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Ideas for a Next Generation of the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
draft-dreibholz-tsvwg-sctp-nextgen-ideas-18

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Author Thomas Dreibholz
Last updated 2023-09-27
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draft-dreibholz-tsvwg-sctp-nextgen-ideas-18
Network Working Group                                       T. Dreibholz
Internet-Draft                                                 SimulaMet
Intended status: Informational                         26 September 2023
Expires: 29 March 2024

Ideas for a Next Generation of the Stream Control Transmission Protocol
                                 (SCTP)
              draft-dreibholz-tsvwg-sctp-nextgen-ideas-18

Abstract

   This document collects some ideas for a next generation of the Stream
   Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) for further discussion.  It is a
   result of lessons learned from more than one decade of SCTP
   deployment.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
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   This Internet-Draft will expire on 29 March 2024.

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
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   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.2.  Stream Control Transmission Protocol  . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.3.  Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  What to Change in the Next Generation of SCTP?  . . . . . . .   2
     2.1.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.2.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Experimental Implementations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Testbed Platform  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   5.  Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   6.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     6.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     6.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

1.  Introduction

1.1.  Abbreviations

   *  SCTP: Stream Control Transmission Protocol

1.2.  Stream Control Transmission Protocol

   The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) has been defined as
   RFCs in [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [10], [11], [12],
   [13], [14], [15].  There is also a detailed introduction provided by
   [22] as well as lots of further information material on [19].  SCTP
   is therefore not introduced in more detail here.

1.3.  Scope

   The scope of this document is to collect some ideas of what to
   update/change for a next generation of the SCTP protocol.  It is a
   result of lessons learned from more than one decade of SCTP
   deployment (see also [22]) as well as ongoing discussions on applying
   SCTP for WebRTC Data Channels (as introduced in more detail in [18]).

2.  What to Change in the Next Generation of SCTP?

   *  Make useful extensions part of the next generation core protocol
      itself (that is, make their implementation a MUST):

      -  Partial Reliablility ([4])

      -  Chunk Authentication ([6])

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      -  Partial Reliablility ([8])

      -  Stream Reconfiguration ([13])

      -  SACK Immediately ([15])

   *  Consider additional features as part of the next generation core
      protocol:

      -  Non-Renegable Selective Acknowledgments (NR-SACK) ([24])

      -  Concurrent Multi-Path Transfer for SCTP (CMT-SCTP) ([16])

   *  Chunk Authentication provides integrity but not confidentiality.
      There could be a feature for encryption as well, for example like
      [17].  Having encryption directly included inside the core
      transport protocol may make it easier to use (less error-prone
      work for application developers).

   *  SCTP assigns a fixed TSN per DATA chunk.  The TSN cannot be
      changed any more.  That is, it is not possible for a middlebox to
      split chunks into smaller pieces (for example, for hardware
      offloading).  For further discussion: may it be useful to consider
      a different behavior?

   *  Definition of path: For SCTP, a path is defined by a remote
      destination address. [20], [21] shows that CMT-SCTP performance
      also depends on the local endpoint's outgoing links.  Considering
      each pair of local outgoing and remote incoming address as
      different path may lead to improved performance in many Internet
      scenarios.

2.1.  Security Considerations

   Security considerations for SCTP can be found in [9].

2.2.  IANA Considerations

   This document introduces no additional considerations for IANA.

3.  Experimental Implementations

   An Open Source simulation model for SCTP is available for OMNeT++
   within the INET Framework.  See [23] for the Git repository.  For
   documentation on the model, see [25] and [22].  This model can be
   used to evaluate future ideas for SCTP.

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4.  Testbed Platform

   NorNet is a large-scale and realistic Internet testbed platform with
   support for multi-homing.  A description of and introduction to
   NorNet is provided in [26], [27], [28], [29].  Further information
   can be found on the project website [30] at https://www.nntb.no
   (https://www.nntb.no).

5.  Acknowledgments

   The author would like to thank Martin Becke for discussions and
   support.

6.  References

6.1.  Normative References

   [1]        Tuexen, M., Xie, Q., Stewart, R., Shore, M., Ong, L.,
              Loughney, J., and M. Stillman, "Requirements for Reliable
              Server Pooling", RFC 3237, DOI 10.17487/RFC3237, January
              2002, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3237>.

