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Using QUIC Datagrams with HTTP/3
draft-schinazi-masque-h3-datagram-02

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This is an older version of an Internet-Draft whose latest revision state is "Replaced".
Authors David Schinazi , Lucas Pardue
Last updated 2020-12-14
Replaces draft-schinazi-quic-h3-datagram
Replaced by draft-ietf-masque-h3-datagram, draft-ietf-masque-h3-datagram, draft-ietf-masque-h3-datagram, RFC 9297
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draft-schinazi-masque-h3-datagram-02
Network Working Group                                        D. Schinazi
Internet-Draft                                                Google LLC
Intended status: Standards Track                               L. Pardue
Expires: 17 June 2021                                         Cloudflare
                                                        14 December 2020

                    Using QUIC Datagrams with HTTP/3
                  draft-schinazi-masque-h3-datagram-02

Abstract

   The QUIC DATAGRAM extension provides application protocols running
   over QUIC with a mechanism to send unreliable data while leveraging
   the security and congestion-control properties of QUIC.  However,
   QUIC DATAGRAM frames do not provide a means to demultiplex
   application contexts.  This document defines how to use QUIC DATAGRAM
   frames when the application protocol running over QUIC is HTTP/3 by
   adding an identifier at the start of the frame payload.  This allows
   HTTP messages to convey related information using unreliable DATAGRAM
   frames, ensuring those frames are properly associated with an HTTP
   message.

   Discussion of this work is encouraged to happen on the MASQUE IETF
   mailing list (masque@ietf.org (mailto:masque@ietf.org)) or on the
   GitHub repository which contains the draft:
   https://github.com/DavidSchinazi/draft-h3-datagram.

Status of This Memo

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

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

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

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 17 June 2021.

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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2020 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 Simplified BSD License text
   as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Conventions and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Flow Identifiers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Flow Identifier Allocation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  HTTP/3 DATAGRAM Frame Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   5.  The H3_DATAGRAM HTTP/3 SETTINGS Parameter . . . . . . . . . .   4
   6.  Datagram-Flow-Id Header Field Definition  . . . . . . . . . .   5
   7.  HTTP Intermediaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   8.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   9.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     9.1.  HTTP SETTINGS Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     9.2.  HTTP Header Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   10. Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

1.  Introduction

   The QUIC DATAGRAM extension [DGRAM] provides application protocols
   running over QUIC [QUIC] with a mechanism to send unreliable data
   while leveraging the security and congestion-control properties of
   QUIC.  However, QUIC DATAGRAM frames do not provide a means to
   demultiplex application contexts.  This document defines how to use
   QUIC DATAGRAM frames when the application protocol running over QUIC
   is HTTP/3 [H3] by adding an identifier at the start of the frame
   payload.  This allows HTTP messages to convey related information
   using unreliable DATAGRAM frames, ensuring those frames are properly
   associated with an HTTP message.

   This design mimics the use of Stream Types in HTTP/3, which provide a
   demultiplexing identifier at the start of each unidirectional stream.

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   Discussion of this work is encouraged to happen on the MASQUE IETF
   mailing list (masque@ietf.org (mailto:masque@ietf.org)) or on the
   GitHub repository which contains the draft:
   https://github.com/DavidSchinazi/draft-h3-datagram.

1.1.  Conventions and Definitions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
   14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

2.  Flow Identifiers

   Flow identifiers represent bidirectional flows of datagrams within a
   single QUIC connection.  These are conceptually similar to streams in
   the sense that they allow multiplexing of application data.  Flows
   lack any of the ordering or reliability guarantees of streams.

   Beyond this, a sender SHOULD ensure that DATAGRAM frames within a
   single flow are transmitted in order relative to one another.  If
   multiple DATAGRAM frames can be packed into a single QUIC packet, the
   sender SHOULD group them by flow identifier to promote fate-sharing
   within a specific flow and improve the ability to process batches of
   datagram messages efficiently on the receiver.

3.  Flow Identifier Allocation

   Implementations of HTTP/3 that support the DATAGRAM extension MUST
   provide a flow identifier allocation service.  That service will
   allow applications co-located with HTTP/3 to request a unique flow
   identifier that they can subsequently use for their own purposes.
   The HTTP/3 implementation will then parse the flow identifier of
   incoming DATAGRAM frames and use it to deliver the frame to the
   appropriate application.

