domain are inconsistent, until the Hop Limit has reached 0. + + Whenever a packet transmission to a neighbor has failed (as + determined by the underlying link layer, e.g., using L2 ACKs), the + DUP flag is set in the packet header for the following transmissions. + The rationale is that the packet may have been successfully received + by the neighbor and only the L2 ACK has been lost, resulting in + possible duplicates of the packet in the network. The DUP flag tags + such a possible duplicate. The DUP flag is required to discern + between a duplicated packet and a looping packet: if a router + receives a packet with DUP = 1 (and RET = 0) that it has already + forwarded, the packet is not considered looping and is successively + forwarded to the next router from the candidate Next Hop list. If + the received packet has DUP = 0 (and RET = 0), the router assumes + that the packet is looping, sets RET := 1, and returns it to the + Previous Hop. Again, an external mechanism may use this information + for increasing route costs and/or informing the routing protocol. + + The reason for not dropping received duplicated packets (with DUP = + 1) is that a duplicated packet may be duplicated again during its + path if another L2 ACK is lost. However, when DUP is already set to + 1, it is not possible to discern the duplicate from the duplicate of + the duplicate. As a consequence, loop detection is not possible + after the second lost L2 ACK on the path of a packet. However, if + duplicates are simply dropped, it is possible that the packet was + actually a looping packet (and not a duplicate), and so the depth- + first search would be interrupted. + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 12] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +5. Protocol Dependencies + + DFF MAY use information from the Routing Information Base (RIB), + specifically for determining an order of preference for which Next + Hops a packet should be forwarded to (e.g., the packet may be + forwarded first to neighbors that are listed in the RIB as Next Hops + to the destination, preferring those with the lowest route cost). + Section 11 provides recommendations about the order of preference for + the Next Hops of a packet. + + DFF MUST have access to a list of symmetric neighbors for each + router; this list is provided by a neighborhood discovery protocol, + such as the one defined in [RFC6130]. A neighborhood discovery + protocol is not specified in this document. + +6. Information Sets + + This section specifies the information sets used by DFF. + +6.1. Symmetric Neighbor List + + DFF MUST have access to a list of addresses of symmetric neighbors of + the router. This list can be provided by an external neighborhood + discovery mechanism or, alternatively, may be determined from the RIB + (e.g., if the RIB provides routes to adjacent routers, and if these + one-hop routes are verified to be symmetric). The list of addresses + of symmetric neighbors is not specified within this document. The + addresses in the list are used to construct a list of candidate Next + Hops for a packet, as specified in Section 11. + +6.2. Processed Set + + Each router maintains a Processed Set in order to support the loop + detection functionality. The Processed Set lists sequence numbers of + previously received packets, as well as a list of Next Hops to which + the packet has been sent successively as part of the depth-first + forwarding mechanism. To protect against this situation, it is + recommended that an implementation retains the Processed Set in + non-volatile storage if such is provided by the router. + + The set consists of Processed Tuples + + (P_orig_address, P_seq_number, P_prev_hop, + P_next_hop_neighbor_list, P_time) + + where + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 13] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + P_orig_address is the Originator Address of the received packet; + + P_seq_number is the sequence number of the received packet; + + P_prev_hop is the address of the Previous Hop of the packet; + + P_next_hop_neighbor_list is a list of addresses of Next Hops to + which the packet has been sent previously, as part of the depth- + first forwarding mechanism, as specified in Section 9.2; + + P_time specifies when this tuple expires and MUST be removed. + + The consequences when no, or not enough, non-volatile storage is + available on a router (e.g., because of limited resources) or when an + implementation chooses not to make the Processed Set persistent are + that packets that are already in a loop caused by the routing + protocol may continue to loop until the Hop Limit is exhausted. + Non-looping packets may be sent to Next Hops that have already + received the packet previously and will return the packet, leading to + some unnecessary retransmissions. This effect is only temporary and + applies only for packets already traversing the network. + +7. Packet Header Fields + + This section specifies the information required by DFF in the packet + header. Note that, depending on whether DFF is used in the + "route-over" MoP or in the "mesh-under" MoP, the DFF header is either + an IPv6 Hop-by-Hop Options header (as specified in Section 13.1.2) or + a LoWPAN header (as specified in Section 13.2.2). Sections 13.1.2 + and 13.2.2 specify the precise order, format, and encoding of the + fields that are listed in this section. + + Version (VER) - This 2-bit value indicates the version of DFF that + is used. This specification defines value '00'. Packets with + other values of the version MUST be forwarded using the route-over + MoP and mesh-under MoP as defined in [RFC2460] and [RFC4944], + respectively. + + Duplicate (DUP) Packet Flag - This 1-bit flag is set in the DFF + header of a packet when that packet is being retransmitted due to + a signal from the link layer that the original transmission + failed, as specified in Section 9.2. Once the flag is set to 1, + it MUST NOT be modified by routers forwarding the packet. + + Return (RET) Packet Flag - This 1-bit flag MUST be set to 1 prior to + sending the packet back to the Previous Hop. Upon receiving a + packet with RET = 1, and before sending it to a new candidate Next + Hop, that flag MUST be set to 0, as specified in Section 9.2. + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 14] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + Sequence Number - A 16-bit field, containing an unsigned integer + sequence number generated by the Originator, unique to each router + for each packet to which the DFF has been added, as specified in + Section 12. The Originator Address concatenated with the sequence + number represents an identifier of previously seen data packets. + Refer to Section 12 for further information about sequence + numbers. + +8. Protocol Parameters + + The parameters used in this specification are listed in this section. + These parameters are configurable, do not need to be stored in + non-volatile storage, and can be varied by implementations at run- + time. Default values for the parameters depend on the network size, + topology, link layer, and traffic patterns. Part of the + experimentation described in Section 1.2 is to determine