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IETF RFC 3316
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) for Some Second and Third Generation Cellular Hosts
Last modified on Wednesday, April 30th, 2003
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Network Working Group J. Arkko
Request for Comments: 3316 G. Kuijpers
Category: Informational H. Soliman
Ericsson
J. Loughney
J. Wiljakka
Nokia
April 2003
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)
for Some Second and Third Generation Cellular Hosts
 Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright © The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
As the deployment of second and third generation cellular networks
progresses, a large number of cellular hosts are being connected to
the Internet. Standardization organizations are making Internet
Protocol version 6 (IPv6) mandatory in their specifications.
However, the concept of IPv6 covers many aspects and numerous
specifications. In addition, the characteristics of cellular links
in terms of bandwidth, cost and delay put special requirements on how
IPv6 is used. This document considers IPv6 for cellular hosts that
attach to the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), or Universal
Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks. This document also
lists basic components of IPv6 functionality and discusses some
issues relating to the use of these components when operating in
these networks.
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RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.....................................................3
1.1 Scope of this Document......................................3
1.2 Abbreviations...............................................4
1.3 Cellular Host IPv6 Features.................................5
2. Basic IP.........................................................5
2.1 RFC 1981 - Path MTU Discovery for IP Version 6...............5
2.2 RFC 3513 - IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture..............6
2.3 RFC 2460 - Internet Protocol Version 6.......................6
2.4 RFC 2461 - Neighbor Discovery for IPv6.......................7
2.5 RFC 2462 - IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration..........8
2.6 RFC 2463 - Internet Control Message Protocol for the IPv6....8
2.7 RFC 2472 - IP version 6 over PPP.............................9
2.8 RFC 2473 - Generic Packet Tunneling in IPv6 Specification....9
2.9 RFC 2710 - Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) for IPv6.......9
2.10 RFC 2711 - IPv6 Router Alert Option.........................10
2.11 RFC 3041 - Privacy Extensions for Address Configuration
in IPv6 .........................................10
2.12 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6)......10
2.13 RFC 3484 - Default Address Selection for IPv6...............11
2.14 DNS........................................................11
3. IP Security.....................................................11
3.1 RFC 2104 - HMAC: Keyed-Hashing for Message Authentication...12
3.2 RFC 2401 - Security Architecture for the Internet Protocol..12
3.3 RFC 2402 - IP Authentication Header.........................12
3.4 RFC 2403 - The Use of HMAC-MD5-96 within ESP and AH.........12
3.5 RFC 2404 - The Use of HMAC-SHA-96 within ESP and AH.........12
3.6 RFC 2405 - The ESP DES-CBC Cipher Algorithm With
Explicit IV......................................12
3.7 RFC 2406 - IP Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)..........12
3.8 RFC 2407 - The Internet IP Security DoI for ISAKMP..........12
3.9 RFC 2408 - The Internet Security Association and Key
Management Protocol..............................13
3.10 RFC 2409 - The Internet Key Exchange (IKE)..................13
3.11 RFC 2410 - The NULL Encryption Algorithm & its Use
With IPsec.......................................14
3.12 RFC 2451 - The ESP CBC-Mode Cipher Algorithms...............14
4. Mobility........................................................14
5. Security Considerations.........................................14
6. References......................................................16
6.1 Normative..................................................16
6.2 Informative................................................18
7. Contributors....................................................19
8. Acknowledgements................................................19
Appendix A - Cellular Host IPv6 Addressing in the 3GPP Model.......20
Authors' Addresses.................................................21
Full Copyright Statement...........................................22
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1 Introduction
Technologies such as GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), UMTS
(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and CDMA2000 (Code
Division Multiple Access 2000) are making it possible for cellular
hosts to have an always-on connection to the Internet. IPv6 becomes
necessary, as it is expected that the number of such cellular hosts
will increase rapidly. Standardization organizations working with
cellular technologies have recognized this and are making IPv6
mandatory in their specifications.
Support for IPv6 and the introduction of UMTS starts with 3GPP
Release 99 networks and hosts. IPv6 is specified as the only IP
version supported for IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) starting from
Release 5.
1.1 Scope of this Document
For the purposes of this document, a cellular interface is considered
to be the interface to a cellular access network based on the
following standards: 3GPP GPRS and UMTS Release 99, Release 4,
Release 5, as well as future UMTS releases. A cellular host is
considered to be a host with such a cellular interface.
