Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                         B. Claise
Request for Comments: 7119                           Cisco Systems, Inc.
Category: Standards Track                                   A. Kobayashi
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                      NTT
                                                            B. Trammell
                                                             ETH Zurich
                                                          February 2014


     Operation of the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Protocol
                          on IPFIX Mediators

Abstract

  This document specifies the operation of the IP Flow Information
  Export (IPFIX) protocol specific to IPFIX Mediators, including
  Template and Observation Point management, timing considerations, and
  other Mediator-specific concerns.

Status of This Memo

  This is an Internet Standards Track document.

  This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
  (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
  received public review and has been approved for publication by the
  Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
  Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

  Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
  and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
  http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7119.

Copyright Notice

  Copyright (c) 2014 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
  document authors.  All rights reserved.

  This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
  Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
  (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
  publication of this document.  Please review these documents
  carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
  to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
  include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
  the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
  described in the Simplified BSD License.




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Table of Contents

  1. Introduction ....................................................2
     1.1. IPFIX Documents Overview ...................................3
     1.2. IPFIX Mediator Documents Overview ..........................4
     1.3. Relationship with the IPFIX and PSAMP Protocols ............5
  2. Terminology .....................................................5
  3. Handling IPFIX Message Headers ..................................8
  4. Template Management ............................................10
     4.1. Passing Unmodified Templates through an IPFIX Mediator ....11
          4.1.1. Template Mapping and Information Element Ordering ..15
     4.2. Creating New Templates at an IPFIX Mediator ...............17
     4.3. Handling Unknown Information Elements .....................17
  5. Preserving Original Observation Point Information ..............17
     5.1. originalExporterIPv4Address Information Element ...........20
     5.2. originalExporterIPv6Address Information Element ...........20
  6. Managing Observation Domain IDs ................................20
     6.1. originalObservationDomainId Information Element ...........21
  7. Timing Considerations ..........................................21
  8. Transport Considerations .......................................23
  9. Collecting Process Considerations ..............................23
  10. Specific Reporting Requirements ...............................23
     10.1. Intermediate Process Reliability Statistics
           Options Template .........................................24
     10.2. Flow Key Options Template ................................26
     10.3. intermediateProcessId Information Element ................26
     10.4. ignoredDataRecordTotalCount Information Element ..........27
  11. Operations and Management Considerations ......................27
  12. Security Considerations .......................................28
  13. IANA Considerations ...........................................28
  14. Acknowledgments ...............................................29
  15. References ....................................................29
     15.1. Normative References .....................................29
     15.2. Informative References ...................................30

1.  Introduction

  The IPFIX architectural components in [RFC5470] consist of IPFIX
  Devices and IPFIX Collectors communicating using the IPFIX protocol
  [RFC7011], which specifies how to export IP Flow information.  This
  protocol is designed to export information about IP traffic Flows and
  related measurement data, where a Flow is defined by a set of key
  attributes (e.g., source and destination IP address, source and
  destination port, etc.).

  However, thanks to its Template mechanism, the IPFIX protocol can
  export any type of information, as long as the relevant Information
  Element is specified in the IPFIX Information Model [RFC7012],



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  registered with IANA, or specified as an enterprise-specific
  Information Element.  The IPFIX protocol [RFC7011] was not originally
  written with IPFIX Mediators in mind.  Therefore, the IPFIX protocol
  must be adapted for Intermediate Processes, as defined in the IPFIX
  Mediation Reference Model as specified in Figure A of [RFC6183],
  which is based on the IPFIX Mediation Problem Statement [RFC5982].

  This document specifies the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX)
  protocol in the context of the implementation and deployment of IPFIX
  Mediators.  The use of the IPFIX protocol within an IPFIX Mediator --
  a device that contains both a Collecting Process and an Exporting
  Process -- has an impact on the technical details of the usage of the
  protocol.  An overview of the technical problem is covered in
  Section 6 of [RFC5982]: loss of original Exporter information, loss
  of base time information, transport sessions management, loss of
  Options Template Information, Template Id management, considerations
  for network topology, IPFIX mediation interpretation, and
  considerations for aggregation.

  The specifications in this document are based on the IPFIX protocol
  specifications [RFC7011], but they are adapted according to the IPFIX
  Mediation Framework [RFC6183].

1.1.  IPFIX Documents Overview

  The IPFIX protocol [RFC7011] provides network administrators with
  access to IP Flow information.

  The architecture for the export of measured IP Flow information out
  of an IPFIX Exporting Process to a Collecting Process is defined in
  the IPFIX Architecture [RFC5470], per the requirements defined in the
  IPFIX Requirements document, [RFC3917].

  The IPFIX Architecture [RFC5470] specifies how IPFIX Data Records and
  Templates are carried via a congestion-aware transport protocol from
  IPFIX Exporting Processes to IPFIX Collecting Processes.

  IPFIX has a formal description of IPFIX Information Elements, their
  names, types, and additional semantic information, as specified in
  the IPFIX Information Model [RFC7012].  The IPFIX Information Element
  registry [IANA-IPFIX] is maintained by IANA.  New Information Element
  definitions can be added to this registry subject to an Expert Review
  [RFC5226], with additional process considerations described in
  [RFC7013]; that document also provides guidelines for authors and
  reviewers of new Information Element definitions.  The inline export
  of the Information Element type information is specified in
  [RFC5610].




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  The IPFIX Applicability Statement [RFC5472] describes what type of
  applications can use the IPFIX protocol and how they can use the
  information provided.  It furthermore shows how the IPFIX framework
  relates to other architectures and frameworks.

1.2.  IPFIX Mediator Documents Overview

  "IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Mediation: Problem Statement"
  [RFC5982] provides an overview of the applicability of IPFIX
  Mediators and defines requirements for IPFIX Mediators in general
  terms.  This document is of use largely to define the problems to be
  solved through the deployment of IPFIX Mediators and to provide scope
  to the role of IPFIX Mediators within an IPFIX collection
  infrastructure.

  "IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Mediation: Framework" [RFC6183],
  which details the IPFIX Mediation reference model and the components
  of an IPFIX Mediator, provides more architectural details of the
  arrangement of Intermediate Processes within an IPFIX Mediator.

  Documents specifying the operations of specific Intermediate
  Processes cover the operation of these Processes within the IPFIX
  Mediator framework and comply with the specifications given in this
  document; additionally, they may specify the operation of the process
  independently, outside the context of an IPFIX Mediator, when this is
  appropriate.  The details of specific Intermediate Processes, when
  they have additional export specifications (e.g., metadata about the
  intermediate processing conveyed through IPFIX Options Templates),
  are each addressed in their own document.  As of today, these
  documents are:

  1.  "IP Flow Anonymization Support", [RFC6235], which describes
      anonymization techniques for IP flow data and the export of
      anonymized data using the IPFIX protocol.

  2.  "Flow Selection Techniques" [RFC7014], which describes the
      process of selecting a subset of Flows from all Flows observed at
      an Observation Point, the flow selection motivations, and some
      specific flow selection techniques.

