Problem Statement and Requirements for IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) Routing
RFC 6606

• Status
• IESG evaluation record
• IESG writeups
• Email expansions
• History

• Versions
• 10

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                            E. Kim
Request for Comments: 6606                                          ETRI
Category: Informational                                        D. Kaspar
ISSN: 2070-1721                               Simula Research Laboratory
                                                                C. Gomez
                     Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya/Fundacio i2CAT
                                                              C. Bormann
                                                 Universitaet Bremen TZI
                                                                May 2012

                 Problem Statement and Requirements for
  IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) Routing

Abstract

   IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPANs) are
   formed by devices that are compatible with the IEEE 802.15.4
   standard.  However, neither the IEEE 802.15.4 standard nor the
   6LoWPAN format specification defines how mesh topologies could be
   obtained and maintained.  Thus, it should be considered how 6LoWPAN
   formation and multi-hop routing could be supported.

   This document provides the problem statement and design space for
   6LoWPAN routing.  It defines the routing requirements for 6LoWPANs,
   considering the low-power and other particular characteristics of the
   devices and links.  The purpose of this document is not to recommend
   specific solutions but to provide general, layer-agnostic guidelines
   about the design of 6LoWPAN routing that can lead to further analysis
   and protocol design.  This document is intended as input to groups
   working on routing protocols relevant to 6LoWPANs, such as the IETF
   ROLL WG.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for informational purposes.

   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).  Not all documents
   approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of Internet
   Standard; see 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/rfc6606.

Kim, et al.                   Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 6606              6LoWPAN Routing Requirements              May 2012

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2012 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
   (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
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1. Problem Statement ...............................................2
   2. Terminology .....................................................5
   3. Design Space ....................................................5
      3.1. Reference Network Model ....................................6
   4. Scenario Considerations and Parameters for 6LoWPAN Routing ......8
   5. 6LoWPAN Routing Requirements ...................................13
      5.1. Support of 6LoWPAN Device Properties ......................13
      5.2. Support of 6LoWPAN Link Properties ........................15
      5.3. Support of 6LoWPAN Characteristics ........................18
      5.4. Support of Security .......................................22
      5.5. Support of Mesh-Under Forwarding ..........................25
      5.6. Support of Management .....................................26
   6. Security Considerations ........................................27
   7. Acknowledgments ................................................27
   8. References .....................................................28
      8.1. Normative References ......................................28
      8.2. Informative References ....................................29

1.  Problem Statement

   6LoWPANs are formed by devices that are compatible with the
   IEEE 802.15.4 standard [IEEE802.15.4].  Most of the LoWPAN devices
   are distinguished by their low bandwidth, short range, scarce memory
   capacity, limited processing capability, and other attributes of
   inexpensive hardware.  The characteristics of nodes participating in
   LoWPANs are assumed to be those described in the 6LoWPAN problem