This document lists IPv6 specifications with discussion on the use of
these specifications when operating over cellular interfaces. Such a
specification is necessary in order for the optimal use of IPv6 in a
cellular environment. The description is made from a cellular host
point of view. Important considerations are given in order to
eliminate unnecessary user confusion over configuration options,
ensure interoperability and to provide an easy reference for those
implementing IPv6 in a cellular host. It is necessary to ensure that
cellular hosts are good citizens of the Internet.
This document is informational in nature, and it is not intended to
replace, update, or contradict any IPv6 standards documents [RFC-
2026].
The main audience of this document are: the implementers of cellular
hosts that will be used with GPRS, 3GPP UMTS Release 99, Release 4,
Release 5, or future releases of UMTS. The document provides
guidance on which parts of IPv6 to implement in such cellular hosts.
Parts of this document may also apply to other cellular link types,
but no such detailed analysis has been done yet and is a topic of
future work. This document should not be used as a definitive list
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of IPv6 functionality for cellular links other than those listed
above. Future changes in 3GPP networks that require changes in host
implementations may result in updates to this document.
There are different ways to implement cellular hosts:
- The host can be a "closed 2G or 3G host" with a very compact size
and optimized applications, with no possibility to add or download
applications that can have IP communications. An example of such a
host is a very simple form of a mobile phone.
- The host can be an "open 2G or 3G host" with a compact size, but
where it is possible to download applications; such as a PDA-type
of phone.
If a cellular host has additional interfaces on which IP is used,
(such as Ethernet, WLAN, Bluetooth, etc.) then there may be
additional requirements for the device, beyond what is discussed in
this document. Additionally, this document does not make any
recommendations on the functionality required on laptop computers
having a cellular interface such as a PC card, other than
recommending link specific behavior on the cellular link.
This document discusses IPv6 functionality as specified when this
document has been written. Ongoing work on IPv6 may affect what is
needed from future hosts. The reader should also be advised other
relevant work exists for various other layers. Examples of this
include the header compression work done in the IETF ROHC group, the
analysis of the effects of error-prone links to performance in [RFC-
3155], or the TCP work in [RFC 3481].
Transition mechanisms used by cellular hosts are not described in
this document and are left for further study.
1.2 Abbreviations
2G Second Generation Mobile Telecommunications, such as GSM and
GPRS technologies.
3G Third Generation Mobile Telecommunications, such as UMTS
technology.
3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project. Throughout the document,
the term 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) networks
refers to architectures standardized by 3GPP, in Second and
Third Generation releases: 99, 4, and 5, as well as future
releases.
AH Authentication Header
APN Access Point Name. The APN is a logical name referring to a
GGSN and an external network.
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ESP Encapsulating Security Payload
ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute
IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem
GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node (a default router for 3GPP IPv6
cellular hosts)
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
IKE Internet Key Exchange
ISAKMP Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol
MT Mobile Terminal, for example, a mobile phone handset.
MTU Maximum Transmission Unit
PDP Packet Data Protocol
SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node
TE Terminal Equipment, for example, a laptop attached through a
3GPP handset.
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network
1.3 Cellular Host IPv6 Features
This specification defines IPv6 features for cellular hosts in three
groups.
Basic IP
In this group, basic parts of IPv6 are described.
IP Security
In this group, the IP Security parts are described.
Mobility
In this group, IP layer mobility issues are described.
2 Basic IP
2.1 RFC 1981 - Path MTU Discovery for IP Version 6
Path MTU Discovery [RFC 1981] may be used. Cellular hosts with a
link MTU larger than the minimum IPv6 link MTU (1280 octets) can use
Path MTU Discovery in order to discover the real path MTU. The
relative overhead of IPv6 headers is minimized through the use of
longer packets, thus making better use of the available bandwidth.
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The IPv6 specification [RFC 2460] states in Section 5 that "a minimal
IPv6 implementation (e.g., in a boot ROM) may simply restrict itself
to sending packets no larger than 1280 octets, and omit
implementation of Path MTU Discovery."
If Path MTU Discovery is not implemented then the sending packet size
is limited to 1280 octets (standard limit in [RFC 2460]). However,
if this is done, the cellular host must be able to receive packets
with size up to the link MTU before reassembly. This is because the
node at the other side of the link has no way of knowing less than
the MTU is accepted.
2.2 RFC 3513 - IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture
The IPv6 Addressing Architecture [RFC 3513] is a mandatory part of
IPv6.
2.3 RFC 2460 - Internet Protocol Version 6
The Internet Protocol Version 6 is specified in [RFC 2460]. This
specification is a mandatory part of IPv6.
By definition, a cellular host acts as a host, not as a router.
