Internet Engineering Task Force                             G. Fairhurst
Internet-Draft                                                  T. Jones
Updates: 4821 (if approved)                       University of Aberdeen
Intended status: Standards Track                               M. Tuexen
Expires: May 24, 2019                                       I. Ruengeler
                                 Muenster University of Applied Sciences
                                                       November 20, 2018


     Packetization Layer Path MTU Discovery for Datagram Transports
                  draft-ietf-tsvwg-datagram-plpmtud-06

Abstract

   This document describes a robust method for Path MTU Discovery
   (PMTUD) for datagram Packetization Layers (PLs).  The document
   describes an extension to RFC 1191 and RFC 8201, which specifies
   ICMP-based Path MTU Discovery for IPv4 and IPv6.  The method allows a
   PL, or a datagram application that uses a PL, to discover whether a
   network path can support the current size of datagram.  This can be
   used to detect and reduce the message size when a sender encounters a
   network black hole (where packets are discarded, and no ICMP message
   is received).  The method can also probe a network path with
   progressively larger packets to find whether the maximum packet size
   can be increased.  This allows a sender to determine an appropriate
   packet size, providing functionally for datagram transports that is
   equivalent to the Packetization layer PMTUD specification for TCP,
   specified in RFC 4821.

   The document also provides implementation notes for incorporating
   Datagram PMTUD into IETF datagram transports or applications that use
   datagram transports.

   When published, this specification updates RFC 4821.

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




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   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 May 24, 2019.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2018 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  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Classical Path MTU Discovery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.2.  Packetization Layer Path MTU Discovery  . . . . . . . . .   6
     1.3.  Path MTU Discovery for Datagram Services  . . . . . . . .   7
   2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   3.  Features Required to Provide Datagram PLPMTUD . . . . . . . .   9
   4.  DPLPMTUD Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     4.1.  PLPMTU Probe Packets  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     4.2.  Confirmation of Probed Packet Size  . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     4.3.  Detection of Black Holes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     4.4.  Response to PTB Messages  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
       4.4.1.  Validation of PTB Messages  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
       4.4.2.  Use of PTB Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   5.  Datagram Packetization Layer PMTUD  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     5.1.  DPLPMTUD Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
       5.1.1.  Timers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
       5.1.2.  Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
       5.1.3.  Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
     5.2.  DPLPMTUD Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
       5.2.1.  Path Confirmation Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
       5.2.2.  Search Phase  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
         5.2.2.1.  Resilience to inconsistent path information . . .  22
       5.2.3.  Search Complete Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
       5.2.4.  PROBE_BASE Phase  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
       5.2.5.  ERROR Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
         5.2.5.1.  Robustness to inconsistent path . . . . . . . . .  23



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       5.2.6.  DISABLED Phase  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
     5.3.  State Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
     5.4.  Search to Increase the PLPMTU . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
       5.4.1.  Probing for a larger PLPMTU . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
       5.4.2.  Selection of Probe Sizes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
       5.4.3.  Resilience to inconsistent Path information . . . . .  29
   6.  Specification of Protocol-Specific Methods  . . . . . . . . .  29
     6.1.  Application support for DPLPMTUD with UDP or UDP-Lite . .  29
       6.1.1.  Application Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
       6.1.2.  Application Response  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
       6.1.3.  Sending Application Probe Packets . . . . . . . . . .  30
       6.1.4.  Validating the Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
       6.1.5.  Handling of PTB Messages  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
     6.2.  DPLPMTUD with UDP Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
       6.2.1.  UDP Probe Request Option  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
       6.2.2.  UDP Probe Response Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
     6.3.  DPLPMTUD for SCTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
       6.3.1.  SCTP/IPv4 and SCTP/IPv6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
         6.3.1.1.  Sending SCTP Probe Packets  . . . . . . . . . . .  33
         6.3.1.2.  Validating the Path with SCTP . . . . . . . . . .  34
         6.3.1.3.  PTB Message Handling by SCTP  . . . . . . . . . .  34
       6.3.2.  DPLPMTUD for SCTP/UDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  34
         6.3.2.1.  Sending SCTP/UDP Probe Packets  . . . . . . . . .  34
         6.3.2.2.  Validating the Path with SCTP/UDP . . . . . . . .  35
         6.3.2.3.  Handling of PTB Messages by SCTP/UDP  . . . . . .  35
       6.3.3.  DPLPMTUD for SCTP/DTLS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
         6.3.3.1.  Sending SCTP/DTLS Probe Packets . . . . . . . . .  35
         6.3.3.2.  Validating the Path with SCTP/DTLS  . . . . . . .  35
         6.3.3.3.  Handling of PTB Messages by SCTP/DTLS . . . . . .  35
     6.4.  DPLPMTUD for QUIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
       6.4.1.  Sending QUIC Probe Packets  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       6.4.2.  Validating the Path with QUIC . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       6.4.3.  Handling of PTB Messages by QUIC  . . . . . . . . . .  36
   7.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
   8.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
   9.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
   10. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  38
     10.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  38
     10.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
   Appendix A.  Event-driven state changes . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40
   Appendix B.  Revision Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  45

1.  Introduction

   The IETF has specified datagram transport using UDP, SCTP, and DCCP,
   as well as protocols layered on top of these transports (e.g., SCTP/
   UDP, DCCP/UDP, QUIC/UDP), and direct datagram transport over the IP



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   network layer.  This document describes a robust method for Path MTU
   Discovery (PMTUD) that may be used with these transport protocols (or
   the applications that use their transport service) to discover an
   appropriate size of packet to use across an Internet path.

1.1.  Classical Path MTU Discovery

   Classical Path Maximum Transmission Unit Discovery (PMTUD) can be
   used with any transport that is able to process ICMP Packet Too Big
   (PTB) messages (e.g., [RFC1191] and [RFC8201]).  The term PTB message
   is applied to both IPv4 ICMP Unreachable messages (type 3) that carry
   the error Fragmentation Needed (Type 3, Code 4) [RFC0792] and ICMPv6
   packet too big messages (Type 2) [RFC4443].  When a sender receives a
   PTB message, it reduces the effective MTU to the value reported as
   the Link MTU in the PTB message, and a method that from time-to-time
   increases the packet size in attempt to discover an increase in the
   supported PMTU.  The packets sent with a size larger than the current
   effective PMTU are known as probe packets.

   Packets not intended as probe packets are either fragmented to the
   current effective PMTU, or the attempt to send fails with an error
   code.  Applications are sometimes provided with a primitive to let
   them read the Maximum Packet Size (MPS), derived from the current
   effective PMTU.

   Classical PMTUD is subject to protocol failures.  One failure arises
   when traffic using a packet size larger than the actual PMTU is
   black-holed (all datagrams sent with this size, or larger, are
   silently discarded without the sender receiving ICMP PTB messages).
   This could arise when the PTB messages are not delivered back to the
   sender for some reason [RFC2923]).

   Examples where PTB messages are not delivered include:

   o  The generation of ICMP messages is usually rate limited.  This may
      result in no PTB messages being sent to the sender (see section
      2.4 of [RFC4443]

   o  ICMP messages are increasingly filtered by middleboxes (including
      firewalls) [RFC4890].  A stateful firewall could be configured
      with a policy to block incoming ICMP messages, which would prevent
      reception of PTB messages to endpoints behind this firewall.

   o  When the router issuing the ICMP message drops a tunneled packet,
      the resulting ICMP message will be directed to the tunnel ingress.
      This tunnel endpoint is responsible for forwarding the ICMP
      message and also processing the quoted packet within the payload
      field to remove the effect of the tunnel, and return a correctly



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      formatted ICMP message to the sender [I-D.ietf-intarea-tunnels].
      Failure to do this results in black-holing.

   o  Asymmetry in forwarding can result in there being no route back to
      the original sender, which would prevent an ICMP message being
      delivered to the sender.  This can be also be an issue when
      policy-based routing is used, Equal Cost Multipath (ECMP) routing
      is used, or a middlebox acts as an application load balancer.  An
      example is where the path towards the server is chosen by ECMP
      routing depending on bytes in the IP payload.  In this case, when
      a packet sent by the server encounters a problem after the ECMP
      router, then any resulting ICMP message needs to also be directed
      by the ECMP router towards the same server (i.e., ICMP messages
      need to follow the same path as the flows to which they
      correspond).  Failure to do this results in black-holing.

   o  There are cases where the next hop destination fails to receive a
      packet because of its size.  This could be due to misconfiguration
      of the layer 2 path between nodes, for instance the MTU configured
      in a layer 2 switch, or misconfiguration of the Maximum Receive
      Unit (MRU).  If the packet is dropped by the link, this will not
      cause in a PTB to be sent, and result in consequent black-holing.

   Another failure could result if a node that is not on the network
   path sends a PTB message that attempts to force the sender to change
   the effective PMTU [RFC8201].  A sender can protect itself from
   reacting to such messages by utilising the quoted packet within a PTB
   message payload to validate that the received PTB message was
   generated in response to a packet that had actually originated from
   the sender.  However, there are situations where a sender would be
   unable to provide this validation.

   Examples where validation of the PTB message is not possible include:

   o  When a router issuing the ICMP message implements RFC792
      [RFC0792], it is only required to include the first 64 bits of the
      IP payload of the packet within the quoted payload.  This may be
      insufficient to perform the tunnel processing described in the
      previous bullet.  There could be insufficient bytes remaining for
      the sender to interpret the quoted transport information.  The
      recommendation in RFC1812 [RFC1812] is that IPv4 routers return a
      quoted packet with as much of the original datagram as possible
      without the length of the ICMP datagram exceeding 576 bytes.
      (IPv6 routers include as much of invoking packet as possible
      without the ICMPv6 packet exceeding 1280 bytes [RFC4443].)

   o  The use of tunnels/encryption can reduce the size of the quoted
      packet returned to the original source address, increasing the



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      risk that there could be insufficient bytes remaining for the
      sender to interpret the quoted transport information.

   o  Even when the PTB message includes sufficient bytes of the quoted
      packet, the network layer could lack sufficient context to
      validate the message, because validation depends on information
      about the active transport flows at an endpoint node (e.g., the
      socket/address pairs being used, and other protocol header
      information).

   o  When a packet is encapsulated/tunneled over an encrypted
      transport, the tunnel/encapsulation ingress might have
      insufficient context, or computational power, to reconstruct the
      transport header that would be needed to perform validation.

