Assignment of an Ethertype for IPv6 with Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (LoWPAN) Encapsulation
RFC 7973
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) R. Droms
Request for Comments: 7973
Category: Informational P. Duffy
ISSN: 2070-1721 Cisco
November 2016
Assignment of an Ethertype for IPv6 with
Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (LoWPAN) Encapsulation
Abstract
When carried over Layer 2 technologies such as Ethernet, IPv6
datagrams using Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (LoWPAN)
encapsulation as defined in RFC 4944 must be identified so the
receiver can correctly interpret the encoded IPv6 datagram. The IETF
officially requested the assignment of an Ethertype for that purpose
and this document reports that assignment.
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 7841.
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/rfc7973.
Droms & Duffy Informational [Page 1]
RFC 7973 Ethertype for LoWPAN Encapsulation November 2016
Copyright Notice
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Assignment of an Ethertype by IEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1. Introduction
The IETF defined "LoWPAN encapsulation", a format for IPv6 [RFC2460]
datagram encapsulation [RFC4944]. This document regards any IPv6
datagram using the Dispatch octet as defined in Section 5.1 of RFC
4944 as using LoWPAN encapsulation. LoWPAN encapsulation as defined
in RFC 4944 has been updated by [RFC6282], and may be extended and
modified by future IETF Standards. The intended Layer 2 technology
for IPv6 datagrams using LoWPAN encapsulation as originally defined
is [IEEE.802.15.4_2011], which does not provide for a protocol switch
in its Layer 2 headers.
The following list gives some example use cases for the Ethertype-
based protocol dispatch for the LoWPAN-encapsulated IPv6 datagram:
o Usage of LoWPAN encapsulation in conjunction with IEEE 802.15.9
Multiplexed Data Service [IEEE802159], which provides the ability
to perform upper layer protocol dispatch for IEEE 802.15.4
networks. Wi-SUN Alliance intends to use the 15.9 Multiplexed
Data Information Element for upper layer protocol dispatch. As
specified in IEEE 802.15.9, dispatch of LoWPAN encapsulation
frames will require that an Ethertype be assigned for LoWPAN
encapsulation.
Droms & Duffy Informational [Page 2]
RFC 7973 Ethertype for LoWPAN Encapsulation November 2016
o LoWPAN encapsulation will likely be needed for Wi-Fi Alliance's
HaLoW [HALOW] standard (low-power operation in the 900 MHz band).
o Other Layer 2 technologies such as Ethernet and debugging tools
such as Wireshark require a unique Protocol Type field for LoWPAN
encapsulation to properly interpret IPv6 datagrams that use LoWPAN
encapsulation.
o Any existing or future Layer 2 technology, incorporating
Ethertype-based upper layer dispatch, can use the Ethertype
proposed in this document to dispatch LoWPAN-encapsulated IPv6
datagrams.
2. Assignment of an Ethertype by IEEE
The IETF formally submitted a request to IEEE for assignment of an
Ethertype for IPv6 datagrams using LoWPAN encapsulation. IEEE has
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