Finding the Authoritative Registration Data (RDAP) Service
draft-ietf-weirds-bootstrap-02

Network Working Group                                        M. Blanchet
Internet-Draft                                                  Viagenie
Intended status: Standards Track                           June 23, 2014
Expires: December 25, 2014

       Finding the Authoritative Registration Data (RDAP) Service
                   draft-ietf-weirds-bootstrap-02.txt

Abstract

   This document specifies a method to find which Registration Data
   Access Protocol (RDAP) server is authoritative to answer queries for
   a requested scope, such as domain names, IP addresses or Autonomous
   System numbers.

Status of This Memo

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on December 25, 2014.

Copyright Notice

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   document authors.  All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Conventions Used In This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   3.  Structure of RDAP Bootstrap Registries  . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Domain Name RDAP Bootstrap Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   5.  Internet Numbers RDAP Bootstrap Registries  . . . . . . . . .   4
     5.1.  IPv4 Address Space RDAP Bootstrap Registry  . . . . . . .   5
     5.2.  IPv6 Address Space RDAP Registry  . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     5.3.  Autonomous Systems RDAP Bootstrap Registry  . . . . . . .   6
   6.  Entity  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   7.  Non-existent Entries or RDAP URL Values . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   8.  Deployment and Implementation Considerations  . . . . . . . .   7
   9.  Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   10. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   11. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   12. Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   13. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     13.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     13.2.  Non-Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11

1.  Introduction

   Querying and retrieving registration data from registries are defined
   in the Registration Data Access Protocol(RDAP)[I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-q
   uery][I-D.ietf-weirds-using-http][I-D.ietf-weirds-json-response].
   These documents do not specify where to send the queries.  This
   document specifies a method to find which server is authoritative to
   answer queries for the requested scope.

   The proposed mechanism is based on that allocation data for domain
   names and IP addresses are maintained by IANA, are publicly available
   and are in a structured format.  The mechanism assumes some data
   structure within these registries and request IANA to create these
   registries for the specific purpose of RDAP use, herein named RDAP
   Bootstrap registries.  An RDAP client fetches the RDAP bootstrap
   registries, extract the data and then do a match with the query data
   to find the authoritative registration data server and appropriate
   query base URL.

2.  Conventions Used In This Document

   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 [RFC2119].

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3.  Structure of RDAP Bootstrap Registries

   The RDAP Bootstrap Registries are implemented as JSON [RFC7159]
   objects.  A registry starts with metadata such as a version id
   identified as a timestamp of the publication date of the registry and
   some defaults values.  Then follows an array of arrays.  Each second
   level array lists all the entries available by the same template
   method.  There is no assumption of sorting at the first or second
   level arrays.  An example structure of a JSON RDAP Bootstrap Registry
   is illustrated:

   "rdap.bootstrap": {
    "version": "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ",
    "proto": [ https http ],

    "services": [
    ["entry1", "entry2", "entry3"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://registry.example.com/myrdap/{resource}",
       "proto": [ https ],
      },
    ["entry4"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.org/{resource}",
      },
    ],
   }

   The syntax of "version" value conforms to the Internet date/time
   format [RFC3339].  The "proto" object is an array of transport
   protocols used to access the resource.  The RDAP bootstrap client
   SHOULD try the transport protocols in the order they are presented in
   the array.  The "proto" object can be overriden in the specific
   entries.  Per [RFC7258], the secure version of the transport protocol
   SHOULD be first.

4.  Domain Name RDAP Bootstrap Registry

   This registry contains domain labels entries attached to the root,
   grouped by templates, as shown in this example.

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   "rdap.bootstrap": {
    "version": "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ",
    "proto": [ "https", "http" ],

    "services": [
    ["net", "com"]: {
       "template": "https://registry.example.com/myrdap/{resource}",
      },
    ["org", "mytld"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.org/{resource}",
      },
    ],
    ["mytld2"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.net/rdapmytld2/{resource}",
       "proto": [ "http", "https"],
      },
    ],
   }

   The domain names authoritative registration data service is found by
   doing the longest match of the target domain name with the domain
   values in the arrays in the IANA Domain Name RDAP Bootstrap Registry.
   This is a string search of the longest match starting from the end of
   the target name and the end of each value in the arrays.  The value
   of the corresponding "template" object is the base RDAP URL as
   described in [I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-query].