1.2.  Packetization Layer Path MTU Discovery

   The term Packetization Layer (PL) has been introduced to describe the
   layer that is responsible for placing data blocks into the payload of
   IP packets and selecting an appropriate MPS.  This function is often
   performed by a transport protocol, but can also be performed by other
   encapsulation methods working above the transport layer.

   In contrast to PMTUD, Packetization Layer Path MTU Discovery
   (PLPMTUD) [RFC4821] does not rely upon reception and validation of
   PTB messages.  It is therefore more robust than Classical PMTUD.
   This has become the recommended approach for implementing PMTU
   discovery with TCP.

   It uses a general strategy where the PL sends probe packets to search
   for the largest size of unfragmented datagram that can be sent over a
   network path.  The probe packets are sent with a progressively larger
   packet size.  If a probe packet is successfully delivered (as
   determined by the PL), then the PLPMTU is raised to the size of the
   successful probe.  If no response is received to a probe packet, the
   method reduces the probe size.  This PLPMTU is used to set the
   application MPS.

   PLPMTUD introduces flexibility in the implementation of PMTU
   discovery.  At one extreme, it can be configured to only perform PTB
   black hole detection and recovery to increase the robustness of
   Classical PMTUD, or at the other extreme, all PTB processing can be
   disabled and PLPMTUD can completely replace Classical PMTUD.

   PLPMTUD can also include additional consistency checks without
   increasing the risk of increased black-holing.  For instance,the
   information available at the PL, or higher layers, makes PTB
   validation more straight forward.



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1.3.  Path MTU Discovery for Datagram Services

   Section 5 of this document presents a set of algorithms for datagram
   protocols to discover the largest size of unfragmented datagram that
   can be sent over a network path.  The method described relies on
   features of the PL described in Section 3 and applies to transport
   protocols operating over IPv4 and IPv6.  It does not require
   cooperation from the lower layers, although it can utilise ICMP PTB
   messages when these received messages are made available to the PL.

   The UDP Usage Guidelines [RFC8085] state "an application SHOULD
   either use the Path MTU information provided by the IP layer or
   implement Path MTU Discovery (PMTUD)", but does not provide a
   mechanism for discovering the largest size of unfragmented datagram
   that can be used on a network path.  Prior to this document, PLPMTUD
   had not been specified for UDP.

   Section 10.2 of [RFC4821] recommends a PLPMTUD probing method for the
   Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP).  SCTP utilises heartbeat
   messages as probe packets, but RFC4821 does not provide a complete
   specification.  The present document provides the details to complete
   that specification.

   The Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP) [RFC4340] requires
   implementations to support Classical PMTUD and states that a DCCP
   sender "MUST maintain the MPS allowed for each active DCCP session".
   It also defines the current congestion control MPS (CCMPS) supported
   by a network path.  This recommends use of PMTUD, and suggests use of
   control packets (DCCP-Sync) as path probe packets, because they do
   not risk application data loss.  The method defined in this
   specification could be used with DCCP.

   Section 6 specifies the method for a set of transports, and provides
   information to enable the implementation of PLPMTUD with other
   datagram transports and applications that use datagram transports.

2.  Terminology

   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.

   Other terminology is directly copied from [RFC4821], and the
   definitions in [RFC1122].





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   Actual PMTU:  The Actual PMTU is the PMTU of a network path between a
      sender PL and a destination PL, which the DPLPMTUD algorithm seeks
      to determine.

   Black Holed:  Packets are Black holed when the sender is unaware that
      packets are not delivered to the destination endpoint (e.g., when
      the sender transmits packets of a particular size with a
      previously known effective PMTU and they are silently discarded by
      the network, but is not made aware of a change to the path that
      resulted in a smaller PLPMTU by ICMP messages).

   Classical Path MTU Discovery:  Classical PMTUD is a process described
      in [RFC1191] and [RFC8201], in which nodes rely on PTB messages to
      learn the largest size of unfragmented datagram that can be used
      across a network path.

   Datagram:  A datagram is a transport-layer protocol data unit,
      transmitted in the payload of an IP packet.

   Effective PMTU:  The Effective PMTU is the current estimated value
      for PMTU that is used by a PMTUD.  This is equivalent to the
      PLPMTU derived by PLPMTUD.

   EMTU_S:  The Effective MTU for sending (EMTU_S) is defined in
      [RFC1122] as "the maximum IP datagram size that may be sent, for a
      particular combination of IP source and destination addresses...".

   EMTU_R:  The Effective MTU for receiving (EMTU_R) is designated in
      [RFC1122] as the largest datagram size that can be reassembled by
      EMTU_R ("Effective MTU to receive").

   Link:  A Link is a communication facility or medium over which nodes
      can communicate at the link layer, i.e., a layer below the IP
      layer.  Examples are Ethernet LANs and Internet (or higher) layer
      and tunnels.

   Link MTU:  The Link Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is the size in
      bytes of the largest IP packet, including the IP header and
      payload, that can be transmitted over a link.  Note that this
      could more properly be called the IP MTU, to be consistent with
      how other standards organizations use the acronym.  This includes
      the IP header, but excludes link layer headers and other framing
      that is not part of IP or the IP payload.  Other standards
      organizations generally define the link MTU to include the link
      layer headers.

   MPS:  The Maximum Packet Size (MPS) is the largest size of
      application data block that can be sent across a network path.  In



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      DPLPMTUD this quantity is derived from the PLPMTU by taking into
      consideration the size of the lower protocol layer headers.

   MIN_PMTU:  The MIN_PMTU is the smallest size of PLPMTU that DPLPTMUD
      will attempt to use.

   Packet:  A Packet is the IP header plus the IP payload.

   Packetization Layer (PL):  The Packetization Layer (PL) is the layer
      of the network stack that places data into packets and performs
      transport protocol functions.

   Path:  The Path is the set of links and routers traversed by a packet
      between a source node and a destination node by a particular flow.

   Path MTU (PMTU):  The Path MTU (PMTU) is the minimum of the Link MTU
      of all the links forming a network path between a source node and
      a destination node.

   PTB_SIZE:  The PTB_SIZE is a value reported in a validated PTB
      message that indicates next hop link MTU of a router along the
      path.

   PLPMTU:  The Packetization Layer PMTU is an estimate of the actual
      PMTU provided by the DPLPMTUD algorithm.

   PLPMTUD:  Packetization Layer Path MTU Discovery (PLPMTUD), the
      method described in this document for datagram PLs, which is an
      extension to Classical PMTU Discovery.

   Probe packet:  A probe packet is a datagram sent with a purposely
      chosen size (typically the current PLPMTU or larger) to detect if
      packets of this size can be successfully sent end-to-end across
      the network path.

3.  Features Required to Provide Datagram PLPMTUD

   TCP PLPMTUD has been defined using standard TCP protocol mechanisms.
   All of the requirements in [RFC4821] also apply to the use of the
   technique with a datagram PL.  Unlike TCP, some datagram PLs require
   additional mechanisms to implement PLPMTUD.

   There are eight requirements for performing the datagram PLPMTUD
   method described in this specification:

   1.  PMTU parameters: A DPLPMTUD sender is RECOMMENDED to provide
       information about the maximum size of packet that can be
       transmitted by the sender on the local link (the local Link MTU).



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       It MAY utilize similar information about the receiver when this
       is supplied (note this could be less than EMTU_R).  This avoids
       implementations trying to send probe packets that can not be
       transmitted by the local link.  Too high of a value could reduce
       the efficiency of the search algorithm.  Some applications also
       have a maximum transport protocol data unit (PDU) size, in which
       case there is no benefit from probing for a size larger than this
       (unless a transport allows multiplexing multiple applications
       PDUs into the same datagram).

   2.  PLPMTU: A datagram application is REQUIRED to be able to choose
       the size of datagrams sent to the network, up to the PLPMTU, or a
       smaller value (such as the MPS) derived from this.  This value is
       managed by the DPLPMTUD method.  The PLPMTU (specified as the
       effective PMTU in Section 1 of [RFC1191]) is equivalent to the
       EMTU_S (specified in [RFC1122]).

   3.  Probe packets: On request, a DPLPMTUD sender is REQUIRED to be
       able to transmit a packet larger than the PLMPMTU.  This is used
       to send a probe packet.  In IPv4, a probe packet MUST be sent
       with the Don't Fragment (DF) bit set in the IP header, and
       without network layer endpoint fragmentation.  In IPv6, a probe
       packet is always sent without source fragmentation (as specified
       in section 5.4 of [RFC8201]).

   4.  Processing PTB messages: A DPLPMTUD sender MAY optionally utilize
       PTB messages received from the network layer to help identify
       when a network path does not support the current size of probe
       packet.  Any received PTB message MUST be validated before it is
       used to update the PLPMTU discovery information [RFC8201].  This
       validation confirms that the PTB message was sent in response to
       a packet originating by the sender, and needs to be performed
       before the PLPMTU discovery method reacts to the PTB message.
       When the PTB_SIZE is indicated in the PTB message, this MAY be
       used by DPLPMTUD to reduce the probe size but MUST NOT be used to
       increase the PLPMTU ([RFC8201]).  This validation SHOULD utilise
       information that can not be simply determined by an off-path
       attacker, for example, by checking the value of a protocol header
       field known only to the two PL endpoints.  (Some datagram
       applications use well-known source and destination ports and
       therefore this check needs to rely on other information.)

   5.  Reception feedback: The destination PL endpoint is REQUIRED to
       provide a feedback method that indicates to the DPLPMTUD sender
       when a probe packet has been received by the destination PL
       endpoint.  The mechanism needs to be robust to the possibility
       that packets could be significantly delayed along a network path.




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       The local PL endpoint at the sending node is REQUIRED to pass
       this feedback to the sender-side DPLPMTUD method.

   6.  Probing and congestion control: The isolated loss of a probe
       packet SHOULD NOT be treated as an indication of congestion and
       its loss SHOULD NOT directly trigger a congestion control
       reaction [RFC4821].

   7.  Probe loss recovery: If the data block carried by a probe packet
       needs to be sent reliably, the PL (or layers above) are REQUIRED
       to arrange any retransmission/repair of any resulting loss.  This
       method is REQUIRED to be robust in the case where probe packets
       are lost due to other reasons (including link transmission error,
       congestion).  The DPLPMTUD sender treats isolated loss of a probe
       packet (with or without an PTB message) as a potential indication
       of a PMTU limit for the path, but not as an indication of
       congestion, see Paragraph 6.

