RFC 1990 (rfc1990) - Page 2 of 24
The PPP Multilink Protocol (MP)
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 1990 PPP Multilink August 1996
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................ 2
1.1. Motivation ................................................ 2
1.2. Functional Description .................................... 3
1.3. Conventions ............................................... 4
2. General Overview ............................................ 4
3. Packet Formats .............................................. 7
3.1. Padding Considerations .................................... 10
4. Trading Buffer Space Against Fragment Loss .................. 10
4.1. Detecting Fragment Loss ................................... 11
4.2. Buffer Space Requirements ................................. 12
5. PPP Link Control Protocol Extensions ........................ 13
5.1. Configuration Option Types ................................ 13
5.1.1. Multilink MRRU LCP option ............................... 14
5.1.2. Short Sequence Number Header Format Option .............. 15
5.1.3. Endpoint Discriminator Option ........................... 15
6. Initiating use of Multilink Headers ......................... 19
7. Closing Member links ........................................ 20
8. Interaction with Other Protocols ............................ 20
9. Security Considerations ..................................... 21
10. References ................................................. 21
11. Differences from RFC 1717 .................................. 22
11.1. Negotiating Multilink, per se ............................ 22
11.2. Initial Sequence Number defined .......................... 22
11.3. Default Value of the MRRU ................................ 22
11.4. Config-Nak of EID prohibited ............................. 22
11.5. Uniformity of Sequence Space ............................. 22
11.6. Commencing and Abating use of Multilink Headers .......... 23
11.7. Manual Configuration and Bundle Assignment ............... 23
12. Authors' Addresses ......................................... 24
1. Introduction
1.1. Motivation
Basic Rate and Primary Rate ISDN both offer the possibility of
opening multiple simultaneous channels between systems, giving users
additional bandwidth on demand (for additional cost). Previous
proposals for the transmission of internet protocols over ISDN have
stated as a goal the ability to make use of this capability, (e.g.,
Leifer et al., [1]).
There are proposals being advanced for providing synchronization
between multiple streams at the bit level (the BONDING proposals);
such features are not as yet widely deployed, and may require
additional hardware for end system. Thus, it may be useful to have a
purely software solution, or at least an interim measure.
Sklower, et. al. Standards Track