   Even-numbered flow identifiers are client-initiated, while odd-
   numbered flow identifiers are server-initiated.  This means that an
   HTTP/3 client implementation of the flow identifier allocation
   service MUST only provide even-numbered identifiers, while a server
   implementation MUST only provide odd-numbered identifiers.  Note
   that, once allocated, any flow identifier can be used by both client
   and server - only allocation carries separate namespaces to avoid
   requiring synchronization.

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4.  HTTP/3 DATAGRAM Frame Format

   When used with HTTP/3, the Datagram Data field of QUIC DATAGRAM
   frames uses the following format (using the notation from the
   "Notational Conventions" section of [QUIC]):

   HTTP/3 DATAGRAM Frame {
     Flow Identifier (i),
     HTTP/3 Datagram Payload (..),
   }

                   Figure 1: HTTP/3 DATAGRAM Frame Format

   Flow Identifier:  A variable-length integer indicating the Flow
      Identifier of the datagram (see Section 2).

   HTTP/3 Datagram Payload:  The payload of the datagram, whose
      semantics are defined by individual applications.  Note that this
      field can be empty.

   Endpoints MUST treat receipt of a DATAGRAM frame whose payload is too
   short to parse the flow identifier as a connection error of type
   PROTOCOL_VIOLATION.

5.  The H3_DATAGRAM HTTP/3 SETTINGS Parameter

   Implementations of HTTP/3 that support this mechanism can indicate
   that to their peer by sending the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter with
   a value of 1.  The value of the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter MUST
   be either 0 or 1.  A value of 0 indicates that this mechanism is not
   supported.  An endpoint that receives the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS
   parameter with a value that is neither 0 or 1 MUST terminate the
   connection with error H3_SETTINGS_ERROR.

   An endpoint that sends the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter with a
   value of 1 MUST send the max_datagram_frame_size QUIC Transport
   Parameter [DGRAM].  An endpoint that receives the H3_DATAGRAM
   SETTINGS parameter with a value of 1 on a QUIC connection that did
   not also receive the max_datagram_frame_size QUIC Transport Parameter
   MUST terminate the connection with error H3_SETTINGS_ERROR.

   When clients use 0-RTT, they MAY store the value of the server's
   H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter.  Doing so allows the client to use
   HTTP/3 datagrams in 0-RTT packets.  When servers decide to accept
   0-RTT data, they MUST send a H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter greater
   or equal to the value they sent to the client in the connection where
   they sent them the NewSessionTicket message.  If a client stores the
   value of the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter with their 0-RTT state,

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   they MUST validate that the new value of the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS
   parameter sent by the server in the handshake is greater or equal to
   the stored value; if not, the client MUST terminate the connection
   with error H3_SETTINGS_ERROR.

6.  Datagram-Flow-Id Header Field Definition

   "Datagram-Flow-Id" is a Item Structured Field [STRUCT-FIELD].  Its
   value MUST be an Integer.  Its ABNF is:

     Datagram-Flow-Id = sf-integer

   The "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field is used to associate a datagram
   flow identifier with an HTTP message.  For example, the definition of
   an HTTP method could instruct the client to use its flow identifier
   allocation service to allocate a new flow identifier, and then the
   client will add the "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field to its request to
   communicate that value to the server.  For example, the resulting
   header field could look like:

     Datagram-Flow-Id = 2

   Definitions of HTTP features that use the "Datagram-Flow-Id" header
   field MAY define their own parameters (parameters are defined in
   Section 3.1.2 of [STRUCT-FIELD]).  For example, an HTTP method that
   wishes to use two datagram flow identifiers for the lifetime of its
   request stream could encode the second flow identifier as a
   parameter, which could look like this:

     Datagram-Flow-Id = 42; alternate=44

   The "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field MUST NOT be present more than
   once on a given HTTP message; any HTTP message containing more than
   one "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field is malformed.

   Since the QUIC STREAM frame that contains the "Datagram-Flow-Id"
   header field could be lost or reordered, it is possible that an
   endpoint will receive an HTTP/3 datagram with a flow identifier that
   it does not know as it has not yet received the corresponding
   "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field.  Endpoints MUST NOT treat that as an
   error; they MUST either silently discard the datagram or buffer it
   until they receive the "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field.

