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Advertising IGP Measurement Group using TLV
draft-admnr-lsr-igp-measurement-group-02

Document Type Active Internet-Draft (individual)
Authors Mahesh Jethanandani , Derek M. Yeung , Acee Lindem , Reshad Rahman , Nico Strina
Last updated 2026-07-06
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draft-admnr-lsr-igp-measurement-group-02
Internet Engineering Task Force                     M. Jethanandani, Ed.
Internet-Draft                                             D. Yeung, Ed.
Intended status: Standards Track                          A. Lindem, Ed.
Expires: 7 January 2027                                      Arrcus, Inc
                                                          R. Rahman, Ed.
                                                               N. Strina
                                                            Equinix, Inc
                                                             6 July 2026

              Advertising IGP Measurement Group using TLV
                draft-admnr-lsr-igp-measurement-group-02

Abstract

   This document defines an IS-IS capability sub-TLV for advertising
   measurement group membership for Active Measurement Protocols (AMPs)
   such as TWAMP and STAMP.  The mechanism allows IGP routers to
   discover other routers participating in different measurement groups,
   enabling automatic discovery of measurement endpoints across IGP
   areas.  The solution uses interface addresses (IPv4 or IPv6) to
   identify measurement group membership, where the same interface
   address may be used for multiple measurement groups.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
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   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   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."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 7 January 2027.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2026 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

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   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://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.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Use Case  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  IS-IS Active Measurement Protocol Measurement Group
           Sub-TLV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.1.  AMP Protocol Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  Operations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     5.1.  IS-IS Router Capability TLV Sub-TLVs  . . . . . . . . . .   7
     5.2.  AMP Active Protocol Registry  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   7.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     7.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     7.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9

1.  Introduction

   In network deployments, different IGP routers may participate in
   different measurement groups for various purposes.  For example, one
   measurement group may be used for TWAMP (Two-Way Active Measurement
   Protocol), another for STAMP (Simple Two-Way Active Measurement
   Protocol), and yet another for other operational purposes.

   To enable automatic discovery and configuration of these measurement
   groups, there is a need for IGP routers to discover which other
   routers are participating in which measurement groups.  This
   discovery mechanism must work whether the participating routers are
   in the same IGP area or not, which implies that the information must
   be leakable across area boundaries.

   This document defines an IS-IS capability sub-TLV, similar to the
   seamless BFD discriminators mechanism defined in [RFC7883], that
   allows routers to advertise their measurement group membership.  The
   mechanism uses interface addresses (IPv4 or IPv6) to identify
   measurement group membership, where the interface address may be

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   associated with either a physical interface or a loopback interface.
   The same interface address may be used to indicate membership in
   multiple measurement groups.

1.1.  Requirements Language

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
   14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

2.  Use Case

   At a high level, different IGP routers participate in different
   measurement groups.  For example, measurement group A may be used for
   TWAMP, measurement group B for STAMP, and measurement group C for
   another purpose.

   The requirements for measurement group discovery are:

   *  IGP routers MUST be able to discover which routers are
      participating in which measurement groups.

   *  Discovery MUST work whether participating routers are in the same
      IGP area or not, which implies that the information MUST be
      leakable across area boundaries.

   *  An interface address (IPv4 or IPv6) is used to identify the
      membership of a particular measurement group.

   *  The interface address MAY be associated with either a physical
      interface or a loopback interface.

   *  The same interface address MAY be used for multiple measurement
      groups.

   Since loopback support is required, and there is no adjacency created
   over loopback interfaces to carry Adjacency Segment Identifier (ASLA)
   information, the solution uses an IS-IS capability sub-TLV similar to
   seamless BFD discriminators [RFC7883].  This approach allows the
   advertisement of measurement group membership information in the
   Router Capability TLV, which is propagated across area boundaries.

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3.  IS-IS Active Measurement Protocol Measurement Group Sub-TLV

   This document defines a new IS-IS capability sub-TLV for advertising
   Active Measurement Protocol (AMP) measurement group membership.  The
   sub-TLV is carried in the IS-IS Router Capability TLV (TLV 242) as
   defined in [RFC7981].

   The Active Measurement Protocol Measurement Group sub-TLV has the
   following format:

    0                   1                   2                   3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |     Type      |    Length     |   Group ID    | AMP Protocol  |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                                                               |
   |              IPv4 or IPv6 Host Address (4 or 16 octets)       |
   |                                                               |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

               Figure 1: AMP Measurement Group Sub-TLV Format

   Fields:

   Type:
      TBD (to be assigned by IANA)

   Length:
      1 octet.  The length of the value field in octets.  For IPv4
      addresses, the length MUST be 6.  For IPv6 addresses, the length
      MUST be 18.

