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Segment Routing Replication for Multipoint Service Delivery
RFC 9524

Document Type RFC - Proposed Standard (February 2024)
Authors Daniel Voyer , Clarence Filsfils , Rishabh Parekh , Hooman Bidgoli , Zhaohui (Jeffrey) Zhang
Last updated 2024-02-22
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
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RFC 9524


Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                     D. Voyer, Ed.
Request for Comments: 9524                                   Bell Canada
Category: Standards Track                                    C. Filsfils
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                R. Parekh
                                                     Cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                              H. Bidgoli
                                                                   Nokia
                                                                Z. Zhang
                                                        Juniper Networks
                                                           February 2024

      Segment Routing Replication for Multipoint Service Delivery

Abstract

   This document describes the Segment Routing Replication segment for
   multipoint service delivery.  A Replication segment allows a packet
   to be replicated from a replication node to downstream nodes.

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 7841.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9524.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2024 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
   (https://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 Revised BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the
   Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described
   in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction
     1.1.  Terminology
     1.2.  Use Cases
   2.  Replication Segment
     2.1.  SR-MPLS Data Plane
     2.2.  SRv6 Data Plane
       2.2.1.  End.Replicate: Replicate and/or Decapsulate
       2.2.2.  OAM Operations
       2.2.3.  ICMPv6 Error Messages
   3.  IANA Considerations
   4.  Security Considerations
   5.  References
     5.1.  Normative References
     5.2.  Informative References
   Appendix A.  Illustration of a Replication Segment
     A.1.  SR-MPLS
     A.2.  SRv6
       A.2.1.  Pinging a Replication-SID
   Acknowledgements
   Contributors
   Authors' Addresses

1.  Introduction

   The Replication segment is a new type of segment for Segment Routing
   (SR) [RFC8402], which allows a node (henceforth called a "replication
   node") to replicate packets to a set of other nodes (called
   "downstream nodes") in an SR domain.  A Replication segment can
   replicate packets to directly connected nodes or to downstream nodes
   (without the need for state on the transit routers).  This document
   focuses on specifying the behavior of a Replication segment for both
   Segment Routing with Multiprotocol Label Switching (SR-MPLS)
   [RFC8660] and Segment Routing with IPv6 (SRv6) [RFC8986].  The
   examples in Appendix A illustrate the behavior of a Replication
   Segment in an SR domain.  The use of two or more Replication segments
   stitched together to form a tree using a control plane is left to be
   specified in other documents.  The management of IP multicast groups,
   building IP multicast trees, and performing multicast congestion
   control are out of scope of this document.

1.1.  Terminology

   This section defines terms introduced and used frequently in this
   document.  Refer to the Terminology sections of [RFC8402], [RFC8754],
   and [RFC8986] for other terms used in SR.

   Replication segment:  A segment in an SR domain that replicates
      packets.  See Section 2 for details.

   Replication node:  A node in an SR domain that replicates packets
      based on a Replication segment.

   Downstream nodes:  A Replication segment replicates packets to a set
      of nodes.  These nodes are downstream nodes.

   Replication state:  State held for a Replication segment at a
      replication node.  It is conceptually a list of Replication
      branches to downstream nodes.  The list can be empty.

   Replication-SID:  Data plane identifier of a Replication segment.
      This is an SR-MPLS label or SRv6 Segment Identifier (SID).

   SRH:  IPv6 Segment Routing Header [RFC8754].

   Point-to-Multipoint (P2MP) Service:  A service that has one ingress
      node and one or more egress nodes.  A packet is delivered to all
      the egress nodes.

   Root node:  An ingress node of a P2MP service.

   Leaf node:  An egress node of a P2MP service.

   Bud node:  A node that is both a replication node and a leaf node.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
   14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

1.2.  Use Cases

   In the simplest use case, a single Replication segment includes the
   ingress node of a multipoint service and the egress nodes of the
   service as all the downstream nodes.  This achieves Ingress
   Replication [RFC7988] that has been widely used for Multicast VPN
   (MVPN) [RFC6513] and Ethernet VPN (EVPN) [RFC7432] bridging of
   Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast (BUM) traffic.  This
   Replication segment on ingress and egress nodes can either be
   provisioned locally or using dynamic autodiscovery procedures for
   MVPN and EVPN.  Note SRv6 [RFC8986] has End.DT2M replication behavior
   for EVPN BUM traffic.

   Replication segments can also be used to form trees by stitching
   Replication segments on a root node, intermediate replication nodes,
   and leaf nodes for efficient delivery of MVPN and EVPN BUM traffic.

2.  Replication Segment

   In an SR domain, a Replication segment is a logical construct that
   connects a replication node to a set of downstream nodes.  A
   Replication segment is a local segment instantiated at a Replication
   node.  It can be either provisioned locally on a node or programmed
   by a control plane.

   Replication segments can be stitched together to form a tree by
   either local provisioning on nodes or using a control plane.  The
   procedures for doing this are out of scope of this document.  One
   such control plane using a PCE with the SR P2MP policy is specified
   in [P2MP-POLICY].  However, if local provisioning is used to stitch
   Replication segments, then a chain of Replication segments SHOULD NOT
   form a loop.  If a control plane is used to stitch Replication
   segments, the control plane specification MUST prevent loops or
   detect and mitigate loops in steady state.

   A Replication segment is identified by the tuple <Replication-ID,
   Node-ID>, where:

   Replication-ID:  An identifier for a Replication segment that is
      unique in context of the replication node.

   Node-ID:  The address of the replication node for the Replication
      segment.  Note that the root of a multipoint service is also a
      Replication node.