Implementation requirements for a cellular router are not defined in
this document.
Consequently, the cellular host must implement all non-router packet
receive processing as described in RFC 2460. This includes the
generation of ICMPv6 error reports, and the processing of at least
the following extension headers:
- Hop-by-Hop Options header: at least the Pad1 and PadN options
- Destination Options header: at least the Pad1 and PadN options
- Routing (Type 0) header: final destination (host) processing only
- Fragment header
- AH and ESP headers (see also a discussion on the use of IPsec for
various purposes in Section 3)
- The No Next Header value
Unrecognized options in Hop-by-Hop Options or Destination Options
extensions must be processed as described in RFC 2460.
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The cellular host must follow the packet transmission rules in RFC
2460.
The cellular host must always be able to receive and reassemble
fragment headers. It will also need to be able to send a fragment
header in cases where it communicates with an IPv4 host through a
translator (see Section 5 of RFC 2460).
Cellular hosts should only process routing headers when they are the
final destination and return errors if the processing of the routing
header requires them to forward the packet to another node. This
will also ensure that the cellular hosts will not be inappropriately
used as relays or components in Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks.
Acting as the destination involves the following: the cellular hosts
must check the Segments Left field in the header, and proceed if it
is zero or one and the next address is one of the host's addresses.
If not, however, the host must implement error checks as specified in
Section 4.4 of RFC 2460. There is no need for the host to send
Routing Headers.
2.4 RFC 2461 - Neighbor Discovery for IPv6
Neighbor Discovery is described in [RFC 2461]. This specification is
a mandatory part of IPv6.
2.4.1 Neighbor Discovery in 3GPP Networks
A cellular host must support Neighbor Solicitation and Advertisement
messages.
In GPRS and UMTS networks, some Neighbor Discovery messages can be
unnecessary in certain cases. GPRS and UMTS links resemble a point-
to-point link; hence, the cellular host's only neighbor on the
cellular link is the default router that is already known through
Router Discovery. There are no link layer addresses. Therefore,
address resolution and next-hop determination are not needed.
The cellular host must support neighbor unreachability detection as
specified in [RFC 2461].
In GPRS and UMTS networks, it is very desirable to conserve
bandwidth. Therefore, the cellular host should include a mechanism
in upper layer protocols to provide reachability confirmation when
two-way IP layer reachability can be confirmed (see RFC 2461, Section
7.3.1). These confirmations will allow the suppression of most NUD-
related messages in most cases.
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Host TCP implementation should provide reachability confirmation in
the manner explained in RFC 2461, Section 7.3.1.
The common use of UDP in 3GPP networks poses a problem for providing
reachability confirmation. UDP itself is unable to provide such
confirmation. Applications running over UDP should provide the
confirmation where possible. In particular, when UDP is used for
transporting RTP, the RTCP protocol feedback should be used as a
basis for the reachability confirmation. If an RTCP packet is
received with a reception report block indicating some packets have
gone through, then packets are reaching the peer. If they have
reached the peer, they have also reached the neighbor.
When UDP is used for transporting SIP, responses to SIP requests
should be used as the confirmation that packets sent to the peer are
reaching it. When the cellular host is acting as the server side SIP
node, no such confirmation is generally available. However, a host
may interpret the receipt of a SIP ACK request as confirmation that
the previously sent response to a SIP INVITE request has reached the
peer.
2.5 RFC 2462 - IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration
IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration is defined in [RFC 2462].
This specification is a mandatory part of IPv6.
2.5.1 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration in 3GPP Networks
A cellular host in a 3GPP network must process a Router Advertisement
as stated in Section 2.4.
Hosts in 3GPP networks can set DupAddrDetectTransmits equal to zero,
as each delegated prefix is unique within its scope when allocated
using the 3GPP IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration. In
addition, the default router (GGSN) will not configure or assign to
its interfaces, any addresses based on prefixes delegated to IPv6
hosts. Thus, the host is not required to perform Duplicate Address
Detection on the cellular interface.
See Appendix A for more details on 3GPP IPv6 Stateless Address
Autoconfiguration.
2.6 RFC 2463 - Internet Control Message Protocol for the IPv6
The Internet Control Message Protocol for the IPv6 is defined [RFC-
2463]. This specification is a mandatory part of IPv6. Currently,
this work is being updated.
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As per RFC 2463 Section 2, ICMPv6 requirements must be fully
implemented by every IPv6 node. See also Section 3 for an
explanation of the use of IPsec for protecting ICMPv6 communications.
