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NHRP Support for Virtual Private Networks
draft-ietf-ion-nhrp-vpn-03

The information below is for an old version of the document that is already published as an RFC.
Document Type
This is an older version of an Internet-Draft that was ultimately published as RFC 2735.
Authors Bernhard H. Petri , Barbara A. Fox
Last updated 2013-03-02 (Latest revision 1999-10-25)
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Intended RFC status Proposed Standard
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draft-ietf-ion-nhrp-vpn-03
Internet Engineering Task Force                           Barbara A. Fox
INTERNET-DRAFT                                     Equipe Communications
<draft-ietf-ion-nhrp-vpn-03.txt>                          Bernhard Petri
Expires April, 2000                                           Siemens AG

               NHRP Support for Virtual Private Networks

Status of this Memo

   This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
   all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that
   other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-
   Drafts.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt

   The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.

Abstract

   The NBMA Next Hop Resolution Protocol (NHRP) is used to determine the
   NBMA subnetwork addresses of the "NBMA next hop" towards a public
   internetworking layer address (see [1]).  This document describes the
   enhancements necessary to enable NHRP to perform the same function
   for private internetworking layer addresses available within the
   framework of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service on a shared NBMA
   network.

1. Introduction

   NHRP is a public internetworking layer based resolution protocol.
   There is an implicit understanding in [1] that a control message

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   applies to the public address space.

   Service Providers of Virtual Private Network (VPN) services will
   offer VPN participants specific service level agreements (SLA) which
   may include, for example, dedicated routing functions and/or specific
   QoS levels.  A particularly important feature of a VPN service is the
   ability to use a private address space which may overlap with the
   address space of another VPN or the Public Internet.  Therefore, such
   an internetworking layer address only has meaning within the VPN in
   which it exists.  For this reason, it is necessary to identify the
   VPN in which a particular internetworking layer address has meaning,
   the "scope" of the internetworking layer address.

   As VPNs are deployed on shared networks, NHRP may be used to resolve
   a private VPN address to a shared NBMA network address.  In order to
   properly resolve a private VPN address, it is necessary for the NHRP
   device to be able to identify the VPN in which the address has
   meaning and determine resolution information based on that "scope".

   As VPN services are added to an NBMA network using NHRP devices, it
   may be necessary to support the service with legacy NHRP devices that
   do not have VPN knowledge and so do not explicitly support VPNs.
   This document describes requirements for "VPN-aware" NHRP entities to
   support VPN services while communicating with both "VPN-aware" and
   "non-VPN-aware" NHRP entities.

2. Overview of NHRP VPN Support

2.1 Terminology

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED",  "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

   In addition to the terminology specified in section 2.1 of [1], the
   following definitions and acronyms are used:

   Default Routing Instance -- In the presence of VPNs, all packets are
   processed (e.g., routed) within the context of a specific VPN. In the
   case where no VPN is indicated, a packet is processed according to a
   default VPN, i.e., a Default Routing Instance.  This routing instance
   may be the Public Internet, a particular VPN, etc.  The term only has
   meaning for "VPN-aware" NHRP entities.

   Virtual Private Network (VPN) -- in the context of this
   specification, this term is used as described in [3].

   VPN-aware -- a "VPN-aware" NHRP entity is an NHRP entity that

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   implements the NHRP enhancements for VPNs as defined in this
   document.

   Non-VPN-aware -- a "non-VPN-aware" NHRP entity is an NHRP entity
   which is deployed as part of a single VPN, but is not VPN-aware.
   Restrictions applying to non-VPN-aware NHRP entities are outlined
   below.  NHRP devices as specified in [1] are examples of non-VPN-
   aware entities.

   VPN encapsulation -- An LLC/SNAP encapsulation of a PDU with an
   indication of the VPN to which the PDU belongs. In the case that the
   underlying NBMA network is an ATM network, VPN encapsulation is
   specified in section 8 of [2].

   VPN identifier (VPN-ID) -- in the context of this specification, this
   term is used as specified in [3].

   VPN signalling -- in the context of this specification, this term is
   used to denote a method to indicate the VPN-ID via control signalling
   or similar ways in the control path.

2.2  VPN Support Overview

   When supporting NHRP for a VPN, it is necessary to specify to which
   VPN the NHRP message applies in order to comply with the VPN service
   level agreement applicable to that VPN.

