Skip to main content

Updating the NTP Registries
draft-ietf-ntp-update-registries-13

Document Type Active Internet-Draft (ntp WG)
Author Rich Salz
Last updated 2023-12-14
Replaces draft-rsalz-update-registries
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Intended RFC status Proposed Standard
Formats
Reviews
Additional resources Mailing list discussion
Stream WG state Submitted to IESG for Publication
Document shepherd Dieter Sibold
Shepherd write-up Show Last changed 2022-10-21
IESG IESG state Waiting for AD Go-Ahead::AD Followup
Action Holder
Consensus boilerplate Yes
Telechat date (None)
Responsible AD Erik Kline
Send notices to dsibold.ietf@gmail.com, odonoghue@isoc.org
IANA IANA review state Version Changed - Review Needed
draft-ietf-ntp-update-registries-13
ntp                                                              R. Salz
Internet-Draft                                       Akamai Technologies
Updates: 5905, 5906, 8573, 7822, 7821 (if               14 December 2023
         approved)                                                      
Intended status: Standards Track                                        
Expires: 16 June 2024

                      Updating the NTP Registries
                  draft-ietf-ntp-update-registries-13

Abstract

   The Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Network Time Security (NTS)
   documents define a number of assigned number registries, collectively
   called the NTP registries.

   Some registries have wrong values, some registries do not follow
   current common practice, and some are just right.  For the sake of
   completeness, this document reviews all NTP and NTS registries, and
   makes updates where necessary.

   This document updates RFC 5905, RFC 5906, RFC 8573, RFC 7822, and RFC
   7821.

Notes

   This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.

   This document is a product of the NTP Working Group
   (https://dt.ietf.org/wg/ntp).  Source for this draft and an issue
   tracker can be found at https://github.com/richsalz/draft-rsalz-
   update-registries.

   RFC Editor: Please update 'this RFC' to refer to this document, once
   its RFC number is known, through the document.

Status of This Memo

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

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

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 1]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 16 June 2024.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2023 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Existing Registries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.1.  Reference ID, Kiss-o'-Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.2.  Extension Field Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.3.  Network Time Security Registries  . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  Updated Registries  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.1.  Guidance to Designated Experts  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.1.  NTP Reference Identifier Codes  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.2.  NTP Kiss-o'-Death Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.3.  NTP Extension Field Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   6.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11

1.  Introduction

   The Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Network Time Security (NTS)
   documents define a number of assigned number registries, collectively
   called the NTP registries.  The NTP registries can all be found at
   https://www.iana.org/assignments/ntp-parameters/ntp-parameters.xhtml
   (https://www.iana.org/assignments/ntp-parameters/ntp-
   parameters.xhtml) and the NTS registries can all be found at
   https://www.iana.org/assignments/nts/nts.xhtml
   (https://www.iana.org/assignments/nts/nts.xhtml).

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 2]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

   Some registries have wrong values, some registries do not follow
   current common practice, and some are just right.  For the sake of
   completeness, this document reviews all NTP and NTS registries, and
   makes updates where necessary.

   The bulk of this document can be divided into two parts:

   *  First, each registry, its defining document, and a summary of its
      syntax is defined.

   *  Second, the revised format and entries for each registry that is
      being modified is specified.

2.  Existing Registries

   This section describes the registries and the rules for them.  It is
   intended to be a short summary of the syntax and registration
   requirements for each registry.  The semantics and protocol
   processing rules for each registry -- that is, how an implementation
   acts when sending or receiving any of the fields -- are not described
   here.

2.1.  Reference ID, Kiss-o'-Death

   [RFC5905] defined two registries; the Reference ID in Section 7.3,
   and the Kiss-o'-Death in Section 7.4.  Both of these are allowed to
   be four ASCII characters; padded on the right with all-bits-zero if
   necessary.  Entries that start with 0x58, the ASCII letter uppercase
   X, are reserved for Private or Experimental Use. Both registries are
   first-come first-served.  The formal request to define the registries
   is in Section 16.

2.2.  Extension Field Types

   [RFC5905], Section 7.5 defined the on-the-wire format of extension
   fields but did not create a registry for them.

   [RFC5906], Section 13 mentioned the Extension Field Types registry,
   and defined it indirectly by defining 30 extensions (10 each for
   request, response, and error response).  It did not provide a formal
   definition of the columns in the registry.  [RFC5906], Section 10
   splits the Field Type into four subfields, only for use within the
   Autokey extensions.

   [RFC7821] added a new entry, Checksum Complement, to the Extension
   Field Types registry.