2.7 RFC 2472 - IP version 6 over PPP
IPv6 over PPP [RFC 2472] must be supported for cellular hosts that
implement PPP.
2.7.1 IP version 6 over PPP in 3GPP Networks
A cellular host in a 3GPP network must support the IPv6CP interface
identifier option. This option is needed to be able to connect other
devices to the Internet using a PPP link between the cellular device
(MT) and other devices (TE, e.g., a laptop). The MT performs the PDP
Context activation based on a request from the TE. This results in
an interface identifier being suggested by the MT to the TE, using
the IPv6CP option. To avoid any duplication in link-local addresses
between the TE and the GGSN, the MT must always reject other
suggested interface identifiers by the TE. This results in the TE
always using the interface identifier suggested by the GGSN for its
link-local address.
The rejection of interface identifiers suggested by the TE is only
done for creation of link-local addresses, according to 3GPP
specifications. The use of privacy addresses [RFC 3041] for site-
local and global addresses is not affected by the above procedure.
The above procedure is only concerned with assigning the interface
identifier used for forming link-local addresses, and does not
preclude TE from using other interface identifiers for addresses with
larger scopes (i.e., site-local and global).
2.8 RFC 2473 - Generic Packet Tunneling in IPv6 Specification
Generic Packet Tunneling [RFC 2473] may be supported if needed for
transition mechanisms.
2.9 RFC 2710 - Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) for IPv6
Multicast Listener Discovery [RFC 2710] must be supported by cellular
hosts.
MLD requires that MLD messages be sent for link-local multicast
addresses (excluding the all-nodes address). The requirement that
MLD be run even for link-local addresses aids layer-two devices
(e.g., Ethernet bridges) that attempt to suppress the forwarding of
link-layer multicast packets to portions of the layer-two network
where there are no listeners. If MLD is used to announce the
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presence of listeners for all IP multicast addresses (including
link-local multicast addresses), layer 2 devices can snoop MLD
messages to reliably determine which portions of a network IP
multicast messages need to be forwarded to.
2.9.1 MLD in 3GPP Networks
Within 3GPP networks, hosts connect to their default routers (GGSN)
via point-to-point links. Moreover, there are exactly two IP devices
connected to the point-to-point link, and no attempt is made (at the
link-layer) to suppress the forwarding of multicast traffic.
Consequently, sending MLD reports for link-local addresses in a 3GPP
environment may not always be necessary.
MLD is needed for multicast group knowledge that is not link-local.
2.10 RFC 2711 - IPv6 Router Alert Option
The Router Alert Option [RFC 2711] must be supported, and its use is
required when MLD is used (see Section 2.9) or when RSVP [RFC 2205]
is used.
2.11 RFC 3041 - Privacy Extensions for Address Configuration in IPv6
Privacy Extensions for Stateless Address Autoconfiguration [RFC 3041]
should be supported. RFC 3041, and privacy in general, is important
for the Internet. Cellular hosts may use the temporary addresses as
described in RFC 3041. However, the use of the Privacy Extension in
an environment where IPv6 addresses are short-lived may not be
necessary. At the time this document has been written, there is no
experience on how long-lived cellular network address assignments
(i.e., attachments to the network) are. The length of the address
assignments depends upon many factors such as radio coverage, device
status and user preferences. Additionally, the use of temporary
address with IPsec may lead to more frequent renegotiation for the
Security Associations.
Refer to Section 5 for a discussion of the benefits of privacy
extensions in a 3GPP network.
2.12 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6)
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 [DHCPv6] may be
used. DHCPv6 is not required for address autoconfiguration when IPv6
stateless autoconfiguration is used. However, DHCPv6 may be useful
for other configuration needs on a cellular host.
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2.13 RFC 3484 - Default Address Selection for IPv6
Default Address Selection [RFC 3484] is needed for cellular hosts.
2.14 DNS
Cellular hosts should support DNS, as described in [RFC 1034], [RFC-
1035], [RFC 1886], and [RFC 3152].
If DNS is used, a cellular host can perform DNS requests in the
recursive mode, to limit signaling over the air interface. Both the
iterative and the recursive approach should be supported, however, as
the specifications require implementation of the iterative approach,
and allow the recursive approach as an option. Furthermore, all DNS
servers may not support recursive queries, and the security benefits
of DNS Security cannot always be achieved with them.
3 IP Security
IPsec [RFC 2401] is a fundamental part of IPv6, and support for AH
and ESP is described as mandatory in the specifications.
The first part of this section discusses the applicability of IP
Security and other security mechanisms for common tasks in cellular
hosts. The second part, Sections 3.1 to 3.13, lists the
specifications related to IPsec and discusses the use of these parts
of IPsec in a cellular context.
