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DHCPv6/SLAAC Address Configuration Interaction Problem Statement
draft-ietf-v6ops-dhcpv6-slaac-problem-01

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This is an older version of an Internet-Draft whose latest revision state is "Expired".
Authors Bing Liu , Ron Bonica , Xiangyang Gong , Wendong Wang
Last updated 2014-06-18
Replaces draft-liu-bonica-v6ops-dhcpv6-slaac-problem
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draft-ietf-v6ops-dhcpv6-slaac-problem-01
Network Working Group                                          B. Liu
Internet Draft                                    Huawei Technologies
Intended status: Informational                              R. Bonica
Expires: December 20, 2014                           Juniper Networks
                                                             S. Jiang
                                                  Huawei Technologies
                                                              X. Gong
                                                              W. Wang
                                                      BUPT University
                                                        June 18, 2014

      DHCPv6/SLAAC Address Configuration Interaction Problem Statement
               draft-ietf-v6ops-dhcpv6-slaac-problem-01.txt

Status of this Memo

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on December 18, 2014.

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Abstract

   This document analyzes the DHCPv6/SLAAC interaction issue on host.
   More specifically, the interaction is regarding with the A, M, and O
   flags which are defined in ND protocol. Test results identify that
   current implementations in operating systems have varied on
   interpreting the flags. The variation might cause some operational
   issues as described in the document.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ................................................. 3
   2. Host Behavior Definition in Standards ........................ 3
      2.1. A (Autonomous) Flag ..................................... 4
      2.2. M (Managed) Flag ........................................ 4
      2.3. O (Otherconfig) Flag .................................... 4
   3. Problems Statement ........................................... 5
      3.1. Host Behavior Ambiguity ................................. 5
      3.2. Operational Problems Implication ........................ 6
         3.2.1. Renumbering ........................................ 6
         3.2.2. Cold Start Problem ................................. 6
         3.2.3. Specific Management Patterns ....................... 7
   4. Conclusions .................................................. 7
   5. Security Considerations ...................................... 7
   6. IANA Considerations .......................................... 7
   7. References ................................................... 7
      7.1. Normative References .................................... 7
      7.2. Informative References .................................. 8
   8. Acknowledgments .............................................. 8
   Appendix A. Test Results of Host Behavior ....................... 9
      A.1 Detailed Test Results .................................... 9
         A.1.1 Host Initial Behavior .............................. 10
         A.1.2 Host Behavior in Flags Transition .................. 10
      A.2 Observations from the Test .............................. 11

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1. Introduction

   In IPv6, both of the DHCPv6 [RFC3315] and Neighbor Discovery [RFC4861]
   protocols could be utilized for automatic IP address configuration
   for the hosts. They are known as stateful address auto-configuration
   and stateless address auto-configuration (SLAAC, [RFC4862]).
   Sometimes the two address configuration methods might be both
   available in one network.

   In ND protocol, there is an M (Managed) flag defined in RA message,
   indicating the hosts whether there is DHCPv6 service in the network
   or not. And there is an O (OtherConfig) flag, if set, indicating
   configure information other than addresses (e.g. DNS, Route .etc) is
   available through DHCPv6 configuration. Moreover, there's another A
   (Autonomous) flag defined in ND, indicating the hosts to do SLAAC,
   may also influent the behavior of hosts.

   So with these flags, the two address configuration mechanisms are
   somehow correlated. But for some reasons, the ND protocol didn't
   define the flags as prescriptive but only advisory. This ambiguous
   definition might vary the behavior of interpreting the flags by
   different hosts. This would add additional complexity for both the
   hosts and the network management.

   This draft reviews the standard definition of the above mentioned
   flags, and identifies the potential ambiguous behavior of
   interpreting these flags. And then analyzes what operational problems
   might be caused by the ambiguous behavior.

   In the appendix, detailed test results of several major desktop
   operating systems' behavior of interpreting the flags are provided.
   According to the test results, we can see the ambiguity problem is
   actually happening in current implementations.