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 3]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

   [RFC7822] clarified the processing rules for Extension Field Types,
   particularly around the interaction with the Message Authentication
   Code (MAC) field.  NTPv4 packets may contain a MAC, but it appears
   where one would expect an extension with an extension ID of zero and
   a length of zero.  This document adds a registration for the ID,
   below.

   [RFC8573] changed the cryptography used in the MAC field.

   [RFC8915] added four new entries to the Extension Field Types
   registry.

   The following problems exists with the current registry:

   *  Many of the entries in the Extension Field Types registry have
      swapped some of the nibbles; 0x1234 is listed as 0x1432 for
      example.  This was due to documentation errors with the original
      implementation of Autokey.  This document marks the erroneous
      values as reserved, in case there is an implementation that used
      the registered values instead of what the original implementation
      used.

   *  Some values were mistakenly re-used.

2.3.  Network Time Security Registries

   [RFC8915] defines the NTS protocol.  Its registries are listed here
   for completeness, but no changes to them are specified in this
   document.

   Sections 7.1 through 7.5 (inclusive) added entries to existing
   registries.

   Section 7.6 created a new registry, NTS Key Establishment Record
   Types, that partitions the assigned numbers into three different
   registration policies: IETF Review, Specification Required, and
   Private or Experimental Use.

   Section 7.7 created a new registry, NTS Next Protocols, that
   similarly partitions the assigned numbers.

   Section 7.8 created two new registries, NTS Error Codes and NTS
   Warning Codes.  Both registries are also partitioned the same way.

3.  Updated Registries

   The following general guidelines apply to all registries updated
   here:

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 4]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

   *  Every registry reserves a partition for Private or Experimental
      Use.

   *  Entries with ASCII fields are now limited to uppercase letters or
      digits; fields starting with 0x58, the uppercase letter "X", are
      reserved for Private or Experimental Use.

   *  The policy for every registry is now Specification Required, as
      defined in [RFC8126], Section 4.6.

   The IESG is requested to choose three designated experts, with two
   being required to approve a registry change.  Guidance for such
   experts is given below.

   Each entry described in the sub-sections below is intended to
   completely replace the existing entry with the same name.

3.1.  Guidance to Designated Experts

   The designated experts (DE) should be familiar with [RFC8126],
   particularly Section 5.  As that reference suggests, the DE should
   ascertain the existence of a suitable specification, and verify that
   it is publicly available.  The DE is also expected to check the
   clarity of purpose and use of the requested code points.

   In addition, the DE is expected to be familiar with this document,
   specifically the history documented here.

4.  IANA Considerations

4.1.  NTP Reference Identifier Codes

   The registration procedure is changed to Specification Required.

   The Note is changed to read as follows:

   *  Codes beginning with the character "X" are reserved for
      experimentation and development.  IANA cannot assign them.

   The columns are defined as follows:

   *  ID (required): a four-byte value padded on the right with all-
      bits-zero.  Each byte other than padding must be an ASCII
      uppercase letter or digits.

   *  Clock source (required): A brief text description of the ID.

   *  Reference (required): the publication defining the ID.

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 5]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

   The existing entries are left unchanged.

4.2.  NTP Kiss-o'-Death Codes

   The registration procedure is changed to Specification Required.

   The Note is changed to read as follows:

   *  Codes beginning with the character "X" are reserved for
      experimentation and development.  IANA cannot assign them.

   The columns are defined as follows:

   *  ID (required): a four-byte value padded on the right with all-
      bits-zero.  Each byte other than padding must be an ASCII
      uppercase letter or digits.

   *  Meaning source (required): A brief text description of the ID.

   *  Reference (required): the publication defining the ID.

   The existing entries are left unchanged.

4.3.  NTP Extension Field Types

   The registration procedure is changed to Specification Required.

   The reference [RFC5906] should be added, if possible.

   The following two Notes are added:

   *  Field Types in the range 0xF000 through 0xFFFF, inclusive, are
      reserved for experimentation and development.  IANA cannot assign
      them.  Both NTS Cookie and Autokey Message Request have the same
      Field Type; in practice this is not a problem as the field
      semantics will be determined by other parts of the message.

   *  The "Reserved for historic reasons" is for differences between the
      original documentation and implementation of Autokey and marks the
      erroneous values as reserved, in case there is an implementation
      that used the registered values instead of what the original
      implementation used.

   The columns are defined as follows:

   *  Field Type (required): A two-byte value in hexadecimal.

   *  Meaning (required): A brief text description of the field type.

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 6]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

   *  Reference (required): the publication defining the field type.

   The table is replaced with the following entries.  IANA is requested
   to replace "This RFC" with the actual RFC number once assigned.