   8.  Shared PLPMTU state: The PLPMTU value could also be stored with
       the corresponding entry in the destination cache and used by
       other PL instances.  The specification of PLPMTUD [RFC4821]
       states: "If PLPMTUD updates the MTU for a particular path, all
       Packetization Layer sessions that share the path representation
       (as described in Section 5.2 of [RFC4821]) SHOULD be notified to
       make use of the new MTU and make the required congestion control
       adjustments".  Such methods MUST be robust to the wide variety of
       underlying network forwarding behaviours, PLPMTU adjustments
       based on shared PLPMTU values should be incorporated in the
       search algorithms.  Section 5.2 of [RFC8201] provides guidance on
       the caching of PMTU information and also the relation to IPv6
       flow labels.

   In addition, the following principles are stated for design of a
   DPLPMTUD method:

   o  MPS: A method is REQUIRED to signal an appropriate MPS to the
      higher layer using the PL.  The value of the MPS can change
      following a change to the path.  It is RECOMMENDED that methods
      avoid forcing an application to use an arbitrary small MPS
      (PLPMTU) for transmission while the method is searching for the
      currently supported PLPMTU.  Datagram PLs do not necessarily
      support fragmentation of PDUs larger than the PLPMTU.  A reduced
      MPS can adversely impact the performance of a datagram
      application.

   o  Path validation: It is RECOMMENDED that methods are robust to path
      changes that could have occurred since the path characteristics




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      were last confirmed, and to the possibility of inconsistent path
      information being received.

   o  Datagram reordering: A method is REQUIRED to be robust to the
      possibility that a flow encounters reordering, or the traffic
      (including probe packets) is divided over more than one network
      path.

   o  When to probe: It is RECOMMENDED that methods determine whether
      the path capacity has increased since it last measured the path.
      This determines when the path should again be probed.

4.  DPLPMTUD Mechanisms

   This section lists the protocol mechanisms used in this
   specification.

4.1.  PLPMTU Probe Packets

   The DPLPMTUD method relies upon the PL sender being able to generate
   probe packets with a specific size.  TCP is able to generate these
   probe packets by choosing to appropriately segment data being sent
   [RFC4821].  In contrast, a datagram PL that needs to construct a
   probe packet has to either request an application to send a data
   block that is larger than that generated by an application, or to
   utilise padding functions to extend a datagram beyond the size of the
   application data block.  Protocols that permit exchange of control
   messages (without an application data block) could alternatively
   prefer to generate a probe packet by extending a control message with
   padding data.

   A receiver needs to be able to distinguish an in-band data block from
   any added padding.  This is needed to ensure that any added padding
   is not passed on to an application at the receiver.

   This results in three possible ways that a sender can create a probe
   packet listed in order of preference:

   Probing using padding data:  A probe packet that contains only
      control information together with any padding, which is needed to
      be inflated to the size required for the probe packet.  Since
      these probe packets do not carry an application-supplied data
      block, they do not typically require retransmission, although they
      do still consume network capacity and incur endpoint processing.

   Probing using application data and padding data:  A probe packet that
      contains a data block supplied by an application that is combined
      with padding to inflate the length of the datagram to the size



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      required for the probe packet.  If the application/transport needs
      protection from the loss of this probe packet, the application/
      transport could perform transport-layer retransmission/repair of
      the data block (e.g., by retransmission after loss is detected or
      by duplicating the data block in a datagram without the padding
      data).

   Probing using application data:  A probe packet that contains a data
      block supplied by an application that matches the size required
      for the probe packet.  This method requests the application to
      issue a data block of the desired probe size.  If the application/
      transport needs protection from the loss of an unsuccessful probe
      packet, the application/transport needs then to perform transport-
      layer retransmission/repair of the data block (e.g., by
      retransmission after loss is detected).

   A PL that uses a probe packet carrying an application data block,
   could need to retransmit this application data block if the probe
   fails.  This could need the PL to re-fragment the data block to a
   smaller packet size that is expected to traverse the end-to-end path
   (which could utilise endpoint network-layer or PL fragmentation when
   these are available).

   DPLPMTUD MAY choose to use only one of these methods to simplify the
   implementation.

   Probe messages sent by a PL MUST contain enough information to
   uniquely identify the probe within Maximum Segment Lifetime, while
   being robust to reordering and replay of probe response and ICMP PTB
   messages.

4.2.  Confirmation of Probed Packet Size

   The PL needs a method to determine (confirm) when probe packets have
   been successfully received end-to-end across a network path.

   Transport protocols can include end-to-end methods that detect and
   report reception of specific datagrams that they send (e.g., DCCP and
   SCTP provide keep-alive/heartbeat features).  When supported, this
   mechanism SHOULD also be used by DPLPMTUD to acknowledge reception of
   a probe packet.

   A PL that does not acknowledge data reception (e.g., UDP and UDP-
   Lite) is unable itself to detect when the packets that it sends are
   discarded because their size is greater than the actual PMTU.  These
   PLs need to either rely on an application protocol to detect this
   loss, or make use of an additional transport method such as UDP-
   Options [I-D.ietf-tsvwg-udp-options].



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   Section Section 5 specifies this function for a set of IETF-specified
   protocols.

4.3.  Detection of Black Holes

   A PL sender needs to reduce the PLPMTU when it discovers the actual
   PMTU supported by a network path is less than the PLPMTU (i.e. to
   detect that traffic is being black holed).  This can be triggered
   when a validated PTB message is received, or by another event that
   indicates the network path no longer sustains the current packet
   size, such as a loss report from the PL or repeated lack of response
   to probe packets sent to confirm the PLPMTU.  Detection is followed
   by a reduction of the PLPMTU.

   Black Hole detection is performed by periodically sending packet
   probes of size PLPMTU to verify that a network path still supports
   the last acknowledged PLPMTU size.  There are two ways a DPLPMTUD
   sender detect that the current PLPMTU is not sustained by the path
   (i.e., to detect a black hole):

   o  A PL can rely upon a mechanisms implemented within the PL protocol
      to detect excessive loss of data sent with a specific packet size
      and then conclude that this excessive loss could be a result of an
      invalid PMTU (as in PLPMTUD for TCP [RFC4821]).

   o  A PL can use the probing mechanism to send confirmation probe
      packets of the size of the current PLPMTU and a timer track
      whether acknowledgments are received (e.g., The number of probe
      packets sent without receiving an acknowledgement, PROBE_COUNT,
      becomes greater than the MAX_PROBES).  These messages need to be
      generated periodically (e.g., using the confirmation timer
      Section 5.1.1), and should be suppressed when the PL is not
      actively sending data.  Successive loss of probes is an indication
      that the current path no longer supports the PLPMTU.

   When the method detects the current PLPMTU is not supported (a black
   hole is found), DPLPMTUD sets a lower MPS.  The PL then confirms that
   the updated PLPMTU can be successfully used across the path.  This
   can need the PL to send a probe packet with a size less than the size
   of the data block generated by an application.  In this case, the PL
   could provide a way to fragment a datagram at the PL, or could
   instead utilise a control packet with padding.

4.4.  Response to PTB Messages

   This method requires the DPLPMTUD sender to validate any received PTB
   message before using the PTB information.  The response to a PTB




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   message depends on the PTB_SIZE indicated in the PTB message, the
   state of the PLPMTUD state machine, and the IP protocol being used.

   Section 4.4.1 first describes validation for both IPv4 ICMP
   Unreachable messages (type 3) and ICMPv6 packet too big messages,
   both of which are referred to as PTB messages in this document.

4.4.1.  Validation of PTB Messages

   A PL that receives a PTB message from a router or middlebox, MUST
   perform ICMP validation as specified in Section 5.2 of [RFC8085].
   This needs the PL to check the protocol information in the quoted
   payload to validate the message originated from the sending node.
   This check includes determining the appropriate port and IP
   information - necessary for the PTB message to be passed to the PL.
   In addition, the PL SHOULD validate information from the ICMP payload
   to determine that the quoted packet was sent by the PL.  These checks
   are intended to provide protection from packets that originate from a
   node that is not on the network path.  PTB messages are discarded if
   they fail to pass these checks, or where there is insufficient ICMP
   payload to perform the checks

   PTB messages that have been validated can be utilised by the DPLPMTUD
   algorithm.  A method that utilises these PTB messages can improve the
   speed at the which the algorithm detects an appropriate PLPMTU,
   compared to one that relies solely on probing.

4.4.2.  Use of PTB Messages

   A set of checks are intended to provide protection from a router that
   reports an unexpected PTB_SIZE.  The PL needs to check that the
   indicated PTB_SIZE is less than the size used by probe packets and
   larger than minimum size accepted.

   This section provides an informative summary of how PTB messages can
   be utilised.

   Validating PTB Messages:

      *  A simple implementation is permitted to ignore received PTB
         messages and therefore the PLPMTU is not updated when a PTB
         message is received.

      *  An implementation that supports PTB messages MUST validate
         messages before they are processed.

   MIN_PMTU < PTB_SIZE < BASE_MTU




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      *  A robust PL MAY enter the PROBE_ERROR state for an IPv4 path
         when the PTB_SIZE reported in the PTB message >= 576B and when
         this is less than the BASE_MTU.

      *  A robust PL MAY enter the PROBE_ERROR state for an IPv6 path
         when the PTB_SIZE reported in the PTB message >= 1280B and when
         this is less than the BASE_MTU.

   PTB_SIZE = PLPMTU

      *  Transition to SEARCH_COMPLETE.

   PTB_SIZE > PROBED_SIZE

      *  The PTB_SIZE > PROBED_SIZE, inconsistent network signal.  These
         PTB messages ought to be discarded without further processing
         (the PLPMTU not updated).

      *  The information could be utilised as an input to trigger
         enabling a resilience mode.

   BASE_PMTU <= PTB_SIZE < PLPMTU

      *  Black hole detection is triggered and the PLPMTU ought to be
         set to BASE_PMTU.

      *  The PL could use PTB_SIZE reported in the PTB message to
         initialise a search algorithm.

   PLPMTU < PTB_SIZE < PROBED_SIZE

      *  The PLPMTU continues to be valid, but the last PROBED_SIZE
         searched was larger than the actual PMTU.

      *  The PLPMTU is not updated.

      *  The PL can use the reported PTB_SIZE from the PTB message as
         the next search point when it resumes the search algorithm.

5.  Datagram Packetization Layer PMTUD

   This section specifies Datagram PLPMTUD (DPLPMTUD).  The method can
   be introduced at various points in the IP protocol stack to discover
   the PLPMTU so that an application can utilise an appropriate MPS for
   the current network path.