suitable + default values. + + P_HOLD_TIME - Is the time period after which a newly created or + modified Processed Tuple expires and MUST be deleted. An + implementation SHOULD use a value for P_HOLD_TIME that is high + enough that the Processed Tuple for a packet is still in memory on + all forwarding routers while the packet is transiting the routing + domain. The value SHOULD at least be MAX_HOP_LIMIT times the + expected time to send a packet to a router on the same link. The + value MUST be lower than the time it takes until the same sequence + number is reached again after a wrap-around on the router + identified by P_orig_address of the Processed Tuple. + + MAX_HOP_LIMIT - Is the initial value of Hop Limit, and therefore the + maximum number of times that a packet is forwarded in the routing + domain. When choosing the value of MAX_HOP_LIMIT, the size of the + network, the distance between source and destination in number of + hops, and the maximum possible "detour" of a packet SHOULD be + considered (compared to the shortest path). Such information MAY + be used from the RIB, if provided. + +9. Data Packet Generation and Processing + + The following sections specify the process of handling a packet + entering the DFF routing domain, i.e., without a DFF header + (Section 9.1), as well as forwarding a data packet from another + router running DFF (Section 9.2). + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 15] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +9.1. Data Packets Entering the DFF Routing Domain + + This section applies for any data packets upon their first entry into + a routing domain in which DFF is used. This occurs when a new data + packet is generated on this router, or when a data packet is + forwarded from outside the routing domain (i.e., from a host attached + to this router or from a router outside the routing domain in which + DFF is used). Before such a data packet (henceforth denoted "current + packet") is transmitted, the following steps MUST be executed: + + 1. If required, encapsulate the packet, as specified in Section 14. + + 2. Add the DFF header to the current packet (to the outer header if + the packet has been encapsulated) with: + + * DUP := 0; + + * RET := 0; + + * Sequence Number := a new sequence number of the packet (as + specified in Section 12). + + 3. Check that the packet does not exceed the MTU, as specified in + Section 15. In case it does, execute the procedures listed in + Section 15 and do not further process the packet. + + 4. Select the Next Hop (henceforth denoted "next_hop") for the + current packet, as specified in Section 11. + + 5. Add a Processed Tuple to the Processed Set with: + + * P_orig_address := the Originator Address of the current + packet; + + * P_seq_number := the sequence number of the current packet; + + * P_prev_hop := the Originator Address of the current packet; + + * P_next_hop_neighbor_list := [next_hop]; + + * P_time := current time + P_HOLD_TIME. + + 6. Pass the current packet to the underlying link layer for + transmission to next_hop. If the transmission fails (as + determined by the link layer), the procedures in Section 10 MUST + be executed. + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 16] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +9.2. Data Packet Processing + + When a packet (henceforth denoted the "current packet") is received + by a router, the following tasks MUST be performed: + + 1. If the packet header is malformed (i.e., the header format is not + as expected by this specification), drop the packet. + + 2. Otherwise, if the Destination Address of the packet matches an + address of an interface of this router, deliver the packet to + upper layers and do not further process the packet, as specified + below. + + 3. Decrement the value of the Hop Limit field by one (1). + + 4. Drop the packet if Hop Limit is decremented to zero and do not + further process the packet, as specified below. + + 5. If no Processed Tuple (henceforth denoted the "current tuple") + exists in the Processed Set, where both of the following + conditions are true: + + + P_orig_address = the Originator Address of the current packet, + AND; + + + P_seq_number = the sequence number of the current packet. + + Then: + + 1. Add a Processed Tuple (henceforth denoted the "current + tuple") with: + + + P_orig_address := the Originator Address of the current + packet; + + + P_seq_number := the sequence number of the current packet; + + + P_prev_hop := the Previous Hop Address of the current + packet; + + + P_next_hop_neighbor_list := []; + + + P_time := current time + P_HOLD_TIME. + + 2. Set RET to 0 in the DFF header. + + 3. Select the Next Hop (henceforth denoted "next_hop") for the + current packet, as specified in Section 11. + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 17] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + 4. P_next_hop_neighbor_list := P_next_hop_neighbor_list@ + [next_hop]. + + 5. Pass the current packet to the underlying link layer for + transmission to next_hop. If the transmission fails (as + determined by the link layer), the procedures in Section 10 + MUST be executed. + + 6. Otherwise, if a tuple exists: + + 1. If the return flag of the current packet is not set (RET = 0) + (i.e., a loop has been detected): + + 1. Set RET := 1. + + 2. Pass the current packet to the underlying link layer for + transmission to the Previous Hop. + + 2. Otherwise, if the return flag of the current packet is set + (RET = 1): + + 1. If the Previous Hop of the packet is not contained in + P_next_hop_neighbor_list of the current tuple, drop the + packet. + + 2. If the Previous Hop of the packet (i.e., the address of + the router from which the current packet has just been + received) is equal to P_prev_hop of the current tuple + (i.e., the address of the router from which the current + packet has been first received), drop the packet. + + 3. Set RET := 0. + + 4. Select the Next Hop (henceforth denoted "next_hop") for + the current packet, as specified in Section 11. + + 5. Modify the current tuple: + + - P_next_hop_neighbor_list := P_next_hop_neighbor_list@ + [next_hop]; + + - P_time := current time + P_HOLD_TIME. + + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 18] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + 6. If the selected Next Hop is equal to P_prev_hop of the + current tuple, as specified in Section 11 (i.e., all + candidate Next Hops have been unsuccessfully tried), set + RET := 1. If this router (i.e., the router receiving the + current packet) has the same address as the Originator + Address of the current packet, drop the packet. + + 7. Pass the current packet to the underlying link layer for + transmission to next_hop. If transmission fails (as + determined by the link layer), the procedures in + Section 10 MUST be executed. + +10. Unsuccessful Packet Transmission + + DFF requires that the underlying link layer provides information as + to whether a packet is successfully received by the Next Hop. + Absence of such a signal is interpreted as a delivery failure of the + packet (henceforth denoted the "current packet"). Note that the + underlying link layer MAY retry sending