path: root/doc/rfc/rfc3466.txt

Network Working Group                                             M. Day
Request for Comments: 3466                                         Cisco
Category: Informational                                          B. Cain
                                                                Storigen
                                                            G. Tomlinson
                                                         Tomlinson Group
                                                              P. Rzewski
                                                   Media Publisher, Inc.
                                                           February 2003


               A Model for Content Internetworking (CDI)

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   Content (distribution) internetworking (CDI) is the technology for
   interconnecting content networks, sometimes previously called
   "content peering" or "CDN peering".  A common vocabulary helps the
   process of discussing such interconnection and interoperation.  This
   document introduces content networks and content internetworking, and
   defines elements for such a common vocabulary.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
   2.  Content Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
       2.1   Problem Description  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
       2.2   Caching Proxies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
       2.3   Server Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       2.4   Content Distribution Networks. . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
             2.4.1 Historic Evolution of CDNs . . . . . . . . . . .  8
             2.4.2 Describing CDN Value: Scale and Reach. . . . . .  8
   3.  Content Network Model Terms  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   4.  Content Internetworking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
   5.  Content Internetworking Model Terms  . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
   6.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
   7.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
   8.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16



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   9.  Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
   10. Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

1. Introduction

   Content networks are of increasing importance to the overall
   architecture of the Web.  This document presents a vocabulary for use
   in developing technology for interconnecting content networks, or
   "content internetworking".

   The accepted name for the technology of interconnecting content
   networks is "content internetworking".  For historical reasons, we
   abbreviate this term using the acronym CDI (from "content
   distribution internetworking").  Earlier names relied on analogy with
   peering and interconnection of IP networks; thus we had "content
   peering" and "CDN peering".  All of these other names are now
   deprecated, and we have worked to establish consistent usage of
   "content internetworking" and "CDI" throughout the documents of the
   IETF CDI group.

   The terminology in this document builds from the previous taxonomy of
   web caching and replication in RFC 3040 [3].  In particular, we have
   attempted to avoid the use of the common terms "proxies" or "caches"
   in favor of more specific terms defined by that document, such as
   "caching proxy".

   Section 2 provides background on content networks.  Section 3
   introduces the terms used for elements of a content network and
   explains how those terms are used.  Section 4 provides additional
   background on interconnecting content networks, following which
   Section 5 introduces additional terms and explains how those
   internetworking terms are used.

2. Content Networks

   The past several years have seen the evolution of technologies
   centered around "content".  Protocols, appliances, and entire markets
   have been created exclusively for the location, download, and usage
   tracking of content.  Some sample technologies in this area have
   included web caching proxies, content management tools, intelligent
   "web switches", and advanced log analysis tools.










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   When used together, these tools form new types of networks, dubbed
   "content networks".  Whereas network infrastructures have
   traditionally processed information at layers 1 through 3 of the OSI
   stack, content networks include network infrastructure that exists in
   layers 4 through 7.  Whereas lower-layer network infrastructures
   centered on the routing, forwarding, and switching of frames and
   packets, content networks deal with the routing and forwarding of
   requests and responses for content.  The units of transported data in
   content networks, such as images, movies, or songs, are often very
   large and may span hundreds or thousands of packets.

   Alternately, content networks can be seen as a new virtual overlay to
   the OSI stack: a "content layer", to enable richer services that rely
   on underlying elements from all 7 layers of the stack.  Whereas
   traditional applications, such as file transfer (FTP), relied on
   underlying protocols such as TCP/IP for transport, overlay services
   in content networks rely on layer 7 protocols such as HTTP or RTSP
   for transport.

   The proliferation of content networks and content networking
   capabilities gives rise to interest in interconnecting content
   networks and finding ways for distinct content networks to cooperate
   for better overall service.

2.1 Problem Description

   Content networks typically play some role in solving the "content
   distribution problem".  Abstractly, the goal in solving this problem
   is to arrange a rendezvous between a content source at an origin
   server and a content sink at a viewer's user agent.  In the trivial
   case, the rendezvous mechanism is that every user agent sends every
   request directly to the origin server named in the host part of the
   URL identifying the content.

