v6ops J. Palet Martinez Internet-Draft The IPv6 Company Intended status: Informational A. D'Egidio Expires: January 12, 2021 Telecentro July 11, 2020 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization draft-ietf-v6ops-464xlat-optimization-02 Abstract IP/ICMP Translation Algorithm (SIIT) can be used to provide access for IPv4-only devices or applications to IPv4-only or dual-stack destinations over IPv6-only infrastructure. In that case, the traffic flows are translated twice: first from IPv4 to IPv6 (stateless NAT46 at the ingress point to the IPv6-only infrastructure) and then from IPv6 back to IPv4 (stateful NAT64, at the egress point). When the destination is IPv6-enabled, the second translation might be avoided. This document describes a possible optimization to 464XLAT and MAP-T to avoid translating IPv6 flows back to IPv4 if the destination is reachable over IPv6. The proposed solution would significantly reduce the NAT64 utilization in the operator's network. Status of This Memo This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet- Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. 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." This Internet-Draft will expire on January 12, 2021. Copyright Notice Copyright (c) 2020 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved. This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 1] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License. Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. Possible Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4. Problem Statement Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5. Solution Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5.1. Approach 1: DNS/Routing-based Solution . . . . . . . . . 7 5.2. Approach 2: NAT46/CLAT/DNS-proxy-EAM-based Solution . . . 8 5.2.1. Detection of IPv4-only hosts or applications . . . . 9 5.2.2. Detection of IPv6-enabled service . . . . . . . . . . 9 5.2.3. Creation of EAMT entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5.2.4. Forwarding path via stateful NAT for existing EAMT entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 5.2.5. Maintenance of the EAMT entries . . . . . . . . . . . 11 5.2.6. Usage example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 5.2.7. Behavior in case of multiple A/AAAA RRs . . . . . . . 12 5.2.8. Behavior in presence/absence of DNS64 . . . . . . . . 12 5.2.9. Behavior when using literal addresses or non IPv6-compliant APIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 5.2.10. Behavior in case of Foreign DNS . . . . . . . . . . . 12 5.2.11. False detection of a dual-stack host as IPv4-only . . 13 5.2.12. Behavior in presence of Happy Eyeballs . . . . . . . 14 5.2.13. Troubleshooting Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 5.3. Approach 3: NAT46/CLAT-provider-EAM-based Solution . . . 16 6. IPv6-only Services become accessible to IPv4-only devices/apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 7. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 8. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 9. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 10. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 2] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 1. Introduction Different transition mechanisms, typically in the group of the so- called IPv6-only with IPv4aaS (IPv4-as-a-Service), such as 464XLAT ([RFC6877]) or MAP-T ([RFC7599]), allow IPv4-only devices or applications to connect with IPv4 services in Internet over IPv6-only infrastructure, by means of a stateless NAT46 SIIT (IP/ICMP Translation Algorithm) as described by [RFC7915]. This is done by the implementation of SIIT at the CE (Customer Edge) Router or sometimes at the end-device, for example, the UE (User Equipment) in cellular networks. This functionality is the CLAT (Customer Translator) in the case of 464XLAT, while in the case of MAP-T is called NAT46. The NAT46/CLAT (WAN side) is connected by IPv6-only to the operator network, which in turn, will have a reverse translation, the NAT64 ([RFC6146]), known as PLAT (Provider Translator) in the case of 464XLAT. This allows to translate the IPv6 flow back to IPv4, in order to forward it to Internet. In both cases (NAT46 and NAT64), the translation of the packet headers is done using the IP/ICMP translation algorithm defined in [RFC7915]. Translation between IPv4 and IPv6 addresses is done as per [RFC6052]. The NAT64 prefix should be discovered by the CE by one or more of the existing mechanisms ([RFC7225], [RFC8781] or [RFC7050]), and sometimes it is pre-configured at the CE to the WKP. 2. Requirements Language The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here. 3. Possible Optimization In the case of 464XLAT, a DNS64 ([RFC6147]) is (optionally) in charge of the synthesis of AAAA records from the A records, so the NAT64 can be used without the need of doing a double-translation by means of the NAT46/CLAT. However, the DNS64 is not useful for the IPv4-only devices or applications in the LANs, as they will not be able to use the AAAA records, so they are always forced to use the double-translation. This is the expected behavior, as the original design of NAT64 was Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 3] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 targeted to connect IPv6-only devices (using DNS) to IPv4-only services. 