Internet Draft      Bundle Protocol Specification          July 2005


   Delay Tolerant Networking Research Group                    K. Scott
   Internet Draft                                 The MITRE Corporation
   <draft-irtf-dtnrg-bundle-spec-03.txt>
   July 2005                                                S. Burleigh
   Expires: January 2006                      Jet Propulsion Laboratory



                       Bundle Protocol Specification


Status of this Memo

   By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any
   applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware
   have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she
   becomes aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP
   79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
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   other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-
   Drafts.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
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   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt.

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   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.

   This document was produced within the IRTF's Delay Tolerant
   Networking Research Group (DTNRG).  See http://www.dtnrg.org for more
   information.

Abstract

   This document describes the end-to-end protocol, header formats, and
   abstract service description for the exchange of messages (bundles)
   in Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN).

Conventions used in this document

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC-2119 [1].



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Table of Contents

   1.          Introduction..........................................3
   2.          Service Description...................................5
      2.1      Definitions...........................................5
      2.2      Services offered by bundle protocol agents............8
      2.3      Summary of Primitives.................................9
        2.3.1  Requests..............................................9
        2.3.2  Indications...........................................9
      2.4      Summary of Parameters.................................9
        2.4.1  Destination endpoint ID...............................9
        2.4.2  Source endpoint ID....................................9
        2.4.3  Report-to endpoint ID.................................9
        2.4.4  Priority.............................................10
        2.4.5  Delivery Options.....................................10
        2.4.6  Lifespan.............................................10
        2.4.7  Transmission Token...................................10
        2.4.8  Application Data Unit................................10
        2.4.9  Registration Token...................................10
        2.4.10 Delivery Failure Action..............................10
        2.4.11 Bundle creation time.................................11
      2.5      Bundle Protocol Service Primitives...................11
        2.5.1  TRANSMIT.REQUEST.....................................11
        2.5.2  CANCEL.REQUEST.......................................12
        2.5.3  REGISTER.REQUEST.....................................12
        2.5.4  START-DELIVERY.REQUEST...............................13
        2.5.5  STOP-DELIVERY.REQUEST................................13
        2.5.6  CHANGE-REGISTRATION.REQUEST..........................14
        2.5.7  DEREGISTER.REQUEST...................................14
        2.5.8  POLL.REQUEST.........................................14
        2.5.9  DATA.INDICATION......................................15
        2.5.10 TRANSMITERROR.INDICATION.............................15
        2.5.11 TRANSMISSION.INDICATION..............................16
        2.5.12 REGISTRATION.INDICATION..............................16
   3.          Bundle Format........................................16
      3.1      Canonical Bundle Header Format.......................17
      3.2      Header Processing Flags..............................17
      3.3      Bundle Processing Flags..............................17
      3.4      Self-Delimiting Numeric Values (SDNV)................17
      3.5      Endpoint IDs.........................................19
      3.6      Formats of Mandatory Bundle Headers..................20
        3.6.1  Primary Bundle Header................................22
        3.6.2  Bundle Payload Header................................25
   4.          Bundle Processing....................................25
      4.1      Generation of administrative records.................25
      4.2      Bundle transmission requests.........................26
      4.3      Bundle dispatching...................................27
      4.4      Bundle forwarding....................................27
        4.4.1  Forwarding Contraindicated...........................28
        4.4.2  Forwarding Failed....................................28
      4.5      Bundle expiration....................................29


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      4.6      Bundle reception.....................................29
      4.7      Local bundle delivery................................30
      4.8      Bundle Fragmentation.................................31
      4.9      Application Data Unit Reassembly.....................32
      4.10     Custody transfer.....................................32
        4.10.1 Custody acceptance...................................32
        4.10.2 Custody release......................................33
      4.11     Custody transfer success.............................33
      4.12     Custody transfer failure.............................33
      4.13     Bundle deletion......................................34
      4.14     Discarding a bundle..................................34
   5.          Administrative record processing.....................34
      5.1      Administrative records...............................34
        5.1.1  Bundle Status Reports................................35
        5.1.2  Custody Signals......................................38
      5.2      Generation of administrative records.................41
      5.3      Reception of custody signals.........................41
   6.          Services Required of the Convergence Layer...........41
      6.1      The Convergence Layer................................41
      6.2      Summary of Convergence Layer Services................41
      6.3      Summary of Primitives................................42
        6.3.1  Requests.............................................42
        6.3.2  Indications..........................................42
      6.4      Summary of Parameters................................42
        6.4.1  Receiving Endpoint ID................................42
        6.4.2  Bundle...............................................42
        6.4.3  Bundle length........................................42
        6.4.4  Send result..........................................43
      6.5      Convergence Layer Service Primitives.................43
        6.5.1  SEND.REQUEST.........................................43
        6.5.2  SEND-REPORT.INDICATION...............................43
        6.5.3  BUNDLE.INDICATION....................................44
   7.          Security Considerations..............................44
   8.          IANA Considerations..................................44
   9.          Normative References.................................44
   10.         Informative References...............................44

1.    Introduction

   This document describes version 4 of the Delay Tolerant
   Networking (DTN) "bundle" protocol (BP).  Delay Tolerant Networking
   is an end-to-end architecture providing communications in and/or
   through highly stressed environments.  Stressed networking
   environments include those with intermittent connectivity, large
   and/or variable delays, and high bit error rates.  To provide its
   services, BP sits at the application layer of some number of
   constituent internets, forming a store-and-forward overlay network.
   Key capabilities of BP include:

     o  Custody-based retransmission
     o  Ability to cope with intermittent connectivity


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     o  Ability to take advantage of scheduled, predicted, and
        opportunistic connectivity (in addition to continuous
        connectivity)
     o  Late binding of overlay network endpoint identifiers to
        constituent internet addresses

   For descriptions of these capabilities and the rationale for the DTN
   architecture, see [2].  [3] contains a tutorial-level overview of DTN
   concepts.

   BP's location within the standard protocol stack is as shown in
   Figure 1.  BP uses the 'native' internet protocols for communications
   within a given internet.  Note that 'internet'  in the preceding is
   used in a general sense and does not necessarily refer to TCP/IP.
   The interface between the common bundle protocol and a specific
   internetwork protocol suite is termed a "convergence layer adapter".
   Figure 1 shows three distinct transport and network protocols
   (denoted T1/N1, T2,N2, and T3/N3).

   +-----------+                                         +-----------+
   |   BP app  |                                         |   BP app  |
   +---------v-|   +->>>>>>>>>>v-+     +->>>>>>>>>>v-+   +-^---------+
   |    BP   v |   | ^    BP   v |     | ^    BP   v |   | ^   BP    |
   +---------v-+   +-^---------v-+     +-^---------v-+   +-^---------+
   | Trans1  v |   + ^  T1/T2  v |     + ^  T2/T3  v |   | ^  Trans3 |
   +---------v-+   +-^---------v-+     +-^---------v +   +-^---------+
   | Net1    v |   | ^  N1/N2  v |     | ^  N2/N3  v |   | ^  Net3   |
   +---------v-+   +-^---------v +     +-^---------v-+   +-^---------+
   |         >>>>>>>>^         >>>>>>>>>>^         >>>>>>>>^         |
   +-----------+   +------------+      +-------------+   +-----------+

   |                     |                    |                      |
   |<--  An internet --->|                    |<--- An internet  --->|
   |                     |                    |                      |

   Figure 1: The bundle protocol sits at the application layer of the
             Internet model.

   This document describes the format of the protocol data units (called
   bundles) passed between entities participating in BP communications.
   The entities are referred to as "bundle nodes".  This document does
   not address:

     o  Operations in the convergence layer adapters that bundle nodes
        use to transport data through specific types of internet.
        (However, the document does discuss the services that must be
        provided by each adapter at the convergence layer.)

     o  The bundle routing algorithm.

     o  Mechanisms for populating the routing or forwarding information


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        bases of bundle nodes.

2.   Service Description

2.1 Definitions

   Bundle -          - A bundle is a protocol data unit of the DTN bundle protocol.
   Multiple instances of the same bundle (the same unit of DTN protocol
   data) might exist concurrently in different parts of a network -
   possibly in different representations - in the memory local to one or
   more bundle nodes and/or in transit between nodes.  In the context of
   the operation of a bundle node, a bundle is an instance of some
   bundle in the network that is in that node's local memory.

   Bundle payload -                  - A bundle payload (or simply "payload") is the
   application data whose conveyance to the bundle's destination is the
   purpose for the transmission of a given bundle.  The terms "bundle
   content", "bundle payload", and "payload" are used interchangeably in
   this document.  The "nominal" payload for a bundle forwarded in
   response to a bundle transmission request is the application data
   unit whose location is provided as a parameter to that request.  The
   nominal payload for a bundle forwarded in response to reception of
   that bundle is the payload of the received bundle.

   Fragment -            - A fragment is a bundle whose content is a fragmentary
   payload.  A fragmentary payload is either the first N bytes or the
   last N bytes of some other payload -                                      - either a nominal payload or a
   fragmentary payload -                       - of length M, such that 0 < N < M.

   Bundle node -               - A bundle node (or, in the context of this document,
   simply a "node") is any entity that can send and/or receive bundles.
   In the most familiar case a bundle node is instantiated as a single
   process running on a general-purpose computer, but in general the
   definition is meant to be broader; a bundle node might alternatively
   be a thread, an object in an object-oriented operating system, a
   special-purpose hardware device, etc.  Each bundle node has three
   conceptual components, defined below: a "bundle protocol agent", a
   set of zero or more "convergence layer adapters", and an "application
   agent".

   Bundle protocol agent -                         - The bundle protocol agent (BPA) of a node is
   the node component that offers the BP service interface and executes
   the procedures of the Bundle Protocol.  The manner in which it does
   so is wholly an implementation matter.  For example, BPA
   functionality might be coded into each node individually; it might be
   implemented as a shared library that is used in common by any number
   of bundle nodes on a single computer; it might be implemented as a
   daemon whose services are invoked via inter-process or network
   communication by any number of bundle nodes on one or more computers;
   it might be implemented in hardware.



