RFC 1809 (rfc1809) - Page 1 of 6
Using the Flow Label Field in IPv6
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group C. Partridge Request for Comments: 1809 BBN Systems and Technologies Category: Informational June 1995 Using the Flow Label Field in IPv6 Status of this Memo This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Abstract The purpose of this memo is to distill various opinions and suggestions of the End-to-End Research Group regarding the handling of Flow Labels into a set of suggestions for IPv6. This memo is for information purposes only and is not one of the IPv6 specifications. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Introduction This memo originated as the report of a discussion at an End-to-End Research Group meeting in November 1994. At that meeting the group discussed several issues regarding how to manage flow identifiers in IPv6. A report of the meeting was then circulated to the IPv6 community. Feedback from that community resulted in changes to this memo and in changes to the IPv6 specification to fix some minor problems the End-to-End Group had raised. While many of the ideas in this memo have found their way into the IPv6 specification, the explanation of why various design decisions were made have not. This memo is intended to provide some additional context for interested parties. Brief Description of the Flow Label The current draft of the IPv6 specification states that every IPv6 header contains a 24-bit Flow Label. (Originally the specification called for a 28-bit Flow ID field, which included the flow label and a 4-bit priority field. The priority field is now distinct, for reasons discussed at the end of this memo). Partridge Informational