Location Information Server (LIS) Discovery Using IP Addresses and Reverse DNS
RFC 7216
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) M. Thomson
Request for Comments: 7216 Mozilla
Category: Standards Track R. Bellis
ISSN: 2070-1721 Nominet UK
April 2014
Location Information Server (LIS) Discovery
Using IP Addresses and Reverse DNS
Abstract
The residential gateway is a device that has become an integral part
of home networking equipment. Discovering a Location Information
Server (LIS) is a necessary part of acquiring location information
for location-based services. However, discovering a LIS when a
residential gateway is present poses a configuration challenge,
requiring a method that is able to work around the obstacle presented
by the gateway.
This document describes a solution to this problem. The solution
provides alternative domain names as input to the LIS discovery
process based on the network addresses assigned to a Device.
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/rfc7216.
Thomson & Bellis Standards Track [Page 1]
RFC 7216 LIS Discovery by IP April 2014
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2014 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
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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. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Conventions Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. Residential Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2. Security Features of Residential Gateways . . . . . . . . 7
4. IP-based DNS Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1. Identification of IP Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2. Domain Name Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.3. Shortened DNS Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4. When To Use the Reverse DNS Method . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.5. Private Address Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.6. Necessary Assumptions and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . 11
4.7. Failure Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.8. Deployment Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5. Privacy Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7. IAB Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
8. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
9. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
9.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
9.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Thomson & Bellis Standards Track [Page 2]
RFC 7216 LIS Discovery by IP April 2014
1. Introduction
A Location Information Server (LIS) is a service provided by an
access network. The LIS uses knowledge of the access network
topology and other information to generate location information for
Devices. Devices within an access network are able to acquire
location information from a LIS.
The relationship between a Device and an access network might be
transient. Configuration of the correct LIS at the Device ensures
that accurate location information is available. Without location
information, some network services are not available.
The configuration of a LIS IP address on a Device requires some
automated process. This is particularly relevant when one considers
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