IPFIX Working Group                                         A. Kobayashi
Internet-Draft                                               NTT PF Lab.
Intended status: Informational                                 B. Claise
Expires: January 12, 2011                            Cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                                G. Muenz
                                                             TU Muenchen
                                                            K. Ishibashi
                                                             NTT PF Lab.
                                                           July 11, 2010


                       IPFIX Mediation: Framework
                draft-ietf-ipfix-mediators-framework-07

Abstract

   This document describes a framework for IPFIX Mediation.  This
   framework extends the IPFIX reference model by defining the IPFIX
   Mediator components.

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 http://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 January 12, 2011.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2010 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
   (http://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



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 1]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  Terminology and Definitions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   3.  IPFIX/PSAMP Documents Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     3.1.  IPFIX Documents Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     3.2.  PSAMP Documents Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   4.  IPFIX Mediation Reference Model  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   5.  IPFIX Mediation Functional Blocks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
     5.1.  Collecting Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
     5.2.  Exporting Process  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     5.3.  Intermediate Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
       5.3.1.  Data Record Expiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
       5.3.2.  Specific Intermediate Processes  . . . . . . . . . . . 16
   6.  Component Combination  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     6.1.  Data-based Collector Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     6.2.  Flow Selection and Aggregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
     6.3.  IPFIX File Writer/Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
   7.  Encoding for IPFIX Message Header  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
   8.  Information Model  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
   9.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     9.1.  Avoiding Security Level Downgrade  . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     9.2.  Avoiding Security Level Upgrade  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
     9.3.  Approximating End-to-End Assertions for IPFIX Mediators  . 28
     9.4.  Multiple Tenancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
     9.5.  Configuration Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
   10. IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
   11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
     11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
     11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
   Appendix A.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
   Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34














Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 2]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


1.  Introduction

   The IPFIX architectural components in [RFC5470] consist of IPFIX
   Devices and IPFIX Collectors communicating using the IPFIX protocol.
   Due to the sustained growth of IP traffic in heterogeneous network
   environments, this Exporter-Collector architecture may lead to
   scalability problems.  In addition, it does not provide the
   flexibility required by a wide variety of measurement applications.
   A detailed descriptions of these problems is given in [IPFIX-MD-PS].

   To fulfill application requirements with limited system resources,
   IPFIX architecture needs to introduce an intermediate entity between
   Exporters and Collectors.  From a data manipulation point of view,
   this intermediate entity provides the aggregation, correlation,
   filtering, and modification of Flow Records and/or PSAMP Packet
   Reports to save measurement system resources and to perform
   preprocessing tasks for the Collector.  From a protocol conversion
   point of view, this intermediate entity provides conversion into
   IPFIX, or conversion of IPFIX transport protocols (e.g., from UDP to
   SCTP) to improve the export reliability.

   This document introduces a generalized concept for such intermediate
   entities and describes the high-level architecture of IPFIX
   Mediation, key IPFIX Mediation architectural components, and
   characteristics of IPFIX Mediation.

   This document is structured as follows: section 2 describes the
   terminology used in this document, section 3 gives an IPFIX/PSAMP
   document overview, section 4 describes a high-level reference model,
   section 5 describes functional features related to IPFIX Mediation,
   section 6 describes combinations of components along with some
   application examples, section 7 describes consideration points of the
   encoding for IPFIX Message headers, and section 8 describes the
   Information Elements used in an IPFIX Mediator.

















Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 3]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


2.  Terminology and Definitions

   The IPFIX-specific and PSAMP-specific terminology used in this
   document is defined in [RFC5101] and [RFC5476], respectively.  The
   IPFIX Mediation-specific terminology used in this document is defined
   in [IPFIX-MD-PS].  However, as reading the problem statements
   document is not a prerequisite to reading this framework document,
   the definitions have been reproduced here along with additional
   definitions.  In this document, as in [RFC5101] and [RFC5476], the
   first letter of each IPFIX-specific and PSAMP-specific term is
   capitalized along with the IPFIX Mediation-specific term defined
   here.  The use of the terms "must", "should", and "may" in this
   document are informational only.

   In this document, we call "record stream" a stream of records
   carrying flow- or packet-based information.  The records may be
   encoded as IPFIX Data Records or in any other format.

   Transport Session Information

      The Transport Session is specified in [RFC5101].  In SCTP, the
      Transport Session Information is the SCTP association.  In TCP and
      UDP, the Transport Session Information corresponds to a 5-tuple
      {Exporter IP address, Collector IP address, Exporter transport
      port, Collector transport port, transport protocol}.

   Original Exporter

      An Original Exporter is an IPFIX Device that hosts the Observation
      Points where the metered IP packets are observed.

   IPFIX Mediation

      IPFIX Mediation is the manipulation and conversion of a record
      stream for subsequent export using the IPFIX protocol.

   The following terms are used in this document to describe the
   architectural entities used by IPFIX Mediation.

   Intermediate Process

      An Intermediate Process takes a record stream as its input from
      Collecting Processes, Metering Processes, IPFIX File Readers,
      other Intermediate Processes, or other record sources; performs
      some transformations on this stream, based upon the content of
      each record, states maintained across multiple records, or other
      data sources; and passes the transformed record stream as its
      output to Exporting Processes, IPFIX File Writers, or other



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 4]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


      Intermediate Processes, in order to perform IPFIX Mediation.
      Typically, an Intermediate Process is hosted by an IPFIX Mediator.
      Alternatively, an Intermediate Process may be hosted by an
      Original Exporter.

   Specific Intermediate Processes are described below.  However, this
   is not an exhaustive list.

   Intermediate Conversion Process

      An Intermediate Conversion Process is an Intermediate Process that
      transforms non IPFIX into IPFIX, or manages the relation among
      Templates and states of incoming/outgoing transport sessions in
      the case of transport protocol conversion (e.g., from UDP to
      SCTP).

   Intermediate Aggregation Process

      An Intermediate Aggregation Process is an Intermediate Process
      that aggregates records based upon a set of Flow Keys or functions
      applied to fields from the record (e.g., binning and subnet
      aggregation).

   Intermediate Correlation Process

      An Intermediate Correlation Process is an Intermediate Process
      that adds information to records, noting correlations among them,
      or generates new records with correlated data from multiple
      records (e.g., the production of bidirectional flow records from
      unidirectional flow records).

   Intermediate Selection Process

      An Intermediate Selection Process is an Intermediate Process that
      selects records from a sequence based upon criteria-evaluated
      record values and passes only those records that match the
      criteria (e.g., filtering only records from a given network to a
      given Collector).

