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+Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) J. Guichard, Ed.
+Request for Comments: 9491 Futurewei Technologies
+Category: Standards Track J. Tantsura, Ed.
+ISSN: 2070-1721 Nvidia
+ November 2023
+
+
+Integration of the Network Service Header (NSH) and Segment Routing for
+ Service Function Chaining (SFC)
+
+Abstract
+
+ This document describes the integration of the Network Service Header
+ (NSH) and Segment Routing (SR), as well as encapsulation details, to
+ efficiently support Service Function Chaining (SFC) while maintaining
+ separation of the service and transport planes as originally intended
+ by the SFC architecture.
+
+ Combining these technologies allows SR to be used for steering
+ packets between Service Function Forwarders (SFFs) along a given
+ Service Function Path (SFP), whereas the NSH is responsible for
+ maintaining the integrity of the service plane, the SFC instance
+ context, and any associated metadata.
+
+ This integration demonstrates that the NSH and SR can work
+ cooperatively and provide a network operator with the flexibility to
+ use whichever transport technology makes sense in specific areas of
+ their network infrastructure while still maintaining an end-to-end
+ service plane using the NSH.
+
+Status of This Memo
+
+ This is an Internet Standards Track document.
+
+ 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). Further information on
+ Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.
+
+ Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
+ and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
+ https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9491.
+
+Copyright Notice
+
+ Copyright (c) 2023 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
+ (https://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 Revised BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the
+ Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described
+ in the Revised BSD License.
+
+Table of Contents
+
+ 1. Introduction
+ 1.1. SFC Overview and Rationale
+ 1.2. Requirements Language
+ 2. SFC within Segment Routing Networks
+ 3. NSH-Based SFC with SR-MPLS or the SRv6 Transport Tunnel
+ 4. SR-Based SFC with the Integrated NSH Service Plane
+ 5. Packet Processing for SR-Based SFC
+ 5.1. SR-Based SFC (SR-MPLS) Packet Processing
+ 5.2. SR-Based SFC (SRv6) Packet Processing
+ 6. Encapsulation
+ 6.1. NSH Using SR-MPLS Transport
+ 6.2. NSH Using SRv6 Transport
+ 7. Security Considerations
+ 8. Backwards Compatibility
+ 9. Caching Considerations
+ 10. MTU Considerations
+ 11. IANA Considerations
+ 11.1. Protocol Number for the NSH
+ 11.2. SRv6 Endpoint Behavior for the NSH
+ 12. References
+ 12.1. Normative References
+ 12.2. Informative References
+ Contributors
+ Authors' Addresses
+
+1. Introduction
+
+
+1.1. SFC Overview and Rationale
+
+ The dynamic enforcement of a service-derived and adequate forwarding
+ policy for packets entering a network that supports advanced Service
+ Functions (SFs) has become a key challenge for network operators.
+ For instance, cascading SFs at the Third Generation Partnership
+ Project (3GPP) Gi interface (N6 interface in 5G architecture) has
+ shown limitations such as 1) redundant classification features that
+ must be supported by many SFs to execute their function; 2) some SFs
+ that receive traffic that they are not supposed to process (e.g., TCP
+ proxies receiving UDP traffic), which inevitably affects their
+ dimensioning and performance; and 3) an increased design complexity
+ related to the properly ordered invocation of several SFs.
+
+ In order to solve those problems and to decouple the service's
+ topology from the underlying physical network while allowing for
+ simplified service delivery, SFC techniques have been introduced
+ [RFC7665].
