Network Working Group B. Patel
Request for Comments: 3456 Intel Corp
Category: Standards Track B. Aboba
Microsoft
S. Kelly
Airespace
V. Gupta
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
January 2003
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCPv4)
Configuration of IPsec Tunnel Mode
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 (2003). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This memo explores the requirements for host configuration in IPsec
tunnel mode, and describes how the Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCPv4) may be leveraged for configuration. In many remote
access scenarios, a mechanism for making the remote host appear to be
present on the local corporate network is quite useful. This may be
accomplished by assigning the host a "virtual" address from the
corporate network, and then tunneling traffic via IPsec from the
host's ISP-assigned address to the corporate security gateway. In
IPv4, DHCP provides for such remote host configuration.
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RFC 3456 DHCPv4 Config. of IPsec Tunnel Mode January 2003
Table of Contents
1. Introduction................................................... 2
1.1 Terminology................................................. 2
1.2 Requirements Language....................................... 3
2. IPsec tunnel mode configuration requirements................... 3
2.1 DHCP configuration evaluation............................... 3
2.2 Summary..................................................... 4
3. Scenario overview.............................................. 4
3.1 Configuration walk-through.................................. 5
4. Detailed description........................................... 6
4.1 DHCPDISCOVER message processing............................. 6
4.2 DHCP Relay behavior......................................... 9
4.3 DHCPREQUEST message processing.............................. 10
4.4 DHCPACK message processing.................................. 10
4.5 Configuration policy........................................ 11
5. Security Considerations........................................ 11
6. IANA Considerations............................................ 12
7. Intellectual Property Statement................................ 12
8. References..................................................... 13
8.1 Normative References........................................ 13
8.2 Informative References...................................... 13
9. Acknowledgments................................................ 14
Appendix - IKECFG evaluation...................................... 15
Authors' Addresses................................................ 17
Full Copyright Statement ......................................... 18
1. Introduction
In many remote access scenarios, a mechanism for making the remote
host appear to be present on the local corporate network is quite
useful. This may be accomplished by assigning the host a "virtual"
address from the corporate network, and then tunneling traffic via
IPsec from the host's ISP-assigned address to the corporate security
gateway. In IPv4, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) [3]
provides for such remote host configuration. This document explores
the requirements for host configuration in IPsec tunnel mode, and
describes how DHCPv4 may be leveraged for configuration.
1.1. Terminology
This document uses the following terms:
DHCP client
A DHCP client or "client" is an Internet host using DHCP to
obtain configuration parameters such as a network address.
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DHCP server
A DHCP server or "server" is an Internet host that returns
configuration parameters to DHCP clients.
1.2. Requirements language
In this document, the key words "MAY", "MUST, "MUST NOT", "optional",
"recommended", "SHOULD", and "SHOULD NOT", are to be interpreted as
described in [1].
2. IPsec tunnel mode configuration requirements
As described in [21], the configuration requirements of a host with
an IPsec tunnel mode interface include the need to obtain an IPv4
address and other configuration parameters appropriate to the class
of host. In addition to meeting the basic requirements [21], the
following additional capabilities may be desirable:
a. integration with existing IPv4 address management facilities
b. support for address pool management
c. reconfiguration when required
d. support for fail-over
e. maintaining security and simplicity in the IKE implementation.
f. authentication where required
2.1. DHCP configuration evaluation
Leveraging DHCP for configuration of IPsec tunnel mode meets the
basic requirements described in [21]. It also provides the
additional capabilities described above.
Basic configuration
In IPv4, leveraging DHCPv4 [3] for the configuration of IPsec
tunnel mode satisfies the basic requirements described in [21].
Since the required configuration parameters described in [21]
are a subset of those already supported in DHCPv4 options [4],
no new DHCPv4 options are required, and no modifications to
DHCPv4 [3] are required.
Address management integration
Since DHCPv4 is widely deployed for address management today,
reuse of DHCPv4 for IPsec tunnel mode address management
enables compatibility and integration with existing addressing
implementations and IPv4 address management software.