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     +----------------------+
     |         APP*         |
     +-+-------+----+---+---+
       |       |    |   |
   +---+--+ +--+--+ | +-+---+
   | QUIC*| |UDPO*| | |SCTP*|
   +---+--+ +--+--+ | ++--+-+
       |       |    |  |  |
       +-------+-+  |  |  |
                 |  |  |  |
                ++-+--++  |
                | UDP  |  |
                +---+--+  |
                    |     |
     +--------------+-----+-+
     |  Network Interface   |
     +----------------------+

           Figure 1: Examples where DPLPMTUD can be implemented

   The central idea of DPLPMTUD is probing by a sender.  Probe packets
   are sent to find the maximum size of user message that is completely
   transferred across the network path from the sender to the
   destination.

   This section identifies the components needed for implementation, the
   phases of operation, the state machine and search algorithm.

5.1.  DPLPMTUD Components

   This section describes components of DPLPMTUD.

5.1.1.  Timers

   The method utilises three timers:

   PROBE_TIMER:  The PROBE_TIMER is configured to expire after a period
      longer than the maximum time to receive an acknowledgment to a
      probe packet.  This value MUST be larger than 1 second, and SHOULD
      be larger than 15 seconds.  Guidance on selection of the timer
      value are provided in section 3.1.1 of the UDP Usage Guidelines
      [RFC8085].

      If the PL has a path Round Trip Time (RTT) estimate and timely
      acknowledgements the PROBE_TIMER can be derived from the PL RTT
      estimate.





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   PMTU_RAISE_TIMER:  The PMTU_RAISE_TIMER is configured to the period a
      sender will continue to use the current PLPMTU, after which it re-
      enters the Search phase.  This timer has a period of 600 secs, as
      recommended by PLPMTUD [RFC4821].

      DPLPMTUD SHOULD inhibit sending probe packets when no application
      data has been sent since the previous probe packet.

   CONFIRMATION_TIMER:  The CONFIRMATION_TIMER is configured to the
      period a PL sender waits before confirming the current PLPMTU is
      still supported.  This is less than the PMTU_RAISE_TIMER and used
      to decrease the PLPMTU (e.g., when a black hole is encountered).
      Confirmation needs to be frequent enough when data is flowing that
      the sending PL does not black hole extensive amounts of traffic.
      Guidance on selection of the timer value are provided in section
      3.1.1 of the UDP Usage Guidelines[RFC8085].

      DPLPMTUD SHOULD inhibit sending probe packets when no application
      data has been sent since the previous probe packet.

   An implementation could implement the various timers using a single
   timer process.

5.1.2.  Constants

   The following constants are defined:

   MAX_PROBES:  MAX_PROBES is the maximum value of the
      PROBE_ERROR_COUNTER.  The default value of MAX_PROBES is 10.

   MIN_PMTU:  The MIN_PMTU is smallest allowed probe packet size.  For
      IPv6, this value is 1280 bytes, as specified in [RFC2460].  For
      IPv4, the minimum value is 68 bytes.  (An IPv4 router is required
      to be able to forward a datagram of 68 octets without further
      fragmentation.  This is the combined size of an IPv4 header and
      the minimum fragment size of 8 octets.  In addition, receivers are
      required to be able to reassemble fragmented datagrams at least up
      to 576B, as stated in section 3.3.3 of [RFC1122]))

   MAX_PMTU:  The MAX_PMTU is the largest size of PLPMTU.  This has to
      be less than or equal to the minimum of the local MTU of the
      outgoing interface and the destination PMTU for receiving.  An
      application or PL MAY reduce the MAX_PMTU when there is no need to
      send packets larger than a specific size.

   BASE_PMTU:  The BASE_PMTU is a configured size expected to work for
      most paths.  The size is equal to or larger than the MIN_PMTU and
      smaller than the MAX_PMTU.  In the case of IPv6, this value is



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      1280 bytes [RFC2460].  When using IPv4, a size of 1200 bytes is
      RECOMMENDED.

5.1.3.  Variables

   This method utilises a set of variables:

   PROBED_SIZE:  The PROBED_SIZE is the size of the current probe
      packet.  This is a tentative value for the PLPMTU, which is
      awaiting confirmation by an acknowledgment.

   PROBE_COUNT:  The PROBE_COUNT is a count of the number of
      unsuccessful probe packets that have been sent with a size of
      PROBED_SIZE.  The value is initialised to zero when a particular
      size of PROBED_SIZE is first attempted.

   The figure below illustrates the relationship between the packet size
   constants and variables, in this case when the DPLPMTUD algorithm
   performs path probing to increase the size of the PLPMTU.  The MPS is
   less than the PLPMTU.  A probe packet has been sent of size
   PROBED_SIZE.  When this is acknowledged, the PLPMTU will be raised to
   PROBED_SIZE allowing the PROBED_SIZE to be increased towards the
   actual PMTU.


        MIN_PMTU                                             PMTU_MAX
          <------------------------------------------------------>
                         |       |    |     |           |
                         V       |    |     |           V
                     BASE_PMTU   V    |     V     Actual PMTU
                                MPS   |  PROBED_SIZE
                                      V
                                    PLPMTU

          Figure 2: Relationships between probe and packet sizes

5.2.  DPLPMTUD Phases

   The Datagram PLPMTUD algorithm moves through several phases of
   operation.

   An implementation that only reduces the PLPMTU to a suitable size
   would be sufficient to ensure reliable operation, but can be very
   inefficient when the actual PMTU changes or when the method (for
   whatever reason) makes a suboptimal choice for the PLPMTU.

   A full implementation of DPLPMTUD provides an algorithm enabling the
   DPLPMTUD sender to increase the PLPMTU following a change in the



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   characteristics of the path, such as when a link is reconfigured with
   a larger MTU, or when there is a change in the set of links traversed
   by an end-to-end flow (e.g., after a routing or path fail-over
   decision).

   Black hole detection, see Section 4.3 and PTB processing Section 4.4
   proceed in parallel with these phases of operation.

                        +-------------------+
                        | Path Confirmation +--       Connectivity
                        +--------+----------+  \-----   or BASE_PMTU
                                 |     /\          \/ Confirmation Fails
            Connectivity and     |     |         +-------+
             BASE_PMTU confirmed |      ---------+ Error |
                                 |               +-------+
                                 |   CONFIRMATION_TIMER
                                 |        Fires
                                 \/
+----------------+          +--------------+
| Search Complete|<---------+   Search     |
+----------------+          +--------------+
                Search Algorithm
                   Completes

                         Figure 3: DPLPMTUD Phases

   Path Confirmation

      *  Connectivity is confirmed.

      *  DPLPMTUD confirms the BASE_PMTU is supported across the network
         path.

      *  DPLPMTUD then enters the search phase.

   Search

      *  DPLPMTUD performs probing to increase the PLPMTU.

      *  DPLPMTUD then enters the search complete or an error phase.

   Search Complete

      *  DPLPMTUD has found a suitable PLPMTU that is supported across
         the network path.

      *  Black hole detection will confirm this PLPMTU continues to be
         supported.



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      *  On a longer time-frame, DPLPMTUD will re-enter the search phase
         to discover if the PLPMTU can be raised.

   Error

      *  Inconsistent or invalid network signals cause DPLPMTUD to be
         unable to progress.

      *  This causes the algorithm to lower the MPS until the path is
         shown to support the BASE_PMTU, or to suspend DPLPMTUD.

5.2.1.  Path Confirmation Phase

   DPLPMTUD starts in the Path confirmation phase.  Path confirmation is
   performed in two stages:

   1.  Connectivity to the remote peer is first confirmed.  When a
       connection-oriented PL is used, this stage is implicit.  It is
       performed as part of the normal PL connection handshake.  In
       contrast, an connectionless PL MUST send an acknowledged probe
       packet to confirm that the remote peer is reachable.

   2.  In the second stage, the PL confirms it can successfully send a
       datagram of the BASE_PMTU size across the current path.

   A PL that does not wish to support a network path with a PLPMTU less
   than BASE_PMTU can simplify the phase into a single step by
   performing connectivity checks with probes of the BASE_PMTU size.

   A PL MAY respond to PTB messages while in this phase, see
   Section 4.4.

   Once path confirmation has completed, DPLPMTUD can advertise an MPS
   to an upper layer.

   If DPLPMTUD fails to complete these tests it enters the
   PROBE_DISABLED phase, see Section 5.2.6, and ceases using DPLPTMUD.

5.2.2.  Search Phase

   The search phase utilises a search algorithm in attempt to increase
   the PLPMTU (see Section 5.4.1).  The PL sender increases the MPS each
   time a packet probe confirms a larger PLPMTU is supported by the
   path.  The algorithm concludes by entering the SEARCH_COMPLETE phase,
   see Section 5.2.3.

   A PL MAY respond to PTB messages while in this phase, using the PTB
   to advance or terminate the search, see Section 4.4.  Similarly black



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   hole detection can terminate the search by entering the PROBE_BASE
   phase, see Section 5.2.4.

5.2.2.1.  Resilience to inconsistent path information

   Sometimes a PL sender is able to detect inconsistent results from the
   sequence of PLPMTU probes that it sends or the sequence of PTB
   messages that it receives.  This could be manifested as excessive
   fluctuation of the MPS.

   When inconsistent path information is detected, a PL sender can
   enable an alternate search mode that clamps the offered MPS to a
   smaller value for a period of time.  This avoids unnecessary black-
   holing of packets.

5.2.3.  Search Complete Phase

   On entry to the search complete phase, the DPLPMTUD sender starts the
   PMTU_RAISE_TIMER.  In this phase, the PLPMTU remains at the value
   confirmed by the last successful probe packet.

   In this phase, the PL MUST periodically confirm that the PLPMTU is
   still supported by the path.  If the PL is designed in a way that is
   unable to confirm reachability to the destination endpoint after
   probing has completed, the method uses a CONFIRMATION_TIMER to
   periodically repeat a probe packet for the current PLPMTU size.

   If the DPLPMTUD sender is unable to confirm reachability for packets
   with a size of the current PLPMTU (e.g., if the CONFIRMATION_TIMER
   expires) or the PL signals a lack of reachability, the method exits
   the phase and enters the PROBE_BASE phase, see Section 5.2.4.

   If the PMTU_RAISE_TIMER expires, the DPLPMTUD sender re-enters the
   Search phase, see Section 5.2.2, and resumes probing for a larger
   PLPMTU.

   Back hole detection can be used in parallel to check that a network
   path continues to support a previously confirmed PLPMTU.  If a black
   hole is detected the algorithm moves to the PROBE_BASE phase, see
   Section 5.2.4.

