RFC 3980 PROPOSED STANDARD STORAGE · ISCSI · NAMING
T11 Network Address Authority (NAA) Naming Format for iSCSI Node Names
Using worldwide Fibre Channel names for iSCSI storage devices.
RFC EDITOR
Krueger, M., Chadalapaka, M., and R. Elliott, "T11 Network Address Authority (NAA) Naming Format for iSCSI Node Names", RFC 3980, DOI 10.17487/RFC3980, February 2005, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3980>.
BIBTEX
@misc{rfc3980,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 3980,
howpublished = {RFC 3980},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC3980},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3980},
author = {M. Krueger and M. Chadalapaka and R. Elliott},
title = {{T11 Network Address Authority (NAA) Naming Format for iSCSI Node Names}},
pagetotal = 8,
year = 2005,
month = feb,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group M. Krueger
Request for Comments: 3980 M. Chadalapaka
Updates: 3720 R. Elliott
Category: Standards Track Hewlett-Packard Corp.
February 2005
T11 Network Address Authority (NAA) Naming Format
for iSCSI Node Names
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).
Abstract
Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) is a SCSI transport
protocol that maps the SCSI family of protocols onto TCP/IP. This
document defines an additional iSCSI node name type format to enable
use of the "Network Address Authority" (NAA) worldwide naming format
defined by the InterNational Committee for Information Technology
Standards (INCITS) T11 - Fibre Channel (FC) protocols and used by
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS). This document updates RFC 3720.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. iSCSI NAA Name Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4.1. Type "naa." - Network Address Authority. . . . . . . . . 3
5. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5.1. IQN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5.2. SRP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5.3. SAS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5.4. NAA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.5. InfiniBand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.6. INCITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.7. T10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.8. T11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6. Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1. Introduction
This document discusses the motivation for adding an NAA type format
as an iSCSI node naming format and defines this format in accordance
with the iSCSI naming conventions [RFC3720]. Defining this format
will enable SCSI storage devices containing both iSCSI ports and SAS
ports to use the same NAA-based SCSI device name.
2. Background
A number of networked transports currently provide port abstractions
to the SCSI protocol. These transports all incorporate some form of
world-wide unique name construction format. The following table
summarizes the current protocols and their naming formats.
SCSI Transport Protocol Naming Format
-----------------------------------------------
| | EUI-64| NAA |IQN |
|----------------------------|-------|-----|----|
| iSCSI (Internet SCSI) | X | | X |
|----------------------------|-------|-----|----|
| FCP (Fibre Channel) | | X | |
|----------------------------|-------|-----|----|
| SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) | | X | |
|----------------------------|-------|-----|----|
| SRP (for InfiniBand) | X | | |
-----------------------------------------------
The INCITS T11 Framing and Signaling Specification [FC-FS] defines a
format called the Network Address Authority (NAA) format for
constructing worldwide unique identifiers that use various identifier
registration authorities. This identifier format is used by the
Fibre Channel and SAS SCSI transport protocols. As most existing
networked SCSI ports today are either FC or SAS, the NAA format is
the most commonly used identifier format for SCSI transports.
3. Motivation
If iSCSI included a naming format that allowed direct representation
of an NAA-format name, it would facilitate construction of a target
device name that translates easily across multiple namespaces for a
SCSI storage device containing ports served by different transports.
This document defines an NAA type iSCSI naming format so that one NAA
identifier can be assigned as the basis for the SCSI device name for
a SCSI target with both SAS ports and iSCSI ports.
INCITS T10 SCSI has defined a string format SCSI target device name
in [SPC3] that is reported in the VPD page 83 device identifier page.
[SAM3] specifies that a SCSI device shall have no more than one
(i.e., zero or one) SCSI device name in the SCSI name string format
regardless of the number of SCSI transport protocols supported by the
SCSI device. Adding the INCITS T11-defined NAA format as a defined
type for iSCSI device names would make the iSCSI device naming format
more consistent across all current SCSI networked transports that
define an NAA format SCSI device name. This would facilitate the
creation of SCSI device names that are transport-independent. It
would also contribute to the creation of SCSI Logical Unit (LU) names
based on this SCSI device name.
4. iSCSI NAA Name Structure
This document defines an additional iSCSI name type:
type "naa." - the remainder of the string is an INCITS T11 defined
Network Address Authority identifier in ASCII-encoded
hexadecimal.