   Replication-ID is a variable-length field.  In the simplest case, it
   can be a 32-bit number, but it can be extended or modified as
   required based on the specific use of a Replication segment.  This is
   out of scope for this document.  The length of the Replication-ID is
   specified in the signaling mechanism used for the Replication
   segment.  Examples of such signaling and extensions are described in
   [P2MP-POLICY].  When the PCE signals a Replication segment to its
   node, the <Replication-ID, Node-ID> tuple identifies the segment.

   A Replication segment includes the following elements:

   Replication-SID:  The Segment Identifier of a Replication segment.
      This is an SR-MPLS label or an SRv6 SID [RFC8402].

   Downstream nodes:  Set of nodes in an SR domain to which a packet is
      replicated by the Replication segment.

   Replication state:  See below.

   The downstream nodes and Replication state (RS) of a Replication
   segment can change over time, depending on the network state and leaf
   nodes of a multipoint service that the segment is part of.

   The Replication-SID identifies the Replication segment in the
   forwarding plane.  At a replication node, the Replication-SID
   operates on the RS of the Replication segment.

   RS is a list of Replication branches to the downstream nodes.  In
   this document, each branch is abstracted to a <downstream node,
   downstream Replication-SID> tuple. <downstream node> represents the
   reachability from the replication node to the downstream node.  In
   its simplest form, this MAY be specified as an interface or next-hop
   if the downstream node is adjacent to the replication node.  The
   reachability may be specified in terms of a Flexible Algorithm path
   (including the default algorithm) [RFC9350] or specified by an SR-
   explicit path represented either by a SID list (of one or more SIDs)
   or by a Segment Routing Policy [RFC9256].  The downstream
   Replication-SID is the Replication-SID of the Replication segment at
   the downstream node.

   A packet is steered into a Replication segment at a replication node
   in two ways:

   *  When the active segment [RFC8402] is a locally instantiated
      Replication-SID.

   *  By the root of a multipoint service based on local configuration
      that is outside the scope of this document.

   In either case, the packet is replicated to each downstream node in
   the associated RS.

   If a downstream node is an egress (leaf) of the multipoint service,
   no further replication is needed.  The leaf node's Replication
   segment has an indicator for the leaf role, and it does not have any
   RS (i.e., the list of Replication branches is empty).  The
   Replication-SID at a leaf node MAY be used to identify the multipoint
   service.  Notice that the segment on the leaf node is still referred
   to as a "Replication segment" for the purpose of generalization.

   A node can be a bud node (i.e., it is a replication node and a leaf
   node of a multipoint service [P2MP-POLICY]).  The Replication segment
   of a bud node has a list of Replication branches as well as a leaf
   role indicator.

   In principle, it is possible for different Replication segments to
   replicate packets to the same Replication segment on a downstream
   node.  However, such usage is intentionally left out of scope of this
   document.

2.1.  SR-MPLS Data Plane

   When the active segment is a Replication-SID, the processing results
   in a POP [RFC8402] operation and the lookup of the associated RS.
   For each replication in the RS, the operation is a PUSH [RFC8402] of
   the downstream Replication-SID and an optional segment list onto the
   packet to steer the packet to the downstream node.

   The operation performed on the incoming Replication-SID is NEXT
   [RFC8402] at a leaf or bud node where delivery of payload off the
   tree is per local configuration.  For some usages, this may involve
   looking at the next SID, for example, to get the necessary context.

   When the root of a multipoint service steers a packet to a
   Replication segment, it results in a replication to each downstream
   node in the associated RS.  The operation is a PUSH of the
   Replication-SID and an optional segment list onto the packet, which
   is forwarded to the downstream node.

   The following applies to a Replication-SID in MPLS encapsulation:

   *  SIDs MAY be inserted before the downstream SR-MPLS Replication-SID
      in order to guide a packet from a non-adjacent SR node to a
      replication node.

   *  A replication node MAY replicate a packet to a non-adjacent
      downstream node using SIDs it inserts in the copy preceding the
      downstream Replication-SID.  The downstream node may be a leaf
      node of the Replication segment, another replication node, or both
      in the case of a bud node.

   *  A replication node MAY use an Anycast-SID or a Border Gateway
      Protocol (BGP) PeerSet-SID in the segment list to send a
      replicated packet to one downstream replication node in a set of
      Anycast nodes.  This occurs if and only if all nodes in the set
      have an identical Replication-SID and reach the same set of
      receivers.

   *  For some use cases, there MAY be SIDs after the Replication-SID in
      the segment list of a packet.  These SIDs are used only by the
      leaf and bud nodes to forward a packet off the tree independent of
      the Replication-SID.  Coordination regarding the absence or
      presence and value of context information for leaf and bud nodes
      is outside the scope of this document.

2.2.  SRv6 Data Plane

   For SRv6 [RFC8986], this document specifies "Endpoint with
   replication and/or decapsulate" behavior (End.Replicate for short) to
   replicate a packet and forward the replicas according to an RS.

   When processing a packet destined to a local Replication-SID, the
   packet is replicated according to the associated RS to downstream
   nodes and/or locally delivered off the tree when this is a leaf or
   bud node.  For replication, the outer header is reused, and the
   downstream Replication-SID, from RS, is written into the outer IPv6
   header Destination Address (DA).  If required, an optional segment
   list may be used on some branches using H.Encaps.Red [RFC8986] (while
   some other branches may not need that).  Note that this H.Encaps.Red
   is independent of the Replication segment: it is just used to steer
   the replicated packet on a traffic-engineered path to a downstream
   node.  The penultimate segment in the encapsulating IPv6 header will
   execute the Ultimate Segment Decapsulation (USD) flavor [RFC8986] of
   End/End.X behavior and forward the inner (replicated) packet to the
   downstream node.  If H.Encaps.Red is used to steer a replicated
   packet to a downstream node, the operator must ensure the MTU on path
   to the downstream node is sufficient to account for additional SRv6
   encapsulation.  This also applies when the Replication segment is for
   the root node, whose upstream node has placed the Replication-SID in
   the header.

