Internet Research Task Force P. Sherbin Internet-Draft RCI Intended status: Informational August 10, 2007 Expires: February 11, 2008 Elements of The Internet Architecture draft-sherbin-eia-00.txt Status of this Memo By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she becomes aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working 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 inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on February 11, 2008. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007). Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 1] Internet-Draft Elements of the Internet Architecture August 2007 Abstract This document outlines the Internet architecture that can scale to interconnect a very large number of communicating devices. It aims at presenting a holistic view of the Internet various parts from routing to number management as well as their interdependencies. The draft also indicates the Internet cost drivers and cost vectors. 1. Introduction "Report from the IAB Workshop on Routing and Addressing" at 67th IETF (RAWS-REPORT) has highlighted the routing scalability problem in the current Internet. A series of drafts submitted over the last 7 months (LISP, EFIT, SIX-ONE, APT, IDLOC, PROBLEM,…) indicates a strong interest in resolving the issue. Other factors such as the expected deployment of IPv6 that may increase the number of interconnected devices by orders of magnitude, Provider Independent addressing, Multihoming, Traffic Engineering, etc. signify urgency of the issue. The problem itself is not new and has an extended and well documented history (NIMROD, GSE, 8+8, ENDPOINTS,…]. This document defines the basic elements of the Internet leveraging 128 bit IPv6 address [RFC2460], [RFC4291] as well as the current address distribution [ARIN]. The draft also indicates how and what cost drivers have an impact on interdependent components of the Internet. The draft does not discuss specific business or pricing models as such topics belong outside of IETF. 2. Definition of Terms and Roles Communicating Entity (CE): an individual or a group willing to send or receive messages via the Internet. General public or businesses are the example. Object of Interest (OI): any object that a CE may have an interest in identifying. Communicating Device (CD): an engineered system serving as an original source or an ultimate destination of packets. The Internet: integration of otherwise distinct parts 1. CDs 2. routers 3. physical links connecting 1. and 2. 4. numeric identifiers 5. power sources The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA): a body that allocates numeric identifiers for the actual use on the Internet. Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 2] Internet-Draft Elements of the Internet Architecture August 2007 Regional Internet Registry (RIR): an organization that receives numeric identifiers from IANA for further distribution to CEs and ISPs residing in the RIR’s serving area. Internet Services Provider (ISP): a business that owns a part of the Internet, except for numeric identifiers, and provides CEs with an access to it in exchange for a fee. Autonomous System (AS): a routing domain under a single administration that aggregates all its subnets to its Autonomous System Number. Autonomous System Number (ASN): a globally unique 16 bit identifier of an AS used in the exchange of exterior routing information between adjacent ASes. Universal Identification Number (UIN): a globally unique 96 bit integer assigned to a person or an object. 4 most significant bits of UIN specify geography of its origin. 34 next significant bits identify a CE to which the UIN is assigned. 58 least significant bits of UIN are used by the CE for assignments to OIs. IP Address: a globally unique 128 bit integer composed by a CD as a part of IP packet header. Source IP address includes 16 bit ASN, 16 bit subnet and 96 bit UIN of the sending CD. Destination IP address includes 16 bit ASN, 16 bit subnet and 96 bit UIN of the receiving CD. 3. Elements and principles of the Internet Architecture 3.1. Universal Identification Numbers (UINs) o IANA allocates UINs to RIRs from the global UIN space. o A RIR assigns UINs to a requesting CE or an ISP on a permanent basis. o A CE obtains a UIN from a RIR serving the area of the CE's permanent residence in a form of 96 bit integer with 58 least significant bits represented by zeroes. o A CE modifies 58 least significant bits of an UIN to uniquely identify one or more OIs. 3.2. Addressing and Routing o IANA allocates ASNs to RIRs from the global ASN space. o A RIR assigns an ASN to a requestor, typically an ISP, on a temporary basis. Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 3] Internet-Draft Elements of the Internet Architecture August 2007 o A CE can request an ASN. The CE that has an ASN must announce it globally and allow traffic from other ASes to traverse its network. o An ISP creates a network of routers that serve as access points. Each access point is a subnet with a unique 32 bit identifier, where 16 most significant bits represent an ASN of the ISP. The maximum number of access points for an ISP is 65,536. The theoretical maximum number of all access points is 4,294,967,296 or 8.42 access points per each square kilometer of Earth’s surface. o An ISP connects CDs of a CE to an access point via a wired or a wireless data link. o When an access point discovers a new CD it provides this CD with the access point’s 32 bit identifier. The CD creates its IP address by combining 32 bit identifier of the access point with CD's UIN. When a CD disconnects, the access point deprecates an IP address of that CD. o To send the first packet a CD must already know the destination IP address. 4. Cost Considerations of the Internet Communication 4.1. Cost Drivers o The Internet serves as a facility for CEs to move data from point A to B. The amount of transferred data is measured in bits. Consequently a bit can serve as a common denominator for all of the Internet communication costs, which can be expressed as an X amount of dollars per bit. 4.2. Cost Vectors o A CE willing to send a message may incur content production costs as well as delivery costs. o A CE willing to receive a message may incur delivery costs. o ISPs and CEs with ASNs may incur costs of building and / or operating their networks. o IANA may incur admin costs while serving RIRs. o RIRs may incur admin costs while serving CEs and ISPs. Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 4] Internet-Draft Elements of the Internet Architecture August 2007 5. Security Considerations Under the above principles a CE is expected to protect an UIN assigned to it as private information. Introduction of UINs is not expected to have a negative impact on security issues known to date. 6. IANA Considerations The above principles suggest that IANA manages allocation of both UINs and ASNs to RIRs. 7. Acknowledgments To all who ever contributed to the Internet, IETF, RFC process and tools. Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 5] Internet-Draft Elements of the Internet Architecture August 2007 8. Informative References [ARIN] ARIN Number Resource Policy Manual, Version 2007.1, http://www.arin.net/policy/nrpm.html, 28 March 2007. [RFC826] Plummer, D., "An Ethernet Address Resolution Protocol or Converting Network Protocol Addresses to 48.bit Ethernet Address for Transmission on Ethernet Hardware", RFC 826, November 1982. [RFC1930] Hawkinson, J. and T. Bates, "Guidelines for creation, selection, and registration of an Autonomous System (AS)", BCP 6, RFC 1930, March 1996. [RFC2460] Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, December 1998. [RFC2608] Guttman, E., Perkins, C., Veizades, J., and M. Day, "Service Location Protocol, Version 2", RFC 2608, June 1999. [RFC3146] Fujisawa, K., and A. Onoe, "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over IEEE 1394 Networks", RFC 3146, October 2001. [RFC4291] Hinden, R., and S. Deeing, "IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture", RFC 4291, February 2006. [RFC3531] Blanchet, M., "A Flexible Method for Managing the Assignment of Bits of an IPv6 Address Block ", RFC 3513, April 2003. [RFC4632] Fuller, V. and T. Li, "Classless Inter-domain Routing (CIDR): The Internet Address Assignment and Aggregation Plan", BCP 122, RFC 4632, August 2006. Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 6] Internet-Draft Elements of the Internet Architecture August 2007 Author's Address Peter Sherbin RCI Email: peter.sherbin@rci.rogers.com Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 7] Internet-Draft Elements of the Internet Architecture August 2007 Full Copyright Statement Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007). This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights. This document and the information contained herein are provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY, THE IETF TRUST AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 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The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement this standard. Please address the information to the IETF at ietf-ipr@ietf.org. Acknowledgment Funding for the RFC Editor function is provided by the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA). Sherbin Expires February 11, 2008 [Page 8]