   The phase can also exited when a validated PTB message is received
   (see Section 4.4.1).








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5.2.4.  PROBE_BASE Phase

   This phase is entered when black hole detection or a PTB message
   indicates that the PLPMTU is not supported by the path.

   On entry to this phase, the PLPMTU is set to the BASE_PMTU, and a
   corresponding reduced MPS is advertised.

   PROBED_SIZE is then set to the PLPMTU (i.e., the BASE_PMTU), to
   confirm this size is supported across the path.  If confirmed,
   DPLPMTUD enters the Search Phase to determine whether the PL sender
   can use a larger PLPMTU.

   If the path cannot be confirmed to support the BASE_PMTU after
   sending MAX_PROBES, DPLPMTUD moves to the Error phase, see
   Section 5.2.5.

5.2.5.  ERROR Phase

   The ERROR phase is entered when there is conflicting or invalid
   PLPMTU information for the path (e.g. a failure to support the
   BASE_PMTU).  In this phase, the MPS is set to a value less than the
   BASE_PMTU, but at least the size of the MIN_PMTU.

   DPLPMTUD remains in the ERROR phase until a consistent view of the
   path can be discovered and it has also been confirmed that the path
   supports the BASE_PMTU.

   Note: MIN_PMTU may be identical to BASE_PMTU, simplifying the actions
   in this phase.

   If no acknowledgement is received for PROBE_COUNT probes of size
   MIN_PMTU, the method suspends DPLPMTUD, see Section 5.2.5.

5.2.5.1.  Robustness to inconsistent path

   Robustness to paths unable to sustain the BASE_PMTU.  Some paths
   could be unable to sustain packets of the BASE_PMTU size.  These
   paths could use an alternate algorithm to implement the PROBE_ERROR
   phase that allows fallback to a smaller than desired PLPMTU, rather
   than suffer connectivity failure.

   This could also utilise methods such as endpoint IP fragmentation to
   enable the PL sender to communicate using packets smaller than the
   BASE_PMTU.






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5.2.6.  DISABLED Phase

   This phase suspends operation of DPLPMTUD.  It disables probing for
   the PLPMTU until action is taken by the PL or application using the
   PL.

5.3.  State Machine

   A state machine for DPLPMTUD is depicted in Figure 4.  If multihoming
   is supported, a state machine is needed for each active path.









































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                                             PROBE_TIMER expiry
                                         (PROBE_COUNT = MAX_PROBES)
                           +-------------------+       +--------------+
                           |    PROBE_START    +------>|PROBE_DISABLED|
                           +-------------------+       +--------------+
                                      |                              ^
                                      | Path confirmed               |
                                      v                              |
   MAX_PMTU acked or           +--------------+-+ (PROBE_COUNT       |
   PTB (BASE_PMTU <= +---------| PROBE_SEARCH | |  < MAX_PROBES)     |
     PTB_SIZE        |    +--> +--------------+<+  or Probe acked    |
   <PROBED_SIZE)     |    |           |   ^  |                       |
       or            |    |           |   |  |                       |
   (PROBE_COUNT      |    |           |   |  |((PTB_SIZE <           |
     =MAX_PROBES)    |    |           |   |  |  BASE_PMTU)           |
     +---------------+    |           |   |  | or                    |
     |                    |           |   |  |(PLPMTU < BASE_MTU))   |
     |                    |           |   |  |and (PROBE_COUNT =     |
     |   PMTU_RAISE_TIMER |           |   |  |   MAX_PROBES)         |
     |                    |           |   |  |                       |
     |                    |           |   |   \                      |
     |        +-----------+           |   |    \   Suspend DPLPDMTUD:|
     |        |                       |   |     \                    |
     |        |                       |   |      \---------+         |
     |        |    (PTB_SIZE < PLPMTU)|   |                |         |
     |        |           or          |   | BASE_PMTU      |         |
     |        |   Black hole detected |   | Probe acked    |         |
     v        |                       v   |                v         |
   +----------+----+            +--------------+        +-------------+
   |SEARCH_COMPLETE|----------->|  PROBE_BASE  |<-------| PROBE_ERROR |
   +------+--------+            +--------------+        +-------------+
    /\    |    Black hole detected  ^  | |  BASE_PMTU Probe acked:   ^
     |    |             or          |  | |                           |
     |    |    (PTB_SIZE < PLPMTU)  |  | | Probe BASE_PMTU:          |
     |    |                         |  | | (PROBE_COUNT = MAX_PROBES)|
     |    |                         |  | +---------------------------+
     +----+                         +--+
    Confirmation:                 PROBE_TIMER expiry:
   (PROBE_COUNT < MAX_PROBES)    (PROBE_COUNT < MAX_PROBES)
            or
    PLPMTU Probe acked


      Figure 4: State machine for Datagram PLPMTUD.  Note: Some state
               changes are not show to simplify the diagram.

   The following states are defined:




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   PROBE_START:  The PROBE_START state is the initial state before
      probing has started.  The state confirms connectivity to the
      remote PL.

      The PLPMTU is set to the BASE_PMTU size.  Probing ought to start
      immediately after connection setup to prevent the prevent the loss
      of user data.  PLPMTUD is not performed in this state.  The state
      transitions to PROBE_SEARCH, when a network path has been
      confirmed, i.e., when a sent packet has been acknowledged on this
      network path and the BASE_PMTU is confirmed to be supported.  If
      the network path cannot be confirmed this state transitions to
      PROBE_DISABLED.

   PROBE_SEARCH:  The PROBE_SEARCH state is the main probing state.
      This state is entered when probing for the BASE_PMTU was
      successful.

      The PROBE_COUNT is set to zero when the first probe packet is sent
      for each probe size.  Each time a probe packet is acknowledged,
      the PLPMTU is set to the PROBED_SIZE, and then the PROBED_SIZE is
      increased using the search algorithm.

      When a probe packet is sent and not acknowledged within the period
      of the PROBE_TIMER, the PROBE_COUNT is incremented and the probe
      packet is retransmitted.  The state is exited when the PROBE_COUNT
      reaches MAX_PROBES; a PTB message is validated; a probe of size
      PMTU_MAX is acknowledged or black hole detection is triggered.

   SEARCH_COMPLETE:  The SEARCH_COMPLETE state indicates a successful
      end to the PROBE_SEARCH state.  DPLPMTUD remains in this state
      until either the PMTU_RAISE_TIMER expires; a received PTB message
      is validated; or black hole detection is triggered.

      When DPLPMTUD uses an unacknowledged PL and is in the
      SEARCH_COMPLETE state, a CONFIRMATION_TIMER periodically resets
      the PROBE_COUNT and schedules a probe packet with the size of the
      PLPMTU.  If the probe packet fails to be acknowledged after
      MAX_PROBES attempts, the method enters the PROBE_BASE state.  When
      used with an acknowledged PL (e.g., SCTP), DPLPMTUD SHOULD NOT
      continue to generate PLPMTU probes in this state.

   PROBE_BASE:  The PROBE_BASE state is used to confirm whether the
      BASE_PMTU size is supported by the network path and is designed to
      allow an application to continue working when there are transient
      reductions in the actual PMTU.  It also seeks to avoid long
      periods where traffic is black holed while searching for a larger
      PLPMTU.




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      On entry, the PROBED_SIZE is set to the BASE_PMTU size and the
      PROBE_COUNT is set to zero.

      Each time a probe packet is sent, and the PROBE_TIMER is started.
      The state is exited when the probe packet is acknowledged, and the
      PL sender enters the PROBE_SEARCH state.

      The state is also left when the PROBE_COUNT reaches MAX_PROBES; a
      PTB message is validated.  This causes the PL sender to enter the
      PROBE_ERROR state.

   PROBE_ERROR:  The PROBE_ERROR state represents the case where the
      network path is not known to support a PLPMTU of at least the
      BASE_PMTU size.  It is entered when either a probe of size
      BASE_PMTU has not been acknowledged or a validated PTB message
      indicates a smaller PTB_SIZE smaller than the BASE_PMTU.

      On entry, the PROBE_COUNT is set to zero and the PROBED_SIZE is
      set to the MIN_PMTU size, and the PLPMTU is reset to MIN_PMTU
      size.  In this state, a probe packet is sent, and the PROBE_TIMER
      is started.  The state transitions to the PROBE_SEARCH state when
      a probe packet is acknowledged of at least size BASE_PMTU.  Robust
      implementations may validate the BASE_PMTU several times before
      transition to the PROBE_SEARCH.

      Implementations are permitted to enable endpoint fragmentation if
      the DPLPMTUD is unable to validate MIN_PMTU within PROBE_COUNT
      probes.  If DPLPMTUD is unable to validate MIN_PMTU the
      implementation should transition to PROBE_DISABLED.

   PROBE_DISABLED:  The PROBE_DISABLED state indicates that connectivity
      could not be established.  DPLPMTUD MUST NOT probe in this state.

   Appendix A contains an informative description of key events.

5.4.  Search to Increase the PLPMTU

   This section describes the algorithms used by DPLPMTUD to search for
   a larger PLPMTU.

5.4.1.  Probing for a larger PLPMTU

   Implementations use a search algorithm across the search range to
   determine whether a larger PLPMTU can be supported across a network
   path.

   The method discovers the search range by confirming the minimum
   PLPMTU and then using the probe method to select a PROBED_SIZE less



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   than or equal to PMTU_MAX.  PMTU_MAX is the minimum of the local MTU
   and EMTU_R (learned from the remote endpoint).  The PMTU_MAX MAY be
   reduced by an application that sets a maximum to the size of
   datagrams it will send.

   The PROBE_COUNT is initialised to zero when a probe packet is first
   sent with a particular size.  A timer is used by the search algorithm
   to trigger the sending of probe packets of size PROBED_SIZE, larger
   than the PLPMTU.  Each probe packet successfully sent to the remote
   peer is confirmed by acknowledgement at the PL, see Section 4.1.

   Each time a probe packet is sent to the destination, the PROBE_TIMER
   is started.  The timer is cancelled when the PL receives
   acknowledgment that the probe packet has been successfully sent
   across the path Section 4.1.  This confirms that the PROBED_SIZE is
   supported, and the PROBED_SIZE value is then assigned to the PLPMTU.
   The search algorithm can continue to send subsequent probe packets of
   an increasing size.

