Scenic Routing for IPv6
RFC 7511

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Independent Submission                                        M. Wilhelm
Request for Comments: 7511                                  1 April 2015
Category: Informational
ISSN: 2070-1721

                        Scenic Routing for IPv6

Abstract

   This document specifies a new routing scheme for the current version
   of the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in the spirit of "Green
   IT", whereby packets will be routed to get as much fresh-air time as
   possible.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for informational purposes.

   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/rfc7511.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 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.

Wilhelm                       Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 7511                     Scenic Routing                 1 April 2015

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Conventions and Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Scenic Routing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.1.  Scenic Routing Option (SRO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Implications  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  Routing Implications  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.2.  Implications for Hosts  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.3.  Proxy Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   6.  Related Work  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   7.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     7.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     7.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

1.  Introduction

   In times of Green IT, a lot of effort is put into reducing the energy
   consumption of routers, switches, servers, hosts, etc., to preserve
   our environment.  This document looks at Green IT from a different
   angle and focuses on network packets being routed and switched around
   the world.

   Most likely, no one ever thought about the millions of packets being
   disassembled into bits every second and forced through copper wires
   or being shot through dark fiber lines by powerful lasers at
   continuously increasing speeds.  Although RFC 5841 [RFC5841] provided
   some thoughts about Packet Moods and began to represent them as a TCP
   option, this doesn't help the packets escape their torturous routine.

   This document defines another way to deal with Green IT for traffic
   and network engineers and will hopefully aid the wellbeing of a
   myriad of network packets around the world.  It proposes Scenic
   Routing, which incorporates the green-ness of a network path into the
   routing decision.  A routing engine implementing Scenic Routing
   should therefore choose paths based on Avian IP Carriers [RFC1149]
   and/or wireless technologies so the packets will get out of the
   miles/kilometers of dark fibers that are in the ground and get as
   much fresh-air time and sunlight as possible.

   As of the widely known acceptance of the current version of the
   Internet Protocol (IPv6), this document only focuses on version 6 and
   ignores communication still based on Vintage IP [RFC791].

Wilhelm                       Informational                     [Page 2]
RFC 7511                     Scenic Routing                 1 April 2015

1.1.  Conventions and Terminology

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

   Additionally, the key words "MIGHT", "COULD", "MAY WISH TO", "WOULD
   PROBABLY", "SHOULD CONSIDER", and "MUST (BUT WE KNOW YOU WON'T)" in