+
+ SFC techniques are meant to rationalize the service delivery logic
+ and reduce the resulting complexity while optimizing service
+ activation time cycles for operators that need more agile service
+ delivery procedures to better accommodate ever-demanding customer
+ requirements. SFC allows network operators to dynamically create
+ service planes that can be used by specific traffic flows. Each
+ service plane is realized by invoking and chaining the relevant
+ service functions in the right sequence. [RFC7498] provides an
+ overview of the overall SFC problem space, and [RFC7665] specifies an
+ SFC data plane architecture. The SFC architecture does not make
+ assumptions on how advanced features (e.g., load balancing, loose or
+ strict service paths) could be enabled within a domain. Various
+ deployment options are made available to operators with the SFC
+ architecture; this approach is fundamental to accommodate various and
+ heterogeneous deployment contexts.
+
+ Many approaches can be considered for encoding the information
+ required for SFC purposes (e.g., communicate a service chain pointer,
+ encode a list of loose/explicit paths, or disseminate a service chain
+ identifier together with a set of context information). Likewise,
+ many approaches can also be considered for the channel to be used to
+ carry SFC-specific information (e.g., define a new header, reuse
+ existing packet header fields, or define an IPv6 extension header).
+ Among all these approaches, the IETF created a transport-independent
+ SFC encapsulation scheme: NSH [RFC8300]. This design is pragmatic,
+ as it does not require replicating the same specification effort as a
+ function of underlying transport encapsulation. Moreover, this
+ design approach encourages consistent SFC-based service delivery in
+ networks enabling distinct transport protocols in various network
+ segments or even between SFFs vs. SF-SFF hops.
+
+1.2. Requirements Language
+
+ 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
+ BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
+ capitals, as shown here.
+
+2. SFC within Segment Routing Networks
+
+ [RFC8300] specifies how to encapsulate the NSH directly within a
+ link-layer header. In this document, IANA has assigned IP protocol
+ number 145 for the NSH so that it can also be encapsulated directly
+ within an IP header. The procedures that follow make use of this
+ property.
+
+ As described in [RFC8402], SR leverages the source-routing technique.
+ Concretely, a node steers a packet through an SR policy instantiated
+ as an ordered list of instructions called segments. While initially
+ designed for policy-based source routing, SR also finds its
+ application in supporting SFC [SERVICE-PROGRAMMING].
+
+ The two SR data plane encapsulations, namely SR-MPLS [RFC8660] and
+ Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) [RFC8754], can encode an SF as a
+ segment so that a service function chain can be specified as a
+ segment list. Nevertheless, and as discussed in [RFC7498], traffic
+ steering is only a subset of the issues that motivated the design of
+ the SFC architecture. Further considerations, such as simplifying
+ classification at intermediate SFs and allowing for coordinated
+ behaviors among SFs by means of supplying context information (a.k.a.
+ metadata), should be considered when designing an SFC data plane
+ solution.
+
+ While each scheme (i.e., NSH-based SFC and SR-based SFC) can work
+ independently, this document describes how the two can be used
+ together in concert and to complement each other through two
+ representative application scenarios. Both application scenarios may
+ be supported using either SR-MPLS or SRv6:
+
+ NSH-based SFC with the SR-based transport plane:
+ In this scenario, SR-MPLS or SRv6 provides the transport
+ encapsulation between SFFs, while the NSH is used to convey and
+ trigger SFC policies.
+
+ SR-based SFC with the integrated NSH service plane:
+ In this scenario, each service hop of the service function chain
+ is represented as a segment of the SR segment list. SR is thus
+ responsible for steering traffic through the necessary SFFs as
+ part of the segment routing path, while the NSH is responsible for
+ maintaining the service plane and holding the SFC instance context
+ (including associated metadata).
+
+ Of course, it is possible to combine both of these two scenarios to
+ support specific deployment requirements and use cases.
+
+ A classifier MUST use one NSH Service Path Identifier (SPI) for each
+ SR policy so that different traffic flows can use the same NSH
+ Service Function Path (SFP) and different SR policies can coexist on
+ the same SFP without conflict during SFF processing.