  3.  "Flow Aggregation for the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX)
      Protocol" [RFC7015], which describes Aggregated Flow export
      within the framework of IPFIX Mediators and defines an
      interoperable, implementation-independent method for Aggregated
      Flow export.






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  This document specifies the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX)
  protocol specific to Mediation, to which all Intermediate Processes
  must comply.  Some extra specifications might be required per
  Intermediate Process type (in which case, the document specific to
  the Intermediate Process would apply).

1.3.  Relationship with the IPFIX and PSAMP Protocols

  The specification in this document is based on the IPFIX protocol
  specification [RFC7011].  All specifications from [RFC7011] apply
  unless specified otherwise in this document.

  As the Packet Sampling (PSAMP) protocol specifications [RFC5476] are
  based on the IPFIX protocol specifications, the specifications in
  this document are also valid for the PSAMP protocol.  Therefore, the
  method specified by this document also applies to PSAMP.

2.  Terminology

  The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
  "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
  "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
  [RFC2119].

  IPFIX-specific terms, such as Observation Domain, Flow, Flow Key,
  Metering Process, Exporting Process, Exporter, IPFIX Device,
  Collecting Process, Collector, Template, IPFIX Message, Message
  Header, Template Record, Data Record, Options Template Record, Set,
  Data Set, Information Element, Scope and Transport Session, used in
  this document are defined in [RFC7011].  The PSAMP-specific terms
  used in this document, such as Filtering and Sampling, are defined in
  [RFC5476].

  IPFIX Mediation terms related to aggregation, such as the Interval,
  Aggregated Flow and Aggregated Function, are defined in [RFC7015].

  The terminology specific to IPFIX Mediation that is used in this
  document is defined in "IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Mediation:
  Problem Statement" [RFC5982] and reused in "IP Flow Information
  Export (IPFIX) Mediation: Framework" [RFC6183].  However, since both
  of those documents are Informational RFCs, the definitions have been
  reproduced and elaborated on here.

  Similarly, since [RFC6235] is an Experimental RFC, the Anonymization
  Record, Anonymized Data Record, and Intermediate Anonymization
  Process terms, specified in [RFC6235], are also reproduced here.





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  In this document, as in [RFC7011], [RFC5476], [RFC7015], and
  [RFC6235], the first letter of each IPFIX-specific and PSAMP-specific
  term is capitalized along with the IPFIX Mediation-specific term
  defined here.

  In this document, we call a stream of records carrying flow- or
  packet-based information a "record stream".  The records may be
  encoded as IPFIX Data Records or any other format.

  Transport Session:   The Transport Session is specified in [RFC7011].
     In Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP), the Transport
     Session information is the SCTP association.  In TCP and UDP, the
     Transport Session information corresponds to a 5-tuple {Exporter
     IP address, Collector IP address, Exporter transport port,
     Collector transport port, transport protocol}.

  Original Exporter:   An Original Exporter is the source from which a
     Mediator receives its record stream.  For simple IPFIX mediation
     without protocol conversion, this is an IPFIX Device that hosts
     the Observation Points where the metered IP packets are observed.

  Original Observation Point:   An Observation Point on a Metering
     Process associated with the Original Exporter.  In the case of the
     Intermediate Aggregation Process on an IPFIX Mediator, the
     Original Observation Point can be composed of, but not limited to,
     a (set of) specific Exporter(s), a (set of) specific interface(s)
     on an Exporter, a (set of) line card(s) on an Exporter, or any
     combinations of these.

  IPFIX Mediation:   IPFIX Mediation is the manipulation and conversion
     of a record stream for subsequent export using the IPFIX protocol.

  Template Mapping:   A mapping from Template Records and/or Options
     Template Records received by an IPFIX Mediator to Template Records
     and/or Options Template Records sent by that IPFIX Mediator.  Each
     entry in a Template Mapping is scoped by incoming or outgoing
     Transport Session and Observation Domain, as with Templates and
     Options Templates in the IPFIX Protocol.

  Anonymization Record:   A record that defines the properties of the
     anonymization applied to a single Information Element within a
     single Template or Options Template, as in [RFC6235].

  Anonymized Data Record:   A Data Record within a Data Set containing
     at least one Information Element with anonymized values.  The
     Information Element(s) within the Template or Options Template
     describing this Data Record SHOULD have a corresponding
     Anonymization Record, as in [RFC6235].



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  The following terms are used in this document to describe the
  architectural entities used by IPFIX Mediation.

  Intermediate Process:   An Intermediate Process takes a record stream
     as its input from Collecting Processes, Metering Processes, IPFIX
     File Readers, other Intermediate Processes, or other record
     sources; performs some transformations on this stream, based upon
     the content of each record, states maintained across multiple
     records, or other data sources; and passes the transformed record
     stream as its output to Exporting Processes, IPFIX File Writers,
     or other Intermediate Processes, in order to perform IPFIX
     Mediation.  Typically, an Intermediate Process is hosted by an
     IPFIX Mediator.  Alternatively, an Intermediate Process may be
     hosted by an Original Exporter.

  IPFIX Mediator:   An IPFIX Mediator is an IPFIX Device that provides
     IPFIX Mediation by receiving a record stream from some data
     sources, hosting one or more Intermediate Processes to transform
     that stream, and exporting the transformed record stream into
     IPFIX Messages via an Exporting Process.  In the common case, an
     IPFIX Mediator receives a record stream from a Collecting Process,
     but it could also receive a record stream from data sources not
     encoded using IPFIX, e.g., in the case of conversion from the
     NetFlow V9 protocol [RFC3954] to IPFIX protocol.

  Specific Intermediate Processes are described below.

  Intermediate Conversion Process  (as in [RFC6183]): An Intermediate
     Conversion Process is an Intermediate Process that transforms non-
     IPFIX into IPFIX or manages the relation among Templates and
     states of incoming/outgoing Transport Sessions in the case of
     transport protocol conversion (e.g., from UDP to SCTP).

  Intermediate Aggregation Process  (as in [RFC7015]): an Intermediate
     Process (IAP), as in [RFC6183], that aggregates records, based
     upon a set of Flow Keys or functions applied to fields from the
     record.

  Intermediate Correlation Process  (as in [RFC6183]): An Intermediate
     Correlation Process is an Intermediate Process that adds
     information to records, noting correlations among them, or
     generates new records with correlated data from multiple records
     (e.g., the production of bidirectional flow records from
     unidirectional flow records).

  Intermediate Anonymization Process  (as in [RFC6235]): An
     intermediate process that takes Data Records and transforms them
     into Anonymized Data Records.



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  Intermediate Selection Process  (as in [RFC6183]): An Intermediate
     Selection Process is an Intermediate Process that selects records
     from a sequence based upon criteria-evaluated record values and
     passes only those records that match the criteria (e.g., Filtering
     only records from a given network to a given Collector).

