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

 Charter
 Last Modified: 2011-08-18

 Current Status: Active Working Group

 Chair(s):
     Alain Durand  <adurand@juniper.net>
     Yong Cui  <cuiyong@tsinghua.edu.cn>

 Internet Area Director(s):
     Ralph Droms  <rdroms.ietf@gmail.com>
     Jari Arkko  <jari.arkko@piuha.net>

 Internet Area Advisor:
     Ralph Droms  <rdroms.ietf@gmail.com>

 Technical Advisor(s):
     Xing Li  <xing@cernet.edu.cn>

 Mailing Lists: 
     General Discussion:softwires@ietf.org
     To Subscribe:      softwires-request@ietf.org
         In Body:       With a subject line: subscribe
     Archive:           http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/softwires/current/maillist.html

Description of Working Group:

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

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

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

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

  The specific work areas for this working group are:

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

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

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

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

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

Other work items would require Working Group approval and rechartering.

 Goals and Milestones:

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

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

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

   Jul 2011       Submit 6rd RADIUS attribute document for Proposed Standard 

   Jul 2011       Submit GI DS-lite document for Proposed Standard 

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

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

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

   Aug 2011       Adopt Multicast extensions document as a Working Group document 

   Aug 2011       Submit DS-lite operational document for Informational 

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

   Sep 2011       Submit DS-Lite without NAT document for Informational 

   Sep 2011       Submit DHCPv4 over tunnel document for Proposed Standard 

   Nov 2011       Submit Multicast extensions document for Informational 

   Nov 2011       Submit 6rd operational document for Informational 

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

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

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

   Dec 2011       Submit stateless legacy IPv4 solution motivation document for 
                Informational 

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

   Apr 2012       Submit stateless legacy IPv4 specification document for 
                Proposed Standard 

   Nov 2012       Submit 6rd MIB module document for Proposed Standard 

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

   Nov 2012       Submit Mesh topology MIB module document for Proposed Standard 


 Internet-Drafts:

Posted Revised         I-D Title   <Filename>
------ ------- --------------------------------------------
May 2010 Jul 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-gateway-init-ds-lite-05.txt>
                Gateway Initiated Dual-Stack Lite Deployment 

Oct 2010 Aug 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-dslite-radius-ext-05.txt>
                RADIUS Extensions for Dual-Stack Lite 

Nov 2010 Aug 2011   <draft-ietf-softwire-6rd-radius-attrib-03.txt>
                RADIUS Attribute for 6rd 

 Request For Comments:

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

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

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

RFC5543 PS   May 2009    BGP Traffic Engineering Attribute 

RFC5566 PS   Jun 2009    BGP IPsec Tunnel Encapsulation Attribute 

RFC5565 PS   Jun 2009    Softwire Mesh Framework 

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

RFC5619 PS   Aug 2009    Softwire Security Analysis and Requirements 

RFC5640 PS   Aug 2009    Load Balancing for Mesh Softwires 

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

RFC6333 PS   Aug 2011    Dual-Stack Lite Broadband Deployments Following IPv4 
                       Exhaustion 

RFC6334 PS   Aug 2011    Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) 
                       Option for Dual-Stack Lite