RFC 3142 (rfc3142) - Page 1 of 11


An IPv6-to-IPv4 Transport Relay Translator



Alternative Format: Original Text Document



Network Working Group                                          J. Hagino
Request for Comments: 3142                                   K. Yamamoto
Category: Informational                          IIJ Research Laboratory
                                                               June 2001


               An IPv6-to-IPv4 Transport Relay Translator

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   The document describes an IPv6-to-IPv4 transport relay translator
   (TRT).  It enables IPv6-only hosts to exchange {TCP,UDP} traffic with
   IPv4-only hosts.  A TRT system, which locates in the middle,
   translates {TCP,UDP}/IPv6 to {TCP,UDP}/IPv4, or vice versa.

   The memo talks about how to implement a TRT system using existing
   technologies.  It does not define any new protocols.

1.  Problem domain

   When you deploy an IPv6-only network, you still want to gain access
   to IPv4-only network resources outside, such as IPv4-only web
   servers.  To solve this problem, many IPv6-to-IPv4 translation
   technologies are proposed, mainly in the IETF ngtrans working group.
   The memo describes a translator based on the transport relay
   technique to solve the same problem.

   In this memo, we call this kind of translator "TRT" (transport relay
   translator).  A TRT system locates between IPv6-only hosts and IPv4
   hosts and translates {TCP,UDP}/IPv6 to {TCP,UDP}/IPv4, vice versa.

   Advantages of TRT are as follows:

   o  TRT is designed to require no extra modification on IPv6-only
      initiating hosts, nor that on IPv4-only destination hosts.  Some
      other translation mechanisms need extra modifications on IPv6-only
      initiating hosts, limiting possibility of deployment.




Hagino & Yamamoto            Informational