    +============+===============================+====================+
    | Field Type | Meaning                       | Reference          |
    +============+===============================+====================+
    | 0x0000     | Cryptographic MAC             | RFC 5905, This RFC |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0002     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0102     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0104     | Unique Identifier             | RFC 8915,          |
    |            |                               | Section 5.3        |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0200     | No-Operation Request          | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0201     | Association Message Request   | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0202     | Certificate Message Request   | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0203     | Cookie Message Request        | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0204     | Autokey Message Request       | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0204     | NTS Cookie                    | RFC 8915,          |
    |            |                               | Section 5.4        |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0205     | Leapseconds Message Request   | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0206     | Sign Message Request          | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0207     | IFF Identity Message Request  | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0208     | GQ Identity Message Request   | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0209     | MV Identity Message Request   | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0302     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0304     | NTS Cookie Placeholder        | RFC 8915,          |
    |            |                               | Section 5.5        |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0402     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0404     | NTS Authenticator and         | RFC 8915,          |

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 7]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

    |            | Encrypted Extension Fields    | Section 5.6        |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0502     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0602     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0702     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x0902     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x2005     | UDP Checksum Complement       | RFC 7821           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8002     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8102     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8200     | No-Operation Response         | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8201     | Association Message Response  | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8202     | Certificate Message Response  | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8203     | Cookie Message Response       | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8204     | Autokey Message Response      | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8205     | Leapseconds Message Response  | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8206     | Sign Message Response         | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8207     | IFF Identity Message Response | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8208     | GQ Identity Message Response  | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8209     | MV Identity Message Response  | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8302     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8402     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8502     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8602     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8702     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0x8802     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 8]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

    | 0x8902     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC002     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC102     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC200     | No-Operation Error Response   | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC201     | Association Message Error     | RFC 5906           |
    |            | Response                      |                    |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC202     | Certificate Message Error     | RFC 5906           |
    |            | Response                      |                    |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC203     | Cookie Message Error Response | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC204     | Autokey Message Error         | RFC 5906           |
    |            | Response                      |                    |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC205     | Leapseconds Message Error     | RFC 5906           |
    |            | Response                      |                    |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC206     | Sign Message Error Response   | RFC 5906           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC207     | IFF Identity Message Error    | RFC 5906           |
    |            | Response                      |                    |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC208     | GQ Identity Message Error     | RFC 5906           |
    |            | Response                      |                    |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC209     | MV Identity Message Error     | RFC 5906           |
    |            | Response                      |                    |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC302     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC402     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC502     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC602     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC702     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC802     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+
    | 0xC902     | Reserved for historic reasons | This RFC           |
    +------------+-------------------------------+--------------------+

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                  [Page 9]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

                                  Table 1

5.  Acknowledgements

   The members of the NTP Working Group helped a great deal.  Notable
   contributors include:

   *  Miroslav Lichvar, Red Hat

   *  Daniel Franke, formerly at Akamai Technologies

   *  Danny Mayer, Network Time Foundation

   *  Michelle Cotton, formerly at IANA

   *  Tamme Dittrich, Tweede Golf

6.  Normative References

   [RFC5905]  Mills, D., Martin, J., Ed., Burbank, J., and W. Kasch,
              "Network Time Protocol Version 4: Protocol and Algorithms
              Specification", RFC 5905, DOI 10.17487/RFC5905, June 2010,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5905>.

   [RFC5906]  Haberman, B., Ed. and D. Mills, "Network Time Protocol
              Version 4: Autokey Specification", RFC 5906,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5906, June 2010,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5906>.

   [RFC7821]  Mizrahi, T., "UDP Checksum Complement in the Network Time
              Protocol (NTP)", RFC 7821, DOI 10.17487/RFC7821, March
              2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7821>.

   [RFC7822]  Mizrahi, T. and D. Mayer, "Network Time Protocol Version 4
              (NTPv4) Extension Fields", RFC 7822, DOI 10.17487/RFC7822,
              March 2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7822>.

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

   [RFC8573]  Malhotra, A. and S. Goldberg, "Message Authentication Code
              for the Network Time Protocol", RFC 8573,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8573, June 2019,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8573>.

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                 [Page 10]
Internet-Draft         Updating the NTP Registries         December 2023

   [RFC8915]  Franke, D., Sibold, D., Teichel, K., Dansarie, M., and R.
              Sundblad, "Network Time Security for the Network Time
              Protocol", RFC 8915, DOI 10.17487/RFC8915, September 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8915>.

Author's Address

   Rich Salz
   Akamai Technologies
   Email: rsalz@akamai.com

Salz                      Expires 16 June 2024                 [Page 11]