6LoWPAN

This document updates IPv6 Neighbor Discovery (RFC 4861) and IPv6 Subnet Neighbor Discovery (RFC 8505, RFC 8928) to enable a node that owns or is directly connected to a prefix to register that prefix to neighbor routers. The registration indicates that the registered prefix can be reached via the advertising node without a loop. The unicast prefix registration allows the node to request one or more neighbor routers to redistribute the prefix in another routing domain regardless of the routing protocol used in that domain. This document updates the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL), as specified in RFCs 6550 and 9010, to enable a 6LoWPAN Router (6LR) to inject the registered prefix in RPL.

This document updates "Address-Protected Neighbor Discovery for Low-Power and Lossy Networks" (RFC 8928) by changing the position of the C-flag in the Extended Address Registration Option (EARO) and registering it with IANA.

This document updates the 6LoWPAN extensions to IPv6 Neighbor Discovery (specified in RFCs 4861 and 8505) to enable a listener to subscribe to an IPv6 anycast or multicast address. This document also updates the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) (specified in RFCs 6550 and 6553) to add a new Non-Storing multicast mode and new support for anycast addresses in Storing and Non-Storing modes. This document extends RFC 9010 to enable a 6LoWPAN Router (6LR) to inject the anycast and multicast addresses in RPL.

This document describes the applicability of IPv6 over constrained-node networks (6lo) and provides practical deployment examples. In addition to IEEE Std 802.15.4, various link-layer technologies are used as examples, such as ITU-T G.9959 (Z-Wave), Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications - Ultra Low Energy (DECT-ULE), Master-Slave/Token Passing (MS/TP), Near Field Communication (NFC), and Power Line Communication (PLC). This document targets an audience who would like to understand and evaluate running end-to-end IPv6 over the constrained-node networks for local or Internet connectivity.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and portable devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, usually no more than 10 cm apart. NFC standards cover communication protocols and data exchange formats and are based on existing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) standards, including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa. The standards include ISO/IEC 18092 and those defined by the NFC Forum. The NFC technology has been widely implemented and available in mobile phones, laptop computers, and many other devices. This document describes how IPv6 is transmitted over NFC using IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) techniques.

Power Line Communication (PLC), namely using electric power lines for indoor and outdoor communications, has been widely applied to support Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), especially smart meters for electricity. The existing electricity infrastructure facilitates the expansion of PLC deployments due to its potential advantages in terms of cost and convenience. Moreover, a wide variety of accessible devices raises the potential demand of IPv6 for future applications. This document describes how IPv6 packets are transported over constrained PLC networks, such as those described in ITU-T G.9903, IEEE 1901.1, and IEEE 1901.2.

RFC 7668 describes the adaptation of IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) techniques to enable IPv6 over Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) networks that follow the star topology. However, recent Bluetooth specifications allow the formation of extended topologies as well. This document specifies mechanisms that are needed to enable IPv6 mesh over Bluetooth LE links established by using the Bluetooth Internet Protocol Support Profile (IPSP). This document does not specify the routing protocol to be used in an IPv6 mesh over Bluetooth LE links.

This document defines a convergence layer for Content-Centric Networking (CCNx) and Named Data Networking (NDN) over IEEE 802.15.4 Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (LoWPANs). A new frame format is specified to adapt CCNx and NDN packets to the small MTU size of IEEE 802.15.4. For that, syntactic and semantic changes to the TLV-based header formats are described. To support compatibility with other LoWPAN technologies that may coexist on a wireless medium, the dispatching scheme provided by IPv6 over LoWPAN (6LoWPAN) is extended to include new dispatch types for CCNx and NDN. Additionally, the fragmentation component of the 6LoWPAN dispatching framework is applied to Information-Centric Network (ICN) chunks. In its second part, the document defines stateless and stateful compression schemes to improve efficiency on constrained links. Stateless compression reduces TLV expressions to static header fields for common use cases. Stateful compression schemes elide states local to the LoWPAN and replace names in Data packets by short local identifiers.

This document is a product of the IRTF Information-Centric Networking Research Group (ICNRG).

