Updated IANA Considerations for Diameter Command Code Allocations
RFC 5719

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                      D. Romascanu
Request for Comments: 5719                                         Avaya
Updates: 3588                                              H. Tschofenig
Category: Standards Track                         Nokia Siemens Networks
ISSN: 2070-1721                                             January 2010

   Updated IANA Considerations for Diameter Command Code Allocations

Abstract

   The Diameter base specification, described in RFC 3588, provides a
   number of ways to extend Diameter, with new Diameter commands (i.e.,
   messages used by Diameter applications) and applications as the most
   extensive enhancements.  RFC 3588 illustrates the conditions that
   lead to the need to define a new Diameter application or a new
   command code.  Depending on the scope of the Diameter extension, IETF
   actions are necessary.  Although defining new Diameter applications
   does not require IETF consensus, defining new Diameter commands
   requires IETF consensus per RFC 3588.  This has led to questionable
   design decisions by other Standards Development Organizations, which
   chose to define new applications on existing commands -- rather than
   asking for assignment of new command codes -- for the pure purpose of
   avoiding bringing their specifications to the IETF.  In some cases,
   interoperability problems were an effect of the poor design caused by
   overloading existing commands.

   This document aligns the extensibility rules of the Diameter
   application with the Diameter commands, offering ways to delegate
   work on Diameter to other SDOs to extend Diameter in a way that does
   not lead to poor design choices.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5719.

Romascanu & Tschofenig      Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 5719        Diameter Command Code Allocation Policy     January 2010

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2010 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
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   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
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   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
   2.  Conventions Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   3.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   4.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   5.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   6.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
     6.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
     6.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.  Introduction

   The Diameter Base specification, described in [RFC3588], provides a
   number of ways to extend Diameter, with new Diameter commands (i.e.,
   messages used by Diameter applications) and applications as the most
   extensive enhancements.  [RFC3588] illustrates the conditions that
   require the definition of a new Diameter application or a new
   command.  Depending on the scope of the Diameter extension, IETF
   actions are necessary.  Although defining new Diameter applications
   does not require IETF consensus, defining new Diameter commands
   requires IETF consensus per RFC 3588.  This has led to questionable
   design decisions by other Standards Development Organizations (SDOs),
   which chose to define new applications on existing commands -- rather
   than asking for assignment of new command codes -- for the pure
   purpose of avoiding bringing their specifications to the IETF.  In
   some cases, interoperability problems were an effect of poor the
   design caused by overloading existing commands.

   This document aligns the extensibility rules for Diameter command
   codes with those defined for Diameter application identifiers and
   offers a consistent way to delegate work on Diameter to other SDOs to