   A local application on root (e.g., MVPN [RFC6513] or EVPN [RFC7432])
   may also apply H.Encaps.Red and then steer the resulting traffic into
   the Replication segment.  Again, note that H.Encaps.Red is
   independent of the Replication segment: it is the action of the
   application (e.g.  MVPN or EVPN service).  If the service is on a
   root node, then the two H.Encaps mentioned, one for the service and
   the other in the previous paragraph for replication to the downstream
   node, SHOULD be combined for optimization (to avoid extra IPv6
   encapsulation).

   When processing a packet destined to a local Replication-SID, the
   IPv6 Hop Limit MUST be decremented and MUST be non-zero to replicate
   the packet.  A root node that encapsulates a payload can set the IPv6
   Hop Limit based on a local policy.  This local policy SHOULD set the
   IPv6 Hop Limit so that a replicated packet can reach the furthest
   leaf node.  A root node can also have a local policy to set the IPv6
   Hop Limit from the payload.  In this case, the IPv6 Hop Limit may not
   be sufficient to get the replicated packet to all the leaf nodes.
   Non-replication nodes (i.e., nodes that forward replicated packets
   based on the IPv6 locator unicast prefix) can decrement the IPv6 Hop
   Limit to zero and originate ICMPv6 error packets to the root node.
   This can result in a storm of ICMPv6 packets (see Section 2.2.3) to
   the root node.  To avoid this, a Replication segment has an optional
   IPv6 Hop Limit Threshold.  If this threshold is set, a replication
   node MUST discard an incoming packet with a local Replication-SID if
   the IPv6 Hop Limit in the packet is less than the threshold and log
   this in a rate-limited manner.  The IPv6 Hop Limit Threshold SHOULD
   be set so that an incoming packet can be replicated to the furthest
   leaf node.

   For leaf and bud nodes, local delivery off the tree is per
   Replication-SID or the next SID (if present in the SRH).  For some
   usages, this may involve getting the necessary context either from
   the next SID (e.g., MVPN with a shared tree) or from the Replication-
   SID itself (e.g., MVPN with a non-shared tree).  In both cases, the
   context association is achieved with signaling and is out of scope of
   this document.

   The following applies to a Replication-SID in SRv6 encapsulation:

   *  There MAY be SIDs preceding the SRv6 Replication-SID in order to
      guide a packet from a non-adjacent SR node to a replication node
      via an explicit path.

   *  A replication node MAY steer a replicated packet on an explicit
      path to a non-adjacent downstream node using SIDs it inserts in
      the copy preceding the downstream Replication-SID.  The downstream
      node may be a leaf node of the Replication segment, another
      replication node, or both in the case of a bud node.

   *  For SRv6, as described in above paragraphs, the insertion of SIDs
      prior to the Replication-SID entails a new IPv6 encapsulation with
      the SRH.  However, this can be optimized on the root node or for
      compressed SRv6 SIDs.

   *  The locator of the Replication-SID is sufficient to guide a packet
      on the shortest path between non-adjacent nodes for default or
      Flexible Algorithms.

   *  A replication node MAY use an Anycast-SID or a BGP PeerSet-SID in
      the segment list to send a replicated packet to one downstream
      replication node in an Anycast set.  This occurs if and only if
      all nodes in the set have an identical Replication-SID and reach
      the same set of receivers.

   *  There MAY be SIDs after the Replication-SID in the SRH of a
      packet.  These SIDs are used to provide additional context for
      processing a packet locally at the node where the Replication-SID
      is the active segment.  Coordination regarding the absence or
      presence and value of context information for leaf and bud nodes
      is outside the scope of this document.

2.2.1.  End.Replicate: Replicate and/or Decapsulate

   The "Endpoint with replication and/or decapsulate" (End.Replicate for
   short) is a variant of End behavior.  The pseudocode in this section
   follows the convention introduced in [RFC8986].

   An RS conceptually contains the following elements:

   Replication state:
   {
     Node-Role: {Head, Transit, Leaf, Bud};
     IPv6 Hop Limit Threshold; # default is zero
     # On Leaf, replication list is zero length
     Replication-List:
     {
       downstream node: <Node-Identifier>;
       downstream Replication-SID: R-SID;
       # Segment-List may be empty
       Segment-List: [SID-1, .... SID-N];
     }
   }

   Below is the Replicate function on a packet for Replication state
   (RS).

   S01. Replicate(RS, packet)
   S02. {
   S03.    For each Replication R in RS.Replication-List {
   S04.       Make a copy of the packet
   S05.       Set IPv6 DA = RS.R-SID
   S06.       If RS.Segment-List is not empty {
   S07.         # Head node may optimize below encapsulation and
   S08.         # the encapsulation of packet in a single encapsulation
   S09.         Execute H.Encaps or H.Encaps.Red with RS.Segment-List
                on packet copy #RFC 8986, Sections 5.1 and 5.2
   S10.       }
   S11.       Submit the packet to the egress IPv6 FIB lookup and
              transmission to the new destination
   S12.   }
   S13. }

   Notes:

   *  The IPv6 DA in the copy of a packet is set from the local state
      and not from the SRH.

