An IPv6 Routing Header for Source Routes with the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL)
RFC 6554

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                            J. Hui
Request for Comments: 6554                                   JP. Vasseur
Category: Standards Track                                  Cisco Systems
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                D. Culler
                                                             UC Berkeley
                                                               V. Manral
                                                     Hewlett Packard Co.
                                                              March 2012

             An IPv6 Routing Header for Source Routes with
      the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL)

Abstract

   In Low-Power and Lossy Networks (LLNs), memory constraints on routers
   may limit them to maintaining, at most, a few routes.  In some
   configurations, it is necessary to use these memory-constrained
   routers to deliver datagrams to nodes within the LLN.  The Routing
   Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) can be used in some
   deployments to store most, if not all, routes on one (e.g., the
   Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) root) or a few routers and forward the
   IPv6 datagram using a source routing technique to avoid large routing
   tables on memory-constrained routers.  This document specifies a new
   IPv6 Routing header type for delivering datagrams within a RPL
   routing domain.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in 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/rfc6554.

Hui, et al.                  Standards Track                    [Page 1]
RFC 6554                 RPL Source Route Header              March 2012

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2012 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.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text 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
      1.1. Requirements Language ......................................3
   2. Overview ........................................................3
   3. Format of the RPL Routing Header ................................6
   4. RPL Router Behavior .............................................8
      4.1. Generating Source Routing Headers ..........................8
      4.2. Processing Source Routing Headers ..........................9
   5. Security Considerations ........................................11
      5.1. Source Routing Attacks ....................................11
      5.2. ICMPv6 Attacks ............................................12
   6. IANA Considerations ............................................12
   7. Acknowledgements ...............................................12
   8. References .....................................................12
      8.1. Normative References ......................................12
      8.2. Informative References ....................................13

1.  Introduction

   The Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is a
   distance vector IPv6 routing protocol designed for Low-Power and
   Lossy Networks (LLNs) [RFC6550].  Such networks are typically
   constrained in resources (limited communication data rate, processing
   power, energy capacity, memory).  In particular, some LLN
   configurations may utilize LLN routers where memory constraints limit
   nodes to maintaining only a small number of default routes and no
   other destinations.  However, it may be necessary to utilize such
   memory-constrained routers to forward datagrams and maintain
   reachability to destinations within the LLN.

Hui, et al.                  Standards Track                    [Page 2]
RFC 6554                 RPL Source Route Header              March 2012

   To utilize paths that include memory-constrained routers, RPL relies
   on source routing.  In one deployment model of RPL, more-capable
   routers collect routing information and form paths to arbitrary