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   Convergence layer adapters -                              - A convergence layer adapter (CLA) sends
   and receives bundles on behalf of the BPA, utilizing the services of
   some 'native' internet protocol that is supported in one of the
   internets within which the node is functionally located.  The manner
   in which a CLA sends and receives bundles is wholly an implementation
   matter, exactly as described for the BPA.

   Application agent -                     - The application agent (AA) of a node is the node
   component that utilizes the BP service interface, presenting requests
   and receiving indications, to effect communication for some purpose.
   The application agent in turn has two elements, an administrative
   element and an application-specific element.  The application-
   specific element of an AA constructs, requests transmission of,
   accepts delivery of, and processes application-specific application
   data units; the only interface between the BPA and the application-
   specific element of the AA is the BP service interface.  The
   administrative element of an AA constructs and requests transmission
   of administrative records (status reports and custody signals), and
   it accepts delivery of and processes any custody signals that the
   node receives; in addition to the BP service interface, there is a
   (conceptual) private control interface between the BPA and the
   administrative element of the AA that enables each to direct the
   other to take action under specific circumstances.  In the case of a
   node that serves simply as a "router" in the overlay network, the AA
   may have no application-specific element at all; the application-
   specific elements of other nodes' AAs may perform arbitrarily complex
   application functions, perhaps even offering multiplexed DTN
   communication services to a number of other applications.  As with
   the BPA, the manner in which the AA performs its functions is wholly
   an implementation matter; in particular, the administrative element
   of an AA might be built into the library or daemon or hardware that
   implements the BPA, and the application-specific element of an AA
   might be implemented either in software or in hardware.

   Bundle endpoint -                   - A bundle endpoint (or simply "endpoint") is a set
   of zero or more bundle nodes that all identify themselves for BP
   purposes by some single text string, called a "bundle endpoint ID"
   (or, in this document, simply "endpoint ID"; endpoint IDs are
   described in detail in 3.5 below).   In the most familiar case a
   bundle endpoint comprises a single bundle node (and in fact some
   endpoints are not permitted to comprise multiple nodes, as discussed
   below), but in general this definition too is meant to be broader.
   For example, the motes in a sensor network might constitute a set of
   bundle nodes that identify themselves by a single common endpoint ID
   and thus form a single bundle endpoint.  **Note** too that a given
   bundle node might identify itself by multiple endpoint IDs and thus
   be a member of multiple bundle endpoints.

   Forwarding - When the bundle protocol agent of a node determines that
   a bundle must be "forwarded" to an endpoint, it causes the bundle to
   be sent to all of the nodes that the bundle protocol agent currently


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   believes are in the "minimum reception group" of that endpoint.  The
   minimum reception group of an endpoint may be any one of the
   following: (a) ALL of the nodes registered in an endpoint that is
   permitted to contain multiple nodes (in which case forwarding to the
   endpoint is functionally similar to "multicast" operations in the
   Internet, though possibly very different in implementation); (b) ANY
   N of the nodes registered in an endpoint that is permitted to contain
   multiple nodes, where N is in the range from zero to the cardinality
   of the endpoint (in which case forwarding to the endpoint is
   functionally similar to "anycast" operations in the Internet); (c)
   THE SOLE NODE registered in an endpoint that is not permitted to
   contain more than one node (in which case forwarding to the endpoint
   is functionally similar to "unicast" operations in the Internet).
   The nature of the minimum reception group for a given endpoint can be
   determined from the endpoint's ID (again, see 3.5 below): for some
   endpoint ID "schemes", the nature of the minimum reception group is
   fixed - in a manner that is defined by the scheme - for all endpoints
   identified under the scheme; for other schemes, the nature of the
   minimum reception group is indicated by some lexical feature of the
   "scheme-specific part" of the endpoint ID, in a manner that is
   defined by the scheme.

   Registration -                - A registration is the state machine characterizing a
   given node's membership in a given endpoint.  Any single registration
   must at any time be in one of two states (discussed later): Active,
   Passive.  Any number of registrations may be concurrently associated
   with a given endpoint, and any number of registrations may be
   concurrently associated with a given node.

   Delivery -            - Upon reception, the processing of a bundle that has been
   sent to a given node depends on whether or not the receiving node is
   registered in the bundle's destination endpoint; if it is, then the
   bundle is "delivered" to the node's application agent subject to the
   registration characterizing the node's membership in the destination
   endpoint.  A bundle is considered to have been delivered at a node
   subject to a registration as soon as a Data.indication service
   primitive containing the bundle's payload has been issued to the
   node's application agent in a manner consistent with the state of
   that registration and, as applicable, the registration's delivery
   failure action.

   Deliverability, Abandonment -                               - A bundle is considered "deliverable"
   subject to a registration if and only if (a) the bundle's destination
   endpoint is the endpoint with which the registration is associated,
   (b) the bundle has not yet been delivered subject to this
   registration, and (c) delivery of the bundle subject to this
   registration has not been abandoned.  To "abandon" delivery of a
   bundle subject to a registration is simply to declare it no longer
   deliverable subject to that registration; normally only
   registrations' registered delivery failure actions cause deliveries
   to be abandoned.


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   Deletion, Discarding -                        - A bundle protocol agent "discards" a bundle by
   simply ceasing all operations on the bundle and functionally erasing
   all references to it; the specific procedures by which this is
   accomplished are an implementation matter.  Bundles are discarded
   silently, i.e., the discarding of a bundle does not result in
   generation of an administrative record or issuance of a service
   interface indication.  "Retention constraints" are elements of bundle
   state that prevent a bundle from being discarded; a bundle cannot be
   discarded while it has any retention constraints.  A bundle protocol
   agent "deletes" a bundle in response to some anomalous condition by
   notifying the bundle's report-to endpoint of the deletion (provided
   such notification is warranted; see 4.13 for details) and then
   arbitrarily removing all of the bundle's retention constraints,
   enabling the bundle to be discarded.

   Transmission -                - A transmission is a sustained effort by a node's
   bundle protocol agent to cause a bundle to be sent to all nodes in
   the minimum reception set of some endpoint (which may be the bundle's
   destination or may be some intermediate forwarding endpoint) in
   response to a transmission request issued by the node's application
   agent.  Any number of transmissions may be concurrently undertaken by
   the bundle protocol agent of a given node.

   Custody -           - To "accept custody" upon forwarding a bundle is to commit
   to retaining a copy of the bundle - possibly re-forwarding the bundle
   when the necessity to do so is determined - until custody of that
   bundle is "released".  Custody of a bundle is released when either
   (a) notification is received that some other node has accepted
   custody of the same bundle, (b) notification is received that the
   bundle has been delivered at some node in the bundle's delivery
   endpoint, or (c) the bundle is explicitly deleted for some reason,
   such as lifetime expiration.  To "refuse custody" of a bundle is to
   decide not to accept custody of the bundle.  A "custodial node" of a
   bundle is a node that has accepted custody of the bundle and has not
   yet released that custody.  A "custodian" of a bundle is an endpoint
   whose membership includes at least one of the bundle's custodial
   nodes.

2.2 Services offered by bundle protocol agents

   The bundle protocol agent of each node is expected to provide the
   following services to the node's application agent:

      a) transmitting a bundle to an identified bundle endpoint;
      b) canceling a transmission;
      c) switching a registration between active and passive state;
      d) polling a registration that is in passive state;
      e) delivering a received bundle.




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2.3 Summary of Primitives

   The list of primitives specified here is neither exhaustive or
   exclusive.  That is, supplementary DTN protocol specifications
   (including, but not restricted to, the Bundle Security Protocol) may
   expect BP implementations conforming to those protocols to offer
   additional primitives.

2.3.1 Requests

   The bundle protocol is expected to consume the following request
   primitives:

      a) Transmit.request;
      b) Cancel.request
      c) Register.request;
      d) Start_delivery.request;
      e) Stop_delivery.request;
      f) Change_registration.request;
      g) Deregister.request;
      h) Poll.request;

2.3.2 Indications

   The bundle protocol is expected to issue the following indication
   primitives:

      a) Data.indication;
      b) TransmitError.indication
      c) Transmission.indication
      d) Registration.indication

2.4 Summary of Parameters

   NOTE  -  The availability and use of parameters for each primitive
   are indicated in section 2.5.  The following definitions apply.

2.4.1 Destination endpoint ID

   The destination endpoint ID parameter identifies the bundle endpoint
   containing the nodes at which the bundle is to be delivered.

2.4.2 Source endpoint ID

   The source endpoint ID parameter identifies the bundle endpoint
   containing the node from which the bundle was initially transmitted.

2.4.3 Report-to endpoint ID

   The report-to endpoint ID parameter identifies the bundle endpoint to
   which any bundle status reports pertaining to the bundle should be


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   transmitted.

2.4.4 Priority

   The priority parameter indicates the urgency with which the bundle is
   to be forwarded and delivered.  Its value is one of the following:
      o Bulk
      o Normal
      o Expedited

2.4.5 Delivery Options

   The delivery options parameter indicates what optional procedures
   must be followed when forwarding and delivering the bundle.  Its
   value is a combination of zero or more of the following:
      o Custody transfer required
      o Report when bundle received
      o Report when bundle custody accepted
      o Report when bundle forwarded
      o Report when bundle delivered (a.k.a. return receipt requested)
      o Report when bundle deleted

2.4.6 Lifespan

   The lifespan parameter indicates the length of time, following the
   initial transmission of a bundle, after which bundle nodes need no
   longer retain or forward the bundle.  The sum of the bundle's
   creation time and lifespan is its delivery deadline, the moment at
   which it is expected to be deleted from the DTN network if it has not
   already been delivered at all nodes in the minimum reception set of
   its destination endpoint.

2.4.7 Transmission Token

   The transmission token parameter identifies a transmission, enabling
   it to be distinguished from all other transmissions.