   As the audience for the content source grows, so do the demands on
   the origin server.  There are a variety of ways in which the trivial
   system can be modified for better performance.  The apparent single
   logical server may in fact be implemented as a large "farm" of server
   machines behind a switch.  Both caching proxies and reverse caching
   proxies can be deployed between the client and server, so that
   requests can be satisfied by some cache instead of by the server.

   For the sake of background, several sample content networks are
   described in the following sections that each attempt to address this
   problem.






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2.2 Caching Proxies

   A type of content network that has been in use for several years is a
   caching proxy deployment.  Such a network might typically be employed
   by an ISP for the benefit of users accessing the Internet, such as
   through dial or cable modem.

   In the interest of improving performance and reducing bandwidth
   utilization, caching proxies are deployed close to the users.  These
   users are encouraged to send their web requests through the caches
   rather than directly to origin servers, such as by configuring their
   browsers to do so.  When this configuration is properly done, the
   user's entire browsing session goes through a specific caching proxy.
   That caching proxy will therefore contain the "hot set" of all
   Internet content being viewed by all of the users of that caching
   proxy.

   When a request is being handled at a caching proxy on behalf of a
   user, other decisions may be made, such as:

   o  A provider that deploys caches in many geographically diverse
      locations may also deploy regional parent caches to further
      aggregate user requests and responses.  This may provide
      additional performance improvement and bandwidth savings.  When
      parents are included, this is known as hierarchical caching.

   o  Using rich parenting protocols, redundant parents may be deployed
      such that a failure in a primary parent is detected and a backup
      is used instead.

   o  Using similar parenting protocols, requests may be partitioned
      such that requests for certain content domains are sent to a
      specific primary parent.  This can help to maximize the efficient
      use of caching proxy resources.

















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   The following diagram depicts a hierarchical cache deployment as
   described above:

                     ^        ^
                     |        |   requests to
                     |        |   origin servers
                     |        |
                 --------   --------
                 |parent|   |parent|
                 |cache |   |cache |
                 |proxy |   |proxy |
                 --------   --------
                      ^         ^
          requests for \       / requests for
               foo.com  \     /  bar.com
               content   \   /   content
                          \ /
      -------  -------  -------  -------
      |edge |  |edge |  |edge |  |edge |
      |cache|  |cache|  |cache|  |cache|
      |proxy|  |proxy|  |proxy|  |proxy|
      -------  -------  -------  -------
                          ^
                          | all content
                          | requests
                          | for this
                          | client
                          |
                       --------
                       |client|
                       --------

   Note that this diagram shows only one possible configuration, but
   many others are also useful.  In particular, the client may be able
   to communicate directly with multiple caching proxies.  RFC 3040 [3]
   contains additional examples of how multiple caching proxies may be
   used.

2.3 Server Farms

   Another type of content network that has been in widespread use for
   several years is a server farm.  A typical server farm makes use of a
   so-called "intelligent" or "content" switch (i.e., one that uses
   information in OSI layers 4-7).  The switch examines content requests
   and dispatches them among a (potentially large) group of servers.






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   Some of the goals of a server farm include:

   o  Creating the impression that the group of servers is actually a
      single origin site.

   o  Load-balancing of requests across all servers in the group.

   o  Automatic routing of requests away from servers that fail.

   o  Routing all requests for a particular user agent's session to the
      same server, in order to preserve session state.

   The following diagram depicts a simple server farm deployment:

      ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
      |content|  |content|  |content|  |content|
      |server |  |server |  |server |  |server |
      |       |  |       |  |       |  |       |
      ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
                     ^          ^
         request from \        / request from
            client A   \      /    client B
                        \    /
                     -------------
                     |  L4-L7    |
                     |  switch   |
                     -------------
                        ^     ^
                       /       \
                      /         \
                     /           \
             request from     request from
               client A         client B

   A similar style of content network (that is, deployed close to
   servers) may be constructed with surrogates [3] instead of a switch.