   Group ID:
      Group ID used to associate the endpoint's membership with other
      routers in the same group.  An IS-IS router can advertise multiple
      AMP Measurement Group sub-TLVs with different Group IDs.  This
      will allow Active Measurements sessions amongst multiple groups of
      IS-IS routers.

   AMP Protocol:
      1 octet.  An identifier of the single Active Measurement Protocol
      supported on this Group ID and IPv4/IPv6 Endpoint.  Value
      assignments are specified in Section 3.1.

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   IPv4/IPv6 Endpoint Address:
      4 octets for IPv4 or 16 octets for IPv6.  The interface address
      (IPv4 or IPv6) that identifies this endpoint's membership in the
      measurement group indicated by the AMP Protocol field.  This
      address MAY be associated with a physical interface or a loopback
      interface.

   Multiple instances of this sub-TLV MAY be included in the Router
   Capability TLV to advertise multiple endpoints, each potentially
   supporting different Group IDs, IP Endpoint Addresses, and Active
   Measurement Protocols.  Each sub-TLV instance carries a single AMP
   Protocol value and is uniquely identified by the combination of Group
   ID, IP Endpoint Address, and AMP Protocol value.  A router that
   supports multiple Active Measurement Protocols on the same Group ID
   and IP Endpoint Address MUST advertise a separate sub-TLV instance
   for each protocol.  If multiple sub-TLVs have the same Group ID, IP
   Endpoint Address, and AMP Protocol value, only the first will be
   used.

3.1.  AMP Protocol Values

   The AMP Protocol field is a single-octet value identifying the Active
   Measurement Protocol supported for the Group ID and IP Endpoint
   Address carried in this sub-TLV instance.  The value assignments are
   as follows:

          +=======+============+===============================+
          | Value | Protocol   | Reference                     |
          +=======+============+===============================+
          | 0     | Reserved   |                               |
          +-------+------------+-------------------------------+
          | 1     | TWAMP      | [RFC5357]                     |
          +-------+------------+-------------------------------+
          | 2     | STAMP      | [RFC8762]                     |
          +-------+------------+-------------------------------+
          | 3-255 | Unassigned | For future assignment by IANA |
          +-------+------------+-------------------------------+

                                 Table 1

   A sub-TLV instance carries exactly one AMP Protocol value,
   identifying the single protocol supported for the Group ID and IP
   Endpoint Address advertised in that instance.

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   If an endpoint supports multiple protocols, the router advertises
   this by including multiple sub-TLV instances that share the same
   Group ID and IP Endpoint Address, each with a different AMP Protocol
   value, meaning the same interface address is used for multiple
   measurement groups.

4.  Operations

   A router that participates in one or more Active Measurement Protocol
   measurement groups MUST advertise the AMP Measurement Group sub-TLV
   in its Router Capability TLV.  For each endpoint (interface address)
   that participates in a measurement group, the router MUST include an
   instance of the sub-TLV with the appropriate AMP Protocol value set.

   If an endpoint supports multiple protocols (e.g., both TWAMP and
   STAMP), the router advertises this by including multiple sub-TLV
   instances that share the same Group ID and IP Endpoint Address, each
   with a different AMP Protocol value.

   Routers receiving the AMP Measurement Group sub-TLV MUST process the
   information to build their measurement group membership database.
   This information is used to discover other routers participating in
   the same measurement groups, enabling automatic configuration of
   measurement sessions.

   Given that an IP endpoint may be used for multiple measurement groups
   and AMP protocols, a router should only establish a single session of
   a given protocol type between the same two pairs of IP endpoints
   (independent of how many groups the endpoint participates in).  If
   two routers share more than one AMP protocol, whether or not a
   session is establish for multiple AMP protocols is a local policy
   decision.

   When a router receives the Router Capability TLV, it will check to
   see if it supports the advertised IP endpoint address family, AMP
   protocol(s), and group ID.  If it does and there isn't already AMP
   session(s) with the router, it will attempt to establish AMP
   session(s) with the advertising IGP router.  When both IP endpoints
   attempt to establish a session for the same AMP protocol, the IP
   endpoint with the lexicographically greater IP address's session take
   precedence.

   The Router Capability TLV, and thus the AMP Measurement Group sub-
   TLV, is propagated across IS-IS area boundaries when area leaking is
   configured as specified in [RFC7981], satisfying the requirement for
   cross-area discovery.

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   If a router's measurement group membership changes, it MUST update
   its Router Capability TLV advertisement accordingly.  Routers
   receiving updated information MUST process the changes and update
   their measurement group membership database.