In general, the need to use a security mechanism depends on the
intended application for it. Different security mechanisms are
useful in different contexts, and have different limitations. Some
applications require the use of TLS [RFC 2246], in some situations
IPsec is used.
It is not realistic to list all possible services here, and it is
expected that application protocol specifications have requirements
on what security services they require. Note that cellular hosts
able to download applications must be prepared to offer sufficient
security services for these applications regardless of the needs of
the initial set of applications in those hosts.
The following sections list specifications related to the IPsec
functionality, and discuss their applicability in a cellular context.
This discussion focuses on the use of IPsec. In some applications, a
different set of protocols may need to be employed. In particular,
the below discussion is not relevant for applications that use other
security services than IPsec.
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3.1 RFC 2104 - HMAC: Keyed-Hashing for Message Authentication
This specification [RFC 2104] must be supported. It is referenced by
RFC 2403 that describes how IPsec protects the integrity of packets.
3.2 RFC 2401 - Security Architecture for the Internet Protocol
This specification [RFC 2401] must be supported.
3.3 RFC 2402 - IP Authentication Header
This specification [RFC 2402] must be supported.
3.4 RFC 2403 - The Use of HMAC-MD5-96 within ESP and AH
This specification [RFC 2403] must be supported.
3.5 RFC 2404 - The Use of HMAC-SHA-96 within ESP and AH
This specification [RFC 2404] must be supported.
3.6 RFC 2405 - The ESP DES-CBC Cipher Algorithm With Explicit IV
This specification [RFC 2405] may be supported. It is, however,
recommended that stronger algorithms than DES be used. Algorithms,
such as AES, are undergoing work in the IPsec working group. These
new algorithms are useful, and should be supported as soon as their
standardization is ready.
3.7 RFC 2406 - IP Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)
This specification [RFC 2406] must be supported.
3.8 RFC 2407 - The Internet IP Security DoI for ISAKMP
Automatic key management, [RFC 2408] and [RFC 2409], is not a
mandatory part of the IP Security Architecture. Note, however, that
in the cellular environment the IP addresses of a host may change
dynamically. For this reason the use of manually configured Security
Associations is not practical, as the newest host address would have
to be updated to the SA database of the peer as well.
Even so, it is not clear that all applications would use IKE for key
management. For instance, hosts may use IPsec ESP [RFC 2406] for
protecting SIP signaling in the IMS [3GPP-ACC] but provide
authentication and key management through another mechanism such as
UMTS AKA (Authentication and Key Agreement) [UMTS-AKA].
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It is likely that several simplifying assumptions can be made in the
cellular environment, with respect to the mandated parts of the IP
Security DoI, ISAKMP, and IKE. Work on such simplifications would be
useful, but is outside the scope of this document.
3.9 RFC 2408 - The Internet Security Association and Key Management
Protocol
This specification [RFC 2408] is optional according to the IPv6
specifications, but may be necessary in some applications, as
described in Section 3.8.
3.10 RFC 2409 - The Internet Key Exchange (IKE)
This specification [RFC 2409] is optional according to the IPv6
specifications, but may be necessary in some applications, as
described in Section 3.8.
Interactions with the ICMPv6 packets and IPsec policies may cause
unexpected behavior for IKE-based SA negotiation unless some special
handling is performed in the implementations.
The ICMPv6 protocol provides many functions, which in IPv4 were
either non-existent or provided by lower layers. For instance, IPv6
implements address resolution using an IP packet, ICMPv6 Neighbor
Solicitation message. In contrast, IPv4 uses an ARP message at a
lower layer.
The IPsec architecture has a Security Policy Database that specifies
which traffic is protected, and how. It turns out that the
specification of policies in the presence of ICMPv6 traffic is not
easy. For instance, a simple policy of protecting all traffic
between two hosts on the same network would trap even address
resolution messages, leading to a situation where IKE can't establish
a Security Association since in order to send the IKE UDP packets one
would have had to send the Neighbor Solicitation Message, which would
have required an SA.
In order to avoid this problem, Neighbor Solicitation, Neighbor
Advertisement, Router Solicitation, and Router Advertisement messages
must not lead to the use of IKE-based SA negotiation. The Redirect
message should not lead to the use of IKE-based SA negotiation.
Other ICMPv6 messages may use IKE-based SA negotiation as is desired
in the Security Policy Data Base.