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Address pool management
As described in [18], DHCPv4 implementations support
conditional behavior so that the address and configuration
parameters assigned can be dependent on parameters included in
the DHCPDISCOVER. This makes it possible for the security
gateway to ensure that the remote host receives an IP address
assignment from the appropriate address pool, such as via the
User Class option, described in [16].
Reconfiguration
DHCP supports the concept of configuration leases, and there is
a proposal for handling forced reconfiguration [14].
Fail-over support
When leveraging DHCPv4, configuration and addressing state is
kept on the DHCP server, not within the IKE implementation. As
a result, the loss of a tunnel server does not result in the
loss of configuration and addressing state, thus making it
easier to support fail-over [12].
Security and simplicity
Leveraging DHCPv4 also makes it easier to maintain security in
the IKE implementation since no IKE modifications are required
to support configuration.
Authentication
Where DHCPv4 authentication [5] is required, this can be
supported on an IPsec tunnel mode interface as it would be on
any other interface.
2.2. Summary
As described, DHCPv4 [3] meets the IPsec tunnel mode configuration
requirements [21], as well as providing additional capabilities. As
described in the Appendix, IKECFG [13] does not meet the basic
requirements, nor does it provide the additional capabilities. As a
result, DHCPv4 is the superior alternative for IPsec tunnel mode
configuration.
3. Scenario overview
IPsec [2], [6]-[9] is a protocol suite defined to secure
communication at the network layer between communicating peers.
Among many applications enabled by IPsec, a useful application is to
connect a remote host to a corporate intranet via a security gateway,
using IPsec tunnel mode. This host is then configured in such a
manner so as to provide it with a virtual presence on the internal
network. This is accomplished in the following manner:
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A remote host on the Internet will connect to the security gateway
and then establish an IPsec tunnel to it. The remote host then
interacts via the IPsec tunnel with a DHCPv4 server which provides
the remote host with an address from the corporate network address
space. The remote host subsequently uses this as the source address
for all interactions with corporate resources. Note that this
implies that the corporate security gateway continues to recognize
the host's original, routable IP address as the tunnel endpoint. The
virtual identity assumed by the remote host when using the assigned
address appears to the corporate network as though it were situated
behind a security gateway bearing the original routable IP address.
All the traffic between the remote host and the intranet will be
carried over the IPsec tunnel via the security gateway as shown
below:
corporate net
+------------------+ |
| externally | +--------+ | !~~~~~~~~~~!
|+-------+ visible | | | | ! rmt host !
||virtual| host | |security| |---! virtual !
|| host | |--------|gateway/| | ! presence !
|| |<================>| DHCP |----| !~~~~~~~~~~!
|+-------+ |--------| Relay | |
+------------------+ ^ +--------+ | +--------+
| |---| DHCPv4 |
IPsec tunnel | | server |
with encapsulated | +--------+
traffic inside
This scenario assumes that the remote host already has Internet
connectivity and the host Internet interface is appropriately
configured. The mechanisms for configuration of the remote host's
address for the Internet interface are well defined; i.e., PPP IP
control protocol (IPCP), described in [10], DHCPv4, described in [3],
and static addressing. The mechanisms for auto-configuration of the
intranet are also standardized. It is also assumed that the remote
host has knowledge of the location of the security gateway. This can
be accomplished via DNS, using either A, KX [23], or SRV [24]
records.
A typical configuration of the remote host in this application would
use two addresses: 1) an interface to connect to the Internet
(Internet interface), and 2) a virtual interface to connect to the
intranet (intranet interface). The IP address of the Internet and
intranet interfaces are used in the outer and inner headers of the
IPsec tunnel mode packet, respectively.
