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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Request for Comments: 7718
Updates: 4656
Category: Standards Track
ISSN: 2070-1721
A. Morton
AT&T Labs
December 2015

Registries for the One-Way Active Measurement Protocol (OWAMP)

Abstract

This memo describes the registries for OWAMP -- the One-Way Active Measurement Protocol. The registries allow assignment of Mode bit positions and OWAMP Command numbers. Per this memo, IANA has established the registries for new features, called the OWAMP-Modes registry and the OWAMP Control Command Number registry. This memo updates RFC 4656.

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/rfc7718.

Copyright Notice

Copyright © 2015 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  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Purpose and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  IANA Considerations for OWAMP-Control Registries  . . . . . .   3
     3.1.  Control Command Number Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
       3.1.1.  Registry Specification  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
       3.1.2.  Registry Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
       3.1.3.  Experimental Numbers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
       3.1.4.  OWAMP-Control Command Numbers Initial Contents  . . .   3
     3.2.  OWAMP-Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       3.2.1.  Registry Specification  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       3.2.2.  Registry Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       3.2.3.  Experimental Numbers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       3.2.4.  OWAMP-Modes Initial Contents  . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1. Introduction

The One-Way Active Measurement Protocol (OWAMP) [RFC4656] was prepared to support measurements of metrics specified by the IP Performance Metrics (IPPM) working group in the IETF. The Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (TWAMP) [RFC5357] is an extension of OWAMP. The TWAMP specification gathered wide review as it approached completion, and the by-products were several recommendations for new features in TWAMP. As a result, a registry of new features was established for TWAMP. However, there were no new features proposed for OWAMP until recently [RFC7717].

This memo establishes the needed registries for OWAMP and updates [RFC4656].

1.1. Requirements Language

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

2. Purpose and Scope

The purpose and scope of this memo is to describe and request the establishment of registries for future OWAMP [RFC4656] extensions. IANA already administers the "Two-way Active Measurement Protocol (TWAMP) Parameters", and this request follows a similar form (with one exception identified below).

This memo also provides the initial contents for the OWAMP registries.

3. IANA Considerations for OWAMP-Control Registries

The OWAMP-Control protocol coordinates the measurement capability. All OWAMP-Control messages follow specifications defined in Section 3 of [RFC4656].

3.1. Control Command Number Registry

IANA has created an OWAMP-Control Command Number registry.

OWAMP-Control Commands follow specifications defined in Section 3.4 of [RFC4656].

3.1.1. Registry Specification

OWAMP-Control Command Numbers are specified in the first octet of OWAMP-Control-Client command messages consistent with Section 3 of [RFC4656]. There are a maximum of 256 command numbers.

3.1.2. Registry Management

Because the "OWAMP-Control Command Numbers" registry can contain only 256 values, and because OWAMP is an IETF protocol, these registries MUST be updated only by "IETF Review" as specified in [RFC5226] (an RFC that documents registry use and is approved by the IESG).

3.1.3. Experimental Numbers

One experimental value is currently assigned in the Command Numbers Registry, as indicated in the initial contents below.

3.1.4. OWAMP-Control Command Numbers Initial Contents

OWAMP-Control Commands follows the procedure defined in Section 3.5 of [RFC4656] and in the remainder of Section 3 of that document.

The complete set of OWAMP-Control Command Numbers are as follows (including two reserved values): 

      OWAMP-Control Command Numbers
   
      Value   Description             Semantics     Reference
                                      Definition
   ==========================================================
       0      Reserved                Section 3.1.4 RFC 7718
       1      Request-Session         Section 3.5   RFC 4656
       2      Start-Sessions          Section 3.7   RFC 4656
       3      Stop-Sessions           Section 3.8   RFC 4656
       4      Fetch-Sessions          Section 3.9   RFC 4656
       5-253  Unassigned
       254    Experimentation         Section 3.1.4 RFC 7718
       255    Reserved                Section 3.1.4 RFC 7718

3.2. OWAMP-Modes

IANA has created an OWAMP-Modes registry.

3.2.1. Registry Specification

OWAMP-Modes are specified in OWAMP Server Greeting messages and Set- up Response messages consistent with Section 3.1 of [RFC4656]. Modes are currently indicated by setting single bits in the 32-bit Modes field. However, more complex encoding may be used in the future.

3.2.2. Registry Management

Because the "OWAMP-Modes" are based on only 32 bit positions with each position conveying a unique feature, and because OWAMP is an IETF protocol, these registries MUST be updated only by "IETF Review" as specified in [RFC5226] (an RFC that documents registry use and is approved by the IESG). IANA SHOULD allocate monotonically increasing bit positions when requested.

3.2.3. Experimental Numbers

No experimental bit positions are currently assigned in the Modes registry, as indicated in the initial contents below.

