The Universal IPv6 Configuration Option (experiment)
draft-troan-6man-universal-ra-option-02

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Network Working Group                                           O. Troan
Internet-Draft                                                     cisco
Intended status: Standards Track                            2 April 2020
Expires: 4 October 2020

          The Universal IPv6 Configuration Option (experiment)
                draft-troan-6man-universal-ra-option-02

Abstract

   One of the original intentions for the IPv6 host configuration, was
   to configure the network-layer parameters only with IPv6 ND, and use
   service discovery for other configuration information.  Unfortunately
   that hasn't panned out quite as planned, and we are in a situation
   where all kinds of configuration options are added to RAs and DHCP.
   This document proposes a new universal option for RA and DHCP in a
   self-describing data format, with the list of elements maintained in
   an IANA registry, with greatly relaxed rules for registration.

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
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
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   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   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."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 4 October 2020.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2020 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
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text

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   as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   3.  The Experiment  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  The Universal IPv6 Configuration option . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   5.  Implementation Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   6.  Implementation Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   8.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     8.1.  Initial objects in the registry . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

1.  Introduction

   This document proposes a new universal option for the Router
   Advertisement IPv6 ND message [RFC4861] and DHCPv6 [RFC8415].  It's
   purpose is to use the RA or DHCP message as an opaque carrier for
   configuration information between an agent on a router or DHCP server
   and host / host application.

   DHCP is suited to give per-client configuration information, while
   the RA mechanism advertises configuration information to all hosts on
   the link.  There is a long running history of "conflict" between the
   two.  The arguments go; there is less fate-sharing in DHCP, DHCP
   doesn't deal with multiple sources of information, or make it more
   difficult to change information independent of the lifetimes, RA
   cannot be used to configure different information to different
   clients and so on.  And of course some options are only available in
   RAs and some options are only available in DHCP.

   While this proposal does not resolve the DHCP vs RA debate, it
   proposes an experimental solution to the problem of a very slow
   process of standardizing new options, and the IETF spending an
   inordinate amount of time arguing over new configuration options.

2.  Conventions

   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 [RFC2119].

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3.  The Experiment

   This document specifies a new "self-describing" universal