RFC 6938 PROPOSED STANDARD BGP · IANA

Deprecation of BGP Path Attributes: DPA, ADVERTISER, and RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID

IANA marks three never-used BGP path attributes as deprecated.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
May 2013
AUTHORS
J. Scudder
STREAM
IETF
DPA
Attribute value 11
ADVERTISER
Attribute value 12
RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID
Attribute value 13
DOI
10.17487/RFC6938

RFC text

Contents
Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                        J. Scudder
Request for Comments: 6938                              Juniper Networks
Category: Standards Track                                       May 2013
ISSN: 2070-1721


          Deprecation of BGP Path Attributes: DPA, ADVERTISER,
                       and RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID

Abstract

   This document requests IANA to deprecate the following BGP path
   attributes: DPA, ADVERTISER, and RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID, associated
   with an abandoned Internet-Draft and a Historic RFC.

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/rfc6938.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2013 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
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   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.

1.  Introduction

   As of this writing, the BGP Path Attributes registry maintained by
   IANA contains entries for DPA, ADVERTISER, and RCID_PATH /
   CLUSTER_ID.  The first of these is associated with [BGPDPA], an
   Internet-Draft that was abandoned in 1996.  The latter are associated
   with [RFC1863], an RFC that was reclassified as Historic by [RFC4223]
   in 2005.  Neither specification is currently in use, nor have they
   ever been.

   Note that the deprecated CLUSTER_ID is distinct from CLUSTER_LIST
   [RFC4456].  CLUSTER_LIST is not being deprecated.

2.  IANA Considerations

   Per this document, IANA has marked the BGP Path Attributes registry
   entries for DPA (Value 11), ADVERTISER (Value 12), and RCID_PATH /
   CLUSTER_ID (Value 13) as "deprecated".

3.  Security Considerations

   There are no meaningful security consequences arising from this
   registry update.

4.  Informative References

   [BGPDPA]   Chen, E. and T. Bates, "Destination Preference Attribute
              for BGP", Work in Progress, March 1996.

   [RFC1863]  Haskin, D., "A BGP/IDRP Route Server alternative to a full
              mesh routing", RFC 1863, October 1995.

   [RFC4223]  Savola, P., "Reclassification of RFC 1863 to Historic",
              RFC 4223, October 2005.

   [RFC4456]  Bates, T., Chen, E., and R. Chandra, "BGP Route
              Reflection: An Alternative to Full Mesh Internal BGP
              (IBGP)", RFC 4456, April 2006.

Author's Address

   John Scudder
   Juniper Networks
   1194 N. Mathilda Ave.
   Sunnyvale, CA  94089
   USA

   EMail: jgs@juniper.net

AI ELI5

On this page
PROBLEMThe IANA BGP Path Attributes registry still listed DPA, ADVERTISER and RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID, which came from an abandoned Internet-Draft and a Historic RFC and were never in use.
MECHANISMIANA marked the registry entries for value 11 (DPA), 12 (ADVERTISER) and 13 (RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID) as deprecated.
THE CATCHCLUSTER_LIST from RFC 4456 is a different attribute and is not deprecated.

§1Three Unused Attributes

The IANA BGP Path Attributes registry contains entries for DPA, ADVERTISER and RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID. DPA is associated with an Internet-Draft that was abandoned in 1996. The other two are associated with RFC 1863, which RFC 4223 reclassified as Historic in 2005.

The RFC states that neither specification is currently in use, nor have they ever been.

Three names sat on a list for things nobody ever built. This note clears them off.

§2What IANA Did

IANA marked three entries in the BGP Path Attributes registry as deprecated:

  • DPA, value 11
  • ADVERTISER, value 12
  • RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID, value 13

The deprecated CLUSTER_ID is distinct from CLUSTER_LIST in RFC 4456. CLUSTER_LIST is not being deprecated.

The three entries get a note saying do not use. A similar-sounding one that is still in use stays as it was.

BGP PATH ATTRIBUTES MARKED DEPRECATED
  • 11DPA — Tied to an Internet-Draft abandoned in 1996.
  • 12ADVERTISER — Associated with RFC 1863, now Historic.
  • 13RCID_PATH / CLUSTER_ID — Associated with RFC 1863, now Historic.

§3Security Considerations

The RFC says there are no meaningful security consequences arising from this registry update.

Retiring unused labels does not make anything less safe.

§4References