  Intermediate Flow Selection Process  (as in [RFC7014]: An
     Intermediate Flow Selection Process is an Intermediate Process, as
     in [RFC6183] that takes Flow Records as its input and selects a
     subset of this set as its output.  The Intermediate Flow Selection
     Process is a more general concept than the Intermediate Selection
     Process as defined in [RFC6183].  While an Intermediate Selection
     Process selects Flow Records from a sequence based upon criteria-
     evaluated Flow record values and only passes on those Flow Records
     that match the criteria, an Intermediate Flow Selection Process
     selects Flow Records using selection criteria applicable to a
     larger set of Flow characteristics and information.

     Note: for more information on the difference between Intermediate
     Flow Selection Process and Intermediate Selection Process, see
     Section 4 in [RFC7014].

3.  Handling IPFIX Message Headers

  The format of the IPFIX Message Header as exported by an IPFIX
  Mediator is shown in Figure 1.  This is identical to the format
  defined for IPFIX in [RFC7011], though Export Time and Observation
  Domain ID may be handled differently at certain Mediators, as noted
  below.

   0                   1                   2                   3
   0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |             Version           |            Length             |
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |                           Export Time                         |
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |                       Sequence Number                         |
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |                    Observation Domain ID                      |
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                  Figure 1: IPFIX Message Header format








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  The header fields as exported by an IPFIX Mediator are described
  below.

  Version:

     Version of IPFIX to which this Message conforms.  The value of
     this field is 0x000a for the current version, incrementing by one
     the version used in the NetFlow services export version 9
     [RFC3954].

  Length:

     Total length of the IPFIX Message, measured in octets, including
     Message Header and Set(s).

  Export Time:

     Time at which the IPFIX Message Header leaves the IPFIX Mediator,
     expressed in seconds since the UNIX epoch of 1 January 1970 at
     00:00 UTC, encoded as an unsigned 32-bit integer.

     However, in the specific case of an IPFIX Mediator containing an
     Intermediate Conversion Process, the IPFIX Mediator MAY use the
     export time received from the incoming Transport Session.

  Sequence Number:

     Incremental sequence counter modulo 2^32 of all IPFIX Data Records
     sent in the current stream from the current Observation Domain by
     the Exporting Process.  Each SCTP Stream counts sequence numbers
     separately, while all messages in a TCP connection or UDP
     Transport Session are considered to be part of the same stream.
     This value can be used by the Collecting Process to identify
     whether any IPFIX Data Records have been missed.  Template and
     Options Template Records do not increase the Sequence Number.

  Observation Domain ID:

     A 32-bit identifier of the Observation Domain that is locally
     unique to the Exporting Process.  The Exporting Process uses the
     Observation Domain ID to uniquely identify to the Collecting
     Process the Observation Domain that metered the Flows.  It is
     RECOMMENDED that this identifier also be unique per IPFIX Device.
     Collecting Processes can use the Transport Session and the
     Observation Domain ID field to separate different export streams
     originating from the same Exporter.  The Observation Domain ID is
     set to 0 when no specific Observation Domain ID is relevant for




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     the entire IPFIX Message, for example, when exporting the
     Exporting Process Statistics, or in case of a hierarchy of
     Collectors when aggregated Data Records are exported.

     See Section 4.1 for special considerations for Observation Domain
     management while passing unmodified templates through an IPFIX
     Mediator, and Section 5 for guidelines for preservation of
     original Observation Domain information at an IPFIX Mediator.

  The following specifications, copied over from [RFC7011] have some
  implications in this document:

     Template Withdrawals MAY appear interleaved with Template Sets,
     Options Template Sets, and Data Sets within an IPFIX Message.  In
     this case, the Templates and Template Withdrawals shall be
     interpreted as taking effect in the order in which they appear in
     the IPFIX Message.

  If an IPFIX Mediator receives an IPFIX Message composed of Template
  Withdrawals and Template Sets, and if the IPFIX Mediator forwards
  this IPFIX Message, it MUST NOT modify the Set order.  If an IPFIX
  Mediator receives IPFIX Messages composed of Template Withdrawals and
  Template Sets, and if the IPFIX Mediator forwards these IPFIX
  Messages, it MUST NOT modify the IPFIX Message order.  Note that the
  Template Mapping (see Section 4.1) is the authoritative source of
  information on the IPFIX Mediator to decide whether the entire IPFIX
  Messages can be forwarded as such.

4.  Template Management

  How an IPFIX Mediator handles the Templates it receives from the
  Original Exporter depends entirely on the nature of the Intermediate
  Process running on that IPFIX Mediator.  There are two cases here:

  1.  IPFIX Mediators that pass substantially the same Data Records
      from the Original Exporter downstream (e.g., an Intermediate
      Selection Process), pass unmodified Templates as described in
      Section 4.1; this section describes a Template Mapping required
      to make this work in the general case, and the correlation
      between the received and generated IPFIX Message Withdrawals.

  2.  IPFIX Mediators that export Data Records that are substantially
      changed from the Data Records received from the Original Exporter
      follow the guidelines in Section 4.2 instead: in this case, the
      IPFIX Mediator generates new (Options) Template Records as a
      result of the Intermediate Process, and no Template Mapping is
      required.




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  Subsequent subsections deal with specific issues in Template
  management that may occur at IPFIX Mediators.

4.1.  Passing Unmodified Templates through an IPFIX Mediator

  For some Intermediate Processes, the IPFIX Mediator doesn't modify
  the (Options) Template Record(s) content.  A typical example is an
  Intermediate Flow Selection Process acting as distributor, which
  collects Flow Records from one or more Exporters, and based on the
  content of the Information Elements, redirects the Flow Records to
  the appropriate Collector.  This example is a typical case of a
  single network operation center managing multiple universities: a
  unique IPFIX Collector collects all Flow Records for the common
  infrastructure, but might be re-exporting specific university Flow
  Records to the responsible system administrator.

  As specified in [RFC7011], the Template IDs are unique per Exporter,
  per Transport Session, and per Observation Domain.  As there is no
  guarantee that, for similar Template Records, the Template IDs
  received on the incoming Transport Session and exported to the
  outgoing Transport Session would be same, the IPFIX Mediator MUST
  maintain a Template Mapping composed of related received and exported
  (Options) Template Records:

  o  for each received (Options) Template Record: Template Record
     Information Elements, Template ID, Observation Domain ID, and
     Transport Session information, metadata scoped to the Template (*)

  o  for each exported (Options) Template Record: Template Record
     Information Elements, Template ID, Collector, Observation Domain
     ID, and Transport Session information metadata scoped to the
     Template (*)

  (*) The "metadata scoped to the Template" encompasses the metadata,
  that are scoped to the Template, and that help to determine the
  semantics of the Template Record.  Note that these metadata are
  typically sent in Data Records described by an Options Template.  An
  example is the flowKeyIndicator.  An IPFIX Mediator could potentially
  receive two different Template IDs, from the same Exporter, with the
  same Information Elements, but with a different set of Flow Keys
  (indicated by the flowKeyIndicator in an Options Template Record).
  Another example is the combination of anonymizationFlags and
  anonymizationTechnique [RFC6235]).  This metadata information must be
  present in the Template Mapping, to stress that the two Template
  Record semantics are different.