3.2.4. OWAMP-Modes Initial Contents

OWAMP-Control connection establishment follows the procedure defined in Section 3.1 of [RFC4656].

In the OWAMP-Modes registry, assignments are straightforward on the basis of bit positions, and there are no references to values -- this is a difference from the comparable TWAMP registry (and a topic for improvement in the TWAMP-Modes registry that is reconciled in [RFC7717]).

An extension of the OWAMP-Modes is proposed in [RFC7717]. With this extension, the complete set of OWAMP Mode bit positions are as follows (including one reserved bit position): 

   OWAMP-Modes
   
   Bit                            Semantics
   Pos.   Description             Definition     Reference
   =======================================================
   0      Unauthenticated         Section 3.1    RFC 4656
   1      Authenticated           Section 3.1    RFC 4656
   2      Encrypted               Section 3.1    RFC 4656
   3      Reserved                Section 3.2.4  RFC 7718
   ------------------------------------------------------
   4      IKEv2-derived Shared    Section 3.2.4  RFC 7718
          Secret Key               of RFC 7718,
                                  Section 5 of   RFC 7717
                                   of RFC 7717
   ------------------------------------------------------
   5-31   Unassigned

In the original OWAMP Modes field, setting bit position 0, 1, or 2 indicated the security mode of the Control protocol, and the Test protocol inherited the same mode (see Section 4 of [RFC4656]).

The value of the Modes field sent by the Server in the Server- Greeting message is the bit-wise OR of the modes (bit positions) that it is willing to support during this session. Thus, the five least significant bits of the 32-bit Modes field are used. When no other features are activated, the 27 most significant bits MUST be zero. A Control-Client conforming to [RFC4656] MAY ignore the values in the 29 most significant bits of the Modes field, or it MAY support features that are communicated in other bit positions, such as the IKEv2-derived Shared Secret Key extension [RFC7717].

OWAMP and TWAMP registries for Modes may grow to contain different features and functions due to the inherent differences in one-way and two-way measurement configurations and the metrics they measure. No attempt will be made to coordinate them unnecessarily, except for the Reserved bit position 3 above. This is available for assignment if a mixed security mode similar to [RFC5618] is defined for OWAMP; it would allow alignment with the comparable TWAMP feature.

4. Security Considerations

As this memo simply documents the creation of OWAMP registries, it presents no new security or privacy issues for the Internet.

The security considerations that apply to any active measurement of live networks are relevant here as well. See [RFC4656] and [RFC5357].

Privacy considerations for measurement systems, particularly when Internet users participate in the tests in some way, are described in [RFC7594].

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,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
   
   [RFC4656]  Shalunov, S., Teitelbaum, B., Karp, A., Boote, J., and M.
              Zekauskas, "A One-way Active Measurement Protocol
              (OWAMP)", RFC 4656, DOI 10.17487/RFC4656, September 2006,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4656>.
   
   [RFC5226]  Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
              IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 5226,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5226, May 2008,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5226>.
   
   [RFC5357]  Hedayat, K., Krzanowski, R., Morton, A., Yum, K., and J.
              Babiarz, "A Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (TWAMP)",
              RFC 5357, DOI 10.17487/RFC5357, October 2008,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5357>.

5.2. Informative References

   [RFC5618]  Morton, A. and K. Hedayat, "Mixed Security Mode for the
              Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (TWAMP)", RFC 5618,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5618, August 2009,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5618>.
   
   [RFC7594]  Eardley, P., Morton, A., Bagnulo, M., Burbridge, T.,
              Aitken, P., and A. Akhter, "A Framework for Large-Scale
              Measurement of Broadband Performance (LMAP)", RFC 7594,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7594, September 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7594>.
   
   [RFC7717]  Pentikousis, K., Ed., Zhang, E., and Y. Cui,
              "IKEv2-Derived Shared Secret Key for the One-Way Active
              Measurement Protocol (OWAMP) and Two-Way Active
              Measurement Protocol (TWAMP)", RFC 7717,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7717, December 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7717>.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Kostas Pentikousis, Nalini Elkins, Mike Ackermann, and Greg Mirsky for insightful reviews and comments. We thought Spencer Dawkins caught the last of the small errors in his AD review, but Nevil Brownlee found a few more during OPS-DIR review. Roni Even found our use of "IETF Consensus" was out of date with [RFC5226]. Michelle Cotton helped to clarify the IANA considerations.

Author's Address

   Al Morton
   AT&T Labs
   200 Laurel Avenue South
   Middletown,, NJ  07748
   United States
   
   Phone: +1 732 420 1571
   Fax:   +1 732 368 1192
   Email: acmorton@att.com
   URI:   http://home.comcast.net/~acmacm/