Subject: WG Review: Ad Hoc Network configuration (autoconf)

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2005 14:28:49 -0400

A new IETF working group has been proposed in the Internet Area. The IESG has not 
made any determination as yet. The following draft charter was submitted, and is 
provided for informational purposes only. Please send your comments to the IESG 
mailing list ([email-masked]) by August 3rd.

+++

Ad Hoc Network configuration (autoconf)
========================================

Current Status: Proposed Working Group

Chairs:
TBD

Internet Area Director(s):
Mark Townsley <[email-masked]>
Margaret Wasserman <[email-masked]>

Internet Area Advisor:
Margaret Wasserman <[email-masked]>

Mailing Lists:
General Discussion: [email-masked]
To Subscribe: [email-masked]

Description of the WG:

In order to communicate among themselves, ad hoc nodes (refer to RFC
2501) may need to configure their network interface(s) with local
addresses that are valid within an ad hoc network. Ad hoc nodes may
also need to configure globally routable addresses, in order to
communicate with devices on the Internet.

Ad hoc networks present several new challenges. Unlike in traditional
IP networks, each ad hoc node, besides being a traffic end-point,
should be capable of forwarding traffic destined for other hosts.
Additionally, nodes constituting an ad-hoc network do not share access
to a single multicast-capable link for signaling. Many protocol
specifications used in traditional IP networks e.g. RFCs 2462, 2463
etc. do, however, assume that subnet-local signals (e.g. link-local
multicast signal) are received by each of the hosts on the particular
subnet without being forwarded by the routers defining the subnet
boundary.

The main purpose of the AUTOCONF WG is to standardize mechanisms to be
used by ad hoc nodes for configuring unique local and/or globally
routable IPv6 addresses. The ad hoc nodes under consideration are
expected to support multi-hop communication by running a MANET routing
protocol, e.g. those developed by the IETF MANET WG. However, this may
or may not mean that an AUTOCONF mechanism will be dependent on any
specific MANET routing protocol. With this in mind, the goals of
AUTOCONF WG are to:

- Produce a "terminology and problem statement" document, defining the
problem statement and goals for AUTOCONF.

- Develop an IPv6 stateless autoconfiguration mechanism to be used by
ad hoc nodes for configuring unique local addresses as well as, in
cases where Internet connectivity exists, globally routable unique
addresses.

- Develop a stateful address autoconfiguration mechanism to be used by
ad hoc nodes for configuring globally routable unique addresses, if an
address providing entity such as DHCPv6 server is available.

- Develop a mechanism to promote configured address uniqueness in the
situation where different ad hoc networks merge.

Issues and requirements related to prefix and/or address providing
entities, such as an Internet gateway, will be addressed within the
group to the extent that they are directly related to the AUTOCONF
mechanisms. Security concerns related to AUTOCONF mechanisms will also
be discussed within the group.

The working group will reuse existing specifications whenever
reasonable and possible.

Goals and Milestones:

Oct 05 : Submit "terminology and problem statement" document for WG
review
Oct 05: Submit initial I-D(s) of candidate proposed AUTOCONF mechanisms
and design frameworks
Feb 06: Submit "terminology and problem statement" document to IESG for
publication as an informational RFC
Apr 06: Submit initial I-D of "stateless autoconfiguration mechanism"
for WG review
Apr 06: Submit initial I-D of "stateful autoconfiguration mechanism"
for WG review
Apr 06: Submit initial -ID of "configured address uniqueness
maintenance" for WG review
Aug 06: Revise WG documents and review
Dec 06 Revise documents based upon implementation experience
Apr 07: Submit "stateless autoconfiguration mechanism" specification
and supporting documentation to IESG for publications as Proposed
Standard
Apr 07: Submit "stateful autoconfiguration mechanism" specification and
supporting documentation to IESG for publications as Proposed Standard
Apr 07: Submit "configured address uniqueness maintenance"
specification and supporting documentation to IESG for publications as
Proposed Standard
Oct 07: Close or recharter the WG 

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