   For example, a domain RDAP query for a.b.example.com matches the com
   entry in one of the arrays of the registry.  Following the example
   above, the base RDAP URL for this query is
   "https://registry.example.com/myrdap/".  The {resource} specified in
   [I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-query] is then appended to the base URL to
   complete the query.  The complete query is then
   "https://registry.example.com/myrdap/domain/a.b.example.com".  This
   example is not normative.

5.  Internet Numbers RDAP Bootstrap Registries

   This section discusses IPv4 and IPv6 address space and autonomous
   system numbers.

   For IP address space, the authoritative registration data service is
   found by doing a longest match of the target address with the values
   of the arrays in the corresponding Address Space RDAP Bootstrap
   registry.  The longest match is done the same way as for routing: the
   addresses are converted in binary form and then the binary strings
   are compared to find the longest match.  The value of the template
   object is the base RDAP url as described in

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   [I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-query].  The longest match method enables
   covering prefixes of a larger address space pointing to one RDAP
   template while more specific prefixes within the covering prefix
   being served by another RDAP template.

5.1.  IPv4 Address Space RDAP Bootstrap Registry

   This registry contains IPv4 prefix entries, specified in CIDR format
   and grouped by templates, as shown in this example.

   "rdap.bootstrap": {
    "version": "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ",
    "proto": [ "https", "http" ],

    "services": [
    ["1.0.0.0/8", "192.0.0.0/8"]: {
       "template": "https://rir1.example.com/myrdap/{resource}",
      },
    ["28.2.0.0/16", "192.0.2.0/24"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.org/{resource}",
      },
    ],
    ["28.3.0.0/16"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.net/rdaprir2/{resource}",
       "proto": [ "http", "https"],
      },
    ],
   }

   For example, a query for "192.0.2.0/24" matches the "192.0.0.0/8"
   entry and the "192.0.2.0/24" entry in the example registry above.
   The latter is chosen by the client given the longest match.  The base
   RDAP URL for this query is then taken from the template object and
   expands to "{proto}://example.org/".  The {resource} specified in
   [I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-query] is then appended to the base URL to
   complete the query.  The complete query is then "https://example.org/
   ip/192.0.2.0/24".  This example is not normative.

5.2.  IPv6 Address Space RDAP Registry

   This registry contains IPv6 prefix entries, using [RFC4291] text
   representation of address prefixes format, grouped by templates, as
   shown in this example.

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   "rdap.bootstrap": {
    "version": "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ",
    "proto": [ "https", "http" ],

    "services": [
    ["2001:0200::/23", "2001:db8::/32"]: {
       "template": "https://rir2.example.com/myrdap/{resource}",
      },
    ["2600::/16", "2100:ffff::/32"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.org/{resource}",
      },
    ],
    ["2001:0200:1000::/28"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.net/rdaprir2/{resource}",
       "proto": [ "http", "https"],
      },
    ],
   }

   For example, a query for "2001:0200:1000::/48" matches the
   "2001:0200::/23" entry and the "2001:0200:1000::/28" entry in the
   example registry above.  The latter is chosen by the client given the
   longest match.  The base RDAP URL for this query is then taken from
   the template object "{proto}://example.net/rdaprir2/".  The
   {resource} specified in [I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-query] is then appended
   to the base URL to complete the query.  The complete query is
   therefore "https://example.net/rdaprir2/ip/2001:0200:1000::/48".
   This example is not normative.

5.3.  Autonomous Systems RDAP Bootstrap Registry

   This registry contains Autonomous Systems Number Ranges entries,
   grouped by templates, as shown in this example.  Entries in the
   arrays are either single AS numbers or ranges of AS numbers where the
   lower appears first, then the "-" separator and then the upper
   number.  Both 16bit and 32 bit AS numbers are specified in decimal.