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3.1. Configuration walk-through
The configuration of the intranet interface of the IPsec tunnel mode
host is accomplished in the following steps:
a. The remote host establishes an IKE security association with the
security gateway in a main mode or aggressive mode exchange. This
IKE SA then serves to secure additional quick mode IPsec SAs.
b. The remote host establishes a DHCP SA with the IPsec tunnel mode
server in a quick mode exchange. The DHCP SA is an IPsec tunnel
mode SA established to protect initial DHCPv4 traffic between the
security gateway and the remote host. The DHCP SA MUST only be
used for DHCP traffic. The details of how this SA is set up are
described in Section 4.1.
c. DHCP messages are sent back and forth between the remote host and
the DHCPv4 server. The traffic is protected between the remote
host and the security gateway using the DHCP SA established in
step b. After the DHCP conversation completes, the remote host's
intranet interface obtains an IP address as well as other
configuration parameters.
d. The remote host MAY request deletion of the DHCP SA since future
DHCP messages will be carried over a new IPsec tunnel.
Alternatively, the remote host and the security gateway MAY
continue to use the same SA for all subsequent traffic by adding
temporary SPD selectors in the same manner as is provided for name
ID types in [2].
e. If a new IPsec tunnel is required, the remote host establishes a
tunnel mode SA to the security gateway in a quick mode exchange.
In this case, the new address assigned via DHCPv4 SHOULD be used
in the quick mode ID.
At the end of the last step, the remote host is ready to communicate
with the intranet using an IPsec tunnel. All the IP traffic
(including future DHCPv4 messages) between the remote host and the
intranet are now tunneled over this IPsec tunnel mode SA.
Since the security parameters used for different SAs are based on the
unique requirements of the remote host and the security gateway, they
are not described in this document. The mechanisms described here
work best when the VPN is implemented using a virtual interface.
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4. Detailed description
This section provides details relating to the messages exchanged
during the setup and teardown of the DHCP SAs.
4.1. DHCPDISCOVER message processing
The events begin with the remote host intranet interface generating a
DHCPDISCOVER message. Details are described below:
FIELD OCTETS DESCRIPTION
op 1 Message op code / message type.
1 = BOOTREQUEST, 2 = BOOTREPLY
htype 1 Hardware address type. Set to value 31.
signifying an IPsec tunnel mode virtual interface.
hlen 1 Hardware address length
hops 1 Client sets to zero, optionally used by relay agents
when booting via a relay agent.
xid 4 Transaction ID, a random number chosen by the
client, used by the client and server to associate
messages and responses between a client and a
server.
secs 2 Filled in by client, seconds elapsed since client
began address acquisition or renewal process.
flags 2 Flags. Broadcast bit MUST be set to zero.
ciaddr 4 Client IP address; only filled in if client is in
BOUND, RENEW or REBINDING state.
yiaddr 4 'your' (client) IP address.
siaddr 4 IP address of next server to use in bootstrap;
returned in DHCPOFFER, DHCPACK by server.
giaddr 4 Security gateway interface IPv4 address, used in
booting via a relay agent.
chaddr 16 Client hardware address. Should be unique.
sname 64 Optional server host name, null terminated string.
file 128 Boot file name, null terminated string; "generic"
name or null in DHCPDISCOVER, fully qualified
directory-path name in DHCPOFFER.
options var Optional parameters field.
Table 1: Description of fields in the DHCP message
The htype value is set to the value 31, signifying a virtual IPsec
tunnel mode interface, in order to enable the DHCP server to
differentiate VPN from non-VPN requests. The chaddr field of the
DHCPDISCOVER MUST include an identifier unique to the virtual subnet.
The client MUST use the same chaddr field in all subsequent messages
within the same DHCPv4 exchange. In addition, the chaddr SHOULD be
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persistent between reboots so that the DHCP server will be able to
re-assign the same address if desired.
The hlen and chaddr fields SHOULD be determined as follows:
a. If one or more LAN interfaces are available, the hlen and chaddr
fields SHOULD be determined from the active LAN interface with the
lowest interface number. If no active LAN interface is available,
then the parameters SHOULD be determined from the LAN interface
with the lowest interface number. This enables the chaddr to be
persistent between reboots, as long as the LAN interface hardware
is not removed.
b. If there is no LAN interface, the chaddr field SHOULD be
determined by concatenating x'4000', the IPv4 address of the
interface supplying network connectivity, and an additional octet.