This document specifies a new type for the 6LoWPAN routing header containing the deadline time for data packets, designed for use over constrained networks. The deadline time enables forwarding and scheduling decisions for time-critical machine-to-machine (M2M) applications running on Internet-enabled devices that operate within time-synchronized networks. This document also specifies a representation for the deadline time values in such networks.

This document describes a network architecture that provides low-latency, low-jitter, and high-reliability packet delivery. It combines a high-speed powered backbone and subnetworks using IEEE 802.15.4 time-slotted channel hopping (TSCH) to meet the requirements of low-power wireless deterministic applications.

This document updates RFC 8138 by defining a bit in the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) Destination-Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph (DODAG) Configuration option to indicate whether compression is used within the RPL Instance and to specify the behavior of nodes compliant with RFC 8138 when the bit is set and unset.

This document looks at different data flows through Low-Power and Lossy Networks (LLN) where RPL (IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks) is used to establish routing. The document enumerates the cases where RPL Packet Information (RPI) Option Type (RFC 6553), RPL Source Route Header (RFC 6554), and IPv6-in-IPv6 encapsulation are required in the data plane. This analysis provides the basis upon which to design efficient compression of these headers. This document updates RFC 6553 by adding a change to the RPI Option Type. Additionally, this document updates RFC 6550 by defining a flag in the DODAG Information Object (DIO) Configuration option to indicate this change and updates RFC 8138 as well to consider the new Option Type when the RPL Option is decompressed.

This document provides guidance on how to implement and use the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in Constrained-Node Networks (CNNs), which are a characteristic of the Internet of Things (IoT). Such environments require a lightweight TCP implementation and may not make use of optional functionality. This document explains a number of known and deployed techniques to simplify a TCP stack as well as corresponding trade-offs. The objective is to help embedded developers with decisions on which TCP features to use.

This document updates the IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) Neighbor Discovery (ND) protocol defined in RFCs 6775 and 8505. The new extension is called Address-Protected Neighbor Discovery (AP-ND), and it protects the owner of an address against address theft and impersonation attacks in a Low-Power and Lossy Network (LLN). Nodes supporting this extension compute a cryptographic identifier (Crypto-ID), and use it with one or more of their Registered Addresses. The Crypto-ID identifies the owner of the Registered Address and can be used to provide proof of ownership of the Registered Addresses. Once an address is registered with the Crypto-ID and a proof of ownership is provided, only the owner of that address can modify the registration information, thereby enforcing Source Address Validation.

This document updates RFCs 6775 and 8505 in order to enable proxy services for IPv6 Neighbor Discovery by Routing Registrars called "Backbone Routers". Backbone Routers are placed along the wireless edge of a backbone and federate multiple wireless links to form a single Multi-Link Subnet (MLSN).

This document provides generic rules to enable the forwarding of an IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) fragment over a route-over network. Forwarding fragments can improve both end-to-end latency and reliability as well as reduce the buffer requirements in intermediate nodes; it may be implemented using RFC 4944 and Virtual Reassembly Buffers (VRBs).

This document updates RFC 4944 with a protocol that forwards individual fragments across a route-over mesh and recovers them end to end, with congestion control capabilities to protect the network.

This document defines the Static Context Header Compression and fragmentation (SCHC) framework, which provides both a header compression mechanism and an optional fragmentation mechanism. SCHC has been designed with Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) in mind.

SCHC compression is based on a common static context stored both in the LPWAN device and in the network infrastructure side. This document defines a generic header compression mechanism and its application to compress IPv6/UDP headers.

This document also specifies an optional fragmentation and reassembly mechanism. It can be used to support the IPv6 MTU requirement over the LPWAN technologies. Fragmentation is needed for IPv6 datagrams that, after SCHC compression or when such compression was not possible, still exceed the Layer 2 maximum payload size.

The SCHC header compression and fragmentation mechanisms are independent of the specific LPWAN technology over which they are used. This document defines generic functionalities and offers flexibility with regard to parameter settings and mechanism choices. This document standardizes the exchange over the LPWAN between two SCHC entities. Settings and choices specific to a technology or a product are expected to be grouped into profiles, which are specified in other documents. Data models for the context and profiles are out of scope.