Note that the above limits the usefulness of IPsec in protecting all
ICMPv6 communications. For instance, it may not be possible to
protect the ICMPv6 traffic between a cellular host and its next hop
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router. (Which may be hard in any case due to the need to establish
a suitable public key infrastructure. Since roaming is allowed, this
infrastructure would have to authenticate all hosts to all routers.)
3.11 RFC 2410 - The NULL Encryption Algorithm & its Use With IPsec
This specification [RFC 2410] must be supported.
3.12 RFC 2451 - The ESP CBC-Mode Cipher Algorithms
This specification [RFC 2451] must be supported if encryption
algorithms other than DES are implemented, e.g., CAST-128, RC5, IDEA,
Blowfish, 3DES.
4. Mobility
For the purposes of this document, IP mobility is not relevant. When
Mobile IPv6 specification is approved, a future update to this
document may address these issues, as there may be some effects on
all IPv6 hosts due to Mobile IP. The movement of cellular hosts
within 3GPP networks is handled by link layer mechanisms.
5. Security Considerations
This document does not specify any new protocols or functionality,
and as such, it does not introduce any new security vulnerabilities.
However, specific profiles of IPv6 functionality are proposed for
different situations, and vulnerabilities may open or close depending
on which functionality is included and what is not. There are also
aspects of the cellular environment that make certain types of
vulnerabilities more severe. The following issues are discussed:
- The suggested limitations (Section 2.3) in the processing of
routing headers limits also exposure to DoS attacks through
cellular hosts.
- IPv6 addressing privacy [RFC 3041] may be used in cellular hosts.
However, it should be noted that in the 3GPP model, the network
would assign new addresses, in most cases, to hosts in roaming
situations and typically, also when the cellular hosts activate a
PDP context. This means that 3GPP networks will already provide a
limited form of addressing privacy, and no global tracking of a
single host is possible through its address. On the other hand,
since a GGSN's coverage area is expected to be very large when
compared to currently deployed default routers (no handovers
between GGSNs are possible), a cellular host can keep an address
for a long time. Hence, IPv6 addressing privacy can be used for
additional privacy during the time the host is on and in the same
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area. The privacy features can also be used to e.g., make
different transport sessions appear to come from different IP
addresses. However, it is not clear that these additional efforts
confuse potential observers any further, as they could monitor only
the network prefix part.
- The use of various security services such as IPsec or TLS in the
connection of typical applications in cellular hosts is discussed
in Section 3 and recommendations are given there.
- Section 3 also discusses under what conditions it is possible to
provide IPsec protection of e.g., ICMPv6 communications.
- The airtime used by cellular hosts is expensive. In some cases,
users are billed according to the amount of data they transfer to
and from their host. It is crucial for both the network and the
users that the airtime is used correctly and no extra charges are
applied to users due to misbehaving third parties. The cellular
links also have a limited capacity, which means that they may not
necessarily be able to accommodate more traffic than what the user
selected, such as a multimedia call. Additional traffic might
interfere with the service level experienced by the user. While
Quality of Service mechanisms mitigate these problems to an extent,
it is still apparent that DoS aspects may be highlighted in the
cellular environment. It is possible for existing DoS attacks that
use for instance packet amplification to be substantially more
damaging in this environment. How these attacks can be protected
against is still an area of further study. It is also often easy
to fill the cellular link and queues on both sides with additional
or large packets.
- Within some service provider networks, it is possible to buy a
prepaid cellular subscription without presenting personal
identification. Attackers that wish to remain unidentified could
leverage this. Note that while the user hasn't been identified,
the equipment still is; the operators can follow the identity of
the device and block it from further use. The operators must have
procedures in place to take notice of third party complaints
regarding the use of their customers' devices. It may also be
necessary for the operators to have attack detection tools that
enable them to efficiently detect attacks launched from the
cellular hosts.
- Cellular devices that have local network interfaces (such as IrDA
or Bluetooth) may be used to launch attacks through them, unless
the local interfaces are secured in an appropriate manner.
Therefore, local network interfaces should have access control to
prevent others from using the cellular host as an intermediary.
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 15
RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
6. References
6.1. Normative
[RFC 1035] Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - implementation and
specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, November 1987.
[RFC 1886] Thomson, S. and C. Huitema, "DNS Extensions to support IP
version 6, RFC 1886, December 1995.
[RFC 1981] McCann, J., Mogul, J. and S. Deering, "Path MTU Discovery
for IP version 6", RFC 1981, August 1996.
[RFC 2026] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision
3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996.
[RFC 2104] Krawczyk, K., Bellare, M. and R. Canetti, "HMAC: Keyed-
Hashing for Message Authentication", RFC 2104, February
1997.