2.4.8 Application Data Unit

   The application data unit parameter indicates the location (in memory
   or non-volatile storage, a local implementation matter) of the
   application data conveyed by the bundle.

2.4.9 Registration Token

   The registration token parameter identifies a registration, enabling
   it to be distinguished from all other registrations.

2.4.10        Delivery Failure Action

   The delivery failure action parameter indicates what action is to be


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   taken when a bundle that is deliverable subject to the registration
   is received at a time when the registration is in the Passive state.
   Its value is one of the following:
      o Defer delivery of the bundle subject to this registration until
        (a) this bundle is the least recently received of all bundles
        currently deliverable subject to this registration and (b)
        either the registration is polled or else the registration is
        in active state.
      o Abandon delivery of the bundle subject to this registration.
      o Defer delivery as above and, in addition, immediately execute a
        specified procedure, where the expression of the procedure to
        be executed is a matter of local implementation.

2.4.11       Bundle creation time

   The bundle creation time indicates the time, at 1-second granularity,
   at which the Transmit.request primitive was received that resulted in
   the creation of this bundle.  This is the time that appears in the
   high-order 4 bytes of the Creation Timestamp discussed in 3.6.1
   below.

2.5 Bundle Protocol Service Primitives

   The list of parameters specified here for each BP primitive is
   neither exhaustive or exclusive.  That is, supplementary DTN protocol
   specifications (including, but not restricted to, the Bundle Security
   Protocol) may expect BP implementations conforming to those protocols
   to provide additional parameters with specified primitives.

2.5.1 TRANSMIT.REQUEST

   The Transmit.request primitive requests transmission of a bundle to a
   destination endpoint.

   Semantics: Transmit.request provides parameters as follows:
      Transmit.request(source endpoint ID,
                     destination endpoint ID,
                     report-to endpoint ID,
                     priority,
                     delivery options,
                     lifespan,
                     application data unit,
                     transmission token)

   When Presented: Transmit.request may be presented at any time.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Transmit.request causes the BPA to
   follow the transmission request procedure described in section 4.2;
   this will normally result in issuance of a Transmission.indication.
   That indication will include the transmission token provided with the
   Transmit.request primitive, enabling the AA to monitor and control


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   the state of the transmission.

   Additional Comments: None.

2.5.2 CANCEL.REQUEST

   The Cancel.request primitive requests that a bundle transmission
   previously initiated in response to a Transmit.request be canceled.

   Semantics: Cancel.request provides parameters as follows:
      Cancel.request (  transmission token)

   When Presented: Cancel.request for a given transmission may be
   presented at any time after the BPA has issued a
   Transmission.indication indicating initiation of that transmission.
   A Cancel.request should be presented if the AA determines that the
   referenced transmission must be terminated for some reason.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Cancel.request causes the BPA to delete
   the bundle created upon initiation of the indicated transmission for
   the reason "transmission canceled": the bundle deletion procedure
   defined in 4.13 must be followed.

   Additional Comments: If the subject bundle has already been
   discarded, the request has no effect.

2.5.3 REGISTER.REQUEST

   The Register.request primitive requests that the node be declared a
   member of a specified endpoint and that received bundles destined for
   that endpoint be delivered, under specified conditions.

   Semantics: Register.request provides parameters as follows:
      Register.request( delivery failure action,
                        registration token,
                        destination endpoint ID)

   When Presented: Register.request may be presented at any time.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Register.request causes the BPA to
   initiate a registration, resulting in issuance of a
   Registration.indication.  The indication includes the registration
   token provided with the Register.request primitive, enabling the AA
   to monitor and control the state of the registration.  The indicated
   registration is initially in the Passive state.  Whenever the
   registration is in the Passive state, the indicated delivery failure
   action is to be performed whenever the node receives a bundle that is
   deliverable subject to this registration.

   Additional Comments: Multiple nodes may be registered - in fact, a
   single node may be registered multiple times - at the same endpoint.


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   Where this is the case, the delivery rules specified for each
   individual registration must be observed with regard to bundle
   delivery subject to that registration.

   Implementations may require that an expiration time additionally be
   specified when Register.request is presented, to enable conservation
   of resources by automatic termination of registrations as their
   timers expire.

2.5.4 START-DELIVERY.REQUEST

   The Start-delivery.request primitive requests that the state of the
   specified registration be changed from Passive to Active.

   Semantics: Start-delivery.request provides parameters as follows:
      Start-delivery.request( registration token)

   When Presented: Start_delivery.request may be presented at any time
   when the indicated registration is in the Passive state.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Start-delivery.request causes the state
   of the registration to change from Passive to Active.  While the
   state of a registration is Active, reception of a bundle that is
   deliverable subject to this registration causes the bundle to be
   delivered automatically as soon as it is the least recently received
   bundle that is currently deliverable subject to the registration.

   Additional Comments: None.

2.5.5 STOP-DELIVERY.REQUEST

   The Stop-delivery.request primitive requests that the state of the
   specified registration be changed from Active to Passive.

   Semantics: Stop-delivery.request provides parameters as follows:
      Stop-delivery.request( registration token)

   When Presented: Stop-delivery.request may be presented at any time
   when the indicated registration is in the Active state.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Stop-delivery.request causes the state
   of the registration to change from Active to Passive.  While the
   state of a registration is Passive, reception of a bundle that is
   deliverable subject to this registration causes delivery of the
   bundle to be abandoned or deferred in accord with the registration's
   current delivery failure action; in the latter case it also causes
   the current user-specified delivery failure action, if any, to be
   performed.

   Additional Comments: None.



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2.5.6 CHANGE-REGISTRATION.REQUEST

   The Change-registration.request primitive amends the measures to be
   taken when a bundle that is deliverable subject to the specified
   registration is received by the associated node at a time when the
   registration is in the Passive state.

   Semantics: Change-registration.request provides parameters as
   follows:
      Change-registration.request(  registration token,
                                    delivery failure action)

   When Presented: Change-registration.request may be presented at any
   time.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Change-registration.request causes the
   indicated registrationÆs current delivery failure action to be
   superseded such that, from this time onward, the indicated delivery
   failure action is invoked whenever a bundle that is deliverable
   subject to this registration is received at a time when the
   registration is in the Passive state.

   Additional Comments: None.

2.5.7 DEREGISTER.REQUEST

   The Deregister.request primitive requests that a registration
   previously initiated in response to a Register.request be terminated.

   Semantics: Deregister.request provides parameters as follows:
      Deregister.request(  registration token)

   When Presented: Deregister.request may be presented at any time.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Deregister.request terminates the
   indicated registration, causing the node no longer to be a member of
   the endpoint with which the indicated registration is associated.  At
   this time all delivery of bundles subject to this registration is
   abandoned.

   Additional Comments: Implementations are free to recover any
   resources allocated to the delivery of bundles subject to the
   terminated registration.

2.5.8 POLL.REQUEST

   The Poll.request primitive explicitly requests delivery of a bundle
   whose delivery was deferred.

   Semantics: Poll.request provides parameters as follows:
      Poll.request(  registration token)


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   When Presented: Poll.request may be presented at any time when the
   indicated registration is in the Passive state.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Poll.request causes immediate delivery
   of the least recently received bundle that is deliverable subject to
   the indicated registration.

   Additional Comments: None.

2.5.9 DATA.INDICATION

   The Data.indication primitive effects the delivery of a bundle.

   Semantics: Data.indication provides parameters as follows:
      Data.indication(  source endpoint ID,
                        destination endpoint ID,
                        report-to endpoint ID,
                        priority,
                        delivery options,
                        lifespan,
                        application data unit)

   When Issued: Data.indication is issued whenever a bundle is
   delivered.

   Effect on Receipt: The effect on receipt of a Data.indication whose
   application data unit is a custody signal causes the custody signal
   reception procedures detailed in section 5.3 to be followed.  Beyond
   this, the effect on receipt of Data.indication is undefined.

   Additional Comments: As noted above, delivery of a bundle subject to
   a registration may be initiated either in response to a Poll.request
   primitive (when the registration is in the Passive state) or
   automatically upon delivery of all previously received deliverable
   bundles (when the registration is in the Active state).

2.5.10        TRANSMITERROR.INDICATION

   The TransmitError.indication primitive delivers information about
   bundle transmission requests that are rejected.

   Semantics: TransmitError.indication provides parameters as follows:
      TransmitError.indication(  transmission token)

   When Issued: TransmitError.indication is issued when a
   Transmit.request primitive is rejected.

   Effect on Receipt: The effect on receipt of TransmitError.indication
   is undefined.



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   Additional Comments: None.

2.5.11        TRANSMISSION.INDICATION

   The Transmission.indication primitive notifies the application agent
   that a bundle transmission has been initiated in response to a
   particular Transmit.request primitive.

   Semantics: Transmission.indication provides parameters as follows:
      Transmission.indication (  transmission token)

   When Issued: Transmission.indication is issued when a requested
   bundle transmission is initiated.  The transmission token parameter
   is the same as that supplied with the antecedent Transmit.request
   primitive.

   Effect on Receipt: The effect on receipt of Transmission.indication
   is undefined.

   Additional Comments: None.

2.5.12        REGISTRATION.INDICATION

   The Registration.indication primitive notifies the application agent
   that a registration has been initiated in response to a particular
   Register.request primitive.

   Semantics: Registration.indication provides parameters as follows:
      Registration.indication (  registration token)

   When Issued: RegistrationToken.indication is issued when a requested
   registration is initiated.  The registration token parameter is the
   same as that supplied with the antecedent Register.request primitive.

   Effect on Receipt: The effect on receipt of
   RegistrationToken.indication is undefined.

   Additional Comments: None.

3.   Bundle Format

   Each bundle is a concatenated sequence of at least two bundle header
   structures.  The first header in the sequence must be a primary
   bundle header.  Additional bundle protocol headers of other types may
   follow the primary header to support extensions to the Bundle
   Protocol, such as the Bundle Security Protocol.  The last header in
   the sequence must be a payload header.  No bundle may have more than
   one primary bundle header, and no bundle may have more than one
   payload header.