2.4 Content Distribution Networks

   Both hierarchical caching and server farms are useful techniques, but
   have limits.  Server farms can improve the scalability of the origin
   server.  However, since the multiple servers and other elements are
   typically deployed near the origin server, they do little to improve
   performance problems that are due to network congestion.  Caching
   proxies can improve performance problems due to network congestion
   (since they are situated near the clients) but they cache objects
   based on client demand.  Caching based on client demand performs
   poorly if the requests for a given object, while numerous in



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   aggregate, are spread thinly among many different caching proxies.
   (In the worst case, an object could be requested n times via n
   distinct caching proxies, causing n distinct requests to the origin
   server -- or exactly the same behavior that would occur without any
   caching proxies in place.)

   Thus, a content provider with a popular content source can find that
   it has to invest in large server farms, load balancing, and high-
   bandwidth connections to keep up with demand.  Even with those
   investments, the user experience may still be relatively poor due to
   congestion in the network as a whole.

   To address these limitations, another type of content network that
   has been deployed in increasing numbers in recent years is the CDN
   (Content Distribution Network or Content Delivery Network).  A CDN
   essentially moves server-farm-like configurations out into network
   locations more typically occupied by caching proxies.  A CDN has
   multiple replicas of each content item being hosted.  A request from
   a browser for a single content item is directed to a "good" replica,
   where "good" usually means that the item is served to the client
   quickly compared to the time it would take fetch it from the origin
   server, with appropriate integrity and consistency.  Static
   information about geographic locations and network connectivity is
   usually not sufficient to do a good job of choosing a replica.
   Instead, a CDN typically incorporates dynamic information about
   network conditions and load on the replicas, directing requests so as
   to balance the load.

   Compared to using servers and surrogates in a single data center, a
   CDN is a relatively complex system encompassing multiple points of
   presence, in locations that may be geographically far apart.
   Operating a CDN is not easy for a content provider, since a content
   provider wants to focus its resources on developing high-value
   content, not on managing network infrastructure.  Instead, a more
   typical arrangement is that a network service provider builds and
   operates a CDN, offering a content distribution service to a number
   of content providers.

   A CDN enables a service provider to act on behalf of the content
   provider to deliver copies of origin server content to clients from
   multiple diverse locations.  The increase in number and diversity of
   location is intended to improve download times and thus improve the
   user experience.  A CDN has some combination of a content-delivery
   infrastructure, a request-routing infrastructure, a distribution
   infrastructure, and an accounting infrastructure.  The content-
   delivery infrastructure consists of a set of "surrogate" servers [3]
   that deliver copies of content to sets of users.  The request-routing
   infrastructure consists of mechanisms that move a client toward a



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   rendezvous with a surrogate.  The distribution infrastructure
   consists of mechanisms that move content from the origin server to
   the surrogates.  Finally, the accounting infrastructure tracks and
   collects data on request-routing, distribution, and delivery
   functions within the CDN.

   The following diagram depicts a simple CDN as described above:

               ----------          ----------
               |request-|          |request-|
               |routing |          |routing |
               | system |          | system |
               ----------          ----------
                 ^ |
    (1) client's | | (2) response
        content  | |     indicating
        request  | |     location of       -----------
                 | |     content           |surrogate|
                 | |                       -----------
   -----------   | |
   |surrogate|   | |      -----------
   -----------   | |      |surrogate|
                 | |      -----------
                 | |      ^
                 | v     / (3) client opens
                client---      connection to
                               retrieve content

2.4.1 Historic Evolution of CDNs

   The first important use of CDNs was for the distribution of heavily-
   requested graphic files (such as GIF files on the home pages of
   popular servers).  However, both in principle and increasingly in
   practice, a CDN can support the delivery of any digital content --
   including various forms of streaming media.  For a streaming media
   CDN (or media distribution network or MDN), the surrogates may be
   operating as splitters (serving out multiple copies of a stream).
   The splitter function may be instead of, or in addition to, a role as
   a caching proxy.  However, the basic elements defined in this model
   are still intended to apply to the interconnection of content
   networks that are distributing streaming media.