   [2]        Jungmaier, A., Rescorla, E., and M. Tuexen, "Transport
              Layer Security over Stream Control Transmission Protocol",
              RFC 3436, DOI 10.17487/RFC3436, December 2002,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3436>.

   [3]        Bellovin, S., Ioannidis, J., Keromytis, A., and R.
              Stewart, "On the Use of Stream Control Transmission
              Protocol (SCTP) with IPsec", RFC 3554,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC3554, July 2003,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3554>.

   [4]        Stewart, R., Ramalho, M., Xie, Q., Tuexen, M., and P.
              Conrad, "Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
              Partial Reliability Extension", RFC 3758,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC3758, May 2004,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3758>.

   [5]        Tuexen, M., Stewart, R., and P. Lei, "Padding Chunk and
              Parameter for the Stream Control Transmission Protocol
              (SCTP)", RFC 4820, DOI 10.17487/RFC4820, March 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4820>.

   [6]        Tuexen, M., Stewart, R., Lei, P., and E. Rescorla,
              "Authenticated Chunks for the Stream Control Transmission
              Protocol (SCTP)", RFC 4895, DOI 10.17487/RFC4895, August
              2007, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4895>.

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   [7]        Stewart, R., Ed., "Stream Control Transmission Protocol",
              RFC 4960, DOI 10.17487/RFC4960, September 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4960>.

   [8]        Stewart, R., Xie, Q., Tuexen, M., Maruyama, S., and M.
              Kozuka, "Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
              Dynamic Address Reconfiguration", RFC 5061,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5061, September 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5061>.

   [9]        Stillman, M., Ed., Gopal, R., Guttman, E., Sengodan, S.,
              and M. Holdrege, "Threats Introduced by Reliable Server
              Pooling (RSerPool) and Requirements for Security in
              Response to Threats", RFC 5355, DOI 10.17487/RFC5355,
              September 2008, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5355>.

   [10]       Tuexen, M., Seggelmann, R., and E. Rescorla, "Datagram
              Transport Layer Security (DTLS) for Stream Control
              Transmission Protocol (SCTP)", RFC 6083,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6083, January 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6083>.

   [11]       Tuexen, M. and R. Stewart, "Stream Control Transmission
              Protocol (SCTP) Chunk Flags Registration", RFC 6096,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6096, January 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6096>.

   [12]       Stewart, R., Tuexen, M., Poon, K., Lei, P., and V.
              Yasevich, "Sockets API Extensions for the Stream Control
              Transmission Protocol (SCTP)", RFC 6458,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6458, December 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6458>.

   [13]       Stewart, R., Tuexen, M., and P. Lei, "Stream Control
              Transmission Protocol (SCTP) Stream Reconfiguration",
              RFC 6525, DOI 10.17487/RFC6525, February 2012,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6525>.

   [14]       Tuexen, M. and R. Stewart, "UDP Encapsulation of Stream
              Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) Packets for End-Host
              to End-Host Communication", RFC 6951,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6951, May 2013,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6951>.

   [15]       Tuexen, M., Ruengeler, I., and R. Stewart, "SACK-
              IMMEDIATELY Extension for the Stream Control Transmission
              Protocol", RFC 7053, DOI 10.17487/RFC7053, November 2013,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7053>.

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   [16]       Amer, P. D., Becke, M., Dreibholz, T., Ekiz, N., Iyengar,
              J., Natarajan, P., Stewart, R. R., and M. Tuexen, "Load
              Sharing for the Stream Control Transmission Protocol
              (SCTP)", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-tuexen-
              tsvwg-sctp-multipath-23, 9 February 2022,
              <https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-tuexen-tsvwg-sctp-
              multipath-23.txt>.

   [17]       Hohendorf, C., Unurkhaan, E., and T. Dreibholz, "Secure
              SCTP", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-hohendorf-
              secure-sctp-32, 6 September 2021,
              <https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-hohendorf-secure-
              sctp-32.txt>.

   [18]       Jesup, R., Loreto, S., and M. Tuexen, "WebRTC Data
              Channels", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-
              rtcweb-data-channel-13, 4 January 2015,
              <https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-ietf-rtcweb-data-
              channel-13.txt>.

