RFC 7973 INFORMATIONAL CORE · IPV6 · LOWPAN
LoWPAN Ethertype: Assignment of an Ethertype for IPv6 with Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (LoWPAN) Encapsulation
A protocol label for IPv6 with LoWPAN encapsulation over Ethernet
RFC EDITOR
Droms, R. and P. Duffy, "Assignment of an Ethertype for IPv6 with Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (LoWPAN) Encapsulation", RFC 7973, DOI 10.17487/RFC7973, November 2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7973>.
BIBTEX
@misc{rfc7973,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 7973,
howpublished = {RFC 7973},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC7973},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7973},
author = {R. Droms and P. Duffy},
title = {{Assignment of an Ethertype for IPv6 with Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (LoWPAN) Encapsulation}},
pagetotal = 5,
year = 2016,
month = nov,
} RFC text
Contents
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.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2016 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
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.
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
responded with the assignment of Ethertype 0xA0ED for this purpose.
The assignment has been recorded by IEEE [IEEE-ETHERTYPES].
3. IANA Considerations
The following entry has been added to the "ETHER TYPES" subregistry
of the "IEEE 802 Numbers" registry [IANA-IEEE802]:
Ethertype (decimal): 41197
Ethertype (hex): A0ED
Exp. Ethernet (decimal): -
Exp. Ethernet (octal): -
Description: LoWPAN encapsulation
References: RFC 7973 (this document)
4. Security Considerations
This document only requests assignment of an Ethertype for IPv6
datagrams using LoWPAN encapsulation. It has no incremental
implications for security beyond those in the relevant protocols.
5. Normative References
[HALOW] Wi-Fi Alliance, "Wi-Fi HaLow",
<http://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-halow>.
[IANA-IEEE802]
IANA, "IEEE 802 Numbers",
<http://www.iana.org/assignments/ieee-802-numbers>.
[IEEE-ETHERTYPES]
IEEE, "Ethertype",
<http://standards-oui.ieee.org/ethertype/eth.txt>.
[IEEE.802.15.4_2011]
IEEE, "IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area
networks--Part 15.4: Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area
Networks (LR-WPANs)", IEEE 802.15.4-2011,
DOI 10.1109/ieeestd.2011.6012487, September 2011,
<http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/servlet/
opac?punumber=6012485>.
[IEEE802159]
IEEE, "IEEE Draft Recommended Practice for Transport of
Key Management Protocol (KMP) Datagrams",
IEEE P802.15.9/D04, May 2015,
<http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/
articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=7272753>.
[RFC2460] Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
(IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, DOI 10.17487/RFC2460,
December 1998, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2460>.
[RFC4944] Montenegro, G., Kushalnagar, N., Hui, J., and D. Culler,
"Transmission of IPv6 Packets over IEEE 802.15.4
Networks", RFC 4944, DOI 10.17487/RFC4944, September 2007,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4944>.
[RFC6282] Hui, J., Ed. and P. Thubert, "Compression Format for IPv6
Datagrams over IEEE 802.15.4-Based Networks", RFC 6282,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6282, September 2011,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6282>.
Authors' Addresses
Ralph Droms
Email: rdroms.ietf@gmail.com
Paul Duffy
Cisco
1414 Massachusetts Ave.
Boxborough, Massachusetts 01719
United States of America
Phone: +1 978 204 9993
Email: paduffy@cisco.com
AI ELI5
On this page
PROBLEMIPv6 datagrams using LoWPAN encapsulation, a compression format for small devices, need a way to be identified when carried over Layer 2 technologies like Ethernet so receivers know how to interpret them.
MECHANISMThe IETF requested that IEEE assign an Ethertype (a Layer 2 protocol identifier) for LoWPAN-encapsulated IPv6 datagrams. IEEE assigned Ethertype 0xA0ED (decimal 41197) for this purpose.
WHY IT MATTERSNetwork devices, protocol analyzers, and Layer 2 technologies can now recognize and properly handle LoWPAN-encapsulated IPv6 traffic, enabling its use in new contexts like IEEE 802.15.9 multiplexing and Wi-Fi HaLoW.
§1The Problem
LoWPAN encapsulation, defined in RFC 4944, is a way to compress IPv6 datagrams for low-power wireless devices. When these compressed datagrams travel over Layer 2 technologies like Ethernet, which use protocol identifiers called Ethertypes, the receiving device needs to know that the payload is LoWPAN-encapsulated IPv6.
Without an assigned Ethertype, debugging tools like Wireshark cannot recognize the format, and standards like IEEE 802.15.9 (which provides multiplexed data services) cannot dispatch these frames properly.
Small devices compress their data before sending it. When that compressed data comes over Ethernet cables, the receiving machine needs to know it is compressed.
§2The Assignment
The IETF formally requested an Ethertype assignment from IEEE. IEEE assigned Ethertype 0xA0ED (which is 41197 in decimal) for this purpose. This value is now the official identifier for IPv6 datagrams using LoWPAN encapsulation when carried over Ethernet.
This assignment enables several use cases: Wi-Fi Alliance's HaLoW standard (low-power Wi-Fi in the 900 MHz band), Wi-SUN networks that use IEEE 802.15.9, and any other Layer 2 technology that needs to dispatch LoWPAN-encapsulated IPv6 packets.
The official label number for compressed IPv6 on regular Ethernet is now 41197 in decimal or 0xA0ED in hexadecimal.
§3Security
This document only assigns a protocol identifier. It creates no new security issues. The security properties of LoWPAN encapsulation are defined by the encapsulation mechanism itself, and the security considerations of IPv6 still apply.
Just assigning a label does not make anything safer or more dangerous.
§4References
[RFC2460]RFC 2460Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, December 1998.December 1998[RFC4944]RFC 4944Montenegro, G., Kushalnagar, N., Hui, J., and D. Culler, "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over IEEE 802.15.4 Networks", RFC 4944, September 2007.September 2007[RFC6282]RFC 6282Hui, J., Ed. and P. Thubert, "Compression Format for IPv6 Datagrams over IEEE 802.15.4-Based Networks", RFC 6282, September 2011.September 2011