the packet multiple times + (e.g., using exponential back-off) before determining that the packet + has not been successfully received by the Next Hop. The following + steps are executed when a delivery failure occurs and Section 9 + requests that they be executed. + + 1. Set the DUP flag of the DFF header of the current packet to 1. + + 2. Select the Next Hop (henceforth denoted "next_hop") for the + current packet, as specified in Section 11. + + 3. Find the Processed Tuple (the "current tuple") in the Processed + Set with: + + + P_orig_address = the Originator Address of the current packet, + AND; + + + P_seq_number = the sequence number of the current packet. + + 4. If no current tuple is found, drop the packet. + + 5. Otherwise, modify the current tuple: + + * P_next_hop_neighbor_list := P_next_hop_neighbor_list@ + [next_hop]; + + * P_time := current time + P_HOLD_TIME. + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 19] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + 6. If the selected next_hop is equal to P_prev_hop of the current + tuple, as specified in Section 11 (i.e., all neighbors have been + unsuccessfully tried), then: + + * RET := 1 + + * Decrement the value of the Hop Limit field by one (1). Drop + the packet if the Hop Limit is decremented to zero. + + 7. Otherwise + + * RET := 0 + + 8. Transmit the current packet to next_hop. If transmission fails + (as determined by the link layer), and if the next_hop does not + equal P_prev_hop from the current tuple, the procedures in + Section 10 MUST be executed. + +11. Determining the Next Hop for a Packet + + When forwarding a packet, a router determines a valid Next Hop for + that packet, as specified in this section. As a Processed Tuple + either existed when receiving the packet (henceforth denoted the + "current packet") or was created, it can be assumed that the + Processed Tuple for that packet (henceforth denoted the "current + tuple") is available. + + The Next Hop is chosen from a list of candidate Next Hops in order of + decreasing priority. This list is created per packet. The maximum + candidate Next Hop list for a packet contains all the neighbors of + the router (as determined from an external neighborhood discovery + process), except for the Previous Hop of the current packet. A + smaller list MAY be used, if desired, and the exact selection of the + size of the candidate Next Hop list is a local decision that is made + in each router and does not affect interoperability. Selecting a + smaller list may reduce the path length of a packet traversing the + network and reduce the required state in the Processed Set, but it + may result in valid paths that are not explored. If information from + the RIB is used, then the candidate Next Hop list MUST contain at + least the Next Hop indicated in the RIB as the Next Hop on the + shortest path to the destination, and it SHOULD contain all Next Hops + indicated to the RIB as Next Hops on paths to the destination. If a + Next Hop from the RIB equals the Previous Hop of the current packet, + it MUST NOT be added to the candidate Next Hop list. + + The list MUST NOT contain addresses that are listed in + P_next_hop_neighbor_list of the current tuple, in order to avoid + sending the packet to the same neighbor multiple times. Moreover, an + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 20] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + address MUST NOT appear more than once in the list, for the same + reason. Also, addresses of an interface of this router MUST NOT be + added to the list. + + The list has an order of preference, where packets are first sent to + the Next Hops at the top of the list during depth-first processing as + specified in Sections 9.1 and 9.2. The following order is + RECOMMENDED, with the elements listed on top having the highest + preference: + + 1. The neighbor that is indicated in the RIB as the Next Hop on the + shortest path to the destination of the current packet; + + 2. Other neighbors indicated in the RIB as Next Hops on the path to + the destination of the current packet; + + 3. All other symmetric neighbors (except the Previous Hop of the + current packet). + + Additional information from the RIB or the list of symmetric + neighbors (such as route cost or link quality) MAY be used for + determining the order. + + If the candidate Next Hop list created as specified in this section + is empty, the selected Next Hop MUST be P_prev_hop of the current + tuple; this case applies when returning the packet to the Previous + Hop. + +12. Sequence Numbers + + Whenever a router generates a packet or forwards a packet on behalf + of a host or a router outside the routing domain where DFF is used, a + sequence number MUST be created and included in the DFF header. This + sequence number MUST be unique locally on each router where it is + created. A sequence number MUST start at 0 for the first packet to + which the DFF header is added, and then increment by 1 for each new + packet. The sequence number MUST NOT be greater than 65535 and MUST + wrap around to 0. + +13. Modes of Operation + + DFF can be used either as the "route-over" IPv6-forwarding protocol, + or alternatively as the "mesh-under" data-forwarding protocol for the + LoWPAN adaptation layer [RFC4944]. Previous sections have specified + the DFF mechanism in general; specific differences for each MoP are + specified in this section. + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 21] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +13.1. Route-Over + + This section maps the general terminology from Section 2.2 to the + specific terminology when using the "route-over" MoP. + +13.1.1. Mapping of DFF Terminology to IPv6 Terminology + + The following terms are those listed in Section 2.2, and their + meaning is explicitly defined when DFF is used in the "route-over" + MoP: + + Packet - An IPv6 packet, as specified in [RFC2460]. + + Packet Header - An IPv6 extension header, as specified in [RFC2460]. + + Address - An IPv6 address, as specified in [RFC4291]. + + Originator Address - The Originator Address corresponds to the + Source Address field of the IPv6 header, as specified in + [RFC2460]. + + Destination Address - The Destination Address corresponds to the + destination field of the IPv6 header, as specified in [RFC2460]. + + Next Hop - The Next Hop is the IPv6 address of the node to which the + packet is sent; the link-layer address from that IP address is + resolved by a mechanism such as Neighbor Discovery (ND) [RFC4861]. + The link-layer address is then used by L2 as the destination. + + Previous Hop - The Previous Hop is the IPv6 address from the + interface of the node from which the packet has been received. + + Hop Limit - The Hop Limit corresponds to the Hop Limit field in the + IPv6 header, as specified in [RFC2460]. + +13.1.2. Packet Format + + In the "route-over" MoP, all IPv6 packets MUST conform with the + format specified in [RFC2460]. + + The DFF header, as specified below, is an IPv6 Hop-by-Hop Options + header, and is depicted in Figure 1 (where DUP is abbreviated to D, + and RET is abbreviated to R because of the limited space in the + figure). This document specifies