INTERNET DRAFT                                              Nancy Greene
Category: Standards Track                                         Nortel
Title: draft-greene-diameter-devconf-00.txt               Pat R. Calhoun
Date: August 1998                                 Sun Microsystems, Inc.



                               DIAMETER
                    Device Configuration Extensions
                 <draft-greene-diameter-devconf-00.txt>



Status of this Memo

   This document is an Internet-Draft.  Internet-Drafts are working
   documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas,
   and its working groups.  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as ``work in progress.''

   To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the
   ``1id-abstracts.txt'' listing contained in the Internet-Drafts Shadow
   Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), nic.nordu.net (Europe),
   munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ftp.ietf.org (US East Coast), or
   ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast).


Abstract

   This DIAMETER Extension defines commands and AVPs that are used by
   two peers to exchange DIAMETER configuration information. The intent
   of this draft is to minimize configuration of devices prior to
   deployment.













Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 1]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


Table of Contents

      1.0    Introduction
      1.1    Definitions
      1.2    Terminology
      2.0    Command Codes
      2.1    Device-Config-Request (DCR)
      2.2    Device-Config-Answer (DCA)
      3.0    DIAMETER AVPs
      3.1    Message-Timer
      3.2    Message-In-Progress-Timer
      3.3    Message-Retry-Count
      3.4    Maximum-Forward-Count
      4.0    Protocol Definition
      4.1    Device Configuration
      5.0    References
      6.0    Acknowledgements
      7.0    Author's Address


1.0  Introduction

   This DIAMETER Extension defines commands and AVPs that are used by
   two peers to exchange DIAMETER configuration information. The intent
   of this draft is to minimize configuration of devices prior to
   deployment.


1.1  Definitions

   In this document, several words are used to signify the requirements
   of the specification.  These words are often capitalized.

   MUST      This word, or the adjective "required", means that the
             definition is an absolute requirement of the
             specification.

   MUST NOT  This phrase means that the definition is an absolute
             prohibition of the specification.

   SHOULD    This word, or the adjective "recommended", means that
             there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances
             to ignore this item, but the full implications must be
             understood and carefully weighed before choosing a
             different course.

   MAY       This word, or the adjective "optional", means that this
             item is one of an allowed set of alternatives.  An



Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 2]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


             implementation which does not include this option MUST
             be prepared to interoperate with another implementation
             which does include the option.


2.0  Command Codes

   This document defines the following DIAMETER Commands. All DIAMETER
   implementations supporting this extension MUST support all of the
   following commands:

      Command Name          Command Code
      -----------------------------------
      Device-Config-Request     304
      Device-Config-Answer      305


2.1  Device-Config-Request (DCR)

   Description

      The Device-Config-Request message is sent by a DIAMETER device to
      provide configuration information to peers under administrative
      control of the sender. Peers receiving this information SHOULD use
      it when communicating with the originator of this message. The
      peer MUST respond to the message with a Device-Config-Answer.

      This message MAY contain vendor specific AVPs which MAY be ignored
      by the receiver.

   Message Format

      <Device-Config-Request> ::= <DIAMETER Header>
                                  <Device-Config-Request Command AVP>
                                  <Session-Id AVP>
                                  [<Message-Timer>]
                                  [<MessageInProgress-Timer>]
                                  [<Message-Retry-Count>]
                                  [<Maximum-Forward-Count>]
                                  [<Extension-Id>]
                                  [<Version-Number>]
                                  [<Vendor-Name>]
                                  [<Vendor-Specific AVPs>]
                                  <Timestamp AVP>
                                  <Initialization-Vector AVP>
                                  {<Integrity-Check-Vector AVP> ||
                                   <Digital-Signature AVP }




Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 3]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


   AVP Format

      0                   1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           AVP Code                            |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |          AVP Length           |     Reserved      |U|T|V|E|H|M|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         Command Code                          |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      AVP Code

         256     DIAMETER Command

      AVP Length

         The length of this attribute MUST be 12.