2.4.2 Describing CDN Value: Scale and Reach

   There are two fundamental elements that give a CDN value: outsourcing
   infrastructure and improved content delivery.  A CDN allows multiple
   surrogates to act on behalf of an origin server, therefore removing
   the delivery of content from a centralized site to multiple and



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   (usually) highly distributed sites.  We refer to increased aggregate
   infrastructure size as "scale".  In addition, a CDN can be
   constructed with copies of content near to end users, overcoming
   issues of network size, network congestion, and network failures.  We
   refer to increased diversity of content locations as "reach".

   In a typical (non-internetworked) CDN, a single service provider
   operates the request-routers, the surrogates, and the content
   distributors.  In addition, that service provider establishes
   (business) relationships with content publishers and acts on behalf
   of their origin sites to provide a distributed delivery system.  The
   value of that CDN to a content provider is a combination of its scale
   and its reach.

3. Content Network Model Terms

   This section consists of the definitions of a number of terms used to
   refer to roles, participants, and objects involved in content
   networks.  Although the following uses many terms that are based on
   those used in RFC 2616 [1] or RFC 3040 [3], there is no necessary
   connection to HTTP or web caching technology.  Content
   internetworking and this vocabulary are applicable to other protocols
   and styles of content delivery.

   Phrases in upper-case refer to other defined terms.

   ACCOUNTING
      Measurement and recording of DISTRIBUTION and DELIVERY activities,
      especially when the information recorded is ultimately used as a
      basis for the subsequent transfer of money, goods, or obligations.

   ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
      A collection of CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENTS that supports ACCOUNTING
      for a single CONTENT NETWORK.

   AUTHORITATIVE REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM
      The REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM that is the correct/final authority for
      a particular item of CONTENT.

   CDN
      Content Delivery Network or Content Distribution Network.  A type
      of CONTENT NETWORK in which the CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENTS are
      arranged for more effective delivery of CONTENT to CLIENTS.
      Typically a CDN consists of a REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM, SURROGATES,
      a DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, and an ACCOUNTING SYSTEM.






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   CLIENT
      A program that sends CONTENT REQUESTS and receives corresponding
      CONTENT RESPONSES.  (Note: this is similar to the definition in
      RFC 2616 [1] but we do not require establishment of a connection.)

   CONTENT
      Any form of digital data, CONTENT approximately corresponds to
      what is referred to as an "entity" in RFC 2616 [1].  One important
      form of CONTENT with additional constraints on DISTRIBUTION and
      DELIVERY is CONTINUOUS MEDIA.

   CONTENT NETWORK
      An arrangement of CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENTS, controlled by a common
      management in some fashion.

   CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENT
      A network device that performs at least some of its processing by
      examining CONTENT-related parts of network messages.  In IP-based
      networks, a CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENT is a device whose processing
      depends on examining information contained in IP packet bodies;
      network elements (as defined in RFC 3040) examine only the header
      of an IP packet.  Note that many CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENTS do not
      examine or even see individual IP packets, instead receiving the
      body of one or more packets assembled into a message of some
      higher-level protocol.

   CONTENT REQUEST
      A message identifying a particular item of CONTENT to be
      delivered.

   CONTENT RESPONSE
      A message containing a particular item of CONTENT, identified in a
      previous CONTENT REQUEST.

   CONTENT SIGNAL
      A message delivered through a DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM that specifies
      information about an item of CONTENT.  For example, a CONTENT
      SIGNAL can indicate that the ORIGIN has a new version of some
      piece of CONTENT.

   CONTINUOUS MEDIA
      CONTENT where there is a timing relationship between source and
      sink; that is, the sink must reproduce the timing relationship
      that existed at the source.  The most common examples of
      CONTINUOUS MEDIA are audio and motion video.  CONTINUOUS MEDIA can
      be real-time (interactive), where there is a "tight" timing





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      relationship between source and sink, or streaming (playback),
      where the relationship is less strict.  [Note: This definition is
      essentially identical to the definition of continuous media in
      [2]]

   DELIVERY
      The activity of providing a PUBLISHER's CONTENT, via CONTENT
      RESPONSES, to a CLIENT.  Contrast with DISTRIBUTION and REQUEST-
      ROUTING.

