SIIT-DC: Stateless IP/ICMP Translation for IPv6 Data Center Environments
RFC 7755

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                       T. Anderson
Request for Comments: 7755                                Redpill Linpro
Category: Informational                                    February 2016
ISSN: 2070-1721

SIIT-DC: Stateless IP/ICMP Translation for IPv6 Data Center Environments

Abstract

   This document describes the use of the Stateless IP/ICMP Translation
   Algorithm (SIIT) in an IPv6 Internet Data Center (IDC).  In this
   deployment model, traffic from legacy IPv4-only clients on the
   Internet is translated to IPv6 upon reaching the IDC operator's
   network infrastructure.  From that point on, it may be treated the
   same as traffic from native IPv6 end users.  The IPv6 endpoints may
   be numbered using arbitrary (non-IPv4-translatable) IPv6 addresses.
   This facilitates a single-stack IPv6-only network infrastructure, as
   well as efficient utilization of public IPv4 addresses.

   The primary audience is IDC operators who are deploying IPv6, running
   out of available IPv4 addresses, and/or feeling that dual stack
   causes undesirable operational complexity.

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/rfc7755.

Anderson                      Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 7755                         SIIT-DC                   February 2016

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2016 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.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Single-Stack IPv6 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.2.  Stateless Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.3.  IPv4 Address Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.4.  Clients' IPv4 Source Addresses Visible to Applications  .   5
     1.5.  Compatible with Standard IPv4 and IPv6 Stacks . . . . . .   5
   2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   3.  Architectural Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     3.1.  Packet Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   4.  Deployment Considerations and Guidelines  . . . . . . . . . .  10
     4.1.  Application/Device Support for IPv6 . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     4.2.  Application Support for NAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     4.3.  Application Communication Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     4.4.  Choice of Translation Prefix  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     4.5.  Routing Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     4.6.  Location of the SIIT-DC Border Relays . . . . . . . . . .  12
     4.7.  Migration from Dual Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     4.8.  Translation of ICMPv6 Errors to IPv4  . . . . . . . . . .  13
     4.9.  MTU and Fragmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
       4.9.1.  IPv4/IPv6 Header Size Difference  . . . . . . . . . .  14
       4.9.2.  IPv6 Atomic Fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
       4.9.3.  Minimum Path MTU Difference between IPv4 and IPv6 . .  15
     4.10. IPv4-Translatable IPv6 Service Addresses  . . . . . . . .  16
   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     5.1.  Mistaking the Translation Prefix for a Trusted Network  .  17
   6.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     6.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     6.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   Appendix A.  Complete SIIT-DC IDC Topology Example  . . . . . . .  21
   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24

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