      AVP Flags

         The 'M' bit MUST be set. The 'H' and 'E' MAY be set depending
         upon the security model used. The 'V', 'T' and the 'P' bits
         MUST NOT be set.

      Command Code

         The Command Code field MUST be set to 304 (Device-Config-
         Request).


2.2  Device-Config-Answer (DCA)

   Description

      The Device-Config-Answer message is sent by a DIAMETER device to
      acknowledge receipt of the Device-Config-Request message.

      The Device-Config-Answer message MUST contain the Result-Code AVP
      to indicate whether the configuration was accepted. The Result-
      Code MAY be used to indicate refusal of any of the AVPs in the
      request.

      The Device-Config-Answer message MAY contain configuration AVPs
      and if they are present it is understood that the receiver has no
      way to refuse them.




Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 4]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


   Message Format

      <Device-Config-Answer> ::= <DIAMETER Header>
                                 <Device-Config-Answer Command AVP>
                                 <Session-Id AVP>
                                 <Result-Code AVP>
                                 [<Error-Code AVP>]
                                 [<Message-Timer AVP>]
                                 [<MessageInProgress-Timer AVP>]
                                 [<Message-Retry-Count AVP>]
                                 [<Maximum-Forward-Count AVP>]
                                 [<Extension-Id AVP>]
                                 [<Version-Number AVP>]
                                 [<Vendor-Name AVP>]
                                 [<Vendor-Specific AVPs>]
                                 <Timestamp AVP>
                                 <Initialization-Vector AVP>
                                 {<Integrity-Check-Vector AVP> ||
                                  <Digital-Signature AVP }

   AVP Format

      0                   1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           AVP Code                            |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |          AVP Length           |     Reserved      |U|T|V|E|H|M|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         Command Code                          |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      AVP Code

         256     DIAMETER Command

      AVP Length

         The length of this attribute MUST be 12.

      AVP Flags

         The 'M' bit MUST be set. The 'H' and 'E' MAY be set depending
         upon the security model used. The 'V', 'T' and the 'P' bits
         MUST NOT be set.

      Command Code




Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 5]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


         The Command Code field MUST be set to 305 (Device-Config-
         Answer).


3.0  DIAMETER AVPs

   This section will define the mandatory AVPs which MUST be supported
   by all DIAMETER implementations. Note the first 256 AVP numbers are
   reserved for RADIUS compatibility.

   The following AVPs are defined in this document:

      Attribute Name       Attribute Code
      -----------------------------------
      Message-Timer             273
      Message-In-Progress-Timer 274
      Message-Retry-Count       275
      Maximum-Forward-Count     276


3.1  Message-Timer

   Description

      This AVP is used by a device to determine how long to wait before
      trying again to send a message expecting a response or
      acknowledgement. This timer value overrides any default value a
      device may have.

      Note that a DIAMETER extensions AVP could define another timer
      that would override this one for a specific message type.

   AVP Format

      0                   1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           AVP Code                            |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |          AVP Length           |     Reserved      |U|T|V|E|H|M|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           Integer32                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      AVP Code

         273     Message-Timer




Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 6]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


      AVP Length

         The length of this attribute MUST be 12.

      AVP Flags

         The 'M' bit MUST be set. The 'H' and 'E' MAY be set depending
         upon the security model used. The 'V', 'T' and the 'P' bits
         MUST NOT be set.

      Integer32

         This field contains the value of the timer in milliseconds. A
         value of 0 for this timer means that the default value for this
         timer is to be used.


3.2  Message-In-Progress-Timer

   Description

      This AVP is used by a device's state machine to deterimine how
      long to wait before sending a MessageInProgress message that tells
      the peer device that the message it is expecting a response or
      acknowledgment for is still in progress.

   AVP Format

      0                   1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           AVP Code                            |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |          AVP Length           |     Reserved      |U|T|V|E|H|M|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           Integer32                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      AVP Code

         274     Message-In-Progress-Timer

      AVP Length

         The length of this attribute MUST be 12.