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  If an IPFIX Mediator receives an IPFIX Withdrawal Message for a
  (Options) Template Record that is not used anymore in any other
  Template Mappings, the IPFIX Mediator SHOULD export the appropriate
  IPFIX Withdrawal Message(s) on the outgoing Transport Session and
  remove the corresponding entry in the Template Mapping.

  If a (Options) Template Record is not used anymore in an outgoing
  Transport Session, it MUST be withdrawn with an IPFIX Template
  Withdrawal Message on that specific outgoing Transport Session, and
  its entry, MUST be removed from the Template Mapping.

  If an incoming or outgoing Transport Session is gracefully shut down
  or reset, the (Options) Template Records corresponding to that
  Transport Session MUST be removed from the Template Mapping.

  For example, Figure 2 displays an example of an Intermediate Flow
  Selection Process, redistributing Data Records to Collectors on the
  basis of customer networks, i.e., the Route Distinguisher (RD).  In
  this example, the Template Record received from the Exporter #1 is
  reused towards Collector #1, Collector #2, and Collector #3, for the
  customer #1, customer #2, and customer #3, respectively.  In this
  example, the outgoing Template Records exported to the different
  Collectors are identical.  As a reminder that the Template ID
  uniqueness is local to the Transport Session and Observation Domain
  that generated the Template ID, a mix of Template ID 256 and 257 has
  been used.

























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                                              .---------.
                                  Tmpl.       |         |
                                  ID    .---->|Collector|<==>Customer 1
                                  256   |     |   #1    |
                                        |     |         |
                                     RD=100:1 '---------'
        .--------.        .--------.    |
        |        | Tmpl.  |        |----'
        |        | Id     |        |          .---------.
        |        | 258    |        | RD=100:2 |         |
        | IPFIX  |------->| IPFIX  |--------->|Collector|<==>Customer 2
        |Exporter|        |Mediator| Tmpl.    |   #2    |
        |   #1   |        |        | ID 257   |         |
        |        |        |        |          '---------'
        |        |        |        |----.
        '--------'        '--------'    |
                                     RD=100:3
                                        |     .---------.
                                  Tmpl. |     |         |
                                  ID    '---->|Collector|<==>Customer 3
                                  257         |   #3    |
                                              |         |
                                              '---------'

          Figure 2: Intermediate Flow Selection Process Example

  Figure 3 shows the Template Mapping for the system shown in Figure 2.
























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  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
  | Template Entry A:                                               |
  | Incoming Transport Session information (from Exporter#1):       |
  |   Source IP: <Exporter#1 export IP address>                     |
  |   Destination IP: <IPFIX Mediator IP address>                   |
  |   Protocol: SCTP                                                |
  |   Source Port: <source port>                                    |
  |   Destination Port: 4739 (IPFIX)                                |
  | Observation Domain ID: <Observation Domain ID>                  |
  | Template ID: 258                                                |
  | Metadata scoped to the Template : <not applicable in this case> |
  |                                                                 |
  | Template Entry B:                                               |
  | Outgoing Transport Session information (to Collector#1):        |
  |   Source IP: <IPFIX Mediator IP address>                        |
  |   Destination IP: <IPFIX Collector#1 IP address>                |
  |   Protocol: SCTP                                                |
  |   Source Port: <source port>                                    |
  |   Destination Port: 4739 (IPFIX)                                |
  | Observation Domain ID: <Observation Domain ID>                  |
  | Template ID: 256                                                |
  | Metadata scoped to the Template : <not applicable in this case> |
  |                                                                 |
  | Template Entry C:                                               |
  | Outgoing Transport Session information (to Collector#2):        |
  |   Source IP: <IPFIX Mediator IP address>                        |
  |   Destination IP: <IPFIX Collector#2 IP address>                |
  |   Protocol: SCTP                                                |
  |   Source Port: <source port>                                    |
  |   Destination Port: 4739 (IPFIX)                                |
  | Observation Domain ID: <Observation Domain ID>                  |
  | Template ID: 257                                                |
  | Metadata scoped to the Template : <not applicable in this case> |
  |                                                                 |
  | Template Entry D:                                               |
  | Outgoing Transport Session information (to Collector#3):        |
  |   Source IP: <IPFIX Mediator IP address>                        |
  |   Destination IP: <IPFIX Collector#3 IP address>                |
  |   Protocol: SCTP                                                |
  |   Source Port: <source port>                                    |
  |   Destination Port: 4739 (IPFIX)                                |
  | Observation Domain ID: <Observation Domain ID>                  |
  | Template ID: 257                                                |
  | Metadata scoped to the Template : <not applicable in this case> |
  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+

              Figure 3: Template Mapping Example: Templates




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  The Template Mapping corresponding to Figure 3 is displayed in
  Figure 4:

  Template Entry A   <----> Template Entry B
  Template Entry A   <----> Template Entry C
  Template Entry A   <----> Template Entry D

              Figure 4: Template Mapping Example: Mappings

  Alternatively, the Template Mapping may be optimized as in Figure 5:

                        +--> Template Entry B
                        |
  Template Entry A   <--+--> Template Entry C
                        |
                        +--> Template Entry D

             Figure 5: Template Mapping Example 2: Mappings

  Note that all examples use Transport Sessions based on the SCTP, as
  simplified use cases.  However, the transport protocol would be
  important in situations such as an Intermediate Conversion Process
  doing transport protocol conversion.

4.1.1.  Template Mapping and Information Element Ordering

  In the situation where Original Exporters each export an (Options)
  Template Record to a single IPFIX Mediator, and the (Options)
  Template Record contains the same Information Elements, but in
  different order, should the IPFIX Mediator maintain a Template
  Mapping with a single Export Template Record (see Figure 6) or should
  the IPFIX Mediator maintain multiple independent Template Records
  (see Figure 7) before re-exporting to the Collector?

          Template Entry A   <--+
                                |
          Template Entry B   <--+--> Template Entry D
                                |
          Template Entry C   <--+

                Figure 6: Template Mapping and Ordering:
                     A single Export Template Record









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          Template Entry A   <--+--> Template Entry D

          Template Entry B   <--+--> Template Entry E

          Template Entry C   <--+--> Template Entry F

                Figure 7: Template Mapping and Ordering:
                    Multiple Export Template Records

  The answer depends on whether the order of the Information Elements
  implies some specific semantic.  One of the guiding principles in
  IPFIX protocol specifications is that the semantic meaning of one
  Information Element doesn't depend on the value of any other
  Information Element.  However, there is one noticeable exception, as
  mentioned in [RFC7011]:

     Multiple Scope Fields MAY be present in the Options Template
     Record, in which case the composite scope is the combination of
     the scopes.  For example, if the two scopes are meteringProcessId
     and templateId, the combined scope is this Template for this
     Metering Process.  If a different order of Scope Fields would
     result in a Record having a different semantic meaning, then the
     order of Scope Fields MUST be preserved by the Exporting Process.
     For example, in the context of PSAMP [RFC5476], if the first scope
     defines the filtering function, while the second scope defines the
     sampling function, the order of the scope is important.  Applying
     the sampling function first, followed by the filtering function,
     would lead to potentially different Data Records than applying the
     filtering function first, followed by the sampling function.

