Clarification of IPv6 Address Allocation Policy
draft-ietf-6man-addr-assign-05
| Document | Type | Active Internet-Draft (6man WG) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Brian E. Carpenter , Suresh Krishnan , David Farmer | ||
| Last updated | 2025-05-13 (Latest revision 2025-05-12) | ||
| Replaces | draft-carpenter-6man-addr-assign | ||
| RFC stream | Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) | ||
| Intended RFC status | Best Current Practice | ||
| Formats | |||
| Reviews | |||
| Additional resources | Mailing list discussion | ||
| Stream | WG state | Submitted to IESG for Publication | |
| Document shepherd | Bob Hinden | ||
| Shepherd write-up | Show Last changed 2024-12-12 | ||
| IESG | IESG state | RFC Ed Queue | |
| Action Holders |
(None)
|
||
| Consensus boilerplate | Yes | ||
| Telechat date | (None) | ||
| Responsible AD | Erik Kline | ||
| Send notices to | bob.hinden@gmail.com | ||
| IANA | IANA review state | Version Changed - Review Needed | |
| IANA action state | In Progress | ||
| RFC Editor | RFC Editor state | EDIT | |
| Details |
draft-ietf-6man-addr-assign-05
6man B. E. Carpenter
Internet-Draft Univ. of Auckland
Updates: 7249 (if approved) S. Krishnan
Intended status: Best Current Practice Cisco
Expires: 13 November 2025 D. Farmer
Univ. of Minnesota
12 May 2025
Clarification of IPv6 Address Allocation Policy
draft-ietf-6man-addr-assign-05
Abstract
This document specifies the approval process for changes to the IPv6
Address Space registry. It also updates RFC 7249.
About This Document
This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.
Status information for this document may be found at
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-6man-addr-assign/.
Discussion of this document takes place on the 6MAN Working Group
mailing list (mailto:ipv6@ietf.org), which is archived at
https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/ipv6/. Subscribe at
https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ipv6/.
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
working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-
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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 13 November 2025.
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Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2025 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
and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components
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provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Approval Level of IPv6 Address Allocations . . . . . . . . . 3
3. RFC Editor Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Appendix A. Change Log [RFC Editor: please remove] . . . . . . . 6
A.1. draft-carpenter-6man-addr-assign-00 . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A.2. Draft-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A.3. Draft-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A.4. draft-ietf-6man-addr-assign-00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A.5. Draft-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A.6. Draft-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A.7. Draft-03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A.8. Draft-04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A.9. Draft-05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1. Introduction
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) and its address space are defined
by [STD86] and [RFC4291]. The management of the IPv6 address space
was delegated to IANA by [RFC1881], some years before the
relationship between the IETF and IANA was formalized [RFC2860] and
registry details were clarified [RFC7020], [RFC7249].
Occasionally, IPv6 address space allocations are performed outside
the scope of routine allocations to Regional Internet Registries
(RIRs). For example, a substantial allocation was requested by an
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IETF document approved by the IESG [RFC9602], which moved the range
5f00::/16 from the Internet Protocol Version 6 Address Space registry
[IANA1] to the IANA IPv6 Special-Purpose Address Registry [IANA3].
At the time of writing, the allocation policy in the Internet
Protocol Version 6 Address Space registry [IANA1] was shown as "IESG
approval", whereas for major allocations a more stringent policy is
appropriate. The present document therefore strengthens the approval
level needed for non-routine address allocations, which requires an
update to RFC 7249.
This document also clarifies the status of RFC 1881. This
clarification is necessary because RFC 1881, a joint publication of
the IAB and IESG following an IETF Last Call, was incorrectly listed
in the RFC index at the time of writing as "legacy", whereas it is
part of the IETF stream [RFC8729].
2. Approval Level of IPv6 Address Allocations
Portions of the IPv6 address space are shown in the registry [IANA1]
as "Reserved by IETF". This is the address space held in reserve for
future use if ever the 125-bit unicast space (2000::/3) is found
inadequate or inappropriate.
RFC 1881 did not specify an allocation policy for this space. At
some point, IANA listed "IESG approval". As defined in [BCP26], this
is a rather weak requirement ("Although there is no requirement that
the request be documented in an RFC, the IESG has the discretion to
request documents...") and is "a fall-back mechanism in the case
where one of the other allowable approval mechanisms cannot be
employed...".
For something as important as the majority of the spare IPv6 address
space, this process is clearly insufficient. The present document
replaces the "IESG approval" process by the "IETF Review" process as
defined by BCP 26. It is not considered necessary to require the
stricter "Standards Action" policy, because there might be cases
where opening up a new range of address space did not in fact require
a new protocol standard.
