Skip to main content

Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6
RFC 4068

Document Type RFC - Experimental (July 2005) IPR
Obsoleted by RFC 5268
Author Rajeev Koodli
Last updated 2015-10-14
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Formats
Additional resources Mailing list discussion
IESG Responsible AD Dr. Thomas Narten
Send notices to (None)
RFC 4068
Network Working Group                                     R. Koodli, Ed.
Request for Comments: 4068                         Nokia Research Center
Category: Experimental                                         July 2005

                     Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6

Status of This Memo

   This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
   community.  It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.
   Discussion and suggestions for improvement are requested.
   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

Abstract

   Mobile IPv6 enables a Mobile Node to maintain its connectivity to the
   Internet when moving from one Access Router to another, a process
   referred to as handover.  During handover, there is a period during
   which the Mobile Node is unable to send or receive packets because of
   link switching delay and IP protocol operations.  This "handover
   latency" resulting from standard Mobile IPv6 procedures, namely
   movement detection, new Care of Address configuration, and Binding
   Update, is often unacceptable to real-time traffic such as Voice over
   IP.  Reducing the handover latency could be beneficial to non-real-
   time, throughput-sensitive applications as well.  This document
   specifies a protocol to improve handover latency due to Mobile IPv6
   procedures.  This document does not address improving the link
   switching latency.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 1]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   3.  Protocol Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       3.1.  Addressing the Handover Latency. . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       3.2.  Protocol Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
       3.3.  Protocol Operation of Network-initiated Handover . . . .  9
   4.  Protocol Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
   5.  Miscellaneous. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       5.1.  Handover Capability Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       5.2.  Determining New Care of Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       5.3.  Packet Loss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       5.4.  DAD Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
       5.5.  Fast or Erroneous Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
   6.  Message Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
       6.1.  New Neighborhood Discovery Messages. . . . . . . . . . . 17
             6.1.1. Router Solicitation for Proxy Advertisement
                    (RtSolPr) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
             6.1.2. Proxy Router Advertisement (PrRtAdv). . . . . . . 20
       6.2.  Inter-Access Router Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
             6.2.1. Handover Initiate (HI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
             6.2.2. Handover Acknowledge (HAck) . . . . . . . . . . . 25
       6.3.  New Mobility Header Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
             6.3.1. Fast Binding Update (FBU) . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
             6.3.2. Fast Binding Acknowledgment (FBack) . . . . . . . 28
             6.3.3. Fast Neighbor Advertisement (FNA) . . . . . . . . 30
       6.4.  New Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
             6.4.1. IP Address Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
             6.4.2. New Router Prefix Information Option. . . . . . . 33
             6.4.3. Link-Layer Address (LLA) Option . . . . . . . . . 34
             6.4.4. Mobility Header Link-Layer Address (MH-LLA)
                    Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
             6.4.5. Neighbor Advertisement Acknowledgment (NAACK) . . 35
   7.  Configurable Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
   8.  Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
   9.  IANA Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
   10. Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
   11. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
   12. Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 2]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

1.  Introduction

   Mobile IPv6 [3] describes the protocol operations for a mobile node
   to maintain connectivity to the Internet during its handover from one
   access router to another.  These operations involve movement
   detection, IP address configuration, and location update.  The
   combined handover latency is often sufficient to affect real-time
   applications.  Throughput-sensitive applications can also benefit
   from reducing this latency.  This document describes a protocol to
   reduce the handover latency.

   This specification addresses the following problem: how to allow a
   mobile node to send packets as soon as it detects a new subnet link,
   and how to deliver packets to a mobile node as soon as its attachment
   is detected by the new access router.  The protocol defines IP
   protocol messages necessary for its operation regardless of link
   technology.  It does this without depending on specific link-layer
   features while allowing link-specific customizations.  By definition,
   this specification considers handovers that interwork with Mobile IP:
   once attached to its new access router, an MN engages in Mobile IP
   operations including Return Routability [3].  There are no special
   requirements for a mobile node to behave differently with respect to
   its standard Mobile IP operations.

2.  Terminology

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [1].  The use
   of the term, "silently ignore" is not defined in RFC 2119.  However,
   the term is used in this document and can be similarly construed.

   The following terminology and abbreviations are used in this
   document.  The reference handover scenario is illustrated in
   Figure 1.

      Mobile Node (MN)
            A Mobile IPv6 host.

      Access Point (AP)
            A Layer 2 device connected to an IP subnet that offers
            wireless connectivity to an MN.  An Access Point Identifier
            (AP-ID) refers to the AP's L2 address.  Sometimes, AP-ID is
            also referred to as a Base Station Subsystem ID (BSSID).

      Access Router (AR)
            The MN's default router.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 3]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      Previous Access Router (PAR)
            The MN's default router prior to its handover.

      New Access Router (NAR)
            The MN's default router subsequent to its handover.

      Previous CoA (PCoA)
            The MN's Care of Address valid on PAR's subnet.

      New CoA (NCoA)
            The MN's Care of Address valid on NAR's subnet.

      Handover
            A process of terminating existing connectivity and obtaining
            new IP connectivity.

      Router Solicitation for Proxy Advertisement (RtSolPr)
            A message from the MN to the PAR requesting information for
            a potential handover.

      Proxy Router Advertisement (PrRtAdv)
            A message from the PAR to the MN that provides information
            about neighboring links facilitating expedited movement
            detection.  The message also acts as a trigger for network-
            initiated handover.

      (AP-ID, AR-Info) tuple
            Contains an access router's L2 and IP addresses, and the
            prefix valid on the interface to which the Access Point
            (identified by AP-ID) is attached.  The triplet [Router's L2
            address, Router's IP address, Prefix] is called "AR-Info".

      Assigned Addressing
            A particular type of NCoA configuration in which the NAR
            assigns an IPv6 address for the MN.  The method by which NAR
            manages its address pool is not specified in this document.

      Fast Binding Update (FBU)
            A message from the MN instructing its PAR to redirect its
            traffic (toward NAR).

      Fast Binding Acknowledgment (FBack)
            A message from the PAR in response to an FBU.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 4]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      Fast Neighbor Advertisement (FNA)
            A message from the MN to the NAR to announce attachment, and
            to confirm the use of NCoA when the MN has not received an
            FBACK.

      Handover Initiate (HI)
            A message from the PAR to the NAR regarding an MN's
            handover.

      Handover Acknowledge (HAck)
            A message from the NAR to the PAR as a response to HI.

             v            +------------+
           +-+            |  Previous  |        <
           | | ---------- |   Access   | ------ > ----\
           +-+            |   Router   |        <      \
               MN         |   (PAR)    |                \
            |             +------------+            +---------------+
            |                   ^            IP     | Correspondent |
            |                   |         Network   |  Node         |
            V                   |                   +---------------+
                                v                        /
             v            +------------+                /
           +-+            |    New     |        <      /
           | | ---------- |   Access   | ------ > ----/
           +-+            |   Router   |        <
              MN          |   (NAR)    |
                          +------------+

               Figure 1: Reference Scenario for Handover

3.  Protocol Overview

3.1.  Addressing the Handover Latency

   The ability to immediately send packets from a new subnet link
   depends on the "IP connectivity" latency, which in turn depends on
   the movement detection latency and new CoA configuration latency.
   Once an MN is IP-capable on the new subnet link, it can send a
   Binding Update to its Home Agent and one or more correspondents.
   Once its correspondents successfully process the Binding Update,
   which typically involves the Return Routability procedure, the MN can
   receive packets at the new CoA.  So, the ability to receive packets
   from correspondents directly at its new CoA depends on the Binding
   Update latency as well as the IP connectivity latency.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 5]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   The protocol enables an MN to quickly detect that it has moved to a
   new subnet by providing the new access point and the associated
   subnet prefix information when the MN is still connected to its
   current subnet (i.e., PAR in Figure 1).  For instance, an MN may
   discover available access points using link-layer specific mechanisms
   (i.e., a "scan" in WLAN) and then request subnet information
   corresponding to one or more of those discovered access points.  The
   MN may do this after performing router discovery or at any time while
   connected to its current router.  The result of resolving an
   identifier associated with an access point is a [AP-ID, AR-Info]
   tuple, which an MN can use in readily detecting movement:  when
   attachment to an access point with AP-ID takes place, the MN knows
   the corresponding new router's coordinates including its prefix, IP
   address, and L2 address.  The "Router Solicitation for Proxy
   Advertisement (RtSolPr)" and "Proxy Router Advertisement (PrRtAdv)"
   messages (see Section 6.1) are used for aiding movement detection.