a new option to be used inside the + Hop-by-Hop Options header, which contains the DFF fields (DUP and RET + flags and sequence number, as specified in Section 7). + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 22] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + [RFC6564] specifies: + + New options for the existing Hop-by-Hop Header SHOULD NOT be + created or specified unless no alternative solution is feasible. + Any proposal to create a new option for the existing Hop-by-Hop + Header MUST include a detailed explanation of why the hop-by-hop + behavior is absolutely essential in the document proposing the new + option with hop-by-hop behavior. + + [RFC6564] recommends to use destination headers instead of Hop-by-Hop + Options headers. Destination headers are only read by the + destination of an IPv6 packet, not by intermediate routers. However, + the mechanism specified in this document relies on intermediate + routers reading and editing the header. Specifically, the sequence + number and the DUP and RET flags are read by each router running the + DFF protocol. Modifying the DUP and RET flags is essential for this + protocol to tag duplicate or returned packets. Without the DUP flag, + a duplicate packet cannot be discerned from a looping packet, and + without the RET flag, a returned packet cannot be discerned from a + looping packet. + + 1 2 3 + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | Next Header | Hdr Ext Len | OptTypeDFF | OptDataLenDFF | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + |VER|D|R|0|0|0|0| Sequence Number | Pad1 | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + + Figure 1: IPv6 DFF Header + + Field definitions of the DFF header are as follows: + + Next Header - 8-bit selector. Identifies the type of header + immediately following the Hop-by-Hop Options header, as specified + in [RFC2460]. + + Hdr Ext Len - 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the Hop-by-Hop + Options header in 8-octet units, not including the first 8 octets, + as specified in [RFC2460]. This value is set to 0 (zero). + + OptTypeDFF - 8-bit identifier of the type of option, as specified in + [RFC2460]. This value is set to IP_DFF. The two high-order bits + of the option type MUST be set to '11', and the third bit is equal + to '1'. With these bits, according to [RFC2460], routers that do + not understand this option on a received packet discard the packet + and, only if the packet's Destination Address was not a multicast + address, send an ICMP Parameter Problem (Code 2) message to the + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 23] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + packet's Source Address, pointing to the unrecognized option type. + Also, according to [RFC2460], the values within the option are + expected to change en route. + + OptDataLenDFF - 8-bit unsigned integer. Length of the option data + field of this option, in octets, as specified in [RFC2460]. This + value is set to 2 (two). + + DFF fields - A 2-bit version field (abbreviated as VER); the DUP + (abbreviated as D) and RET (abbreviated as R) flags follow after + Mesh Forw, as specified in Section 13.2.2. The version specified + in this document is '00'. All other bits (besides VER, DUP, and + RET) of this octet are reserved and MUST be set to 0. + + Sequence Number - A 16-bit field, containing an unsigned integer + sequence number, as specified in Section 7. + + Pad1 - Since the Hop-by-Hop Options header must have a length that + is a multiple of 8 octets, a Pad1 option is used, as specified in + [RFC2460]. All bits of this octet are 0. + +13.2. Mesh-Under + + This section maps the general terminology from Section 2.2 to the + specific terminology when using the "mesh-under" MoP. + +13.2.1. Mapping of DFF Terminology to LoWPAN Terminology + + The following terms are those listed in Section 2.2 (besides "Mode of + Operation"), and their meaning is explicitly defined when DFF is used + in the "mesh-under" MoP. + + Packet - A "LoWPAN-encapsulated packet" (as specified in [RFC4944]), + which contains an IPv6 packet as payload. + + Packet Header - A LoWPAN header, as specified in [RFC4944]. + + Address - A 16-bit short or EUI-64 link-layer address, as specified + in [RFC4944]. + + Originator Address - The Originator Address corresponds to the + Originator Address field of the Mesh Addressing header, as + specified in [RFC4944]. + + Destination Address - The Destination Address corresponds to the + Final Destination field of the Mesh Addressing header, as + specified in [RFC4944]. + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 24] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + Next Hop - The Next Hop is the Destination Address of a frame + containing a LoWPAN-encapsulated packet, as specified in + [RFC4944]. + + Previous Hop - The Previous Hop is the Source Address of the frame + containing a LoWPAN-encapsulated packet, as specified in + [RFC4944]. + + Hop Limit - The Hop Limit corresponds to the Deep Hops Left field in + the Mesh Addressing header, as specified in [RFC4944]. + +13.2.2. Packet Format + + In the "mesh-under" MoP, all IPv6 packets MUST conform with the + format specified in [RFC4944]. All data packets exchanged by routers + using this specification MUST contain the Mesh Addressing header as + part of the LoWPAN encapsulation, as specified in [RFC4944]. + + The DFF header, as specified below, MUST follow the Mesh Addressing + header. After these two headers, any other LoWPAN header, e.g., + header compression or fragmentation headers, MAY also be added before + the actual payload. Figure 2 depicts the Mesh Addressing header + defined in [RFC4944], and Figure 3 depicts the DFF header. + + 1 2 3 + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + |1 0|V|F|HopsLft| DeepHopsLeft |orig. address, final address... + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + + Figure 2: Mesh Addressing Header + + + 1 2 3 + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + |0 1| Mesh Forw |VER|D|R|0|0|0|0| sequence number | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + + Figure 3: Header for DFF Data Packets + + Field definitions of the Mesh Addressing header are as specified in + [RFC4944]. When adding that header to the LoWPAN encapsulation on + the Originator, the fields of the Mesh Addressing header MUST be set + to the following values: + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 25] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + o V := 0 if the Originator Address is an IEEE extended 64-bit + address (EUI-64); otherwise, V := 1 if it is a short 16-bit + address. + + o F := 0 if the Final Destination Address is an IEEE extended 64-bit + address (EUI-64); otherwise, F := 1 if it is a short 16-bit + address. + + o Hops Left := 0xF (i.e., reserved value indicating that the Deep + Hops Left field follows); + + o Deep Hops Left := MAX_HOP_LIMIT. + + Field definitions of the DFF header are as follows: + + Mesh Forw - A 6-bit identifier that allows for the use of different + mesh-forwarding mechanisms. As specified in [RFC4944], additional + mesh-forwarding mechanisms should use the reserved dispatch byte + values following LOWPAN_BC0; therefore, '0 