This specification updates RFC 6775 -- the Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) Neighbor Discovery specification -- to clarify the role of the protocol as a registration technique and simplify the registration operation in 6LoWPAN routers, as well as to provide enhancements to the registration capabilities and mobility detection for different network topologies, including the Routing Registrars performing routing for host routes and/or proxy Neighbor Discovery in a low-power network.

This document describes the challenges for energy-efficient protocol operation on constrained devices and the current practices used to overcome those challenges. It summarizes the main link-layer techniques used for energy-efficient networking, and it highlights the impact of such techniques on the upper-layer protocols so that they can together achieve an energy-efficient behavior. The document also provides an overview of energy-efficient mechanisms available at each layer of the IETF protocol suite specified for constrained-node networks.

This document describes a minimal mode of operation for an IPv6 over the TSCH mode of IEEE 802.15.4e (6TiSCH) network. This minimal mode of operation specifies the baseline set of protocols that need to be supported and the recommended configurations and modes of operation sufficient to enable a 6TiSCH functional network. 6TiSCH provides IPv6 connectivity over a Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mesh composed of IEEE Std 802.15.4 TSCH links. This minimal mode uses a collection of protocols with the respective configurations, including the IPv6 Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) framework, enabling interoperable IPv6 connectivity over IEEE Std 802.15.4 TSCH. This minimal configuration provides the necessary bandwidth for network and security bootstrapping and defines the proper link between the IETF protocols that interface to IEEE Std 802.15.4 TSCH. This minimal mode of operation should be implemented by all 6TiSCH-compliant devices.

Master-Slave/Token-Passing (MS/TP) is a medium access control method for the RS-485 physical layer and is used primarily in building automation networks. This specification defines the frame format for transmission of IPv6 packets and the method of forming link-local and statelessly autoconfigured IPv6 addresses on MS/TP networks.

Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) Ultra Low Energy (ULE) is a low-power air interface technology that is proposed by the DECT Forum and is defined and specified by ETSI.

The DECT air interface technology has been used worldwide in communication devices for more than 20 years. It has primarily been used to carry voice for cordless telephony but has also been deployed for data-centric services.

DECT ULE is a recent addition to the DECT interface primarily intended for low-bandwidth, low-power applications such as sensor devices, smart meters, home automation, etc. As the DECT ULE interface inherits many of the capabilities from DECT, it benefits from operation that is long-range and interference-free, worldwide- reserved frequency band, low silicon prices, and maturity. There is an added value in the ability to communicate with IPv6 over DECT ULE, such as for Internet of Things applications.

This document describes how IPv6 is transported over DECT ULE using IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) techniques.

This specification introduces a new IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) dispatch type for use in 6LoWPAN route-over topologies, which initially covers the needs of Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) data packet compression (RFC 6550). Using this dispatch type, this specification defines a method to compress the RPL Option (RFC 6553) information and Routing Header type 3 (RFC 6554), an efficient IP-in-IP technique, and is extensible for more applications.

This document discusses how a number of privacy threats apply to technologies designed for IPv6 over various link-layer protocols, and it provides advice to protocol designers on how to address such threats in adaptation-layer specifications for IPv6 over such links.

RFC 4944 defines the ESC dispatch type to allow additional dispatch octets in the 6LoWPAN header. The value of the ESC dispatch type was updated by RFC 6282; however, its usage was not defined in either RFC 6282 or RFC 4944. This document updates RFC 4944 and RFC 6282 by defining the ESC extension octet code points and listing registration entries for known use cases at the time of writing of this document.

This specification updates RFC 4944 to introduce a new context switch mechanism for IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) compression, expressed in terms of Pages and signaled by a new Paging Dispatch.

When carried over Layer 2 technologies such as Ethernet, IPv6 datagrams using Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network (LoWPAN) encapsulation as defined in RFC 4944 must be identified so the receiver can correctly interpret the encoded IPv6 datagram. The IETF officially requested the assignment of an Ethertype for that purpose and this document reports that assignment.

This document specifies the Multicast Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (MPL), which provides IPv6 multicast forwarding in constrained networks. MPL avoids the need to construct or maintain any multicast forwarding topology, disseminating messages to all MPL Forwarders in an MPL Domain.