  If an IPFIX Mediator receives, from multiple Exporters, Template
  Records with identical Information Elements, but ordered differently,
  it SHOULD consider those Template Records as identical, subject to
  metadata information in the associated Options Template (for example,
  the Flow Key Options Template, see Section 10.2).

  If an IPFIX Mediator receives, from multiple Exporters, Options
  Template Records with identical and ordered Information Elements in
  the Scope fields, and with identical Information Elements, but
  ordered differently, in the non-Scope fields, it SHOULD consider
  those Template Records as identical.

  If an IPFIX Mediator receives, from multiple Exporters, Options
  Template Records with identical Information Elements in the Scope
  field, but ones that are ordered differently, it MUST consider those
  Template Records as semantically different.





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4.2.  Creating New Templates at an IPFIX Mediator

  For other Intermediate Processes, the IPFIX Mediator generates new
  (Options) Template Records as a result of the Intermediate Process.

  In these cases, the IPFIX Mediator doesn't need to maintain a
  Template Mapping, as it generates its own series of (Options)
  Template Records.  However, some special cases might still require a
  Template Mapping.  Consider a situation where the IPFIX Mediator
  generates new (Options) Template Records based on what it receives
  from the Exporter(s) based on the Intermediate Process function: for
  example, an Intermediate Anonymization process that performs black-
  marker anonymization [RFC6235] on certain Information Elements.  In
  such cases, it's important to keep the correlation between the
  received (Options) Template Records and derived (Options) Template
  Records in the Template Mapping.  These Template Mappings would be
  kept as in Section 4.1, except that the exported Template would not
  be identical to the received Template.

  Similar to Exporting Processes in any Exporter, an IPFIX Mediator may
  use the technique for reducing redundancy in IPFIX described in
  [RFC5473].

4.3.  Handling Unknown Information Elements

  Depending on application requirements, Mediators that do not generate
  new Records SHOULD re-export values for unknown Information Elements,
  for which the Mediator does not have information about Information
  Element data type and semantics.  However, as there may be presence
  or ordering dependencies among the unknown Information Elements, the
  Mediator MUST NOT omit fields from such re-exported Records or
  reorder any fields within the Records.

  Mediators that generate new Records, as in Section 4.2, MUST ignore
  values of Information Elements they do not understand.  If a Mediator
  passes values of Information Elements it does not understand (for
  example, when re-exporting Flow Records), it MUST pass them in the
  order in which they were originally received.

  In any case, Mediators handling unknown Information Elements SHOULD
  log this fact, as it is likely that mediation of records containing
  unknown values will have unintended consequences.

5.  Preserving Original Observation Point Information

  Depending on the use case, the Collector in an Exporter/IPFIX
  Mediator/Collector structure (for example, tiered Mediators) may need
  to receive information about the Original Observation Point(s);



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  otherwise, it may wrongly conclude that the IPFIX Device exporting
  the Flow Records, i.e., the IPFIX Mediator, directly observed the
  packets that generated the Flow Records.  Two new Information
  Elements are introduced to address this use case:
  originalExporterIPv4Address and originalExporterIPv6Address.
  Practically, the Original Exporters will not be exporting these
  Information Elements.  Therefore, the Intermediate Process will
  report the Original Observation Point(s) to the best of its
  knowledge.  Note that the Configuration Data Model for IPFIX and
  PSAMP [RFC6728] may report the Original Exporter information out of
  band.

  In the IPFIX Mediator, the Observation Point(s) may be represented
  by:

  o  A single Original Exporter (represented by the
     originalExporterIPv4Address or originalExporterIPv6Address
     Information Elements).

  o  A list of Original Exporters (represented by a list of
     originalExporterIPv4Address or originalExporterIPv6Address
     Information Elements).

  o  Any combination or list of Information Elements representing
     Observation Points.  For example:

     *  A list of Original Exporter interfaces (represented by the
        originalExporterIPv4Address or originalExporterIPv6Address, the
        ingressInterface, and/or egressInterface Information Elements,
        respectively).

     *  A list of Original Exporter line card (represented by the
        originalExporterIPv4Address, originalExporterIPv6Address, or
        lineCardId Information Elements, respectively).

  Some Information Elements characterizing the Observation Point may be
  added.  For example, the flowDirection Information Element specifies
  the direction of the observation, and, as such, characterizes the
  Observation Point.

  Any combination of the above representations is possible.  An example
  of an Original Observation Point for an Intermediate Aggregation
  Process is displayed in Figure 8.








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  exporterIPv4Address 192.0.2.1
  exporterIPv4Address 192.0.2.2,
    interface ethernet 0, direction ingress
    interface ethernet 1, direction ingress
    interface serial 1, direction egress
    interface serial 2, direction egress
  exporterIPv4Address 192.0.2.3,
    lineCardId 1, direction ingress

         Figure 8: Complex Observation Point Definition Example

  A Mediator MAY export such complex Original Observation Point
  information, depending on application requirements.  If such
  information is exported, the Mediator MUST use [RFC6313] to do so, as
  described below.

  The most generic way to export the Original Observation Point is to
  use a subTemplateMultiList, with the semantic "exactlyOneOf".  Taking
  the previous example, the encoding in Figure 9 can be used.

  Template Record 257: exporterIPv4Address
  Template Record 258: exporterIPv4Address,
                       basicList of ingressInterface, flowDirection
  Template Record 259: exporterIPv4Address, lineCardId, flowDirection

    Figure 9: Complex Observation Point Definition Example: Templates

  The Original Observation Point is modeled with the Data Records
  corresponding to either Template Record 1, Template Record 2, or
  Template Record 3 but not more than one of these ("exactlyOneOf"
  semantic).  This implies that the Flow was observed at exactly one of
  the Observation Points reported.

  When an IPFIX Mediator receives Flow Records containing the Original
  Observation Point Information Element, i.e.,
  originalExporterIPv4Address or originalExporterIPv6Address, the IPFIX
  Mediator SHOULD NOT modify its value(s) when composing new Flow
  Records in the general case.  Known exceptions include anonymization
  per Section 7.2.4 of [RFC6235] and an Intermediate Correlation
  Process rewriting addresses across NAT.  In other words, the Original
  Observation Point should not be replaced with the IPFIX Mediator
  Observation Point.  The daisy chain of (Exporter, Observation Point)
  representing the path the Flow Records took from the Exporter to the
  top Collector in the Exporter/IPFIX Mediator(s)/Collector structure
  model is out of the scope of this specification.






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  The following subsections describe Information Elements for reporting
  Original Exporter addresses as seen by the Collecting Process; note
  they may be subject to network address translation upstream; see
  [NAT-LOGGING] for more on logging in this situation.

5.1.  originalExporterIPv4Address Information Element

  Name:   originalExporterIPv4Address

  Description:   The IPv4 address used by the Exporting Process on an
     Original Exporter, as seen by the Collecting Process on an IPFIX
     Mediator.  Used to provide information about the Original
     Observation Points to a downstream Collector.

