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IETF RFC 4361
Node-specific Client Identifiers for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Version Four (DHCPv4)
Last modified on Thursday, February 9th, 2006
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Network Working Group T. Lemon
Request for Comments: 4361 Nominum
Updates: 2131, 2132, 3315 B. Sommerfield
Category: Standards Track Sun Microsystems
February 2006
Node-specific Client Identifiers for
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Version Four (DHCPv4)
 Status of This Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright © The Internet Society (2006).
Abstract
This document specifies the format that is to be used for encoding
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Version Four (DHCPv4) client
identifiers, so that those identifiers will be interchangeable with
identifiers used in the DHCPv6 protocol. This document also
addresses and corrects some problems in RFC 2131 and RFC 2132 with
respect to the handling of DHCP client identifiers.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................2
2. Terminology .....................................................2
3. Applicability ...................................................2
4. Problem Statement ...............................................3
4.1. Client identities are ephemeral. ...........................3
4.2. Clients can accidentally present multiple identities. ......3
4.3. RFC 2131/2132 and RFC 3315 identifiers are incompatible. ...4
4.4. RFC 2131 does not require the use of a client identifier. ..4
5. Requirements ....................................................4
6. Implementation ..................................................6
6.1. DHCPv4 Client Behavior .....................................6
6.2. DHCPv6 Client Behavior .....................................7
6.3. DHCPv4 Server Behavior .....................................7
6.4. Changes from RFC 2131 ......................................8
6.5. Changes from RFC 2132 ......................................9
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RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
7. Notes on DHCP Clients in Multi-stage Network Booting ............9
8. Security Considerations ........................................10
9. References .....................................................10
9.1. Normative References ......................................10
9.2. Informative References ....................................10
1. Introduction
This document specifies the way in which Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol Version 4 [RFC 2131] clients should identify themselves.
DHCPv4 client implementations that conform to this specification use
a DHCP Unique Identifier (DUID) as specified in Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) [RFC 3315]. The DUID is
encapsulated in a DHCPv4 client identifier option, as described in
"DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor Extensions" [RFC 2132]. The behaviour
described here supersedes the behavior specified in RFC 2131 and
RFC 2132.
The reason for making this change is that as we make the transition
from IPv4 to IPv6, there will be network devices that must use both
DHCPv4 and DHCPv6. Users of these devices will have a smoother
network experience if the devices identify themselves consistently,
regardless of the version of DHCP they are using at any given moment.
Most obviously, DNS updates made by the DHCP server on behalf of the
client will be handled more correctly. This change also addresses
certain limitations in the functioning of RFC 2131/2132-style DHCP
client identifiers.
This document first describes the problem to be solved. It then
states the new technique that is to be used to solve the problem.
Finally, it describes the specific changes that one would have to
make to RFC 2131 and RFC 2132 in order for those documents not to
contradict what is described in this document.
2. Terminology
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC 2119].
3. Applicability
This document updates RFC 2131 and RFC 2132. This document also
specifies behavior that is required of DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 clients that
are intended to operate in a dual-stack configuration. Finally, this
document recommends behavior for host configurations where more than
one DHCP client must operate in sequence in order to fully configure
Lemon & Sommerfield Standards Track PAGE 2
RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
the client (e.g., a network boot loader and the operating system it
loads).
DHCPv4 clients and servers that are implemented according to this
document should be implemented as if the changes specified in
sections 6.3 and 6.4 have been made to RFC 2131 and RFC 2132. DHCPv4
clients should, in addition, follow the behavior specified in section
6.1. DHCPv6 clients should follow the behavior specified in section
6.2. DHCPv4 servers should additionally follow the behavior
specified in section 6.3.
4. Problem Statement
4.1. Client identities are ephemeral.
RFC 2132 recommends that client identifiers be generated by using the
permanent link-layer address of the network interface that the client
is trying to configure. One result of this recommendation is that
when the network interface hardware on a client computer is replaced,
the identity of the client changes. The client loses its IP address
and any other resources associated with its old identifier (for
example, its domain name as published through the DHCPv4 server).
4.2. Clients can accidentally present multiple identities.
Consider a DHCPv4 client that has two network interfaces, one of
which is wired and one of which is wireless. The DHCPv4 client will
succeed in configuring either zero, one, or two network interfaces.
Under the current specification, each network interface will receive
a different IP address. The DHCPv4 server will treat each network
interface as a completely independent DHCPv4 client, on a completely
independent host.
Thus, when the client presents some information to be updated in a
network directory service, such as the DNS, the name that is
presented will be the same on both interfaces, but the identity that
is presented will be different. What will happen is that one of the
two interfaces will get the name, and will retain that name as long
as it has a valid lease, even if it loses its connection to the
network, while the other network interface will never get the name.
