Content Distribution Network Interconnection (CDNI) Problem Statement
RFC 6707

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                  B. Niven-Jenkins
Request for Comments: 6707                      Velocix (Alcatel-Lucent)
Category: Informational                                   F. Le Faucheur
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                    Cisco
                                                                N. Bitar
                                                                 Verizon
                                                          September 2012

 Content Distribution Network Interconnection (CDNI) Problem Statement

Abstract

   Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) provide numerous benefits for
   cacheable content: reduced delivery cost, improved quality of
   experience for End Users, and increased robustness of delivery.  For
   these reasons, they are frequently used for large-scale content
   delivery.  As a result, existing CDN Providers are scaling up their
   infrastructure, and many Network Service Providers (NSPs) are
   deploying their own CDNs.  It is generally desirable that a given
   content item can be delivered to an End User regardless of that End
   User's location or attachment network.  This is the motivation for
   interconnecting standalone CDNs so they can interoperate as an open
   content delivery infrastructure for the end-to-end delivery of
   content from Content Service Providers (CSPs) to End Users.  However,
   no standards or open specifications currently exist to facilitate
   such CDN Interconnection.

   The goal of this document is to outline the problem area of CDN
   Interconnection for the IETF CDNI (CDN Interconnection) working
   group.

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/rfc6707.

Niven-Jenkins, et al.         Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 6707          CDN Interconnection Problem Statement   September 2012

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Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
      1.1. Terminology ................................................4
      1.2. CDN Background .............................................9
   2. CDN Interconnection Use Cases ...................................9
   3. CDN Interconnection Model and Problem Area for IETF ............11
   4. Scoping the CDNI Problem .......................................15
      4.1. CDNI Control Interface ....................................16
      4.2. CDNI Request Routing Interface ............................16
      4.3. CDNI Metadata Interface ...................................17
      4.4. CDNI Logging Interface ....................................17
   5. Security Considerations ........................................17
      5.1. Security of the CDNI Control Interface ....................18
      5.2. Security of the CDNI Request Routing Interface ............18
      5.3. Security of the CDNI Metadata Interface ...................19
      5.4. Security of the CDNI Logging Interface ....................19
   6. Acknowledgements ...............................................19
   7. Informative References .........................................20
   Appendix A. Design Considerations for Realizing the CDNI
               Interfaces ............................................22
     A.1. CDNI Control Interface .....................................22
     A.2. CDNI Request Routing Interface .............................23
     A.3. CDNI Metadata Interface ....................................25
     A.4. CDNI Logging Interface .....................................26