   When N receives a packet whose IPv6 DA is S and S is a local
   End.Replicate SID, N does:

   S01.   Lookup FUNCT portion of S to get Replication state (RS)
   S02.   If (IPv6 Hop Limit <= 1) {
   S03.     Discard the packet
   S04.     # ICMPv6 Time Exceeded is not permitted
              (see Section 2.2.3)
   S05.   }
   S06.   If RS is not found {
   S07.     Discard the packet
   S08.   }
   S09.   If (IPv6 Hop Limit < RS.IPv6 Hop Limit Threshold) {
   S10.     Discard the packet
   S11.     # Rate-limited logging
   S12.   }
   S13.   Decrement IPv6 Hop Limit by 1
   S14.   If (IPv6 NH == SRH and SRH TLVs present) {
   S15.     Process SRH TLVs if allowed by local configuration
   S16.   }
   S17.   Call Replicate(RS, packet)
   S18.   If (RS.Node-Role == Leaf OR RS.Node-Role == bud) {
   S19.     If (IPv6 NH == SRH and Segments Left > 0) {
   S20.       Derive packet processing context (PPC) from Segment List
   S21.       If (Segments Left != 0) {
   S22.         Discard the packet
   S23.         # ICMPv6 Parameter Problem message with Code 0
   S24.         # (Erroneous header field encountered)
   S25.         # is not permitted (Section 2.2.3)
   S26.       }
   S27.     } Else {
   S28.       Derive packet processing context (PPC)
              from FUNCT of Replicatio-SID
   S29.     }
   S30.     Process the next header
   S31.   }

   The processing of the Upper-Layer header of a packet matching the
   End.Replicate SID at a leaf or bud node is as follows:

   S01.   If (Upper-Layer header type == 4(IPv4) OR
              Upper-Layer header type == 41(IPv6) ) {
   S02.     Remove the outer IPv6 header with all its extension headers
   S03.     Process the packet in context of PPC
   S04.   } Else If (Upper-Layer header type == 143(Ethernet) ) {
   S05.     Remove the outer IPv6 header with all its extension headers
   S06.     Process the Ethernet Frame in context of PPC
   S07.   } Else If (Upper-Layer header type is allowed
                     by local configuration) {
   S08.     Proceed to process the Upper-Layer header
   S09.   } Else {
   S10.     Discard the packet
   S11.     # ICMPv6 Parameter Problem message with Code 4
   S12.     # (SR Upper-Layer header Error)
   S13.     # is not permitted (Section 2.2.3)
   S14.   }

   Notes:

   *  The behavior above MAY result in a packet with a partially
      processed segment list in the SRH under some circumstances.  For
      example, a head node may encode a context-SID in an SRH.  As per
      the pseudocode above, a replication node that receives a packet
      with a local Replication-SID will not process the SRH segment list
      and will just forward a copy with an unmodified SRH to downstream
      nodes.

   *  The packet processing context is usually a FIB table "T".

   If configured to process TLVs, processing the Replication-SID may
   modify the "variable-length data" of TLV types that change en route.
   Therefore, TLVs that change en route are mutable.  The remainder of
   the SRH (Segments Left, Flags, Tag, Segment List, and TLVs that do
   not change en route) are immutable while processing this SID.

2.2.1.1.  Hashed Message Authentication Code (HMAC) SRH TLV

   If a root node encodes a context-SID in an SRH with an optional HMAC
   SRH TLV [RFC8754], it MUST set the 'D' bit as defined in
   Section 2.1.2 of [RFC8754] because the Replication-SID is not part of
   the segment list in the SRH.

   HMAC generation and verification is as specified in [RFC8754].
   Verification of an HMAC TLV is determined by local configuration.  If
   verification fails, an implementation of a Replication-SID MUST NOT
   originate an ICMPv6 Parameter Problem message with code 0.  The
   failure SHOULD be logged (rate-limited) and the packet SHOULD be
   discarded.

2.2.2.  OAM Operations

   [RFC9259] specifies procedures for Operations, Administration, and
   Maintenance (OAM) like ping and traceroute on SRv6 SIDs.

   Assuming the source node knows the Replication-SID a priori, it is
   possible to ping a Replication-SID of a leaf or bud node directly by
   putting it in the IPv6 DA without an SRH or in an SRH as the last
   segment.  While it is not possible to ping a Replication-SID of a
   transit node because transit nodes do not process Upper-Layer
   headers, it is still possible to ping a Replication-SID of a leaf or
   bud node of a tree via the Replication-SID of intermediate transit
   nodes.  The source of the ping MUST compute the ICMPv6 Echo Request
   checksum using the Replication-SID of the leaf or bud node as the DA.
   The source can then send the Echo Request packet to a transit node's
   Replication-SID.  The transit node replicates the packet by replacing
   the IPv6 DA until the packet reaches the leaf or bud node, which
   responds with an ICMPv6 Echo Reply.  Note that a transit replication
   node may replicate Echo Request packets to other leaf or bud nodes.
   These nodes will drop the Echo Request due to an incorrect checksum.
   Procedures to prevent the misdelivery of an Echo Request may be
   addressed in a future document.  Appendix A.2.1 illustrates examples
   of a ping to a Replication-SID.

   Traceroute to a leaf or bud node Replication-SID is not possible due
   to restrictions prohibiting the origination of the ICMPv6 Time
   Exceeded error message for a Replication-SID as described in
   Section 2.2.3.

