RFC 2245 (rfc2245) - Page 1 of 5
Anonymous SASL Mechanism
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group C. Newman
Request for Comments: 2245 Innosoft
Category: Standards Track November 1997
Anonymous SASL Mechanism
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1997). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
It is common practice on the Internet to permit anonymous access to
various services. Traditionally, this has been done with a plain
text password mechanism using "anonymous" as the user name and
optional trace information, such as an email address, as the
password. As plaintext login commands are not permitted in new IETF
protocols, a new way to provide anonymous login is needed within the
context of the SASL [SASL] framework.
1. Conventions Used in this Document
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", and "MAY"
in this document are to be interpreted as defined in "Key words for
use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels" [KEYWORDS].
2. Anonymous SASL mechanism
The mechanism name associated with anonymous access is "ANONYMOUS".
The mechanism consists of a single message from the client to the
server. The client sends optional trace information in the form of a
human readable string. The trace information should take one of
three forms: an Internet email address, an opaque string which does
not contain the '@' character and can be interpreted by the system
administrator of the client's domain, or nothing. For privacy
reasons, an Internet email address should only be used with
permission from the user.
Newman Standards Track