IPv6 Query for Enabled In-situ OAM Capabilities
draft-ietf-6man-icmpv6-ioam-conf-state-10
| Document | Type | Active Internet-Draft (6man WG) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Xiao Min , Greg Mirsky , Ron Bonica | ||
| Last updated | 2026-02-25 | ||
| Replaces | draft-xiao-6man-icmpv6-ioam-conf-state | ||
| RFC stream | Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) | ||
| Intended RFC status | (None) | ||
| Formats | |||
| Additional resources | Mailing list discussion | ||
| Stream | WG state | WG Document | |
| Document shepherd | (None) | ||
| IESG | IESG state | I-D Exists | |
| Consensus boilerplate | Unknown | ||
| Telechat date | (None) | ||
| Responsible AD | (None) | ||
| Send notices to | (None) |
draft-ietf-6man-icmpv6-ioam-conf-state-10
6MAN Working Group X. Min
Internet-Draft ZTE Corp.
Intended status: Standards Track G. Mirsky
Expires: 29 August 2026 Ericsson
R. Bonica
HPE
25 February 2026
IPv6 Query for Enabled In-situ OAM Capabilities
draft-ietf-6man-icmpv6-ioam-conf-state-10
Abstract
This document describes the application of the mechanism of
discovering In-situ OAM (IOAM) capabilities, described in RFC 9359
"Echo Request/Reply for Enabled In Situ OAM (IOAM) Capabilities", in
IPv6 networks. IPv6 Node IOAM Query functionality uses the ICMPv6
Query messages, allowing the IOAM encapsulating node to discover the
enabled IOAM capabilities of each IOAM transit and IOAM decapsulating
node.
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-
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 29 August 2026.
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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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
2. Conventions Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. IOAM Query Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1. IOAM Query Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2. Examples of the IOAM Query Request . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4. IOAM Query Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1. IOAM Capabilities Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2. Examples of the IOAM Query Response . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5. Code Field Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
8. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
9. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
9.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
9.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1. Introduction
IPv6 encapsulation for In-situ OAM (IOAM) data is defined in
[RFC9486], which uses the IPv6 hop-by-hop and destination options to
carry IOAM data fields ([RFC9197], [RFC9326]).
As specified in [RFC9359], the echo request/reply can be used by the
IOAM encapsulating node to discover the enabled IOAM capabilities at
the IOAM transit and decapsulating nodes.
As specified in [RFC4443], the Internet Control Message Protocol for
IPv6 (ICMPv6) is an integral part of IPv6. ICMPv6 messages include
error messages and informational messages. [RFC4884] defines ICMP
Extension Structure by which multi-part ICMPv6 error messages are
supported. [I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query] updates [RFC4884] by adding
two ICMPv6 informational messages, ICMPv6 Query Request message and
ICMPv6 Query Response message, to the supporting list of ICMP
Extension Structure. The two added ICMPv6 messages are used for a
Querying node to query information of a Queried node.
This document describes the IPv6 Node IOAM Query functionality, which
uses the ICMPv6 Query messages, allowing the IOAM encapsulating node
to discover the enabled IOAM capabilities of each IOAM transit and
IOAM decapsulating node.
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The IOAM encapsulating node sends an IOAM Query Request to each IOAM
transit and decapsulating node. Upon receiving the query, each node
executes access control procedures. If access is granted, the node
returns an IOAM Query Response indicating its enabled IOAM
capabilities. The IOAM Query Request contains an ICMP Extension
Structure including one IOAM Query Object, and the IOAM Query
Response contains an ICMP Extension Structure including one or more
IOAM Capabilities Objects.
Before the IOAM encapsulating node sends the IOAM Query Request, it
must know the IPv6 address of each node along the transport path of
the data packet to which IOAM data will be added. This can be
achieved by executing an ICMPv6/UDP traceroute or by provisioning an
explicit path at the IOAM encapsulating node. In an Equal-Cost
Multipath (ECMP) scenario, the same values in any ECMP-affecting
fields (e.g., the 3-tuple of the Flow Label, Source Address, and
Destination Address fields as per [RFC6437]) of the IOAM data packets
MUST be populated in the IOAM Query Request, ensuring fate sharing
between the IOAM Query Request and the IOAM data packets.
2. Conventions Used in This Document
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.
3. IOAM Query Request
The IOAM Query Request message is encapsulated in an IPv6 header
[RFC8200], like any ICMPv6 message.