+
+3. NSH-Based SFC with SR-MPLS or the SRv6 Transport Tunnel
+
+ Because of the transport-independent nature of NSH-based service
+ function chains, it is expected that the NSH has broad applicability
+ across different network domains (e.g., access, core). By way of
+ illustration, the various SFs involved in a service function chain
+ may be available in a single data center or spread throughout
+ multiple locations (e.g., data centers, different Points of Presence
+ (POPs)), depending upon the network operator preference and/or
+ availability of service resources. Regardless of where the SFs are
+ deployed, it is necessary to provide traffic steering through a set
+ of SFFs, and when NSH and SR are integrated, this is provided by SR-
+ MPLS or SRv6.
+
+ The following three figures provide an example of an SFC-established
+ flow F that has SF instances located in different data centers, DC1
+ and DC2. For the purpose of illustration, let the SFC's NSH SPI be
+ 100 and the initial Service Index (SI) be 255.
+
+ Referring to Figure 1, packets of flow F in DC1 are classified into
+ an NSH-based service function chain, encapsulated after
+ classification as <Inner Pkt><NSH: SPI 100, SI 255><Outer-transport>,
+ and forwarded to SFF1 (which is the first SFF hop for this service
+ function chain).
+
+ After removing the outer transport encapsulation, SFF1 uses the SPI
+ and SI carried within the NSH encapsulation to determine that it
+ should forward the packet to SF1. SF1 applies its service,
+ decrements the SI by 1, and returns the packet to SFF1. Therefore,
+ SFF1 has <SPI 100, SI 254> when the packet comes back from SF1. SFF1
+ does a lookup on <SPI 100, SI 254>, which results in <next-hop:
+ DC1-GW1> and forwards the packet to DC1-GW1.
+
+ +--------------------------- DC1 ----------------------------+
+ | +-----+ |
+ | | SF1 | |
+ | +--+--+ |
+ | | |
+ | | |
+ | +------------+ | +------------+ |
+ | | N(100,255) | | | N(100,254) | |
+ | +------------+ | +------------+ |
+ | | F:Inner Pkt| | | F:Inner Pkt| |
+ | +------------+ ^ | | +------------+ |
+ | (2) | | | (3) |
+ | | | v |
+ | (1) | (4) |
+ |+------------+ ----> +--+---+ ----> +---------+ |
+ || | NSH | | NSH | | |
+ || Classifier +------------+ SFF1 +--------------+ DC1-GW1 + |
+ || | | | | | |
+ |+------------+ +------+ +---------+ |
+ | |
+ | +------------+ +------------+ |
+ | | N(100,255) | | N(100,254) | |
+ | +------------+ +------------+ |
+ | | F:Inner Pkt| | F:Inner Pkt| |
+ | +------------+ +------------+ |
+ | |
+ +------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+ Figure 1: SR for Inter-DC SFC - Part 1
+
+ Referring now to Figure 2, DC1-GW1 performs a lookup using the
+ information conveyed in the NSH, which results in <next-hop: DC2-GW1,
+ encapsulation: SR>. The SR encapsulation, which may be SR-MPLS or
+ SRv6, has the SR segment list to forward the packet across the inter-
+ DC network to DC2.
+
+ +----------- Inter DC ----------------+
+ (4) | (5) |
+ +------+ ----> | +---------+ ----> +---------+ |
+ | | NSH | | | SR | | |
+ + SFF1 +----------|-+ DC1-GW1 +-------------+ DC2-GW1 + |
+ | | | | | | | |
+ +------+ | +---------+ +---------+ |
+ | |
+ | +------------+ |
+ | | S(DC2-GW1) | |
+ | +------------+ |
+ | | N(100,254) | |
+ | +------------+ |
+ | | F:Inner Pkt| |
+ | +------------+ |
+ +-------------------------------------+
+
+ Figure 2: SR for Inter-DC SFC - Part 2
+
+ When the packet arrives at DC2, as shown in Figure 3, the SR
+ encapsulation is removed, and DC2-GW1 performs a lookup on the NSH,
+ which results in next hop: SFF2. When SFF2 receives the packet, it
+ performs a lookup on <NSH: SPI 100, SI 254> and determines to forward
+ the packet to SF2. SF2 applies its service, decrements the SI by 1,
+ and returns the packet to SFF2. Therefore, SFF2 has <NSH: SPI 100,
+ SI 253> when the packet comes back from SF2. SFF2 does a lookup on
+ <NSH: SPI 100, SI 253>, which results in the end of the service
+ function chain.