   Through the RtSolPr and PrRtAdv messages, the MN also formulates a
   prospective new CoA (NCoA) when it is still present on the PAR's
   link.  Hence, the latency due to new prefix discovery subsequent to
   handover is eliminated.  Furthermore, this prospective address can be
   used immediately after attaching to the new subnet link (i.e., NAR's
   link) when the MN has received a "Fast Binding Acknowledgment
   (FBack)" message prior to its movement.  If it moves without
   receiving an FBack, the MN can still start using NCoA after
   announcing its attachment through a "Fast Neighbor Advertisement
   (FNA)" message.  NAR responds to FNA if the tentative address is
   already in use thereby reducing NCoA configuration latency.  Under
   some limited conditions in which the probability of address collision
   is considered insignificant, it may be possible to use NCoA
   immediately after attaching to the new link.  Even so, all
   implementations MUST support and SHOULD use the mechanism specified
   in this document to avoid potential address conflicts.

   To reduce the Binding Update latency, the protocol specifies a tunnel
   between the Previous CoA (PCoA) and the NCoA.  An MN sends a "Fast
   Binding Update" message to its Previous Access Router to establish
   this tunnel.  When feasible, the MN SHOULD send an FBU from PAR's
   link.  Otherwise, it should be sent immediately after attachment to
   NAR has been detected.  Subsequent sections describe the protocol
   mechanics.  As a result, PAR begins tunneling packets arriving for
   PCoA to NCoA.  Such a tunnel remains active until the MN completes
   the Binding Update with its correspondents.  In the opposite
   direction, the MN SHOULD reverse tunnel packets to PAR until it
   completes the Binding Update.  PAR SHOULD forward the inner packet in
   the tunnel to its destination (i.e., to the MN's correspondent).
   Such a reverse tunnel ensures that packets containing PCoA as a
   source IP address are not dropped due to ingress filtering.  Readers

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 6]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   may observe that even though the MN is IP-capable on the new link, it
   cannot use NCoA directly with its correspondents without the
   correspondents first establishing a binding cache entry (for NCoA).
   Forwarding support for PCoA is provided through a reverse tunnel
   between the MN and the PAR.

   Setting up a tunnel alone does not ensure that the MN receives
   packets as soon as it is attached to a new subnet link, unless the
   NAR can detect the MN's presence.  A neighbor discovery operation
   involving a neighbor's address resolution (i.e., Neighbor
   Solicitation and Neighbor Advertisement) typically results in
   considerable delay, sometimes lasting multiple seconds.  For
   instance, when arriving packets trigger NAR to send Neighbor
   Solicitation before the MN attaches, subsequent retransmissions of
   address resolution are separated by a default period of one second
   each.  To circumvent this delay, an MN announces its attachment
   through the FNA message that allows the NAR to consider MN to be
   reachable.  If there is no existing entry, FNA allows NAR to create
   one.  If NAR already has an entry, FNA updates the entry while taking
   potential address conflicts into consideration.  Through tunnel
   establishment for PCoA and fast advertisement, the protocol provides
   expedited forwarding of packets to the MN.

   The protocol also provides the following important functionalities.
   The access routers can exchange messages to confirm that a proposed
   NCoA is acceptable.  For instance, when an MN sends an FBU from PAR's
   link, FBack can be delivered after the NAR considers the NCoA
   acceptable for use.  This is especially useful when addresses are
   assigned by the access router.  The NAR can also rely on its trust
   relationship with PAR before providing forwarding support for the MN.
   That is, it may create a forwarding entry for the NCoA subject to
   "approval" from PAR which it trusts.  Finally, the access routers
   could transfer network-resident contexts, such as access control,
   QoS, and header compression, in conjunction with handover.  For these
   operations, the protocol provides "Handover Initiate (HI)" and
   "Handover Acknowledge (HAck)" messages.  Both of these messages MUST
   be supported and SHOULD be used.  The access routers MUST have
   necessary security association established by means outside the scope
   of this document.

3.2.  Protocol Operation

   The protocol begins when an MN sends an RtSolPr to its access router
   to resolve one or more Access Point Identifiers to subnet-specific
   information.  In response, the access router (e.g., PAR in Figure 1)
   sends a PrRtAdv message containing one or more [AP-ID, AR-Info]
   tuples.  The MN may send a RtSolPr at any convenient time, for
   instance as a response to some link-specific event (a "trigger") or

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 7]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   simply after performing router discovery.  However, the expectation
   is that prior to sending RtSolPr, the MN will have discovered the
   available APs by link-specific methods.  The RtSolPr and PrRtAdv
   messages do not establish any state at the access router; their
   packet formats are defined in Section 6.1.

   With the information provided in the PrRtAdv message, the MN
   formulates a prospective NCoA and sends an FBU message when a link-
   specific handover event occurs.  The purpose of the FBU is to
   authorize PAR to bind PCoA to NCoA, so that arriving packets can be
   tunneled to the new location of the MN.  Whenever feasible, the FBU
   SHOULD be sent from PAR's link.  For instance, an internal link-
   specific trigger could enable FBU transmission from the previous
   link.  When it is not feasible, the FBU is sent from the new link.
   Care must be taken to ensure that the NCoA used in FBU does not
   conflict with an address already in use by some other node on the
   link.  For this, FBU encapsulation within FNA MUST be implemented and
   SHOULD be used (see below) when the FBU is sent from NAR's link.

   The format and semantics of FBU processing are specified in Section
   6.3.1.

   Depending on whether an FBack is received on the previous link (which
   clearly depends on whether the FBU was sent in the first place),
   there are two modes of operation.

   1. The MN receives an FBack on the previous link.  This means that
      packet tunneling is already in progress by the time the MN
      handovers to NAR.  The MN SHOULD send FNA immediately after
      attaching to NAR, so that arriving and buffered packets can be
      forwarded to the MN right away.

      Before sending an FBack to an MN, PAR can determine whether the
      NCoA is acceptable to the NAR through the exchange of HI and HAck
      messages.  When assigned addressing (i.e., addresses are assigned
      by the router) is used, the proposed NCoA in the FBU is carried in
      HI, and the NAR MAY assign the proposed NCoA.  Such an assigned
      NCoA MUST be returned in HAck, and the PAR MUST in turn provide
      the assigned NCoA in the FBack.  If there is an assigned NCoA
      returned in the FBack, the MN MUST use the assigned address (and
      not the proposed address in the FBU) upon attaching to NAR.

   2. The MN does not receive the FBack on the previous link because the
      MN has not sent the FBU or the MN has left the link after sending
      the FBU (which itself may be lost), but before receiving an FBack.
      Without receiving an FBack in the latter case, the MN cannot
      ascertain whether PAR has successfully processed the FBU.  Hence,
      it (re)sends an FBU as soon as it attaches to NAR.  To enable NAR

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 8]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      to forward packets immediately (when FBU has been processed) and
      to allow NAR to verify whether NCoA is acceptable, the MN SHOULD
      encapsulate the FBU in the FNA.  If NAR detects that NCoA is in
      use when processing the FNA, for instance while creating a
      neighbor entry, it MUST discard the inner FBU packet and send a
      Router Advertisement with the "Neighbor Advertisement Acknowledge
      (NAACK)" option in which NAR MAY include an alternate IP address
      for the MN to use.  This discarding avoids the rare and
      undesirable outcome that results from address collision.  Detailed
      FNA processing rules are specified in Section 6.3.3.

   The scenario in which an MN sends an FBU and receives an FBack on
   PAR's link is illustrated in Figure 2.  For convenience, this
   scenario is characterized as "predictive" mode of operation.  The
   scenario in which the MN sends an FBU from NAR's link is illustrated
   in Figure 3.  For convenience, this scenario is characterized as a
   "reactive" mode of operation.  Note that the reactive mode also
   includes the case in which an FBU has been sent from PAR's link but
   an FBack has not been received yet.

