A Uniform Resource Name Namespace for the EPCglobal Electronic Product Code (EPC) and Related Standards
RFC 5134

• Status
• IESG evaluation record
• IESG writeups
• Email expansions
• History

• Versions
• 02

Network Working Group                                        M. Mealling
Request for Comments: 5134                      Refactored Networks, LLC
Category: Informational                                     January 2008

                 A Uniform Resource Name Namespace for
   the EPCglobal Electronic Product Code (EPC) and Related Standards

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.

Abstract

   This document describes URN namespaces that will identify various
   objects within the EPCglobal system for identifying products within
   ecommerce and supply chain management applications.

1.  Introduction

   The EPCglobal Architecture Framework [6] is a set of specifications
   for reading, managing, and acting on object codes and other sensor
   data as physical objects pass through a supply chain.  Events and
   metadata about physical objects are exchanged via EPCglobal
   Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) that are
   essentially web services that implement agreed upon schema and
   interfaces.

   Each object that is tracked by the EPCglobal Architecture Framework
   is identified by one or more managed identifiers.  In many cases,
   these identification systems existed prior to the Internet becoming
   widely used.  One such namespace is the Global Trade Item Number, or
   GTIN [7].  GTINs are widely used in global commerce and are managed
   by GS1.  In order for the EPCglobal Architecture Framework to
   leverage the Internet to the fullest extent possible, the GTIN
   namespace (and others, such as Global Location Numbers (GLNs),
   Serialized Shipping Container Code (SSCC), etc. [7]) need to be
   directly compatible with the URI family of identifiers.

   The use of GTINs, GLNs, and SSCCs are all managed by GS1.  Their use
   within the EPCglobal Architecture Framework is managed by the GS1
   subsidiary known as EPCglobal, Inc.  For these, and possibly future

Mealling                     Informational                      [Page 1]
RFC 5134                      The EPC URN                   January 2008

   identification systems, a single Uniform Resource Name (URN)
   Namespace ID (NID) is being requested: 'epc'.  Each of the identifier
   namespaces mentioned will have a separate sub-space beneath the top
   level 'epc' NID.

   In addition to physical object identifiers, the EPCglobal
   Architecture Framework requires new namespaces for naming system
   components.  In many cases, an interface within the EPCglobal
   Architecture Framework is XML [11] based and as such will require
   naming schemes for its XML schema [9] and various namespaces [10].
   For these uses, another Uniform Resource Name (URN) Namespace ID
   (NID) is being requested: 'epcglobal'.  Each specification or system
   component within the EPCglobal Architecture Framework will have a
   separate sub-space beneath the top level 'epcglobal' NID.

   Since the EPCglobal Architecture Framework is engineered for
   widespread and general use, this namespace specification is a formal
   one, and the namespace IDs that are being requested are 'epc' and
   'epcglobal'.  It is important to note that it is the explicit intent
   that various sub-namespaces of the 'epc' NID actually name real,
   physical objects and/or corporeal entities.  In contrast, sub-
   namespaces of the 'epcglobal' NID name logical or software
   constructs, such as schema namespaces.

2.  'epc' Registration Template

   Namespace ID:

         "epc"

   Registration Information:

         Registration Version Number: 1
         Registration Date: 2008-01-16

   Declared registrant of the namespace:

         EPCglobal, Inc. is a subsidiary of GS1
         Princeton Pike Corporate Center
         1009 Lenox Drive, Suite 202
         Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, USA
         bhogan@epcglobalinc.org
         Tel: +1-609-620-4585

Mealling                     Informational                      [Page 2]
RFC 5134                      The EPC URN                   January 2008

   Declaration of structure:

         The normative specification of the structure of the 'epc'
         namespace is "EPC Tag Data Standards" [5].  The examples given
         below are not normative.

         The 'epc' namespace is a set of sub-namespaces that can be
         extended in the future.  The following ABNF [2] defines how the
         sub-namespaces are identified and any restrictions on their
         syntax (definitions not specified below can be found in RFC
         2141 [1]):

   EPC-URN     = "urn:epc:" sub-ns-name ":" sub-ns
   sub-ns-name = let-num [ 1*let-num-hyp ]
   sub-ns      = 1*<URN chars>
   let-num     = upper / lower / number
   let-num-hyp = upper / lower / number / "-"
   upper       = %x41-5A ; "A" - "Z"
   lower       = %x61-7A ; "a" - "z"
   number      = "0" / "1" / "2" / "3" / "4" / "5" / "6" / "7" /