Probabilistic Routing Protocol for Intermittently Connected Networks
RFC 6693

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Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)                          A. Lindgren
Request for Comments: 6693                                          SICS
Category: Experimental                                          A. Doria
ISSN: 2070-1721                                           Technicalities
                                                               E. Davies
                                                        Folly Consulting
                                                               S. Grasic
                                          Lulea University of Technology
                                                             August 2012

  Probabilistic Routing Protocol for Intermittently Connected Networks

Abstract

   This document is a product of the Delay Tolerant Networking Research
   Group and has been reviewed by that group.  No objections to its
   publication as an RFC were raised.

   This document defines PRoPHET, a Probabilistic Routing Protocol using
   History of Encounters and Transitivity.  PRoPHET is a variant of the
   epidemic routing protocol for intermittently connected networks that
   operates by pruning the epidemic distribution tree to minimize
   resource usage while still attempting to achieve the best-case
   routing capabilities of epidemic routing.  It is intended for use in
   sparse mesh networks where there is no guarantee that a fully
   connected path between the source and destination exists at any time,
   rendering traditional routing protocols unable to deliver messages
   between hosts.  These networks are examples of networks where there
   is a disparity between the latency requirements of applications and
   the capabilities of the underlying network (networks often referred
   to as delay and disruption tolerant).  The document presents an
   architectural overview followed by the protocol specification.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for examination, experimental implementation, and
   evaluation.

   This document defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
   community.  This document is a product of the Internet Research Task
   Force (IRTF).  The IRTF publishes the results of Internet-related
   research and development activities.  These results might not be
   suitable for deployment.  This RFC represents the consensus of the
   Delay Tolerant Networking Research Group of the Internet Research

Lindgren, et al.              Experimental                      [Page 1]
RFC 6693                         PRoPHET                     August 2012

   Task Force (IRTF).  Documents approved for publication by the IRSG
   are not 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/rfc6693.

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.

Lindgren, et al.              Experimental                      [Page 2]
RFC 6693                         PRoPHET                     August 2012

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.1.  Relation to the Delay-Tolerant Networking Architecture  .   7
     1.2.  Applicability of the Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     1.3.  PRoPHET as Compared to Regular Routing Protocols  . . . .  10
     1.4.  Requirements Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   2.  Architecture  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     2.1.  PRoPHET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       2.1.1.  Characteristic Time Interval  . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
       2.1.2.  Delivery Predictability Calculation . . . . . . . . .  12
       2.1.3.  Optional Delivery Predictability Optimizations  . . .  17
       2.1.4.  Forwarding Strategies and Queueing Policies . . . . .  18
     2.2.  Bundle Protocol Agent to Routing Agent Interface  . . . .  19
     2.3.  PRoPHET Zone Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
     2.4.  Lower-Layer Requirements and Interface  . . . . . . . . .  21
   3.  Protocol Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     3.1.  Neighbor Awareness  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
     3.2.  Information Exchange Phase  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
       3.2.1.  Routing Information Base Dictionary . . . . . . . . .  25
       3.2.2.  Handling Multiple Simultaneous Contacts . . . . . . .  26