The x'4000' value indicates a locally administered unicast MAC
address, thus guaranteeing that the constructed chaddr value will
not conflict with a globally assigned value.
The additional octet (which MAY represent an interface number)
SHOULD be persistent between reboots, so that the chaddr value
will be persistent across reboots if the assigned IPv4 address
remains consistent.
If the above prescription is followed, then the chaddr will always be
unique on the virtual subnet provided that the remote host only
brings up a single tunnel to the security gateway. Where a LAN
interface is available, the chaddr will be globally unique. When a
non-LAN interface is available and a unique Internet address is
assigned to the remote host, the chaddr will also be globally unique.
Where a private IP address [22] is assigned to a non-LAN interface,
it will not be globally unique. However, in this case packets will
not be routed back and forth between the remote host and the security
gateway unless the external network and corporate network have a
consistent addressing plan. In this case the private IP address
assigned to the remote host will be unique on the virtual subnet.
For use in DHCPv4 configuration of IPsec tunnel mode, the client-
identifier option MUST be included, MUST be unique within the virtual
subnet and SHOULD be persistent across reboots. Possibilities
include:
a. The htype/chaddr combination. If assigned as described above,
this will be unique on the virtual subnet. It will be persistent
across reboots for a LAN interface. If a non-LAN interface is
used, it may not be persistent across reboots if the assigned IP
address changes.
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b. The machine FQDN concatenated with an interface number. Assuming
that the machine FQDN does not conflict with that of another
machine, this will be unique on the virtual subnet as well as
persistent across reboots.
c. The user NAI concatenated with an interface number. Assuming that
the user is only connected to the VPN at one location, this will
be unique on the subnet as well as persistent across reboots.
In order to deliver the DHCPDISCOVER packet from the intranet
interface to the security gateway, an IKE Phase 1 SA is established
between the Internet interface and the security gateway. A phase 2
(quick mode) DHCP SA tunnel mode SA is then established. The key
lifetime for the DHCP SA SHOULD be on the order of minutes since it
will only be temporary. The remote host SHOULD use an IDci payload
of 0.0.0.0/UDP/port 68 in the quick mode exchange. The security
gateway will use an IDcr payload of its own Internet address/UDP/port
67. The DHCP SA is established as a tunnel mode SA with filters set
as follows:
From remote host to security gateway: Any to Any, destination: UDP
port 67
From security gateway to remote host: Any to Any, destination: UDP
port 68
Note that these filters will work not only for a client without
configuration, but also with a client that has previously obtained a
configuration lease, and is attempting to renew it. In the latter
case, the DHCP SA will initially be used to send a DHCPREQUEST rather
than a DHCPDISCOVER message. The initial DHCPv4 message
(DHCPDISCOVER or DHCPREQUEST) is then tunneled to the security
gateway using the tunnel mode SA. Note that since the DHCPDISCOVER
packet has a broadcast address destination, the IPsec implementations
on both the remote host and the security gateway must be capable of
handling this.
4.2. DHCP Relay behavior
While other configurations are possible, typically the DHCPv4 server
will not reside on the same machine as the security gateway, which
will act as a DHCPv4 relay, inserting its address in the "giaddr"
field. In this case, the security gateway relays packets between the
client and the DHCPv4 server, but does not request or renew addresses
on the client's behalf. While acting as a DHCP Relay, the security
gateway MAY implement DHCP Relay load balancing as described in [19].
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Since DHCP Relays are stateless, the security gateway SHOULD insert
appropriate information in the DHCP message prior to forwarding to
one or more DHCP servers. This enables the security gateway to route
the corresponding DHCPOFFER message(s) back to the remote host on the
correct IPsec tunnel, without having to keep state gleaned from the
DISCOVER, such as a table of the xid, chaddr and tunnel.
If the security gateway maintains a separate subnet for each IPsec
tunnel, then this can be accomplished by inserting the appropriate
interface address in the giaddr field. Alternatively, the security
gateway can utilize the DHCP Relay Agent Information Option [17]. In
this case, the virtual port number of the tunnel is inserted in the
Agent Circuit ID Sub-option (sub-option code 1).
