Softwires (softwire)
--------------------

Charter
Last Modified: 2010-08-11

Current Status: Active Working Group

Chair(s):
    Alain Durand  <[email protected]>
    Yong Cui  <[email protected]>

Internet Area Director(s):
    Ralph Droms  <[email protected]>
    Jari Arkko  <[email protected]>

Internet Area Advisor:
    Ralph Droms  <[email protected]>

Technical Advisor(s):
    Xing Li  <[email protected]>

Mailing Lists:
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    Archive:           http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/softwires/current/maillist.html

Description of Working Group:

 The Softwires Working Group is specifying the standardization of
 discovery, control and encapsulation methods for connecting IPv4
 networks across IPv6 networks and IPv6 networks across IPv4 networks
 in a way that will encourage multiple, inter-operable
 implementations.

 For various reasons, native IPv4 and/or IPv6 transport may not be
 available in all cases, and there is a need to tunnel IPv4 in IPv6
 or IPv6 in IPv4 to cross a part of the network which is not IPv4 or
 IPv6 capable. The Softwires Problem Statement, RFC 4925, identifies
 two distinct topological scenarios that the Working Group will
 provide solutions for: "Hubs and Spokes" and "Mesh." In the former
 case (Hubs and Spokes), hosts or "stub" networks are attached via
 individual, point-to-point, IPv4 over IPv6 or IPv6 over IPv4
 softwires to a centralized Softwire Concentrator. In the latter case
 (Mesh), network islands of one Address Family (IPv4 or IPv6) are
 connected over a network of another Address Family via point to
 multi-point softwires among Address Family Border Routers (AFBRs).

 The Softwires Working Group will reuse existing technologies as much
 as possible and only when necessary, create additional protocol
 building blocks.

 For generality, all base softwires encapsulation mechanisms should
 support all combinations of IP versions over one other (IPv4 over
 IPv6, IPv6 over IPv4, IPv4 over IPv4, IPv6 over IPv6). IPv4/IPv6
 translation mechanisms, new addressing schemes, and block address
 assignments are out of scope. DHCP options developed in this working
 group will be reviewed jointly with the DHC Working Group.  RADIUS
 attributes developed in the Softwires Working Group will be reviewed
 jointly with the RADEXT Working Group.  The MIB Doctors directorate
 will be asked to review any MIB modules developed in the Softwires
 Working Group.  BGP and other routing and signaling protocols
 developed in this group will be reviewed jointly with the proper
 working groups and other workings that may take interest (e.g. IDR,
 L3VPN, PIM, LDP, SAAG, etc).

 The specific work areas for this working group are:

 1. Developments for Mesh softwires topology; the Mesh topology work
    will be reviewed in the L3VPN and IDR Working Groups
    - multicast
    - MIB module

 2. Developments for 6rd:
    - multicast
    - operational specification
    - RADIUS attribute for 6rd server
    - MIB module
    - Gateway-initiated 6rd (GI-6rd)

 3. Developments for Dual-Stack Lite (DS-Lite):
    - multicast
    - operational specification
    - RADIUS attribute for AFTR
    - proxy extensions; GI-DS-Lite; No NAT on AFTR
    - MIB module

 4. Developments for stateless legacy IPv4 carried over IPv6
    - develop a solution motivation document to be published as an
      RFC
    - develop a protocol specification response to the solution
      motivation document; this work item will not be taken through
      Working Group last call until the solution motivation document
      has been published or approved for publication

 5. Finalize discovery and configuration mechanisms for a gateway to
    use DS-Lite or 6rd; these discovery and configuration mechanisms
    must take into a account other operating environments such as
    dual-stack and tunneling mechanisms not defined by the Softwires
    Working Group.  Development of new mechanisms will involve the
    DHC and/or V6OPS Working Groups as appropriate

Other work items would require Working Group approval and rechartering.

Goals and Milestones:

  Done         Submit a problem statement to the IESG to be considered as an
               Informational RFC

  Jun 2011       Submit DS-lite RADIUS attribute document for Proposed Standard

  Jun 2011       Adopt DS-lite operational document as a Working Group document

  Jul 2011       Submit 6rd RADIUS attribute document for Proposed Standard

  Jul 2011       Submit GI DS-lite document for Proposed Standard

  Jul 2011       Adopt DS-Lite without NAT document as a Working Group document

  Jul 2011       Adopt DHCPv4 over tunnel document as a Working Group document

  Aug 2011       Adopt 6rd operational document as a Working Group document

  Aug 2011       Adopt Multicast extensions document as a Working Group document

  Aug 2011       Submit DS-lite operational document for Informational

  Aug 2011       Adopt stateless legacy IPv4 solution motivation document as a
               Working Group document

  Sep 2011       Submit DS-Lite without NAT document for Informational

  Sep 2011       Submit DHCPv4 over tunnel document for Proposed Standard

  Nov 2011       Submit Multicast extensions document for Informational

  Nov 2011       Submit 6rd operational document for Informational

  Nov 2011       Adopt 6rd MIB module document as a Working Group document

  Nov 2011       Adopt DS-lite MIB module document as a Working Group document

  Nov 2011       Adopt Mesh topology MIB module document as a Working Group
               document

  Dec 2011       Submit stateless legacy IPv4 solution motivation document for
               Informational

  Dec 2011       Adopt stateless legacy IPv4 specification document as a Working
               Group document

  Apr 2012       Submit stateless legacy IPv4 specification document for
               Proposed Standard

  Nov 2012       Submit 6rd MIB module document for Proposed Standard

  Nov 2012       Submit DS-lite MIB module document for Proposed Standard

  Nov 2012       Submit Mesh topology MIB module document for Proposed Standard


Internet-Drafts:

Posted Revised         I-D Title   <Filename>
------ ------- --------------------------------------------
Mar 2009 May 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-dual-stack-lite-11.txt>
               Dual-Stack Lite Broadband Deployments Following IPv4 Exhaustion

Dec 2009 Mar 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-ds-lite-tunnel-option-10.txt>
               Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) Option
               for Dual- Stack Lite

May 2010 Jun 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-gateway-init-ds-lite-04.txt>
               Gateway Initiated Dual-Stack Lite Deployment

Oct 2010 Mar 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-dslite-radius-ext-02.txt>
               RADIUS Extensions for Dual-Stack Lite

Nov 2010 Apr 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-6rd-radius-attrib-02.txt>
               RADIUS Attribute for 6rd

Request For Comments:

 RFC   Stat Published     Title
------- -- ----------- ------------------------------------
RFC4925 I    Jul 2007    Softwire Problem Statement

RFC5512 PS   Apr 2009    The BGP Encapsulation Subsequent Address Family
                      Identifier (SAFI) and the BGP Tunnel Encapsulation
                      Attribute

RFC5549 PS   May 2009    Advertising IPv4 Network Layer Reachability Information
                      with an IPv6 Next Hop

RFC5543 PS   May 2009    BGP Traffic Engineering Attribute

RFC5565 PS   Jun 2009    Softwire Mesh Framework

RFC5566 PS   Jun 2009    BGP IPsec Tunnel Encapsulation Attribute

RFC5571 PS   Jun 2009    Softwire Hub and Spoke Deployment Framework with Layer
                      Two Tunneling Protocol Version 2(L2TPv2)

RFC5619 PS   Aug 2009    Softwire Security Analysis and Requirements

RFC5640 PS   Aug 2009    Load Balancing for Mesh Softwires

RFC5969 PS   Aug 2010    IPv6 Rapid Deployment on IPv4 Infrastructures (6rd) --
                      Protocol Specification