The IOAM Query Request message has the following format:
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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 | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Version| Reserved | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
~ IOAM Query Object ~
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
~ Pad Object ~
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 1: IOAM Query Request Message
IPv6 Header fields:
* Source Address: The Source Address identifies the IOAM
encapsulating node. It MUST be a valid IPv6 unicast address.
* Destination Address: The Destination Address identifies the IOAM
transit or decapsulating node. It MUST be a valid IPv6 unicast
address.
ICMPv6 fields:
* ICMPv6 header: The values of Type, Code, Checksum, Identifier, and
Sequence Number are the same as specified in
[I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query].
* Following the ICMPv6 header, it's an ICMP Extension Structure
([RFC4884]) containing an IOAM Query Object and an Pad Object
([I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query]). The IOAM Query Object is also
known as Query Request Object in [I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query].
3.1. IOAM Query Object
The IOAM Query Object has the following format:
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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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
~ List of IOAM Namespace-IDs ~
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 2: IOAM Query Object
Object fields:
* Class-Num: IOAM Query Object. The value is TBD1.
* C-Type: MUST be set to 0 and MUST be ignored upon receipt.
* Length: Length of the object, measured in octets, including the
Object Header and payload.
* Object payload: Following the IOAM Query Object Header is the IOAM
Query Object Payload, which is defined in Section 3.1 of
[RFC9359]..
3.2. Examples of the IOAM Query Request
The format of an IOAM Query Request can vary from deployment to
deployment.
In a deployment where only the default Namespace-ID is used, the IOAM
Query Request is depicted as the following:
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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 | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Version| Reserved | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID | Zero-padded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
~ Extra Padding ~
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 3: IOAM Query Request of the Default IOAM Namespace
In a deployment where two Namespace-IDs (Namespace-ID1 and Namespace-
ID2) are used, the IOAM Query Request is depicted as the following:
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 | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Version| Reserved | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID1 | Namespace-ID2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
~ Extra Padding ~
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 4: IOAM Query Request of the Two IOAM Namespaces
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When an IOAM Query Request message is received, the length of the
message is determined by the Payload Length field in the IPv6 Header,
as specified in [RFC8200].
4. IOAM Query Response
The IOAM Query Response message is encapsulated in an IPv6 header
[RFC8200], like any ICMPv6 message.
The IOAM Query Response message 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 | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Version| Reserved | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
~ List of IOAM Capabilities Objects ~
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 5: IOAM Query Response Message
IPv6 Header fields:
* Source Address: Copied from the Destination Address field of the
invoking IOAM Query Request packet.
* Destination Address: Copied from the Source Address field of the
invoking IOAM Query Request packet.
ICMPv6 fields:
* ICMPv6 header: The values of Type, Code, Checksum, Identifier, and
Sequence Number are the same as specified in
[I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query]. Besides, two more values (4) No
Matched Namespace-ID and (5) Exceed the minimum IPv6 MTU are
defined for Code field. See Section 5 for details.
* Following the ICMPv6 header, it's an ICMP Extension Structure
([RFC4884]) containing one or more IOAM Capabilities Objects. The
IOAM Capabilities Object is also known as Query Response Object in
[I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query].
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4.1. IOAM Capabilities Objects
The IOAM Capabilities Object 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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
~ IOAM Capabilities Object Payload ~
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 6: IOAM Capabilities Object
Object fields:
* Class-Num: IOAM Capabilities Objects. The values are listed as
the following:
Value Object Name
----- -----------
TBD2 IOAM Tracing Capabilities Object
TBD3 IOAM Proof of Transit Capabilities Object
TBD4 IOAM Edge-to-Edge Capabilities Object
TBD5 IOAM DEX Capabilities Object
TBD6 IOAM End-of-Domain Object
* C-Type: Values are listed as the following:
Class-Num C-Type C-Type Name
--------- ------ -----------
TBD2 0 Reserved
1 Pre-allocated Tracing
TBD3 0 Reserved
TBD4 0 Reserved
TBD5 0 Reserved
TBD6 0 Reserved
* Length: Length of the object, measured in octets, including the
Object Header and payload.
* Object payload: Following the IOAM Capabilities Object Header is
the IOAM Capabilities Object payload, which is defined in Sections
3.2.1, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5, and 3.2.6 of [RFC9359].
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4.2. Examples of the IOAM Query Response
The format of an IOAM Query Response can vary from deployment to
deployment.