2.2.3.  ICMPv6 Error Messages

   Section 2.4 of [RFC4443] states an ICMPv6 error message MUST NOT be
   originated as a result of receiving a packet destined to an IPv6
   multicast address.  This is to prevent a source node from being
   overwhelmed by a storm of ICMPv6 error messages resulting from
   replicated IPv6 packets.  There are two exceptions:

   1.  The Packet Too Big message for Path MTU discovery, and

   2.  The ICMPv6 Parameter Problem message with Code 2 reporting an
       unrecognized IPv6 option.

   An implementation of a Replication segment for SRv6 MUST enforce
   these same restrictions and exceptions.

3.  IANA Considerations

   IANA has assigned the following codepoint for End.Replicate behavior
   in the "SRv6 Endpoint Behaviors" registry in the "Segment Routing"
   registry group.

      +=======+========+===================+===========+============+
      | Value |  Hex   | Endpoint Behavior | Reference |   Change   |
      |       |        |                   |           | Controller |
      +=======+========+===================+===========+============+
      | 75    | 0x004B |   End.Replicate   |  RFC 9524 |    IETF    |
      +-------+--------+-------------------+-----------+------------+

                      Table 1: SRv6 Endpoint Behavior

4.  Security Considerations

   The SID behaviors defined in this document are deployed within an SR
   domain [RFC8402].  An SR domain needs protection from outside
   attackers (as described in [RFC8754]).  The following is a brief
   reminder of the same:

   *  For SR-MPLS deployments:

      -  Disable MPLS on external interfaces of each edge node or any
         other technique to filter labeled traffic ingress on these
         interfaces.

   *  For SRv6 deployments:

      -  Allocate all the SIDs from an IPv6 prefix block S/s and
         configure each external interface of each edge node of the
         domain with an inbound Infrastructure Access Control List
         (IACL) that drops any incoming packet with a DA in S/s.

      -  Additionally, an IACL may be applied to all nodes (k)
         provisioning SIDs as defined in this specification:

         o  Assign all interface addresses from within IPv6 prefix A/a.
            At node k, all SIDs local to k are assigned from prefix Sk/
            sk.  Configure each internal interface of each SR node k in
            the SR domain with an inbound IACL that drops any incoming
            packet with a DA in Sk/sk if the source address is not in A/
            a.

      -  Deny traffic with spoofed source addresses by implementing
         recommendations in BCP 84 [RFC3704].

      -  Additionally, the block S/s from which SIDs are allocated may
         be an address that is not globally routable such as a Unique
         Local Address (ULA) or the prefix defined in [SIDS-SRv6].

   Failure to protect the SR-MPLS domain by correctly provisioning MPLS
   support per interface permits attackers from outside the domain to
   send packets that use the replication services provisioned within the
   domain.

   Failure to protect the SRv6 domain with IACLs on external interfaces
   combined with failure to implement the recommendations of BCP 38
   [RFC2827] or apply IACLs on nodes provisioning SIDs permits attackers
   from outside the SR domain to send packets that use the replication
   services provisioned within the domain.

   Given the definition of the Replication segment in this document, an
   attacker subverting the ingress filters above cannot take advantage
   of a stack of Replication segments to perform amplification attacks
   nor link exhaustion attacks.  Replication segment trees always
   terminate at a leaf or bud node resulting in a decapsulation.
   However, this does allow an attacker to inject traffic to the
   receivers within a P2MP service.

   This document introduces an SR segment endpoint behavior that
   replicates and decapsulates an inner payload for both the MPLS and
   IPv6 data planes.  Similar to any MPLS end-of-stack label, or SRv6
   END.D* behavior, if the protections described above are not
   implemented, an attacker can perform an attack via the decapsulating
   segment (including the one described in this document).

   Incorrect provisioning of Replication segments can result in a chain
   of Replication segments forming a loop.  This can happen if
   Replication segments are provisioned on SR nodes without using a
   control plane.  In this case, replicated packets can create a storm
   until MPLS TTL (for SR-MPLS) or IPv6 Hop Limit (for SRv6) decrements
   to zero.  A control plane such as PCE can be used to prevent loops.
   The control plane protocols (like Path Computation Element
   Communication Protocol (PCEP), BGP, etc.) used to instantiate
   Replication segments can leverage their own security mechanisms such
   as encryption, authentication filtering, etc.

   For SRv6, Section 2.2.3 describes an exception for the ICMPv6
   Parameter Problem message with Code 2.  If an attacker sends a packet
   destined to a Replication-SID with the source address of a node and
   with an extension header using the unknown option type marked as
   mandatory, then a large number of ICMPv6 Parameter Problem messages
   can cause a denial-of-service attack on the source node.  Although
   this document does not specify any extension headers, any future
   extension of this document that does so is susceptible to this
   security concern.

   If an attacker can forge an IPv6 packet with:

   *  the source address of a node,

   *  a Replication-SID as the DA, and

   *  an IPv6 Hop Limit such that nodes that forward replicated packets
      on an IPv6 locator unicast prefix, decrement the Hop Limit to
      zero,

   then these nodes can cause a storm of ICMPv6 error packets to
   overwhelm the source node under attack.  The IPv6 Hop Limit Threshold
   check described in Section 2.2 can help mitigate such attacks.

5.  References

5.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC4443]  Conta, A., Deering, S., and M. Gupta, Ed., "Internet
              Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet
              Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", STD 89,
              RFC 4443, DOI 10.17487/RFC4443, March 2006,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4443>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

   [RFC8402]  Filsfils, C., Ed., Previdi, S., Ed., Ginsberg, L.,
              Decraene, B., Litkowski, S., and R. Shakir, "Segment
              Routing Architecture", RFC 8402, DOI 10.17487/RFC8402,
              July 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8402>.