2. Host Behavior Definition in Standards

   In this section, we analyzed A, M and O flags definition.

   Please note that, A flag has no direct relationship with DHCPv6, but
   it is somewhat correlated with M and O flags.

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2.1. A (Autonomous) Flag

   In ND Prefix Information Option, the autonomous address-configuration
   flag (A flag)is used to indicate whether this prefix can be used for
   SLAAC.

   For the host behavior, there is an explicit rule in the SLAAC
   specification [RFC4862]: "If the Autonomous flag is not set, silently
   ignore the Prefix Information option."

   But when A flag is set, the SLAAC protocol didn't provide a
   prescriptive definition. (However, it is quite obvious that host
   should do SLAAC when A flag is set.)

2.2. M (Managed) Flag

   In earlier SLAAC specification [RFC2462], the host behavior of
   interpreting M flag is as below:

   "On receipt of a valid Router Advertisement, a host copies the value
   of the advertisement's M bit into ManagedFlag. If the value of
   ManagedFlag changes from FALSE to TRUE, and the host is not already
   running the stateful address autoconfiguration protocol, the host
   should invoke the stateful address auto-configuration protocol,
   requesting both address information and other information. If the
   value of the ManagedFlag changes from TRUE to FALSE, the host should
   continue running the stateful address auto-configuration, i.e., the
   change in the value of the ManagedFlag has no effect.  If the value
   of the flag stays unchanged, no special action takes place. In
   particular, a host MUST NOT reinvoke stateful address configuration
   if it is already participating in the stateful protocol as a result
   of an earlier advertisement."

   But in the updated SLAAC specification [RFC4862], the relative
   description was removed, the reason was "considering the maturity of
   implementations and operational experiences. ManagedFlag and
   OtherConfigFlag were removed accordingly. (Note that this change does
   not mean the use of these flags is deprecated.)"

2.3. O (Otherconfig) Flag

   The situation of O flag is similar with above mentioned M flag. In
   earlier SLAAC [RFC2462], the host behavior is clear:

   "If the value of OtherConfigFlag changes from FALSE to TRUE, the host
   should invoke the stateful autoconfiguration protocol, requesting
   information (excluding addresses if ManagedFlag is set to FALSE). If

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   the value of the OtherConfigFlag changes from TRUE to FALSE, the host
   should continue running the stateful address autoconfiguration
   protocol, i.e., the change in the value of OtherConfigFlag has no
   effect. If the value of the flag stays unchanged, no special action
   takes place. In particular, a host MUST NOT reinvoke stateful
   configuration if it is already participating in the stateful protocol
   as a result of an earlier advertisement."

   And there's another description of the relationship of M and O flags
   in [RFC2462]:

   "In addition, when the value of the ManagedFlag is TRUE, the value of
   OtherConfigFlag is implicitely TRUE as well. It is not a valid
   configuration for a host to use stateful address autoconfiguration to
   request addresses only, without also accepting other configuration
   information."

3. Problems Statement

3.1. Host Behavior Ambiguity

   The main problem is standard definition ambiguity which means, on
   interpreting the same messages, different hosts might behave
   differently. Thus it could be un-controlled or un-predictable for
   administrators on some operations. The ambiguity is summarized as the
   following aspects.

   #1 Dependency between DHCPv6 and RA

   In standards, behavior of DHCPv6 and Neighbor Discovery protocols is
   specified respectively. But it is not clear that whether there should
   be any dependency between them.

   More specifically, is RA (with M=1) required to trigger DHCPv6? If
   there are no RAs at all, should hosts initiate DHCPv6 by themselves?

   #2 Advisory or Prescriptive

   Some platforms interpret the flags as advisory while others might
   interpret them prescriptive. Especially when flags are in transition,
   e.g. the host is already SLAAC-configured, then M flag changes from
   FALSE to TRUE, it is not clear whether the host should start DHCPv6
   or not; or vise versa, the host is already both SLAAC/DHCPv6
   configured, then M flag change from TRUE to FALSE, it is also not
   clear whether the host should turn DHCPv6 off or not.