   Finally, the PrRtAdv message may be sent unsolicited (i.e., without
   the MN first sending a RtSolPr).  This mode is described in Section
   3.3.

3.3.  Protocol Operation of Network-initiated Handover

   In some wireless technologies, the handover control may reside in the
   network even though the decision to undergo handover may be mutually
   arrived at between the MN and the network.  In these networks, the
   PAR can send an unsolicited PrRtAdv containing the link layer
   address, IP address, and subnet prefixes of the NAR when the network
   decides that a handover is imminent.  The MN MUST process this
   PrRtAdv to configure a new care of address on the new subnet, and
   MUST send an FBU to PAR prior to switching to the new link.  After
   transmitting PrRtAdv, the PAR MUST continue to forward packets to the
   MN on its current link until the FBU is received.  The rest of the
   operation is the same as that described in Section 3.2.

   The unsolicited PrRtAdv also allows the network to inform the MN
   about geographically adjacent subnets without the MN having to
   explicitly request that information.  This can reduce the amount of
   wireless traffic required for the MN to obtain a neighborhood
   topology map of links and subnets.  Such usage of PrRtAdv is
   decoupled from the actual handover; see Section 6.1.2.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                      [Page 9]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

              MN                    PAR                  NAR
               |                     |                    |
               |------RtSolPr------->|                    |
               |<-----PrRtAdv--------|                    |
               |                     |                    |
               |------FBU----------->|--------HI--------->|
               |                     |<------HAck---------|
               |          <--FBack---|--FBack--->         |
               |                     |                    |
            disconnect             forward                |
               |                   packets===============>|
               |                     |                    |
               |                     |                    |
           connect                   |                    |
               |                     |                    |
               |--------- FNA --------------------------->|
               |<=================================== deliver packets
               |                                          |

                  Figure 2: "Predictive" Fast Handover

4.  Protocol Details

   All descriptions refer to Figure 1.

   After discovering one or more nearby access points, the MN sends
   RtSolPr to resolve access point identifiers to subnet router
   information.  This is convenient to do after performing router
   discovery.  However, the MN can send RtSolPr at any time, e.g., when
   one or more new access points are discovered.  The MN can also send
   RtSolPr more than once during its attachment to PAR.  The trigger for
   sending RtSolPr can originate from a link-specific event, such as the
   promise of a better signal strength from another access point coupled
   with fading signal quality with the current access point.  Such
   events, often broadly referred to as "L2 triggers", are outside the
   scope of this document.  Nevertheless, they serve as events that
   invoke this protocol.  For instance, when a "link up" indication is
   obtained on the new link, protocol messages (e.g., FNA) can be
   immediately transmitted.  Implementations SHOULD make use of such
   triggers whenever possible.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 10]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

              MN                    PAR                  NAR
               |                     |                    |
               |------RtSolPr------->|                    |
               |<-----PrRtAdv--------|                    |
               |                     |                    |
            disconnect               |                    |
               |                     |                    |
               |                     |                    |
            connect                  |                    |
               |------FNA[FBU]-------|------------------->|
               |                     |<-----FBU-----------|
               |                     |------FBack-------->|
               |                   forward                |
               |                   packets===============>|
               |                     |                    |
               |<=================================== deliver packets
               |                                          |

                   Figure 3: "Reactive" Fast Handover

   The RtSolPr message contains one or more AP-IDs.  A wildcard requests
   all available tuples.

   As a response to RtSolPr, PAR sends a PrRtAdv message that indicates
   one of the following possible conditions.

   1. If the PAR does not have an entry corresponding to the new access
      point, it MUST respond indicating that the new access point is
      unknown.  The MN MUST stop fast handover protocol operations on
      the current link.  The MN MAY send an FBU from its new link.

   2. If the new access point is connected to the PAR's current
      interface (to which MN is attached), the PAR MUST respond with a
      Code value indicating that the new access point is connected to
      the current interface, but not send any prefix information.  This
      scenario could arise, for example, when several wireless access
      points are bridged into a wired network.  No further protocol
      action is necessary.

   3. If the new access point is known and the PAR has information about
      it, then PAR MUST respond indicating that the new access point is
      known and supply the [AP-ID, AR-Info] tuple.  If the new access
      point is known, but does not support fast handover, the PAR MUST
      indicate this with Code 3 (See Section 6.1.2).

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 11]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   4. If a wildcard is supplied as an identifier for the new access
      point, the PAR SHOULD supply neighborhood [AP-ID, AR-Info] tuples
      that are subject to path MTU restrictions (i.e., provide any `n'
      tuples without exceeding the link MTU).

   When further protocol action is necessary, some implementations MAY
   choose to begin buffering copies of incoming packets at the PAR.  If
   such FIFO buffering is used, the PAR MUST continue forwarding the
   packets to PCoA (i.e., buffer and forward).  Such buffering can be
   useful when the MN leaves without sending the FBU message from the
   PAR's link.  The PAR SHOULD stop buffering after processing the FBU
   message.  The size of the buffer is an implementation-specific
   consideration.

   The method by which Access Routers exchange information about their
   neighbors, and thereby allow construction of Proxy Router
   Advertisements with information about neighboring subnets is outside
   the scope of this document.

   The RtSolPr and PrRtAdv messages MUST be implemented by an MN and an
   access router that supports fast handovers.  However, when the
   parameters necessary for the MN to send packets immediately upon
   attaching to the NAR are supplied by the link layer handover
   mechanism itself, use of above messages is optional on such links.

   After a PrRtAdv message is processed, the MN sends an FBU at a time
   determined by link-specific events, and includes the proposed NCoA.
   The MN SHOULD send the FBU from PAR's link whenever "anticipation" of
   handover is feasible.  When anticipation is not feasible or when it
   has not received an FBack, the MN sends an FBU immediately after
   attaching to NAR's link.  This FBU SHOULD be encapsulated in an FNA
   message.  The encapsulation allows the NAR to discard the (inner) FBU
   packet if an address conflict is detected as a result of (outer) FNA
   packet processing (see FNA processing below).  In response to the
   FBU, the PAR establishes a binding between PCoA ("Home Address") and
   NCoA, and sends the FBack to the MN.  Prior to establishing this
   binding, PAR SHOULD send an HI message to NAR, and receive HAck in
   response.  To determine the NAR's address for the HI message, the PAR
   can perform the longest prefix match of NCoA (in FBU) with the prefix
   list of neighboring access routers.  When the source IP address of
   the FBU is PCoA, i.e., the FBU is sent from the PAR's link, and the
   HI message MUST have a Code value set to 0; see Section 6.2.1.  When
   the source IP address of the FBU is not PCoA, i.e., the FBU is sent
   from the NAR's link, the HI message MUST have a Code value of 1; see
   Section 6.2.1.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 12]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   The HI message contains the PCoA, Link-Layer Address, and the NCoA of
   the MN.  In response to processing an HI message with Code 0, the NAR

   1. determines whether NCoA supplied in the HI message is a valid
      address for use.  If it is, the NAR starts proxying [6] the
      address for PROXY_ND_LIFETIME during which the MN is expected to
      connect to the NAR.  The NAR MAY use the Link-Layer Address to
      verify whether a corresponding IP address exists in its forwarding
      tables.

   2. allocates NCoA for the MN when assigned addressing is used,
      creates a proxy neighbor cache entry, and begins defending it.
      The NAR MAY allocate the NCoA proposed in HI.

   3. MAY create a host route entry for PCoA in case NCoA cannot be
      accepted or assigned.  This host route entry SHOULD be implemented
      such that until the MN's presence is detected, either through
      explicit announcement by the MN or by other means, arriving
      packets do not invoke neighbor discovery.  The NAR MAY also set up
      a reverse tunnel to the PAR in this case.

   4. provides the status of the handover request in the Handover
      Acknowledge (HAck) message.

   When the Code value in HI is 1, NAR MUST skip the above operations
   since it would have performed those operations during FNA processing.
   However, it SHOULD be prepared to process any other options that may
   be defined in the future.  Sending an HI message with Code 1 allows
   NAR to validate the neighbor cache entry it creates for the MN during
   FNA processing.  That is, NAR can make use of the knowledge that its
   trusted peer (i.e., PAR) has a trust relationship with the MN.