   On some NBMA networks, it is possible to establish a VPN-specific
   control path between NHRP devices.  This is sufficient to identify
   the NHRP control packets as belonging to the "inherited" VPN.
   However, when that alternative is not used, the NHRP device must
   specify the VPN to which an NHRP packet applies in the PDU.

   It is not useful to add a VPN extension to NHRP control messages
   because transit NHRP Servers are not required to process the
   extensions to an NHRP control message (see 5.3 in [1]).  NHRP Servers
   already deployed might resolve the control packet within the scope of
   the public internetworking layer address space instead of the private
   address space causing problems in routing.

   Instead, an LLC/SNAP header with a VPN indication (as specified in
   Section 4.1 below) will be prepended to the NHRP control message.
   This solution allows the same VPN-specific LLC/SNAP header to be
   prepended to PDUs in both the control and data paths.

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3. NHRP VPN Operation

3.1 VPN-Aware NHRP Operation

   When a VPN-aware NHRP device forwards a packet pertaining to a
   particular VPN, that device MUST be able to indicate the VPN either:

     a) explicitly through use of the VPN-specific LLC/SNAP header or
     b) implictly through an indication via VPN signalling.

   This applies to NHC-NHS, NHS-NHS, and NHS-NHC control messages as
   well as NHC-NHC shortcut traffic.

   For case a), the indication of the VPN-ID is via a VPN-specific
   LLC/SNAP header specified in section 4.2 below.  In the case of an
   underlying ATM network, see also section 8 of [2].

   For case b), the method used to indicate the VPN-ID via VPN
   signalling depends on the mechanisms available in the underlying
   network and is outside the scope of this draft.  A VPN-aware NHRP
   entity using VPN signalling SHOULD NOT also indicate the VPN-ID
   explicity for any PDU on the related path.

   In transiting an NHRP Server, the VPN identification MAY be forwarded
   in a different format than was received, however, the same VPN-ID
   MUST be indicated for the message.  For example, a PDU received with
   an LLC/SNAP header containing a VPN identifier may be forwarded on a
   control path which was established with an indication of the same VPN
   without the VPN-specific LLC/SNAP header.

   When a VPN capable NHRP entity receives an NHRP message from a VPN-
   aware NHRP device without a VPN indication via VPN encapsulation or
   VPN signalling, the message applies to the default routing instance
   supported by the shared infrastructure. The public Internet or a
   particular VPN routing realm may be configured as the default routing
   instance.

3.2 Interactions of VPN-aware and non-VPN-aware NHRP entities

   A VPN-aware NHRP entity MUST be able to indicate the VPN-ID in one of
   the ways specified in section 3.1 above. It MAY participate in more
   than one VPN.

   Because a non-VPN-aware NHRP device does not understand the concept
   of VPNs, it only supports a single routing instance.  Therefore, a
   non-VPN-aware NHRP entity belongs to exactly one VPN without being

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   aware of it. All internetworking packets sent by that entity are
   assumed to belong to that VPN (Note that if the current IPv4-based
   Internet is regarded as just one big VPN, attached IPv4 hosts may
   e.g. be regarded as being "contained" in that VPN).

   In order for a non-VPN-aware NHRP entity to interact with a VPN-aware
   NHRP entity, the VPN-aware NHRP entity MUST be configured to
   associate the correct VPN-ID with information received from the non-
   VPN-aware entity. In other words, the VPN-aware NHRP entity acts as
   in the case of option b) from section 3.1 where the VPN-ID was
   indicated via VPN signalling.  However, this association is
   provisioned using administrative means that are beyond the scope of
   this document instead of via VPN signalling.  Further, it MUST be
   ensured by administrative means that non-VPN-aware NHRP entities only
   communicate either with other NHRP entities contained in the same
   VPN, or with VPN-aware NHRP entities with pre- configured information
   about the related VPN-ID of those non-VPN-aware entities.

   VPN-aware NHRP entities SHALL only send information to non-VPN-aware
   NHRP entities if that information belongs to the VPN in which the
   non-VPN-aware entity is contained. Information sent to a non-VPN-
   aware NHRP entity MUST not include any indication of the VPN-ID.

   In order to correctly transfer data packets, it is necessary for
   VPN-aware ingress NHRP clients to know whether their partner is also
   VPN-aware.  If the egress is VPN-aware, the ingress NHC will also use
   the means described in section 3.1 on an NBMA shortcut to that egress
   NHC to specify the VPN to which the data packet belongs.

