Discovering the Local Location Information Server (LIS)
RFC 5986
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) M. Thomson
Request for Comments: 5986 J. Winterbottom
Category: Standards Track Andrew Corporation
ISSN: 2070-1721 September 2010
Discovering the Local Location Information Server (LIS)
Abstract
Discovery of the correct Location Information Server (LIS) in the
local access network is necessary for Devices that wish to acquire
location information from the network. A method is described for the
discovery of a LIS in the access network serving a Device. Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) options for IP versions 4 and 6
are defined that specify a domain name. This domain name is then
used as input to a URI-enabled NAPTR (U-NAPTR) resolution process.
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/rfc5986.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2010 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
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Thomson & Winterbottom Standards Track [Page 1]
RFC 5986 LIS Discovery September 2010
Table of Contents
1. Introduction and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1. Discovery Procedure Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. LIS Discovery Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1. Residential Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Determining a Domain Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1. Domain Name Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2. Access Network Domain Name DHCPv4 Option . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3. Access Network Domain Name DHCPv6 Option . . . . . . . . . 8
3.4. Alternative Domain Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4. U-NAPTR Resolution of a LIS URI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.1. Registration of DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 Option Codes . . . . . . 13
6.2. Registration of a Location Server Application Service
Tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.3. Registration of a Location Server Application Protocol
Tag for HELD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1. Introduction and Overview
The location of a Device is a useful and sometimes necessary part of
many services. A Location Information Server (LIS) is responsible
for providing that location information to Devices with attached
access networks used to provide Internet access. The LIS uses
knowledge of the access network and its physical topology to generate
and serve location information to Devices.
Each access network requires specific knowledge about topology.
Therefore, it is important to discover the LIS that has the specific
knowledge necessary to locate a Device, that is, the LIS that serves
the current access network. Automatic discovery is important where
there is any chance of movement outside a single access network.
Reliance on static configuration can lead to unexpected errors if a
Device moves between access networks.
This document describes a process that a Device can use to discover a
LIS. This process uses a DHCP option and the DNS. The product of
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