   [RFC8754]  Filsfils, C., Ed., Dukes, D., Ed., Previdi, S., Leddy, J.,
              Matsushima, S., and D. Voyer, "IPv6 Segment Routing Header
              (SRH)", RFC 8754, DOI 10.17487/RFC8754, March 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8754>.

   [RFC8986]  Filsfils, C., Ed., Camarillo, P., Ed., Leddy, J., Voyer,
              D., Matsushima, S., and Z. Li, "Segment Routing over IPv6
              (SRv6) Network Programming", RFC 8986,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8986, February 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8986>.

   [RFC9259]  Ali, Z., Filsfils, C., Matsushima, S., Voyer, D., and M.
              Chen, "Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM)
              in Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6)", RFC 9259,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9259, June 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9259>.

5.2.  Informative References

   [P2MP-POLICY]
              Voyer, D., Ed., Filsfils, C., Parekh, R., Bidgoli, H., and
              Z. J. Zhang, "Segment Routing Point-to-Multipoint Policy",
              Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-pim-sr-p2mp-
              policy-07, 11 October 2023,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-pim-sr-
              p2mp-policy-07>.

   [PGM-ILLUSTRATION]
              Filsfils, C., Camarillo, P., Ed., Li, Z., Matsushima, S.,
              Decraene, B., Steinberg, D., Lebrun, D., Raszuk, R., and
              J. Leddy, "Illustrations for SRv6 Network Programming",
              Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-filsfils-spring-
              srv6-net-pgm-illustration-04, 30 March 2021,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-filsfils-
              spring-srv6-net-pgm-illustration-04>.

   [RFC2827]  Ferguson, P. and D. Senie, "Network Ingress Filtering:
              Defeating Denial of Service Attacks which employ IP Source
              Address Spoofing", BCP 38, RFC 2827, DOI 10.17487/RFC2827,
              May 2000, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2827>.

   [RFC3704]  Baker, F. and P. Savola, "Ingress Filtering for Multihomed
              Networks", BCP 84, RFC 3704, DOI 10.17487/RFC3704, March
              2004, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3704>.

   [RFC6513]  Rosen, E., Ed. and R. Aggarwal, Ed., "Multicast in MPLS/
              BGP IP VPNs", RFC 6513, DOI 10.17487/RFC6513, February
              2012, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6513>.

   [RFC7432]  Sajassi, A., Ed., Aggarwal, R., Bitar, N., Isaac, A.,
              Uttaro, J., Drake, J., and W. Henderickx, "BGP MPLS-Based
              Ethernet VPN", RFC 7432, DOI 10.17487/RFC7432, February
              2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7432>.

   [RFC7988]  Rosen, E., Ed., Subramanian, K., and Z. Zhang, "Ingress
              Replication Tunnels in Multicast VPN", RFC 7988,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7988, October 2016,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7988>.

   [RFC8660]  Bashandy, A., Ed., Filsfils, C., Ed., Previdi, S.,
              Decraene, B., Litkowski, S., and R. Shakir, "Segment
              Routing with the MPLS Data Plane", RFC 8660,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8660, December 2019,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8660>.

   [RFC9256]  Filsfils, C., Talaulikar, K., Ed., Voyer, D., Bogdanov,
              A., and P. Mattes, "Segment Routing Policy Architecture",
              RFC 9256, DOI 10.17487/RFC9256, July 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9256>.

   [RFC9350]  Psenak, P., Ed., Hegde, S., Filsfils, C., Talaulikar, K.,
              and A. Gulko, "IGP Flexible Algorithm", RFC 9350,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9350, February 2023,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9350>.

   [SIDS-SRv6]
              Krishnan, S., "SRv6 Segment Identifiers in the IPv6
              Addressing Architecture", Work in Progress, Internet-
              Draft, draft-ietf-6man-sids-06, 15 February 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-6man-
              sids-06>.

Appendix A.  Illustration of a Replication Segment

   This section illustrates an example of a single Replication segment.
   Examples showing Replication segments stitched together to form a
   P2MP tree (based on SR P2MP policy) are in [P2MP-POLICY].

   Consider the following topology:

                                  R3------R6
                                 /         \
                         R1----R2----R5-----R7
                                 \         /
                                  +--R4---+

        Figure 1: Topology for Illustration of a Replication Segment

A.1.  SR-MPLS

   In this example, the Node-SID of a node Rn is N-SIDn and the Adj-SID
   from node Rm to node Rn is A-SIDmn.  The interface between Rm and Rn
   is Lmn. The state representation uses "R-SID->Lmn" to represent a
   packet replication with outgoing Replication-SID R-SID sent on
   interface Lmn.

   Assume a Replication segment identified with R-ID at Replication node
   R1 and downstream nodes R2, R6, and R7.  The Replication-SID at node
   n is R-SIDn.  A packet replicated from R1 to R7 has to traverse R4.

   The Replication segments at nodes R1, R2, R6, and R7 are shown below.
   Note nodes R3, R4, and R5 do not have a Replication segment.

   Replication segment at R1:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R1>: Replication-SID: R-SID1 Replication state: R2:
           <R-SID2->L12> R6: <N-SID6, R-SID6> R7: <N-SID4,
           A-SID47, R-SID7>

   Replication to R2 steers the packet directly to R2 on interface L12.
   Replication to R6, using N-SID6, steers the packet via the shortest
   path to that node.  Replication to R7 is steered via R4, using N-SID4
   and then adjacency SID A-SID47 to R7.