+
+ +------------------------ DC2 ----------------------+
+ | +-----+ |
+ | | SF2 | |
+ | +--+--+ |
+ | | |
+ | | |
+ | +------------+ | +------------+ |
+ | | N(100,254) | | | N(100,253) | |
+ | +------------+ | +------------+ |
+ | | F:Inner Pkt| | | F:Inner Pkt| |
+ | +------------+ ^ | | +------------+ |
+ | (7) | | | (8) |
+ | | | v |
+ (5) | (6) | (9) |
++---------+ ---> | +----------+ ----> +--+---+ ----> |
+| | SR | | | NSH | | IP |
++ DC1-GW1 +--------|-+ DC2-GW1 +------------+ SFF2 | |
+| | | | | | | |
++---------+ | +----------+ +------+ |
+ | |
+ | +------------+ +------------+ |
+ | | N(100,254) | | F:Inner Pkt| |
+ | +------------+ +------------+ |
+ | | F:Inner Pkt| |
+ | +------------+ |
+ +---------------------------------------------------+
+
+ Figure 3: SR for Inter-DC SFC - Part 3
+
+ The benefits of this scheme are listed hereafter:
+
+ * The network operator is able to take advantage of the transport-
+ independent nature of the NSH encapsulation while the service is
+ provisioned end-to-end.
+
+ * The network operator is able to take advantage of the traffic-
+ steering (traffic-engineering) capability of SR where appropriate.
+
+ * Clear responsibility division and scope between the NSH and SR.
+
+ Note that this scenario is applicable to any case where multiple
+ segments of a service function chain are distributed across multiple
+ domains or where traffic-engineered paths are necessary between SFFs
+ (strict forwarding paths, for example). Further, note that the above
+ example can also be implemented using end-to-end segment routing
+ between SFF1 and SFF2. (As such, DC-GW1 and DC-GW2 are forwarding
+ the packets based on segment routing instructions and are not looking
+ at the NSH header for forwarding.)
+
+4. SR-Based SFC with the Integrated NSH Service Plane
+
+ In this scenario, we assume that the SFs are NSH-aware; therefore, it
+ should not be necessary to implement an SFC proxy to achieve SFC.
+ The operation relies upon SR-MPLS or SRv6 to perform SFF-SFF
+ transport and the NSH to provide the service plane between SFs,
+ thereby maintaining SFC context (e.g., the service plane path
+ referenced by the SPI) and any associated metadata.
+
+ When a service function chain is established, a packet associated
+ with that chain will first carry an NSH that will be used to maintain
+ the end-to-end service plane through use of the SFC context. The SFC
+ context is used by an SFF to determine the SR segment list for
+ forwarding the packet to the next-hop SFFs. The packet is then
+ encapsulated using the SR header and forwarded in the SR domain
+ following normal SR operations.
+
+ When a packet has to be forwarded to an SF attached to an SFF, the
+ SFF performs a lookup on the segment identifier (SID) associated with
+ the SF. In the case of SR-MPLS, this will be a Prefix-SID [RFC8402].
+ In the case of SRv6, the behavior described within this document is
+ assigned the name END.NSH, and Section 11.2 describes the allocation
+ of the code point by IANA. The result of this lookup allows the SFF
+ to retrieve the next-hop context between the SFF and SF (e.g., the
+ destination Media Access Control (MAC) address in case Ethernet
+ encapsulation is used between the SFF and SF). In addition, the SFF
+ strips the SR information from the packet, updates the SR
+ information, and saves it to a cache indexed by the NSH Service Path
+ Identifier (SPI) and the Service Index (SI) decremented by 1. This
+ saved SR information is used to encapsulate and forward the packet(s)
+ coming back from the SF.
