Network Working Group P. Hoffman Internet-Draft VPN Consortium Updates: 2535, 3755, 4034 August 23, 2009 (if approved) Intended status: Standards Track Expires: February 24, 2010 Cryptographic Algorithm Identifier Allocation for DNSSEC draft-hoffman-dnssec-alg-allocation-00 Status of this Memo This Internet-Draft is submitted to IETF in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF Contributions published or made publicly available before November 10, 2008. The person(s) controlling the copyright in some of this material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process. 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The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on February 24, 2010. Copyright Notice Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved. Hoffman Expires February 24, 2010 [Page 1] Internet-Draft DNSSEC Alg. Allocation August 2009 This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents in effect on the date of publication of this document (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info). Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Abstract This document specifies how DNSSEC cryptographic algorithm identifiers in the IANA registries are allocated. It changes the rule from "standard required" to "RFC required". 1. Introduction [RFC2535] specifies that that IANA registry for DNS Security Algorithm Numbers be updated by IETF Standards Action only, with the exception of two values 253 and 254. In essence, this means that for an algorithm to get its own entry in the registry, the algorithm must be defined in an RFC on Standards Track as defined in [RFC2026]. The rule from RFC 2535 is repeated in [RFC3755] and [RFC4034]. RFC 2535 allows algorithms that are not on standards track to use private values 253 and 254 in signatures. In each case, an unregistered private name must be included with each use of the algorithm in order to differentiate different algorithms that use the value. 2. Requirements for Assignments in the DNS Security Algorithm Numbers Registry This document changes the rule for registration from requiring a Standards Track RFC to requiring a published RFC of any type. There are two reasons for relaxing the rule: o There are some algorithms that are useful that may not be able to be in a Standards Track RFC. For example, an algorithm might be sponsored by a government and use cryptography that has not been evaluated thoroughly enough to be able to be put on Standards Track. Another example is that the algorithm might have an unclear intellectual property rights situation, and that prevents the algorithm from being put on Standards Track. o Although the size of the registry is quite restricted (about 250 entries), new algorithms are proposed relatively rarely. It could easily be many decades before there is any reason to consider restricting the registry again. Hoffman Expires February 24, 2010 [Page 2] Internet-Draft DNSSEC Alg. Allocation August 2009 Some developers will care about the standards level of the RFCs that are in the registry. The registry should reflect the current standards level of each algorithm listed. Because the size of the registry is smaller than many IETF registries, and because some members of the DNS community have expressed concern about the registry eventually filling up, the IETF should re-evaluate the requirements for entry into this registry when the registry is about half full. That evaluation may lead to tighter restrictions or a new mechanism for essentially extending the size of the registry. The private-use values, 253 and 254, are still useful for developers who want to test algorithms for which there is no RFC in private. This document does not change the semantics of those two values. 3. IANA Considerations This document updates allocation rules for unassigned values in the "Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) Algorithm Numbers" registry located at http://www.iana.org/assignments/dns-sec-alg-numbers/ dns-sec-alg-numbers.xhtml, in the sub-registry titled "DNS Security Algorithm Numbers". The registration procedure for values that were not assigned before this document is published is "RFC Required". IANA is requested to add a textual notation to the "References" column in the registry that gives the current standards status for each RFC that is listed in the registry. 4. Security Considerations An algorithm described in an RFC that is not on Standards Track may have weaker security than one that is on standards track; in fact, that may be the reason that the algorithm was not allowed on Standards Track. Note, however, that not being on Standards Track does not necessarily mean that an algorithm is weaker. There are other reasons (such as intellectual property concerns) that can keep algorithms that are widely considered to be strong off of Standards Track. 5. References Hoffman Expires February 24, 2010 [Page 3] Internet-Draft DNSSEC Alg. Allocation August 2009 5.1. Normative References [RFC2535] Eastlake, D., "Domain Name System Security Extensions", RFC 2535, March 1999. [RFC3755] Weiler, S., "Legacy Resolver Compatibility for Delegation Signer (DS)", RFC 3755, May 2004. [RFC4034] Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S. Rose, "Resource Records for the DNS Security Extensions", RFC 4034, March 2005. 5.2. Informative References [RFC2026] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996. Appendix A. Experimental and Documentation Values During the early discussion of this document, it was proposed that maybe there should be a small number of values reserved for "experimental" purposes. This proposal was not included in this document because of the long history in the IETF of experimental values that became permanent. That is, a developer would release (maybe "experimentally") a version of software that had the experimental value associated with a particular extension, competitors would code their systems to test interoperability, and then no one wanted to change the values in their software to the "real" value that was later assigned. There was also a proposal that IANA should reserve two values to be used in documentation only, similar to the way that "example.com" has been reserved as a domain name. That proposal was also not included in this document because all values need to be associated with some algorithm, and there is no problem with having examples that point to commonly-deployed algorithms. Author's Address Paul Hoffman VPN Consortium Email: paul.hoffman@vpnc.org Hoffman Expires February 24, 2010 [Page 4]