Network Working Group                                           P. Quinn
Internet-Draft                                       Cisco Systems, Inc.
Intended status: Informational                                P. Agarwal
Expires: April 4, 2014                                          Broadcom
                                                             R. Fernando
                                                              L. Kreeger
                                                                D. Lewis
                                                                F. Maino
                                                     Cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                                M. Smith
                                                                N. Yadav
                                                        Insieme Networks
                                                         October 1, 2013


                  Generic Protocol Extension for VXLAN
                      draft-quinn-vxlan-gpe-01.txt

Abstract

   This draft describes a mechanism for adding multi-protocol support to
   Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network (VXLAN).  Protocol
   identification is carried in the VXLAN header and is used to describe
   the encapsulated payload.

Status of this Memo

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

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

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

   This Internet-Draft will expire on April 4, 2014.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2013 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal



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   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
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   described in the Simplified BSD License.


Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  VXLAN Without Protocol Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   3.  Generic Protocol Extension VXLAN (VXLAN-gpe) . . . . . . . . .  5
     3.1.  VXLAN Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
   4.  Backward Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
     4.1.  VXLAN VTEP to VXLAN-gpe VTEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
     4.2.  VXLAN-gpe VTEP to VXLAN VTEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
     4.3.  IP Type of Service/Traffic Class . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
   5.  VXLAN-gpe Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   6.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   7.  Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
   8.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
   9.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     9.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     9.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
   Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13























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1.  Introduction

   Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network [VXLAN] defines an
   encapsulation format that encapsulates Ethernet frames in an outer
   UDP/IP transport.  The VXLAN header does not specify the protocol
   being encapsulated and therefore is currently limited to
   encapsulating only Ethernet frame payloads.  As data centers evolve,
   the need to carry other protocols in an encapsulated IP packet is
   required.  Rather than defining yet another encapsulation, VXLAN can
   be extended to indicate the inner protocol, thus broadening the
   applicability of VXLAN.

   This document describes extending VXLAN to support additional payload
   types beyond Ethernet frames.  To support this capability, two
   elements of the existing VXLAN header are modified.

   1.  A reserved bit is allocated, and set in the VXLAN header.

   2.  A 16 bit Protocol Type field is present in the VXLAN header.

   These two changes allow for the VXLAN header to support many
   different types of payloads, all the while maintaining backward
   compatibility with existing VXLAN deployments.




























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2.  VXLAN Without Protocol Extension

   As described in the introduction, the VXLAN header has no protocol
   identifier that indicates the type of payload being carried by VXLAN.
   Because of this, VXLAN is limited to an Ethernet payload.

   The VXLAN header defines flags (some defined, some reserved), the
   VXLAN network identifier (VNI) field and several reserved bits.  The
   flags provide flexibility to define how the reserved bits can be used
   to change the definition of the VXLAN header.



    0                   1                   2                   3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |R|R|R|R|I|R|R|R|            Reserved                           |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI) |   Reserved    |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+


                          Figure 1: VXLAN Header




























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3.  Generic Protocol Extension VXLAN (VXLAN-gpe)

3.1.  VXLAN Header

   This draft defines two changes to the VXLAN header in order to
   support multi-protocol encapsulation.

   P Bit:  Flag bit 5 is defined as the P bit.  The P bit MUST be set to
      1 to indicate the presence of the 16 bit protocol type field in
      the lower 16 bits of the first word.

      P = 0 indicates that the payload MUST conform to VXLAN as defined
      in [VXLAN].

      Flag bit 5 was chosen as the P bit because this flag bit is
      currently reserved in VXLAN.

   Protocol Type Field:  The lower 16 bits of the first word are used to
      carry a protocol type.  This protocol type field contains the
      protocol, as defined in in [RFC1700] and in [ETYPES], of the
      encapsulated payload packet.




    0                   1                   2                   3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |       Source Port = xxxx      |       Dest Port = 4789        |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |           UDP Length          |        UDP Checksum           |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |R|R|R|R|I|P|R|R|   Reserved    |   Protocol Type               |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI) |   Reserved    |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+



                         Figure 2: UDP + VXLAN-gpe











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4.  Backward Compatibility

   In order to ensure compatibility with existing VXLAN deployments, P =
   0 indicates that the encapsulated payload MUST be Ethernet.