4.1. Type "naa." - Network Address Authority
[FC-FS] defines a format for constructing globally unique
identifiers, referred to as the Network Address Authority (NAA)
format.
The iSCSI NAA naming format is "naa.", followed by an NAA identifier
represented in ASCII-encoded hexadecimal digits.
An example of an iSCSI name with a 64-bit NAA value follows:
Type NAA identifier (ASCII-encoded hexadecimal)
+--++--------------+
| || |
naa.52004567BA64678D
An example of an iSCSI name with a 128-bit NAA value follows:
Type NAA identifier (ASCII-encoded hexadecimal)
+--++------------------------------+
| || |
naa.62004567BA64678D0123456789ABCDEF
The iSCSI NAA naming format might be used in an implementation when
the infrastructure for generating NAA worldwide unique names is
already in place because the device contains both SAS and iSCSI SCSI
ports.
The NAA identifier formatted in an ASCII-hexadecimal representation
has a maximum size of 32 characters (128 bit NAA format). As a
result, there is no issue with this naming format exceeding the
maximum size for iSCSI node names.
5. Terminology
5.1. IQN
iSCSI qualified name, an identifier format defined by the iSCSI
protocol [RFC3720].
5.2. SRP
SCSI RDMA Protocol. SRP defines a SCSI protocol mapping onto the
InfiniBand (tm) Architecture and/or functionally similar cluster
protocols [SRP].
5.3. SAS
Serial Attached SCSI. The Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) standard
contains both a physical layer compatible with Serial ATA, and
protocols for transporting SCSI commands to SAS devices and ATA
commands to SATA devices [SAS].
5.4. NAA
Network Address Authority, a naming format defined by the INCITS T11
Fibre Channel protocols [FC-FS].
5.5. InfiniBand
An I/O architecture originally intended to replace PCI and to address
high performance server interconnectivity [IB].
5.6. INCITS
INCITS stands for InterNational Committee of Information Technology
Standards. The INCITS has a broad standardization scope within the
field of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT),
encompassing storage, processing, transfer, display, management,
organization, and retrieval of information. INCITS serves as ANSI's
Technical Advisory Group for the ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1
(JTC 1). See http://www.incits.org.
5.7. T10
A technical committee within INCITS that develops standards and
technical reports on I/O interfaces, particularly the series of SCSI
(Small Computer Systems Interface) standards. See
http://www.t10.org.
5.8. T11
A technical committee within INCITS responsible for standards
development in the areas of Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI),
High-Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI) and Fibre Channel (FC).
See http://www.t11.org.
6. Security Considerations
This iSCSI naming format does not introduce any new security concerns
for the iSCSI protocol beyond those of the other iSCSI naming
formats. Please refer to [RFC3720], Section 8, for information on
the security considerations for the iSCSI protocol.
7. References
7.1. Normative References
[RFC3720] Satran, J., Meth, K., Sapuntzakis, C., Chadalapaka, M.,
and E. Zeidner, "Internet Small Computer Systems Interface
(iSCSI)", RFC 3720, April 2004.
[FC-FS] INCITS 373-2003, Fibre Channel Framing and Signaling
Interface (FC-FS).
7.2. Informative References
[SPC3] T10/1416-D, SCSI Primary Commands - 3 (SPC-3).
[SAM3] T10/1561-D, SCSI Architecture Model - 3 (SAM-3).
[IB] InfiniBand{tm} Architecture Specification, Vol. 1, Rel.
1.0.a, InfiniBand Trade Association
(http://www.infinibandta.org).
[SRP] INCITS 365-2002, SCSI RDMA Protocol (SRP).
[SAS] INCITS 376-2003, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS).
Authors' Addresses
Marjorie Krueger
Hewlett-Packard Company
8000 Foothills Blvd.
Roseville, CA 95747-5668, USA
EMail: marjorie_krueger@hp.com
Mallikarjun Chadalapaka
Hewlett-Packard Company
8000 Foothills Blvd.
Roseville, CA 95747-5668, USA
EMail: cbm@rose.hp.com
Rob Elliott
Hewlett-Packard Company
MC 140801
PO Box 692000
Houston, TX 77269-2000, USA
EMail: elliott@hp.com
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).