   Intermediate Anonymization Process

      An Intermediate Anonymization Process is an Intermediate Process
      that transforms records in order to anonymize them, to protect the
      identity of the entities described by the records (e.g., by
      applying prefix-preserving pseudonymization of IP addresses).






Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 5]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   IPFIX Mediator

      An IPFIX Mediator is an IPFIX Device that provides IPFIX Mediation
      by receiving a record stream from some data sources, hosting one
      or more Intermediate Processes to transform that stream, and
      exporting the transformed record stream into IPFIX Messages via an
      Exporting Process.  In the common case, an IPFIX Mediator receives
      a record stream from a Collecting Process, but it could also
      receive a record stream from data sources not encoded using IPFIX,
      e.g., in the case of conversion from the NetFlow V9 protocol
      [RFC3954] to IPFIX protocol.

   Note that the IPFIX Mediator is a generalization of the concentrator
   and proxy elements envisioned in the IPFIX requirements [RFC3917].
   IPFIX Mediators running appropriate Intermediate Processes provide
   the functionality specified therein.



































Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 6]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


3.  IPFIX/PSAMP Documents Overview

   IPFIX Mediation can be applied to flow- or packet-based information.
   The flow-based information is encoded by IPFIX protocol, and the
   packet-based information is extracted by some sampling techniques and
   then encoded by PSAMP protocol.  Thus, this section describes
   relevant documents for both protocols.

3.1.  IPFIX Documents Overview

   The IPFIX protocol [RFC5101] provides network administrators with
   access to IP flow information.  The architecture for the export of
   measured IP flow information from an IPFIX Exporting Process to a
   Collecting Process is defined in [RFC5470], per the requirements
   defined in [RFC3917].  The IPFIX protocol [RFC5101] specifies how
   IPFIX Data Records and Templates are carried via a number of
   transport protocols from IPFIX Exporting Processes to IPFIX
   Collecting Processes.  IPFIX has a formal description of IPFIX
   Information Elements, their names, types, and additional semantic
   information, as specified in [RFC5102].  The IPFIX Management
   Information Base is defined in [RFC5815].  Finally, [RFC5472]
   describes what types of applications can use the IPFIX protocol and
   how they can use the information provided.  It furthermore shows how
   the IPFIX framework relates to other architectures and frameworks.
   The storage of IPFIX Messages in a file is specified in [RFC5655].

3.2.  PSAMP Documents Overview

   The framework for packet selection and reporting [RFC5474] enables
   network elements to select subsets of packets by statistical and
   other methods and to export a stream of reports on the selected
   packets to a Collector.  The set of packet selection techniques
   (sampling and filtering) standardized by PSAMP is described in
   [RFC5475].  The PSAMP protocol [RFC5476] specifies the export of
   packet information from a PSAMP Exporting Process to a Collector.
   Like IPFIX, PSAMP has a formal description of its Information
   Elements, their names, types, and additional semantic information.
   The PSAMP information model is defined in [RFC5477].  The PSAMP
   Management Information Base is described in [PSAMP-MIB].












Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 7]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


4.  IPFIX Mediation Reference Model

   Figure A shows the high-level IPFIX Mediation reference model as an
   extension of the IPFIX reference model presented in [RFC5470].  This
   figure covers the various possible scenarios that can exist in an
   IPFIX measurement system.


       +----------------+  +---------------+    +---------------+
       | Collector 1    |  | Collector 2   |    | Collector N   |
       |[Collecting     |  |[Collecting    |    |[Collecting    |
       |   Process(es)] |  |  Process(es)] |... |  Process(es)] |
       +----^-----------+  +---^--------^--+    +--------^------+
            |                 /          \               |
            |                /            \              |
     Flow Records     Flow Records   Flow Records   Flow Records
            |              /                \            |
     +------+-------------+------+    +------+-----------+--------+
     |IPFIX Mediator 3           |    |IPFIX Mediator N           |
     |[Exporting Process(es)]    |    |[Exporting Process(es)]    |
     |[Intermediate Process(es)] |    |[Intermediate Process(es)] |
     |[Collecting Process(es)]   |... |[Collecting Process(es)]   |
     +----^----------------^-----+    +------^----------------^---+
          |                |                 |                |
     Flow Records     Flow Records      Packet Reports  record stream
          |                |                 |                |
   +------+------+  +------+-------+  +------+-------+  +-----+-----+
   |IPFIX        |  |IPFIX Original|  |PSAMP Original|  |Other      |
   |  Mediator 1 |  |   Exporter 1 |  |   Exporter 1 |  |  Source 1 |
   |+-------------+ |+--------------+ |+--------------+ |+-----------+
   +|IPFIX        | +|IPFIX Original| +|PSAMP Original| +|Other      |
    |  Mediator 2 |  |   Exporter N |  |   Exporter N |  |  Source N |
    |[Exporting   |  |[Exporting    |  |[Exporting    |  |           |
    | Process(es)]|  |  Process(es)]|  |  Process(es)]|  |           |
    |[Intermediate|  |[Metering     |  |[Metering     |  |           |
    | Process(es)]|  |  Process(es)]|  |  Process(es)]|  |           |
    |[Collecting  |  |[Observation  |  |[Observation  |  |           |
    | Process(es)]|  |     Point(s)]|  |     Point(s)]|  |           |
    +------^------+  +-----^-^------+  +-----^-^------+  +-----------+
           |               | |               | |
      Flow Records   Packets coming    Packets coming
                    into Observation  into Observation
                          Points            Points

           Figure A: IPFIX Mediation Reference Model Overview.

   The functional components within each entity are indicated within
   brackets [].  An IPFIX Mediator receives IPFIX Flow Records or PSAMP



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 8]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   Packet Records from other IPFIX Mediators, IPFIX Flow Records from
   IPFIX Original Exporters, PSAMP Packet Reports from PSAMP Original
   Exporters, and/or a record stream from other sources.  The IPFIX
   Mediator then exports IPFIX Flow Records and/or PSAMP Packet Reports
   to one or multiple Collectors and/or other IPFIX Mediators.

   Figure B shows the basic IPFIX Mediator component model.  An IPFIX
   Mediator contains one or more Intermediate Processes and one or more
   Exporting Processes.  In typical case, it contains a Collecting
   Process, as described in Figure B below.