   #3 "Address Configuring Method" and "Address Lifetime"

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   When one address configuration method is off, that is, the A flag or
   M flag changes from TRUE to FALSE, it is not clear whether the host
   should immediately release the corresponding address(es) or just
   retain it(them) until expired.

   #4 Dependencies between the flags

   The semantics of the flags seems not totally independent, but the
   standards didn't clearly clarify it. For example, when both M and O
   flags are TRUE, it is not clear whether the host should initiate one
   stateful DHCPv6 session to get both address and info-configuration or
   initiate two independent sessions of which one is dedicated for
   address provisioning and the other is for information provision. When
   A and M flags are FALSE and O flag is TRUE, it is not clear whether
   the host should initiate a stand-alone stateless DHCPv6 session.

3.2. Operational Problems Implication

   According to the abovementioned host behavior ambiguity, there might
   be operational issues as the following.

3.2.1. Renumbering

   During IPv6 renumbering, the SLAAC-configured hosts can reconfigure
   IP addresses by receiving ND Router Advertisement (RA) messages
   containing new prefix information. The DHCPv6-configured hosts can
   reconfigure addresses by initialing RENEW sessions when the current
   addresses' lease time is expired or receiving the reconfiguration
   messages initialed by the DHCPv6 servers.

   The above mechanisms have an implicit assumption that SLAAC-
   configured hosts will remain SLAAC while DHCPv6-managed hosts will
   remain DHCPv6-managed. But in some situations, SLAAC-configured hosts
   might need to switch to DHCPv6-managed, or vice versa. In [RFC6879],
   it described several renumbering scenarios in enterprise network for
   this requirement; for example, the network may split, merge, relocate
   or reorganize. But due to current implementations, this requirement
   is not applicable and has been identified as a gap in [RFC7010].

3.2.2. Cold Start Problem

   If all nodes, or many nodes, restart at the same time after a power
   cut, the results might not consistent.

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3.2.3. Specific Management Patterns

   Since the host behavior of address configuration is somehow un-
   controlled by the network side, it might cause gaps to the networks
   that need some specific management patterns. Examples are:

   - the hosts have been SLAAC-configured, then the network need the
   hosts to do DHCPv6 simultaneously (e.g. for multihoming).
   - the network wants the hosts to do stateless DHCPV6-only; for
   example, the hosts are configured with self-generated addresses (e.g.
   ULA), and they also need to contact the DHCPv6 server for info-
   configuration.

4. Conclusions

   - The host behavior of SLAAC/DHCPv6 interaction is ambiguous in
   standard.

   - Varied behavior of implementations has been observed. In [RFC4862]
   it is said "Removed the text regarding the M and O flags, considering
   the maturity of implementations and operational experiences." This
   consideration intended to remain the ambiguity. But in the
   perspective of operation, ambiguity normally is problematic.

   - It is foreseeable that the un-uniformed host behavior can cause
   operational problems.

5. Security Considerations

   No more security considerations than the Neighbor Discovery protocol
   [RFC4861].

6. IANA Considerations

   None.

7. References

7.1. Normative References

   [RFC4861] Narten, T., Nordmark, E., Simpson, W., and H. Soliman,
             "Neighbor Discovery for IP version 6 (IPv6)", RFC 4861,
             September 2007.

   [RFC4862] Thomson, S., Narten, T., and T. Jinmei, "IPv6 Stateless
             Address Autoconfiguration", RFC 4862, September 2007.

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7.2. Informative References

   [RFC2462] Thomson, S. and T. Narten, "IPv6 Stateless Address
             Autoconfiguration", RFC 2462, December 1998.

   [RFC3315] R. Droms, Bound, J., Volz, B., Lemon, T., Perkins, C., and
             M. Carney, "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6
             (DHCPv6)", RFC 3315, July 2003.