In some cases, this will achieve the desired result; when only one
network interface is connected, sometimes its IP address will be
published. In some cases, the one connected interface's IP address
will not be the one that is published. When there are two
interfaces, sometimes the correct one will be published, and
sometimes not.
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RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
This is likely to be a particular problem with modern laptops, which
usually have built-in wireless ethernet and wired ethernet. When the
user is near a wired outlet, he or she may want the additional speed
and privacy provided by a wired connection, but that same user may
unplug from the wired network and wander around, still connected to
the wireless network. When a transition like this happens, under the
current scheme, if the address of the wired interface is the one that
gets published, this client will be seen by hosts attempting to
connect to it as if it has intermittent connectivity, even though it
actually has continuous network connectivity through the wireless
port.
Another common case of a duplicate identity being presented occurs
when a boot monitor such as a Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE)
loader specifies one DHCP client identifier, and then the operating
system loaded by the boot loader specifies a different identity.
4.3. RFC 2131/2132 and RFC 3315 identifiers are incompatible.
The 'client identifier' option is used by DHCPv4 clients and servers
to identify clients. In some cases, the value of the 'client
identifier' option is used to mediate access to resources (for
example, the client's domain name, as published through the DHCPv4
server). RFC 2132 and RFC 3315 specify different methods for
deriving client identifiers. These methods guarantee that the DHCPv4
and DHCPv6 identifiers will be different. This means that mediation
of access to resources using these identifiers will not work
correctly in cases where a node may be configured using DHCPv4 in
some cases and DHCPv6 in other cases.
4.4. RFC 2131 does not require the use of a client identifier.
RFC 2131 allows the DHCPv4 server to identify clients either by using
the client identifier option sent by the client or, if the client did
not send one, the client's link-layer address. Like the client
identifier format recommended by RFC 2131, this suffers from the
problems previously described in sections 4.2 and 4.3.
5. Requirements
In order to address the problems stated in section 4, DHCPv4 client
identifiers must have the following characteristics:
- They must be persistent, in the sense that a particular host's
client identifier must not change simply because a piece of network
hardware is added or removed.
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RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
- It must be possible for the client to represent itself as having
more than one network identity, for example, so that a client with
two network interfaces can express to the DHCPv4 server that these
two network interfaces are to receive different IP addresses, even
if they happen to be connected to the same link.
- In cases where the DHCPv4 client is expressing more than one
network identity at the same time, it must nevertheless be possible
for the DHCPv4 server to determine that the two network identities
belong to the same host.
- In some cases it may be desirable for a DHCP client to present the
same identity on two interfaces, so that if they both happen to be
connected to the same network, they will both receive the same IP
address. In such cases, it must be possible for the client to use
exactly the same identifier for each interface.
- DHCPv4 servers that do not conform to this specification, but that
are compliant with the older client identifier specification, must
correctly handle client identifiers sent by clients that conform to
this specification.
- DHCPv4 servers that do conform to this specification must
interoperate correctly with DHCPv4 clients that do not conform to
this specification, except that when configuring such clients,
behaviors such as those described in section 2 may occur.
- The use by DHCPv4 clients of the chaddr field of the DHCPv4 packet
as an identifier must be deprecated.
- DHCPv4 client identifiers used by dual-stack hosts that also use
DHCPv6 must use the same host identification string for both DHCPv4
and DHCPv6. For example, a DHCPv4 server that uses the client's
identity to update the DNS on behalf of a DHCPv4 client must
register the same client identity in the DNS that would be
registered by the DHCPv6 server on behalf of the DHCPv6 client
running on that host, and vice versa.
In order to satisfy all but the last of these requirements, we need
to construct a DHCPv4 client identifier out of two parts. One part
must be unique to the host on which the client is running. The other
must be unique to the network identity being presented. The DHCP
Unique Identifier (DUID) and Identity Association Identifier (IAID)
specified in RFC 3315 satisfy these requirements.
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RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
In order to satisfy the last requirement, we must use the DUID to
identify the DHCPv4 client. So, taking all the requirements
together, the DUID and IAID described in RFC 3315 are the only
possible solution.
By following these rules, a compliant DHCPv4 client will interoperate
correctly with both compliant and non-compliant DHCPv4 servers. A
non-compliant DHCPv4 client will also interoperate correctly with a
compliant DHCPv4 server. If either server or client is not
compliant, the goals stated in the document are not met, but there is
no loss of functionality.
6. Implementation
Here we specify changes to the behavior of DHCPv4 clients and
servers. We also specify changes to the wording in RFC 2131 and RFC
2132. DHCPv4 clients, servers, and relay agents that conform to this
specification must implement RFC 2131 and RFC 2132 with the wording
changes specified in sections 6.3 and 6.4.