                  IPFIX (Data Records)
                              ^
                            ^ |
   +------------------------|-|---------------------+
   | IPFIX Mediator         | |                     |
   |                        | |                     |
   |  .---------------------|-+-------------------. |
   | .----------------------+--------------------.| |
   | |          Exporting Process(es)            |' |
   | '----------------------^--------------------'  |
   |                        | |                     |
   |  .---------------------|-+-------------------. |
   | .----------------------+--------------------.| |
   | |          Intermediate Process(es)         |' |
   | '----------------------^--------------------'  |
   |                        | |                     |
   |  .---------------------|-+-------------------. |
   | .----------------------+--------------------.| |
   | |          Collecting Process(es)           |' |
   | '----------------------^--------------------'  |
   +------------------------|-|---------------------+
                            |
                  IPFIX (Data Records)

   Figure B: Basic IPFIX Mediator Component Model.















Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011                [Page 9]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   However, other data sources are also possible: an IPFIX Mediator can
   receive a record stream from non-IPFIX protocols such as NetFlow
   [RFC3954] exporter(s).  This document does not make any particular
   assumption on how a record stream is transferred to an IPFIX
   Mediator.  Figure C below shows the IPFIX Mediator component model in
   the case of IPFIX protocol conversion from non-IPFIX exporters, so
   receiving a record stream.

                  IPFIX (Data Records)
                              ^
                            ^ |
   +------------------------|-|---------------------+
   | IPFIX Mediator         | |                     |
   |  .---------------------|-+-------------------. |
   | .----------------------+--------------------.| |
   | |          Exporting Process(es)            |' |
   | '----------------------^--------------------'  |
   |  .---------------------|-+-------------------. |
   | .----------------------+--------------------.| |
   | |          Intermediate Process(es)         |' |
   | '----------------------^--------------------'  |
   +------------------------|-----------------------+
                            | record stream
   +------------------------|-----------------------+
   | Non-IPFIX exporter     |                       |
   |          +-------------+----------+            |
   |          |                        |            |
   +----------|------------------------|------------+
              |                        |
            Packets coming into observation points

   Figure C: IPFIX Mediator Component Model in IPFIX Protocol
   Conversion.


















Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 10]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   Alternatively, an Original Exporter may provide IPFIX Mediation by
   hosting one or more Intermediate Processes.  The component model in
   Figure D adds Intermediate Process(es) to the IPFIX Device model
   illustrated in [RFC5470].  In comparison with Figure 1 or 2 in
   [RFC5470], the Intermediate Process is located between IPFIX Metering
   Process(es), or PSAMP Metering Process(es) and Exporting Process(es).

                     IPFIX (Data Records)
                               ^ ^
   +---------------------------|-|------------------------+
   | Original Exporter         | |                        |
   |                           | |                        |
   |     .---------------------|-+-------------------.    |
   |    .----------------------+--------------------.|    |
   |    |           Exporting Process(es)           |'    |
   |    '----------------------^--------------------'     |
   |                           | |                        |
   |     .---------------------|-+-------------------.    |
   |    .----------------------+--------------------.|    |
   |    |          Intermediate Process(es)         |'    |
   |    '---------^-----------------------^---------'     |
   |              |      Data Records     |               |
   |   .----------+---------.   .---------+----------.    |
   |   | Metering Process 1 |...| Metering Process N |    |
   |   '----------^---------'   '---------^----------'    |
   |              |                       |               |
   |  .-----------+---------.   .---------+-----------.   |
   |  | Observation Point 1 |...| Observation Point N |   |
   |  '-----------^---------'   '---------^-----------'   |
   +--------------|-----------------------|---------------+
                  |                       |
            Packets coming into Observation Points

   Figure D: IPFIX Mediation Component Model at Original Exporter.

















Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 11]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   In addition, an Intermediate Process may be collocated with an IPFIX
   File Reader and/or Writer.  Figure E shows an IPFIX Mediation
   component model with an IPFIX File Writer and/or Reader.

                   IPFIX (Data Records)
                               ^
                             ^ |
      .----------------------|-+--------------------.
     .-----------------------+---------------------.|
     |              IPFIX File Writer              |'
     '-----------------------^---------------------'
                             | |
      .----------------------|-+--------------------.
     .-----------------------+---------------------.|
     |          Intermediate Process(es)           |'
     '-----------------------^---------------------'
                             | |
      .----------------------|-+--------------------.
     .-----------------------+---------------------.|
     |              IPFIX File Reader              |'
     '-----------------------^---------------------'
                             |
                   IPFIX (Data Records)

   Figure E: IPFIX Mediation Component Model collocated with IPFIX File
   Writer/Reader.

























Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 12]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


5.  IPFIX Mediation Functional Blocks

   Figure F shows a functional block diagram example in an IPFIX
   Mediator, having different Intermediate Process types.

                        IPFIX           IPFIX               IPFIX
                          ^               ^                   ^
                          |               |                   |
    .------------.  .-----+-------. .-----+-------.    .------+------.
    | IPFIX File |  | Exporting   | | Exporting   |    | Exporting   |
    |  Writer    |  |  Process 1  | |  Process 2  |....|  Process N  |
    '-----^-^----'  '-----^-------' '-----^-------'    '------^------'
          | |             |               |                   |
          | +-------------+               |                   |
          :          Flow Records / Packet Reports            :
   .------+-------. .-----+--------. .----+---------. .--------------.
   | Intermediate | | Intermediate | | Intermediate | | Intermediate |
   | Anonymization| | Correlation  | | Aggregation  | | Selection    |
   | Process N    | | Process N    | |  Process N   | |  Process N   |
   '------|-------' '------|-------' '-----|-|------' '-------|------'
          |                +---------------+ |                |
          :                :                 :                :
   .------+-------. .------+-------. .-------+------. .-------+------.
   | Intermediate | | Intermediate | | Intermediate | | Intermediate |
   | Selection    | | Selection    | | Selection    | | Selection    |
   | Process 1    | | Process 2    | |  Process 3   | |  Process 4   |
   '------|-|-----' '------|-------' '-----|--------' '-------|------'
          | +--------------+               | +----------------+
          |                |               | |                |
          :          Flow Records / Packet Reports            :
   .------+------. .-------+-----.   .-----+-+-----.    .-----+------.
   | Collecting  | | Collecting  |   | Collecting  |    | IPFIX File |
   |  Process 1  | |  Process 2  |...|  Process N  |    |  Reader    |
   '------^------' '------^------'   '------^------'    '------------'
          |               |                 |
     Flow Records   Flow Records      Flow Records

   Figure F: IPFIX Mediation Functional Block.