+
+ The behavior of remembering the SR segment list occurs at the end of
+ the regularly defined logic. The behavior of reattaching the segment
+ list occurs before the SR process of forwarding the packet to the
+ next entry in the segment list. Both behaviors are further detailed
+ in Section 5.
+
+ When the SF receives the packet, it processes it as usual. When the
+ SF is co-resident with a classifier, the already-processed packet may
+ be reclassified. The SF sends the packet back to the SFF. Once the
+ SFF receives this packet, it extracts the SR information using the
+ NSH SPI and SI as the index into the cache. The SFF then pushes the
+ retrieved SR header on top of the NSH header and forwards the packet
+ to the next segment in the segment list. The lookup in the SFF cache
+ might fail if reclassification at the SF changed the NSH SPI and/or
+ SI to values that do not exist in the SFF cache. In such a case, the
+ SFF must generate an error and drop the packet.
+
+ Figure 4 illustrates an example of this scenario.
+
+ +-----+ +-----+
+ | SF1 | | SF2 |
+ +--+--+ +--+--+
+ | |
+ | |
+ +-----------+ | +-----------+ +-----------+ | +-----------+
+ |N(100,255) | | |N(100,254) | |N(100,254) | | |N(100,253) |
+ +-----------+ | +-----------+ +-----------+ | +-----------+
+ |F:Inner Pkt| | |F:Inner Pkt| |F:Inner Pkt| | |F:Inner Pkt|
+ +-----------+ | +-----------+ +-----------+ | +-----------+
+ (2) ^ | (3) | (5) ^ | (6) |
+ | | | | | |
+ | | | | | |
+ (1) | | v (4) | | v (7)
++------------+ ---> +-+----+ ----> +---+--+ -->
+| | NSHoverSR | | NSHoverSR | | IP
+| Classifier +-----------+ SFF1 +---------------------+ SFF2 |
+| | | | | |
++------------+ +------+ +------+
+
+ +------------+ +------------+ +------------+
+ | S(SF1) | | S(SF2) | | F:Inner Pkt|
+ +------------+ +------------+ +------------+
+ | S(SFF2) | | N(100,254) |
+ +------------+ +------------+
+ | S(SF2) | | F:Inner Pkt|
+ +------------+ +------------+
+ | N(100,255) |
+ +------------+
+ | F:Inner Pkt|
+ +------------+
+
+ Figure 4: NSH over SR for SFC
+
+ The benefits of this scheme include the following:
+
+ * It is economically sound for SF vendors to only support one
+ unified SFC solution. The SF is unaware of the SR.
+
+ * It simplifies the SFF (i.e., the SR router) by nullifying the
+ needs for reclassification and SR proxy.
+
+ * SR is also used for forwarding purposes, including between SFFs.
+
+ * It takes advantage of SR to eliminate the NSH forwarding state in
+ SFFs. This applies each time strict or loose SFPs are in use.
+
+ * It requires no interworking, as would be the case if SR-MPLS-based
+ SFC and NSH-based SFC were deployed as independent mechanisms in
+ different parts of the network.
+
+5. Packet Processing for SR-Based SFC
+
+ This section describes the End.NSH behavior (SRv6), Prefix-SID
+ behavior (SR-MPLS), and NSH processing logic.
+
+5.1. SR-Based SFC (SR-MPLS) Packet Processing
+
+ When an SFF receives a packet destined to S and S is a local Prefix-
+ SID associated with an SF, the SFF strips the SR segment list (label
+ stack) from the packet, updates the SR information, and saves it to a
+ cache indexed by the NSH Service Path Identifier (SPI) and the
+ Service Index (SI) decremented by 1. This saved SR information is
+ used to re-encapsulate and forward the packet(s) coming back from the
+ SF.