   Replication segment at R2:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R2>: Replication-SID: R-SID2 Replication state: R2:
           <Leaf>

   Replication segment at R6:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R6>: Replication-SID: R-SID6 Replication state: R6:
           <Leaf>

   Replication segment at R7:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R7>: Replication-SID: R-SID7 Replication state: R7:
           <Leaf>

   When a packet is steered into the Replication segment at R1:

   *  R1 performs the PUSH operation with just the <R-SID2> label for
      the replicated copy and sends it to R2 on interface L12, since R1
      is directly connected to R2.  R2, as leaf, performs the NEXT
      operation, pops the R-SID2 label, and delivers the payload.

   *  R1 performs the PUSH operation with the <N-SID6, R-SID6> label
      stack for the replicated copy to R6 and sends it to R2, which is
      the nexthop on the shortest path to R6.  R2 performs the CONTINUE
      operation on N-SID6 and forwards it to R3.  R3 is the penultimate
      hop for N-SID6; it performs penultimate hop popping, which
      corresponds to the NEXT operation.  The packet is then sent to R6
      with <R-SID6> in the label stack.  R6, as leaf, performs the NEXT
      operation, pops the R-SID6 label, and delivers the payload.

   *  R1 performs the PUSH operation with the <N-SID4, A-SID47, R-SID7>
      label stack for the replicated copy to R7 and sends it to R2,
      which is the nexthop on the shortest path to R4.  R2 is the
      penultimate hop for N-SID4; it performs penultimate hop popping,
      which corresponds to the NEXT operation.  The packet is then sent
      to R4 with <A-SID47, R-SID1> in the label stack.  R4 performs the
      NEXT operation, pops A-SID47, and delivers the packet to R7 with
      <R-SID7> in the label stack.  R7, as leaf, performs the NEXT
      operation, pops the R-SID7 label, and delivers the payload.

A.2.  SRv6

   For SRv6, we use the SID allocation scheme, reproduced below, from
   "Illustrations for SRv6 Network Programming" [PGM-ILLUSTRATION]:

   *  2001:db8::/32 is an IPv6 block allocated by a Regional Internet
      Registry (RIR) to the operator.

   *  2001:db8:0::/48 is dedicated to the internal address space.

   *  2001:db8:cccc::/48 is dedicated to the internal SRv6 SID space.

   *  We assume a location expressed in 64 bits and a function expressed
      in 16 bits.

   *  Node k has a classic IPv6 loopback address 2001:db8::k/128, which
      is advertised in the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP).

   *  Node k has 2001:db8:cccc:k::/64 for its local SID space.  Its SIDs
      will be explicitly assigned from that block.

   *  Node k advertises 2001:db8:cccc:k::/64 in its IGP.

   *  Function :1:: (function 1, for short) represents the End function
      with the Penultimate Segment Pop (PSP) of the SRH [RFC8986] and
      USD support.

   *  Function :Cn:: (function Cn, for short) represents the End.X
      function from to Node n with PSP and USD support.

   Each node k has:

   *  An explicit SID instantiation 2001:db8:cccc:k:1::/128 bound to an
      End function with additional support for PSP and USD.

   *  An explicit SID instantiation 2001:db8:cccc:k:Cj::/128 bound to an
      End.X function to neighbor J with additional support for PSP and
      USD.

   *  An explicit SID instantiation 2001:db8:cccc:k:Fk::/128 bound to an
      End.Replicate function.

   Assume a Replication segment identified with R-ID at Replication node
   R1 and downstream nodes R2, R6, and R7.  The Replication-SID at node
   k, bound to an End.Replicate function, is 2001:db8:cccc:k:Fk::/128.
   A packet replicated from R1 to R7 has to traverse R4.

   The Replication segments at nodes R1, R2, R6, and R7 are shown below.
   Note nodes R3, R4, and R5 do not have a Replication segment.  The
   state representation uses "R-SID->Lmn" to represent a packet
   replication with outgoing Replication-SID R-SID sent on interface
   Lmn. "SL" represents an optional segment list used to steer a
   replicated packet on a specific path to a downstream node.

   Replication segment at R1:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R1>: Replication-SID: 2001:db8:cccc:1:F1::0 Replication
           state: R2: <2001:db8:cccc:2:F2::0->L12> R6:
           <2001:db8:cccc:6:F6::0> R7: <2001:db8:cccc:4:C7::0>, SL:
           <2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0>

   Replication to R2 steers the packet directly to R2 on interface L12.
   Replication to R6, using 2001:db8:cccc:6:F6::0, steers the packet via
   the shortest path to that node.  Replication to R7 is steered via R4,
   using H.Encaps.Red with End.X SID 2001:db8:cccc:4:C7::0 at R4 to R7.

   Replication segment at R2:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R2>: Replication-SID: 2001:db8:cccc:2:F2::0 Replication
           state: R2: <Leaf>

   Replication segment at R6:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R6>: Replication-SID: 2001:db8:cccc:6:F6::0 Replication
           state: R6: <Leaf>

   Replication segment at R7:

   Replication segment
           <R-ID,R7>: Replication-SID: 2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0 Replication
           state: R7: <Leaf>

   When a packet, (A,B2), is steered into the Replication segment at R1:

   *  R1 creates an encapsulated replicated copy (2001:db8::1,
      2001:db8:cccc:2:F2::0) (A, B2), and sends it to R2 on interface
      L12, since R1 is directly connected to R2.  R2, as leaf, removes
      the outer IPv6 header and delivers the payload.