   DISTRIBUTION
      The activity of moving a PUBLISHER's CONTENT from its ORIGIN to
      one or more SURROGATEs.  DISTRIBUTION can happen either in
      anticipation of a SURROGATE receiving a REQUEST (pre-positioning)
      or in response to a SURROGATE receiving a REQUEST (fetching on
      demand).  Contrast with DELIVERY and REQUEST-ROUTING.

   DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
      A collection of CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENTS that support DISTRIBUTION
      for a single CONTENT NETWORK.  The DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM also
      propagates CONTENT SIGNALs.

   ORIGIN
      The point at which CONTENT first enters a DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
      The ORIGIN for any item of CONTENT is the server or set of servers
      at the "core" of the distribution, holding the "master" or
      "authoritative" copy of that CONTENT.  (Note: We believe this
      definition is compatible with that for "origin server" in RFC 2616
      [1] but includes additional constraints useful for CDI.)

   PUBLISHER
      The party that ultimately controls the CONTENT and its
      distribution.

   REACHABLE SURROGATES
      The collection of SURROGATES that can be contacted via a
      particular DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM or REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM.

   REQUEST-ROUTING
      The activity of steering or directing a CONTENT REQUEST from a
      USER AGENT to a suitable SURROGATE.

   REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM
      A collection of CONTENT NETWORK ELEMENTS that support REQUEST-
      ROUTING for a single CONTENT NETWORK.






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   SERVER
      A program that accepts CONTENT REQUESTS and services them by
      sending back CONTENT RESPONSES.  Any given program may be capable
      of being both a client and a server; our use of these terms refers
      only to the role being performed by the program.  [Note: this is
      adapted from a similar definition in RFC 2616 [1].]

   SURROGATE
      A delivery server, other than the ORIGIN.  Receives a CONTENT
      REQUEST and delivers the corresponding CONTENT RESPONSE.  [Note:
      this is a different definition from that in RFC 3040 [3], which
      appears overly elaborate for our purposes.  A "CDI surrogate" is
      always an "RFC 3040 surrogate"; we are not sure if the reverse is
      true.]

   USER AGENT
      The CLIENT which initiates a REQUEST.  These are often browsers,
      editors, spiders (web-traversing robots), or other end user tools.
      [Note: this definition is identical to the one in RFC 2616 [1].]

4. Content Internetworking

   There are limits to how large any one network's scale and reach can
   be.  Increasing either scale or reach is ultimately limited by the
   cost of equipment, the space available for deploying equipment,
   and/or the demand for that scale/reach of infrastructure.  Sometimes
   a particular audience is tied to a single service provider or a small
   set of providers by constraints of technology, economics, or law.
   Other times, a network provider may be able to manage surrogates and
   a distribution system, but may have no direct relationship with
   content providers.  Such a provider wants to have a means of
   affiliating their delivery and distribution infrastructure with other
   parties who have content to distribute.

   Content internetworking allows different content networks to share
   resources so as to provide larger scale and/or reach to each
   participant than they could otherwise achieve.  By using commonly
   defined protocols for content internetworking, each content network
   can treat neighboring content networks as "black boxes", allowing
   them to hide internal details from each other.

5. Content Internetworking Model Terms

   This section consists of the definitions of a number of terms used to
   refer to roles, participants, and objects involved in internetworking
   content networks.  The purpose of this section is to identify common
   terms and provide short definitions.




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   ACCOUNTING INTERNETWORKING
      Interconnection of two or more ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS so as to enable
      the exchange of information between them.  The form of ACCOUNTING
      INTERNETWORKING required may depend on the nature of the
      NEGOTIATED RELATIONSHIP between the peering parties -- in
      particular, on the value of the economic exchanges anticipated.