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   "rdap.bootstrap": {
    "version": "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ",
    "proto": [ "https", "http" ],

    "services": [
    ["2045", "20116-20117"]: {
       "template": "https://rir2.example.com/myrdap/{resource}",
      },
    ["10000-12000", "65900-66000"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.org/{resource}",
      },
    ],
    ["65512-65534"]: {
       "template": "{proto}://example.net/rdaprir2/{resource}",
       "proto": [ "http", "https"],
      },
    ],
   }

   For example, a query for AS 65411 matches the "64512-65534" entry in
   the example registry above.  The base RDAP URL for this query is then
   taken from the template object "{proto}://example.net/rdaprir2/".
   The {resource} specified in [I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-query] is then
   appended to the base URL to complete the query.  The complete query
   is therefore "https://example.net/rdaprir2/autnum/65411".  This
   example is not normative.

6.  Entity

   Since there is no global namespace for entities, this document does
   not describe how to find the authoritative RDAP server for entities.
   It is possible however that, if the entity identifier was received
   from a previous query, the same RDAP server could be queried for that
   entity or the entity identifier itself is a fully referenced URL that
   can be queried.

7.  Non-existent Entries or RDAP URL Values

   The registries may not contain the requested value or the RDAP URL
   value may be empty.  In these cases, there is no known RDAP server
   for that requested value and the client SHOULD provide an appropriate
   error message to the user.

8.  Deployment and Implementation Considerations

   This method relies on the fact that RDAP clients are fetching the
   IANA registries to then find the servers locally.  Clients SHOULD not
   fetch every time the registry.  Clients SHOULD cache the registry,

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   but use underlying protocol signalling, such as HTTP Expires header
   field [RFC7234], to identify when it is time to refresh the cached
   registry.

   If the query data does not match any entry in the client cached
   registry, then the client may implement various methods, such as the
   following:

   o  In the case of a domain object to be RDAP queried, the client may
      first query the DNS to see if the respective entry has been
      delegated or if it is a mistyped information by the user.  The DNS
      query could be to fetch the NS records for the TLD domain.  If the
      DNS answer is negative, then there is no need to fetch the new
      version of the registry.  However, if the DNS answer is positive,
      this may mean that the currently cached registry is no more
      current.  The client could then fetch the registry, parse and then
      do the normal matching as specified above.  This method may not
      work for all types of RDAP objects.

   o  If the client knows the existence of a RDAP aggregator or
      redirector and trust that service, then it could send the query to
      the redirector, which would redirect the client if it knows the
      authoritative server that client has not found.

   IANA should make sure that the service of those registries is able to
   cope with a larger demand and should take appropriate measures such
   as caching and load balancing.

   This specification does not assume while not prohibiting how some
   authorities of registration data may work together on sharing their
   information for a common service, including mutual
   redirection[I-D.ietf-weirds-redirects].

9.  Limitations

   This method does not provide a direct way to find authoritative RDAP
   servers:

   o  for entities

   o  for queries using search patterns that do not contain a
      terminating string that matches some entries in the registries

10.  Security Considerations

   By providing a bootstrap method to find RDAP servers, this document
   helps making sure that the end-users will get the RDAP data from
   authoritative source, instead of from rogue sources.  The method

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   itself has the same security properties as the RDAP protocols
   themselves.  The transport used to access the registries could be
   more secure by using TLS [RFC5246] if IANA supports it.

11.  IANA Considerations

   IANA is requested to do the following:

   o  Create a new registry "IPv4 Address Space RDAP Bootstrap Service"
      in the JSON format, as shown above.

   o  Create a new registry "IPv6 Address Space RDAP Bootstrap Service"
      in the JSON format, as shown above.

   o  Create a new registry "Autonomous System Number Space RDAP
      Bootstrap Service" in the JSON format, as shown above.

   o  Create a new registry "Domain Name Space RDAP Bootstrap Service"
      in the JSON format, as shown above.