4.1.  VXLAN VTEP to VXLAN-gpe VTEP

   If a packet is sent from a VXLAN VTEP to a VXLAN-gpe VTEP, the P bit
   MUST be set to 0, and the remaining fields remain as described in
   [VXLAN].  The encapsulated payload MUST be Ethernet.

4.2.  VXLAN-gpe VTEP to VXLAN VTEP

   A VXLAN-gpe VTEP MUST not encapsulate non-Ethernet frames to a VXLAN
   VTEP.  When encapsulating Ethernet frames to a VXLAN VTEP the P bit
   will be set to 1 and the Protocol Type set to 0x6558.  The VXLAN VTEP
   will ignore the P bit and the Protocol Type, and treat the packet as
   a VXLAN packet (i.e. the payload is Ethernet)

   A method for determining the capabilities of a VXLAN VTEP (gpe or
   non-gpe) is out of the scope of this draft.

4.3.  IP Type of Service/Traffic Class

   When a VXLAN-gpe VTEP performs IPv4 encapsulation, the inner IPv4
   Type of Service field MAY be copied from the encapsulated packet to
   the Type of Service or Traffic Class field in the outer IPv4 or IPv6
   header respectively.

   Similarly, when a VXLAN-gpe VTEP performs IPv6 encapsulation, the
   inner IPv6 Traffic Class field MAY be copied from the encapsulated
   packet to the Type of Service or Traffic Class field in the outer
   IPv4 or IPv6 header respectively.


















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5.  VXLAN-gpe Examples

   This section provides three examples of protocols encapsulated using
   the Generic Protocol Extension for VXLAN described in this document.



    0                   1                   2                   3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |R|R|R|R|I|1|R|R|   Reserved    |   0x0800                      |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI) |   Reserved    |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |               Original IPv4 Packet                            |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+



                       Figure 3: IPv4 and VXLAN-gpe




    0                   1                   2                   3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |R|R|R|R|I|1|R|R|   Reserved    |   0x86DD                      |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI) |   Reserved    |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |               Original IPv6 Packet                            |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+



                       Figure 4: IPv6 and VXLAN-gpe














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    0                   1                   2                   3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |R|R|R|R|I|1|R|R|   Reserved    |   0x6558                      |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI) |   Reserved    |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |               Original Ethernet Frame                         |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+



                     Figure 5: Ethernet and VXLAN-gpe






































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6.  Security Considerations

   VXLAN's security is focused on issues around L2 encapsulation into
   L3.  With VXLAN-gpe, issues such as spoofing, flooding, and traffic
   redirection are dependent on the particular protocol payload
   encapsulated.













































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7.  Acknowledgments

   A special thank you goes to Dino Farinacci for his guidance and
   detailed review.















































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8.  IANA Considerations

   This document creates no new requirements on IANA namespaces
   [RFC5226].















































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9.  References

9.1.  Normative References

   [RFC0768]  Postel, J., "User Datagram Protocol", STD 6, RFC 768,
              August 1980.

   [RFC0791]  Postel, J., "Internet Protocol", STD 5, RFC 791,
              September 1981.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC5226]  Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
              IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 5226,
              May 2008.

9.2.  Informative References

   [ETYPES]   The IEEE Registration Authority, "IEEE 802 Numbers", 2012,
              <http://www.iana.org/assignments/ieee-802-numbers/
              ieee-802-numbers.xml>.

   [RFC1700]  Reynolds, J. and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC 1700,
              October 1994.

   [VXLAN]    Dutt, D., Mahalingam, M., Duda, K., Agarwal, P., Kreeger,
              L., Sridhar, T., Bursell, M., and C. Wright, "VXLAN: A
              Framework for Overlaying Virtualized Layer 2 Networks over
              Layer 3 Networks", 2013.





















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Authors' Addresses

   Paul Quinn
   Cisco Systems, Inc.

   Email: paulq@cisco.com


   Puneet Agarwal
   Broadcom

   Email: pagarwal@broadcom.com


   Rex Fernando
   Cisco Systems, Inc.

   Email: rex@cisco.com


   Larry Kreeger
   Cisco Systems, Inc.

   Email: kreeger@cisco.com


   Darrel Lewis
   Cisco Systems, Inc.

   Email: darlewis@cisco.com


   Fabio Maino
   Cisco Systems, Inc.

   Email: kreeger@cisco.com


   Michael Smith
   Insieme Networks

   Email: michsmit@insiemenetworks.com









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   Navindra Yadav
   Insieme Networks

   Email: nyadav@insiemenetworks.com















































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