1' MUST precede Mesh + Forw. The value of Mesh Forw is LOWPAN_DFF. + + DFF fields - A 2-bit version (abbreviated as VER) field; the DUP + (abbreviated as D) and RET (abbreviated as R) flags follow after + Mesh Forw, as specified in Section 13.2.2. The version specified + in this document is '00'. All other bits (besides VER, DUP, and + RET) of this octet are reserved and MUST be set to 0. + + Sequence Number - A 16-bit field, containing an unsigned integer + sequence number, as specified in Section 7. + +14. Scope Limitation of DFF + + The forwarding mechanism specified in this document MUST be limited + in scope to the routing domain in which DFF is used. That also + implies that any headers specific to DFF do not traverse the + boundaries of the routing domain. This section specifies, both for + the "route-over" MoP and the "mesh-under" MoP, how to limit the scope + of DFF to the routing domain in which it is used. + + Figures 4 to 7 depict four different cases for source and destination + of traffic with regards to the scope of the routing domain in which + DFF is used. Sections 14.1 and 14.2 specify how routers limit the + scope of DFF for the "route-over" MoP and the "mesh-under" MoP, + respectively, for these cases. In these sections, all nodes "inside + the routing domain" are routers and use DFF, and may also be sources + or destinations. Sources or destinations "outside the routing + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 26] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + domain" do not run DFF; either they are hosts attached to a router in + the routing domain that is running DFF, or they are themselves + routers but outside the routing domain and not running DFF. + + +-----------------+ + | | + | (S) ----> (D) | + | | + +-----------------+ + Routing Domain + + Figure 4: Traffic within the Routing Domain (from S to D) + + +-----------------+ + | | + | (S) --------> (R) --------> (D) + | | + +-----------------+ + Routing Domain + + Figure 5: Traffic from Within the Routing Domain to + Outside of the Domain (from S to D) + + +-----------------+ + | | + (S) --------> (R) --------> (D) | + | | + +-----------------+ + Routing Domain + + Figure 6: Traffic from Outside the Routing Domain to + Inside the Domain (from S to D) + + +-----------------+ + | | + (S) --------> (R1) -----------> (R2) --------> (D) + | | + +-----------------+ + Routing Domain + + Figure 7: Traffic from Outside the Routing Domain, Traversing the + Domain and Then to the Outside of the Domain (from S to D) + + Key: + (S) = source router + (D) = destination router + (R), (R1), (R2) = other routers + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 27] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +14.1. Route-Over MoP + + In Figure 4, both the source and destination of the traffic are + routers within the routing domain. If traffic is originated at S, + the DFF header is added to the IPv6 header (as specified in + Section 13.1.2). The Originator Address is set to S and the + Destination Address is set to D. The packet is forwarded to D using + this specification. When router D receives the packet, it processes + the payload of the IPv6 packet in upper layers. This case assumes + that S has knowledge that D is in the routing domain, e.g., because + of the administrative setting based on the IP address of the + destination. If S has no knowledge about whether D is in the routing + domain, IPv6-in-IPv6 tunnels as specified in [RFC2473] MUST be used. + These cases are described in the following paragraphs. + + In Figure 5, the source of the traffic (S) is within the routing + domain, and the destination (D) is outside of the routing domain. + The IPv6 packet, originated at S, MUST be encapsulated according to + [RFC2473] (IPv6-in-IPv6 tunnels) and the DFF header MUST be added to + the outer IPv6 header. S chooses the next router that should process + the packet as the tunnel exit-point (R). Administrative settings, as + well as information from a routing protocol, may be used to determine + the tunnel exit-point. If no information is available for which + router to choose as the tunnel exit-point, the Next Hop MUST be used + as the tunnel exit-point. In some cases, the tunnel exit-point will + be the final router along a path towards the packet's destination, + and the packet will only traverse a single tunnel (e.g., if R is a + known border router then S can choose R as the tunnel exit-point). + In other cases, the tunnel exit-point will not be the final router + along the path to D, and the packet may traverse multiple tunnels to + reach the destination; note that in this case, the DFF mechanism is + only used inside each IPv6-in-IPv6 tunnel. The Originator Address of + the packet is set to S and the Destination Address is set to the + tunnel exit-point (in the outer IPv6 header). The packet is + forwarded to the tunnel exit-point using this specification + (potentially using multiple consecutive IPv6-in-IPv6 tunnels). When + router R receives the packet, it decapsulates the IPv6 packet and + forwards the inner IPv6 packet to D, using normal IPv6 forwarding as + specified in [RFC2460]. + + In Figure 6, the source of the traffic (S) is outside of the routing + domain, and the destination (D) is inside of the routing domain. The + IPv6 packet, originated at S, is forwarded to R using normal IPv6 + forwarding as specified in [RFC2460]. Router R MUST encapsulate the + IPv6 packet according to [RFC2473] and add the DFF header (as + specified in Section 13.1.2) to the outer IPv6 header. Like in the + previous case, R has to select a tunnel exit-point; if it knows that + D is in the routing domain (e.g., based on administrative settings), + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 28] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + it SHOULD select D as the tunnel exit-point. In case it does not + have any information as to which exit-point to select, it MUST use + the Next Hop as the tunnel exit-point, limiting the effectiveness of + DFF to inside each IPv6-in-IPv6 tunnel. The Originator Address of + the packet is set to R, the Destination Address to the tunnel exit- + point (both in the outer IPv6 header), and the sequence number in the + DFF header is generated locally on R. The packet is forwarded to D + using this specification. When router D receives the packet, it + decapsulates the inner IPv6 packet and processes the payload of the + inner IPv6 packet in upper layers. + + This mechanism is typically not used in transit networks; therefore, + this case is discouraged, but described nevertheless for + completeness. In Figure 7, both the source of the traffic (S) and + the destination (D) are outside of the routing domain. The IPv6 + packet, originated at S, is forwarded to R1 using normal IPv6 + forwarding, as specified in [RFC2460]. Router R1 MUST encapsulate + the IPv6 packet according to [RFC2473] and add the DFF header (as + specified in Section 13.1.2). R1 selects a tunnel exit-point like in + the previous cases; if R2 is, e.g., a known border router, then R1 + can select R2 as the tunnel exit-point. The Originator Address is + set to R1, the Destination Address is set to the tunnel