Internet DRAFT - draft-blanchet-ipngwg-testadd
draft-blanchet-ipngwg-testadd
Network Working Group M. Blanchet
Internet-Draft Viagenie
Expires: November 5, 2001 May 6, 2001
IPv6 Test Address Space Reserved for Documentation, Examples and
Private Testing
draft-blanchet-ipngwg-testadd-00
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.
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Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
To reduce the likelihood of conflict and confusion, an IPv6 prefix
is reserved for use in private testing or as examples in other RFCs,
documentation, and the like. Since site local addresses have special
meaning in IPv6, these cannot be used in many example situations and
are confusing. Instead, an IPv6 prefix is reserved in the range of
the test address space.
1. Rationale
IPv6 introduces many types of addresses in its addressing
architecture RFC 2373[1], like scoped addresses (link-local,
site-local) and global addresses. It also introduces mechanisms for
renumbering RFC 2462[2],RFC 2894[5]. Organisations might want to
make tests networks, using the different kinds of addresses and try
renumbering. For example, one could have site-local as well as a
global prefix and try to renumber to another global prefix while
preserving its site-local addresses live. RFCs, vendor
documentation, books and the like also give examples with addresses.
Authors always have an issue of using: already allocated addresses,
not currently allocated addresses or private (site-local) addresses
in their examples. Using the configuration examples in a real
environment can cause a problem. If the example uses site-local as
global address example, then the actual mechanism for handling
scoped addresses with site-local scoping can not be done. If
allocated addresses are used, then this obviously can make address
spoofing inadvertly if the environment is connected to the internet.
Same could happen later for a non-currently allocated address space
that becomes allocated. Similar, but different, discussion also
applies to top level domain names and some have been reserved for
the same purposes RFC 2606[4].
2. Assignment
The prefix 3ffe:ff00/24, out of the test address spaceRFC 2471[3].
currently used on the 6bone is reserved for any documentation or
private testing purposes. The 6bone will never use that prefix.
3. IANA Considerations
IANA reserve 3ffe:ff00/24 address space out of the test address
space so that no one will ever receive this allocation.
4. Security Considerations
This document encourages the use of test addresses in private
testing and documentation so that less issues will arise from people
that could instead use address space already allocated or to be
allocated in the future. These could cause ip address spoofing.
This proposal minimize such possible conflicts.
References
[1] Hinden, R.M. and S.E. Deering, "IP Version 6 Addressing
Architecture", RFC 2373, July 1998.
[2] Thomson, S. and T. Narten, "IPv6 Stateless Address
Autoconfiguration", RFC 2462, December 1998.
[3] Hinden, R.M., Fink, R. and J. Postel, "IPv6 Testing Address
Allocation", RFC 2471, December 1998.
[4] Eastlake, D. and A. Panitz, "Reserved Top Level DNS Names", BCP
32, RFC 2606, June 1999.
[5] Crawford, M., "Router Renumbering for IPv6", RFC 2894, August
2000.
Author's Address
Marc Blanchet
Viagenie
2875 boul. Laurier, bureau 300
Sainte-Foy, QC G1V 2M2
Canada
Phone: +1 418 656 9254
EMail: Marc.Blanchet@viagenie.qc.ca
URI: http://www.viagenie.qc.ca/
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