To learn the internal IP address of the client in order to route
packets to it, the security gateway will typically snoop the yiaddr
field within the DHCPACK and plumb a corresponding route as part of
DHCP Relay processing.
Where allocating a separate subnet for each tunnel is not feasible,
and the DHCP server does not support the Relay Agent Information
Option, stateless Relay Agent behavior will not be possible. In such
cases, implementations MAY devise a mapping between the xid, chaddr,
and tunnel in order to route the DHCP server response to the
appropriate tunnel endpoint. Note that this is particularly
undesirable in large VPN servers where the resulting state will be
substantial.
4.3. DHCPREQUEST message processing
After the Internet interface has received the DHCPOFFER message, it
forwards this to the intranet interface after IPsec processing. The
intranet interface then responds by creating a DHCPREQUEST message,
which is tunneled to security gateway using the DHCP SA.
4.4. DHCPACK message processing
The DHCPv4 server then replies with a DHCPACK or DHCPNAK message,
which is forwarded down the DHCP SA by the security gateway. The
remote host Internet interface then forwards the DHCPACK or DHCPNAK
message to the intranet interface after IPsec processing.
After processing of the DHCPACK, the intranet interface is configured
and the Internet interface can establish a new IPsec tunnel mode SA
to the security gateway. The remote host may now delete the DHCP
tunnel mode SA. All future DHCP messages sent by the client,
including DHCPREQUEST, DHCPINFORM, DHCPDECLINE, and DHCPRELEASE
messages will use the newly established VPN SA. Similarly, all DHCP
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messages subsequently sent by the DHCPv4 server will be forwarded by
the security gateway (acting as a DHCP Relay) using the IPsec tunnel
mode SA, including DHCPOFFER, DHCPACK, and DHCPNAK messages.
It SHOULD be possible to configure the remote host to forward all
Internet-bound traffic through the tunnel. While this adds overhead
to round-trips between the remote host and the Internet, it provides
some added security in return for this, in that the corporate
security gateway may now filter traffic as it would if the remote
host were physically located on the corporate network.
4.5. Configuration policy
Several mechanisms can be used to enable remote hosts to be assigned
different configurations. For example, clients may use the User
Class Option [16] to request various configuration profiles. The
DHCPv4 server may also take a number of other variables into account,
including the htype/chaddr; the host name option; the client-
identifier option; the DHCP Relay Agent Information option [17]; the
vendor-class-identifier option; the vendor-specific information
option; or the subnet selection option [15].
Conditional configuration of clients, described in [18], can be used
to solve a number of problems, including assignment of options based
on the client operating system; assignment of groups of clients to
address ranges subsequently used to determine quality of service;
allocation of special address ranges for remote hosts; assignment of
static routes to clients [20], etc. As noted in the security
considerations, these mechanisms, while useful, do not enhance
security since they can be evaded by a remote host choosing its own
IP address.
5. Security Considerations
This protocol is secured using IPsec, and as a result the DHCP
packets flowing between the remote host and the security gateway are
authenticated and integrity protected.
However, since the security gateway acts as a DHCP Relay, no
protection is afforded the DHCP packets in the portion of the path
between the security gateway and the DHCP server, unless DHCP
authentication is used.
Note that authenticated DHCP cannot be used as an access control
mechanism. This is because a remote host can always set its own IP
address and thus evade any security measures based on DHCP
authentication.
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As a result, the assigned address MUST NOT be depended upon for
security. Instead, the security gateway can use other techniques
such as instantiating packet filters or quick mode selectors on a
per-tunnel basis.
As described in [17], a number of issues arise when forwarding DHCP
client requests from untrusted sources. These include DHCP
exhaustion attacks, and spoofing of the client identifier option or
client MAC address. These issues can be partially addressed through
use of the DHCP Relay Information Option [17].