5.  IANA Considerations

5.1.  IS-IS Router Capability TLV Sub-TLVs

   IANA is requested to assign a new sub-TLV type from the "IS-IS Router
   Capability TLV sub-TLVs" registry for the Active Measurement Protocol
   Measurement Group sub-TLV defined in this document.

5.2.  AMP Active Protocol Registry

   IANA is requested to create a new registry called "AMP Active
   Protocol Registry" under the "Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP)
   Parameters" registry group.  The registry should track value
   assignments for Active Measurement Protocols in the AMP Protocol
   field of the AMP Measurement Group sub-TLV.

   The initial assignments are:

             +=======+============+==========================+
             | Value | Protocol   | Reference                |
             +=======+============+==========================+
             | 0     | Reserved   | this document            |
             +-------+------------+--------------------------+
             | 1     | TWAMP      | [RFC5357], this document |
             +-------+------------+--------------------------+
             | 2     | STAMP      | [RFC8762], this document |
             +-------+------------+--------------------------+
             | 3-255 | Unassigned |                          |
             +-------+------------+--------------------------+

                                  Table 2

   Future assignments are to be made through IETF Review [RFC8126].

6.  Security Considerations

   This document defines a mechanism for advertising measurement group
   membership in IS-IS.  The security considerations for IS-IS as
   specified in [RFC1195] and [RFC5304] apply.

   An attacker that can inject false AMP Measurement Group sub-TLVs
   could cause routers to attempt to establish measurement sessions with
   incorrect endpoints, potentially leading to:

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   *  Failed measurement sessions

   *  Misconfiguration of measurement infrastructure

   *  Resource exhaustion if many false endpoints are advertised

   To mitigate these risks, implementations SHOULD authenticate IS-IS
   protocol exchanges using the mechanisms defined in [RFC5304] for IS-
   IS authentication.  Additionally, operators SHOULD configure
   appropriate access controls and monitoring to detect and prevent
   unauthorized advertisements.

   The information advertised in the AMP Measurement Group sub-TLV
   reveals which routers are participating in measurement groups and
   which interface addresses are used for measurement purposes.  This
   information may be considered sensitive in some deployments.
   Operators should consider the implications of this information
   disclosure when deploying this mechanism.

7.  References

7.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC5304]  Li, T. and R. Atkinson, "IS-IS Cryptographic
              Authentication", RFC 5304, DOI 10.17487/RFC5304, October
              2008, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5304>.

   [RFC7883]  Ginsberg, L., Akiya, N., and M. Chen, "Advertising
              Seamless Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (S-BFD)
              Discriminators in IS-IS", RFC 7883, DOI 10.17487/RFC7883,
              July 2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7883>.

   [RFC7981]  Ginsberg, L., Previdi, S., and M. Chen, "IS-IS Extensions
              for Advertising Router Information", RFC 7981,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7981, October 2016,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7981>.

   [RFC8126]  Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for
              Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26,
              RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, June 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8126>.

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   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

7.2.  Informative References

   [RFC1195]  Callon, R., "Use of OSI IS-IS for routing in TCP/IP and
              dual environments", RFC 1195, DOI 10.17487/RFC1195,
              December 1990, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1195>.

   [RFC5357]  Hedayat, K., Krzanowski, R., Morton, A., Yum, K., and J.
              Babiarz, "A Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (TWAMP)",
              RFC 5357, DOI 10.17487/RFC5357, October 2008,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5357>.

   [RFC8762]  Mirsky, G., Jun, G., Nydell, H., and R. Foote, "Simple
              Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol", RFC 8762,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8762, March 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8762>.

Acknowledgements

   The authors would like to thank the participants in the IETF
   discussions that led to this document.

Authors' Addresses

   Mahesh Jethanandani (editor)
   Arrcus, Inc
   2077 Gateway Place, Suite 400
   San Jose, CA 95110
   United States of America
   Email: mjethanandani@gmail.com
   URI:   URI

   Derek Yeung (editor)
   Arrcus, Inc
   2077 Gateway Place, Suite 400
   San Jose, CA 95110
   United States of America
   Email: derek@arrcus.com
   URI:   URI

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   Acee Lindem (editor)
   Arrcus, Inc
   301 Midenhall Way
   Cary, NC 27513
   United States of America
   Email: acee.ietf@gmail.com
   URI:   URI

   Reshad Rahman (editor)
   Equinix, Inc
   Canada
   Phone: Phone
   Email: reshad@yahoo.com
   URI:   URI

   Nico Strina
   Equinix, Inc
   United States of America
   Phone: Phone
   Email: nstrina@equinix.com
   URI:   URI

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