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3.1 Canonical Bundle Header Format

   Every bundle header of every type other than the primary bundle
   header comprises the following elements, in this order:
      o Header type code, expressed as an 8-bit unsigned binary
        integer.
      o Header processing control flags, a set of eight bit-flag
        values.
      o Header data length, an unsigned integer expressed as an SDNV
        (explained below).
      o Header-type-specific data fields, whose format and order are
        type-specific and whose aggregate length in octets is the value
        of the header data length field.  All multi-byte header-type-
        specific data fields are represented in network byte order.

3.2 Header Processing Flags

   The following Boolean processing control flags are present in the
   header processing control flags byte of every bundle header other
   than the primary bundle header of each bundle:

   00000001 -  Header must be replicated in every fragment.
   00000010 -  Transmit status report if header can't be processed.
   00000100 -  Discard bundle if header can't be processed.
   00001000 -  Reserved for future use.
   00010000 -  Reserved for future use.
   00100000 -  Reserved for future use.
   01000000 -  Reserved for future use.
   10000000 -  Reserved for future use.

3.3 Bundle Processing Flags

   The following Boolean processing control flags are present only in
   the bundle processing control flags byte of the primary bundle header
   of each bundle:

   00000001 -  Bundle is a fragment.
   00000010 -  Application data unit is an administrative record.
   00000100 -  Bundle must not be fragmented.
   00001000 -  Reserved for future use.
   00010000 -  Reserved for future use.
   00100000 -  Reserved for future use.
   01000000 -  Reserved for future use.
   10000000 -  Reserved for future use.

3.4 Self-Delimiting Numeric Values (SDNV)

   The design of the bundle protocol attempts to reconcile minimal
   consumption of transmission bandwidth with:
      o extensibility to address requirements not yet identified, and
      o scalability across a wide range of network scales and payload


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        sizes.

   A key strategic element in the design is the use of self-delimiting
   numeric values (SDNVs).  The SDNV encoding scheme is closely adapted
   from the Abstract Syntax Notation One [ASN1] scheme for encoding
   Object Identifier Arcs.  An SDNV is a numeric value encoded in N
   octets, the last of which has its most significant bit (MSB) set to
   zero; the MSB of every other octet in the SDNV must be set to 1.  The
   value encoded in an SDNV is the unsigned binary number obtained by
   concatenating into a single bit string the 7 least significant bits
   of each octet of the SDNV.

   The following examples illustrate the encoding scheme for various
   hexadecimal values.

   0xABC  : 1010 1011 1100
            is encoded as
            {100 1010 1} {0 011 1100}
            = 10010101 00111100

   0x1234 : 0001 0010 0011 0100
          =    1 0010 0011 0100
            is encoded as
            {10 1 0010 0} {0 011 0100}
            = 10100100 00110100

   0x4234 : 0100 0010 0011 0100
          =  100 0010 0011 0100
            is encoded as
            {1000000 1} {1 00 0010 0} {0 011 0100}
            = 10000001 10000100 00110100

   0x7F   : 0111 1111
          =  111 1111
            is encoded as
            {0 111 1111}
            = 01111111

   Note: Care must be taken to make sure that the value to be encoded is
   (in concept) padded with high-order zero bits to make its bitwise
   length a multiple of 7 before encoding.  Also note that, while there
   is no theoretical limit on the size of an SDNV field, the overhead of
   the SDNV scheme is 1/8-th of the bitwise length of the value to be
   encoded.  In order to encode an 64-bit numeric value, an SDNV field
   of 9 octets is required.  128 bits of overhead would be consumed in
   encoding a 1024-bit RSA encryption key directly in an SDNV.

   An SDNV can be used to represent both very large and very small
   integer values.  However, SDNV is clearly not the best way to
   represent every numeric value.  For example, an SDNV is a poor way to
   represent an integer whose value typically falls in the range 128 to


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   255.  In general, though, we believe that SDNV representation of
   numeric values in bundle headers yields the smallest bundle header
   sizes without sacrificing scalability.

3.5 Endpoint IDs

   The destinations of bundles are bundle endpoints, identified by text
   strings termed "endpoint IDs" (see section 2.1).  Each endpoint ID
   conveyed in any bundle header takes the form of a Uniform Resource
   Identifier (URI; [RFC3986]).  As such, each endpoint ID can be
   characterized as having this general structure:

            <scheme name>:<scheme-specific part, or "SSP">

   As used for the purposes of the bundle protocol, neither the length
   of a scheme name nor the length of an SSP may exceed 1023 bytes.

   Bundle headers cite a number of endpoint IDs for various purposes of
   the bundle protocol.  Many, though not necessarily all, of the
   endpoint IDs referred to in the headers of a given bundle are
   conveyed in the "dictionary" byte array in the bundle's primary
   header.  This array is simply the concatenation of any number of
   null-terminated scheme names and SSPs.

   "Endpoint ID references" are used to cite endpoint IDs that are
   contained in the dictionary; all endpoint ID citations in the primary
   bundle header are endpoint ID references, and other bundle headers
   may contain endpoint ID references as well.  Each endpoint ID is an
   ordered pair of 16-bit unsigned integers:

      o The offset, within the dictionary, of the first character of
        the referenced endpoint ID's scheme name.

      o The offset, within the dictionary, of the first character of
        the referenced endpoint ID's SSP.

   This encoding enables a degree of header compression: when the source
   and report-to of a bundle are the same endpoint, for example, the
   text of that endpoint's ID may be cited twice yet appear only once in
   the dictionary.

   The scheme identified by the <scheme name> in an endpoint ID is a set
   of syntactic and semantic rules that fully explain how to parse and
   interpret the SSP.  The set of allowable schemes is effectively
   unlimited.  Two schemes are defined by the present document:

     o The base scheme "bp0", whose SSPs are all of this form:

                    //<host identifier>[:<port number>][/<application tag>]

        <host identifier> may be either a DNS name or the dotted string


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        representation of an IP address.  <application tag>, where
        present, may be any ASCII string. The convergence-layer
        protocol to use in forwarding a bundle to an endpoint
        identified by an endpoint ID conforming to this scheme is
        determined by consulting a forwarding information base, as is
        the port number on which to exercise that protocol (except
        where the port number is explicitly declared in the SSP).  An
        endpoint identified by a "bp0" endpoint ID may contain at most
        one node.

     o The "none" scheme, which is used only in the null endpoint ID
        "none:.".  The forwarding of a bundle to the null endpoint is
        never contraindicated, and the minimum reception set for the
        null endpoint is the empty set.

   Note that, although the endpoint IDs conveyed in bundle headers are
   expressed as URIs, implementations of the BP service interface may
   support expression of endpoint IDs in some internationalized manner
   (e.g., IRIs; see RFC 3987) in Transmit.request and Data.indication
   primitives.

3.6 Formats of Mandatory Bundle Headers

   This section describes the formats of the two mandatory headers found
   in every bundle.  Rules for processing these headers appear in
   section 4 of this document.

   Note that the list of BP headers specified here is neither exhaustive
   or exclusive.  That is, supplementary DTN protocol specifications
   (including, but not restricted to, the Bundle Security Protocol) may
   require that BP implementations conforming to those protocols
   construct and process additional headers.

                     Table 1: Bundle Header Type Codes
+--------------------+------+---------------------------------------+
|       Header       | Type |              Comment                  |
+====================+======+=======================================+
+--------------------+------+---------------------------------------+
|  Bundle Payload    | 0x01 |  Contains bundle content.             |
+--------------------+------+---------------------------------------+
|               All other values reserved for future use.           |
+--------------------+------+---------------------------------------+











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   The format of the two mandatory headers is shown in Figure 2 below.

Primary Bundle Header
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|    Version     |  Proc. Flags   |   COS Flags    |Header length(*)|
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|   Destination scheme offset     |     Destination SSP offset      |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|      Source scheme offset       |        Source SSP offset        |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|    Report-to scheme offset      |      Report-to SSP offset       |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|    Custodian scheme offset      |      Custodian SSP offset       |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|                                                                   |
+                    Creation Timestamp (8 bytes)                   +
|                                                                   |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
|                             Lifetime                              |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|                        Dictionary length (**)                     |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|                  Dictionary byte array (variable)                 |
+----------------+----------------+---------------------------------+
|                      [Fragment offset (***)]                      |
+----------------+----------------+---------------------------------+
|              [Total application data unit length (****)]          |
+----------------+----------------+---------------------------------+



Bundle Payload Header
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|  Header type   |  Proc. Flags   |        Header length(*****)     |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|                                                                   |
|                     Bundle Payload (variable)                     |
|                                                                   |
/                                                                   /
/                                                                   /
|                                                                   |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

                 Figure 2:   Bundle header formats.
   Notes:

   (*)  The header length field of the Primary Bundle Header is an SDNV
   and is therefore variable-length.  A one-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.

   (**)  The dictionary length field of the Primary Bundle Header is an


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   SDNV and is therefore variable-length.  A four-octet SDNV is shown
   here for convenience in representation.

   (***)  The fragment offset field of the Primary Bundle Header is
   present only if the Fragment flag in the header's processing flags
   byte is set to 1.  It is an SDNV and is therefore variable-length; a
   four-octet SDNV is shown here for convenience in representation.

   (****)  The total application data unit length field of the Primary
   Bundle Header is present only if the Fragment flag in the header's
   processing flags byte is set to 1.  It is an SDNV and is therefore
   variable-length; a four-octet SDNV is shown here for convenience in
   representation.

   (*****)  The header length field of the Payload Header is an SDNV and
   is therefore variable-length.  A two-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.

3.6.1 Primary Bundle Header

   The primary bundle header contains the basic information needed to
   route bundles to their destinations.  The fields of the primary
   bundle header are:

   Version.  A 1-byte field indicating the version of the bundle
          protocol that constructed this header.  The present document
          describes version 0x04 of the bundle protocol.

