The Internet Routing Overlay Network (IRON)
RFC 6179

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Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)                      F. Templin, Ed.
Request for Comments: 6179                  Boeing Research & Technology
Category: Experimental                                        March 2011
ISSN: 2070-1721

              The Internet Routing Overlay Network (IRON)

Abstract

   Since the Internet must continue to support escalating growth due to
   increasing demand, it is clear that current routing architectures and
   operational practices must be updated.  This document proposes an
   Internet Routing Overlay Network (IRON) that supports sustainable
   growth while requiring no changes to end systems and no changes to
   the existing routing system.  IRON further addresses other important
   issues including routing scaling, mobility management, multihoming,
   traffic engineering and NAT traversal.  While business considerations
   are an important determining factor for widespread adoption, they are
   out of scope for this document.  This document is a product of the
   IRTF Routing Research Group.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for examination, experimental implementation, and
   evaluation.

   This document defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
   community.  This document is a product of the Internet Research Task
   Force (IRTF).  The IRTF publishes the results of Internet-related
   research and development activities.  These results might not be
   suitable for deployment.  This RFC represents the individual
   opinion(s) of one or more members of the Internet Research Task Force
   (IRTF) Research Group of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF).
   Documents approved for publication by the IRSG are not a candidate
   for any level of Internet Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6179.

Templin                       Experimental                      [Page 1]
RFC 6179                          IRON                        March 2011

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2011 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
   (http://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.

Templin                       Experimental                      [Page 2]
RFC 6179                          IRON                        March 2011

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................4
   2. Terminology .....................................................5
   3. The Internet Routing Overlay Network ............................7
      3.1. IRON Client ................................................9
      3.2. IRON Serving Router .......................................10
      3.3. IRON Relay Router .........................................10
   4. IRON Organizational Principles .................................11
   5. IRON Initialization ............................................13
      5.1. IRON Relay Router Initialization ..........................13
      5.2. IRON Serving Router Initialization ........................14
      5.3. IRON Client Initialization ................................15
   6. IRON Operation .................................................15
      6.1. IRON Client Operation .....................................16
      6.2. IRON Serving Router Operation .............................17
      6.3. IRON Relay Router Operation ...............................18
      6.4. IRON Reference Operating Scenarios ........................18
           6.4.1. Both Hosts within IRON EUNs ........................19
           6.4.2. Mixed IRON and Non-IRON Hosts ......................21
      6.5. Mobility, Multihoming, and Traffic Engineering
           Considerations ............................................24
           6.5.1. Mobility Management ................................24
           6.5.2. Multihoming ........................................25
           6.5.3. Inbound Traffic Engineering ........................25
           6.5.4. Outbound Traffic Engineering .......................25
      6.6. Renumbering Considerations ................................25
      6.7. NAT Traversal Considerations ..............................26
      6.8. Multicast Considerations ..................................26
      6.9. Nested EUN Considerations .................................26
           6.9.1. Host A Sends Packets to Host Z .....................28
           6.9.2. Host Z Sends Packets to Host A .....................28