   ADVERTISEMENT
      Information about resources available to other CONTENT NETWORKS,
      exchanged via CONTENT INTERNETWORKING GATEWAYS.  Types of
      ADVERTISEMENT include AREA ADVERTISEMENTS, CONTENT ADVERTISEMENTS,
      and DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISEMENTS.

   AREA ADVERTISEMENT
      ADVERTISEMENT from a CONTENT NETWORK's REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM
      about aspects of topology, geography and performance of a CONTENT
      NETWORK.  Contrast with CONTENT ADVERTISEMENT, DISTRIBUTION
      ADVERTISEMENT.

   BILLING ORGANIZATION
      An entity that operates an ACCOUNTING SYSTEM to support billing
      within a NEGOTIATED RELATIONSHIP with a PUBLISHER.

   CONTENT ADVERTISEMENT
      ADVERTISEMENT from a CONTENT NETWORK's REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM
      about the availability of one or more collections of CONTENT on a
      CONTENT NETWORK.  Contrast with AREA ADVERTISEMENT, DISTRIBUTION
      ADVERTISEMENT

   CONTENT DESTINATION
      A CONTENT NETWORK or DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM that is accepting CONTENT
      from another such network or system.  Contrast with CONTENT
      SOURCE.

   CONTENT INTERNETWORKING GATEWAY (CIG)
      An identifiable element or system through which a CONTENT NETWORK
      can be interconnected with others.  A CIG may be the point of
      contact for DISTRIBUTION INTERNETWORKING, REQUEST-ROUTING
      INTERNETWORKING, and/or ACCOUNTING INTERNETWORKING, and thus may
      incorporate some or all of the corresponding systems for the
      CONTENT NETWORK.

   CONTENT REPLICATION
      The movement of CONTENT from a CONTENT SOURCE to a CONTENT
      DESTINATION.  Note that this is specifically the movement of
      CONTENT from one network to another.  There may be similar or
      different mechanisms that move CONTENT around within a single
      network's DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.



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   CONTENT SOURCE
      A CONTENT NETWORK or DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM that is distributing
      CONTENT to another such network or system.  Contrast with CONTENT
      DESTINATION.

   DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISEMENT
      An ADVERTISEMENT from a CONTENT NETWORK's DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM to
      potential CONTENT SOURCES, describing the capabilities of one or
      more CONTENT DESTINATIONS.  Contrast with AREA ADVERTISEMENT,
      CONTENT ADVERTISEMENT.

   DISTRIBUTION INTERNETWORKING
      Interconnection of two or more DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS so as to
      propagate CONTENT SIGNALS and copies of CONTENT to groups of
      SURROGATES.

   ENLISTED
      Describes a CONTENT NETWORK that, as part of a NEGOTIATED
      RELATIONSHIP, has accepted a DISTRIBUTION task from another
      CONTENT NETWORK, has agreed to perform REQUEST-ROUTING on behalf
      of another CONTENT NETWORK, or has agreed to provide ACCOUNTING
      data to another CONTENT NETWORK.  Contrast with ORIGINATING.

   INJECTION
      A "send-only" form of DISTRIBUTION INTERNETWORKING that takes
      place from an ORIGIN to a CONTENT DESTINATION.

   INTER-
      Describes activity that involves more than one CONTENT NETWORK
      (e.g., INTER-CDN).  Contrast with INTRA-.

   INTRA-
      Describes activity within a single CONTENT NETWORK (e.g., INTRA-
      CDN).  Contrast with INTER-.

   NEGOTIATED RELATIONSHIP
      A relationship whose terms and conditions are partially or
      completely established outside the context of CONTENT NETWORK
      internetworking protocols.

   ORIGINATING
      Describes a CONTENT NETWORK that, as part of a NEGOTIATED
      RELATIONSHIP, submits a DISTRIBUTION task to another CONTENT
      NETWORK, asks another CONTENT NETWORK to perform REQUEST-ROUTING
      on its behalf, or asks another CONTENT NETWORK to provide
      ACCOUNTING data.  Contrast with ENLISTED.