MPL has two modes of operation. One mode uses the Trickle algorithm to manage control-plane and data-plane message transmissions and is applicable for deployments with few multicast sources. The other mode uses classic flooding. By providing both modes and parameterization of the Trickle algorithm, an MPL implementation can be used in a variety of multicast deployments and can trade between dissemination latency and transmission efficiency.

Bluetooth Smart is the brand name for the Bluetooth low energy feature in the Bluetooth specification defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. The standard Bluetooth radio has been widely implemented and available in mobile phones, notebook computers, audio headsets, and many other devices. The low-power version of Bluetooth is a specification that enables the use of this air interface with devices such as sensors, smart meters, appliances, etc. The low-power variant of Bluetooth has been standardized since revision 4.0 of the Bluetooth specifications, although version 4.1 or newer is required for IPv6. This document describes how IPv6 is transported over Bluetooth low energy using IPv6 over Low-power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) techniques.

This document describes the frame format for transmission of IPv6 packets as well as a method of forming IPv6 link-local addresses and statelessly autoconfigured IPv6 addresses on ITU-T G.9959 networks.

RFC 6282 defines header compression in 6LoWPAN packets (where "6LoWPAN" refers to "IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network"). The present document specifies a simple addition that enables the compression of generic headers and header-like payloads, without a need to define a new header compression scheme for each such new header or header-like payload.

This document defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols in the Internet community. In particular, it defines objects for managing IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPANs).

The Internet Protocol Suite is increasingly used on small devices with severe constraints on power, memory, and processing resources, creating constrained-node networks. This document provides a number of basic terms that have been useful in the standardization work for constrained-node networks.

The IETF work in IPv6 over Low-power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN) defines 6LoWPANs such as IEEE 802.15.4. This and other similar link technologies have limited or no usage of multicast signaling due to energy conservation. In addition, the wireless network may not strictly follow the traditional concept of IP subnets and IP links. IPv6 Neighbor Discovery was not designed for non- transitive wireless links, as its reliance on the traditional IPv6 link concept and its heavy use of multicast make it inefficient and sometimes impractical in a low-power and lossy network. This document describes simple optimizations to IPv6 Neighbor Discovery, its addressing mechanisms, and duplicate address detection for Low- power Wireless Personal Area Networks and similar networks. The document thus updates RFC 4944 to specify the use of the optimizations defined here. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPANs) are formed by devices that are compatible with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. However, neither the IEEE 802.15.4 standard nor the 6LoWPAN format specification defines how mesh topologies could be obtained and maintained. Thus, it should be considered how 6LoWPAN formation and multi-hop routing could be supported.

This document provides the problem statement and design space for 6LoWPAN routing. It defines the routing requirements for 6LoWPANs, considering the low-power and other particular characteristics of the devices and links. The purpose of this document is not to recommend specific solutions but to provide general, layer-agnostic guidelines about the design of 6LoWPAN routing that can lead to further analysis and protocol design. This document is intended as input to groups working on routing protocols relevant to 6LoWPANs, such as the IETF ROLL WG. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

This document investigates potential application scenarios and use cases for low-power wireless personal area networks (LoWPANs). This document provides dimensions of design space for LoWPAN applications. A list of use cases and market domains that may benefit and motivate the work currently done in the 6LoWPAN Working Group is provided with the characteristics of each dimension. A complete list of practical use cases is not the goal of this document. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

This document updates RFC 4944, "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over IEEE 802.15.4 Networks". This document specifies an IPv6 header compression format for IPv6 packet delivery in Low Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPANs). The compression format relies on shared context to allow compression of arbitrary prefixes. How the information is maintained in that shared context is out of scope. This document specifies compression of multicast addresses and a framework for compressing next headers. UDP header compression is specified within this framework. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

This document describes the frame format for transmission of IPv6 packets and the method of forming IPv6 link-local addresses and statelessly autoconfigured addresses on IEEE 802.15.4 networks. Additional specifications include a simple header compression scheme using shared context and provisions for packet delivery in IEEE 802.15.4 meshes. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

This document describes the assumptions, problem statement, and goals for transmitting IP over IEEE 802.15.4 networks. The set of goals enumerated in this document form an initial set only. This memo provides information for the Internet community.