IETF B. Haberman, Ed.
Internet-Draft JHU APL
Intended status: Standards Track May 27, 2010
Expires: November 28, 2010
A Dedicated Routing Policy Specification Language Interface Identifier
for Operational Testing
draft-haberman-rpsl-reachable-test-04
Abstract
The deployment of new IP connectivity typically results in
intermittent reachability for numerous reasons which are outside the
scope of this document. In order to aid in the debugging of these
persistent problems, this document proposes the creation of a new
Routing Policy Specification Language attribute that allows a network
to advertise an IP address which is reachable and can be used as a
target for diagnostic tests (e.g., pings).
Status of this Memo
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. RPSL Extension for Diagnostic Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Using the RPSL Pingable Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
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1. Introduction
The deployment of new IP connectivity typically results in
intermittent reachability for numerous reasons which are outside the
scope of this document. In order to aid in the debugging of these
persistent problems, this document proposes the creation of a new
Routing Policy Specification Language attribute [RFC4012] that allows
a network to advertise an IP address which is reachable and can be
used as a target for diagnostic tests (e.g., pings).
The goal of this diagnostic address is to provide operators a means
to advertise selected hosts that can be targets of tests for such
common issues as reachability and Path MTU discovery.
The capitalized 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
[RFC2119].
2. RPSL Extension for Diagnostic Address
Network operators wishing to provide a diagnostic address for its
peers, customers, etc. MAY advertise its existence via the Routing
Policy Specification Language [RFC4012] [RFC2622]. The pingable
attribute is a member of the route and route6 objects in the RPSL.
The definition of the pingable attribute is shown in Figure 1.
+-----------+-------------------+--------------+
| Attribute | Value | Type |
+-----------+-------------------+--------------+
| pingable | <ipv6-address> or | optional, |
| | <ipv4-address> | multi-valued |
+-----------+-------------------+--------------+
| ping-hdl | <nic-handle> | optional, |
| | | multi-valued |
+-----------+-------------------+--------------+
Figure 1: pingable attribute specification
The exact definitions of <ipv4-address> and <nic-handle> can be found
in [RFC2622], while the definition of <ipv6-address> is in [RFC4012].
The pingable attribute allows a network operator to advertise an IP
address of a node which should be reachable from outside networks.
This node can be used as a destination address for diagnostic tests.
The address specified MUST fall within the IP address range
advertised in the route/route6 object containing the pingable
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attribute. The ping-hdl provides a link to contact information for
an entity capable of responding to queries concerning the specified
IP address. An example of using the pingable attribute is shown in
Figure 2.
route6: 2001:DB8::/32
origin: AS64500
pingable: 2001:DB8::DEAD:BEEF
ping-hdl: OPS4-RIPE
Figure 2: pingable attribute example
3. Using the RPSL Pingable Attribute
The presence of one or more pingable attributes signals to network
operators that the operator of the target network is providing the
address(es) for external diagnostic testing. Tests involving the
advertised address(es) SHOULD be rate limited to no more than ten
probes in a five minute window unless prior arrangements are made
with the maintainer of the attribute.
4. IANA Considerations
None.
5. Security Considerations
The use of routing registries based on RPSL requires a significant
level of security. In-depth discussion of the authentication and
authorization capabilities and weaknesses within RPSL is discussed in
[RFC2725]. The application of authentication in RPSL is key
considering the vulnerabilities that may arise from the abuse of the
pingable attribute by nefarious actors. Additional RPSL security
issues are discussed in the Security Considerations sections of
[RFC2622] and [RFC4012].
The publication of this attribute only explicitly signals the
availability of an ICMP Echo Request/Echo Response service on the
specified IP address. The operator, at his/her discretion, MAY
deploy other services at the same IP address. These services may be
impacted by the ping service given its publicity via the RPSL.
While this document specifies that external users of the pingable
attribute rate limit their probes, there is no guarantee that they
will do so. Operators publicizing a pingable attribute are
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encouraged to deploy their own rate limiting for the advertised IP
address in order to reduce the risk of a denial-of-service attack.
Services, protocols, and ports on the advertised IP address should be
filtered if they are not intended for external users.
6. Acknowledgements
Randy Bush and David Farmer provided the original concept for the
pingable attribute and useful comments on preliminary versions of
this draft. Joe Abley provided comments that justified moving the
attribute to the route/route6 object and the inclusion of a point of
contact. Larry Blunk, Tony Tauber, David Harrington, Nicolas
Williams, Sean Turner, and Peter Saint-Andre provided useful comments
to improve the document.
7. References
7.1. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[RFC2622] Alaettinoglu, C., Villamizar, C., Gerich, E., Kessens, D.,
Meyer, D., Bates, T., Karrenberg, D., and M. Terpstra,
"Routing Policy Specification Language (RPSL)", RFC 2622,
June 1999.
[RFC2725] Villamizar, C., Alaettinoglu, C., Meyer, D., and S.
Murphy, "Routing Policy System Security", RFC 2725,
December 1999.
[RFC4012] Blunk, L., Damas, J., Parent, F., and A. Robachevsky,
"Routing Policy Specification Language next generation
(RPSLng)", RFC 4012, March 2005.
7.2. Informative References
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Author's Address
Brian Haberman (editor)
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
11100 Johns Hopkins Road
Laurel, MD 20723-6099
US
Phone: +1 443 778 1319
Email: brian@innovationslab.net
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