   *  R1 creates an encapsulated replicated copy (2001:db8::1,
      2001:db8:cccc:6:F6::0) (A, B2) then forwards the resulting packet
      on the shortest path to 2001:db8:cccc:6::/64.  R2 and R3 forward
      the packet using 2001:db8:cccc:6::/64.  R6, as leaf, removes the
      outer IPv6 header and delivers the payload.

   *  R1 has to steer the packet to downstream node R7 via node R4.  It
      can do this in one of two ways:

      -  R1 creates an encapsulated replicated copy (2001:db8::1,
         2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0) (A, B2) and then performs H.Encaps.Red
         using the SL to create the (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:4:C7::0)
         (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0) (A, B2) packet.  It sends
         this packet to R2, which is the nexthop on the shortest path to
         2001:db8:cccc:4::/64.  R2 forwards the packet to R4 using
         2001:db8:cccc:4::/64.  R4 executes the End.X function on
         2001:db8:cccc:4:C7::0, performs a USD action, removes the outer
         IPv6 encapsulation, and sends the resulting packet
         (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0) (A, B2) to R7.  R7, as
         leaf, removes the outer IPv6 header and delivers the payload.

      -  R1 is the root of the Replication segment.  Therefore, it can
         combine above encapsulations to create an encapsulated
         replicated copy (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:4:C7::0)
         (2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0; SL=1) (A, B2) and sends it to R2, which
         is the nexthop on the shortest path to 2001:db8:cccc:4::/64.
         R2 forwards the packet to R4 using 2001:db8:cccc:4::/64.  R4
         executes the End.X function on 2001:db8:cccc:4:C7::0, performs
         a PSP action, removes the SRH, and sends the resulting packet
         (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0) (A, B2) to R7.  R7, as
         leaf, removes the outer IPv6 header and delivers the payload.

A.2.1.  Pinging a Replication-SID

   This section illustrates the ping of a Replication-SID.

   Node R1 pings the Replication-SID of node R6 directly by sending the
   following packet:

   1.  R1 to R6: (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:6:F6::0; NH=ICMPv6) (ICMPv6
       Echo Request).

   2.  Node R6 as a leaf processes the upper-layer ICMPv6 Echo Request
       and responds with an ICMPv6 Echo Reply.

   Node R1 pings the Replication-SID of R7 via R4 by sending the
   following packet with the SRH:

   1.  R1 to R4: (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:4:C7::0)
       (2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0; SL=1; NH=ICMPV6) (ICMPv6 Echo Request).

   2.  R4 to R7: (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0; NH=ICMPv6) (ICMPv6
       Echo Request).

   3.  Node R7 as a leaf processes the upper-layer ICMPv6 Echo Request
       and responds with an ICMPv6 Echo Reply.

   Assume node R4 is a transit replication node with Replication-SID
   2001:db8:cccc:4:F4::0 replicating to R7.  Node R1 pings the
   Replication-SID of R7 via the Replication-SID of R4 as follows:

   1.  R1 to R4: (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:4:F4::0; NH=ICMPv6) (ICMPv6
       Echo Request).

   2.  R4 replicates to R7 by replacing the IPv6 DA with the
       Replication-SID of R7 from its Replication state.

   3.  R4 to R7: (2001:db8::1, 2001:db8:cccc:7:F7::0; NH=ICMPv6) (ICMPv6
       Echo Request).

   4.  Node R7 as a leaf processes the upper-layer ICMPv6 Echo Request
       and responds with an ICMPv6 Echo Reply.

Acknowledgements

   The authors would like to acknowledge Siva Sivabalan, Mike Koldychev,
   Vishnu Pavan Beeram, Alexander Vainshtein, Bruno Decraene, Thierry
   Couture, Joel Halpern, Ketan Talaulikar, Darren Dukes and Jingrong
   Xie for their valuable inputs.

Contributors

   Clayton Hassen
   Bell Canada
   Vancouver
   Canada
   Email: clayton.hassen@bell.ca

   Kurtis Gillis
   Bell Canada
   Halifax
   Canada
   Email: kurtis.gillis@bell.ca

   Arvind Venkateswaran
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   San Jose, CA
   United States of America
   Email: arvvenka@cisco.com

   Zafar Ali
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   United States of America
   Email: zali@cisco.com

   Swadesh Agrawal
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   San Jose, CA
   United States of America
   Email: swaagraw@cisco.com

   Jayant Kotalwar
   Nokia
   Mountain View, CA
   United States of America
   Email: jayant.kotalwar@nokia.com

   Tanmoy Kundu
   Nokia
   Mountain View, CA
   United States of America
   Email: tanmoy.kundu@nokia.com

   Andrew Stone
   Nokia
   Ottawa
   Canada
   Email: andrew.stone@nokia.com

   Tarek Saad
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   Canada
   Email: tsaad@cisco.com

   Kamran Raza
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   Canada
   Email: skraza@cisco.com

   Jingrong Xie
   Huawei Technologies
   Beijing
   China
   Email: xiejingrong@huawei.com

Authors' Addresses

   Daniel Voyer (editor)
   Bell Canada
   Montreal
   Canada
   Email: daniel.voyer@bell.ca

   Clarence Filsfils
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   Brussels
   Belgium
   Email: cfilsfil@cisco.com

   Rishabh Parekh
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   San Jose, CA
   United States of America
   Email: riparekh@cisco.com

   Hooman Bidgoli
   Nokia
   Ottawa
   Canada
   Email: hooman.bidgoli@nokia.com

   Zhaohui Zhang
   Juniper Networks
   Email: zzhang@juniper.net