5.1.  Collecting Process

   A Collecting Process in an IPFIX Mediator is not different from the
   Collecting Process described in [RFC5101].  Additional functions in
   an IPFIX Mediator include transmitting the set of Data Records and
   Control Information to one or more components, i.e., Intermediate
   Processes and other applications.  In other words, a Collecting
   Process may duplicate the set and transmit it to one or more
   components in sequence or in parallel.  In the case of an IPFIX



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 13]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   Mediator, the Control Information described in [RFC5470] includes
   IPFIX Message header information and Transport Session Information
   along with information about the Metering Process and the Exporting
   Process in an Original Exporter, e.g., sampling parameters.

5.2.  Exporting Process

   An Exporting Process in an IPFIX Mediator is not different from the
   Exporting Process described in [RFC5101].  Additional functions in an
   IPFIX Mediator may include the following.

   o  Receiving the trigger to transmit the Template Withdrawal Messages
      from Intermediate Process(es) when relevant Templates become
      invalid due to, for example, incoming session failure.

   o  Transmitting the origin (e.g., Observation Point, Observation
      Domain ID, Original Exporter IP address, etc.) of the data in
      additional Data Record fields or additional Data Records.  This
      function must be configurable.

5.3.  Intermediate Process

   An Intermediate Process is a key functional block for IPFIX
   Mediation.  Its typical functions include the following:

   o  Generating a new record stream from an input record stream
      including context information (e.g., "Export Time", "Observation
      Domain ID", and Transport Session Information), and transmitting
      it to other components.

   o  Reporting statistics and interpretations for IPFIX Metering
      Processes, PSAMP Metering Processes, and Exporting Processes from
      an Original Exporter.  See section 4 of [RFC5101] and section 6 of
      [RFC5476] for relevant statistics data structures and
      interpretations, respectively.  This function must be
      configurable.

   o  Maintaining the configurable relation between Collecting
      Process(es)/Metering Process(es) and Exporting Process(es)/other
      Intermediate Process(es).

      A Collecting Process or Metering Process participating in IPFIX
      Mediation is associated with at least one Intermediate Process.
      Furthermore, an Intermediate Process is associated with at least
      one Exporting Process or another Intermediate Process.  This
      relation can be configurable.





Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 14]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   o  Maintaining database(s) of all the Data Records in the case of an
      Intermediate Aggregation Process and an Intermediate Correlation
      Process.  The function has the Data Record expiration rules
      described in the next subsection.

   o  Maintaining statistics on the Intermediate Process itself, such as
      the number of input/output Data Records, etc.

   o  Maintaining additional information about output record streams,
      which includes information related to Original Exporter,
      Observation Domain, and administrative domain and some
      configuration parameters related to each function.

      In the case of an Intermediate Aggregation Process, Intermediate
      Anonymization Process, and Intermediate Correlation Process, the
      value of the "flowKeyIndicator" needs to be modified when
      modifying the data structure defined by an original Template.

5.3.1.  Data Record Expiration

   An Intermediate Aggregation Process and Intermediate Correlation
   Process need to have expiration conditions to export cached Data
   Records.  In the case of the Metering Process in an Original
   Exporter, these conditions are described in [RFC5470].  In the case
   of the Intermediate Process, these conditions are as follows:

   o  If there are no input Data Records belonging to a cached Flow for
      a certain time period, aggregated Flow Records will expire.  This
      time period should be configurable at the Intermediate Process.

   o  If the Intermediate Process experiences resource constraints,
      aggregated Flow Records may prematurely expire (e.g., lack of
      memory to store Flow Records).

   o  For long-running Flows, the Intermediate Process should cause the
      Flow to expire on a regular basis or on the basis of an expiration
      policy.  This periodicity or expiration policy should be
      configurable at the Intermediate Process.

   In the case of an Intermediate Correlation Process, a cached Data
   Record may be prematurely expired (and discarded) when no correlation
   can be computed with newly received Data Records.  For example, an
   Intermediate Correlation Process computing one way delay may discard
   the cached Packet Report when no other matching packet Report are
   observed within a certain time period.






Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 15]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


5.3.2.  Specific Intermediate Processes

   This section describes the functional blocks of specific Intermediate
   Processes.

5.3.2.1.  Intermediate Conversion Process

   When receiving a non-IPFIX record stream, the Intermediate Conversion
   Process covers the following functions:

   o  Determining the IPFIX Information Element identifiers which
      correspond to the fields of the non-IPFIX records (e.g.,
      converting NetFlow V9 protocol [RFC3954] to IPFIX Information
      Model [RFC5102]).

   o  Transforming the non-IPFIX records into Data Records, (Options)
      Template Records, and/or Data Records defined by Options
      Templates.

   o  Converting additional information (e.g., sampling rate, sampling
      algorithm, and observation information) into appropriate fields in
      the existing Data Records or into Data Records defined by new
      Option Templates.

   IPFIX transport protocol conversion can be used to enhance the export
   reliability, for example for data retention and accounting.  In this
   case, the Intermediate Conversion Process covers the following
   functions:

   o  Relaying Data Records, (Options) Template Records, and Data
      Records defined by Options Templates.

   o  Setting the trigger for the Exporting Process in order to export
      IPFIX Template Withdrawal Messages relevant to the Templates when
      Templates becomes invalid due to, for example, incoming session
      failure.  This case applies to SCTP and TCP Transport Sessions on
      the outgoing side, only.

   o  Maintaining the mapping information about Transport Sessions,
      Observation Domain IDs, and Template IDs on the incoming and
      outgoing sides to ensure the appropriateness of the scope field
      values in Data Records defined by Options Templates and of IPFIX
      Template Withdrawal Messages.








Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 16]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


5.3.2.2.  Intermediate Selection Process

   An Intermediate Selection Process has analogous functions to the
   PSAMP Selection Process described in [RFC5475].  The difference is
   that the Intermediate Selection Process takes a record stream, e.g.,
   Flow Records or Packet Reports, instead of observed packets.

   The typical function is property match filtering that retrieves a
   record stream of interest.  The function selects a Data Record if the
   value of a specific field in the Data Record equals a configured
   value or falls within a configured range.

5.3.2.3.  Intermediate Aggregation Process

   An Intermediate Aggregation Process covers the following functions:

   o  Merging a set of Data Records within a certain time period into
      one Flow Record by summing up the counters where appropriate.

   o  Maintaining statistic and additional information about aggregated
      Flow Records.

