Network Working Group K. Murakami
Request for Comments: 2176 M. Maruyama
Category: Informational NTT Laboratories
June 1997
IPv4 over MAPOS Version 1
1. Introduction
Multiple Access Protocol over SONET/SDH (MAPOS) [1] is a high-speed link-layer protocol that provides multiple access capability over SONET/SDH. Its frame format is based on the HDLC-like framing [2] for PPP. A component called "Frame Switch" [1] allows multiple nodes to be connected together in a star topology to form a LAN. Using long haul SONET/SDH links, the nodes on such a "SONET-LAN" can span over a wide geographical area. The Internet Protocol (IP) [3] datagrams are transmitted in MAPOS HDLC frames [1].
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RFC 2176 MAPOS June 1997 2. Frame Format for Encapsulating IP DatagramsAn IP datagram is transmitted in a MAPOS HDLC frame. The protocol field of the frame must contain the value 0x0021 (hexadecimal) as defined by the "MAPOS Version 1 Assigned Numbers" [4]. The information field contains the IP datagram.
3. Address Mapping
This section explains MAPOS ARP and the mapping of special addresses.
3.1 ARP cache
Each node on a MAPOS network maintains an "ARP cache" that maps destination IP addresses to their corresponding 8-bit HDLC addresses. Entries are added to this cache either manually or by the Address Resolution Protocol described below. Entries are removed from this cache manually, by the UNARP mechanism, or by ARP cache validation mechanism. An implementation must provide a mechanism for manually adding or removing arbitrary ARP cache entries.
3.2 Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
This subsection describes MAPOS ARP protocol and its packet format.
3.2.1 Overview
The MAPOS ARP is similar to that for ethernet. Prior to sending an IP datagram, the node must know the destination HDLC address corresponding to the destination IP address. When its ARP cache does not contain the corresponding entry, it uses ARP to translate the IP address to the HDLC address. That is, it broadcasts an ARP request containing the destination IP address. In response to the request, the node which has the IP address sends an ARP reply containing the HDLC address. The returned HDLC address is stored in the ARP cache.
3.2.2 ARP Frame Format
The protocol field for an ARP frame must contain 0xFE01 (hexadecimal) as defined by the "MAPOS Version 1 Assigned Numbers" [4]. The information field contains the ARP packet as shown below.
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RFC 2176 MAPOS June 1997
+-------------------------+------------------------+
| Hardware Address Space | Protocol Address Space |
| (25:MAPOS) | (2048 in Dec) |
| 16 bits | 16 bits |
+------------+------------+------------------------+
| Hard Addr | Proto Addr | Operation Code |
| Length (4) | Length (4) |(1:Request 2:Response) |
| 8 bits | 8 bits | 16 bits |
+------------+------------+------------------------+
| Sender HDLC Address 32 bits |
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Sender IP Address 32 bits |
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Target HDLC Address 32 bits |
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Target IP Address 32 bits |
+--------------------------------------------------+
Figure 5 ARP packet format
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RFC 2176 MAPOS June 1997
Contains the sender's IP address in an ARP request, and the target IP address in an ARP response.
3.3 UNARP
An implementation MUST provide an UNARP mechanism to flush obsolete ARP cache entries. The mechanism is similar to the ARP extension described in [7]. When a node detects that its port has came up, it MUST broadcast an UNARP packet. It forces every other node to clear the obsolete ARP entry which was created by the node previously connected to the switch port. An UNARP is an ARP clear request with the following values:
Hardware Address Space : 25
Protocol Address Space : 2048
Hardware Address Length : 4
Protocol Address Length : 4 Operation Code : 23 (MAPOS-UNARP) Sender hardware (HDLC) Address : HDLC address of the node Sender Protocol (IP) Address : IP address of the node Target hardware (HDLC) Address : all 1 Target Protocol (IP) Address : 255.255.255.255 (broadcast)
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RFC 2176 MAPOS June 1997 3.4 ARP Cache ValidationAn implementation MUST provide a mechanism to remove out-of-date cache entries and it SHOULD provide options to configure the timeout value [8]. One approach is to periodically time-out the cache entries, even if they are in use. This approach involves ARP cache timeouts in the order of a minute or less.
3.5 IP Broadcast and multicast
In broadcast and multicast frames, the most significant bit of the HDLC address must be 1 [1]. In addition, the least significant bit must always be 1 to indicate the end of the field [1].
4. Security Considerations
Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
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RFC 2176 MAPOS June 1997
References