6. IANA Considerations
This document requires that an htype value be allocated for use with
IPsec tunnel mode, as described in section 4.1. Note that DHCP
relies on the arp-parameters registry for definition of both the hrd
parameter in ARP and the htype parameter in BOOTP/DHCP. As a result,
an assignment in the arp-parameters registry is required, even though
IPsec-DHCP will never use that parameter for ARP purposes, since
conceptually BOOTP/DHCP and ARP share the arp-parameters registry.
This document does not create any new number spaces for IANA
administration.
7. Intellectual Property Statement
The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
intellectual property or other rights that might be claimed to
pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
might or might not be available; neither does it represent that it
has made any effort to identify any such rights. Information on the
IETF's procedures with respect to rights in standards-track and
standards-related documentation can be found in BCP-11. Copies of
claims of rights made available for publication and any assurances of
licenses to be made available, or the result of an attempt made to
obtain a general license or permission for the use of such
proprietary rights by implementors or users of this specification can
be obtained from the IETF Secretariat.
The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
rights which may cover technology that may be required to practice
this standard. Please address the information to the IETF Executive
Director.
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8. References
8.1 Normative References
[1] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[2] Atkinson, R. and S. Kent, "Security Architecture for the
Internet Protocol", RFC 2401, November 1998.
[3] Droms, R., "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol", RFC 2131,
March 1997.
[4] Alexander, S. and R. Droms, "DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor
Extensions", RFC 2132, March 1997.
[5] Droms, R. and W. Arbaugh, "Authentication for DHCP Messages",
RFC 3118, June 2001.
[6] Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Authentication Header", RFC 2402,
November 1998.
[7] Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Encapsulating Security Payload
(ESP)", RFC 2406, November 1998.
[8] Piper, D., "The Internet IP Security Domain of Interpretation of
ISAKMP", RFC 2407, November 1998.
[9] Harkins, D. and D. Carrel, "The Internet Key Exchange (IKE)",
RFC 2409, November 1998.
8.2 Informative References
[10] McGregor, G., "The PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol
(IPCP)", RFC 1332, May 1992.
[11] Cobb, S., "PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol Extensions for
Name Server Addresses", RFC 1877, December 1995.
[12] Droms, R., Kinnear, K., Stapp, M., Volz, B., Gonczi, S., Rabil,
G., Dooley, M. and A. Kapur, "DHCP Failover Protocol", Work in
Progress.
[13] Dukes, D. and R. Pereira, "The ISAKMP Configuration Method",
Work in Progress.
[14] T'Joens, Y., Hublet, C. and P. De Schrijver, "DHCP reconfigure
extension", RFC 3203, December 2001.
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[15] Waters, G., "The IPv4 Subnet Selection Option for DHCP", RFC
3011, November 2000.
[16] Stump, G., Droms, R., Gu, Y., Vyaghrapuri, R., Demirtjis, A.,
Beser, B. and J. Privat, "The User Class Option for DHCP", RFC
3004, November 2000.
[17] Patrick, M., "DHCP Relay Agent Information Option", RFC 3046,
January 2001.
[18] Droms, R., and Lemon, T., The DHCP Handbook, Macmillan,
Indianapolis, Indiana, 1999.
[19] Volz, B., Gonczi, S., Lemon, T. and R. Stevens, "DHC Load
Balancing Algorithm", RFC 3074, February 2001.
[20] Lemon, T., Cheshire, S. and B. Volz, "The Classless Static Route
Option for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)", RFC
3442, December 2002.
[21] Kelly, S. and S. Ramamoorthi, "Requirements for IPsec Remote
Access Scenarios", RFC 3457, January 2003.
[22] Rekhter, Y., Moskowitz, B., Karrenberg, D., G. de Groot, and E.
Lear, "Address Allocation for Private Internets", BCP 5, RFC
1918, February 1996.
[23] Atkinson, R., "Key Exchange Delegation Record for the DNS", RFC
2230, November 1997.
[24] Gulbrandsen, A., Vixie, P. and L. Esibov, "A DNS RR for
specifying the location of services (DNS SRV)", RFC 2782,
February 2000.
9. Acknowledgments
This document has been enriched by comments from John Richardson and
Prakash Iyer of Intel, Gurdeep Pall and Peter Ford of Microsoft.