   Bundle Processing Control Flags.  The Bundle Processing Control Flags
          field is a 1-byte field that contains the bundle processing
          control flags discussed in section 3.3 above.

   Class of Service Flags.  The COS Flags byte consists of a 1-bit
          custody transfer required switch followed by two (2) bits of
          priority and five (5) bits of delivery record request flags.
          If the custody transfer required switch is 1 then the sending
          node requests that the receiving node accept custody of the
          bundle.  The two-bit priority field indicates the bundle's
          priority, with higher values being of higher priority: 00 =
          bulk, 01 = normal, 10 = expedited, 11 is reserved for future
          use.  The interpretation of the delivery record request flags
          is as follows.











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         Table 2: Delivery Record Request Flag Meanings

         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  Value  |                  Meaning                   |
         +=========+============================================+
         |  00000  |  No delivery records requested.            |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  00001  |  Request reporting of bundle reception.    |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  00010  |  Request custody acceptance reporting.     |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  00100  |  Request reporting of bundle forwarding.   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  01000  |  Request reporting of bundle delivery.     |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  10000  |  Request reporting of bundle deletion.     |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+

   Header Length.  The Header Length field is an SDNV that contains the
          aggregate length of all remaining fields of the header.

   Destination Scheme Offset.  The Destination Scheme Offset field
          contains the offset within the dictionary byte array of the
          scheme name of the endpoint ID of the bundle's destination.

   Destination SSP Offset.  The Destination SSP Offset field contains
          the offset within the dictionary byte array of the scheme-
          specific part of the endpoint ID of the bundle's destination.

   Source Scheme Offset.  The Source Scheme Offset field contains the
          offset within the dictionary byte array of the scheme name of
          the endpoint ID of the bundle's nominal source.

   Source SSP Offset.  The Source SSP Offset field contains the offset
          within the dictionary byte array of the scheme-specific part
          of the endpoint ID of the bundle's nominal source.

   Report-to Scheme Offset.  The Report-to Scheme Offset field contains
          the offset within the dictionary byte array of the scheme name
          of the ID of the endpoint to which status reports pertaining
          to the forwarding and delivery of this bundle are to be
          transmitted.

   Report-to SSP Offset.  The Report-to SSP Offset field contains the
          offset within the dictionary byte array of the scheme-specific
          part of the ID of the endpoint to which status reports
          pertaining to the forwarding and delivery of this bundle are
          to be transmitted.

   Custodian Scheme Offset.  The "current custodian endpoint ID" of a
          primary bundle header identifies an endpoint whose membership


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          includes the node that most recently accepted custody of the
          bundle upon forwarding this bundle header.  The Custodian
          Scheme Offset field contains the offset within the dictionary
          byte array of the scheme name of the current custodian
          endpoint ID.

   Custodian SSP Offset.  The Destination SSP Offset field contains the
          offset within the dictionary byte array of the scheme-specific
          part of the current custodian endpoint ID.

   Creation Timestamp.  The creation timestamp is an 8-byte field that,
          together with the source endpoint ID and (if applicable) the
          fragment offset, serves to identify the bundle.  The high-
          order four bytes of the timestamp are the bundle's creation
          time, a time value - expressed in seconds since the start of
          the year 2000 - containing the time that the application data
          unit of which this bundle's payload is a part (possibly all)
          was received for initial transmission by the source node's
          bundle protocol agent.  The low-order four bytes of the
          timestamp are the latest value (as of the time the ADU was
          received) of a monotonically increasing positive integer
          counter managed by the source node's bundle protocol agent
          that is reset to zero whenever the current time advances by
          one second.

   Lifetime.   The four-byte lifetime field indicates the time at which
          the bundle's payload will no longer be useful, encoded as a
          number of seconds past the creation time.  When the current
          time is greater than the creation time plus the lifetime, the
          bundle may be deleted from the network.

   Dictionary Length.  The Dictionary Length field is an SDNV that
          contains the length of the dictionary byte array.

   Dictionary.  The Dictionary field is an array of bytes formed by
          concatenating the null-terminated scheme names and SSPs of all
          endpoint IDs referenced by any fields in this Primary Header
          together with, potentially, other endpoint IDs referenced by
          fields in other TBD DTN protocol headers.  Its length is given
          by the value of the Dictionary Length field.

   Fragment Offset.  If the Bundle Processing Control Flags of this
          Primary header indicate that the bundle is a fragment, then
          the Fragment Offset field is an SDNV indicating the offset
          from the start of the original application data unit at which
          the bytes comprising the payload of this bundle were located.
          If not, then the Fragment Offset field is omitted from the
          header.

   Total Application Data Unit Length.  If the Bundle Processing Control
          Flags of this Primary header indicate that the bundle is a


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          fragment, then the Total Application Data Unit Length field is
          an SDNV indicating the total length of the original
          application data unit of which this bundle's payload is a
          part.  If not, then the Total Application Data Unit Length
          field is omitted from the header.

3.6.2 Bundle Payload Header

   The fields of the bundle payload header are:

   Header Type.  The Header Type field is a 1-byte field that indicates
          the type of the header.  Header types are listed in Table 1
          above.

   Header Processing Control Flags.  The Header Processing Control Flags
          field is a 1-byte field that contains the header processing
          control flags discussed in section 3.2 above.

   Header Length.  The Header Length field is an SDNV that contains the
          aggregate length of all remaining fields of the header -                                                                 - which
          is to say, the length of the bundle's payload.

   Payload.  The application data carried by this bundle.

4.   Bundle Processing

   The bundle processing procedures mandated in this section and in
   section 5 govern the operation of the Bundle Protocol Agent and the
   Application Agent administrative element of each bundle node.  They
   are neither exhaustive or exclusive.  That is, supplementary DTN
   protocol specifications (including, but not restricted to, the Bundle
   Security Protocol) may require that additional measures be taken at
   specified junctures in these procedures.  Such additional measures
   shall not override or supersede the mandated bundle protocol
   procedures, except that they may in some cases make these procedures
   moot by requiring, for example, that implementations conforming to
   the supplementary protocol terminate the processing of a given
   incoming or outgoing bundle due to a fault condition recognized by
   that protocol.

4.1 Generation of administrative records

   All initial transmission of bundles is in response to bundle
   transmission requests presented by nodes' application agents.  When
   required to "generate" an administrative record (a bundle status
   report or a custody signal), the bundle protocol agent itself is
   responsible for causing a new bundle to be transmitted, conveying
   that record.  In concept, the bundle protocol agent discharges this
   responsibility by directing the administrative element of the node's
   application agent to construct the record and request its
   transmission as detailed in section 5 below; in practice, the manner


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   in which administrative record generation is accomplished is an
   implementation matter, provided the constraints noted in section 5
   are observed.

   Notes on administrative record terminology:

   a. A "bundle reception status report" is a bundle status report with
   the "reporting node received bundle" flag set to 1.

   b. A "custody acceptance status report" is a bundle status report
   with the "reporting node accepted custody of bundle" flag set to 1.

   c. A "bundle forwarding status report" is a bundle status report with
   the "reporting node forwarded the bundle" flag set to 1.

   d. A "bundle delivery status report" is a bundle status report with
   the "reporting node delivered the bundle" flag set to 1.

   e. A "bundle deletion status report" is a bundle status report with
   the "reporting node deleted the bundle" flag set to 1.

   f. A "Succeeded" custody signal is a custody signal with the "custody
   transfer succeeded" flag set to 1.

   g. A "Failed" custody signal is a custody signal with the "custody
   transfer succeeded" flag set to zero.

   h. The "current custodian" of a bundle is the endpoint identified by
   the current custodian endpoint ID in the bundle's primary header.

4.2 Bundle transmission requests

   The steps in processing a Transmit.request primitive are:

   Step 1: The source endpoint ID provided with the request must be
      either the ID of an endpoint of which the node is a member or else
      the null endpoint ID "none:.".  If the request fails to satisfy
      this condition or any implementation-specific transmission request
      policy that is in effect, a TransmitError.indication must be
      issued to the application agent and processing of the
      Transmit.request must terminate.  Otherwise, transmission of the
      bundle is initiated and processing proceeds from Step 2.

   Step 2: A Transmission.indication must be issued to the application
      agent.

   Step 3: An outbound bundle must be created per the parameters of the
      Transmit.request primitive, with current custodian endpoint ID set
      to the null endpoint ID "none:." and with the retention constraint
      "Dispatch pending".



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   Step 4: Processing proceeds from Step 1 of section 4.3.

4.3 Bundle dispatching

   The steps in dispatching a bundle are:

   Step 1: If the bundle's destination endpoint is an endpoint of which
      the node is a member, the bundle delivery procedure defined in 4.7
      must be followed.

   Step 2: Processing proceeds from Step 1 of section 4.4.

4.4 Bundle forwarding

   The steps in forwarding a bundle are:

   Step 1: The retention constraint "Forward pending" must be added to
      the bundle, and the bundle's "Dispatch pending" retention
      constraint must be removed.

   Step 2: The bundle protocol agent must determine whether or not
      forwarding is contraindicated for any of the reasons listed in
      Table 5.  In particular:

     o The bundle protocol agent must determine which endpoint to
        forward the bundle to.  The bundle protocol agent may choose
        either to forward the bundle directly to its destination
        endpoint (if possible) or else to forward the bundle to some
        other endpoint for further forwarding.  The manner in which
        this decision is made may depend on the scheme name in the
        destination endpoint ID but in any case is beyond the scope of
        this document.  If the agent finds it impossible to select an
        endpoint to forward the bundle to, then forwarding is
        contraindicated for the reason "destination endpoint ID
        unintelligible".

     o Provided the bundle protocol agent succeeded in selecting an
        endpoint to forward the bundle to, the bundle protocol agent
        must select the convergence layer adapter(s) whose services
        will enable the node to send the bundle to the nodes of the
        minimum reception group of the selected endpoint.  The manner
        in which the appropriate convergence layer adapters are
        selected may depend on the scheme name in the destination
        endpoint ID but in any case is beyond the scope of this
        document.  If the agent finds it impossible to select
        convergence layer adapters to use in forwarding this bundle,
        then forwarding is contraindicated for the reason "destination
        endpoint ID unintelligible".

