Subject: WG Review: IP Version 6 Working Group (ipv6)

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2001 18:05:00 -0400

A new IETF working group has been proposed in the Internet
Area. The IESG has not made any determination as yet. 

The following Description was submitted, and is provided for
informational purposes only:

Description of Working Group:

IP version 6 or IPv6 (also formerly known as IP Next Generation or
IPng) is intended to support the continued growth of the Internet, both 
in size and capabilities, by offering a greatly increased IP address 
space and other enhancements over IPv4.  The IP Next Generation (IPng) 
working group was originally chartered by the IESG to implement the
recommendations of the IPng Area Directors as outlined at the July 1994
IETF meeting and in "The Recommendation for the IP Next Generation
Protocol," RFC1752, January 1995.  Most of the tasks in that original
charter have been completed, and the core IPv6 protocol specifications
are now on the IETF standards track.

This charter focuses on completing the remaining work items and 
providing a home for IPv6 work that spans multiple IETF working groups. 
The working group is being renamed the IP Version 6 Working Group 
(IPv6) because it is a better description of the working group's focus.

The specific working group's ongoing responsibilities are as follows:

- Complete work from the original charter and follow-on work, as
  outlined below.

  - Keep all IPv6 working group documents moving along publication /
    standardization track.

- Complete work from the original charter and follow-on work, as
  outlined below.

  - Keep all IPv6 working group documents moving along publication /
    standardization track.

- Serve as a review board and body of competence and coordination for
  IPv6 architectural issues that span multiple IETF working groups.

- Provide a home for IPv6-related work that doesn't fit in an existing
  IETF working group and doesn't merit a working group of its own.

- Provide technical input to the IAB, IANA and Internet Address
  Registries with regard to IPv6 address allocation policies and
  procedures.

The list of the working group's current work items is as follows:

- Revise and advance to Draft Standard the IPv6 Address
  Architecture document [RFC 2373]

- Revise IPv6 Aggregatable Unicast Addresses [RFC 2374], removing the 
  policy aspects that are considered RIR issues.

- Complete work on recommended address-selection algorithms

- Revise ICMPv6 spec [RFC 2463] (scope-exceeded err, no error to
  redirect, editorial)

- Revise Generic Tunneling spec [RFC 2473] (add bidirectional
  tunnels)

- Update Basic and Advanced API specs [RFC 2553, RFC 2292]

- Complete Scoped Address Architecture spec and any necessary revisions
  to other working group drafts required to properly implement support
  for IPv6 address scoping

- Work on host-based solutions to site-multihoming problems (in
  coordination with multi6)

- Complete work on local IPv6 networking as part of IPv6
  plug-and-play (to be coordinated with other WGs as appropriate,
  e.g., dnsext, zeroconf, etc.)

- Document IPv6 renumbering model

- Complete the IPv6 Node Information Queries spec

- Revise and update the base IPv4/IPv6 MIBs and produce a new
  consistent set of MIBs that cover IPv4 and IPv6 together.
  RFCs to be looked at together: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2096, 2851, 2452, 
  2454, 2465, 2466 and possibly 3019.

New work items not listed above require the approval of the working
group and Internet Area directors before they will be taken on by the
working group.

The working group would welcome contributions on the following topics
this is not an exhaustive list):

- Flow label standardization

- Solutions to other multihoming issues, beyond those specific to
  site-multihoming

- Integration of autoconfiguration, mobility, DNS, service discovery
  and other technologies to enhance IPv6 plug-and-play

- IPv6 dial-up issues relating to address assignment, use of Neighbor
  Discovery, etc. (not including AAA work)

- Specifications for IPv6 over additional media

- Host use of anycast; TCP use of anycast

- Support for multi-link subnets (single subnet spans multiple links)

- Scope-name discovery

- IPv6 protocol extensions to accommodate mobile wireless networks.