   It is envisionned that these new registries will have similar entries
   than the corresponding IANA allocation registries, such as
   [ipv4reg],[ipv6reg],[asreg], [domainreg], and possibly similar
   registration policies.  However, the registration policies for the
   new registries of this document are left to IANA.

   The registries may be maintained in IANA own format, such as XML.
   However, the registry should be available in the JSON format, and
   optionally in other formats such as XML.

12.  Acknowledgements

   The weirds working group had multiple discussions on this topic,
   including a session during IETF 84, where various methods such as in-
   DNS and others were debated.  The idea of using IANA registries was
   discovered by the editor during discussions with his colleagues as
   well as by a comment from Andy Newton.  All the people involved in
   these discussions are herein acknowledged.  Linlin Zhou, Jean-
   Philippe Dionne, John Levine, Kim Davies, Ernie Dainow, Scott
   Hollenbeck, Arturo Servin, Andy Newton, Murray Kucherawy have
   provided input and suggestions to this document.

13.  References

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13.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC3339]  Klyne, G., Ed. and C. Newman, "Date and Time on the
              Internet: Timestamps", RFC 3339, July 2002.

   [RFC4291]  Hinden, R. and S. Deering, "IP Version 6 Addressing
              Architecture", RFC 4291, February 2006.

   [RFC7159]  Bray, T., "The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data
              Interchange Format", RFC 7159, March 2014.

13.2.  Non-Normative References

   [I-D.ietf-weirds-json-response]
              Newton, A. and S. Hollenbeck, "JSON Responses for the
              Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)", draft-ietf-
              weirds-json-response-07 (work in progress), April 2014.

   [I-D.ietf-weirds-rdap-query]
              Newton, A. and S. Hollenbeck, "Registration Data Access
              Protocol Query Format", draft-ietf-weirds-rdap-query-10
              (work in progress), February 2014.

   [I-D.ietf-weirds-redirects]
              Martinez, C., Zhou, L., and G. Rada, "Redirection Service
              for Registration Data Access Protocol", draft-ietf-weirds-
              redirects-03 (work in progress), February 2014.

   [I-D.ietf-weirds-using-http]
              Newton, A., Ellacott, B., and N. Kong, "HTTP usage in the
              Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)", draft-ietf-
              weirds-using-http-08 (work in progress), February 2014.

   [RFC5246]  Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer Security
              (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2", RFC 5246, August 2008.

   [RFC7234]  Fielding, R., Nottingham, M., and J. Reschke, "Hypertext
              Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Caching", RFC 7234, June
              2014.

   [RFC7258]  Farrell, S. and H. Tschofenig, "Pervasive Monitoring Is an
              Attack", BCP 188, RFC 7258, May 2014.

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   [asreg]    Internet Assigned Numbers Authority(IANA), , "Autonomous
              System (AS) Numbers", <http://www.iana.org/assignments/as-
              numbers/as-numbers.xml>.

   [domainreg]
              Internet Assigned Numbers Authority(IANA), , "Root Zone
              Database", <http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db>.

   [ipv4reg]  Internet Assigned Numbers Authority(IANA), , "IPv4 Address
              Space", <http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-
              space/ipv4-address-space.xml>.

   [ipv6reg]  Internet Assigned Numbers Authority(IANA), , "IPv6 Global
              Unicast Address Assignments",
              <http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv6-unicast-address-
              assignments/ipv6-unicast-address-assignments.xml>.

   [ipv6regparent]
              Internet Assigned Numbers Authority(IANA), , "Internet
              Protocol Version 6 Address Space",
              <http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv6-address-space/
              ipv6-address-space.xml>.

Author's Address

   Marc Blanchet
   Viagenie
   246 Aberdeen
   Quebec, QC  G1R 2E1
   Canada

   Email: Marc.Blanchet@viagenie.ca
   URI:   http://www.viagenie.ca

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