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RFC 3456 DHCPv4 Config. of IPsec Tunnel Mode January 2003
Appendix - IKECFG evaluation
Alternatives to DHCPv4, such as ISAKMP CFG, described in [13], do not
meet the basic requirements described in [21], nor do they provide
the additional capabilities of DHCPv4.
Basic configuration
While ISAKMP CFG can provide for IP address assignment as well
as configuration of a few additional parameters such as the DNS
server and WINS server addresses, the rich configuration
facilities of DHCPv4 are not supported. Past experience with
similar configuration mechanisms within PPP IPCP [11] has
taught us that it is not viable merely to support minimal
configuration. Eventually, either much of the functionality
embodied in the DHCPv4 options [4] is duplicated or support for
DHCPINFORM [3] will be required.
Address management integration
Since IKECFG is not integrated with existing IP address
management facilities, it is difficult to integrate it with
policy management services that may be dependent on the user to
IP address binding.
Address pool management
IKECFG does not provide a mechanism for the remote host to
indicate a preference for a particular address pool. This
makes it difficult to support address pool management.
Reconfiguration
IKECFG does not support the concept of configuration leases or
reconfiguration.
Fail-over support
Since IKECFG creates a separate pool of address state, it
complicates the provisioning of network utility-class
reliability, both in the IP address management system and in
the security gateways themselves.
Security and simplicity
As past history with PPP IPCP demonstrates, once it is decided
to provide non-integrated address management and configuration
facilities within IKE, it will be difficult to limit the
duplication of effort to address assignment. Instead, it will
be tempting to also duplicate the configuration, authentication
and fail-over facilities of DHCPv4. This duplication will
greatly increase the scope of work, eventually compromising the
security of IKE.
Patel, et. al. Standards Track [Page 15]
RFC 3456 DHCPv4 Config. of IPsec Tunnel Mode January 2003
Authentication
While IKECFG can support mutual authentication of the IPsec
tunnel endpoints, it is difficult to integrate IKECFG with
DHCPv4 authentication [5]. This is because the security
gateway will not typically have access to the client
credentials necessary to issue an DHCPv4 authentication option
on the client's behalf.
As a result, security gateways implementing IKECFG typically request
allocation of an IP address on their own behalf, and then assign this
to the client via IKECFG. Since IKECFG does not support the concept
of an address lease, the security gateway will need to do the renewal
itself. This complicates the renewal process.
Since RFC 2131 [3] assumes that a DHCPREQUEST will not contain a
filled in giaddr field when generated during RENEWING state, the
DHCPACK will be sent directly to the client, which will not be
expecting it. As a result, it is either necessary for the security
gateway to add special code to avoid forwarding such packets, or to
wait until REBINDING state. Since [3] does not specify that the
giaddr field cannot be filled in when in the REBINDING state, the
security gateway may put its own address in the giaddr field when in
REBINDING state, thereby ensuring that it can receive the renewal
response without treating it as a special case.
Patel, et. al. Standards Track [Page 16]
RFC 3456 DHCPv4 Config. of IPsec Tunnel Mode January 2003
Authors' Addresses
Baiju V. Patel
Intel Corp
2511 NE 25th Ave
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Phone: +1 503 712 2303
EMail: baiju.v.patel@intel.com
Bernard Aboba
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
Phone: +1 425 706 6605
EMail: bernarda@microsoft.com
Scott Kelly
Airespace
110 Nortech Pkwy
San Jose CA 95134 USA
Phone: +1 (408) 941-0500
EMail: scott@hyperthought.com
Vipul Gupta
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
MS UMTV29-235
2600 Casey Avenue
Mountain View, CA 94303
Phone: +1 650 336 1681
EMail: vipul.gupta@sun.com
Patel, et. al. Standards Track [Page 17]
RFC 3456 DHCPv4 Config. of IPsec Tunnel Mode January 2003
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
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The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
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This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
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Acknowledgement
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
Patel, et. al. Standards Track [Page 18]
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