It may be noted that the allocation for [RFC9602], which was
processed as a working group document, did indeed follow the more
stringent "IETF Review" process proposed by this document. Indeed,
the other two related registries [IANA2] [IANA3] do cite the "IETF
Review" policy, consistently with RFC 7249.
This document therefore extends the first paragraph of section 2.3 of
[RFC7249] as follows:
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OLD:
| The vast bulk of the IPv6 address space (approximately 7/8ths of
| the whole address space) is reserved by the IETF [RFC4291], with
| the expectation that further assignment of globally unique unicast
| address space will be made from this reserved space in accordance
| with future needs.
NEW:
| The vast bulk of the IPv6 address space (approximately 7/8ths of
| the whole address space) is reserved by the IETF [RFC4291], with
| the expectation that further assignment of globally unique unicast
| address space will be made from this reserved space in accordance
| with future needs, through "IETF Review" as defined in [BCP26].
3. RFC Editor Considerations
The RFC Editor is requested to update the "Stream" information for
[RFC1881] to "IETF" in place of "Legacy".
4. IANA Considerations
IANA is requested to update the "Registration Procedure(s)" section
of the Internet Protocol Version 6 Address Space registry [IANA1] to
show the policy as "IETF Review".
5. Security Considerations
The security considerations of [RFC7249] apply. While having no
direct security impact, carefully reviewed address allocation
mechanisms are necessary to ensure operational address
accountability.
6. Acknowledgements
Useful comments were received from Dale Carder, Bob Hinden, Scott
Kelly, Philipp Tiesel, and others.
7. References
7.1. Normative References
[BCP26] Best Current Practice 26,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp26>.
At the time of writing, this BCP comprises the following:
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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>.
[RFC4291] Hinden, R. and S. Deering, "IP Version 6 Addressing
Architecture", RFC 4291, DOI 10.17487/RFC4291, February
2006, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4291>.
[STD86] Internet Standard 86,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/std86>.
At the time of writing, this STD comprises the following:
Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
(IPv6) Specification", STD 86, RFC 8200,
DOI 10.17487/RFC8200, July 2017,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8200>.
7.2. Informative References
[IANA1] "Internet Protocol Version 6 Address Space", n.d.,
<https://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv6-address-space>.
[IANA2] "IPv6 Global Unicast Address Assignments", n.d.,
<https://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv6-unicast-address-
assignments>.
[IANA3] "IANA IPv6 Special-Purpose Address Registry", n.d.,
<https://www.iana.org/assignments/iana-ipv6-special-
registry>.
[RFC1881] IAB and IESG, "IPv6 Address Allocation Management",
RFC 1881, DOI 10.17487/RFC1881, December 1995,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1881>.
[RFC2860] Carpenter, B., Baker, F., and M. Roberts, "Memorandum of
Understanding Concerning the Technical Work of the
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority", RFC 2860,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2860, June 2000,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2860>.
[RFC7020] Housley, R., Curran, J., Huston, G., and D. Conrad, "The
Internet Numbers Registry System", RFC 7020,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7020, August 2013,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7020>.
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[RFC7249] Housley, R., "Internet Numbers Registries", RFC 7249,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7249, May 2014,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7249>.
[RFC8729] Housley, R., Ed. and L. Daigle, Ed., "The RFC Series and
RFC Editor", RFC 8729, DOI 10.17487/RFC8729, February
2020, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8729>.
[RFC9602] Krishnan, S., "Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) Segment
Identifiers in the IPv6 Addressing Architecture",
RFC 9602, DOI 10.17487/RFC9602, October 2024,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9602>.
Appendix A. Change Log [RFC Editor: please remove]
A.1. draft-carpenter-6man-addr-assign-00
* Original version
A.2. Draft-01
* Added author
* Added citations
* Small update to RFC 7249
* Added appendix on registry names
A.3. Draft-02
* Clarified some details
A.4. draft-ietf-6man-addr-assign-00
* Adopted by WG
A.5. Draft-01
* Changed stream for RFC 1881 to IETF
* Editorial improvements
A.6. Draft-02
* Further editorial improvements
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A.7. Draft-03
* At IESG's request, removed the appendix about registry names,
which will be handled by IANA directly.
* Clarified discussion of RFC9602
* Improved security considerations
* Minor editorial changes
A.8. Draft-04
* Minor editorial changes
A.9. Draft-05
* Corrected title to "Allocation" instead of "Assignment"
* Minor editorial changes
Authors' Addresses
Brian E. Carpenter
The University of Auckland
School of Computer Science
PB 92019
Auckland 1142
New Zealand
Email: brian.e.carpenter@gmail.com
Suresh Krishnan
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Email: suresh.krishnan@gmail.com
David E. Farmer III
University of Minnesota
Office of Information Technology
Minneapolis MN 55455
United States of America
Email: farmer@umn.edu
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