This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
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AI ELI5
On this page
PROBLEMStorage devices often have both SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) and iSCSI ports. SAS uses the NAA worldwide naming format, but iSCSI originally did not support it, forcing administrators to manage separate names for the same device.
MECHANISMRFC 3980 defines a new iSCSI node name type, `naa.`, that lets iSCSI nodes be identified using the same NAA format as Fibre Channel and SAS devices. An NAA identifier is represented as ASCII-encoded hexadecimal.
UNIFIED STORAGE DEVICE NAMINGStorage devices with mixed protocols can now use a single NAA identifier as their device name across all transports, simplifying administration and naming consistency.
§1Why NAA for iSCSI
iSCSI is a way to send SCSI storage commands over TCP/IP. It allows a computer to access remote storage as if it were local.
Storage devices often have multiple ports using different transports: Fibre Channel (FC), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), and iSCSI. FC and SAS both use the NAA (Network Address Authority) format from the INCITS T11 standards, which provides a worldwide unique identifier. iSCSI originally supported only the IQN (iSCSI Qualified Name) format, which was different.
This RFC adds support for NAA names in iSCSI, so a storage device with both SAS and iSCSI ports can use the same identifier on both, simplifying management and making the device naming consistent across protocols.
When a storage device has multiple kinds of connections, it is easier if they all use the same ID number.
§2Naming Across SCSI Transports
Different SCSI transports use different naming schemes:
- iSCSI: Originally supported EUI-64 and IQN formats only.
- Fibre Channel (FC): Uses NAA format.
- Serial Attached SCSI (SAS): Uses NAA format.
- SRP (SCSI RDMA Protocol for InfiniBand): Uses EUI-64 format.
NAA is the most common format in deployed SCSI transports today, since both FC and SAS devices typically use it. Adding NAA support to iSCSI brings it into alignment with industry practice.
Different storage connections have their own naming styles. This adds a common style to iSCSI.
| Transport | Supported Naming Formats |
|---|---|
| iSCSI (before RFC 3980) | EUI-64, IQN |
| iSCSI (after RFC 3980) THIS RFC | EUI-64, IQN, NAA |
| Fibre Channel (FC) | NAA |
| Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) | NAA |
| SRP (InfiniBand) | EUI-64 |
§3iSCSI NAA Name Format
An iSCSI node name using the NAA format begins with the prefix naa. followed by the NAA identifier represented as ASCII-encoded hexadecimal digits.
Example NAA names:
- 64-bit NAA:
naa.52004567BA64678D - 128-bit NAA:
naa.62004567BA64678D0123456789ABCDEF
The NAA identifier is at most 32 hexadecimal characters (128 bits), so it always fits within iSCSI's maximum node name size. Implementations typically use this format when they already have infrastructure for generating NAA identifiers (for example, in a device that also has SAS ports).
The format is simple: write 'naa.' and then the ID number in hex. A 128-bit ID is at most 32 characters, so it fits easily in iSCSI names.
§4NAA Identifier Structure
The NAA identifier structure is defined by INCITS T11 Fibre Channel standards. It provides a way to construct globally unique identifiers using various identifier registration authorities. The NAA format supports different subtypes and is widely used in FC and SAS implementations.
By reusing this format for iSCSI, administrators can leverage existing tooling, identifier assignment infrastructure, and documentation that already exist for FC and SAS devices. A storage device with both SAS and iSCSI ports can now report the same worldwide unique identifier to initiators on both transports, as required by INCITS T10 SCSI standards.
NAA is a standard way to create unique IDs that works across many storage technologies. Using it in iSCSI means less work for device makers and less confusion for administrators.
§5Security
The NAA naming format does not introduce any new security concerns for iSCSI beyond those of the other naming formats (EUI-64 and IQN). The format is simply a way to identify a device by a unique number; the security properties of iSCSI itself (authentication, encryption, access control) are unchanged.
Administrators should refer to RFC 3720 (the iSCSI specification) for detailed security considerations on iSCSI protocol.
Giving a device a different kind of name does not make iSCSI less secure.
§6References
[RFC3720]RFC 3720Satran, J., Meth, K., Sapuntzakis, C., Chadalapaka, M., and E. Zeidner, "Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI)", RFC 3720, April 2004.April 2004
[FC-FS]INCITS 373-2003, Fibre Channel Framing and Signaling Interface (FC-FS).