   If HAck contains an assigned NCoA, the FBack MUST include it, and the
   MN MUST use the address provided in the FBack.  The PAR MAY send the
   FBack to the previous link to facilitate faster reception in the
   event that the MN is still present.  The result of the FBU and FBack
   processing is that PAR begins tunneling the MN's packets to NCoA.  If
   the MN does not receive an FBack message even after retransmitting
   the FBU for FBU_RETRIES, it must assume that fast handover support is
   not available and stop the protocol operation.

   When the MN establishes link connectivity with the NAR, it SHOULD
   send a Fast Neighbor Advertisement (FNA) message (see 6.3.3).  If the
   MN has not received an FBack by the time the FNA is being sent, it
   SHOULD encapsulate the FBU in the FNA and send them together.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 13]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   When the NCoA corresponding to the FNA message is acceptable, the NAR
   MUST

   1. delete its proxy neighbor cache entry, if any is present.

   2. create a neighbor cache entry and set its state to REACHABLE
      without overwriting an existing entry for a different layer 2
      address.

   3. forward any buffered packets.

   4. enable the host route entry for PCoA, if any is present.

   When the NCoA corresponding to the FNA message is not acceptable, the
   NAR MUST

   1. discard the inner (FBU) packet.

   2. send a Router Advertisement with the NAACK option in which it MAY
      include an alternate NCoA for use.  This message MUST be sent to
      the source IP address present in the FNA using the same Layer 2
      address present in the FNA.

   If the MN receives a Router Advertisement with a NAACK option, it
   MUST use the IP address, if any, provided in the NAACK option.
   Otherwise, the MN should configure another NCoA.  Subsequently, the
   MN SHOULD send an FBU using the new CoA.  As a special case, the
   address supplied in NAACK could be PCoA itself, in which case the MN
   MUST NOT send any more FBUs.

   Once the MN has confirmed its NCoA, it SHOULD send a Neighbor
   Advertisement message.  This message allows MN's neighbors to update
   their neighbor cache entries with the MN's addresses.

   Just as in Mobile IPv6, the PAR sets the 'R' bit in the Prefix
   Information option, and includes its 128 bit global address in the
   router advertisements.  This allows the mobile nodes to learn the
   PAR's global IPv6 address.  The MN reverse tunnels its packets to the
   same global address of PAR.  The tunnel end-point addresses must be
   configured accordingly.  When PAR receives a reverse tunneled packet,
   it must verify if a secure binding exists for the MN identified by
   PCoA in the tunneled packet, before forwarding the packet.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 14]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

5.  Miscellaneous

5.1.  Handover Capability Exchange

   The MN expects a PrRtAdv in response to its RtSolPr message.  If the
   MN does not receive a PrRtAdv message even after RTSOLPR_RETRIES, it
   must assume that PAR does not support the fast handover protocol and
   stop sending RtSolPr messages.

   Even if an MN's current access router is capable of fast handover,
   the new access router to which the MN attaches may be incapable of
   fast handover.  This is indicated to the MN during "runtime", through
   the PrRtAdv message with a Code value of 3 (see Section 6.1.2).

5.2.  Determining New Care of Address

   Typically, the MN formulates its prospective NCoA using the
   information provided in a PrRtAdv message and sends the FBU.  The PAR
   MUST use the NCoA present in the FBU in its HI message.  The NAR MUST
   verify if the NCoA present in HI is already in use.  In any case, NAR
   MUST respond to HI using a HAck, in which it may include another NCoA
   to use, especially when assigned address configuration is used.  If
   there is a CoA present in HAck, the PAR MUST include it in the FBack
   message.

   If a PrRtAdv message carries an NCoA, the MN MUST use it as its
   prospective NCoA.

5.3.  Packet Loss

   Handover involves link switching, which may not be exactly
   coordinated with fast handover signaling.  Furthermore, the arrival
   pattern of packets is dependent on many factors, including
   application characteristics, network queuing behaviors, etc.  Hence,
   packets may arrive at the NAR before the MN is able to establish its
   link there.  These packets will be lost unless they are buffered by
   the NAR.  Similarly, if the MN attaches to the NAR and then sends an
   FBU message, packets arriving at the PAR will be lost unless they are
   buffered.  This protocol provides an option to indicate a request for
   buffering at the NAR in the HI message.  When the PAR requests this
   feature (for the MN), it SHOULD also provide its own support for
   buffering.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 15]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

5.4.  DAD Handling

   Duplicate Address Detection (DAD) was defined in [7] to avoid address
   duplication on links when stateless address auto-configuration is
   used.  The use of DAD to verify the uniqueness of an IPv6 address
   configured through stateless auto-configuration adds delays to a
   handover.

   The probability of an interface identifier duplication on the same
   subnet is very low, however it cannot be ignored.  In this document,
   certain precautions are proposed to minimize the effects of a
   duplicate address occurrence.

   In some cases, the NAR may already have the knowledge required to
   assess whether the MN's address is a duplicate before the MN moves to
   the new subnet.  For example, the NAR can have a list of all nodes on
   its subnet, perhaps for access control, and by searching this list,
   it can confirm whether the MN's address is a duplicate.  The result
   of this search is sent back to the PAR in the HAck message.  If such
   knowledge is not available at the NAR, it may indicate this by not
   confirming the NCoA in the HAck message.  The NAR may also indicate
   this in the NAACK option in response to the FNA message.  In such
   cases, the MN would have to follow the address configuration
   procedure according to [6] after attaching to the NAR.

5.5.  Fast or Erroneous Movement

   Although this specification is for fast handover, the protocol is
   limited in terms of how fast an MN can move.  Ping-Pong is a special
   case of fast movement, where an MN moves between the same two access
   points rapidly.  Another instance of the same problem is erroneous
   movement, i.e., the MN receives information prior to a handover that
   it is moving to a new access point, but it is either moved to a
   different one or it aborts movement altogether.  All of the above
   behaviors are usually the result of link layer idiosyncrasies and
   thus are often resolved at the link layer itself.

   IP layer mobility, however, introduces its own limits.  IP layer
   handovers should occur at a rate suitable for the MN to update the
   binding of, at least, its HA and preferably that of every CN with
   which it is in communication.  An MN that moves faster than necessary
   for this signaling to complete, which may be a few seconds, may start
   losing packets.  The signaling cost over the air interface and in the
   network may increase significantly, especially in the case of rapid
   movement between several access routers.  To avoid the signaling
   overhead, the following measures are suggested.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 16]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   An MN returning to the PAR before updating the necessary bindings
   when present on the NAR MUST send a Fast Binding Update with the Home
   Address equal to the MN's PCoA and a lifetime of zero to the PAR.
   The MN should have a security association with the PAR since it
   performed a fast handover to the NAR.  The PAR, upon receiving this
   Fast Binding Update, will check its set of outgoing (temporary fast
   handover) tunnels.  If it finds a match, it SHOULD tear down that
   tunnel (i.e., stop forwarding packets for this MN and start
   delivering packets directly to the node instead).  The MN SHOULD NOT
   attempt to use any of the fast handover mechanisms described in this
   specification and SHOULD revert back to standard Mobile IPv6.

   Temporary tunnels for the purpose of fast handovers should use short
   lifetimes (a small number of seconds or less).  The lifetime of such
   tunnels should be enough to allow an MN to update all its active
   bindings.  The default lifetime of the tunnel should be the same as
   the lifetime value in the FBU message.

   The effect of erroneous movement is typically limited to the loss of
   packets since routing can change and the PAR may forward packets
   toward another router before the MN actually connects to that router.
   If the MN discovers itself on an unanticipated access router, a Fast
   Binding Update to the PAR SHOULD be sent.  Since Fast Binding Updates
   are authenticated, they supercede the existing binding and packets
   MUST be redirected to the newly confirmed location of the MN.

6.  Message Formats

   All the ICMPv6 messages have a common Type specified in [4].  The
   messages are distinguished based on the Subtype field (see below).
   The values for the Subtypes are specified in Section 9.  For all the
   ICMPv6 messages, the checksum is defined in [2].