   [RFC3736] Droms, R., "Stateless Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
             (DHCP) Service for IPv6", RFC 3736, April 2004.

   [RFC5887] Carpenter, B., Atkinson, R., and H. Flinck, "Renumbering
             Still Needs Work", RFC 5887, May 2010.

   [RFC7010] Liu, B., Jiang, S., Carpenter, B., Venaas, S., and W.
             George, "IPv6 Site Renumbering Gap Analysis", RFC 7010,
             September 2013.

   [RFC6879] Jiang, S., Liu, B., and B. Carpenter, "IPv6 Enterprise
             Network Renumbering Scenarios, Considerations, and Methods",
             RFC 6879, February 2013.

8. Acknowledgments

   The test was done by our research partner BNRC-BUPT (Broad Network
   Research Centre in Beijing University of Posts and
   Telecommunications). Thanks for the hard efficient work of student
   Xudong Shi and Longyun Yuan.

   Valuable comments were received from Sheng Jiang, Brian E Carpenter,
   Ron Atkinson, Mikael Abrahamsson, Tatuya Jinmei, Mark Andrews and
   Mark Smith to improve the draft.

   This document was prepared using 2-Word-v2.0.template.dot.

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Appendix A. Test Results of Host Behavior

   We did tests of the behavior of interpreting the flags by current
   mainstream desktop/mobile operating systems as the following.

A.1 Detailed Test Results

                                                /-----\
                 +---------+                  //       \\
                 |  DHCPv6 |                 |  Router   |
                 |  server |                  \\       //
                 +----+----+                    \--+--/
                      |                            |
                      |                            |
                      |                            |
                  ----+--+----------+----------+---+-----
                         |          |          |
                         |          |          |
                         |          |          |
                    +----+---+ +----+---+ +----+---+
                    |        | |        | |        |
                    |  Host1 | |  Host2 | |  Host3 |
                    +--------+ +--------+ +--------+

                         Figure 1 Test Environment

   The 5 elements were all created in Vmware in one computer, for ease
   of operation.

   - Router quagga 0.99-19 soft router installed on Ubuntu 11.04
     virtual host
   - DHCPv6 Server: dibbler-server installed on Ubuntu 11.04 virtual
     host
   - Host A Window 7 Virtual Host
   - Host B Ubuntu 12.10 Virtual Host
   - Host C Mac OS X v10.7 Virtual Host

   Another test was done dedicated for the mobile phone operating
   systems. The environment is similar (not in VMware, all are real PC
   and mobile phones):

   - Router quagga 0.99-17 soft router installed on Ubuntu 12.10
   - DHCPv6 Server: dibbler-server installed on Ubuntu 12.10

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   - Host D Android 4.0.4 (kernel: 3.0.16-gfa98030; device: HTC
     Incredible S)
   - Host E IOS 6.1.3 (model: iPod Touch 4)
   (Note: The tested Android version didn't support DHCPv6, so the
   following results don't include Android.)

A.1.1 Host Initial Behavior

   When hosts are not configured yet, we tested their behavior when
   receiving different A/M/O combinations. The results are as the
   following:

   o Window 7/Apple IOS
     - A=0&M=O&O=0, non-config
     - A=1&M=0&O=0, SLAAC only
     - A=1&M=0&O=1, SLAAC + Stateless DHCPv6
     - A=1&M=1&O=0, SLAAC + DHCPv6
     - A=1&M=1&O=1, SLAAC + DHCPv6
     - A=0&M=1&O=0, DHCPv6 only (A=0 or Non-PIO)
     - A=0&M=1&O=1, DHCPv6 only (A=0 or Non-PIO)
     - A=0&M=0&O=1, Stateless DHCPv6 only

   o Linux/MAC OS X
     - A=0&M=O&O=0, non-config
     - A=1&M=0&O=0, SLAAC only
     - A=1&M=0&O=1, SLAAC + Stateless DHCPv6
     - A=1&M=1&O=0, SLAAC + DHCPv6
     - A=1&M=1&O=1, SLAAC + DHCPv6
     - A=0&M=1&O=0, DHCPv6 only (A=0 or Non-PIO)
     - A=0&M=1&O=1, DHCPv6 only (A=0 or Non-PIO)
     - A=0&M=0&O=1, non-config