   Step 3: If forwarding of the bundle is determined to be
      contraindicated for any of the reasons listed in Table 5, then the


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      Forwarding Contraindicated procedure defined in 4.4.1 must be
      followed; the remaining steps of section 4 are skipped at this
      time.  Otherwise, (a) if the bundle's custody transfer required
      switch (in the class of service field) is set to 1 then the
      custody transfer procedure defined in section 4.10 must be
      followed; (b) processing proceeds from Step 4.

   Step 4: The bundle protocol agent must invoke the services of the
      selected convergence layer adapter(s) in order to effect the
      sending of the bundle to the nodes of the minimum reception group
      of the selected endpoint.  Determining the time at which the
      bundle is to be sent by each convergence layer adapter is an
      implementation matter.

   Step 5: When all selected convergence layer adapters have informed
      the bundle protocol agent that they have concluded their data
      sending procedures with regard to this bundle:

      o  If the "request reporting of bundle forwarding" flag in the
          bundle's class of service field is set to 1, then a bundle
          forwarding status report must be generated, destined for the
          bundle's report-to endpoint ID.

      o  The bundle's "Forward pending" retention constraint must be
          removed.

4.4.1 Forwarding Contraindicated

   The steps in responding to contraindication of forwarding for some
   reason are:

   Step 1: The bundle protocol agent must determine whether or not to
      declare failure in forwarding the bundle for this reason.  Note -
      this decision is likely to be influenced by the reason for which
      forwarding is contraindicated.

   Step 2: If forwarding failure is declared, then the Forwarding Failed
      procedure defined in 4.4.2 must be followed.  Otherwise, (a) if
      the bundle's custody transfer required switch (in the class of
      service field) is set to 1 then the custody transfer procedure
      defined in section 4.10 must be followed; (b) when - at some
      future time - the forwarding of this bundle ceases to be
      contraindicated, processing proceeds from Step 4 of 4.4.

4.4.2 Forwarding Failed

   The steps in responding to a declaration of forwarding failure for
   some reason are:

   Step 1: If the bundle's custody transfer required switch (in the
      class of service field) is set to 1, the bundle protocol agent


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      must generate a "Failed" custody signal for the bundle, destined
      for the bundle's current custodian; the custody signal must
      contain a reason code corresponding to the reason for which
      forwarding was determined to be contraindicated. (Note that
      discarding the bundle will not delete it from the network, since
      the current custodian still has a copy.)

   Step 2: If the bundle's destination endpoint is an endpoint of which
      the node is a member, then the bundle's "Forward pending"
      retention constraint must be removed.  Otherwise the bundle must
      be deleted: the bundle deletion procedure defined in 4.13 must be
      followed, citing the reason for which forwarding was determined to
      be contraindicated.

4.5 Bundle expiration

   A bundle expires when the current time is greater than the bundle's
   creation time plus its lifetime as specified in the primary bundle
   header.  Bundle expiration may occur at any point in the processing
   of a bundle.  When a bundle expires, the bundle protocol agent must
   delete the bundle for the reason "lifetime expired": the bundle
   deletion procedure defined in 4.13 must be followed.

4.6 Bundle reception

   The steps in processing a bundle received from another node are:

   Step 1: The retention constraint "Dispatch pending" must be added to
      the bundle.

   Step 2: If the "request reporting of bundle reception" flag in the
      bundle's class of service field is set to 1, then a bundle
      reception status report with reason code "No additional
      information" must be generated, destined for the bundle's report-
      to endpoint ID.

   Step 3: If any header in the bundle cannot be processed:

      o  If the header processing flags in the header indicate that a
          status report must be generated in this event, then a bundle
          reception status report with reason code "Header
          unintelligible" must be generated, destined for the bundle's
          report-to endpoint ID.

     o  If the header processing flags in that header indicate that
          the bundle must be discarded in this event, then the bundle
          protocol agent must delete the bundle for the reason "Header
          unintelligible": the bundle deletion procedure defined in 4.13
          must be followed.  Otherwise, processing proceeds from Step 4.

   Step 4: If the bundle's custody transfer required switch (in the


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      class of service field) is set to 1 and the bundle has the same
      source endpoint ID, creation timestamp, and fragment offset as
      another bundle that (a) has not been discarded and (b) currently
      has the retention constraint "Custody accepted", then the bundle
      protocol agent must generate a "Failed" custody signal for this
      bundle with reason code "Redundant reception", destined for this
      bundle's current custodian, and must also remove this bundle's
      "Dispatch pending" retention constraint.  Otherwise, processing
      proceeds from Step 5.

   Step 5: Processing proceeds from Step 1 of section 4.3.

4.7 Local bundle delivery

   The steps in processing a bundle that is destined for an endpoint of
   which this node is a member are:

   Step 1: If the received bundle is a fragment, the application data
      unit reassembly procedure described in 4.9 must be followed.  If
      this procedure results in reassembly of the entire original
      application data unit, processing of this bundle (whose
      fragmentary payload has been replaced by the reassembled
      application data unit) proceeds from Step 2; otherwise the
      retention constraint "Reassembly pending" must be added to the
      bundle and all remaining steps of this procedure are skipped.

   Step 2: For each of the node's current registrations whose endpoint
      ID matches the destination endpoint ID of the bundle:

      o  If the registration is in the Active state, then the bundle
          must be delivered subject to this registration -                                                         - that is, a
          Data.indication primitive containing the bundle's payload must
          be issued to the application agent -                                             - as soon as all previously
          received bundles deliverable subject to this registration have
          been delivered.

     o  If the registration is in the Passive state, then the
          registration's delivery failure action must be taken (see
          2.4.10 above).

   Step 3: If the "request reporting of bundle delivery" flag in the
      bundle's class of service field is set to 1, then a bundle
      delivery status report must be generated, destined for the
      bundle's report-to endpoint ID, as soon as the bundle has been
      delivered subject to at least one registration.  Note that this
      status report only states that the payload has been delivered to
      the application agent, not that the application agent has
      processed that payload.

   Step 4: If the bundle's custody transfer required switch (in the
      class of service field) is set to 1, the bundle protocol agent


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      must generate a "Succeeded" custody signal for the bundle,
      destined for the bundle's current custodian.  The reason code in
      the signal must be "Delivery to application by non-custodian".

4.8      Bundle Fragmentation

   It may at times be necessary for bundle protocol agents to reduce the
   sizes of bundles in order to forward them.  This might be the case,
   for example, if the endpoint to which a bundle is to be forwarded is
   accessible only via intermittent contacts and no upcoming contact is
   long enough to enable the forwarding of the entire bundle.

   The size of a bundle can be reduced by "fragmenting" the bundle.  To
   fragment a bundle whose payload is of size M is to replace it with
   two "fragments" -                   - new bundles with the same source endpoint ID and
   creation timestamp as the original bundle -                                             - whose payloads are the
   first N and the last (M -                           - N) bytes of the original bundle's payload,
   where 0 < N < M.  Note that fragments may themselves be fragmented,
   so fragmentation may in effect replace the original bundle with more
   than two fragments.  (However, there is only one 'level' of
   fragmentation, as in IP fragmentation.)

   Any bundle whose primary header's bundle processing flags do NOT
   indicate that it must not be fragmented MAY be fragmented at any
   time, for any purpose, at the discretion of the bundle protocol
   agent.

   Fragmentation shall be constrained as follows:

     o  The concatenation of the payloads of all fragments produced by
        a fragmentation must always be identical to the payload of the
        bundle that was fragmented.  Note that the payloads of
        fragments resulting from different fragmentation episodes, in
        different parts of the network, may be overlapping subsets of
        the original bundle's payload.

     o  The header processing flags of each header of each fragment
        must be modified to indicate that the bundle is a fragment, and
        both fragment offset and total application data unit length
        must be provided at the end of each fragment's primary bundle
        header.

      o All fragments must contain the same headers as the original
        bundle, except that (a) the primary headers of the fragments
        will differ from that of the fragmented bundle as noted above,
        (b) the payload headers of fragments will differ from that of
        the fragmented bundle, and (c) any header whose header
        processing flags do NOT indicate that the header must be
        replicated in every fragment should be replicated only in the
        fragment whose fragment offset is zero.



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4.9 Application Data Unit Reassembly

  If the concatenation -                       - as informed by fragment offsets and payload
  lengths - of the payloads of all previously received fragments with
  the same source endpoint ID and creation timestamp as this fragment,
  together with the payload of this fragment, forms a byte array whose
  length is equal to the total application data unit length in the
  fragment's primary header, then:

     o  This byte array -                        - the reassembled application data unit -                                                                - must
        replace the payload of this fragment.

     o  The "Reassembly pending" retention constraint must be removed
        from every other fragment whose payload is a subset of the
        reassembled application data unit.

  Note: reassembly of application data units from fragments occurs at
  destination endpoints as necessary; an application data unit MAY also
  be reassembled at some other endpoint on the route to the
  destination.

4.10 Custody transfer

  The decision as to whether or not to accept custody of a bundle is an
  implementation matter which may involve both resource and policy
  considerations; however, if the node is not currently a member of any
  endpoint whose maximum cardinality is 1 (i.e., the node is not
  registered under the ID of some endpoint that is not permitted to
  contain multiple nodes) then custody must be refused.   If the bundle
  protocol agent elects to accept custody of the bundle, then it must
  follow the custody acceptance procedure defined in 4.10.1.

4.10.1        Custody acceptance

   The retention constraint "Custody accepted" must be added to the
   bundle.