+
+5.2. SR-Based SFC (SRv6) Packet Processing
+
+ This section describes the End.NSH behavior and NSH processing logic
+ for SRv6. The pseudocode is shown below.
+
+ When N receives a packet destined to S and S is a local End.NSH SID,
+ the processing is the same as that specified by [RFC8754],
+ Section 4.3.1.1, up through line S15.
+
+ After S15, if S is a local End.NSH SID, then:
+
+ S15.1. Remove and store IPv6 and SRH headers in local cache
+ indexed by <NSH: service-path-id, service-index -1>
+ S15.2. Submit the packet to the NSH FIB lookup and transmit
+ to the destination associated with <NSH:
+ service-path-id, service-index>
+
+ | Note: The End.NSH behavior interrupts the normal SRH packet
+ | processing, as described in [RFC8754], Section 4.3.1.1, which
+ | does not continue to S16 at this time.
+
+ When a packet is returned to the SFF from the SF, reattach the cached
+ IPv6 and SRH headers based on the <NSH: service-path-id, service-
+ index> from the NSH header. Then, resume processing from [RFC8754],
+ Section 4.3.1.1 with line S16.
+
+6. Encapsulation
+
+
+6.1. NSH Using SR-MPLS Transport
+
+ SR-MPLS instantiates segment identifiers (SIDs) as MPLS labels;
+ therefore, the segment routing header is a stack of MPLS labels.
+
+ When carrying an NSH within an SR-MPLS transport, the full
+ encapsulation headers are as illustrated in Figure 5.
+
+ +------------------+
+ ~ SR-MPLS Labels ~
+ +------------------+
+ | NSH Base Hdr |
+ +------------------+
+ | Service Path Hdr |
+ +------------------+
+ ~ Metadata ~
+ +------------------+
+
+ Figure 5: NSH Using SR-MPLS Transport
+
+ As described in [RFC8402], "[t]he IGP signaling extension for IGP-
+ Prefix segment includes a flag to indicate whether directly connected
+ neighbors of the node on which the prefix is attached should perform
+ the NEXT operation or the CONTINUE operation when processing the
+ SID." When an NSH is carried beneath SR-MPLS, it is necessary to
+ terminate the NSH-based SFC at the tail-end node of the SR-MPLS label
+ stack. This can be achieved using either the NEXT or CONTINUE
+ operation.
+
+ If the NEXT operation is to be used, then at the end of the SR-MPLS
+ path, it is necessary to provide an indication to the tail end that
+ the NSH follows the SR-MPLS label stack as described by [RFC8596].
+
+ If the CONTINUE operation is to be used, this is the equivalent of
+ MPLS Ultimate Hop Popping (UHP); therefore, it is necessary to ensure
+ that the penultimate hop node does not pop the top label of the SR-
+ MPLS label stack and thereby expose the NSH to the wrong SFF. This
+ is realized by setting the No Penultimate Hop Popping (No-PHP) flag
+ in Prefix-SID Sub-TLV [RFC8667] [RFC8665]. It is RECOMMENDED that a
+ specific Prefix-SID be allocated at each node for use by the SFC
+ application for this purpose.
+
+6.2. NSH Using SRv6 Transport
+
+ When carrying a NSH within an SRv6 transport, the full encapsulation
+ is as illustrated in Figure 6.