  Data Type:   ipv4Address

  ElementId:   403

5.2.  originalExporterIPv6Address Information Element

  Name:   originalExporterIPv6Address

  Description:   The IPv6 address used by the Exporting Process on an
     Original Exporter, as seen by the Collecting Process on an IPFIX
     Mediator.  Used to provide information about the Original
     Observation Points to a downstream Collector.

  Data Type:   ipv6Address

  ElementId:   404

6.  Managing Observation Domain IDs

  The Observation Domain ID of any IPFIX Message containing Flow
  Records relevant to no particular Observation Domain, or to multiple
  Observation Domains, MUST have an Observation Domain ID of 0.

  IPFIX Mediators that do not change (Options) Template Records MUST
  maintain a Template Mapping, as detailed in Section 4.1, to ensure
  that the combination of Observation Domain IDs and Template IDs do
  not collide on export.

  For IPFIX Mediators that export New (Options) Template Records, as in
  Section 4.2, there are two options for Observation Domain ID
  management.  The first and simplest of these is to completely
  decouple exported Observation Domain IDs from received Observation





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  Domain IDs; the IPFIX Mediator, in this case, comprises its own set
  of Observation Domain(s) independent of the Observation Domain(s) of
  the Original Exporters.

  The second option is to provide or maintain a Template Mapping for
  received (Options) Template Records and exported inferred (Options)
  Template Records, along with the appropriate Observation Domain IDs
  per Transport Session, which ensures that the combination of
  Observation Domain IDs and Template IDs do not collide on export.

  In some cases where the IPFIX Message Header can't contain a
  consistent Observation Domain for the entire IPFIX Message, but the
  Flow Records exported from the IPFIX Mediator should contain the
  Observation Domain of the Original Exporter anyway, the (Options)
  Template Record must contain the originalObservationDomainId
  Information Element, specified in Section 6.1.  When an IPFIX
  Mediator receives Flow Records containing the
  originalObservationDomainId Information Element, the IPFIX Mediator
  MUST NOT modify its value(s) when composing new Flow Records with the
  originalObservationDomainId Information Element.

6.1.  originalObservationDomainId Information Element

  Name:   originalObservationDomainId

  Description:   The Observation Domain ID reported by the Exporting
     Process on an Original Exporter, as seen by the Collecting Process
     on an IPFIX Mediator.  Used to provide information about the
     Original Observation Domain to a downstream Collector.  When
     cascading through multiple Mediators, this identifies the initial
     Observation Domain in the cascade.

  Data Type:   unsigned32

  Data Type Semantics:   identifier

  ElementId:   405

7.  Timing Considerations

  The IPFIX Message Header "Export Time" field is the time in seconds
  since 0000 UTC Jan 1, 1970, at which the IPFIX Message leaves the
  IPFIX Mediator.  However, in the specific case of an IPFIX Mediator
  containing an Intermediate Conversion Process, the IPFIX Mediator MAY
  use the export time received from the incoming Transport Session.






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  It is RECOMMENDED that IPFIX Mediators handle time using absolute
  timestamps (e.g., flowStartSeconds, flowStartMilliseconds, or
  flowStartNanoseconds), which are specified relative to the UNIX epoch
  (00:00 UTC 1 Jan 1970) [POSIX.1], where possible rather than relative
  timestamps (e.g., flowStartSysUpTime or flowStartDeltaMicroseconds),
  which are specified relative to protocol structures such as system
  initialization or message export time.

  The latter are difficult to manage for two reasons.  First, they
  require constant translation, as the system initialization time of an
  intermediate system and the export time of an intermediate message
  will change across mediation operations.  Further, relative
  timestamps introduce range problems.  For example, when using the
  flowStartDeltaMicroseconds and flowEndDeltaMicroseconds Information
  Elements [IANA-IPFIX], the Data Record must be exported within a
  maximum of 71 minutes after its creation.  Otherwise, the 32-bit
  counter would not be sufficient to contain the flow start time
  offset.  Those time constraints might be incompatible with some of
  the application requirements of some Intermediate Processes.

  Intermediate Processes MUST NOT assume that received records appear
  in flowStartTime, flowEndTime, or observationTime order.  An
  Intermediate Process processing timing information (e.g., an
  Intermediate Aggregation Process) MAY ignore records that are
  significantly out of order, in order to meet application-specific
  state and latency requirements, but SHOULD report that records were
  dropped.

  When an Intermediate Process aggregates information from different
  Flow Records, the timestamps on exported records SHOULD be the
  minimum of the start times and the maximum of the end times in the
  general case.  However, if the Flow Records do not overlap, i.e., if
  there is a time gap between the times in the Flow Records, then the
  report may be inaccurate.  The IPFIX Mediator is only reporting what
  it knows, on the basis of the information made available to it, and
  there may not have been any data to observe during the gap.  Then
  again, if there is an overlap in timestamps, there's the potential of
  double-accounting: different Observation Points may have observed the
  same traffic simultaneously.  The specification of the precise rules
  for applying Flow Record timestamps at IPFIX Mediators for all the
  different situations is out of the scope of this document.

  Note that [RFC7015] provides additional specifications for handling
  of timestamps at an Intermediate Aggregation Process.







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8.  Transport Considerations

  SCTP [RFC4960] using the Partially Reliable SCTP (PR-SCTP) extension
  specified in [RFC3758] MUST be implemented by all compliant IPFIX
  Mediator implementations.  TCP [RFC0793] MAY also be implemented by
  implementations compliant with the IPFIX Mediator.  UDP [RFC0768] MAY
  also be implemented by compliant IPFIX Mediator implementations.
  Transport-specific considerations for IPFIX Exporters as specified in
  Sections 8.3, 8.4, 9.1, 9.2, and 10 of [RFC7011] apply to IPFIX
  Mediators as well.

  SCTP SHOULD be used in deployments where IPFIX Mediators and
  Collectors are communicating over links that are susceptible to
  congestion.  SCTP is capable of providing any required degree of
  reliability.  TCP MAY be used in deployments where IPFIX Mediators
  and Collectors communicate over links that are susceptible to
  congestion, but SCTP is preferred due to its ability to limit back
  pressure on Exporters and its message versus stream orientation.  UDP
  MAY be used, although it is not a congestion-aware protocol.
  However, in this case, the IPFIX traffic between IPFIX Mediator and
  Collector MUST run in an environment where IPFIX traffic has been
  provisioned for and/or separated from non-IPFIX traffic, whether
  physically or virtually.

9.  Collecting Process Considerations

  Any Collecting Process compliant with [RFC7011] can receive IPFIX
  Messages from an IPFIX Mediator.  If the IPFIX Mediator uses IPFIX
  Structured Data [RFC6313] to export Original Exporter Information, as
  in Section 5, the Collecting Process MUST support [RFC6313].

10.  Specific Reporting Requirements

  IPFIX provides Options Templates for the reporting the reliability of
  processes within the IPFIX Architecture.  As each Mediator includes
  at least one IPFIX Exporting Process, they MAY use the Exporting
  Process Reliability Statistics Options Template, as specified in
  [RFC7011].