   As showed above, Linux and MAC OSX acted the same way, but are
   different from Windows 7 and Apple IOS. The only difference is when
   A=0&M=0&O=1, Windows 7/Apple IOS did stateless DHCPv6 while Linux/MAC
   OSX did nothing.

A.1.2 Host Behavior in Flags Transition

   o SLAAC-only host receiving M=1
     - Window 7 would initiate DHCPv6
     - Linux/MAC/IOS would keep SLAAC and don't initiate DHCPv6 unless
     SLAAC is expired and no continuous RAs

   o DHCPv6-only host receiving A=1

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     - They all do SLAAC

   o Stateless DHCPv6-configured host receiving M=1 (while keeping O=1)
     - Window 7 would initiate stateful DHCPv6, configuring address as
     well as re-configuring other information
     - Linux/MAC/IOS no action

   o Statefull DHCPv6-configured host receiving M=0 (while keeping O=1)
     - Window 7 would release all DHCPv6 configurations including
     address and other information, and initiate stateless DHCPv6
     - Linux/MAC/IOS no action

A.2 Observations from the Test

   o A flag

   A flag is a switch to control whether to do SLAAC, and it is
   independent with M and O flags, in another word, A is independent
   with DHCPv6.

   At the non-SLAAC-configured state (either non-configured or DHCPv6-
   configured only), all the operating systems acted the same way in
   interpreting A flag. If A flag is TRUE, they all configure SLAAC, it
   is obvious and reasonable.

   o M flag

   M is a key flag to interact ND and DHCPv6, but the host behaviors on
   M flag were quite different.

   At the initialing state, some operating systems would start DHCPv6
   only if receiving an RA message with M flag set while some would
   initially start DHCPv6 if RAs are absent. This result reflects the
   ambiguity problem of #1 Dependency between DHCPv6 and RA in above
   text.

   When the hosts are SLAAC-configured, and then the M flag changes from
   FALSE to TRUE, some operating systems would initiate DHCPv6 while
   some would not. This reflects the problem #2 Advisory or Prescriptive.

   o O flag

   In the test, when M flag is set, the O flag is implicitly set as well;
   in another word, the hosts would not initial stateful DHCPv6 and
   stateless DHCPv6 respectively. This is a reasonable behavior.

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   But the O flag is not independent from A flag in some operating
   systems, which won't initiate stateless DHCPv6 when A flag is FALSE.
   That is to say, it is not applicable to have a "stateless DHCPv6
   only" configuration state for some operating systems; it is also not
   applicable for these operating systems to switch between stateful
   DHCPv6 and stateless DHCPv6 (according to O flag changing from TRUE
   to FALSE or vice versa). This reflects the problem #4 Dependencies
   between the flags.

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   Authors' Addresses

   Bing Liu
   Q14-4-A Building
   Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd
   Zhong-Guan-Cun Environment Protection Park, No.156 Beiqing Rd.
   Hai-Dian District, Beijing
   P.R. China

   Email: leo.liubing@huawei.com

   Ron Bonica
   Juniper Networks
   Sterling, Virginia  20164
   USA

   Email: rbonica@juniper.net

   Xiangyang Gong
   No.3 Teaching Building
   Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT)
   No.10 Xi-Tu-Cheng Rd.
   Hai-Dian District, Beijing
   P.R. China

   Email: xygong@bupt.edu.cn

   Wendong Wang
   No.3 Teaching Building
   Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT)
   No.10 Xi-Tu-Cheng Rd.
   Hai-Dian District, Beijing
   P.R. China

   Email: wdwang@bupt.edu.cn