Network Mobility Support Goals and Requirements
RFC 4886

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Network Working Group                                           T. Ernst
Request for Comments: 4886                                         INRIA
Category: Informational                                        July 2007

            Network Mobility Support Goals and Requirements

Status of This Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007).

Abstract

   Network mobility arises when a router connecting a network to the
   Internet dynamically changes its point of attachment to the Internet
   thereby causing the reachability of the said network to be changed in
   relation to the fixed Internet topology.  Such a type of network is
   referred to as a mobile network.  With appropriate mechanisms,
   sessions established between nodes in the mobile network and the
   global Internet can be maintained after the mobile router changes its
   point of attachment.  This document outlines the goals expected from
   network mobility support and defines the requirements that must be
   met by the NEMO Basic Support solution.

Ernst                        Informational                      [Page 1]
RFC 4886                       NEMO Goals                      July 2007

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................2
   2. NEMO Working Group Objectives and Methodology ...................3
   3. NEMO Support Design Goals .......................................5
      3.1. Migration Transparency .....................................5
      3.2. Performance Transparency and Seamless Mobility .............5
      3.3. Network Mobility Support Transparency ......................5
      3.4. Operational Transparency ...................................5
      3.5. Arbitrary Configurations ...................................5
      3.6. Local Mobility and Global Mobility .........................6
      3.7. Scalability ................................................7
      3.8. Backward Compatibility .....................................7
      3.9. Secure Signaling ...........................................7
      3.10. Location Privacy ..........................................8
      3.11. IPv4 and NAT Traversal ....................................8
      3.12. Minimal Impact on Internet Routing ........................8
   4. NEMO Basic Support One-Liner Requirements .......................8
   5. Security Considerations ........................................10
   6. Acknowledgments ................................................11
   7. References .....................................................11
      7.1. Normative References ......................................11
      7.2. Informative References ....................................11

1.  Introduction

   Network mobility support (see [1] for the related terminology) is
   concerned with managing the mobility of an entire network, viewed as
   a single unit that changes its point of attachment to the Internet
   and thus its reachability in the Internet topology.  Such a network
   is referred to as a mobile network and includes one or more mobile
   routers (MRs), which connect it to the global Internet.  Nodes behind
   the MR(s) (MNNs) are both fixed (LFNs) and mobile (VMNs or LMNs).  In
   most cases, the internal structure of the mobile network will be
   relatively stable (no dynamic change of the topology), but this is
   not always true.

   Cases of mobile networks include, for instance:

   o  Networks attached to people (Personal Area Networks or PANs): a
      cell phone with one cellular interface and one Bluetooth interface
      together with a Bluetooth-enabled PDA constitute a very simple
      instance of a mobile network.  The cell phone is the mobile router
      while the PDA is used for web browsing or runs a personal web
      server.

Ernst                        Informational                      [Page 2]
RFC 4886                       NEMO Goals                      July 2007

   o  Networks of sensors and computers deployed in vehicles: vehicles
      are increasingly equipped with a number of processing units for
      safety and ease of driving reasons, as advocated by ITS
      (Intelligent Transportation Systems) applications ([4]).

   o  Access networks deployed in public transportation (buses, trains,
      taxis, aircrafts): they provide Internet access to IP devices
      carried by passengers (laptop, camera, mobile phone); host
      mobility within network mobility or PANs; network mobility within
      network mobility, i.e., nested mobility (see [1] for the
      definition of nested mobility).

   o  Ad-hoc networks connected to the Internet via an MR: for instance,
      students in a train who need to both set up an ad-hoc network
      among themselves and get Internet connectivity through the MR