BMP Extension for Monitoring Options (MO) Notification
draft-geng-grow-bmp-monitor-options-00
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| Document | Type | Active Internet-Draft (individual) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Nan Geng , Shunwan Zhuang | ||
| Last updated | 2026-09-30 | ||
| RFC stream | (None) | ||
| Intended RFC status | (None) | ||
| Formats | |||
| Stream | Stream state | (No stream defined) | |
| Consensus boilerplate | Unknown | ||
| RFC Editor Note | (None) | ||
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draft-geng-grow-bmp-monitor-options-00
GROW N. Geng
Internet-Draft S. Zhuang
Intended status: Standards Track Huawei Technologies
Expires: 3 April 2027 30 September 2026
BMP Extension for Monitoring Options (MO) Notification
draft-geng-grow-bmp-monitor-options-00
Abstract
The BGP Monitoring Protocol (BMP) allows routers to export BGP RIB
data and statistics to external collectors. However, dynamic changes
to a router's monitoring configuration—such as disabling specific
Address Families or statistic counters—are not explicitly signaled to
the collector. Consequently, collectors cannot distinguish between a
quiescent BGP state and a disabled monitoring feed, leading to data
staleness and database pollution.
This document defines a new BMP message type, the BMP Monitoring
Options (MO) message. It allows a BMP Sender to explicitly notify
collectors of active, disabled, or dynamically altered reporting
configurations across RIB types and statistics streams.
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.
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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time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
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This Internet-Draft will expire on 3 April 2027.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2026 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 (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
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. BMP Monitoring Options Message Structure . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1. RIB Options PDU Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2. Stats Options PDU Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4. Operational Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1. Initial Capabilities Exchange & Administrative State
Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2. Example Usage of BMP Monitoring Options Messages . . . . 5
5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
8. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
8.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1. Introduction
Modern networks frequently adjust BMP telemetry parameters based on
network load, operational focus, or troubleshooting needs. For
instance, an operator may dynamically disable Adj-RIB-Out reporting
or stop monitoring specific VPN address families via router CLI.
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Under [RFC7854], BMP provides no in-band mechanism for a sender to
signal configuration changes to a collector. When an address
family's monitoring is disabled on the router, the sender simply
stops sending BMP messages for that family. The collector cannot
determine whether no updates are occurring or if the stream was
administratively disabled. As a result, stored RIB views become
stale and invalid.
This document defines the BMP Monitoring Options (MO) message (Type
TBD2). This message explicitly signals enabled or disabled state for
RIB address families and statistic types, ensuring real-time database
hygiene on the collector.
2. Terminology
* MO: Monitoring Options
3. BMP Monitoring Options Message Structure
The BMP Monitoring Options message (Type TBD2) follows the Common BMP
Header and optional Per-Peer Header. Two distinct PDU formats are
defined: RIB Options PDU and Statistics Options PDU.
3.1. RIB Options PDU 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 | SubType |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Flags | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| AFI 1 | Reserved | SAFI 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| AFI n | Reserved | SAFI n |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 1: BMP RIB Monitoring Options PDU
Fields:
* Type (2 octets):
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- 1: Adj-RIB-In
- 2: Adj-RIB-Out
- 3: Loc-RIB
* SubType (2 octets):
- 1: Pre-Policy
- 2: Post-Policy
* Flags (2 octets):
- Bit 15 (LSB): Enable/Disable Flag. 1 = Options Enabled, 0 =
Options Disabled.
- Bits 0-14: Reserved for future expansion (MUST be 0).
* Length (2 octets): Total length of the trailing (AFI, SAFI) list.
3.2. Stats Options PDU 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 | Flags |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Stat Type 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Stat Type 2 | ... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 2: BMP Stats Monitoring Options PDU
Fields:
* Type (2 octets): MUST be 4 (Stats).
* Flags (2 octets): LSB indicates Enable (1) or Disable (0).
* Length (2 octets): Length of trailing Stat Type IDs [RFC7854].
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4. Operational Workflow
4.1. Initial Capabilities Exchange & Administrative State Change
Upon establishing a BMP session, the sender SHOULD transmit an
initial MO message enumerating all currently active monitoring
options.
When an operator disables monitoring for a specific family (e.g.,
AFI=1, SAFI=2) via CLI:
1. The BMP Sender MUST immediately transmit an MO Message with
Type=Adj-RIB-In, LSB(Flags)=0, and payload=(AFI=1, SAFI=2).
2. Upon receipt, the Collector MUST immediately purge all stored RIB
entries associated with that disabled <Peer, AFI, SAFI> view.
4.2. Example Usage of BMP Monitoring Options Messages
Consider a topology where a BGP session is established between
Router1 and Router2. Three address families are enabled on both BGP
speakers: IPv4 Unicast (AFI=1, SAFI=1), IPv4 Multicast (AFI=1,
SAFI=2), and IPv4 Labeled Unicast (AFI=1, SAFI=4). Router1 acts as
the BMP Sender streaming data to the BMP Collector.