  Analogous to the Metering Process Reliability Statistics Options
  Template, also specified in [RFC7011], Mediators MAY implement the
  Intermediate Process Reliability Statistics Options Template,
  specified in Sections 10.1, 10.3, and 10.4 define Information
  Elements used by this Options Template.

  The Flow Keys Options Template, as specified in [RFC7011], may
  require special handling at an IPFIX Mediator, as described in
  Section 10.2.



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  In addition, each Intermediate Process may have its own specific
  reporting requirements (e.g., Anonymization Records as in [RFC6235],
  or the Aggregation Counter Distribution Options Template as in
  [RFC7015]); these SHOULD be implemented as necessary, as described in
  the specification for each Intermediate Process.

10.1.  Intermediate Process Reliability Statistics Options Template

  The Intermediate Process Statistics Options Template specifies the
  structure of a Data Record for reporting Intermediate Process
  statistics.  It SHOULD contain the following Information Elements;
  the intermediateProcessId Information Element is defined in
  Section 10.3 and the ignoredDataRecordTotalCount Information Element
  is defined in Section 10.4:





































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  +-----------------------------+-------------------------------------+
  | IE                          | Description                         |
  +-----------------------------+-------------------------------------+
  | observationDomainId [scope] | An identifier of the Observation    |
  |                             | Domain (of messages exported by     |
  |                             | this Mediator), locally unique to   |
  |                             | the Intermediate Process, to which  |
  |                             | this statistics record applies.     |
  |                             | ----------------------------------  |
  | intermediateProcessId       | An identifier for the Intermediate  |
  | [scope]                     | Process to which this statistics    |
  |                             | record applies.                     |
  |                             | ----------------------------------  |
  | ignoredDataRecordTotalCount | The total number of Data Records    |
  |                             | received but not processed by the   |
  |                             | Intermediate Process.               |
  |                             | ----------------------------------  |
  | time first record ignored   | The timestamp of the first record   |
  |                             | that was ignored by the             |
  |                             | Intermediate Process.  For Data     |
  |                             | Records containing timestamp        |
  |                             | ranges, this SHOULD be taken from   |
  |                             | the start timestamp of the range;   |
  |                             | for data records containing no      |
  |                             | timing information, this SHOULD be  |
  |                             | taken from the Export Time in the   |
  |                             | message header of the IPFIX Message |
  |                             | that contains it.  For this         |
  |                             | timestamp, any of the following     |
  |                             | timestamp can be used:              |
  |                             | observationTimeSeconds,             |
  |                             | observationTimeMilliseconds,        |
  |                             | observationTimeMicroseconds, or     |
  |                             | observationTimeNanoseconds.         |
  +-----------------------------+-------------------------------------+
















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  +-----------------------------+-------------------------------------+
  | IE                          | Description                         |
  +-----------------------------+-------------------------------------+
  | time last record ignored    | The timestamp of the last record    |
  |                             | that was ignored by the             |
  |                             | Intermediate Process.  For Data     |
  |                             | Records containing timestamp        |
  |                             | ranges, this SHOULD be taken from   |
  |                             | the end timestamp of the range; for |
  |                             | data records containing no timing   |
  |                             | information, this SHOULD be taken   |
  |                             | from the Export Time in the message |
  |                             | header of the containing IPFIX      |
  |                             | Message.  For this timestamp, any   |
  |                             | of the following timestamp can be   |
  |                             | used: observationTimeSeconds,       |
  |                             | observationTimeMilliseconds,        |
  |                             | observationTimeMicroseconds, or     |
  |                             | observationTimeNanoseconds.         |
  +-----------------------------+-------------------------------------+

10.2.  Flow Key Options Template

  The Flow Keys Options Template specifies the structure of a Data
  Record for reporting the Flow Keys of reported Flows.  A Flow Keys
  Data Record extends a particular Template Record that is referenced
  by its templateId identifier.  The Template Record is extended by
  specifying which of the Information Elements contained in the
  corresponding Data Records describe Flow properties that serve as
  Flow Keys of the reported Flow.  This Options Template is defined in
  Section 4.4 of [RFC7011] and SHOULD be used by Mediators for export
  as defined there.

  When an Intermediate Process exports Data Records containing
  different Flow Keys from those received from the Original Exporter,
  and the Original Exporter sent a Flow Keys Options record to the
  IPFIX Mediator, the IPFIX Mediator MUST export a Flow Keys Options
  record defining the new set of Flow Keys.

10.3.  intermediateProcessId Information Element

  Name:   intermediateProcessId

  Description:   An identifier of an Intermediate Process that is
     unique per IPFIX Device.  Typically, this Information Element is
     used for limiting the scope of other Information Elements.  Note
     that process identifiers may be assigned dynamically; that is, an
     Intermediate Process may be restarted with a different ID.



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  Data Type:   unsigned32

  Data Type Semantics:   identifier

  ElementId:   406

10.4.  ignoredDataRecordTotalCount Information Element

  Name:   ignoredDataRecordTotalCount

  Description:   The total number of received Data Records that the
     Intermediate Process did not process since the (re-)initialization
     of the Intermediate Process; includes only Data Records not
     examined or otherwise handled by the Intermediate Process due to
     resource constraints, not Data Records that were examined or
     otherwise handled by the Intermediate Process but those that
     merely do not contribute to any exported Data Record due to the
     operations performed by the Intermediate Process.

  Data Type:   unsigned64

  Data Type Semantics:   totalCounter

  ElementId:   407

11.  Operations and Management Considerations

  In general, using IPFIX Mediators to combine information from
  multiple Original Exporters requires a consistent configuration of
  the Metering Processes behind these Original Exporters.  The details
  of this consistency are specific to each Intermediate Process.
  Consistency of configuration should be verified out of band, with the
  MIB modules ([RFC6615] and [RFC6727]) or with the Configuration Data
  Model for IPFIX and PSAMP [RFC6728].

  From an operational perspective, this specification provides all the
  information required to set up IPFIX Mediators and Collectors behind
  IPFIX Mediators.  While configuring the IPFIX Mediators, care must be
  taken to include all the relevant information so that the Collectors
  deduce the Data Records precise semantic.  This is covered by the
  Template Mapping specifications in Section 4.1.  Also, caution must
  be taken that if something is not carefully configured in the
  processing chain, this can lead to the wrong interpretation of
  collected IPFIX data, and the associated applications can produce
  results that are not operationally meaningful.






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12.  Security Considerations

  As they act as both IPFIX Collecting Processes and Exporting
  Processes, the Security Considerations for the IPFIX Protocol
  [RFC7011] also apply to IPFIX Mediators.  The Security Considerations
  for IPFIX Files [RFC5655] also apply to IPFIX Mediators that write
  IPFIX Files or use them for internal storage.  However, there are a
  few specific considerations that IPFIX Mediator implementations must
  also take into account.

  By design, IPFIX Mediators are "men in the middle": they intercede in
  the communication between an Original Exporter (or another upstream
  IPFIX Mediator) and a downstream Collecting Process.  This has two
  important implications for the level of confidentiality provided
  across an IPFIX Mediator and the ability to protect data integrity
  and Original Exporter authenticity across an IPFIX Mediator.  These
  are addressed in more detail in the Security Considerations for IPFIX
  Mediators in [RFC6183].