6.1.  New Neighborhood Discovery Messages

6.1.1.  Router Solicitation for Proxy Advertisement (RtSolPr)

   Mobile Nodes send Router Solicitation for Proxy Advertisement in
   order to prompt routers for Proxy Router Advertisements.  All the
   Link-Layer Address options have the format defined in 6.4.3.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 17]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

    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             |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Subtype     |   Reserved    |          Identifier           |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Options ...
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

       Figure 4: Router Solicitation for Proxy (RtSolPr) Message

   IP Fields:

      Source Address
                     An IP address assigned to the sending interface.

      Destination Address
                     The address of the Access Router or the all routers
                     multicast address.

      Hop Limit      255.  See RFC 2461.

      Authentication Header
                     If a Security Association for the IP Authentication
                     Header exists between the sender and the
                     destination address, then the sender SHOULD include
                     this header.  See RFC 2402 [5].

   ICMP Fields:

      Type           The Experimental Mobility Protocol Type.  See [4].

      Code           0

      Checksum       The ICMPv6 checksum.

      Subtype        2

      Reserved       MUST be set to zero by the sender and ignored by
                     the receiver.

      Identifier     MUST be set by the sender so that replies can be
                     matched to this Solicitation.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 18]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   Valid Options:

      Source Link-Layer Address
                     When known, the Link-Layer Address of the sender
                     SHOULD be included using the Link-Layer Address
                     option.  See the LLA option format below.

      New Access Point Link-Layer Address
                     The Link-Layer Address or identification of the
                     access point for which the MN requests routing
                     advertisement information.  It MUST be included in
                     all RtSolPr messages.  More than one such address
                     or identifier can be present.  This field can also
                     be a wildcard address with all bits set to zero.

   Future versions of this protocol may define new option types.
   Receivers MUST silently ignore any options that they do not recognize
   and continue processing the rest of the message.

   Including the source LLA option allows the receiver to record the
   sender's L2 address so that neighbor discovery can be avoided when
   the receiver needs to send packets back to the sender (of the RtSolPr
   message).

   When a wildcard is used for a New Access Point LLA, no other New
   Access Point LLA options must be present.

   A Proxy Router Advertisement (PrRtAdv) message should be received by
   the MN in response to a RtSolPr.  If such a message is not received
   in a timely manner (no less than twice the typical round trip time
   (RTT) over the access link or 100 milliseconds if RTT is not known),
   it SHOULD resend the RtSolPr message.  Subsequent retransmissions can
   be up to RTSOLPR_RETRIES, but MUST use an exponential backoff in
   which the timeout period (i.e., 2xRTT or 100 milliseconds) is doubled
   prior to each instance of retransmission.  If Proxy Router
   Advertisement is not received by the time the MN disconnects from the
   PAR, the MN SHOULD send an FBU immediately after configuring a new
   CoA.

   When RtSolPr messages are sent more than once, they MUST be rate
   limited with MAX_RTSOLPR_RATE per second.  During each use of a
   RtSolPr, exponential backoff is used for retransmissions.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 19]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

6.1.2.  Proxy Router Advertisement (PrRtAdv)

   Access routers send Proxy Router Advertisement messages gratuitously
   if the handover is network-initiated or as a response to a RtSolPr
   message from an MN, providing the Link-Layer Address, IP address, and
   subnet prefixes of neighboring routers.  All the Link-Layer Address
   options have the format defined in Section 6.4.3.

   IP Fields:

      Source Address
                     MUST be the Link-Local Address assigned to the
                     interface from which this message is sent.

      Destination Address
                     The Source Address of an invoking Router
                     Solicitation for a Proxy Advertisement or the
                     address of the node the Access Router is
                     instructing to handover.

    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             |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Subtype     |   Reserved    |          Identifier           |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Options ...
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

         Figure 5: Proxy Router Advertisement (PrRtAdv) Message

      Hop Limit      255.  See RFC 2461 [6].

      Authentication Header
                     If a Security Association for the IP Authentication
                     Header exists between the sender and the
                     destination address, the sender SHOULD include this
                     header.  See RFC 2402 [5].

   ICMP Fields:

      Type           The Experimental Mobility Protocol Type.  See RFC
                     4065 [4].

      Code           0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.  See below.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 20]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      Checksum       The ICMPv6 checksum.

      Subtype        3

      Reserved       MUST be set to zero by the sender and ignored by
                     the receiver.

      Identifier     Copied from the Router Solicitation for Proxy
                     Advertisement or set to Zero if unsolicited.

   Valid Options in the following order:

      Source Link-Layer Address
                     When known, the Link-Layer Address of the sender
                     SHOULD be included using the Link-Layer Address
                     option.  See the LLA option format below.

      New Access Point Link-Layer Address
                     The Link-Layer Address or identification of the
                     access point is copied from the RtSolPr message.
                     This option MUST be present.

      New Router's Link-Layer Address
                     The Link-Layer Address of the Access Router for
                     which this message is proxied.  This option MUST be
                     included when Code is 0 or 1.

      New Router's IP Address
                     The IP address of NAR.  This option MUST be
                     included when Code is 0 or 1.

      New Router Prefix Information Option.
                     Specifies the prefix of the Access Router for which
                     the message is proxied and is used for address
                     auto-configuration.  This option MUST be included
                     when Code is 0 or 1.  However, when this prefix is
                     the same as that used in the New Router's IP
                     Address option (above), the Prefix Information
                     option need not be present.

      New CoA Option
                     MAY be present when a PrRtAdv is sent unsolicited.
                     PAR MAY compute a new CoA using NAR's prefix
                     information and the MN's L2 address, or by any
                     other means.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 21]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   Future versions of this protocol may define new option types.
   Receivers MUST silently ignore any options they do not recognize and
   continue processing the message.

   Currently, Code values 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 are defined.

   A Proxy Router Advertisement with Code 0 means that the MN should use
   the [AP-ID, AR-Info] tuple (present in the options above) for
   movement detection and NCoA formulation.  In this case, the Option-
   Code field in the New Access Point LLA option is 1, reflecting the
   LLA of the access point for which the rest of the options are
   related.  Multiple tuples may be present.

   A Proxy Router Advertisement with Code 1 means that the message is
   sent unsolicited.  If a New CoA option is present following the New
   Router Prefix Information option, the MN SHOULD use the supplied NCoA
   and send the FBU immediately or else stand to lose service.  This
   message acts as a network-initiated handover trigger; see Section
   3.3.  The Option-Code field in the New Access Point LLA option (see
   below) in this case is 1 reflecting the LLA of the access point for
   which the rest of the options are related.

   A Proxy Router Advertisement with Code 2 means that no new router
   information is present.  Each New Access Point LLA option contains an
   Option-Code value (described below) that indicates a specific
   outcome.

      -  When the Option-Code field in the New Access Point LLA option
         is 5, handover to that access point does not require a change
         of CoA.  No other options are required in this case.

      -  When the Option-Code field in the New Access Point LLA option
         is 6, the PAR is not aware of the Prefix Information requested.
         The MN SHOULD attempt to send an FBU as soon as it regains
         connectivity with the NAR.  No other options are required in
         this case.

      -  When the Option-Code field in the New Access Point LLA option
         is 7, it means that the NAR does not support fast handover.
         The MN MUST stop fast handover protocol operations.  No other
         options are required in this case.

   A Proxy Router Advertisement with Code 3 means that new router
   information is only present for a subset of access points requested.
   The Option-Code field values (defined above including a value of 1)
   distinguish different outcomes for individual access points.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 22]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   A Proxy Router Advertisement with Code 4 means that the subnet
   information regarding neighboring access points is sent unsolicited,
   but the message is not a handover trigger, unlike when the message is
   sent with Code 1.  Multiple tuples may be present.

   When a wildcard AP identifier is supplied in the RtSolPr message, the
   PrRtAdv message should include any `n' [Access Point Identifier,
   Link-Layer Address option, Prefix Information Option] tuples
   corresponding to the PAR's neighborhood.

6.2.  Inter-Access Router Messages

6.2.1.  Handover Initiate (HI)

   The Handover Initiate (HI) is an ICMPv6 message sent by an Access
   Router (typically PAR) to another Access Router (typically NAR) to
   initiate the process of a MN's handover.

    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             |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Subtype     |S|U| Reserved  |          Identifier           |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Options ...
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

                Figure 6: Handover Initiate (HI) Message

   IP Fields:

      Source Address
                     The IP address of the PAR.