   For this purpose, a further NHRP extension (in addition to those
   specified in section 5.3 of [1]) is specified which is called NHRP
   Device Capabilities extension (see section 4.2 below). This extension
   currently indicates the VPN capabilities of NHRP source and
   destination entities, but may also be used in the future for further
   additions to NHRP to indicate other capabilities as well.

3.3 Handling of the NHRP Device Capabilities extension

   The NHRP Device Capabilities extension MUST be attached to all NHRP
   Resolution Requests generated by a VPN-aware source NHRP entity.  The
   device SHOULD set the Source Capabilities field to indicate that it
   supports VPNs.  The compulsory bit MUST be set to zero, so that a
   non-VPN-aware NHS may safely ignore the extension when forwarding the
   request.  In addition, the A-bit (see section 5.2.1 of [1]) SHOULD be
   set to indicate that only authoritative next hop information is
   desired to avoid non-authoritative replies from non-VPN-aware NHRP
   servers.

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   Since a non-VPN-aware NHS is not able to process the NHRP Device
   Capability extension, Network Admistrators MUST avoid configurations
   in which a VPN-aware NHRP Client is authoritatively served by a non-
   VPN-aware NHRP Server.

   If an egress NHS receives an NHRP Resolution Request with an NHRP
   Device Capability Extension included, it returns an NHRP Resolution
   Reply with an indication of whether the destination is VPN-aware by
   correctly setting the target capabilities flag [see Section 4.2].

   If an egress NHS receives an NHRP Resolution Request without an NHRP
   Device Capability Extension included or with the source capabilities
   flag indicating that the source NHRP device is non-VPN-aware, it MAY
   act in one of the following ways:

     - It MAY reject the NHRP Resolution Request; this is because the
     VPN-aware destination will be unable to determine the context of
     information received on an NBMA shortcut from a non-VPN-aware NHRP
     source.  This is the default case.

     - If the destination is also non-VPN-aware, it MAY accept the
     request and return an NHRP Resolution Reply.  By default, the two
     non-VPN-aware NHRP clients will interact correctly.

     - It MAY offer itself as a destination and resolve the request
     using its own NBMA address, if it has the related capabilities.

     - If the indicated VPN-ID identifies the default routing instance
     of the destination, the NHS MAY accept the request and send a
     corresponding NHRP Resolution Reply.

   The NHRP Device Capabilities extension SHOULD NOT be included in the
   NHRP Register Request and Reply messages.

3.4 Error handling procedures

   If an NHRP entity receives a PDU with a VPN-ID indicated via VPN
   encapsulation which is in conflict to a VPN-ID earlier allocated to
   that communication (e.g. via VPN signalling or administratively via
   configuration), it SHOULD send back an NHRP error indication (see
   5.2.7 of [1]) to the sender indicating error code 16 (VPN mismatch).
   However, in order to avoid certain security issues, an NHRP entity
   MAY instead silently drop the packet.

   If a VPN-aware NHRP entity receives a packet for a VPN that it does
   not support, it SHOULD send back an NHRP error indication to the
   sender with an error code 17 (VPN not supported). However, in order
   to avoid certain security issues, an NHRP entity MAY instead silently

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   drop the packet.

   If a VPN-aware NHS cannot find a route to forward a VPN-related NHRP
   message, it SHOULD send back an NHRP error indication to the sender
   with error code 6 (protocol address unreachable). However, in order
   to avoid certain security issues, an NHRP entity MAY instead silently
   drop the packet.

   In all cases, where an NHRP error indication is returned by a VPN-
   aware NHRP entity, the incorrect VPN-ID related to this indication
   SHALL be indicated via VPN encapsulation or VPN signalling, except
   when sending it to a non-VPN-aware NHRP device (see 3.1 / 3.2 above).

4. NHRP Packet Formats

4.1 VPN encapsulation

   The format of the VPN encapsulation header is as follows:

       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0xAA     |      0xAA     |      0x03     |      0x00     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0x00     |      0x5E     |      0x00     |      0x08     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      PAD      |                     OUI                       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           VPN Index                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |            LLC encapsulated PDU (up to 2^16 - 16 octets)      |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   It consists of the following parts:

      - LLC/SNAP indication (0xAA-AA-03)
      - OUI (of IANA)  (0x00-00-5E)
      - PID allocated by IANA for VPN encapsulation (0x00-08)
      - PAD field (inserted for 32-bit alignment)
        this field is coded as 0x00, and is ignored on receipt
      - VPN related OUI (see [3])
      - VPN Index (see [3]).

