RFC 2081 (rfc2081) - Page 1 of 4

RIPng Protocol Applicability Statement

Network Working Group                                          G. Malkin
Request for Comments: 2081                                      Xylogics
Category: Informational                                     January 1997


                 RIPng Protocol Applicability Statement

Status of this Memo

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

Abstract

   As required by Routing Protocol Criteria (RFC 1264), this report
   defines the applicability of the RIPng protocol within the Internet.
   This report is a prerequisite to advancing RIPng on the standards
   track.

1.  Protocol Documents

   The RIPng protocol description is defined in RFC 2080.

2.  Introduction

   This report describes how RIPng may be useful within the new IPv6
   Internet.  In essence, the environments in which RIPng is the IGP of
   choice is comparable to the environments in which RIP-2 (RFC 1723) is
   used in the IPv4 Internet.  It is important to remember that RIPng is
   a simple extrapolation of RIP-2; RIPng has nothing conceptually new.
   Thus, the operational aspects of distance-vector routing protocols,
   and RIP-2 in particular, within an autonomous system are well
   understood.

   It should be noted that RIPng is not intended to be a substitute for
   OSPFng in large autonomous systems; the restrictions on AS diameter
   and complexity which applied to RIP-2 also apply to RIPng.  Rather,
   RIPng allows the smaller, simpler, distance-vector protocol to be
   used in environments which require authentication or the use of
   variable length subnet masks, but are not of a size or complexity
   which require the use of the larger, more complex, link-state
   protocol.

   The remainder of this report describes how each of the features of
   RIPng is useful within IPv6.





Malkin                       Informational