6.1. DHCPv4 Client Behavior
DHCPv4 clients conforming to this specification MUST use stable
DHCPv4 node identifiers in the dhcp-client-identifier option. DHCPv4
clients MUST NOT use client identifiers based solely on layer two
addresses that are hard-wired to the layer two device (e.g., the
ethernet MAC address) as suggested in RFC 2131, except as allowed in
section 9.2 of RFC 3315. DHCPv4 clients MUST send a 'client
identifier' option containing an Identity Association Unique
Identifier, as defined in section 10 of RFC 3315, and a DHCP Unique
Identifier, as defined in section 9 of RFC 3315. These together
constitute an RFC 3315-style binding identifier.
The general format of the DHCPv4 'client identifier' option is
defined in section 9.14 of RFC 2132.
To send an RFC 3315-style binding identifier in a DHCPv4 'client
identifier' option, the type of the 'client identifier' option is set
to 255. The type field is immediately followed by the IAID, which is
an opaque 32-bit quantity. The IAID is immediately followed by the
DUID, which consumes the remaining contents of the 'client
identifier' option. The format of the 'client identifier' option is
as follows:
Code Len Type IAID DUID
+----+----+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---
| 61 | n | 255 | i1 | i2 | i3 | i4 | d1 | d2 |...
+----+----+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---
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RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
Any DHCPv4 client that conforms to this specification SHOULD provide
a means by which an operator can learn what DUID the client has
chosen. Such clients SHOULD also provide a means by which the
operator can configure the DUID. A device that is normally
configured by both a DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 client SHOULD automatically
use the same DUID for DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 without any operator
intervention.
DHCPv4 clients that support more than one network interface SHOULD
use the same DUID on every interface. DHCPv4 clients that support
more than one network interface SHOULD use a different IAID on each
interface.
A DHCPv4 client that generates a DUID and that has stable storage
MUST retain this DUID for use in subsequent DHCPv4 messages, even
after an operating system reboot.
6.2. DHCPv6 Client Behavior
Any DHCPv6 client that conforms to this specification SHOULD provide
a means by which an operator can learn what DUID the client has
chosen. Such clients SHOULD also provide a means by which the
operator can configure the DUID. A device that is normally
configured by both a DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 client SHOULD automatically
use the same DUID for DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 without any operator
intervention.
6.3. DHCPv4 Server Behavior
This document does not require any change to DHCPv4 or DHCPv6 servers
that follow RFC 2131 and RFC 2132. However, some DHCPv4 servers can
be configured not to conform to RFC 2131 and RFC 2132, in the sense
that they ignore the 'client identifier' option and use the client's
hardware address instead.
DHCPv4 servers that conform to this specification MUST use the
'client identifier' option to identify the client if the client sends
it.
DHCPv4 servers MAY use administrator-supplied values for chaddr and
htype to identify the client in the case where the administrator is
assigning a fixed IP address to the client, even if the client sends
a client identifier option. This is ONLY permitted in the case where
the DHCPv4 server administrator has provided the values for chaddr
and htype, because in this case if it causes a problem, the
administrator can correct the problem by removing the offending
configuration information.
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RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
6.4. Changes from RFC 2131
In section 2 of RFC 2131, on page 9, the text that reads "; for
example, the 'client identifier' may contain a hardware address,
identical to the contents of the 'chaddr' field, or it may contain
another type of identifier, such as a DNS name" is deleted.
In section 4.2 of RFC 2131, the text "The client MAY choose to
explicitly provide the identifier through the 'client identifier'
option. If the client supplies a 'client identifier', the client
MUST use the same 'client identifier' in all subsequent messages, and
the server MUST use that identifier to identify the client. If the
client does not provide a 'client identifier' option, the server MUST
use the contents of the 'chaddr' field to identify the client." is
replaced by the text "The client MUST explicitly provide a client
identifier through the 'client identifier' option. The client MUST
use the same 'client identifier' option for all messages."
In the same section, the text "Use of 'chaddr' as the client's unique
identifier may cause unexpected results, as that identifier may be
associated with a hardware interface that could be moved to a new
client. Some sites may choose to use a manufacturer's serial number
as the 'client identifier', to avoid unexpected changes in a client's
network address due to transfer of hardware interfaces among
computers. Sites may also choose to use a DNS name as the 'client
identifier', causing address leases to be associated with the DNS
name rather than a specific hardware box." is replaced by the text
"The DHCP client MUST NOT rely on the 'chaddr' field to identify it."
In section 4.4.1 of RFC 2131, the text "The client MAY include a
different unique identifier" is replaced with "The client MUST
include a unique identifier".
In section 3.1, items 4 and 6; section 3.2 item 3 and 4; and section
4.3.1, where RFC 2131 says that 'chaddr' may be used instead of the
'client identifier' option, the text "or 'chaddr'" and "'chaddr' or"
is deleted.