      Destination Address
                     The IP address of the NAR.

      Hop Limit      255.  See RFC 2461 [6].

       Authentication Header
                     The authentication header MUST be used when this
                     message is sent.  See RFC 2402 [5].

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 23]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   ICMP Fields:

      Type           The Experimental Mobility Protocol Type.  See RFC
                     4065 [4].

      Code           0 or 1.  See below

      Checksum       The ICMPv6 checksum.

      Subtype        4

      S flag         Assigned address configuration flag.  When set,
                     this message requests a new CoA to be returned by
                     the destination.  May be set when Code = 0.  MUST
                     be 0 when Code = 1.

      U flag         Buffer flag.  When set, the destination SHOULD
                     buffer any packets moving toward the node indicated
                     in the options of this message.  Used when Code =
                     0, SHOULD be set to 0 when Code = 1.

      Reserved       MUST be set to zero by the sender and ignored by
                     the receiver.

      Identifier     MUST be set by the sender so replies can be matched
                     to this message.

   Valid Options:

      Link-Layer Address of MN
                     The Link-Layer Address of the MN that is undergoing
                     handover to the destination (i.e., NAR).  This
                     option MUST be included so that the destination can
                     recognize the MN.

      Previous Care of Address
                     The IP address used by the MN while attached to the
                     originating router.  This option SHOULD be included
                     so that a host route can be established if
                     necessary.

      New Care of Address
                     The IP address the MN wishes to use when connected
                     to the destination.  When the `S' bit is set, the
                     NAR MAY assign this address.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 24]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   The PAR uses a Code value of 0 when it processes an FBU with PCoA as
   a source IP address.  The PAR uses a Code value of 1 when it
   processes an FBU whose source IP address is not PCoA.

   If a Handover Acknowledge (HAck) message is not received as a
   response in a short time period (no less than twice the typical RTT
   between source and destination, or 100 milliseconds if RTT is not
   known), the Handover Initiate SHOULD be resent.  Subsequent
   retransmissions can be up to HI_RETRIES, but MUST use exponential
   backoff in which the timeout period (i.e., 2xRTT or 100 milliseconds)
   is doubled during each instance of retransmission.

6.2.2.  Handover Acknowledge (HAck)

   The Handover Acknowledgment message is a new ICMPv6 message that MUST
   be sent (typically by NAR to PAR) as a reply to the Handover Initiate
   message.

    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             |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Subtype     |    Reserved   |          Identifier           |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |   Options ...
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

              Figure 7: Handover Acknowledge (HAck) Message

   IP Fields:

      Source Address
                     Copied from the destination address of the Handover
                     Initiate Message to which this message is a
                     response.

      Destination Address
                     Copied from the source address of the Handover
                     Initiate Message to which this message is a
                     response.

      Hop Limit      255.  See RFC 2461 [6].

      Authentication Header
                     The authentication header MUST be used when this
                     message is sent.  See RFC 2402 [5].

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 25]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   ICMP Fields:

      Type           The Experimental Mobility Protocol Type.  See RFC
                     4065 [4].

      Code
                       0: Handover Accepted, NCoA valid
                       1: Handover Accepted, NCoA not valid
                       2: Handover Accepted, NCoA in use
                       3: Handover Accepted, NCoA assigned
                          (used in Assigned addressing)
                       4: Handover Accepted, NCoA not assigned
                          (used in Assigned addressing)
                     128: Handover Not Accepted, reason unspecified
                     129: Administratively prohibited
                     130: Insufficient resources

      Checksum       The ICMPv6 checksum.

      Subtype        5

      Reserved       MUST be set to zero by the sender and ignored by
                     the receiver.

      Identifier     Copied from the corresponding field in the Handover
                     Initiate message to which this message is a
                     response.

   Valid Options:

      New Care of Address
                     If the S flag in the Handover Initiate message is
                     set, this option MUST be used to provide NCoA the
                     MN should use when connected to this router.  This
                     option MAY be included, even when the `S' bit is
                     not set, e.g., Code 2 above.

   Upon receiving an HI message, the NAR MUST respond with a Handover
   Acknowledge message.  If the `S' flag is set in the HI message, the
   NAR SHOULD include the New Care of Address option and a Code 3.

   The NAR MAY provide support for PCoA (instead of accepting or
   assigning NCoA), establish a host route entry for PCoA, and set up a
   tunnel to the PAR to forward MN's packets sent with PCoA as a source
   IP address.  This host route entry SHOULD be used to forward packets
   once the NAR detects that the particular MN is attached to its link.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 26]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   When responding to an HI message containing a Code value 1, the Code
   values 1, 2, and 4 in the HAck message are not relevant.

   Finally, the new access router can always refuse handover, in which
   case it should indicate the reason in one of the available Code
   values.

6.3.  New Mobility Header Messages

   Mobile IPv6 uses a new IPv6 header type called Mobility Header [3].
   The Fast Binding Update, Fast Binding Acknowledgment, and Fast
   Neighbor Advertisement messages use the Mobility Header.

6.3.1.  Fast Binding Update (FBU)

   The Fast Binding Update message is identical to the Mobile IPv6
   Binding Update (BU) message.  However, the processing rules are
   slightly different.

                                    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                                    |          Sequence #           |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    |A|H|L|K|        Reserved       |           Lifetime            |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    |                                                               |
    .                                                               .
    .                        Mobility options                       .
    .                                                               .
    |                                                               |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

              Figure 8: Fast Binding Update (FBU) Message

   IP fields:

      Source Address
                     The PCoA or NCoA

      Destination Address
                     The IP address of the Previous Access Router

      A flag       MUST be set to one to request that PAR send a Fast
                     Binding Acknowledgment message.

      H flag       MUST be set to one.  See RFC 3775 [3].

      L flag       See RFC 3775 [3].

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 27]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      K flag       See RFC 3775 [3].

      Reserved       This field is unused.  MUST be set zero.

      Sequence Number
                     See RFC 3775 [3].

      Lifetime       See RFC 3775 [3].

      Mobility Options
                     MUST contain an alternate CoA option set to the
                     NCoA when an FBU is sent from PAR's link.

   The MN sends an FBU message any time after receiving a PrRtAdv
   message.  If the MN moves prior to receiving a PrRtAdv message, it
   SHOULD send an FBU to the PAR after configuring NCoA on the NAR
   according to Neighbor Discovery and IPv6 Address Configuration
   protocols.

   The source IP address is PCoA when the FBU is sent from PAR's link,
   and the source IP address is NCoA when sent from NAR's link.  When
   the FBU is sent from NAR's link, it SHOULD be encapsulated within an
   FNA.

   The FBU MUST also include the Home Address Option, and the Home
   Address is PCoA.  An FBU message MUST be protected so that PAR is
   able to determine that the FBU message is sent by a genuine MN.

6.3.2.  Fast Binding Acknowledgment (FBack)

   The Fast Binding Acknowledgment message is sent by the PAR to
   acknowledge receipt of a Fast Binding Update message in which the 'A'
   bit is set.  The Fast Binding Acknowledgment message SHOULD NOT be
   sent to the MN before the PAR receives a HAck message from the NAR.
   The Fast Binding Acknowledgment MAY also be sent to the MN on the old
   link.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 28]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

                                    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                                    |    Status     |K|  Reserved   |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    |           Sequence #          |           Lifetime            |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    |                                                               |
    .                                                               .
    .                        Mobility options                       .
    .                                                               .
    |                                                               |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

          Figure 9: Fast Binding Acknowledgment (FBack) Message

   IP fields:

      Source Address
                     The IP address of the Previous Access Router.

                     Destination Address
                     The NCoA

      Status         8-bit unsigned integer indicating the disposition
                     of the Fast Binding Update.  Values of the Status
                     field that are less than 128 indicate that the
                     Binding Update was accepted by the receiving node.
                     The following such Status values are currently
                     defined:

                     0 Fast Binding Update accepted
                     1 Fast Binding Update accepted but NCoA is
                       invalid.  Use NCoA supplied in "alternate" CoA

                     Values of the Status field that are greater than or
                     equal to 128 indicate that the Binding Update was
                     rejected by the receiving node.  The following such
                     Status values are currently defined:

                     128 Reason unspecified
                     129 Administratively prohibited
                     130 Insufficient resources
                     131 Incorrect interface identifier length

      `K' flag       See RFC 3775 [3].