      The statistics for an aggregated Flow Record may include the
      number of original Data Records and the maximum and minimum values
      of per-flow counters.  Additional information may include an
      aggregation time period, a new set of Flow Keys, and observation
      location information involved in the Flow aggregation.
      Observation location information can be tuples of (Observation
      Point, Observation Domain ID, Original Exporter IP address) or
      another identifier indicating the location where the measured
      traffic has been observed.

   o  Aggregation of Data Records, which can be done in the following
      ways:


      *  Spatial composition

         With spatial composition, Data Records sharing common
         properties are merged into one Flow Record within a certain
         time period.  One typical aggregation can be based on a new set
         of Flow Keys.  Generally, a smaller set of common properties
         than an original set of Flow Keys results in a higher level of
         aggregation.  Another aggregation can be based on a set of
         Observation Points within an Observation Domain, on a set of
         Observation Domains within an Exporter, or on a set of
         Exporters.




Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 17]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


         If some fields do not serve as Flow Keys or per-Flow counters,
         and their values may change from Data Records to Data Records
         within an aggregated Flow Record, the Intermediate Aggregation
         Process determines their values by the first Data Record
         received, a specific Exporter IP address, or other appropriate
         decisions.

         Furthermore, a new identifier indicating a group of observation
         locations can be introduced, for example, to indicate PoP
         (Points of Presence) in a large network, or a logical interface
         composed of physical interfaces with link aggregation.

      *  Temporal composition

         With temporal composition, multiple consecutive Flow Records
         with identical Flow Key values are merged into a single Flow
         Record of longer Flow duration if they arrive within a certain
         time interval.  The main difference to spatial composition is
         that Flow Records are only merged if they originate from the
         same Observation Point and if the Flow Key values are
         identical.  For example, multiple Flow Records with a Flow
         duration of less than one minute can be merged into a single
         Flow Record with more than ten minutes Flow duration.

         In addition, the Intermediate Aggregation Process with temporal
         composition produces aggregated counters while reducing the
         number of Flow Records on a Collector.  Some specific non Flow
         Key fields, such as the minimumIpTotalLength/
         maximumIpTotalLength or minimumTTL/maximumTTL, will contain the
         minimum and maximum for the new aggregated Flow.

      The Intermediate Aggregation Process can be combined with the
      Intermediate Selection Process in order to aggregate only a subset
      of the original Flow Records, for example Flow Records with small
      numbers of packets as describied in section 6.2.

5.3.2.4.  Intermediate Anonymization Process

   An Intermediate Anonymization Process covers the following typical
   functions.

   o  Deleting specified fields

      The function deletes existing fields in accordance with some
      instruction rules.  Examples include hiding network topology
      information and private information.  In the case of feeding Data
      Records to end customers, disclosing vulnerabilities is avoided by
      deleting fields, e.g., "ipNextHopIP{v4|v6}Address",



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 18]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


      "bgpNextHopIP{v4|v6}Address", "bgp{Next|Prev}AdjacentAsNumber",
      and "mplsLabelStackSection", described in [RFC5102].

   o  Anonymizing values of specified fields

      The function modifies the values of specified fields.  Examples
      include anonymizing customers' private information, such as IP
      address and port number, in accordance with a privacy protection
      policy.  The Intermediate Anonymization Process may also report
      anonymized fields and the anonymization method as additional
      information.

5.3.2.5.  Intermediate Correlation Process

   An Intermediate Correlation Process can be viewed as a special case
   of the Intermediate Aggregation Process, covering the following
   typical functions:

   o  Producing new information including metrics, counters, attributes,
      or packet property parameters by evaluating the correlation among
      sets of Data Records or among Data Records and other meta data
      after gathering sets of Data Records within a certain time period.

   o  Adding new fields into a Data Record or creating a new Data
      Record.

   A correlation of Data Records can be done in the following ways.

   o  One-to-one correlation between Data Records, with the following
      examples:

      *  One-way delay, Packet delay variation in [RFC5481]
         The metrics come from the correlation of the timestamp value on
         a pair of Packet Reports indicating an identical packet from
         different Exporters.

      *  Packet inter-arrival time or jitter
         The metrics come from the correlation of the timestamp value on
         consecutive Packet Reports from a single Exporter.

      *  Rate-limiting ratio, compression ratio, optimization ratio,
         etc.
         The data values come from the correlation of Data Records
         indicating an identical Flow observed on the incoming/outgoing
         points of a WAN interface.






Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 19]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   o  Correlation amongst Data Records, with the following examples:

      *  Bidirectional Flow composition
         The method of exporting and representing a bidirectional flow
         (Biflow) is described in [RFC5103].  The bidirectional flow
         composition is a special case of Flow Key aggregation.  The
         Flow Records are merged into one Flow Record as Biflow, if Non-
         directional Key Fields matches and the Directional Key Field
         matches their reverse direction counterparts.  The direction
         assignment method to assign the Biflow Source and Destination
         as additional information may be reported.  In the case of an
         Intermediate Aggregation Process, the direction may be assigned
         as "arbitrary".

      *  Average/maximum/minimum for packets, bytes, one-way delay,
         packet loss, etc.
         The data values come from the correlation of multiple Data
         Records while the Intermediate Aggregation Process executes.

   o  Correlation between Data Record and other meta data

      Typical examples are derived packet property parameters described
      in [RFC5102].  The parameters are retrieved based on the value of
      the specified field in an input Data Record, compensating for
      traditional exporting devices or probes that are unable to add
      packet property parameters.  Typical derived packet property
      parameters are as follows:

      *  "bgpNextHop{IPv4|IPv6}Address" described in [RFC5102], which
         indicates the egress router of a network domain.  It is useful
         for making a traffic matrix that covers the whole network
         domain.

      *  BGP Communities attribute
         This attribute indicates tagging for routes of geographical and
         topological information and source types (e.g., transit, peer,
         or customer) as described in [RFC4384].  Therefore, network
         administrators can monitor the geographically-based or source
         type-based traffic volume by correlating the attribute.

      *  "mplsVpnRouteDistinguisher" described in [RFC5102]
         This value indicates the VPN customer's identification, which
         cannot be extracted from the core router in MPLS networks.
         Therefore, network administrators can monitor the customer-
         based traffic volume on even core routers.






Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 20]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


6.  Component Combination

   An IPFIX Mediator may be able to simultaneously support more than one
   Intermediate Process.  Multiple Intermediate Processes generally are
   configured in the following ways.

   o  Parallel Intermediate Processes

      A record stream is processed by multiple Intermediate Processes in
      parallel to fulfill the requirements of different applications.
      In this setup, every Intermediate Process receives a copy of the
      entire record stream as its input.

   o  Serial Intermediate Processes

      To execute flexible manipulation of a record stream, the
      Intermediate Processes are connected serially.  In that case, an
      output record stream from one Intermediate Process forms an input
      record stream for a succeeding Intermediate Process.