Note that these changes do not relieve the DHCPv4 server of the
obligation to use 'chaddr' as an identifier if the client does not
send a 'client identifier' option. Rather, they oblige clients that
conform with this document to send a 'client identifier' option, and
not rely on 'chaddr' for identification. DHCPv4 servers MUST use
'chaddr' as an identifier in cases where 'client identifier' is not
sent, in order to support old clients that do not conform with this
document.
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RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
6.5. Changes from RFC 2132
The text in section 9.14, beginning with "The client identifier MAY
consist of" through "that meet this requirement for uniqueness." is
replaced with "the client identifier consists of a type field whose
value is normally 255, followed by a four-byte IA_ID field, followed
by the DUID for the client as defined in RFC 3315, section 9." The
text "its minimum length is 2" in the following paragraph is deleted.
7. Notes on DHCP Clients in Multi-stage Network Booting
In some cases a single device may actually run more than one DHCP
client in sequence, in the process of loading an operating system
over the network. In such cases, it may be that the first-stage boot
uses a different client identifier, or no client identifier, than the
subsequent stage or stages.
The effect of this, under the DHCPv4 protocol, is that the two (in
some cases more than two!) boot stages will present different
identities. A DHCPv4 server will therefore allocate two different IP
addresses to the two different boot stages.
Some DHCP servers work around this problem for the common case where
the boot Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) presents no client
identifier, and the operating system DHCP client presents a client
identifier constructed from the Message Authentication Code (MAC)
address of the network interface -- both are treated as the same
identifier. This prevents the consumption of an extra IP address.
A compliant DHCPv4 client does not use a client identifier
constructed from the MAC address of the network interface, because
network interfaces are not stable. So a compliant DHCPv4 client
cannot be supported by a simple hack like the one described
previously; this may have some significant impact at some sites.
We cannot state the solution to this problem as a set of
requirements, because the circumstances in which this occurs vary too
widely. However, we can make some suggestions.
First, we suggest that DHCP clients in network boot loaders request
short lease times, so that their IP addresses are not retained. Such
clients should send a DHCPRELEASE message to the DHCP server before
moving on to the next stage of the boot process. Such clients should
provide a way for the operating system DHCP client to configure a
DUID to use in subsequent boots. DHCP clients in the final stage
should, where possible, configure the DUID used by the boot PROM to
be the same as the DUID used by the operating system.
Lemon & Sommerfield Standards Track PAGE 9
RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
Second, implementors of DHCPv4 clients that are expected to only be
used in a multi-stage network boot configuration, that are not
expected ever to network boot using DHCPv6, and that have a MAC
address that cannot be easily changed may not need to implement the
changes described in this specification. There is some danger in
making this assumption--the first solution suggested is definitely
better. A compromise might be to have the final-stage DHCP client
detect whether it is running on legacy hardware; if it is, it uses
the old identifier; if it is not, it follows the scheme described in
the previous paragraph.
8. Security Considerations
This document raises no new security issues. Potential exposure to
attack in the DHCPv4 protocol is discussed in section 7 of the DHCP
protocol specification [RFC 2131] and in Authentication for DHCP
messages [RFC 3118]. Potential exposure to attack in the DHCPv6
protocol is discussed in section 23 of RFC 3315.
9. References
9.1. Normative References
[RFC 2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[RFC 2131] Droms, R., "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol", RFC 2131,
March 1997.
[RFC 2132] Alexander, S. and R. Droms, "DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor
Extensions", RFC 2132, March 1997.
[RFC 3315] Droms, R., Bound, J., Volz, B., Lemon, T., Perkins, C., and
M. Carney, "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6
(DHCPv6)", RFC 3315, July 2003.
9.2. Informative References
[RFC 3118] Droms, R. and W. Arbaugh, "Authentication for DHCP
Messages", RFC 3118, June 2001.
Lemon & Sommerfield Standards Track PAGE 10
RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
Authors' Addresses
Ted Lemon
Nominum
2385 Bay Road
Redwood City, CA 94063 USA
Phone: +1 650 381 6000
EMail: mellon@nominum.com
Bill Sommerfeld
Sun Microsystems
1 Network Drive
Burlington, MA 01824
Phone: +1 781 442 3458
EMail: sommerfeld@sun.com
Lemon & Sommerfield Standards Track PAGE 11
RFC 4361 Node-specific Identifiers for DHCPv4 February 2006
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright © The Internet Society (2006).
This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
retain all their rights.
This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
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Acknowledgement
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Administrative Support Activity (IASA).
Lemon & Sommerfield Standards Track PAGE 12
Node-specific Client Identifiers for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Version Four (DHCPv4)
RFC TOTAL SIZE: 28009 bytes
PUBLICATION DATE: Thursday, February 9th, 2006
LEGAL RIGHTS: The IETF Trust (see BCP 78)
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