      Reserved       An unused field.  MUST be set to zero.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 29]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      Sequence Number
                     Copied from the FBU message for use by the MN in
                     matching this acknowledgment with an outstanding
                     FBU.

      Lifetime       The granted lifetime in seconds for which the
                     sender of this message will retain a binding for
                     traffic redirection.

      Mobility Options
                     MUST contain an "alternate" CoA if Status is 1.

6.3.3.  Fast Neighbor Advertisement (FNA)

   A MN sends a Fast Neighbor Advertisement to announce itself to the
   NAR.  When the Mobility Header Type is FNA, the Payload Proto field
   may be set to IPv6 to assist FBU encapsulation.

                                    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                                    |            Reserved           |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    .                                                               .
    .                        Mobility Options                       .
    .                                                               .
    |                                                               |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

           Figure 10: Fast Neighbor Advertisement (FNA) Message

   IP fields:

      Source Address
                     NCoA

      Destination Address
                     NAR's IP Address

      Mobility Options
                     MUST contain the Mobility Header Link-Layer Address
                     of the MN in the MH-LLA option format.  See Section
                     6.4.4.

   The MN sends a Fast Neighbor Advertisement to the NAR, as soon as it
   regains connectivity on the new link.  Arriving or buffered packets
   can be immediately forwarded.  If NAR is proxying NCoA, it creates a
   neighbor cache entry in REACHABLE state.  If there is no entry, it
   creates one and sets it to REACHABLE.  If there is an entry in the
   INCOMPLETE state without a Link-Layer Address, it sets it to

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 30]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   REACHABLE.  During the process of creating a neighbor cache entry,
   NAR can also detect if NCoA is in use, thus avoiding address
   collisions.  Since the FBU is encapsulated within the FNA when sent
   from NAR's link, NAR drops the FBU if it detects a collision.

   The combination of NCoA (present in source IP address) and the Link-
   Layer Address (present as a Mobility Option) SHOULD be used to
   distinguish the MN from other nodes.

6.4.  New Options

   All the options are of the form shown in Figure 11.

   The Type values are defined from the Neighbor Discovery options
   space.  The Length field is in units of 8 octets, except for the
   Mobility Header Link-Layer Address option, whose Length field is in
   units of octets in accordance with Section 6.2 in [3].  Option-Code
   provides additional information for each of the options (See
   individual options below).

    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     |  Option-Code  |               |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   ~                              ...                              ~
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                       Figure 11: Option Format

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 31]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

6.4.1.  IP Address Option

   This option is sent in the Proxy Router Advertisement, the Handover
   Initiate, and Handover Acknowledge messages.

    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     | Option-Code   | Prefix Length |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                          Reserved                             |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                                                               |
   +                                                               +
   |                                                               |
   +                          IPv6 Address                         +
   |                                                               |
   +                                                               +
   |                                                               |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                     Figure 12: IPv6 Address Option

      Type           17

      Length         The size of this option in 8 octets including the
                     Type, Option-Code, and Length fields.

      Option-Code    1   Old Care-of Address
                     2   New Care-of Address
                     3   NAR's IP address

      Prefix Length
                     The Length of the IPv6 Address Prefix.

      Reserved       MUST be set to zero by the sender and MUST be
                     ignored by the receiver.

      IPv6 Address   The IP address for the unit defined by the Type
                     field.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 32]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

6.4.2.  New Router Prefix Information Option

   This option is sent in the PrRtAdv message to provide the prefix
   information valid on the NAR.

   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     |  Option-Code  | Prefix Length |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                          Reserved                             |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                                                               |
   +                                                               +
   |                                                               |
   +                            Prefix                             +
   |                                                               |
   +                                                               +
   |                                                               |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

           Figure 13: New Router Prefix Information Option

      Type           18

      Length         The size of this option in 8 octets including the
                     Type, Option-Code, and Length fields.

      Option-Code    0

      Prefix Length
                     8-bit unsigned integer.  The number of leading bits
                     in the Prefix that are valid.  The value ranges
                     from 0 to 128.

      Reserved       MUST be set to zero by the sender and MUST be
                     ignored by the receiver.

      Prefix         An IP address or a prefix of an IP address.  The
                     Prefix Length field contains the number of valid
                     leading bits in the prefix.  The bits in the prefix
                     after the prefix length are reserved and MUST be
                     initialized to zero by the sender and ignored by
                     the receiver.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 33]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

6.4.3.  Link-Layer Address (LLA) Option

    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     |  Option-Code  |      LLA...
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                  Figure 14: Link-Layer Address Option

      Type           19

      Length         The size of this option in 8 octets including the
                     Type, Option-Code, and Length fields.

      Option-Code
                     0  wildcard requesting resolution for all nearby
                        access points
                     1  Link-Layer Address of the New Access Point
                     2  Link-Layer Address of the MN
                     3  Link-Layer Address of the NAR (i.e., Proxied
                        Originator)
                     4  Link-Layer Address of the source of the RtSolPr
                        or PrRtAdv message
                     5  The access point identified by the LLA belongs
                        to the current interface of the router
                     6  No prefix information available for the access
                        point identified by the LLA
                     7  No fast handovers support available for the
                        access point identified by the LLA

      LLA            The variable length Link-Layer Address.

   Depending on the size of the individual LLA option, appropriate
   padding MUST be used to ensure that the entire option size is a
   multiple of 8 octets.

   The New Access Point Link-Layer Address contains the Link-Layer
   Address of the access point for which handover is about to be
   attempted.  This is used in the Router Solicitation for the Proxy
   Advertisement message.

   The MN Link-Layer Address option contains the Link-Layer Address of
   an MN.  It is used in the Handover Initiate message.

   The NAR (i.e., Proxied Originator) Link-Layer Address option contains
   the Link-Layer Address of the Access Router to which the Proxy Router
   Solicitation message refers.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 34]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

6.4.4.  Mobility Header Link-Layer Address (MH-LLA) Option

   This option is identical to the LLA option, but is carried in the
   Mobility Header messages (i.e., FNA).  In the future, other Mobility
   Header messages may also make use of this option.  For instance,
   including this option in FBU allows PAR to obtain the MN's LLA
   readily.  The format of the option when the LLA is 6 bytes is shown
   in Figure 15.  When the LLA size is different, the option MUST be
   aligned appropriately.  See Section 6.2 in [3].

    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     |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   | Option-Code   |    Pad0=0     |         LLA                   |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                             LLA                               |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

         Figure 15: Mobility Header Link-Layer Address Option

      Type           7

      Length         The size of this option in octets not including the
                     Type, Length, and Option-Code fields.

      Option-Code    2 Link-Layer Address of the MN

      LLA            The variable length Link-Layer Address.

6.4.5.  Neighbor Advertisement Acknowledgment (NAACK)

    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     | Option-Code   |     Status    |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                          Reserved                             |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

       Figure 16: Neighbor Advertisement Acknowledgment Option

      Type           20

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 35]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      Length         8-bit unsigned integer.  Length of the option, in 8
                     octets.  The length is 1 when NCoA is not supplied.
                     The length is 3 when NCoA is supplied (immediately
                     following the Reserved field).

      Option-Code    0

      Status         8-bit unsigned integer indicating the disposition
                     of the Fast Neighbor Advertisement message.  The
                     following Status values are currently defined:

                       1   The New CoA is invalid.
                       2   The New CoA is invalid; use the supplied CoA.
                           The New CoA MUST be present following the
                           Reserved field.
                     128   Link Layer Address unrecognized.

      Reserved       MUST be set to zero by the sender and MUST be
                     ignored by the receiver.

   The NAR responds to the FNA with the NAACK option to notify the MN to
   use a different NCoA if there is address collision.  If the NCoA is
   invalid, the Router Advertisement MUST use the NCoA as the
   destination address but use the L2 address present in the FNA.  The
   MN SHOULD use the NCoA if it is supplied with the NAACK option.  If
   the NAACK indicates that the Link-Layer Address is unrecognized, the
   MN MUST NOT use the NCoA or PCoA and SHOULD start the process of
   acquiring an NCoA at the NAR immediately.