  Note that while IPFIX Mediators can use the exporterCertificate and
  collectorCertificate Information Elements defined in [RFC5655] as
  described in Section 9.3 of [RFC6183] to export information about
  X.509 identities in upstream TLS-protected Transport Sessions, this
  mechanism cannot be used to provide true end-to-end assertions about
  a chain of IPFIX Mediators: any IPFIX Mediator in the chain can
  simply falsify the information about upstream Transport Sessions.  In
  situations where information about the chain of mediation is
  important, it must be determined out of band.  Note as well that an
  Exporting Process has no in-band way to determine whether or not a
  given Collecting Process will act as a Mediator.  Trust placed in
  Collecting Processes is absolute, so care should be taken when
  exporting IPFIX Messages between Exporting Processes and Collecting
  Processes controlled by different entities.

13.  IANA Considerations

  This document specifies new IPFIX Information Elements,
  originalExporterIPv4Address in Section 5.1,
  originalExporterIPv6Address in Section 5.2,
  originalObservationDomainId in Section 6.1, intermediateProcessId in
  Section 10.3, and ignoredDataRecordTotalCount in Section 10.4, which
  have been added to the IPFIX Information Element registry
  [IANA-IPFIX].








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14.  Acknowledgments

  We would like to thank the IPFIX contributors, specifically Paul
  Aitken (THE ultimate IPFIX document reviewer) and Andrew Feren for
  their thorough reviews; Nevil Brownlee and Juergen Quittek for
  shepherding this document and chairing the IPFIX Working Group; and
  to Rahul Patel, Meral Shirazipour, and Juergen Schoenwaelder for
  their feedback and comments.  This work is materially supported by
  the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreements
  257315 (DEMONS) and 318627 (mPlane).

15.  References

15.1.  Normative References

  [RFC0768]  Postel, J., "User Datagram Protocol", STD 6, RFC 768,
             August 1980.

  [RFC0793]  Postel, J., "Transmission Control Protocol", STD 7, RFC
             793, September 1981.

  [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
             Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

  [RFC3758]  Stewart, R., Ramalho, M., Xie, Q., Tuexen, M., and P.
             Conrad, "Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
             Partial Reliability Extension", RFC 3758, May 2004.

  [RFC4960]  Stewart, R., "Stream Control Transmission Protocol", RFC
             4960, September 2007.

  [RFC5226]  Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
             IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 5226,
             May 2008.

  [RFC5655]  Trammell, B., Boschi, E., Mark, L., Zseby, T., and A.
             Wagner, "Specification of the IP Flow Information Export
             (IPFIX) File Format", RFC 5655, October 2009.

  [RFC6313]  Claise, B., Dhandapani, G., Aitken, P., and S. Yates,
             "Export of Structured Data in IP Flow Information Export
             (IPFIX)", RFC 6313, July 2011.

  [RFC6615]  Dietz, T., Kobayashi, A., Claise, B., and G. Muenz,
             "Definitions of Managed Objects for IP Flow Information
             Export", RFC 6615, June 2012.





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  [RFC6727]  Dietz, T., Claise, B., and J. Quittek, "Definitions of
             Managed Objects for Packet Sampling", RFC 6727, October
             2012.

  [RFC6728]  Muenz, G., Claise, B., and P. Aitken, "Configuration Data
             Model for the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) and
             Packet Sampling (PSAMP) Protocols", RFC 6728, October
             2012.

  [RFC7011]  Claise, B., Trammell, B., and P. Aitken, "Specification of
             the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Protocol for the
             Exchange of Flow Information", STD 77, RFC 7011, September
             2013.

  [RFC7012]  Claise, B. and B. Trammell, "Information Model for IP Flow
             Information Export (IPFIX)", RFC 7012, September 2013.

  [RFC7013]  Trammell, B. and B. Claise, "Guidelines for Authors and
             Reviewers of IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX)
             Information Elements", BCP 184, RFC 7013, September 2013.

  [RFC7014]  D'Antonio, S., Zseby, T., Henke, C., and L. Peluso, "Flow
             Selection Techniques", RFC 7014, September 2013.

  [RFC7015]  Trammell, B., Wagner, A., and B. Claise, "Flow Aggregation
             for the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Protocol", RFC
             7015, September 2013.

15.2.  Informative References

  [RFC3917]  Quittek, J., Zseby, T., Claise, B., and S. Zander,
             "Requirements for IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX)", RFC
             3917, October 2004.

  [RFC3954]  Claise, B., "Cisco Systems NetFlow Services Export Version
             9", RFC 3954, October 2004.

  [RFC5470]  Sadasivan, G., Brownlee, N., Claise, B., and J. Quittek,
             "Architecture for IP Flow Information Export", RFC 5470,
             March 2009.

  [RFC5472]  Zseby, T., Boschi, E., Brownlee, N., and B. Claise, "IP
             Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Applicability", RFC 5472,
             March 2009.

  [RFC5473]  Boschi, E., Mark, L., and B. Claise, "Reducing Redundancy
             in IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) and Packet Sampling
             (PSAMP) Reports", RFC 5473, March 2009.



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  [RFC5476]  Claise, B., Johnson, A., and J. Quittek, "Packet Sampling
             (PSAMP) Protocol Specifications", RFC 5476, March 2009.

  [RFC5610]  Boschi, E., Trammell, B., Mark, L., and T. Zseby,
             "Exporting Type Information for IP Flow Information Export
             (IPFIX) Information Elements", RFC 5610, July 2009.

  [RFC5982]  Kobayashi, A. and B. Claise, "IP Flow Information Export
             (IPFIX) Mediation: Problem Statement", RFC 5982, August
             2010.

  [RFC6183]  Kobayashi, A., Claise, B., Muenz, G., and K. Ishibashi,
             "IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Mediation: Framework",
             RFC 6183, April 2011.

  [RFC6235]  Boschi, E. and B. Trammell, "IP Flow Anonymization
             Support", RFC 6235, May 2011.

  [NAT-LOGGING]
             Sivakumar, S. and R. Penno, "IPFIX Information Elements
             for logging NAT Events", Work in Progress, November 2013.

  [IANA-IPFIX]
             IANA, "IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) Entities",
             <http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipfix>.

  [POSIX.1]  IEEE, "IEEE Standard for Information Technology - Portable
             Operating System Interface", IEEE 1003.1-2008, 2008.























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Authors' Addresses

  Benoit Claise
  Cisco Systems, Inc.
  De Kleetlaan 6a b1
  1831 Diegem
  Belgium

  Phone: +32 2 704 5622
  EMail: [email protected]


  Atsushi Kobayashi
  NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories
  3-9-11 Midori-cho
  Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8585
  Japan

  Phone: +81 422 59 3978
  EMail: [email protected]


  Brian Trammell
  Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
  Gloriastrasse 35
  8092 Zurich
  Switzerland

  Phone: +41 44 632 70 13
  EMail: [email protected]





















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