      AVP Flags




Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 7]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


         The 'M' bit MUST be set. The 'H' and 'E' MAY be set depending
         upon the security model used. The 'V', 'T' and the 'P' bits
         MUST NOT be set.

      Integer32

         This field contains the value of the timer in milliseconds. A
         value of 0 indicates that the MessageInProgress-Indication
         message is not being used.


3.3  Message-Retry-Count

   Description

      This AVP is used by a device's state machine to determine how many
      times it is allowed to resend a message that is expecting a
      response or acknowledgement.

   AVP Format

      0                   1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           AVP Code                            |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |          AVP Length           |     Reserved      |U|T|V|E|H|M|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           Integer32                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      AVP Code

         275     Message-Retry-Count

      AVP Length

         The length of this attribute MUST be 12.

      AVP Flags

         The 'M' bit MUST be set. The 'H' and 'E' MAY be set depending
         upon the security model used. The 'V', 'T' and the 'P' bits
         MUST NOT be set.

      Integer32

         This field contains the value for the counter.



Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 8]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


3.4  Maximum-Forward-Count

   Description

      This AVP is used by a device to determine if a message should
      continue to be forwarded.  A use for this count would be to limit
      the number of proxies used to satisfy a request.

   AVP Format

      0                   1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           AVP Code                            |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |          AVP Length           |     Reserved      |U|T|V|E|H|M|
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                           Integer32                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      AVP Code

         276     Maximum-Forward-Count

      AVP Length

         The length of this attribute MUST be 12.

      AVP Flags

         The 'M' bit MUST be set. The 'H' and 'E' MAY be set depending
         upon the security model used. The 'V', 'T' and the 'P' bits
         MUST NOT be set.

      Integer32

         This field contains the value for the counter.


4.0  Protocol Definition

   This section will describe how the base protocol works (or is at
   least an attempt to).


4.1  Device Configuration

   DIAMETER provides two messages that can be used by DIAMETER peers in



Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                  [Page 9]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


   order to exchange certain configuration information, such as
   retransmission timer values. This message MAY be sent at any time and
   is not restricted to being sent at boot-up time only.

   Upon receipt of the Device-Config-Request, the receiver SHOULD make
   use of the configuration information provided when communicating with
   the initiator of the message.

   The receiver MUST acknowledge receipt of the message with a Device-
   Config-Answer which may also contain some configuration information.
   Note that if such configuration AVPs are present in the Device-
   Config-Answer the peer cannot reply with a success of failure
   Result-Code.

   A preferable method for two nodes to "negotiate" configuration
   information would be for both of them to issue Device-Config-
   Requests. However in some applications minimizing packets over the
   wire are startup time requires that the Device-Config-Answer carry
   such information.

   Note that both messages have a high probability of containing vendor
   specific AVP which MAY be ignored. Implementations MUST assume that
   that receiver does NOT support vendor specific AVPs sent.


5.0  References

    [1] Calhoun, Rubens, "DIAMETER Base Protocol", Internet-Draft,
        draft-calhoun-diameter-05.txt, May 1998.
    [2] Reynolds, Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC 1700,
        October 1994.
    [3] Calhoun, Zorn, Pan, "DIAMETER Framework", Internet-
        Draft, draft-calhoun-diameter-framework-00.txt, May 1998


6.0  Acknowledgements

   The Authors would like to acknowledge ...


7.0  Author's Address

   Questions about this memo can be directed to:

      Nancy Greene
      Public Data Networks
      Nortel (Northern Telecom)
      PO Box 3511 Station C



Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                 [Page 10]





INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1998


      Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4H7
      Canada

       Phone: 1-613-763-9789
         Fax: 1-613-763-8904
      E-mail: ngreene@nortel.ca


      Pat R. Calhoun
      Technology Development
      Sun Microsystems, Inc.
      15 Network Circle
      Menlo Park, California, 94025
      USA

       Phone:  1-650-786-7733
         Fax:  1-650-786-6445
      E-mail:  pcalhoun@eng.sun.com

































Calhoun, Greene          expires February 1999                 [Page 11]