[RFC 2246] Dierks, T. and C. Allen, "The TLS Protocol Version 1.0",
RFC 2246, January 1999.
[RFC 2401] Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "Security Architecture for the
Internet Protocol", RFC 2401, November 1998.
[RFC 2402] Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Authentication Header",
RFC 2402, November 1998.
[RFC 2403] Madson, C., and R. Glenn, "The Use of HMAC-MD5 within ESP
and AH", RFC 2403, November 1998.
[RFC 2404] Madson, C., and R. Glenn, "The Use of HMAC-SHA-1 within
ESP and AH", RFC 2404, November 1998.
[RFC 2405] Madson, C. and N. Doraswamy, "The ESP DES-CBC Cipher
Algorithm With Explicit IV", RFC 2405, November 1998.
[RFC 2406] Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Encapsulating Security
Protocol (ESP)", RFC 2406, November 1998.
[RFC 2407] Piper, D., "The Internet IP Security Domain of
Interpretation for ISAKMP", RFC 2407, November 1998.
[RFC 2408] Maughan, D., Schertler, M., Schneider, M., and J. Turner,
"Internet Security Association and Key Management
Protocol (ISAKMP)", RFC 2408, November 1998.
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 16
RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
[RFC 2409] Harkins, D. and D. Carrel, "The Internet Key Exchange
(IKE)", RFC 2409, November 1998.
[RFC 2410] Glenn, R. and S. Kent, "The NULL Encryption Algorithm and
Its Use With IPsec", RFC 2410, November 1998.
[RFC 2451] Pereira, R. and R. Adams, "The ESP CBC-Mode Cipher
Algorithms", RFC 2451, November 1998.
[RFC 2460] Deering, S. and R. Hinden, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
(IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, December 1998.
[RFC 2461] Narten, T., Nordmark, E. and W. Simpson, "Neighbor
Discovery for IP Version 6 (IPv6)", RFC 2461, December
1998.
[RFC 2462] Thomson, S. and T. Narten, "IPv6 Stateless Address
Autoconfiguration", RFC 2462, December 1998.
[RFC 2463] Conta, A. and S. Deering, "ICMP for the Internet Protocol
Version 6 (IPv6)", RFC 2463, December 1998.
[RFC 2473] Conta, A. and S. Deering, "Generic Packet Tunneling in
IPv6 Specification", RFC 2473, December 1998.
[RFC 2710] Deering, S., Fenner, W. and B. Haberman, "Multicast
Listener Discovery (MLD) for IPv6", RFC 2710, October
1999.
[RFC 2711] Partridge, C. and A. Jackson, "IPv6 Router Alert Option",
RFC 2711, October 1999.
[RFC 2874] Crawford, M. and C. Huitema, "DNS Extensions to Support
IPv6 Address Aggregation and Renumbering", RFC 2874, July
2000.
[RFC 3041] Narten, T. and R. Draves, "Privacy Extensions for
Stateless Address Autoconfiguration in IPv6", RFC 3041,
January 2001.
[RFC 3152] Bush, R., "Delegation of IP6.ARPA", BCP 49, RFC 3152,
August 2001.
[RFC 3155] Dawkins, S., Montenegro, G., Kojo, M., Magret, V. and N.
Vaidya, "End-to-end Performance Implications of Links
with Errors", BCP 50, RFC 3155, August 2001.
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 17
RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
[RFC 3484] Draves, R., "Default Address Selection for Internet
Protocol version 6 (IPv6)", RFC 3484, February 2003.
[RFC 3513] Hinden, R. and S. Deering, "Internet Protocol Version 6
(IPv6) Addressing Architecture", RFC 3513, April 2003.
6.2. Informative
[3GPP-ACC] 3GPP Technical Specification 3GPP TS 33.203, "Technical
Specification Group Services and System Aspects; 3G
Security; Access security for IP-based services (Release
5)", 3rd Generation Partnership Project, March 2002.
[3GPP-IMS] 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical
Specification Group Services and System Aspects; IP
Multimedia (IM) Subsystem - Stage 2; (3G TS 23.228)
[3GPP-IPv6] 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical
Specification Group Services and System Aspects
"Architectural requirements" (TS 23.221)
[DHCPv6] Bound, J., et al., "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
for IPv6 (DHCPv6)", Work in progress.
[RFC 1034] Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - concepts and
facilities", STD 13, RFC 1034, November 1987.
[RFC 2529] Carpenter, B. and C. Jung, "Transmission of IPv6 over
IPv4 Domains without Explicit Tunnels", RFC 2529, March
1999.
