RFC 1009 (rfc1009) - Page 1 of 55
Requirements for Internet gateways
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group R. Braden
Request for Comments: 1009 J. Postel
Obsoletes: 985 ISI
June 1987
Requirements for Internet Gateways
Status of this Memo
This document is a formal statement of the requirements to be met by
gateways used in the Internet system. As such, it is an official
specification for the Internet community. Distribution of this memo
is unlimited.
This RFC summarizes the requirements for gateways to be used between
networks supporting the Internet protocols. While it was written
specifically to support National Science Foundation research
programs, the requirements are stated in a general context and are
applicable throughout the Internet community.
The purpose of this document is to present guidance for vendors
offering gateway products that might be used or adapted for use in an
Internet application. It enumerates the protocols required and gives
references to RFCs and other documents describing the current
specifications. In a number of cases the specifications are evolving
and may contain ambiguous or incomplete information. In these cases
further discussion giving specific guidance is included in this
document. Specific policy issues relevant to the NSF scientific
networking community are summarized in an Appendix. As other
specifications are updated this document will be revised. Vendors
are encouraged to maintain contact with the Internet research
community.
1. Introduction
The following material is intended as an introduction and background
for those unfamiliar with the Internet architecture and the Internet
gateway model. General background and discussion on the Internet
architecture and supporting protocol suite can be found in the DDN
Protocol Handbook [25] and ARPANET Information Brochure [26], see
also [19, 28, 30, 31].
The Internet protocol architecture was originally developed under
DARPA sponsorship to meet both military and civilian communication
requirements [32]. The Internet system presently supports a variety
of government and government-sponsored operational and research
activities. In particular, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is
building a major extension to the Internet to provide user access to
Braden & Postel