   New option types may be defined in the future.

7.  Configurable Parameters

      Parameter Name       Default Value            Definition
      -------------------  ----------------------   -------
      RTSOLPR_RETRIES      3                        Section 6.1.1
      MAX_RTSOLPR_RATE     3                        Section 6.1.1
      FBU_RETRIES          3                        Section 4
      PROXY_ND_LIFETIME    1.5 seconds              Section 6.2.2
      HI_RETRIES           3                        Section 6.2.1

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 36]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

8.  Security Considerations

   The following security vulnerabilities are identified, and suggested
   solutions are mentioned.

   1. Insecure FBU: In this case, packets meant for one address could be
      stolen, or redirected to some unsuspecting node.  This concern is
      the same as that in an MN and Home Agent relationship.

      Hence, the PAR MUST ensure that the FBU packet arrived from a node
      that legitimately owns the PCoA.  The access router and its hosts
      may use any available mechanism to establish a security
      association that MUST be used to secure FBU.  The current version
      of this protocol does not specify how this security association is
      established.  However, future work may specify this security
      association establishment.

      If an access router can ensure that the source IP address in an
      arriving packet could only have originated from the node whose
      Link-Layer Address is in the router's neighbor cache, then a bogus
      node cannot use a victim's IP address for malicious redirection of
      traffic.  Such an operation is recommended at least on neighbor
      discovery messages including the RtSolPr message.

   2. Secure FBU, malicious or inadvertent redirection: In this case,
      the FBU is secured, but the target of binding happens to be an
      unsuspecting node due to inadvertent operation or malicious
      intent.  This vulnerability can lead to an MN with a genuine
      security association with its access router redirecting traffic to
      an incorrect address.

      However, the target of malicious traffic redirection is limited to
      an interface on an access router with which the PAR has a security
      association.  The PAR MUST verify that the NCoA to which PCoA is
      being bound actually belongs to NAR's prefix.  To do this, HI and
      HAck message exchanges are to be used.  When NAR accepts NCoA in
      HI (with Code = 0), it proxies NCoA so that any arriving packets
      are not sent on the link until the MN attaches and announces
      itself through FNA.  Therefore, any inadvertent or malicious
      redirection to a host is avoided.  It is still possible to jam
      NAR's buffer with redirected traffic.  However, since NAR's
      handover state corresponding to NCoA has a finite (and short)
      lifetime corresponding to a small multiple of anticipated handover
      latency, the extent of this vulnerability is arguably small.

   3. Sending an FBU from NAR's link: A malicious node may send an FBU
      from NAR's link providing an unsuspecting node's address as NCoA.
      Since the FBU is encapsulated in the FNA, NAR should detect the

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 37]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

      collision with an address in use when processing the FNA, and then
      drop the FBU.  When NAR is unable to detect address collisions,
      there is a vulnerability that redirection can affect an
      unsuspecting node.

9.  IANA Considerations

   This document defines four new experimental ICMPv6 messages that use
   the Experimental Mobility Protocol ICMPv6 format [4].  These four new
   Subtype value assignments out of the Experimental Mobility Protocol
   Subtype Registry [4] have been assigned as follows:

      Subtype    Description              Reference
      -------    -----------              ---------
      2          RtSolPr                  Section 6.1.1
      3          PrRtAdv                  Section 6.1.2
      4          HI                       Section 6.2.1
      5          HAck                     Section 6.2.2

   This document defines four new Neighbor Discovery [6] options that
   have received Type assignments from IANA.

      Option-Type     Description              Reference
      -----------     -----------              ---------
      17              IP Address Option        Section 6.4.1
      18              New Router Prefix
                      Information Option       Section 6.4.2
      19              Link-Layer Address
                      Option                   Section 6.4.3
      20              Neighbor Advertisement
                      Acknowledgment Option    Section 6.4.5

   This document defines three new Mobility Header messages that have
   received type allocations from the Mobility Header Types registry at
   http://www.iana.org/assignments/mobility-parameters:

   1. Fast Binding Update, described in Section 6.3.1

   2. Fast Binding Acknowledgment, described in Section 6.3.2, and

   3. Fast Neighbor Advertisement, described in Section 6.3.3.

   This document defines a new Mobility Option which has received type
   assignments from the Mobility Options Type registry at
   http://www.iana.org/assignments/mobility-parameters:

   1. Mobility Header Link-Layer Address option, described in Section
      6.4.4.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 38]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

10.  Acknowledgments

   The editor would like to thank all those who have provided feedback
   on this specification, but can only mention a few here:  Martin
   Andre, Vijay Devarapalli, Youn-Hee Han, Emil Ivov, Suvidh Mathur,
   Koshiro Mitsuya, Gabriel Montenegro, Takeshi Ogawa, Sun Peng, YC
   Peng, Domagoj Premec, and Jonathan Wood.  The editor would like to
   acknowledge a contribution from James Kempf to improve this
   specification.  The editor would also like to thank the [mipshop]
   working group chair Gabriel Montenegro and the erstwhile [mobile ip]
   working group chairs Basavaraj Patil and Phil Roberts for providing
   much support for this work.

11.  Normative References

   [1]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
        Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [2]  Conta, A. and S. Deering, "Internet Control Message Protocol
        (ICMPv6) for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)
        Specification", RFC 2463, December 1998.

   [3]  Johnson, D., Perkins, C., and J. Arkko, "Mobility Support in
        IPv6", RFC 3775, June 2004.

   [4]  Kempf, J., "Instructions for Seamoby and Experimental Mobility
        Protocol IANA Allocations", RFC 4065, July 2005.

   [5]  Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Authentication Header", RFC 2402,
        November 1998.

   [6]  Narten, T., Nordmark, E., and W. Simpson, "Neighbor Discovery
        for IP Version 6 (IPv6)", RFC 2461, December 1998.

   [7]  Thomson, S. and T. Narten, "IPv6 Stateless Address
        Autoconfiguration", RFC 2462, December 1998.

12.  Contributors

   This document originated in the fast handover design team effort.
   The members of this design team in alphabetical order were:  Gopal
   Dommety, Karim El-Malki, Mohammed Khalil, Charles Perkins, Hesham
   Soliman, George Tsirtsis, and Alper Yegin.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 39]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   The design team member's contact information:

   Gopal Dommety
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   170 West Tasman Drive
   San Jose, CA 95134

   Phone:+1 408 525 1404
   EMail: gdommety@cisco.com

   Karim El Malki
   Ericsson Radio Systems AB
   LM Ericssons Vag. 8
   126 25 Stockholm
   SWEDEN

   Phone:  +46 8 7195803
   Fax:    +46 8 7190170
   EMail: Karim.El-Malki@era.ericsson.se

   Mohamed Khalil
   Nortel Networks

   EMail: mkhalil@nortelnetworks.com

   Charles E. Perkins
   Communications Systems Lab
   Nokia Research Center
   313 Fairchild Drive
   Mountain View, California 94043
   USA

   Phone:  +1-650 625-2986
   Fax:  +1 650 625-2502
   EMail:  charliep@iprg.nokia.com

   Hesham Soliman
   Flarion Technologies

   EMail: H.Soliman@flarion.com

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 40]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

   George Tsirtsis
   Flarion Technologies

   EMail: G.Tsirtsis@flarion.com

   Alper E. Yegin
   Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
   75 West Plumeria Drive
   San Jose, CA 95134
   USA

   Phone: +1 408 544 5656
   EMail: alper.yegin@samsung.com

Author's Address

   Rajeev Koodli, Editor
   Nokia Research Center
   313 Fairchild Drive
   Mountain View, CA 94043 USA

   Phone: +1 650 625 2359
   Fax: +1 650 625 2502
   EMail: Rajeev.Koodli@nokia.com

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 41]
RFC 4068             Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6            July 2005

Full Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

   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 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.

Intellectual Property

   The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
   Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to
   pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
   this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
   might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has
   made any independent effort to identify any such rights.  Information
   on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be
   found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
   assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
   attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
   such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
   specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
   http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

   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.

Acknowledgement

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.

Koodli, Ed.                   Experimental                     [Page 42]