+
+ 0 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 | Routing Type | Segments Left |
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ | Last Entry | Flags | Tag | S
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ e
+ | | g
+ | Segment List[0] (128-bit IPv6 address) | m
+ | | e
+ | | n
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ t
+ | |
+ | | R
+ ~ ... ~ o
+ | | u
+ | | t
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ i
+ | | n
+ | Segment List[n] (128-bit IPv6 address) | g
+ | |
+ | | S
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ R
+ // // H
+ // Optional Type Length Value objects (variable) //
+ // //
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+ |Ver|O|U| TTL | Length |U|U|U|U|MD Type| Next Protocol |
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ N
+ | Service Path Identifier | Service Index | S
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ H
+ | |
+ ~ Variable-Length Context Headers (opt.) ~
+ | |
+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
+
+ Figure 6: NSH Using SRv6 Transport
+
+ Encapsulation of the NSH following SRv6 is indicated by the IP
+ protocol number for the NSH in the Next Header of the SRH.
+
+7. Security Considerations
+
+ Generic SFC-related security considerations are discussed in
+ [RFC7665].
+
+ NSH-specific security considerations are discussed in [RFC8300].
+
+ Generic security considerations related to segment routing are
+ discussed in Section 7 of [RFC8754] and Section 5 of [RFC8663].
+
+8. Backwards Compatibility
+
+ For SRv6/IPv6, if a processing node does not recognize the NSH, it
+ should follow the procedures described in Section 4 of [RFC8200].
+ For SR-MPLS, if a processing node does not recognize the NSH, it
+ should follow the procedures laid out in Section 3.18 of [RFC3031].
+
+9. Caching Considerations
+
+ The cache mechanism must remove cached entries at an appropriate time
+ determined by the implementation. Further, an implementation MAY
+ allow network operators to set the said time value. In the case
+ where a packet arriving from an SF does not have a matching cached
+ entry, the SFF SHOULD log this event and MUST drop the packet.
+
+10. MTU Considerations
+
+ Aligned with Section 5 of [RFC8300] and Section 5.3 of [RFC8754], it
+ is RECOMMENDED for network operators to increase the underlying MTU
+ so that SR/NSH traffic is forwarded within an SR domain without
+ fragmentation.
+
+11. IANA Considerations
+
+11.1. Protocol Number for the NSH
+
+ IANA has assigned protocol number 145 for the NSH [RFC8300] in the
+ "Assigned Internet Protocol Numbers" registry
+ <https://www.iana.org/assignments/protocol-numbers/>.
+
+ +=========+=========+================+================+===========+
+ | Decimal | Keyword | Protocol | IPv6 Extension | Reference |
+ | | | | Header | |
+ +=========+=========+================+================+===========+
+ | 145 | NSH | Network | N | RFC 9491 |
+ | | | Service Header | | |
+ +---------+---------+----------------+----------------+-----------+
+
+ Table 1: Assigned Internet Protocol Numbers Registry
+
+11.2. SRv6 Endpoint Behavior for the NSH
+
+ IANA has allocated the following value in the "SRv6 Endpoint
+ Behaviors" subregistry under the "Segment Routing" registry:
+
+ +=======+========+===================+===========+============+
+ | Value | Hex | Endpoint Behavior | Reference | Change |
+ | | | | | Controller |
+ +=======+========+===================+===========+============+
+ | 84 | 0x0054 | End.NSH - NSH | RFC 9491 | IETF |
+ | | | Segment | | |
+ +-------+--------+-------------------+-----------+------------+
+
+ Table 2: SRv6 Endpoint Behaviors Subregistry
+
+12. References
+
+12.1. Normative References
+
+ [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
+ Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
+
+ [RFC3031] Rosen, E., Viswanathan, A., and R. Callon, "Multiprotocol
+ Label Switching Architecture", RFC 3031,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC3031, January 2001,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3031>.
+
+ [RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
+ 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
+ May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.
+
+ [RFC8200] Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
+ (IPv6) Specification", STD 86, RFC 8200,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC8200, July 2017,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8200>.
+
+ [RFC8300] Quinn, P., Ed., Elzur, U., Ed., and C. Pignataro, Ed.,
+ "Network Service Header (NSH)", RFC 8300,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC8300, January 2018,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8300>.