In a deployment where only the default Namespace-ID is used, the IOAM
Pre-allocated Tracing Capabilities and the IOAM Proof of Transit
Capabilities are enabled at the IOAM transit node that received an
IOAM Query Request, the IOAM Query Response is depicted as the
following:
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 | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Version| Reserved | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IOAM-Trace-Type | Reserved |W|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID | Ingress_MTU |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Ingress_if_id (short or wide format) ...... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID | IOAM-POT-Type |SoP| Reserved |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 7: Example 1 of the IOAM Query Response
In a deployment where two Namespace-IDs (Namespace-ID1 and Namespace-
ID2) are used, for both Namespace-ID1 and Namespace-ID2 the IOAM Pre-
allocated Tracing Capabilities and the IOAM Proof of Transit
Capabilities are enabled at the IOAM transit node that received an
IOAM Query Request, the IOAM Query Response is depicted as the
following:
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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 | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Version| Reserved | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IOAM-Trace-Type | Reserved |W|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID1 | Ingress_MTU |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Ingress_if_id (short or wide format) ...... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID1 | IOAM-POT-Type |SoP| Reserved |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IOAM-Trace-Type | Reserved |W|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID2 | Ingress_MTU |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Ingress_if_id (short or wide format) ...... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID2 | IOAM-POT-Type |SoP| Reserved |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 8: Example 2 of the IOAM Query Response
In a deployment where only the default Namespace-ID is used, the IOAM
Pre-allocated Tracing Capabilities, the IOAM Proof of Transit
Capabilities, and the IOAM Edge-to-Edge Capabilities are enabled at
the IOAM decapsulating node that received an IOAM Query Request, the
IOAM Query Response is depicted as the following:
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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 | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Version| Reserved | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| IOAM-Trace-Type | Reserved |W|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID | Ingress_MTU |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Ingress_if_id (short or wide format) ...... |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID | IOAM-POT-Type |SoP| Reserved |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Length | Class-Num | C-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Namespace-ID | IOAM-E2E-Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|TSF| Reserved | Reserved |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 9: Example 3 of the IOAM Query Response
When an IOAM Query Response message is received, the length of the
message is determined by the Payload Length field in the IPv6 Header,
as specified in [RFC8200].
5. Code Field Processing
The Code field in the IOAM Query Response MUST be set to (4) No
Matched Namespace-ID if any of the following conditions apply:
* The IOAM Query Request does not include any Namespace-ID.
* None of the contained list of IOAM Namespace-IDs is recognized.
* None of the contained list of IOAM Namespace-IDs is enabled.
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The Code field in the IOAM Query Response MUST be set to (5) Exceed
the minimum IPv6 MTU if the formatted IOAM Query Response packet
exceeds the minimum IPv6 MTU (i.e., 1280 octets). In this case, all
objects MUST be stripped before forwarding the IOAM Query Response to
its destination.
6. IANA Considerations
This document requests the following actions from IANA:
* Add the following Codes to the "Type TBD - Query Response"
subregistry:
- (4) No Matched Namespace-ID
- (5) Exceed the minimum IPv6 MTU
* Add the following to the "ICMP Extension Object Classes and Class
Sub-types" registry:
- (TBD1) IOAM Query Object
* Add the following C-types to the "Sub-types - Class TBD1 - IOAM
Query Object" subregistry:
- (0) Reserved
* Add the following to the "ICMP Extension Object Classes and Class
Sub-types" registry:
- (TBD2) IOAM Tracing Capabilities Object
* Add the following C-types to the "Sub-types - Class TBD2 - IOAM
Tracing Capabilities Object" subregistry:
- (0) Reserved
- (1) Pre-allocated Tracing
* Add the following to the "ICMP Extension Object Classes and Class
Sub-types" registry:
- (TBD3) IOAM Proof of Transit Capabilities Object
* Add the following C-types to the "Sub-types - Class TBD3 - IOAM
Proof of Transit Capabilities Object" subregistry:
- (0) Reserved
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* Add the following to the "ICMP Extension Object Classes and Class
Sub-types" registry:
- (TBD4) IOAM Edge-to-Edge Capabilities Object
* Add the following C-types to the "Sub-types - Class TBD4 - IOAM
Edge-to-Edge Capabilities Object" subregistry:
- (0) Reserved
* Add the following to the "ICMP Extension Object Classes and Class
Sub-types" registry:
- (TBD5) IOAM DEX Capabilities Object
* Add the following C-types to the "Sub-types - Class TBD5 - IOAM
DEX Capabilities Object" subregistry:
- (0) Reserved
* Add the following to the "ICMP Extension Object Classes and Class
Sub-types" registry:
- (TBD6) IOAM End-of-Domain Object
* Add the following C-types to the "Sub-types - Class TBD6 - IOAM
End-of-Domain Object" subregistry:
- (0) Reserved
All codes mentioned above are assigned on a First Come First Serve
(FCFS) basis with a range of 0-255.
