RFC 3633 (rfc3633) - Page 2 of 19

IPv6 Prefix Options for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) version 6

RFC 3633             IPv6 Prefix Options for DHCPv6        December 2003


        12.1. Requesting router behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
        12.2. Delegating Router behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   13.  Prefix Delegation reconfiguration  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
        13.1. Delegating Router behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
        13.2. Requesting Router behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   14.  Relay agent behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   15.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
   16.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
   17.  Intellectual Property Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   18.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
        18.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
        18.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   19.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   20.  Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   21.  Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19

1.  Introduction

   This document describes new options for Dynamic Host Configuration
   Protocol (DHCP) that provide a mechanism for the delegation of IPv6
   prefixes [1].  Through these options, a delegating router can
   delegate prefixes to authorized requesting routers.

   The prefix delegation mechanism described in this document is
   intended for simple delegation of prefixes from a delegating router
   to requesting routers.  It is appropriate for situations in which the
   delegating router does not have knowledge about the topology of the
   networks to which the requesting router is attached, and the
   delegating router does not require other information aside from the
   identity of the requesting router to choose a prefix for delegation.
   For example, these options would be used by a service provider to
   assign a prefix to a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) device acting
   as a router between the subscriber's internal network and the service
   provider's core network.

   Many applications expect stable addresses.  Even though this
   mechanism makes automatic renumbering easier, it is expected that
   prefixes have a long lifespan.  During renumbering it is expected
   that the old and the new prefix co-exist for some time.

   The design of this prefix delegation mechanism meets the requirements
   for prefix delegation in Requirements for IPv6 prefix delegation [6].

   Note that this use of DHCP is not bound to the assignment of IP
   addresses or other configuration information to hosts, and that no
   mechanism is currently available to communicate delegated prefixes to
   a DHCP server that serves such a function.  This may be an item of
   future work, should usage warrant.



Troan & Droms               Standards Track