BMP Collector
|
|
| BGP Session
Router1 (BMP Sender) ------------ Router2
Figure 3: Topology Example for BMP MO
1. Initial Export Sequence:
Upon initializing the BMP session, the BMP Sender exports initial
Route Monitoring messages for all three active address families.
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BMP Sender BMP Collector
~ ~
|---------------- Initial Export ---------->| Sender sends Route
| | Monitoring messages for
| | IPv4 Unicast, Multicast,
| | and Labeled Unicast
| |
| | Collector stores RIB info
| | for all three families
Figure 4: Initial Route Monitoring Export Sequence
2. Disabling Monitoring Options:
When an operator dynamically disables monitoring for the IPv4
Multicast address family (AFI=1, SAFI=2) on the sender:
BMP Sender BMP Collector
|-- MO Msg (AFI 1/SAFI 2, Disable) -------->| Sender sends MO Message
| |
| | Collector purges the IPv4
| | Multicast RIB view for
| | this specific BGP peer
Figure 5: Disabling Monitoring for IPv4 Multicast Family
Similarly, if monitoring for IPv4 Labeled Unicast (AFI=1, SAFI=4) is
subsequently disabled:
BMP Sender BMP Collector
|-- MO Msg (AFI 1/SAFI 4, Disable) -------->| Sender sends MO Message
| |
| | Collector purges the IPv4
| | Labeled Unicast RIB view
| | for this specific peer
Figure 6: Disabling Monitoring for IPv4 Labeled Unicast Family
3. Re-enabling Monitoring Options:
When monitoring for IPv4 Multicast (AFI=1, SAFI=2) is re-enabled, the
sender notifies the collector via an MO message and resumes streaming
Route Monitoring messages for that view:
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BMP Sender BMP Collector
|-- MO Msg (AFI 1/SAFI 2, Enable) --------->| Sender sends MO Message
| |
|-- BMP RM Msg (AFI 1/SAFI 2) ------------->| Sender streams Route
|-- .......... ---------------------------->| Monitoring updates for
|-- BMP RM Msg (AFI 1/SAFI 2) ------------->| IPv4 Multicast view
| |
| | Collector restores and
| | stores the RIB view
Figure 7: Re-enabling Monitoring for IPv4 Multicast Family
5. Security Considerations
Unauthorized MO messages could trick a collector into purging its
entire monitored database by sending fake "Disable" options. Mutual
authentication and transport protection (e.g., TLS) MUST be used.
6. IANA Considerations
This document requests IANA to allocate a new message type code from
the "BMP Message Types" registry:
+------+-------------------------------+---------------+
| Type | Description | Reference |
+------+-------------------------------+---------------+
| TBD2 | BMP Monitoring Options (MO) | This document |
+------+-------------------------------+---------------+
IANA is also requested to create a new sub-registry: "BMP Monitoring
Options PDU Types":
* 1: Adj-RIB-In
* 2: Adj-RIB-Out
* 3: Loc-RIB
* 4: Stats
7. Acknowledgements
TBD
8. References
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8.1. 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>.
[RFC2918] Chen, E., "Route Refresh Capability for BGP-4", RFC 2918,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2918, September 2000,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2918>.
[RFC4271] Rekhter, Y., Ed., Li, T., Ed., and S. Hares, Ed., "A
Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-4)", RFC 4271,
DOI 10.17487/RFC4271, January 2006,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4271>.
[RFC7313] Patel, K., Chen, E., and B. Venkatachalapathy, "Enhanced
Route Refresh Capability for BGP-4", RFC 7313,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7313, July 2014,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7313>.
[RFC7854] Scudder, J., Ed., Fernando, R., and S. Stuart, "BGP
Monitoring Protocol (BMP)", RFC 7854,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7854, June 2016,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7854>.
[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>.
[RFC8671] Evens, T., Bayraktar, S., Lucente, P., Mi, P., and S.
Zhuang, "Support for Adj-RIB-Out in the BGP Monitoring
Protocol (BMP)", RFC 8671, DOI 10.17487/RFC8671, November
2019, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8671>.
[RFC9069] Evens, T., Bayraktar, S., Bhardwaj, M., and P. Lucente,
"Support for Local RIB in the BGP Monitoring Protocol
(BMP)", RFC 9069, DOI 10.17487/RFC9069, February 2022,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9069>.
8.2. Informative References
Authors' Addresses
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Nan Geng
Huawei Technologies
Huawei Campus, No. 156 Beiqing Road
Beijing
100095
China
Email: gengnan@huawei.com
Shunwan Zhuang
Huawei Technologies
Huawei Campus, No. 156 Beiqing Road
Beijing
100095
China
Email: zhuangshunwan@huawei.com
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