   In addition to the combination of Intermediate Processes, the
   combination of some components (Exporting Process, Collecting
   Process, IPFIX File Writer and Reader) can be applied to provide
   various data reduction techniques.  This section shows some
   combinations along with examples.

6.1.  Data-based Collector Selection

   The combination of one or more Intermediate Selection Processes and
   Exporting Processes can determine to which Collector input Data
   Records are exported.  Applicable examples include exporting Data
   Records to a dedicated Collector on the basis of a customer or an
   organization.  For example, an Intermediate Selection Process selects
   Data Records from record stream duplicated in a Collecting Process on
   the basis of the peering autonomous system number, and an Exporting
   Process sends them to a dedicated Collector, as shown in the Figure
   G.














Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 21]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


             .----------------------.   .------------.
             | Intermediate         |   | Exporting  |
             |  Selection Process 1 |   |  Process 1 |
          +--+--- Peering AS #10 ---+-->|            +--> Collector 1
          |  '----------------------'   '------------'
          |  .----------------------.   .------------.
   record |  | Intermediate         |   | Exporting  |
   stream |  |  Selection Process 2 |   |  Process 2 |
   -------+--+--- Peering AS #20 ---+-->|            +--> Collector 2
          |  '----------------------'   '------------'
          |  .----------------------.   .------------.
          |  | Intermediate         |   | Exporting  |
          |  |  Selection Process 3 |   |  Process 3 |
          +--+--- Peering AS #30 ---+-->|            +--> Collector 3
             '----------------------'   '------------'

   Figure G: Data-based Collector Selection.

6.2.  Flow Selection and Aggregation

   The combination of one or more Intermediate Selection Processes and
   Intermediate Aggregation Processes can efficiently reduce the amount
   of Flow Records.  The combination structure is similar to the concept
   of the Composite Selector described in [RFC5474].  For example, an
   Intermediate Selection Process selects Flows consisting of a small
   number of packets and then transmits them to an Intermediate
   Aggregation Process.  Another Intermediate Selection Process selects
   other Flow Records and then transmits them to an Exporting Process,
   as shown in Figure H. This results in aggregation on the basis of the
   distribution of the number of packets per Flow.

            .------------------.  .--------------.  .------------.
            | Intermediate     |  | Intermediate |  | Exporting  |
            |   Selection      |  |  Aggregation |  |    Process |
            |        Process 1 |  |     Process  |  |            |
          +-+ packetDeltaCount +->|              +->|            |
          | |             <= 5 |  |              |  |            |
   record | '------------------'  '--------------'  |            |
   stream | .------------------.                    |            |
   -------+ | Intermediate     |                    |            |
          | |   Selection      |                    |            |
          | |        Process 2 |                    |            |
          +-+ packetDeltaCount +------------------->|            |
            |              > 5 |                    |            |
            '------------------'                    '------------'

   Figure H: Flow Selection and Aggregation Example.




Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 22]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


6.3.  IPFIX File Writer/Reader

   An IPFIX File Writer [RFC5655] stores Data Records in a file system.
   When Data Records include problematic Information Elements, an
   Intermediate Anonymization Process can delete these fields before the
   IPFIX File Writer handles them, as shown in Figure I.

         .---------------.  .---------------.  .-------------.
         | Collecting    |  | Intermediate  |  | IPFIX       |
   IPFIX |      Process  |  | Anonymization |  |   File      |
   ----->|               +->|       Process +->|      Writer |
         '---------------'  '---------------'  '-------------'

   Figure I: IPFIX Mediation Example with IPFIX File Writer.

   In contrast, an IPFIX File Reader [RFC5655] retrieves stored Data
   Records when administrators want to retrieve past Data Records from a
   given time period.  If the data structure of the Data Records from
   the IPFIX File Reader is different from what administrators want, an
   Intermediate Anonymization Process and Intermediate Correlation
   Process can modify the data structure, as shown in Figure J.

   .-------------.  .---------------.  .---------------.  .-----------.
   | IPFIX       |  | Intermediate  |  | Intermediate  |  | Exporting |
   |   File      |  | Anonymization |  |   Correlation |  |   Process |
   |      Reader +->|       Process +->|       Process +->|           |
   '-------------'  '---------------'  '---------------'  '-----------'

   Figure J: IPFIX Mediation Example with IPFIX File Reader.

   In the case where distributed IPFIX Mediators enable on-demand export
   of Data Records which have been previously stored by a File Writer, a
   collecting infrastructure with huge storage capacity for data
   retention can be set up.

















Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 23]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


7.  Encoding for IPFIX Message Header

   The IPFIX Message Header [RFC5101] includes Export Time, Sequence
   Number, and Observation Domain ID fields.  This section describes
   some consideration points for the IPFIX Message header encoding in
   the context of IPFIX Mediation.

   Export Time

      An IPFIX Mediator can set the Export Time in two ways.

      *  Case 1: keeping the field value of incoming Transport Sessions

      *  Case 2: setting the time at which an IPFIX Message leaves the
         IPFIX Mediator

      Case 1 can be applied to the case where an IPFIX Mediator operates
      IPFIX Message level rather than Data Records as a proxy.  In case
      2, the IPFIX Mediator needs to handle any delta time stamp fields,
      such as "flowStartDeltaMicroseconds" and
      "flowEndDeltaMicroseconds", described in [RFC5102].

   Sequence Number

      In the case where an IPFIX Mediator relays a one-to-one Transport
      Session and operates only IPFIX Message level, the IPFIX Mediator
      needs to handle the Sequence Number properly.  In particular, the
      Sequence Number in outgoing session is not allowed to be
      initialized, even when the incoming session shuts down and re-
      starts.

   Observation Domain ID

      According to [RFC5101], the Observation Domain ID in the IPFIX
      Message header from an IPFIX Mediator is locally unique per
      Exporting Process.  However, the Observation Domain ID from an
      IPFIX Mediator does not represent the largest set of Observation
      Points in an Original Exporter, even if the Observation Domain ID
      is kept.

      Apart from Observation Domain ID in IPFIX Message header, the
      IPFIX Mediator should have a function to export the observation
      location information regarding the Original Exporter.  The
      information contains its IP address, Observation Domain ID from
      Original Exporter, and some information about the Transport
      Session, for example, the source port number, so that different
      Exporting Processes on the same Original Exporter might be
      identified.  As far as privacy policy permits, an IPFIX Medaitor



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 24]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


      reports the information to an IPFIX Collector.