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   REMOTE CONTENT NETWORK
      A CONTENT NETWORK able to deliver CONTENT for a particular REQUEST
      that is not the AUTHORITATIVE REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEM for that
      REQUEST.

   REQUEST-ROUTING INTERNETWORKING
      Interconnection of two or more REQUEST-ROUTING SYSTEMS so as to
      increase the number of REACHABLE SURROGATES for at least one of
      the interconnected systems.

6. Security Considerations

   This document defines terminology and concepts for content
   internetworking.  The terminology itself does not introduce any
   security-related issues.  The implementation of content
   internetworking concepts does raise some security-related issues,
   which we identify in broad categories below.  Other CDI documents
   will address their specific security-related issues in more detail.

   Secure relationship establishment: CONTENT INTERNETWORKING GATEWAYS
   must ensure that CONTENT NETWORKS are internetworking only with other
   CONTENT NETWORKS as intended.  It must be possible to prevent
   unauthorized internetworking or spoofing of another CONTENT NETWORK's
   identity.

   Secure content transfer: CONTENT INTERNETWORKING GATEWAYS must
   support CONTENT NETWORK mechanisms that ensure both the integrity of
   CONTENT and the integrity of both DISTRIBUTION and DELIVERY, even
   when both ORIGINATING and ENLISTED networks are involved.  CONTENT
   INTERNETWORKING GATEWAYS must allow for mechanisms to prevent theft
   or corruption of CONTENT.

   Secure meta-content transfer: CONTENT INTERNETWORKING GATEWAYS must
   support the movement of accurate, reliable, auditable ACCOUNTING
   information between CONTENT NETWORKS.  CONTENT INTERNETWORKING
   GATEWAYS must allow for mechanisms to prevent the diversion or
   corruption of ACCOUNTING data and similar meta-content.

7. Acknowledgements

   The authors acknowledge the contributions and comments of Fred
   Douglis (AT&T), Don Gilletti (CacheFlow), Markus Hoffmann (Lucent),
   Barron Housel (Cisco), Barbara Liskov (Cisco), John Martin (Network
   Appliance), Nalin Mistry (Nortel Networks) Raj Nair (Cisco), Hilarie
   Orman (Volera), Doug Potter (Cisco), and Oliver Spatscheck (AT&T).






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8.  Normative References

   [1]  Fielding, R., Gettys, J., Mogul, J., Frystyk, H., Masinter, L.,
        Leach, P. and T. Berners-Lee, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol --
        HTTP/1.1", RFC 2616, June 1999.

   [2]  Schulzrinne, H., Rao, A. and R. Lanphier, "Real Time Streaming
        Protocol", RFC 2326, April 1998.

   [3]  Cooper, I., Melve, I. and G. Tomlinson, "Internet Web
        Replication and Caching Taxonomy", RFC 3040, June 2000.

9.  Authors' Addresses

   Mark Stuart Day
   Cisco Systems
   1414 Massachusetts Avenue
   Boxborough, MA  01719
   US

   Phone: +1 978 936 1089
   EMail: mday@alum.mit.edu

   Brad Cain
   Storigen Systems
   650 Suffolk Street
   Lowell, MA  01854
   US

   Phone: +1 978 323 4454
   EMail: bcain@storigen.com

   Gary Tomlinson
   Tomlinson Group
   14324 227th Ave NE
   Woodinville, WA 98072

   Phone: +1 425 503 0881
   EMail: gary@tomlinsongroup.net

   Phil Rzewski
   30 Jennifer Place
   San Francisco, CA  94107
   US

   Phone: +1 650 303 3790
   EMail: philrz@yahoo.com




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10.  Full Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

   This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
   others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
   or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
   and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
   kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
   included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
   document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
   the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
   Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
   developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
   copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
   followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
   English.

   The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
   revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.

   This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
   TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
   BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
   HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
   MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Acknowledgement

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.



















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