NERD: A Not-so-novel Endpoint ID (EID) to Routing Locator (RLOC) Database
RFC 6837

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

• Versions
• 08
• 09

Independent Submission                                           E. Lear
Request for Comments: 6837                            Cisco Systems GmbH
Category: Experimental                                      January 2013
ISSN: 2070-1721

                                 NERD:
  A Not-so-novel Endpoint ID (EID) to Routing Locator (RLOC) Database

Abstract

   The Locator/ID Separation Protocol (LISP) is a protocol to
   encapsulate IP packets in order to allow end sites to route to one
   another without injecting routes from one end of the Internet to
   another.  This memo presents an experimental database and a
   discussion of methods to transport the mapping of Endpoint IDs (EIDs)
   to Routing Locators (RLOCs) to routers in a reliable, scalable, and
   secure manner.  Our analysis concludes that transport of all EID-to-
   RLOC mappings scales well to at least 10^8 entries.

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 is a contribution to the RFC Series, independently
   of any other RFC stream.  The RFC Editor has chosen to publish this
   document at its discretion and makes no statement about its value for
   implementation or deployment.  Documents approved for publication by
   the RFC Editor 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/rfc6837.

Lear                          Experimental                      [Page 1]
RFC 6837             NERD LISP EID Mapping Transport        January 2013

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2013 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.

Lear                          Experimental                      [Page 2]
RFC 6837             NERD LISP EID Mapping Transport        January 2013

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
     1.1.  Applicability  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
     1.2.  Base Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
     1.3.  What is NERD?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
     1.4.  Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
   2.  Theory of Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     2.1.  Database Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     2.2.  Communications between ITR and ETR . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     2.3.  Who are database authorities?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   3.  NERD Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
     3.1.  NERD Record Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     3.2.  Database Update Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
   4.  NERD Distribution Mechanism  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     4.1.  Initial Bootstrap  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     4.2.  Retrieving Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
   5.  Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     5.1.  Database Size  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     5.2.  Router Throughput versus Time  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
     5.3.  Number of Servers Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
     5.4.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
       5.4.1.  Use of Public Key Infrastructures (PKIs) . . . . . . . 19
       5.4.2.  Other Risks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
   6.  Why not use XML? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
   7.  Other Distribution Mechanisms  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
     7.1.  What about DNS as a mapping retrieval model? . . . . . . . 22
     7.2.  Use of BGP and LISP+ALT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     7.3.  Perhaps use a hybrid model?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
   8.  Deployment Issues  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     8.1.  HTTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
   9.  Open Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
   10. Conclusions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
   11. Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
   12. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     12.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27