   If the timer expires before a probe packet is acknowledged, the probe
   has failed to confirm the PROBED_SIZE.  Each time the PROBE_TIMER
   expires, the PROBE_COUNT is incremented, the PROBE_TIMER is
   reinitialised, and a probe packet of the same size is retransmitted
   (the replicated probe improve the resilience to loss).  The maximum
   number of retransmissions for a particular size is configured
   (MAX_PROBES).  If the value of the PROBE_COUNT reaches MAX_PROBES,
   probing will stop, and the PL sender enters the SEARCH_COMPLETE
   state.

5.4.2.  Selection of Probe Sizes

   The search algorithm needs to determine a minimum useful gain in
   PLPMTU.  It would not be constructive for a PL sender to attempt to
   probe for all sizes - this would incur unnecessary load on the path
   and has the undesirable effect of slowing the time to reach a more
   optimal MPS.  Implementations SHOULD select the set of probe packet
   sizes to maximise the gain in PLPMTU from each search step.

   Implementations could optimize the search procedure by selecting step
   sizes from a table of common PMTU sizes.  When selecting the
   appropriate next size to search, an implementor ought to also
   consider that there can be common sizes of MPS that applications seek
   to use.

   xxx Author Note: A future version of this section will detail example
   methods for selecting probe size values, but does not plan to mandate
   a single method. xxx




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5.4.3.  Resilience to inconsistent Path information

   A decision to increase the PLPMTU needs to be resilient to the
   possibility that information learned about the network path is
   inconsistent (this could happen when probe packets are lost due to
   other reasons, or some of the packets in a flow are forwarded along a
   portion of the path that supports a different actual PMTU).

   Frequent path changes could occur due to unexpected "flapping" -
   where some packets from a flow pass along one path, but other packets
   follow a different path with different properties.  DPLPMTUD can be
   made resilient to these anomalies by introducing hysteresis into the
   search decision to increase the MPS.

6.  Specification of Protocol-Specific Methods

   This section specifies protocol-specific details for datagram PLPMTUD
   for IETF-specified transports.

   The first subsection provides guidance on how to implement the
   DPLPMTUD method as a part of an application using UDP or UDP-Lite.
   The guidance also applies to other datagram services that do not
   include a specific transport protocol (such as a tunnel
   encapsulation).  The following subsection describe how DPLPMTUD can
   be implemented as a part of the transport service, allowing
   applications using the service to benefit from discovery of the
   PLPMTU without themselves needing to implement this method.

6.1.  Application support for DPLPMTUD with UDP or UDP-Lite

   The current specifications of UDP [RFC0768] and UDP-Lite [RFC3828] do
   not define a method in the RFC-series that supports PLPMTUD.  In
   particular, the UDP transport does not provide the transport layer
   features needed to implement datagram PLPMTUD.

   The DPLPMTUD method can be implemented as a part of an application
   built directly or indirectly on UDP or UDP-Lite, but relies on
   higher-layer protocol features to implement the method [RFC8085].

   Some primitives used by DPLPMTUD might not be available via the
   Datagram API (e.g., the ability to access the PLPMTU cache, or
   interpret received ICMP PTB messages).

   In addition, it is desirable that PMTU discovery is not performed by
   multiple protocol layers.  An application SHOULD avoid implementing
   DPLPMTUD when the underlying transport system provides this
   capability.  Using a common method for managing the PLPMTU has




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   benefits, both in the ability to share state between different
   processes and opportunities to coordinate probing.

6.1.1.  Application Request

   An application needs an application-layer protocol mechanism (such as
   a message acknowledgement method) that solicits a response from a
   destination endpoint.  The method SHOULD allow the sender to check
   the value returned in the response to provide additional protection
   from off-path insertion of data [RFC8085], suitable methods include a
   parameter known only to the two endpoints, such as a session ID or
   initialised sequence number.

6.1.2.  Application Response

   An application needs an application-layer protocol mechanism to
   communicate the response from the destination endpoint.  This
   response may indicate successful reception of the probe across the
   path, but could also indicate that some (or all packets) have failed
   to reach the destination.

6.1.3.  Sending Application Probe Packets

   A probe packet that may carry an application data block, but the
   successful transmission of this data is at risk when used for
   probing.  Some applications may prefer to use a probe packet that
   does not carry an application data block to avoid disruption to
   normal data transfer.

6.1.4.  Validating the Path

   An application that does not have other higher-layer information
   confirming correct delivery of datagrams SHOULD implement the
   CONFIRMATION_TIMER to periodically send probe packets while in the
   SEARCH_COMPLETE state.

6.1.5.  Handling of PTB Messages

   An application that is able and wishes to receive PTB messages MUST
   perform ICMP validation as specified in Section 5.2 of [RFC8085].
   This requires that the application to check each received PTB
   messages to validate it is received in response to transmitted
   traffic and that the reported PTB_SIZE is less than the current
   probed size.  A validated PTB message MAY be used as input to the
   DPLPMTUD algorithm, but MUST NOT be used directly to set the PLPMTU.






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6.2.  DPLPMTUD with UDP Options

   UDP Options[I-D.ietf-tsvwg-udp-options] can supply the additional
   functionality required to implement DPLPMTUD within the UDP transport
   service.  Implementing DPLPMTU using UDP Options avoids the need for
   each application to implement the DPLPMTUD method.

   Section 5.6 of[I-D.ietf-tsvwg-udp-options] defines the Maximum
   Segment Size (MSS) option, which allows the local sender to indicate
   the EMTU_R to the peer.  The value received in this option can be
   used to initialise PMTU_MAX.

   UDP Options enables padding to be added to UDP datagrams that are
   used as Probe Packets.  Feedback confirming reception of each Probe
   Packet is provided by two new UDP Options:

   o  The Probe Request Option (Section 6.2.1) is set by a sending PL to
      solicit a response from a remote endpoint.  A four-byte token
      identifies each request.

   o  The Probe Response Option (Section 6.2.2 is generated by the UDP
      Options receiver in response to reception of a previously received
      Probe Request Option.  Each Probe Response Option echoes a
      previously received four-byte token.

   The token value allows implementations to be distinguish between
   acknowledgements for initial probe packets and acknowledgements
   confirming receipt of subsequent probe packets (e.g., travelling
   along alternate paths with a larger RTT).  Each probe packet needs to
   be uniquely identifiable by the UDP Options sender within the Maximum
   Segment Lifetime (MSL).  The UDP Options sender therefore needs to
   not recycle token values until they have expired or have been
   acknowledged.  A 4 byte value for the token field provides sufficient
   space for multiple unique probes to be made within the MSL.

   The initial value of the four byte token field SHOULD be assigned to
   a randomised value, as described in section 5.1 of [RFC8085]) to
   enhance protection from off-path attacks.

   Implementations ought to only send a probe packet with a Request
   Probe Option when required by their local state machine, i.e., when
   probing to grow the PLPMTU or to confirm the current PLPMTU.  The
   procedure to handle the loss of a response packet is the
   responsibility of the sender of the request.  Implementations are
   allowed to track multiple requests and respond to them with a single
   packet.





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   A PL needs to determine that the path can still support the size of
   datagram that the application is currently sending in the DPLPMTUD
   search_done state (i.e., to detect black-holing of data).  One way to
   achieve this is to send probe packets of size PLPMTU or to utilise a
   higher-layer method that provides explicit feedback indicating any
   packet loss.  Another possibility is to utilise data packets that
   carry a Timestamp Option.  Reception of a valid timestamp that was
   echoed by the remote endpoint can be used to infer connectivity.
   This can provide useful feedback even over paths with asymmetric
   capacity and/or that carry UDP Option flows that have very asymmetric
   datagram rates, because an echo of the most recent timestamp still
   indicates reception of at least one packet of the transmitted size.
   This is sufficient to confirm there is no black hole.

   In contrast, when sending a probe to increase the PLPMTU, a timestamp
   might be unable to unambiguously identify that a specific probe
   packet has been received.  Timestamp mechanisms cannot be used to
   confirm the reception of individual probe messages and cannot be used
   to stimulate a response from the remote peer.

6.2.1.  UDP Probe Request Option

   The Probe Request Option allows a sending endpoint to solicit a
   response from a destination endpoint.

   The Probe Request Option carries a four byte token set by the sender.
   This token can be set to a value that is likely to be known only to
   the sender (and is sent along the end-to-end path).  The initial
   value of the token SHOULD be assigned to a randomised value, as
   described in section 5.1 of [RFC8085]) to enhance protection from
   off-path attacks.

   The sender needs to then check the value returned in the UDP Probe
   Response Option.  The value of the Token field, uniquely identifies a
   probe within the maximum segment lifetime.

                       +----------+--------+-----------------+
                       | Kind=9* | Len=6  |     Token       |
                       +----------+--------+-----------------+
                         1 byte    1 byte       4 bytes

                          * To be confirmed by IANA.

                   Figure 5: UDP Probe REQ Option Format







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6.2.2.  UDP Probe Response Option

   The Probe Response Option is generated in response to reception of a
   previously received Probe Request Option.  This response is generated
   by the UDP Option processing.

   The Probe Response Option carries a four byte token field.  The Token
   field associates the response with the Token value carried in the
   most recently-received Echo Request.  The rate of generation of UDP
   packets carrying a Probe Response Option is expected to be less than
   once per RTT and SHOULD be rate-limited (see Section 9).

                       +----------+--------+-----------------+
                       | Kind=10* | Len=6  |     Token       |
                       +----------+--------+-----------------+
                         1 byte    1 byte       4 bytes

                         * To be confirmed by IANA.

                   Figure 6: UDP Probe RES Option Format

6.3.  DPLPMTUD for SCTP

   Section 10.2 of [RFC4821] specifies a recommended PLPMTUD probing
   method for SCTP.  It recommends the use of the PAD chunk, defined in
   [RFC4820] to be attached to a minimum length HEARTBEAT chunk to build
   a probe packet.  This enables probing without affecting the transfer
   of user messages and without interfering with congestion control.
   This is preferred to using DATA chunks (with padding as required) as
   path probes.

   XXX Author Note: Future versions of this document might define a
   parameter contained in the INIT and INIT ACK chunk to indicate the
   remote peer MTU to the local peer.  However, multihoming makes this a
   bit complex, so it might not be worth doing.  XXX

6.3.1.  SCTP/IPv4 and SCTP/IPv6

   The base protocol is specified in [RFC4960].  This provides an
   acknowledged PL.  A sender can therefore enter the PROBE_BASE state
   as soon as connectivity has been confirmed.

6.3.1.1.  Sending SCTP Probe Packets

   Probe packets consist of an SCTP common header followed by a
   HEARTBEAT chunk and a PAD chunk.  The PAD chunk is used to control
   the length of the probe packet.  The HEARTBEAT chunk is used to




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   trigger the sending of a HEARTBEAT ACK chunk.  The reception of the
   HEARTBEAT ACK chunk acknowledges reception of a successful probe.