      In the case where an IPFIX Medaitor does not report the
      information, for example, an IPFIX Mediator relays an incoming
      Observation Domain ID or relays an IPFIX Message after replacing
      each incoming Observation Domain ID with a new value, an IPFIX
      Mediator should set the appropriate scope fields in Data Records
      defined in Options Template Records.

      In the case where an IPFIX Medaitor reports the information, the
      information can be composed of multiple values of (original
      Exporter IP address, Observation Observation ID, and source port
      number) with commonPropertiesID [RFC5473].  An IPFIX Mediator puts
      into commonPropertiesID value into relevant Data Record, and uses
      commonPropertiesID value as scope, and should manage
      commonPropertiesID value, for example, should export a Common
      Properties Withdrawal message when an incoming Transport Session
      failure happens.

































Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 25]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


8.  Information Model

   IPFIX Mediation reuses the general information models from [RFC5102]
   and [RFC5477].  However, several Intermediate Processes would
   potentially require additional Information Elements as follows:

   o  Original Exporter IP address, Observation Domain ID, and source
      port number about the Transport Session at Original Exporter, in
      the case where an IPFIX Mediator reports original observation
      location information in section 7.  The Information Elements
      contained in Export Session Details Options Template in [RFC5655]
      may be utilized.

   o  Report on the applied treatment items in IPFIX Mediation as
      described in section 6.7. in [IPFIX-MD-PS].

   o  Certificate of an Original Exporter in section 9.  Relevant
      Information Element exporterCertificate in [RFC5655] may be
      utilized.
































Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 26]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


9.  Security Considerations

   As they act as both IPFIX Collecting Processes and Exporting
   Processes, the Security Considerations for IPFIX [RFC5101] apply as
   well to Mediators.  The Security Considerations for IPFIX Files
   [RFC5655] apply as well to IPFIX Mediators that write IPFIX Files or
   use them for internal storage.  However, there are a few specific
   considerations that IPFIX Mediator implementations must take into
   account in addition.

   By design, IPFIX Mediators are "men-in-the-middle": they intercede in
   the communication between an Original Exporter (or another upstream
   Mediator) and a downstream Collecting Process.  TLS provides no way
   to connect the session between the Mediator and the Original Exporter
   to the session between the Mediator and the downstream Collecting
   Process; indeed, this is by design.  This has important implications
   for the level of confidentiality provided across an IPFIX Mediator,
   and the ability to protect data integrity and Original Exporter
   authenticity across a Mediator.  In general, a Mediator SHOULD
   maintain the same level of integrity and confidentiality protection
   on both sides of the mediation operation, except in situations where
   the Mediator is explicitly deployed as a gateway between trusted and
   untrusted networks.

   Subsequent subsections deal with specific security issues raised by
   mediation.

9.1.  Avoiding Security Level Downgrade

   An IPFIX Mediator that accepts IPFIX Messages over a Transport
   Session protected by TLS [RFC4346] or DTLS [RFC4347], and which then
   exports IPFIX Messages derived therefrom in cleartext, is a
   potentially serious vulnerability in an IPFIX infrastructure.

   An IPFIX Mediator may export records derived from protected records
   in cleartext, but only in the case that it acts as a proxy between an
   external (untrusted) network and an internal (trusted) network, when
   the path to the downstream collector is on a physically protected,
   separated network (e.g., in the same locked equipment rack) such that
   the additional overhead of a TLS session is unnecessary.

   In other words, an IPFIX Mediator that receives IPFIX Messages from
   an upstream Exporting Process protected using TLS or DTLS must
   provide for sending of IPFIX Messages resulting from the operation of
   the Intermediate Process(es) to a downstream Collecting Process using
   TLS or DTLS.  It may allow for the configuration of unprotected
   export of such IPFIX Messages, but in this case it must warn the
   administrator that the exported IPFIX Messages will not be protected,



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 27]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   and that this could result in the leakage of information deemed by
   the Original Exporter to be worth protecting.

9.2.  Avoiding Security Level Upgrade

   There is a similar problem in the opposite direction: as an IPFIX
   Mediator's signature on a TLS session to a downstream Collecting
   Process acts as an implicit assertion of the trustworthiness of the
   data within the session, a poorly deployed IPFIX Mediator could be
   used to "legitimize" records derived from untrusted sources.
   Unprotected sessions from the Original Exporter are in the general
   case untrusted, because they could have been tampered with or forged
   by an unauthorized third party.

   An IPFIX Mediator may export signed IPFIX Messgaes containing records
   derived from records received in cleartext, but only in the case that
   it acts as a proxy between an internal (trusted) and an external
   (untrusted) network, when the path from the Original Exporter is on a
   physically protected, separated network, such that the additional
   overhead of an TLS session is unnecessary.

   In other words, an IPFIX Mediator that receives IPFIX Messages from
   an upstream Exporting Process in cleartext must default to sending
   IPFIX Messages resulting from the operation of the Intermediate
   Process(es) to the downstream Collecting Process in cleartext.  It
   should allow for the configuration of export of such IPFIX Messages
   protected by TLS or DTLS, but in this case it MUST warn the
   administrator that the exported IPFIX Messages will be signed as
   trusted by the Mediator, and that this could result in downstream
   Collecting Process trusting data derived from unprotected sources.

9.3.  Approximating End-to-End Assertions for IPFIX Mediators

   Because the Transport Session between an IPFIX Mediator and an
   Original Exporter is independent from the Transport Session between
   the Mediator and the downstream Collecting Process, there exists no
   method via TLS to assert the identity of the original Exporting
   Process downstream.  However, an IPFIX Mediator, which modifies the
   stream of IPFIX Messages sent to it, is by definition a trusted
   entity in the infrastructure.  Therefore, the IPFIX Mediator's
   signature on an outgoing Transport Session can be treated as an
   implicit assertion that the Original Exporter was positively
   identified by the Mediator and that the source information it
   received was trustworthy.  However, IPFIX Mediators must in this
   circumstance take care not to provide an inappropriate upgrade of
   trust.

   Therefore, an IPFIX Mediator should not sign a Transport Session to a



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 28]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


   downstream Collector unless all the Original Exporters from which the
   information to be exported is derived were positively identified by
   the Mediator by its certificate.  An exception to this case is the
   reverse of the special case in the previous subsection: an IPFIX
   Mediator that accepts information from within a trusted domain via an
   internal network protected by other means may use TLS or DTLS to
   protect the Transport Session to a downstream Collector outside the
   domain.