   If the "request custody acceptance reporting" flag in the bundle's
   class of service field is set to 1, a custody acceptance status
   report must be generated, destined for the report-to endpoint ID of
   the bundle.  However, if a bundle reception status report was
   generated for this bundle (step 1 of 4.6) then this report should be
   generated by simply turning on the "Reporting node accepted custody
   of bundle" flag in that earlier report's status flags byte.

   The bundle protocol agent must generate a "Succeeded" custody signal
   for the bundle, destined for the bundle's current custodian.  The
   reason code in the signal must be "Acceptance of custody".

   The bundle protocol agent must assert the new current custodian for
   the bundle.  It does so by changing the current custodian endpoint


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   ID in the bundle's primary header to the endpoint ID of one of the
   endpoints of maximum cardinality 1 in which the node is registered.
   This may entail appending that endpoint ID's null-terminated scheme
   name and SSP to the dictionary byte array in the bundle's primary
   header.

   The bundle protocol agent may set a custody transfer countdown timer
   for this bundle; upon expiration of this timer prior to expiration
   of the bundle itself and prior to custody transfer success for this
   bundle, the custody transfer failure procedure detailed in section
   4.12 must be followed.  The manner in which the countdown interval
   for such a timer is determined is an implementation matter.

   The bundle should be retained in persistent storage if possible.

4.10.2        Custody release

   When custody of a bundle is released, the "Custody accepted"
   retention constraint must be removed from the bundle and any custody
   transfer timer that has been established for this bundle must be
   destroyed.

4.11 Custody transfer success

   Upon receipt of a "Succeeded" custody signal at a node that is a
   custodial node of the bundle identified in the custody signal, the
   bundle protocol agent must determine whether or not this signal,
   together with all other previously received "Succeeded" signals for
   the same bundle (if any), demonstrates that custody of this bundle
   has been successfully transferred; the manner in which this
   determination is made is an implementation matter.  If the BPA
   determines that custody has indeed been successfully transferred,
   then custody of the node must be released in accord with the
   procedures described in 4.10.2.

4.12 Custody transfer failure

   Upon receipt of a "Failed" custody signal at a node that is a
   custodial node of the bundle identified in the custody signal, the
   action taken by the bundle protocol agent is implementation-dependent
   and may depend on the nature of the failure.  For example, if custody
   transfer failure was inferred from expiration of a custody transfer
   timer or was asserted by a "Failed" custody signal with the "Depleted
   storage" reason code, the bundle protocol agent might choose to re-
   forward the bundle, possibly on a different route (section 4.4).
   Receipt of a "Failed" custody signal with the "Redundant reception"
   reason code, on the other hand, might cause the bundle protocol agent
   to handle the failure in the same way as a custody transfer success
   (4.11) and to revise its algorithm for computing countdown intervals
   for custody transfer timers.



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4.13 Bundle deletion

   The steps in deleting a bundle are:

   Step 1: If the retention constraint "Custody accepted" currently
      prevents this bundle from being discarded, then:

      o  Custody of the node is released in accord with the procedures
          described in 4.10.2.

      o  A bundle deletion status report citing the reason for deletion
          must be generated, destined for the bundle's report-to
          endpoint ID.

      Otherwise, if the "request reporting of bundle deletion" flag in
      the bundle's class of service field is set to 1, then a bundle
      deletion status report citing the reason for deletion must be
      generated, destined for the bundle's report-to endpoint ID.

   Step 2: All of the bundle's retention constraints must be removed.

4.14 Discarding a bundle

   As soon as a bundle has no remaining retention constraints it may be
   discarded.

5.   Administrative record processing

5.1 Administrative records

   Two types of administrative records have been defined to date: bundle
   status reports and custody signals.

   Every administrative record consists of an eight-bit record type
   code, followed by record content in type-specific format.  Record
   type codes are defined as follows:

         Table 4: Administrative Record Type Codes

         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  Value  |                  Meaning                   |
         +=========+============================================+
         |  0x01   |  Bundle status report.                     |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x02   |  Custody signal.                           |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         | (other) |  Reserved for future use.                  |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+

   The contents of the various types of administrative records are
   described below.


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5.1.1 Bundle Status Reports

   The  transmission  of  'bundle  status  reports'  under  specified
   conditions is an option that can be invoked when a Transmit.request
   primitive is presented.  These reports are intended to provide
   information about how bundles are progressing through the system,
   including notices of receipt, custody transfer, forwarding, final
   delivery, and deletion.  They are transmitted to the Report-to
   endpoints of bundles.

   Status reports have the following format.

   Bundle Status Report for bundle 'X':

+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|  Status Flags  |  Reason code   |       Fragment offset (*) (if
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
    present)     |      Fragment length (**) (if present)           |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|
+        Time of receipt of bundle X (8 bytes, if present)          +
                                                                    |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|
+       Time of forwarding of bundle X (8 bytes, if present)        +
                                                                    |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|
+        Time of delivery of bundle X (8 bytes, if present)         +
                                                                    |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|
+        Time of deletion of bundle X (8 bytes, if present)         +
                                                                    |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|
+           Copy of bundle X's Creation Timestamp (8 bytes)         +
                                                                    |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|      Length of X's source endpoint ID (***)      |   Source
+----------------+---------------------------------+                +
                     endpoint ID of bundle X (variable)             |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+

   Notes:

   (*)  The Fragment Offset field, if present, is an SDNV and is
   therefore variable-length.  A three-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.



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   (**)  The Fragment Length field, if present, is an SDNV and is
   therefore variable-length.  A three-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.

   (***)  The source endpoint ID length field is an SDNV and is
   therefore variable-length.  A three-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.

   The fields in a bundle status report are:

   Status Flags.  A 1-byte field containing the following flags:

         Table 4: Status Flags for Bundle Status Reports

         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  Value  |                  Meaning                   |
         +=========+============================================+
         |  0x01   |  Reporting node received bundle.           |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x02   |  Reporting node accepted custody of bundle.|
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x04   |  Reporting node forwarded the bundle.      |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x08   |  Reporting node delivered the bundle.      |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x10   |  Reporting node deleted the bundle.        |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x20   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x40   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x80   |  Report is for a fragment; fragment        |
         |         |  offset and length fields are present.     |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+

   Reason code.  A 1-byte field explaining the value of the flags in the
          status flags byte.  The list of status report reason codes
          provided   here   is   neither   exhaustive   nor   exclusive;
          supplementary DTN protocol specifications (including, but not
          restricted  to,  the  Bundle  Security  Protocol)  may  define
          additional reason codes.  Status report reason codes are
          defined as follows:











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         Table 5: Status Report Reason Codes

         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  Value  |                  Meaning                   |
         +=========+============================================+
         |  0x00   |  No additional information.                |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x01   |  Lifetime expired.                         |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x02   |  Reserved for future use.                  |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x03   |  Transmission canceled.                    |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x04   |  Depleted storage.                         |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x05   |  Destination endpoint ID unintelligible.   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x06   |  No known route to destination from here.  |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x07   |  No timely contact with next node on route.|
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x08   |  Header unintelligible.                    |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         | (other) |  Reserved for future use.                  |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+

   Fragment offset.  If the bundle fragment bit is set in the status
          flags, then the offset (within the original application data
          unit) of the payload of the bundle that caused the status
          report to be generated is included here.

   Fragment length.  If the bundle fragment bit is set in the status
          flags, then the length of the payload of the subject bundle is
          included here.

   Time of Receipt (if present).  If the bundle-received bit or custody-
          accepted bit is set in the status flags, then a timestamp
          indicating the time at which the indicated event occurred at
          the reporting endpoint is included here.  The timestamp is 8
          bytes long, formatted as a POSIX timespec.

   Time of Forward (if present).  If the bundle-forwarded bit is set in
          the status flags, then a timestamp indicating the time at
          which the bundle was first forwarded at the reporting endpoint
          is included here.  The timestamp is 8 bytes long, formatted as
          a POSIX timespec.

   Time of Delivery (if present).  If the bundle-delivered bit is set in
          the status flags, then a timestamp indicating the time at
          which the bundle was first delivered at the reporting endpoint


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          is included here.  The timestamp is 8 bytes long, formatted as
          a POSIX timespec.

   Time of Deletion (if present).  If the bundle-deleted bit is set in
          the status flags, then a timestamp indicating the time at
          which the bundle was deleted at the reporting endpoint is
          included here.  The timestamp is 8 bytes long, formatted as a
          POSIX timespec.

   Creation Timestamp of Subject Bundle.  A copy of the creation
          timestamp of the bundle that caused the status report to be
          generated.

   Length of Source Endpoint ID.  The length in bytes of the source
          endpoint ID of the bundle that caused the status report to be
          generated.

  Source Endpoint ID text.  The text of the source endpoint ID of the
          bundle that caused the status report to be generated.

5.1.2 Custody Signals

   Custody  signals  are  administrative  records  that  effect  custody
   transfer operations.  They are transmitted to the endpoints that are
   the current custodians of bundles.

   Custody signals have the following format.

   Custody Signal regarding bundle 'X':

+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|  Status Flags  |  Reason code   |       Fragment offset (*) (if
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
    present)     |      Fragment length (**) (if present)           |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|
+                      Time of signal (8 bytes)                     +
                                                                    |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|
+           Copy of bundle X's Creation Timestamp (8 bytes)         +
                                                                    |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
|      Length of X's source endpoint ID (***)      |   Source
+----------------+---------------------------------+                +
                     endpoint ID of bundle X (variable)             |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+

   Notes:

   (*)  The Fragment Offset field, if present, is an SDNV and is


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   therefore variable-length.  A three-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.

   (**)  The Fragment Length field, if present, is an SDNV and is
   therefore variable-length.  A three-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.

   (***)  The source endpoint ID length field is an SDNV and is
   therefore variable-length.  A three-octet SDNV is shown here for
   convenience in representation.