   The HEARTBEAT chunk carries a Heartbeat Information parameter which
   should include, besides the information suggested in [RFC4960], the
   probe size, which is the size of the complete datagram.  The size of
   the PAD chunk is therefore computed by reducing the probing size by
   the IPv4 or IPv6 header size, the SCTP common header, the HEARTBEAT
   request and the PAD chunk header.  The payload of the PAD chunk
   contains arbitrary data.

   To avoid fragmentation of retransmitted data, probing starts right
   after the handshake, before data is sent.  Assuming normal behaviour
   (i.e., the PMTU is smaller than or equal to the interface MTU), this
   process will take a few round trip time periods depending on the
   number of PMTU sizes probed.  The Heartbeat timer can be used to
   implement the PROBE_TIMER.

6.3.1.2.  Validating the Path with SCTP

   Since SCTP provides an acknowledged PL, a sender MUST NOT implement
   the CONFIRMATION_TIMER while in the SEARCH_COMPLETE state.

6.3.1.3.  PTB Message Handling by SCTP

   Normal ICMP validation MUST be performed as specified in Appendix C
   of [RFC4960].  This requires that the first 8 bytes of the SCTP
   common header are quoted in the payload of the PTB message, which can
   be the case for ICMPv4 and is normally the case for ICMPv6.

   When a PTB message has been validated, the PTB_SIZE reported in the
   PTB message SHOULD be used with the DPLPMTUD algorithm, providing
   that the reported PTB_SIZE is less than the current probe size.

6.3.2.  DPLPMTUD for SCTP/UDP

   The UDP encapsulation of SCTP is specified in [RFC6951].

6.3.2.1.  Sending SCTP/UDP Probe Packets

   Packet probing can be performed as specified in Section 6.3.1.1.  The
   maximum payload is reduced by 8 bytes, which has to be considered
   when filling the PAD chunk.








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6.3.2.2.  Validating the Path with SCTP/UDP

   Since SCTP provides an acknowledged PL, a sender MUST NOT implement
   the CONFIRMATION_TIMER while in the SEARCH_COMPLETE state.

6.3.2.3.  Handling of PTB Messages by SCTP/UDP

   Normal ICMP validation MUST be performed for PTB messages as
   specified in Appendix C of [RFC4960].  This requires that the first 8
   bytes of the SCTP common header are contained in the PTB message,
   which can be the case for ICMPv4 (but note the UDP header also
   consumes a part of the quoted packet header) and is normally the case
   for ICMPv6.  When the validation is completed, the PTB_SIZE indicated
   in the PTB message SHOULD be used with the DPLPMTUD providing that
   the reported PTB_SIZE is less than the current probe size.

6.3.3.  DPLPMTUD for SCTP/DTLS

   The Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) encapsulation of SCTP is
   specified in [RFC8261].  It is used for data channels in WebRTC
   implementations.

6.3.3.1.  Sending SCTP/DTLS Probe Packets

   Packet probing can be done as specified in Section 6.3.1.1.

6.3.3.2.  Validating the Path with SCTP/DTLS

   Since SCTP provides an acknowledged PL, a sender MUST NOT implement
   the CONFIRMATION_TIMER while in the SEARCH_COMPLETE state.

6.3.3.3.  Handling of PTB Messages by SCTP/DTLS

   It is not possible to perform normal ICMP validation as specified in
   [RFC4960], since even if the ICMP message payload contains sufficient
   information, the reflected SCTP common header would be encrypted.
   Therefore it is not possible to process PTB messages at the PL.

6.4.  DPLPMTUD for QUIC

   Quick UDP Internet Connection (QUIC) [I-D.ietf-quic-transport] is a
   UDP-based transport that provides reception feedback.  The UDP
   payload includes the QUIC packet header, protected payload, and any
   authentication fields.  QUIC depends on a PMTU of at least 1280
   bytes.

   Section 9.2 of [I-D.ietf-quic-transport] describes the path
   considerations when sending QUIC packets.  It recommends the use of



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   PADDING frames to build the probe packet.  Pure probe-only packets
   are constructed with PADDING frames and PING frames to create a
   padding only packet that will illict an acknowledgement.  Padding
   only frames enable probing the without affecting the transfer of
   other QUIC frames.

   The recommendation for QUIC endpoints implementing DPLPMTUD is
   therefore that a MPS is maintained for each combination of local and
   remote IP addresses [I-D.ietf-quic-transport].  If a QUIC endpoint
   determines that the PMTU between any pair of local and remote IP
   addresses has fallen below an acceptable MPS, it needs to immediately
   cease sending QUIC packets on the affected path.  This could result
   in termination of the connection if an alternative path cannot be
   found [I-D.ietf-quic-transport].

6.4.1.  Sending QUIC Probe Packets

   A probe packet consists of a QUIC Header and a payload containing
   PADDING Frames and a PING Frame.  PADDING Frames are a single octet
   (0x00) and several of these can be used to create a probe packet of
   size PROBED_SIZE.  QUIC provides an acknowledged PL, A sender can
   therefore enter the PROBE_BASE state as soon as connectivity has been
   confirmed.

   The current specification of QUIC sets the following:

   o  BASE_PMTU: 1200.  A QUIC sender needs to pad initial packets to
      1200 bytes to confirm the path can support packets of a useful
      size.

   o  MIN_PMTU: 1200 bytes.  A QUIC sender that determines the PMTU has
      fallen below 1200 bytes MUST immediately stop sending on the
      affected path.

6.4.2.  Validating the Path with QUIC

   QUIC provides an acknowledged PL.  A sender therefore MUST NOT
   implement the CONFIRMATION_TIMER while in the SEARCH_COMPLETE state.

6.4.3.  Handling of PTB Messages by QUIC

   QUIC operates over the UDP transport, and the guidelines on ICMP
   validation as specified in Section 5.2 of [RFC8085] therefore apply.
   In addition to UDP Port validation QUIC can validate an ICMP message
   by looking for valid Connection IDs in the quoted packet.






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7.  Acknowledgements

   This work was partially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020
   research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 644334
   (NEAT).  The views expressed are solely those of the author(s).

8.  IANA Considerations

   This memo includes no request to IANA.

   XXX If new UDP Options are specified in this document, a request to
   IANA will be included here.  XXX

   If there are no requirements for IANA, the section will be removed
   during conversion into an RFC by the RFC Editor.

9.  Security Considerations

   The security considerations for the use of UDP and SCTP are provided
   in the references RFCs.  Security guidance for applications using UDP
   is provided in the UDP Usage Guidelines [RFC8085], specifically the
   generation of probe packets is regarded as a "Low Data-Volume
   Application", described in section 3.1.3 of this document.  This
   recommends that sender limits generation of probe packets to an
   average rate lower than one probe per 3 seconds.

   A PL sender needs to ensure that the method used to confirm reception
   of probe packets offers protection from off-path attackers injecting
   packets into the path.  This protection if provided in IETF-defined
   protocols (e.g., TCP, SCTP) using a randomly-initialised sequence
   number.  A description of one way to do this when using UDP is
   provided in section 5.1 of [RFC8085]).

   There are cases where PTB messages are not delivered due to policy,
   configuration or equipment design (see Section 1.1), this method
   therefore does not rely upon PTB messages being received, but is able
   to utilise these when they are received by the sender.  PTB messages
   could potentially be used to cause a node to inappropriately reduce
   the PLPMTU.  A node supporting DPLPMTUD MUST therefore appropriately
   validate the payload of PTB messages to ensure these are received in
   response to transmitted traffic (i.e., a reported error condition
   that corresponds to a datagram actually sent by the path layer).

   An on-path attacker, able to create a PTB message could forge PTB
   messages that include a valid quoted IP packet.  Such an attack could
   be used to drive down the PLPMTU.  There are two ways this method can
   be mitigated against such attacks: First, by ensuring that a PL
   sender never reduces the PLPMTU below the base size, solely in



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   response to receiving a PTB message.  This is achieved by first
   entering the PROBE_BASE state when such a message is received.
   Second, the design does not require processing of PTB messages, a PL
   sender could therefore suspend processing of PTB messages (e.g., in a
   robustness mode after detecting that subsequent probes actually
   confirm that a size larger than the PTB_SIZE is supported by a path).

   Parallel forwarding paths SHOULD be considered.  Section 5.2.5.1
   identifies the need for robustness in the method when the path
   information may be inconsistent.

   A node performing DPLPMTUD could experience conflicting information
   about the size of supported probe packets.  This could occur when
   there are multiple paths are concurrently in use and these exhibit a
   different PMTU.  If not considered, this could result in data being
   black holed when the PLPMTU is larger than the smallest PMTU across
   the current paths.

10.  References

10.1.  Normative References

   [I-D.ietf-quic-transport]
              Iyengar, J. and M. Thomson, "QUIC: A UDP-Based Multiplexed
              and Secure Transport", draft-ietf-quic-transport-16 (work
              in progress), October 2018.

   [I-D.ietf-tsvwg-udp-options]
              Touch, J., "Transport Options for UDP", draft-ietf-tsvwg-
              udp-options-05 (work in progress), July 2018.

   [RFC0768]  Postel, J., "User Datagram Protocol", STD 6, RFC 768,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC0768, August 1980,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc768>.

   [RFC1191]  Mogul, J. and S. Deering, "Path MTU discovery", RFC 1191,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC1191, November 1990,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1191>.

   [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>.

   [RFC2460]  Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
              (IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, DOI 10.17487/RFC2460,
              December 1998, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2460>.




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   [RFC3828]  Larzon, L-A., Degermark, M., Pink, S., Jonsson, L-E., Ed.,
              and G. Fairhurst, Ed., "The Lightweight User Datagram
              Protocol (UDP-Lite)", RFC 3828, DOI 10.17487/RFC3828, July
              2004, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3828>.

   [RFC4820]  Tuexen, M., Stewart, R., and P. Lei, "Padding Chunk and
              Parameter for the Stream Control Transmission Protocol
              (SCTP)", RFC 4820, DOI 10.17487/RFC4820, March 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4820>.

   [RFC4960]  Stewart, R., Ed., "Stream Control Transmission Protocol",
              RFC 4960, DOI 10.17487/RFC4960, September 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4960>.

   [RFC6951]  Tuexen, M. and R. Stewart, "UDP Encapsulation of Stream
              Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) Packets for End-Host
              to End-Host Communication", RFC 6951,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6951, May 2013,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6951>.