   When this encapsulation header is used, the remainder of the PDU MUST
   be structured according to the appropriate LLC/SNAP format (i.e. that
   would have been used without the additional VPN encapsulation

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   header). Correspondingly, the following figure shows how NHRP
   messages are transferred using VPN encapsulation:

      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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0xAA     |      0xAA     |      0x03     |      0x00     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0x00     |      0x5E     |      0x00     |      0x08     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      PAD      |                     OUI                       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           VPN Index                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0xAA     |      0xAA     |      0x03     |      0x00     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0x00     |      0x5E     |      0x00     |      0x03     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         NHRP message                          |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   The following example shows how IP packets are transferred by VPN
   encapsulation:

       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0xAA     |      0xAA     |      0x03     |      0x00     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0x00     |      0x5E     |      0x00     |      0x08     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      PAD      |                     OUI                       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           VPN Index                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0xAA     |      0xAA     |      0x03     |      0x00     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      0x00     |      0x00     |      0x08     |      0x00     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                     IP PDU (up to 2^16 - 24 octets)           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

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4.2 NHRP device capabilities extension

   The format of the NHRP device capabilities extension is as follows:

       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |C|u|        Type               |        Length                 |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                     Source Capabilities                       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                     Target Capabilities                       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      C: Compulsory = 0 (not a compulsory extension)
      u: Unused and MUST be set to zero.
      Type = 0x0009
      Length = 0x0008

      Source Capabilities field:

       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                unused                                       |V|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      V bit:

       0x0 - the source NHRP device is non-VPN-aware
       0x1 - the source NHRP device is VPN-aware

      The unused bits MUST be set to zero on transmission
      and ignored on receipt.

      Target Capabilities field:

       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                unused                                       |V|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

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      V bit:

       0x0 - the destination NHRP device is non-VPN-aware
       0x1 - the destination NHRP device is VPN-aware

      The unused bits MUST be set to zero on transmission
      and ignored on receipt.

4.3 Error Codes

   The following further Error Codes are defined in addition to those
   specified in section 5.2.7 of [1]):

      16 - VPN mismatch

        This error code is returned by a VPN-capable NHRP device, if it
        receives a PDU with a VPN-ID in the LLC/SNAP header different
        from the VPN-ID which had been specified earlier via VPN
        signalling.

      17 - VPN not supported

        This error code is returned by a VPN-capable NHRP device, if it
        receives an NHRP message for a VPN that it does not support.

5. Security considerations

   For any VPN application, it is important that VPN-related information
   is not misdirected to other VPNs and is not accessible when being
   transferred across a public or shared infrastructure. It is therefore
   RECOMMENDED to use the VPN support functions specified in this
   document in combination with NHRP authentication as specified in
   section 5.3.4 of [1]. Section 5.3.4.4 of [1] also provides further
   information on general security considerations related to NHRP.

   In cases where the NHRP entity does not trust all of the NHRP
   entities, or is uncertain about the availability of the end-to-end
   NHRP authentication chain, it may use IPsec for confidentiality,
   integrity, etc.

6. IANA considerations

   The LLC/SNAP protocol ID 0x00-08 for VPN encapsulation had already
   been allocated by IANA in conjunction with [2].  This specification
   does not require the allocation of any additional LLC/SNAP protocol
   IDs beyond that.

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   It should be noted that IANA - as the owner of the VPN-related OUI:
   0x00-00-5E - is itself also a VPN authority which may allocate VPN
   indices to identify VPNs.  The use of these particular VPN indices
   within the context of this specification is reserved, and requires
   allocation and approval by the IESG in accordance with RFC 2434.

References

[1] Luciani, J., Katz, D., Piscitello, D., Cole, B., and
    N. Doraswamy, "NMBA Next Hop Resolution Protocol (NHRP)", RFC
    2332, April 1998.

[2] Grossman, D. and Heinanen, J. "Multiprotocol Encapsulation over ATM
    Adaptation Layer 5", RFC 2684, September 1999.

[3] Fox, B., Gleeson, B., "Virtual Private Networks Identifier", RFC 2685,
    September 1999.

Author Information

   Barbara A. Fox
   Equipe Communications
   101 Nagog Park
   Acton, MA 01720
   phone: +1-978-635-1999 x2009
   email: bfox@equipecom.com

   Bernhard Petri
   Siemens AG
   Hofmannstr. 51
   Munich, Germany, D-81359
   phone: +49 89 722-34578
   email: bernhard.petri@icn.siemens.de

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