Last Call Review of draft-ietf-grow-ix-bgp-route-server-operations-03
review-ietf-grow-ix-bgp-route-server-operations-03-secdir-lc-meadows-2014-09-18-00

I  have reviewed the current version of this document as part of the security

directorate's ongoing effort to review all IETF documents being processed by

the IESG.  These comments were written primarily for the benefit of the

security area directors.  Document editors and WG chairs should treat these

comments just like any other last call comments.

This draft discusses several issues of operational relevance to route server
operators and provides recommendations

to help them provide a reliable interconnection services.  Reliability, not
security, is the main focus of this

document, but several of the problems that are discussed also have implications
for security, mainly because

if they are not properly addressed they can be used to implement various
attacks, mostly in the

form of denial of service.  These are

summarized in the Security Considerations section, and it is pointed out in
that section which

countermeasures described in the document defend against these attacks.

My only criticism of the Security Considerations section is that the issues are
not described in very

much detail.  It would be helpful to have references to other documents where
more information is given.

Otherwise I find myself asking questions such as “What are the ‘certain
circumstances’ under which the path

hiding problem can be exploited” and “How is it trivial for a route server to
implement denial of service if prefix

leakage mitigation is not implemented?”

Also, a nit.  I found the summary of  path hiding in Section 4.1 a little
misleading:

    "Path hiding" is a term used in [I-D.ietf-idr-ix-bgp-route-server] to

    describe the process whereby a route server may mask individual paths

    by applying conflicting routing policies to its Loc-RIB.

This gave me the impression that path hiding is something done deliberately,
when actually it appears to

be an unintended side effect.  The reference draft.ietf-idr-ix-bgp-route-server
makes the unintended nature

of path hiding more clear.  I think it would be better to have something like
the following:



   "Path hiding" is a term used in [I-D.ietf-idr-ix-bgp-route-server] to

    describe the process whereby a route server may inadvertently mask
    individual paths

    by applying conflicting routing policies to its Loc-RIB.



Catherine Meadows

Naval Research Laboratory

Code 5543

4555 Overlook Ave., S.W.

Washington DC, 20375

phone: 202-767-3490

fax: 202-404-7942

email:

catherine.meadows at nrl.navy.mil