+
+ [RFC8402] Filsfils, C., Ed., Previdi, S., Ed., Ginsberg, L.,
+ Decraene, B., Litkowski, S., and R. Shakir, "Segment
+ Routing Architecture", RFC 8402, DOI 10.17487/RFC8402,
+ July 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8402>.
+
+ [RFC8660] Bashandy, A., Ed., Filsfils, C., Ed., Previdi, S.,
+ Decraene, B., Litkowski, S., and R. Shakir, "Segment
+ Routing with the MPLS Data Plane", RFC 8660,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC8660, December 2019,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8660>.
+
+ [RFC8663] Xu, X., Bryant, S., Farrel, A., Hassan, S., Henderickx,
+ W., and Z. Li, "MPLS Segment Routing over IP", RFC 8663,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC8663, December 2019,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8663>.
+
+ [RFC8665] Psenak, P., Ed., Previdi, S., Ed., Filsfils, C., Gredler,
+ H., Shakir, R., Henderickx, W., and J. Tantsura, "OSPF
+ Extensions for Segment Routing", RFC 8665,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC8665, December 2019,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8665>.
+
+ [RFC8667] Previdi, S., Ed., Ginsberg, L., Ed., Filsfils, C.,
+ Bashandy, A., Gredler, H., and B. Decraene, "IS-IS
+ Extensions for Segment Routing", RFC 8667,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC8667, December 2019,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8667>.
+
+ [RFC8754] Filsfils, C., Ed., Dukes, D., Ed., Previdi, S., Leddy, J.,
+ Matsushima, S., and D. Voyer, "IPv6 Segment Routing Header
+ (SRH)", RFC 8754, DOI 10.17487/RFC8754, March 2020,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8754>.
+
+12.2. Informative References
+
+ [RFC7498] Quinn, P., Ed. and T. Nadeau, Ed., "Problem Statement for
+ Service Function Chaining", RFC 7498,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC7498, April 2015,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7498>.
+
+ [RFC7665] Halpern, J., Ed. and C. Pignataro, Ed., "Service Function
+ Chaining (SFC) Architecture", RFC 7665,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC7665, October 2015,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7665>.
+
+ [RFC8596] Malis, A., Bryant, S., Halpern, J., and W. Henderickx,
+ "MPLS Transport Encapsulation for the Service Function
+ Chaining (SFC) Network Service Header (NSH)", RFC 8596,
+ DOI 10.17487/RFC8596, June 2019,
+ <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8596>.
+
+ [SERVICE-PROGRAMMING]
+ Clad, F., Ed., Xu, X., Ed., Filsfils, C., Bernier, D., Li,
+ C., Decraene, B., Ma, S., Yadlapalli, C., Henderickx, W.,
+ and S. Salsano, "Service Programming with Segment
+ Routing", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-
+ spring-sr-service-programming-08, 21 August 2023,
+ <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-spring-
+ sr-service-programming-08>.
+
+Contributors
+
+ The following coauthors provided valuable inputs and text
+ contributions to this document.
+
+ Mohamed Boucadair
+ Orange
+ Email: mohamed.boucadair@orange.com
+
+
+ Joel Halpern
+ Ericsson
+ Email: joel.halpern@ericsson.com
+
+
+ Syed Hassan
+ Cisco System, inc.
+ Email: shassan@cisco.com
+
+
+ Wim Henderickx
+ Nokia
+ Email: wim.henderickx@nokia.com
+
+
+ Haoyu Song
+ Futurewei Technologies
+ Email: haoyu.song@futurewei.com
+
+
+Authors' Addresses
+
+ James N Guichard (editor)
+ Futurewei Technologies
+ 2330 Central Expressway
+ Santa Clara, CA
+ United States of America
+ Email: james.n.guichard@futurewei.com
+
+
+ Jeff Tantsura (editor)
+ Nvidia
+ United States of America
+ Email: jefftant.ietf@gmail.com