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   Note that integer structured fields can only encode values up to
   10^15-1, therefore the maximum possible value of the "Datagram-Flow-
   Id" header field is lower then the theoretical maximum value of a
   flow identifier which is 2^62-1 due to the QUIC variable length
   integer encoding.  If the flow identifier allocation service of an
   endpoint runs out of values lower than 10^15-1, the endpoint MUST
   treat is as a connection error of type H3_ID_ERROR.

7.  HTTP Intermediaries

   HTTP/3 DATAGRAM flow identifiers are specific to a given HTTP/3
   connection.  However, in some cases, an HTTP request may travel
   across multiple HTTP connections if there are HTTP intermediaries
   involved; see Section 2.3 of [RFC7230].

   If an intermediary has sent the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter with a
   value of 1 on its client-facing connection, it MUST inspect all HTTP
   requests from that connection and check for the presence of the
   "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field.  If the HTTP method of the request
   is not supported by the intermediary, it MUST remove the "Datagram-
   Flow-Id" header field before forwarding the request.  If the
   intermediary supports the method, it MUST either remove the header
   field or adhere to the requirements leveraged by that method on
   intermediaries.

   If an intermediary has sent the H3_DATAGRAM SETTINGS parameter with a
   value of 1 on its server-facing connection, it MUST inspect all HTTP
   responses from that connection and check for the presence of the
   "Datagram-Flow-Id" header field.  If the HTTP method of the request
   is not supported by the intermediary, it MUST remove the "Datagram-
   Flow-Id" header field before forwarding the response.  If the
   intermediary supports the method, it MUST either remove the header
   field or adhere to the requirements leveraged by that method on
   intermediaries.

8.  Security Considerations

   This document does not have additional security considerations beyond
   those defined in [QUIC] and [DGRAM].

9.  IANA Considerations

9.1.  HTTP SETTINGS Parameter

   This document will request IANA to register the following entry in
   the "HTTP/3 Settings" registry:

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     +--------------+-------+---------------+---------+
     | Setting Name | Value | Specification | Default |
     +==============+=======+===============+=========+
     | H3_DATAGRAM  | 0x276 | This Document |    0    |
     +--------------+-------+---------------+---------+

9.2.  HTTP Header Field

   This document will request IANA to register the "Datagram-Flow-Id"
   header field in the "Permanent Message Header Field Names" registry
   maintained at <https://www.iana.org/assignments/message-headers>.

     +-------------------+----------+--------+---------------+
     | Header Field Name | Protocol | Status |   Reference   |
     +-------------------+----------+--------+---------------+
     | Datagram-Flow-Id  |   http   |  std   | This document |
     +-------------------+----------+--------+---------------+

10.  Normative References

   [DGRAM]    Pauly, T., Kinnear, E., and D. Schinazi, "An Unreliable
              Datagram Extension to QUIC", Work in Progress, Internet-
              Draft, draft-ietf-quic-datagram-01, 24 August 2020,
              <http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-quic-
              datagram-01.txt>.

   [H3]       Bishop, M., "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Version 3
              (HTTP/3)", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-
              quic-http-32, 20 October 2020, <http://www.ietf.org/
              internet-drafts/draft-ietf-quic-http-32.txt>.

   [QUIC]     Iyengar, J. and M. Thomson, "QUIC: A UDP-Based Multiplexed
              and Secure Transport", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
              draft-ietf-quic-transport-33, 13 December 2020,
              <http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-quic-
              transport-33.txt>.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC7230]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
              Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and Routing",
              RFC 7230, DOI 10.17487/RFC7230, June 2014,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>.

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   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

   [STRUCT-FIELD]
              Nottingham, M. and P. Kamp, "Structured Field Values for
              HTTP", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-
              httpbis-header-structure-19, 3 June 2020,
              <http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-httpbis-
              header-structure-19.txt>.

Acknowledgments

   The DATAGRAM flow identifier was previously part of the DATAGRAM
   frame definition itself, the author would like to acknowledge the
   authors of that document and the members of the IETF QUIC working
   group for their suggestions.  Additionally, the author would like to
   thank Martin Thomson for suggesting the use of an HTTP/3 SETTINGS
   parameter.

Authors' Addresses

   David Schinazi
   Google LLC
   1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
   Mountain View, California 94043,
   United States of America

   Email: dschinazi.ietf@gmail.com

   Lucas Pardue
   Cloudflare

   Email: lucaspardue.24.7@gmail.com

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