   The fields in a custody signal are:

   Status Flags.  A 1-byte field containing the following flags:

         Table 6: Status Flags for Custody Signals

         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  Value  |                  Meaning                   |
         +=========+============================================+
         |  0x01   |  Custody transfer succeeded.               |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x02   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x04   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x08   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x10   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x20   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x40   |  Unused.                                   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x80   |  Signal pertains to a fragment; fragment   |
         |         |  offset and length fields are present.     |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+

   Reason code.  A 1-byte field explaining the value of the "Custody
   transfer succeeded" flag in the status flags byte.  Reason codes are
   defined as follows:












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         Table 7: Custody Signal Reason Codes

         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  Value  |                  Meaning                   |
         +=========+============================================+
         |  0x00   |  No additional information.                |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x01   |  Acceptance of custody.                    |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x02   |  Delivery to application by non-custodian. |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x03   |  Redundant reception (reception by a node  |
         |         |  that is a custodial node for this bundle).|
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x04   |  Depleted storage.                         |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x05   |  Destination endpoint ID unintelligible.   |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x06   |  No known route to destination from here.  |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x07   |  No timely contact with next node on route.|
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         |  0x08   |  Header unintelligible.                    |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+
         | (other) |  Reserved for future use.                  |
         +---------+--------------------------------------------+

   Fragment offset.  If the bundle fragment bit is set in the status
          flags, then the offset (within the original application data
          unit) of the payload of the bundle that caused the status
          report to be generated is included here.

   Fragment length.  If the bundle fragment bit is set in the status
          flags, then the length of the payload of the subject bundle is
          included here.

   Time of Signal.  A timestamp indicating the time at which the signal
          was issued.  The timestamp is 8 bytes long, formatted as a
          POSIX timespec.

   Creation Timestamp of Subject Bundle.  A copy of the creation
          timestamp of the bundle to which the signal applies.

   Length of Source Endpoint ID.  The length in bytes of the source
          endpoint ID of the bundle to which the signal applied.

  Source Endpoint ID text.  The text of the source endpoint ID of the
          bundle to which the signal applies.




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5.2 Generation of administrative records

   Whenever the application agent's administrative element is directed
   by the bundle protocol agent to generate an administrative record
   with reference to some bundle, the following procedure must be
   followed:

   Step 1: The administrative record must be constructed.  If the
      referenced bundle is a fragment, the administrative record must
      have the Fragment flag set and must contain the fragment offset
      and fragment length fields; the value of the fragment offset field
      must be the value of the referenced bundle's fragment offset, and
      the value of the fragment length field must be the length of the
      referenced bundle's payload.

   Step 2:  A Transmit.request primitive, requesting transmission of the
      administrative record, must be presented to the bundle protocol
      agent.

5.3 Reception of custody signals

   For each received custody signal that has the Custody Transfer
   Succeeded  flag  set  to  1,  the  administrative  element  of  the
   application agent must direct the bundle protocol agent to follow the
   custody transfer success procedure in 4.11.

   For each received custody signal that has the Custody Transfer
   Succeeded  flag  set  to  0,  the  administrative  element  of  the
   application agent must direct the bundle protocol agent to follow the
   custody transfer failure procedure in 4.12.

6.   Services Required of the Convergence Layer

6.1 The Convergence Layer

   The successful operation of the end-to-end bundle protocol depends on
   the  operation  of  underlying  protocols  at  what  is  termed  the
   "convergence  layer";  these  protocols  accomplish  point-to-point
   communication between nodes.  A wide variety of protocols may serve
   this purpose, so long as each convergence layer protocol adapter
   provides a defined minimal set of services to the bundle protocol
   agent.  This convergence layer service specification enumerates those
   services.

6.2 Summary of Convergence Layer Services

   Each convergence layer protocol adapter is expected to provide the
   following services to the bundle protocol agent:

      a) sending a bundle to all bundle nodes in the minimum reception
        set of the endpoint identified by a specified endpoint ID that


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        are reachable via the convergence layer protocol;

      b) delivering to the bundle protocol agent a bundle that was sent
        by a remote bundle node via the convergence layer protocol.

   The convergence layer service interface specified here is neither
   exhaustive nor exclusive.  That is, supplementary DTN protocol
   specifications (including, but not restricted to, the Bundle Security
   Protocol) may expect convergence layer adapters which serve BP
   implementations conforming to those protocols to offer additional
   primitives and/or provide additional parameters with the listed
   primitives.

6.3 Summary of Primitives

6.3.1 Requests

   The convergence layer service is expected to consume the following
   request primitives:

      a) Send.request

6.3.2 Indications

   The convergence layer service is expected to deliver the following
   indication primitives:

      a) Send-Report.indication
      b) Bundle.indication

6.4 Summary of Parameters

   NOTE  -  The availability and use of parameters for each primitive
   are indicated in section 6.5.  The following definitions apply.

6.4.1 Receiving Endpoint ID

   The  receiving  endpoint  ID  parameter  identifies  the  endpoint
   containing the node(s) to which a bundle is to be sent.  Note: this
   endpoint is not necessarily the final destination of the bundle.

6.4.2 Bundle

   The bundle parameter indicates the location of a bundle, in the
   format described in section 3, that has been conveyed or is to be
   conveyed by the convergence layer protocol.

6.4.3 Bundle length

   The bundle length parameter indicates the length of a bundle that has
   been conveyed or is to be conveyed by the convergence layer protocol.


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6.4.4 Send result

   The send result parameter indicates in an implementation-specific
   manner the results of processing a Send.request.

6.5 Convergence Layer Service Primitives

6.5.1 SEND.REQUEST

   The Send.request primitive requests the sending of a bundle to the
   nodes in the minimum reception set of a neighboring endpoint.

   Semantics: Send.request provides parameters as follows:
      Send.request(  receiving endpoint ID,
                     bundle length,
                     bundle)

   When Presented: Send.request may be presented by the bundle protocol
   agent at any time.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Send.request is expected to cause the
   convergence  layer  protocol  adapter  to  initiate  data  sending
   procedures; the manner in which it does so may depend on the scheme
   name in the receiving endpoint ID.  In addition, the convergence
   layer adapter is expected to issue a Send-Report.indication to the
   bundle protocol agent when it has concluded those procedures.

   Additional Comments:  None.

6.5.2 SEND-REPORT.INDICATION

   The Send-Report.indication primitive reports to the bundle protocol
   agent on the results of processing a Send.request primitive.

   Semantics: Send-Report.indication provides parameters as follows:
      Send-Report.indication  (  receiving endpoint ID,
                     bundle length,
                     bundle,
                     send result)

   When Issued: Send-Report.indication is expected to be issued upon the
   conclusion of the data sending procedures initiated in response to a
   Send.request primitive.

   Effect on Receipt: The effect on receipt of Send-Report.indication is
   undefined.

   Additional Comments: None.




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6.5.3 BUNDLE.INDICATION

   The Bundle.indication primitive delivers a received bundle to the
   bundle protocol agent.

   Semantics: Bundle.indication provides parameters as follows:
      Bundle.indication (  bundle length,
                     bundle)

   When Issued: Bundle.indication is expected to be issued on arrival of
   a bundle sent from a remote node.

   Effect on Receipt: Receipt of Bundle.indication causes the bundle
   protocol agent to process the received bundle as described in section
   4.6.

   Additional Comments: None.

7. Security Considerations

   Security in the bundle protocol is the subject of the Bundle Security
   Protocol  specification  [5].    Inclusion  of  the  Bundle  Security
   Protocol in any Bundle Protocol implementation is RECOMMENDED.  Use
   of the Bundle Security Protocol in Bundle Protocol operations is
   OPTIONAL.

8. IANA Considerations

   The new Uniform Resource Identifier schemes "bp0" and "none", defined
   by the Bundle Protocol, will need to be documented.

9.   Normative References

   [RFC3978]   Bradner, S., "IETF Rights in Contributions", BCP 78, RFC
   3978, March 2005.

   [RFC3979]   Bradner, S., "Intellectual Property Rights in IETF
   Technology", BCP 79, RFC 3979, March 2005.

   [RFC3986] T. Berners-Lee, R. Fielding, L. Masinter, "Uniform Resource
   Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66, RFC 3986, Jan 2005.


10.  Informative References

   [1] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
       Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997

   [2] V. Cerf, et. al., "Delay-Tolerant Network Architecture," work in
       progress, draft-irtf-dtnrg-arch-02.txt, July 2004



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   [3] F. Warthman, "Delay-Tolerant Networks (DTNs): A Tutorial",
       Warthman Associates, available from http://www.dtnrg.org

   [4] Mills, D., "Network Time Protocol (Version 3) Specification,
       Implementation and Analysis", RFC 1305, March 1992

   [5] S. Symington, et. al., "Bundle Security Protocol Specification,"
       draft-irtf-dtnrg-bundle-security-00.txt, June 2005

Acknowledgements

   The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Vint Cerf
   of MCI, Dr. Kevin Fall and Michael Demmer of Intel Corporation,
   Adrian Hooke and Leigh Torgerson of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
   Howard Weiss of SPARTA, Inc., Dr. Stephen Farrell of Trinity College
   Dublin,  and  Robert  Durst  and  Susan  Symington  of  The  MITRE
   Corporation.

Author's Addresses

Dr. Keith L. Scott              Scott C. Burleigh
The MITRE Corporation           Jet Propulsion Laboratory
7515 Colshire Drive             4800 Oak Grove Drive
McLean, VA 22102                M/S: 179-206
Telephone  +1  (703)  883-6547 Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
FAX +1 (703) 883-7142           Telephone +1 (818) 393-3353
Email kscott@mitre.org          FAX +1 (818) 354-1075
                                Email Scott.Burleigh@jpl.nasa.gov

   Please refer comments to dtn-interest@mailman.dtnrg.org.  The Delay
   Tolerant Networking Research Group (DTNRG) web site is located at
   http://www.dtnrg.org.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).  This document is subject
   to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and
   except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights.

Disclaimer

   This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
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   OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
   ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
   INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
   INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED


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   WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

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Release Statement

By submitting this Internet-Draft, the authors accept the provisions of
Section 4 of RFC 3667.























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