6.2.  Informative References

   [19]       Dreibholz, T., "Thomas Dreibholz's SCTP Page", 2022,
              <https://www.nntb.no/~dreibh/sctp/>.

   [20]       Becke, M., Adhari, H., Rathgeb, E. P., Fu, F., Yang, X.,
              and X. Zhou, "Comparison of Multipath TCP and CMT-SCTP
              based on Intercontinental Measurements",  Proceedings of
              the IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), 10
              December 2013, <https://www.wiwi.uni-
              due.de/fileadmin/fileupload/I-TDR/Forschung/
              GLOBECOM2013.pdf>.

   [21]       Adhari, H., "Practical Experiences with an Inter-
              Continental Testbed for Multi-Path
              Transport",  Proceedings of the 1st International NorNet
              Users Workshop (NNUW-1), 18 September 2013, <https://web.a
              rchive.org/web/20141127063815/https://simula.no/
              publications/Simula.simula.2144/simula_pdf_file>.

   [22]       Dreibholz, T., "Evaluation and Optimisation of Multi-Path
              Transport using the Stream Control Transmission
              Protocol",  Habilitation Treatise, 13 March 2012,
              <https://duepublico.uni-duisburg-
              essen.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-29737/
              Dre2012_final.pdf>.

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   [23]       Varga, A., "INET Framework for OMNeT++", 2014,
              <http://inet.omnetpp.org/>.

   [24]       Natarajan, P., Ekiz, N., Yilmaz, E., Amer, P. D., and
              J. R. Iyengar, "Non-Renegable Selective Acknowledgments
              (NR-SACKs) for SCTP", Proceedings of the 16th IEEE
              International Conference on Network Protocols (ICNP) Pages
              187-196, ISBN 978-1-4244-2506-8,
              DOI 10.1109/ICNP.2008.4697037, October 2008,
              <http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~amer/PEL/poc/pdf/
              ICNP2008-natarajanNonRenegableSacks.pdf>.

   [25]       Rüngeler, I., "SCTP – Evaluating, Improving and Extending
              the Protocol for Broader Deployment", December 2009,
              <http://duepublico.uni-duisburg-
              essen.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-23465/
              Diss.pdf>.

   [26]       Gran, E. G., Dreibholz, T., and A. Kvalbein, "NorNet Core
              – A Multi-Homed Research Testbed", Computer Networks,
              Special Issue on Future Internet Testbeds Volume 61, Pages
              75-87, ISSN 1389-1286, DOI 10.1016/j.bjp.2013.12.035, 14
              March 2014,
              <https://www.simula.no/file/simulasimula2236pdf/download>.

   [27]       Dreibholz, T. and E. G. Gran, "Design and Implementation
              of the NorNet Core Research Testbed for Multi-Homed
              Systems", Proceedings of the 3nd International Workshop on
              Protocols and Applications with Multi-Homing
              Support (PAMS) Pages 1094-1100, ISBN 978-0-7695-4952-1,
              DOI 10.1109/WAINA.2013.71, 27 March 2013,
              <https://www.simula.no/file/
              threfereedinproceedingsreference2012-12-207643198512pdf/
              download>.

   [28]       Dreibholz, T., "The NorNet Core Testbed – Introduction and
              Status",  Proceedings of the 1st International NorNet
              Users Workshop (NNUW-1), 18 September 2013,
              <https://www.simula.no/file/simulasimula2124pdf/download>.

   [29]       Dreibholz, T., "The NorNet Core Testbed – An Experiment
              Tutorial",  Proceedings of the 1st International NorNet
              Users Workshop (NNUW-1), 19 September 2013,
              <https://www.simula.no/file/simulasimula2130pdf/download>.

   [30]       Dreibholz, T., "NorNet – A Real-World, Large-Scale Multi-
              Homing Testbed", 2022, <https://www.nntb.no/>.

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Author's Address

   Thomas Dreibholz
   Simula Metropolitan Centre for Digital Engineering
   Pilestredet 52
   0167 Oslo
   Norway
   Email: dreibh@simula.no
   URI:   https://www.simula.no/people/dreibh

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