   If the X.509 certificates [RFC3280] used to protect a Transport
   Session between an Original Exporter and an IPFIX Mediator are
   required downstream, an IPFIX Mediator may use the
   exporterCertificate and the collectorCertificate Information Elements
   with the Export Session Details Options Template defined in Section
   8.1.3 of [RFC5655] or the Message Details Options Template defined in
   Section 8.1.4 of [RFC5655] in order to export this information
   downstream.  However, in this case, the IPFIX Mediator is making an
   implicit assertion that the upstream Session was properly protected
   and therefore trustworthy, and as such must protect the Transport
   Session to the downstream Collector using TLS or DTLS, as well.

9.4.  Multiple Tenancy

   An IPFIX Mediator handling traffic data from multiple separate
   sources or for multiple separate purposes must provide for keeping
   these data separate.  Though the details of this are application-
   specific, this generally entails separating Transport Sessions within
   the Mediator, and associating them with information related to the
   source or purpose, e.g., network or hardware address range, virtual
   LAN tag, interface identifiers, and so on.  Information from multiple
   sources may only be combined within a Mediator when that Mediator is
   applied for that specific purpose (e.g., aggregation or concentration
   of records).

9.5.  Configuration Protection

   Due to their trusted position within the infrastructure, IPFIX
   Mediators must provide for the protection of their configuration
   information, requiring positive authentication and authorization of
   administrators for configuration tasks.











Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 29]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


10.  IANA Considerations

   This document has no actions for IANA.
















































Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 30]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


11.  References

11.1.  Normative References

   [RFC5101]  Claise, B., "Specification of the IP Flow Information
              Export (IPFIX) Protocol for the Exchange of IP Traffic
              Flow Information", January 2008.

   [RFC5476]  Claise, B., Quittek, J., and A. Johnson, "Packet Sampling
              (PSAMP) Protocol Specifications", March 2009.

11.2.  Informative References

   [IPFIX-MD-PS]
              Kobayashi, A., Claise, B., Nishida, H., Sommer, C.,
              Dressler, F., and E. Stephan, "IPFIX Mediation: Problem
              Statement",
              draft-ietf-ipfix-mediators-problem-statement-09 (work in
              progress)  , March 2010.

   [PSAMP-MIB]
              Dietz, T., Claise, B., and J. Quittek, "Definitions of
              Managed Objects for Packet Sampling",
              draft-ietf-ipfix-psamp-mib-00 (work in progress) ,
              March 2010.

   [RFC3280]  Housley, R., Polk, W., Ford, W., and D. Solo, "Internet
              X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and
              Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Profile", April 2002.

   [RFC3917]  Quittek, J., Zseby, T., Claise, B., and S. Zander,
              "Requirements for IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX)",
              October 2004.

   [RFC3954]  Claise, B., "Cisco Systems NetFlow Services Export Version
              9", October 2004.

   [RFC4346]  Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer Security
              (TLS) Protocol Version 1.1", April 2006.

   [RFC4347]  Rescorla, E. and N. Modadugu, "Datagram Transport Layer
              Security", April 2006.

   [RFC4384]  Meyer, D., "BGP Communities for Data Collection",
              February 2006.

   [RFC5102]  Quittek, J., Bryant, S., Claise, B., Aitken, P., and J.
              Meyer, "Information Model for IP Flow Information Export",



Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 31]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


              January 2008.

   [RFC5103]  Trammell, B. and E. Boschi, "Bidirectional Flow Export
              Using IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX)", January 2008.

   [RFC5470]  Sadasivan, G., Brownlee, N., Claise, B., and J. Quittek,
              "Architecture for IP Flow Information Export", March 2009.

   [RFC5472]  Zseby, T., Boschi, E., Brownlee, N., and B. Claise, "IPFIX
              Applicability", March 2009.

   [RFC5473]  Boschi, E., Mark, L., and B. Claise, "Reducing Redundancy
              in IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) and Packet Sampling
              (PSAMP) Reports", March 2009.

   [RFC5474]  Duffield, N., "A Framework for Packet Selection and
              Reporting", March 2009.

   [RFC5475]  Zseby, T., Molina, M., Duffield, N., Niccolini, S., and F.
              Raspall, "Sampling and Filtering Techniques for IP Packet
              Selection", March 2009.

   [RFC5477]  Dietz, T., Claise, B., Aitken, P., Dressler, F., and G.
              Carle, "Information Model for Packet Sampling Exports",
              March 2009.

   [RFC5481]  Morton, A. and B. Claise, "Packet Delay Variation
              Applicability Statement", March 2009.

   [RFC5655]  Trammell, B., Boschi, E., Mark, L., Zseby, T., and A.
              Wagner, "An IPFIX-Based File Format", October 2009.

   [RFC5815]  Dietz, T., Kobayashi, A., Claise, B., and G. Muenz,
              "Definitions of Managed Objects for IP Flow Information
              Export", April 2010.
















Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 32]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


Appendix A.  Acknowledgements

   We would like to thank the following persons: Brian Trammell for
   contribution regarding the improvement of terminologies section and
   security consideration section; Daisuke Matsubara, Tsuyoshi Kondoh,
   Hiroshi Kurakami, Haruhiko Nishida for contribution during the
   initial phases of the document; Nevil Brownlee, Juergen Quittek for
   the technical reviews and feedback.











































Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 33]


Internet-Draft          IPFIX Mediation Framework              July 2010


Authors' Addresses

   Atsushi Kobayashi
   NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories
   3-9-11 Midori-cho
   Musashino-shi, Tokyo  180-8585
   Japan

   Phone: +81-422-59-3978
   Email: akoba@nttv6.net


   Benoit Claise
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   De Kleetlaan 6a b1
   Diegem  1831
   Belgium

   Phone: +32 2 704 5622
   Email: bclaise@cisco.com


   Gerhard Muenz
   Technische Universitaet Muenchen
   Boltzmannstr. 3
   Garching  85748
   Germany

   Phone: +49 89 289-18008
   Email: muenz@net.in.tum.de
   URI:   http://www.net.in.tum.de/~muenz


   Keisuke Ishibashi
   NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories
   3-9-11 Midori-cho
   Musashino-shi  180-8585
   Japan

   Phone: +81-422-59-3978
   Email: ishibashi.keisuke@lab.ntt.co.jp










Kobayashi, et al.       Expires January 12, 2011               [Page 34]