exit-point + (both in the outer IPv6 header), and the sequence number in the DFF + header is generated locally on R1. The packet is forwarded to the + tunnel exit-point using this specification (potentially traversing + multiple consecutive IPv6-in-IPv6 tunnels). When router R2 receives + the packet, it decapsulates the inner IPv6 packet and forwards the + inner IPv6 packet to D, using normal IPv6 forwarding as specified in + [RFC2460]. + +14.2. Mesh-Under MoP + + In Figure 4, both the source and destination of the traffic are + routers within the routing domain. If traffic is originated at + router S, the LoWPAN-encapsulated packet is created from the IPv6 + packet, as specified in [RFC4944]. Then, the Mesh Addressing header + and the DFF header (as specified in Section 13.2.2) are added to the + LoWPAN encapsulation on router S. The Originator Address is set to S + and the Destination Address is set to D. The packet is then + forwarded using this specification. When router D receives the + packet, it processes the payload of the packet in upper layers. + + In Figure 5, the source of the traffic (S) is within the routing + domain, and the destination (D) is outside of the routing domain + (which is known by S to be outside the routing domain because D uses + a different IP prefix from the PAN). The LoWPAN-encapsulated packet, + originated at router S, is created from the IPv6 packet as specified + in [RFC4944]. Then, the Mesh Addressing header and the DFF header + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 29] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + (as specified in Section 13.2.2) are added to the LoWPAN + encapsulation on router S. The Originator Address is set to S and + the Destination Address is set to R, which is a known border router + of the PAN. The packet is then forwarded using this specification. + When router R receives the packet, it restores the IPv6 packet from + the LoWPAN-encapsulated packet and forwards it to D, using normal + IPv6 forwarding, as specified in [RFC2460]. + + In Figure 6, the source of the traffic (S) is outside of the routing + domain, and the destination (D) is inside of the routing domain. The + IPv6 packet, originated at S, is forwarded to R using normal IPv6 + forwarding, as specified in [RFC2460]. Router R (which is a known + border router to the PAN) creates the LoWPAN-encapsulated packet from + the IPv6 packet, as specified in [RFC4944]. Then, R adds the Mesh + Addressing header and the DFF header (as specified in + Section 13.2.2). The Originator Address is set to R, the Destination + Address to D, and the sequence number in the DFF header is generated + locally on R. The packet is forwarded to D using this specification. + When router D receives the packet, it restores the IPv6 packet from + the LoWPAN-encapsulated packet and processes the payload in upper + layers. + + As LoWPANs are typically not transit networks, the following case is + discouraged, but described nevertheless for completeness: In + Figure 7, both the source of the traffic (S) and the destination (D) + are outside of the routing domain. The IPv6 packet, originated at S, + is forwarded to R1 using normal IPv6 forwarding, as specified in + [RFC2460]. Router R1 (which is a known border router of the PAN) + creates the LoWPAN-encapsulated packet from the IPv6 packet, as + specified in [RFC4944]. Then, it adds the Mesh Addressing header and + the DFF header (as specified in Section 13.2.2). The Originator + Address is set to R1, the Destination Address is set to R2 (which is + another border router towards the destination), and the sequence + number in the DFF header is generated locally on R1. The packet is + forwarded to R2 using this specification. When router R2 receives + the packet, it restores the IPv6 packet from the LoWPAN-encapsulated + packet and forwards the IPv6 packet to D, using normal IPv6 + forwarding, as specified in [RFC2460]. + +15. MTU Exceedance + + When adding the DFF header, as specified in Section 9.1, or when + encapsulating the packet, as specified in Section 14, the packet size + may exceed the MTU. This is described in Section 5 of [RFC2460]. + When the packet size of a packet to be forwarded by DFF exceeds the + MTU, the following steps apply. + + 1. The router MUST discard the packet. + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 30] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + 2. The router MAY log the event locally (depending on the storage + capabilities of the router). + + 3. The router MUST send back an ICMP "Packet Too Big" message to the + source of the packet and report back the Next Hop MTU, which + includes the overhead of adding the headers. + +16. Security Considerations + + Based on the recommendations in [RFC3552], this section describes + security threats to DFF and lists which attacks are out of scope, + which attacks DFF is susceptible to, and which attacks DFF protects + against. + +16.1. Attacks That Are Out of Scope + + As DFF is a data-forwarding protocol, any security issues concerning + the payload of the packets are not considered in this section. + + It is the responsibility of upper layers to use appropriate security + mechanisms (IPsec, Transport Layer Security (TLS), etc.) according to + application requirements. As DFF does not modify the contents of IP + datagrams, other than the DFF header (which is a Hop-by-Hop Options + extension header in the "route-over" MoP, and therefore not protected + by IPsec), no special considerations for IPsec have to be addressed. + + Any attack that is not specific to DFF but that applies in general to + the link layer (e.g., wireless, Power Line Communication (PLC)) is + out of scope. In particular, these attacks are: eavesdropping, + packet insertion, packet replay, packet deletion, and man-in-the- + middle attacks. Appropriate link-layer encryption can mitigate part + of these attacks and is therefore RECOMMENDED. + +16.2. Protection Mechanisms of DFF + + DFF itself does not provide any additional integrity, + confidentiality, or authentication. Therefore, the level of + protection of DFF depends on the underlying link-layer security, as + well as protection of the payload by upper-layer security (e.g., + IPsec). + + In the following sections, whenever encrypting or digitally signing + packets is suggested for protecting DFF, it is assumed that routers + are not compromised. + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 31] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +16.3. Attacks That Are in Scope + + This section discusses security threats to DFF, and for each, + describes whether (and how) DFF is affected by the threat. DFF is + designed to be used in lossy and unreliable networks. Predominant + examples of lossy networks are wireless networks, where routers send + packets via broadcast. The attacks listed below are easier to + exploit in wireless media but can also be observed in wired networks. + +16.3.1. Denial of Service + + Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks are possible when using DFF by either + exceeding the storage on a router or exceeding the available + bandwidth of the channel. As DFF does not contain any algorithms + with high complexity, it is unlikely that the processing power of the + router could be exhausted by an attack on DFF. + + The storage of a router can be exhausted by increasing the size of + the Processed Set, i.e., by adding new tuples, or by increasing the + size of each tuple. New tuples can be added by injecting new packets + in the network or by forwarding overheard packets. + + Another possible DoS attack is to send packets to a non-existing + address in the network. DFF would perform a depth-first search until + the Hop Limit has reached zero. It is therefore RECOMMENDED to set + the Hop Limit to a value that limits the path length. + + If security provided by the link layer is used, this attack can be + mitigated if the malicious router does not possess valid credentials, + since other routers would not forward data through the malicious + router. + +16.3.2. Packet Header Modification + + The following attacks can be exploited by modifying the packet header + information, unless additional security (such as link-layer security) + is used. + +16.3.2.1. Return Flag Tampering + + A malicious router may tamper with the "return" flag of a DFF packet + and send it back to the Previous Hop, but only if the malicious + router has been selected as the Next Hop by the receiving router (as + specified in Section 9.2). If the malicious router had not been + selected as the Next Hop, then a returned packet is dropped by the + receiving router. Otherwise (i.e., the malicious router had been + selected as the Next Hop by the receiving router, and the malicious + router has set the return flag), the receiving router then tries + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 32] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + + alternative neighbors. This may lead to packets never reaching their + destination, as well as an unnecessary depth-first search in the + network (bandwidth exhaustion / energy drain). + + This attack can be mitigated by using appropriate security of the + underlying link layer. + +16.3.2.2. Duplicate Flag Tampering + + A malicious router may modify the Duplicate Flag of a packet that it + forwards. + + If it changes the flag from 0 to 1, the packet would be detected as a + duplicate by other routers in the network and not as a looping + packet. + + If the Duplicate Flag is changed from 1 to 0, and a router receives + that packet for the second time (i.e., it has already received a + packet with the same Originator Address and sequence number before), + it will wrongly detect a loop. + + This attack can be mitigated by using appropriate security of the + underlying link layer. + +16.3.2.3. Sequence Number Tampering + + A malicious router may modify the sequence number of a packet that it + forwards. + + In particular, if the sequence number is modified to a number of + another, previously sent packet of the same Originator, this packet + may be wrongly perceived as a looping packet. + + This attack can be mitigated by using appropriate security of the + underlying link layer. + +17. IANA Considerations + + IANA has allocated the value 01 000011 for LOWPAN_DFF from the + Dispatch Type Field registry. + + IANA has allocated the value 0xEE for IP_DFF from the Destination + Options and Hop-by-Hop Options registry. The first 3 bits of that + value are 111. + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 33] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +18. Acknowledgments + + Jari Arkko (Ericsson), Abdussalam Baryun (University of Glamorgan), + Antonin Bas (Ecole Polytechnique), Thomas Clausen (Ecole + Polytechnifque), Yuichi Igarashi (Hitachi), Kazuya Monden (Hitachi), + Geoff Mulligan (Proto6), Hiroki Satoh (Hitachi), Ganesh Venkatesh + (Mobelitix), and Jiazi Yi (Ecole Polytechnique) provided useful + reviews of the draft and discussions, which helped to improve this + document. + + The authors also would like to thank Ralph Droms, Adrian Farrel, + Stephen Farrell, Ted Lemon, Alvaro Retana, Dan Romascanu, and Martin + Stiemerling for their reviews during IETF LC and IESG evaluation. + +19. References + +19.1. Normative References + + [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate + Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997. + + [RFC2460] Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6 + (IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, December 1998. + + [RFC2473] Conta, A. and S. Deering, "Generic Packet Tunneling in + IPv6 Specification", RFC 2473, December 1998. + + [RFC4291] Hinden, R. and S. Deering, "IP Version 6 Addressing + Architecture", RFC 4291, February 2006. + + [RFC4944] Montenegro, G., Kushalnagar, N., Hui, J., and D. Culler, + "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over IEEE 802.15.4 + Networks", RFC 4944, September 2007. + + [RFC6130] Clausen, T., Dearlove, C., and J. Dean, "Mobile Ad Hoc + Network (MANET) Neighborhood Discovery Protocol (NHDP)", + RFC 6130, April 2011. + + [RFC6564] Krishnan, S., Woodyatt, J., Kline, E., Hoagland, J., and + M. Bhatia, "A Uniform Format for IPv6 Extension Headers", + RFC 6564, April 2012. + + [RFC6724] Thaler, D., Draves, R., Matsumoto, A., and T. Chown, + "Default Address Selection for Internet Protocol Version 6 + (IPv6)", RFC 6724, September 2012. + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 34] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +19.2. Informative References + + [DFF_paper1] + Cespedes, S., Cardenas, A., and T. Iwao, "Comparison of + Data Forwarding Mechanisms for AMI Networks", 2012 IEEE + Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT), + January 2012. + + [DFF_paper2] + Iwao, T., Iwao, T., Yura, M., Nakaya, Y., Cardenas, A., + Lee, S., and R. Masuoka, "Dynamic Data Forwarding in + Wireless Mesh Networks", First IEEE International + Conference on Smart Grid Communications (SmartGridComm), + October 2010. + + [DFS_wikipedia] + Wikipedia, "Depth-first search", May 2013, + <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/ + index.php?title=Depth-first_search&oldid=555203731>. + + [KCEC_press_release] + Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC), "DFF deployed by + KCEC", Press Release, 2011, <http://www.kitcarson.com/ + index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=1>. + + [RFC3552] Rescorla, E. and B. Korver, "Guidelines for Writing RFC + Text on Security Considerations", BCP 72, RFC 3552, + July 2003. + + [RFC4861] Narten, T., Nordmark, E., Simpson, W., and H. Soliman, + "Neighbor Discovery for IP version 6 (IPv6)", RFC 4861, + September 2007. + + [RFC6775] Shelby, Z., Chakrabarti, S., Nordmark, E., and C. Bormann, + "Neighbor Discovery Optimization for IPv6 over Low-Power + Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPANs)", RFC 6775, + November 2012. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 35] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +Appendix A. Examples + + In this section, some example network topologies are depicted, using + the DFF mechanism for data forwarding. In these examples, it is + assumed there is a routing protocol running that adds or inserts + entries into the RIB. + +A.1. Example 1: Normal Delivery + + Example 1 depicts a network topology with seven routers, A to G, with + links between them as indicated by lines. It is assumed that router + A sends a packet to G, through B and D, according to the routing + protocol. + + +---+ + +---+ D +-----+ + | +---+ | + +---+ | | + +---+ B +---+ | + | +---+ | | + +-+-+ | +---+ +-+-+ + | A | +---+ E +---+ G + + +-+-+ +---+ +-+-+ + | +---+ | + +---+ C +---+ | + +---+ | | + | +---+ | + +---+ F +-----+ + +---+ + + Example 1: Normal Delivery + + If no link fails in this topology, and no loop occurs, then DFF + forwards the packet along the Next Hops listed in the RIB of each of + the routers along the path towards the destination. Each router adds + a Processed Tuple for the incoming packet and selects the Next Hop, + as specified in Section 11, i.e., it will first select the Next Hop + for router G, as determined by the routing protocol. + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 36] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +A.2. Example 2: Forwarding with Link Failure + + Example 2 depicts the same topology as Example 1, but both links + between B and D and between B and E are unavailable (e.g., because of + wireless link characteristics). + + +---+ + XXXX+ D +-----+ + X +---+ | + +---+ X | + +---+ B +---+ | + | +---+ X | + +-+-+ X +---+ +-+-+ + | A | XXXX+ E +---+ G + + +-+-+ +---+ +-+-+ + | +---+ | + +---+ C +---+ | + +---+ | | + | +---+ | + +---+ F +-----+ + +---+ + + Example 2: Link Failure + + When B receives the packet from router A, it adds a Processed Tuple + and then tries to forward the packet to D. Once B detects that the + packet cannot be successfully delivered to D because it does not + receive link-layer ACKs, it will follow the procedures listed in + Section 10 by setting the DUP flag to 1, selecting E as the new Next + Hop, adding E to the list of Next Hops in the Processed Tuple, and + then forwarding the packet to E. + + As the link to E also fails, B will again follow the procedure in + Section 10. As all possible Next Hops (D and E) are listed in the + Processed Tuple, B will set the RET flag in the packet and return it + to A. + + A determines that it already has a Processed Tuple for the returned + packet, resets the RET flag of the packet, and selects a new Next Hop + for the packet. As B is already in the list of Next Hops in the + Processed Tuple, it will select C as the Next Hop and forward the + packet to it. C will then forward the packet to F, and F delivers + the packet to its destination G. + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 37] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +A.3. Example 3: Forwarding with Missed Link-Layer Acknowledgment + + Example 3 depicts the same topology as Example 1, but the link-layer + acknowledgments from C to A are lost (e.g., because the link is + unidirectional). It is assumed that A prefers a path to G through C + and F. + + +---+ + +---+ D +-----+ + | +---+ | + +---+ | | + +---+ B +---+ | + | +---+ | | + +-+-+ | +---+ +-+-+ + | A | +---+ E +---+ G + + +-+-+ +---+ +-+-+ + . +---+ | + +...+ C +---+ | + +---+ | | + | +---+ | + +---+ F +-----+ + +---+ + + Example 3: Missed Link-Layer Acknowledgment + + While C successfully receives the packet from A, A does not receive + the L2 ACK and assumes the packet has not been delivered to C. + Therefore, it sets the DUP flag of the packet to 1, in order to + indicate that this packet may be a duplicate. Then, it forwards the + packet to B. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 38] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +A.4. Example 4: Forwarding with a Loop + + Example 4 depicts the same topology as Example 1, but there is a loop + from D to A, and A sends the packet to G through B and D. + + +-----------------+ + | | + | +-+-+ + | +---+ D + + | | +---+ + \|/ +---+ | + +---+ B +---+ + | +---+ | + +-+-+ | +---+ +-+-+ + | A | +---+ E +---+ G + + +-+-+ +---+ +-+-+ + | +---+ | + +---+ C +---+ | + +---+ | | + | +---+ | + +---+ F +-----+ + +---+ + + Example 4: Loop + + When A receives the packet through the loop from D, it will find a + Processed Tuple for the packet. Router A will set the RET flag and + return the packet to D, which in turn will return it to B. B will + then select E as the Next Hop, which will then forward it to G. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 39] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +Appendix B. Deployment Experience + + DFF has been deployed and experimented with both in real deployments + and in network simulations, as described below. + +B.1. Deployments in Japan + + The majority of the large Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) + deployments using DFF are located in Japan, but the data of these + networks is the property of Japanese utilities and cannot be + disclosed. + +B.2. Kit Carson Electric Cooperative + + DFF has been deployed at Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC), a + non-profit organization distributing electricity to about 30,000 + customers in New Mexico. As described in a press release + [KCEC_press_release], DFF is running on currently about 2000 electric + meters. All meters are connected through a mesh network using an + unreliable, wireless medium. DFF is used together with a distance- + vector routing protocol. Metering data from each meter is sent + towards a gateway periodically (every 15 minutes). The data delivery + reliability is over 99%. + +B.3. Simulations + + DFF has been evaluated in Ns2 (http://nsnam.isi.edu/nsnam) and OMNEST + (http://www.omnest.com) simulations, in conjuction with a distance- + vector routing protocol. The performance of DFF has been compared to + using only the routing protocol without DFF. The results published + in peer-reviewed academic papers [DFF_paper1] [DFF_paper2] show + significant improvements of the packet delivery ratio compared to + using only the distance-vector protocol. + +B.4. Open-Source Implementation + + Fujitsu Laboratories of America is currently working on an open- + source implementation of DFF, which will be released in 2013 and will + allow for interoperability testings of different DFF implementations. + The implementation is written in Java and can be used both on real + machines and in the Ns2 simulator. + + + + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 40] + +RFC 6971 DFF June 2013 + + +Authors' Addresses + + Ulrich Herberg (editor) + Fujitsu + 1240 E. Arques Avenue, M/S 345 + Sunnyvale, CA 94085 + USA + Phone: +1 408 530 4528 + EMail: ulrich.herberg@us.fujitsu.com + + + Alvaro A. Cardenas + University of Texas at Dallas + School of Computer Science, 800 West Campbell Rd, EC 31 + Richardson, TX 75080-3021 + USA + EMail: alvaro.cardenas@me.com + + + Tadashige Iwao + Fujitsu + Shiodome City Center, 5-2, Higashi-shimbashi 1-chome, Minato-ku + Tokyo, + JP + Phone: +81-44-754-3343 + EMail: smartnetpro-iwao_std@ml.css.fujitsu.com + + + Michael L. Dow + Freescale + 6501 William Cannon Drive West + Austin, TX 78735 + USA + Phone: +1 512 895 4944 + EMail: m.dow@freescale.com + + + Sandra L. Cespedes + Icesi University + Calle 18 #122-135, Pance + Cali, + Colombia + Phone: +57 (2) 5552334 + EMail: scespedes@icesi.edu.co + + + + + + + +Herberg, et al. Experimental [Page 41] + |