   [RFC8085]  Eggert, L., Fairhurst, G., and G. Shepherd, "UDP Usage
              Guidelines", BCP 145, RFC 8085, DOI 10.17487/RFC8085,
              March 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8085>.

   [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>.

   [RFC8201]  McCann, J., Deering, S., Mogul, J., and R. Hinden, Ed.,
              "Path MTU Discovery for IP version 6", STD 87, RFC 8201,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8201, July 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8201>.

   [RFC8261]  Tuexen, M., Stewart, R., Jesup, R., and S. Loreto,
              "Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) Encapsulation of
              SCTP Packets", RFC 8261, DOI 10.17487/RFC8261, November
              2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8261>.

10.2.  Informative References

   [I-D.ietf-intarea-tunnels]
              Touch, J. and M. Townsley, "IP Tunnels in the Internet
              Architecture", draft-ietf-intarea-tunnels-09 (work in
              progress), July 2018.

   [RFC0792]  Postel, J., "Internet Control Message Protocol", STD 5,
              RFC 792, DOI 10.17487/RFC0792, September 1981,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc792>.



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   [RFC1122]  Braden, R., Ed., "Requirements for Internet Hosts -
              Communication Layers", STD 3, RFC 1122,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC1122, October 1989,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1122>.

   [RFC1812]  Baker, F., Ed., "Requirements for IP Version 4 Routers",
              RFC 1812, DOI 10.17487/RFC1812, June 1995,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1812>.

   [RFC2923]  Lahey, K., "TCP Problems with Path MTU Discovery",
              RFC 2923, DOI 10.17487/RFC2923, September 2000,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2923>.

   [RFC4340]  Kohler, E., Handley, M., and S. Floyd, "Datagram
              Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP)", RFC 4340,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC4340, March 2006,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4340>.

   [RFC4443]  Conta, A., Deering, S., and M. Gupta, Ed., "Internet
              Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet
              Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", STD 89,
              RFC 4443, DOI 10.17487/RFC4443, March 2006,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4443>.

   [RFC4821]  Mathis, M. and J. Heffner, "Packetization Layer Path MTU
              Discovery", RFC 4821, DOI 10.17487/RFC4821, March 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4821>.

   [RFC4890]  Davies, E. and J. Mohacsi, "Recommendations for Filtering
              ICMPv6 Messages in Firewalls", RFC 4890,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC4890, May 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4890>.

Appendix A.  Event-driven state changes

   This appendix contains an informative description of key events:

   Path Setup:  When a new path is initiated, the state is set to
      PROBE_START.  This sends a probe packet with the size of the
      BASE_PMTU.  As soon as the path is confirmed, the state changes to
      PROBE_SEARCH.

   Arrival of an Acknowledgment:  Depending on the probing state, the
      reaction differs according to Figure 7, which is a simplification
      of Figure 4 focusing on this event.






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  +--------------+                                    +----------------+
  | PROBE_START  | --3------------------------------> | PROBE_DISABLED |
  +--------------+ --4----------------  ------------> +----------------+
                                      \/
  +--------------+                    /\              +--------------+
  | PROBE_ERROR  | -------------------- \ ----------> |  PROBE_BASE  |
  +--------------+ --4--------------/    \            +--------------+
                                          \
  +--------------+ --1 --------            \          +--------------+
  |  PROBE_BASE  |             \        --- \ ------> | PROBE_ERROR  |
  +--------------+ --3--------- \ -----/     \       +--------------+
                                 \            \
  +--------------+                \            -----> +--------------+
  | PROBE_SEARCH | --2---          -----------------> | PROBE_SEARCH |
  +--------------+       \        ------------------> +--------------+
                          \ ---- /
  +---------------+      / \                          +---------------+
  |SEARCH_COMPLETE| -1---   \                         |SEARCH_COMPLETE|
  +---------------+ -5--     -----------------------> +---------------+
                        \
                         \                            +--------------+
                          --------------------------> |  PROBE_BASE  |
                                                      +--------------+


   Condition 1: The maximum PMTU size has not yet been reached.
   Condition 2: The maximum PMTU size has been reached.  Condition 3:
   Probe Timer expires and PROBE_COUNT = MAX_PROBEs.  Condition 4:
   PROBE_ACK received.  Condition 5: Black hole detected.

        Figure 7: State changes at the arrival of an acknowledgment

   Probing timeout:  The PROBE_COUNT is initialised to zero each time
      the value of PROBED_SIZE is changed and when a acknowledgment
      confirming delivery of a probe packet.  The PROBE_TIMER is started
      each time a probe packet is sent.  It is stopped when an
      acknowledgment arrives that confirms delivery of a probe packet of
      PROBED_SIZE.  If the probe packet is not acknowledged before the
      PROBE_TIMER expires, the PROBE_COUNT is incremented.  When the
      PROBE_COUNT equals the value MAX_PROBES, the state is changed,
      otherwise a new probe packet of the same size (PROBED_SIZE) is
      resent.  The state transitions are illustrated in Figure 8.  This
      shows a simplification of Figure 4 with a focus only on this
      event.







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  +--------------+                                    +----------------+
  |  PROBE_START | --2------------------------------->| PROBE_DISABLED |
  +--------------+                                    +----------------+

  +--------------+                                    +--------------+
  | PROBE_ERROR  |                 -----------------> | PROBE_ERROR  |
  +--------------+                /                   +--------------+
                                 /
  +--------------+ --2----------/                     +--------------+
  |  PROBE_BASE  | --1------------------------------> |  PROBE_BASE  |
  +--------------+                                    +--------------+

  +--------------+                                    +--------------+
  | PROBE_SEARCH | --1------------------------------> | PROBE_SEARCH |
  +--------------+ --2---------                       +--------------+
                               \
  +---------------+             \                     +---------------+
  |SEARCH_COMPLETE|              -------------------> |SEARCH_COMPLETE|
  +---------------+                                   +---------------+


   Condition 1: The maximum number of probe packets has not been
   reached.  Condition 2: The maximum number of probe packets has been
   reached.  XXX This diagram has not been validated.

       Figure 8: State changes at the expiration of the probe timer

   PMTU raise timer timeout:  DPLPMTUD periodically sends a probe packet
      to detect whether a larger PMTU is possible.  This probe packet is
      generated by the PMTU_RAISE_TIMER.

   Arrival of a PTB message:  The active probing of the path can be
      supported by the arrival of a PTB message indicating the PTB_SIZE.
      Two examples are:



      1.  The PTB_SIZE is between the PLPMTU and the probe that
          triggered the PTB message.

      2.  The PTB_SIZE is smaller than the PLPMTU.

      In first case, the PROBE_BASE state transitions to the PROBE_ERROR
      state.  In the PROBE_SEARCH state, a new probe packet is sent with
      the size reported by the PTB message.

      In second case, the probing starts again with a value of
      PROBE_BASE.



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Appendix B.  Revision Notes

   Note to RFC-Editor: please remove this entire section prior to
   publication.

   Individual draft -00:

   o  Comments and corrections are welcome directly to the authors or
      via the IETF TSVWG working group mailing list.

   o  This update is proposed for WG comments.

   Individual draft -01:

   o  Contains the first representation of the algorithm, showing the
      states and timers

   o  This update is proposed for WG comments.

   Individual draft -02:

   o  Contains updated representation of the algorithm, and textual
      corrections.

   o  The text describing when to set the effective PMTU has not yet
      been validated by the authors

   o  To determine security to off-path-attacks: We need to decide
      whether a received PTB message SHOULD/MUST be validated?  The text
      on how to handle a PTB message indicating a link MTU larger than
      the probe has yet not been validated by the authors

   o  No text currently describes how to handle inconsistent results
      from arbitrary re-routing along different parallel paths

   o  This update is proposed for WG comments.

   Working Group draft -00:

   o  This draft follows a successful adoption call for TSVWG

   o  There is still work to complete, please comment on this draft.

   Working Group draft -01:

   o  This draft includes improved introduction.





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   o  The draft is updated to require ICMP validation prior to accepting
      PTB messages - this to be confirmed by WG

   o  Section added to discuss Selection of Probe Size - methods to be
      evlauated and recommendations to be considered

   o  Section added to align with work proposed in the QUIC WG.

   Working Group draft -02:

   o  The draft was updated based on feedback from the WG, and a
      detailed review by Magnus Westerlund.

   o  The document updates RFC 4821.

   o  Requirements list updated.

   o  Added more explicit discussion of a simpler black-hole detection
      mode.

   o  This draft includes reorganisation of the section on IETF
      protocols.

   o  Added more discussion of implementation within an application.

   o  Added text on flapping paths.

   o  Replaced 'effective MTU' with new term PLPMTU.

   Working Group draft -03:

   o  Updated figures

   o  Added more discussion on blackhole detection

   o  Added figure describing just blackhole detection

   o  Added figure relating MPS sizes

   Working Group draft -04:

   o  Described phases and named these consistently.

   o  Corrected transition from confirmation directly to the search
      phase (Base has been checked).

   o  Redrawn state diagrams.




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   o  Renamed BASE_MTU to BASE_PMTU (because it is a base for the PMTU).

   o  Clarified Error state.

   o  Clarified supsending DPLPMTUD.

   o  Verified normative text in requirements section.

   o  Removed duplicate text.

   o  Changed all text to refer to /packet probe/probe packet/
      /validation/verification/ added term /Probe Confirmation/ and
      clarified BlackHole detection.

   Working Group draft -05:

   o  Updated security considerations.

   o  Feedback after speaking with Joe Touch helped improve UDP-Options
      description.

   Working Group draft -06:

   o  Updated description of ICMP issues in section 1.1

   o  Update to description of QUIC.

Authors' Addresses

   Godred Fairhurst
   University of Aberdeen
   School of Engineering
   Fraser Noble Building
   Aberdeen  AB24 3UE
   UK

   Email: gorry@erg.abdn.ac.uk


   Tom Jones
   University of Aberdeen
   School of Engineering
   Fraser Noble Building
   Aberdeen  AB24 3UE
   UK

   Email: tom@erg.abdn.ac.uk




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   Michael Tuexen
   Muenster University of Applied Sciences
   Stegerwaldstrasse 39
   Stein fart  48565
   DE

   Email: tuexen@fh-muenster.de


   Irene Ruengeler
   Muenster University of Applied Sciences
   Stegerwaldstrasse 39
   Stein fart  48565
   DE

   Email: i.ruengeler@fh-muenster.de



































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