Network Working Group W. Simpson Internet Draft DayDreamer expires in six months June 1996 PPP Vendor Extensions draft-ietf-pppext-vendor-00.txt Status of this Memo Distribution of this memo is unlimited. This document is an Internet-Draft. Internet Drafts are working doc- uments of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its Areas, and its Working Groups. Note that other groups may also distribute work- ing documents as Internet Drafts. Internet Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months, and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is not appropriate to use Internet Drafts as refer- ence material, or to cite them other than as a ``working draft'' or ``work in progress.'' To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the ``1id-abstracts.txt'' listing contained in the internet-drafts Shadow Directories on: ftp.is.co.za (Africa) nic.nordu.net (Europe) ds.internic.net (US East Coast) ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast) munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim) Abstract The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) [1] provides a standard method for transporting multi-protocol datagrams over point-to-point links. PPP defines an extensible Link Control Protocol (LCP) for establishing, configuring, and testing the data-link connection; and a family of Network Control Protocols (NCPs) for establishing and configuring different network-layer protocols. This document defines a general mechanism for proprietary vendor extensions. Simpson expires in six months [Page i] DRAFT PPP vendor extensions June 1996 1. Control Packets The Packet format and basic facilities are already defined for LCP [1] and related NCPs. Up-to-date values of the LCP Code field are specified in the most recent "Assigned Numbers" [2]. This document concerns the following values: 0 Vendor Specific 1.1. Vendor Specific Packet Description Some implementors might not need nor want to publish their propri- etary algorithms and attributes. This mechanism is available to specify these without encumbering the IANA with proprietary number requests. Vendor Specific packets MAY be sent at any time, including before LCP has reached the Opened state. The sender transmits a LCP or NCP packet with the Code field set to 0 (Vendor Specific), the Identifier field set, the local Magic- Number (if any) inserted, the OUI and Kind fields set, and the Value(s) field filled with any desired data, but not exceeding the default MRU minus twelve. Receipt of a Vendor Specific packet causes the RXR or RUC event. The response to the Vendor Specific packet is vender specific. Receipt of a Code-Reject for the packet SHOULD generate the RXJ+ (permitted) event. Rationale: This is defined as general feature of all PPP Control Protocols, to avoid future conflicts in vendor secretly self-assigned Code numbers. A summary of the Vendor Specific packet format is shown below. The fields are transmitted from left to right. Simpson expires in six months [Page 1] DRAFT PPP vendor extensions June 1996 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Code | Identifier | Length | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Magic-Number | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | OUI | Kind | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Value(s) ... +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Code 0 for Vendor Specific Identifier The Identifier field MUST be changed for each Vendor Specific packet sent. Length >= 12 When the Length is twelve, no Value(s) field is present. Magic-Number The Magic-Number field is four octets and aids in detecting links that are in the looped-back condition. Until the Magic-Number Configuration Option has been successfully negotiated, the Magic- Number MUST be transmitted as zero. See the Magic-Number Configu- ration Option for further explanation. OUI three octets. The vendor's Organizationally Unique Identifier, assigned by IEEE 802 (see [RFC-1700] for contact details). The bits within the octet are in canonical order, and the most signif- icant octet is transmitted first. Kind one octet. Indicates a sub-type for the OUI. There is no stan- dardization for this field. Each OUI implements its own values. Simpson expires in six months [Page 2] DRAFT PPP vendor extensions June 1996 Value(s) Zero or more octets. The details are implementation specific. 2. Configuration Options The Configuration Option format and basic options are already defined for LCP [1]. Up-to-date values of the LCP Option Type field are specified in the most recent "Assigned Numbers" [2]. This document concerns the fol- lowing values: 0 Vendor-Specific 2.1. Vendor-Specific Option Description Some implementors might not need nor want to publish their propri- etary algorithms and attributes. This mechanism is available to specify these without encumbering the IANA with proprietary number requests. Before accepting this option, the implementation must verify that the Organizationally Unique Identifier and Kind specify a known mechanism, and that any vendor specific negotiation values are fully understood. Rationale: This is defined as general feature of all PPP Control Protocols, to avoid future conflicts in vendor secretly self-assigned Type numbers. A summary of the Vendor-Specific Configuration Option format is shown below. The fields are transmitted from left to right. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Type | Length | OUI +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ... | Kind | Value(s) ... +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Simpson expires in six months [Page 3] DRAFT PPP vendor extensions June 1996 Type 0 Length >= 6 When the Length is six, no Value(s) field is present. OUI three octets. The vendor's Organizationally Unique Identifier, assigned by IEEE 802 (see [RFC-1700] for contact details). The bits within the octet are in canonical order, and the most signif- icant octet is transmitted first. Kind one octet. Indicates a sub-type for the OUI. There is no stan- dardization for this field. Each OUI implements its own values. Value(s) Zero or more octets. The details are implementation specific. Security Considerations Security issues are not discussed in this document. References [1] Simpson, W., Editor, "The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)", RFC-1661, December 1993. [2] Reynolds, J.K., Postel, J.B., "Assigned Numbers", RFC-1700, July 1992. Simpson expires in six months [Page 4] DRAFT PPP vendor extensions June 1996 Contacts Comments about this document should be discussed on the ietf- ppp@merit.edu mailing list. This document is a submission to the Point-to-Point Protocol Working Group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The working group can be contacted via the current chair: Karl Fox Morning Star Technologies 3518 Riverside Drive Suite 101 Columbus, Ohio 43221 karl@MorningStar.com karl@Ascend.com Questions about this document can also be directed to: William Allen Simpson DayDreamer Computer Systems Consulting Services 1384 Fontaine Madison Heights, Michigan 48071 wsimpson@UMich.edu wsimpson@GreenDragon.com (preferred) Simpson expires in six months [Page 5]