[RFC 2205] Braden, R., Zhang, L., Berson, S., Herzog, S. and S.
Jamin, "Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) -- Version 1
Functional Specification", RFC 2205, September 1997.
[RFC 3314] Wasserman, M., Editor, "Recommendations for IPv6 in Third
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Standards, RFC
3314, September 2002.
[RFC 3481] Inamura, H., Montenegro, G., Ludwig, R., Gurtov, A. and
F. Khafizov, "TCP over Second (2.5G) and Third (3G)
Generation Wireless Networks", BCP 71, RFC 3481, February
2003.
[UMTS-AKA] 3GPP Technical Specification 3GPP TS 33.102, "Technical
Specification Group Services and System Aspects; 3G
Security; Security Architecture (Release 4)", 3rd
Generation Partnership Project, December 2001.
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 18
RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
7. Contributors
This document is based on the results of a team that included Peter
Hedman and Pertti Suomela in addition to the authors. Peter and
Pertti have contributed both text and their IPv6 experience to this
document.
8. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Jim Bound, Brian Carpenter, Steve
Deering, Bob Hinden, Keith Moore, Thomas Narten, Erik Nordmark,
Michael Thomas, Margaret Wasserman and others at the IPv6 WG mailing
list for their comments and input.
We would also like to thank David DeCamp, Karim El Malki, Markus
Isomaki, Petter Johnsen, Janne Rinne, Jonne Soininen, Vlad Stirbu and
Shabnam Sultana for their comments and input in preparation of this
document.
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 19
RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
Appendix A - Cellular Host IPv6 Addressing in the 3GPP Model
The appendix aims to very briefly describe the 3GPP IPv6 addressing
model for 2G (GPRS) and 3G (UMTS) cellular networks from Release 99
onwards. More information can be found from 3GPP Technical
Specification 23.060.
There are two possibilities to allocate the address for an IPv6 node:
stateless and stateful autoconfiguration. The stateful address
allocation mechanism needs a DHCP server to allocate the address for
the IPv6 node. On the other hand, the stateless autoconfiguration
procedure does not need any external entity involved in the address
autoconfiguration (apart from the GGSN).
In order to support the standard IPv6 stateless address
autoconfiguration mechanism, as recommended by the IETF, the GGSN
shall assign a prefix that is unique within its scope to each primary
PDP context that uses IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration. This
avoids the necessity to perform Duplicate Address Detection at the
network level for every address built by the mobile host. The GGSN
always provides an Interface Identifier to the mobile host. The
Mobile host uses the interface identifier provided by the GGSN to
generate its link-local address. The GGSN provides the cellular host
with the interface identifier, usually in a random manner. It must
ensure the uniqueness of such identifier on the link (i.e., no
collisions between its own link-local address and the cellular
host's).
In addition, the GGSN will not use any of the prefixes assigned to
cellular hosts to generate any of its own addresses. This use of the
interface identifier, combined with the fact that each PDP context is
allocated a unique prefix, will eliminate the need for DAD messages
over the air interface, and consequently allows an efficient use of
bandwidth. Furthermore, the allocation of a prefix to each PDP
context will allow hosts to implement the privacy extensions in RFC
3041 without the need for further DAD messages.
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 20
RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
Authors' Addresses
Jari Arkko
Ericsson
02420 Jorvas
Finland
EMail: jari.arkko@ericsson.com
Gerben Kuijpers
Ericsson
Skanderborgvej 232
DK-8260 Viby J
Denmark
EMail: gerben.a.kuijpers@ted.ericsson.se
John Loughney
Nokia Research Center
Itamerenkatu 11 - 13
FIN-00180 HELSINKI
Finland
EMail: john.loughney@nokia.com
Hesham Soliman
Ericsson Radio Systems AB
Torshamnsgatan 23, Kista, Stockholm
Sweden
EMail: hesham.soliman@era.ericsson.se
Juha Wiljakka
Nokia Mobile Phones
Sinitaival 5
FIN-33720 TAMPERE
Finland
EMail: juha.wiljakka@nokia.com
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 21
RFC 3316 IPv6 for Some 2G and 3G Cellular Hosts April 2003
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright © The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
English.
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Acknowledgement
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
Arkko, et al. Informational PAGE 22
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) for Some Second and Third Generation Cellular Hosts
RFC TOTAL SIZE: 48741 bytes
PUBLICATION DATE: Wednesday, April 30th, 2003
LEGAL RIGHTS: The IETF Trust (see BCP 78)
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