7. Security Considerations
Security issues discussed in [I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query] and
[RFC9359] apply to this document.
This document recommends using IP Authentication Header [RFC4302] or
IP Encapsulating Security Payload Header [RFC4303] to provide
integrity protection for IOAM capabilities information.
This document recommends using IP Encapsulating Security Payload
Header [RFC4303] to provide privacy protection for IOAM capabilities
information.
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This document recommends that the network operators establish
policies that restrict access to IPv6 Node IOAM Query functionality.
In order to enforce these policies, nodes that support IPv6 Node IOAM
Query functionality MUST support the following configuration options:
* Enable/disable IPv6 Node IOAM Query functionality. By default,
IPv6 Node IOAM Query functionality is disabled.
* Define enabled Namespace-IDs. By default, all Namespace-IDs
except the default one (i.e., Namespace-ID 0x0000) are disabled.
* For each enabled Namespace-ID, define the prefixes from which the
IOAM Query Request messages are permitted.
In order to protect local resources, implementations SHOULD rate-
limit incoming IOAM Query Request messages.
8. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Eric Vyncke, Erik Kline, and
Bob Hinden for their valuable suggestions.
The authors would like to acknowledge Chongfeng Xie, Zhenqiang Li,
David Lamparter, and Daniel King for their review and helpful
comments.
9. References
9.1. Normative References
[I-D.xbm-intarea-icmp-query]
Min, X., Bonica, R., and G. Mirsky, "ICMP Query for IP
Node Information", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
draft-xbm-intarea-icmp-query-00, 24 February 2026,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-xbm-intarea-
icmp-query-00>.
[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>.
[RFC4443] Conta, A., Deering, S., and M. Gupta, Ed., "Internet
Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet
Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", STD 89,
RFC 4443, DOI 10.17487/RFC4443, March 2006,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4443>.
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Internet-Draft IPv6 Query for IOAM Capabilities February 2026
[RFC4884] Bonica, R., Gan, D., Tappan, D., and C. Pignataro,
"Extended ICMP to Support Multi-Part Messages", RFC 4884,
DOI 10.17487/RFC4884, April 2007,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4884>.
[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>.
[RFC9359] Min, X., Mirsky, G., and L. Bo, "Echo Request/Reply for
Enabled In Situ OAM (IOAM) Capabilities", RFC 9359,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9359, April 2023,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9359>.
[RFC9486] Bhandari, S., Ed. and F. Brockners, Ed., "IPv6 Options for
In Situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance
(IOAM)", RFC 9486, DOI 10.17487/RFC9486, September 2023,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9486>.
9.2. Informative References
[RFC4302] Kent, S., "IP Authentication Header", RFC 4302,
DOI 10.17487/RFC4302, December 2005,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4302>.
[RFC4303] Kent, S., "IP Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)",
RFC 4303, DOI 10.17487/RFC4303, December 2005,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4303>.
[RFC6437] Amante, S., Carpenter, B., Jiang, S., and J. Rajahalme,
"IPv6 Flow Label Specification", RFC 6437,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6437, November 2011,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6437>.
[RFC8200] 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>.
[RFC9197] Brockners, F., Ed., Bhandari, S., Ed., and T. Mizrahi,
Ed., "Data Fields for In Situ Operations, Administration,
and Maintenance (IOAM)", RFC 9197, DOI 10.17487/RFC9197,
May 2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9197>.
Min, et al. Expires 29 August 2026 [Page 15]
Internet-Draft IPv6 Query for IOAM Capabilities February 2026
[RFC9326] Song, H., Gafni, B., Brockners, F., Bhandari, S., and T.
Mizrahi, "In Situ Operations, Administration, and
Maintenance (IOAM) Direct Exporting", RFC 9326,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9326, November 2022,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9326>.
Authors' Addresses
Xiao Min
ZTE Corp.
Nanjing
China
Phone: +86 18061680168
Email: xiao.min2@zte.com.cn
Greg Mirsky
Ericsson
United States of America
Email: gregimirsky@gmail.com
Ron Bonica
HPE
United States of America
Email: ronald.bonica@hpe.com
Min, et al. Expires 29 August 2026 [Page 16]