464XLAT expanded the solution to also allow IPv4-only devices (even if not using DNS) to connect to IPv4-only services by means of IPv6-only access networks. The optimization solutions presented by this document try to avoid this double-translation, in the cases when the Internet services, are already IPv6-enabled. So, in those cases, if the NAT46 already translated the IPv4 flow to IPv6, it doesn't look necessary to translate this back to IPv6. A typical 464XLAT deployment is depicted in Figure 1. +-------+ .-----. .-----. | IPv6 | / \ / \ .-----. | CE | / IPv6- \ .-----. / IPv4 \ / \ | or +--( only )---( NAT64 )---( Internet ) / Dual- \ | UE | \ Access /\ `-----' \ / ( Stack )--+ | \ / \ \ / \ LAN's / | with | `--+--' \ .-----. `-----' \ / | NAT46 | | \ / \ `-----' | CLAT | +---+----+ / IPv6 \ | | | DNS/ | ( Internet ) +-------+ | DNS64 | \ / +--------+ \ / `-----' Figure 1: Typical 464XLAT Deployment Examples of a topology shown on the above picture includes: o An IPv6-only residential access network where the CE Router (with NAT46/CLAT) supports Dual-Stack in the customer LANs. o An IPv6-only cellular network where a UE uses the NAT46/CLAT for dual-stack internal applications and other devices connected via tethering. If the operator is providing direct access, for example, to Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), caches, or other resources, and they are dual-stacked, the situation can be described as shown in Figure 2. Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 4] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 +-------+ .-----. .-----. | IPv6 | / \ / \ .-----. | CE | / IPv6- \ .-----. / IPv4 \ / \ | or +--( only )---( NAT64 )---( Internet ) / Dual- \ | UE | \ Access /\ `-----' \ / ( Stack )--+ | \ / \ \ / \ LAN's / | with | `--+--' \ .-----. `--+--' \ / | NAT46 | | \ / \ \ `-----' | CLAT | +---+----+ / IPv6 \ .--+--. | | | DNS/ | ( Internet ) / Dual- \ +-------+ | DNS64 | \ /----/ Stack \ +--------+ \ / ( ) `-----' \ CDNs/ / \ Caches/ `-----' Figure 2: Typical 464XLAT Deployment with CDNs/Caches In this case if the flows initiated in the LANs come from IPv4-only devices or applications, even if the destination resources are IPv6-enabled, the double-translation is enforced, which has the following consequences: o More traffic needs to pass thru the NAT64 devices. o More NAT64 devices may be needed to handle the additional traffic. o Additional usage of IPv4 addresses. o Additional state at the NAT64 devices. o Additional logging, its relevant storage and processing resources. Clearly, all those aspects have impact in both, CapEx and OpEx. This is extremely important when considering that most of the time, the contents stored in CDNs, caches, and so on, is there for a good reason: It is frequently accessed resources and/or big. Examples such as video, audio, software and updates, are very common. So, this optimization can be highly impacting in many networks. 4. Problem Statement Summary If the devices or applications in the customer LAN are IPv6-capable, then the access to the CDNs, caches or other resources, will be made in an optimized way, by means of IPv6-only, not using the NAT64, as depicted in Figure 3. Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 5] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 +-------+ .-----. .-----. | IPv6 | / \ / \ .-----. | CE | / IPv6- \ .-----. / IPv4 \ / \ | or +--( only )---( NAT64 )---( Internet ) / IPv6 \ | UE | \ Access /\ `-----' \ / ( capable )--+ | \ / \ \ / \ apps / | with | `--+--' \ .-----. `-----' \ / | NAT46 | | \ / \ `-----' | CLAT | +---+----+ / IPv6 \ .-----. | | | DNS/ | ( Internet )IPv6/ Dual- \ +-------+ | DNS64 | \ /----/ Stack \ +--------+ \ / ( ) `-----' \ CDNs/ / \ Caches/ `-----' <---------------------- end-to-end IPv6 flow ----------------------> Figure 3: 464XLAT access to CDNs/Caches by IPv6-capable apps However, if the devices or applications are IPv4-only, for example, many SmartTVs and Set-Top-Boxes available today, a non-optimal double translation will occur (NAT46 at the CLAT and NAT64 at the PLAT), as illustrated in Figure 4. +-------+ .-----. .-----. | IPv6 | / \ / \ .-----. | CE | / IPv6- \ .-----. / IPv4 \ / IPv4- \ | or +--( only )---( NAT64 )---( Internet ) / only \ | UE | \ Access /\ `-----' \ / ( SmartTV )--+ | \ / \ \ / \ STB / | with | `--+--' \ .-----. `--+--' \ VoIP / | NAT46 | | \ / \ \ IPv4 `-----' | CLAT | +---+----+ / IPv6 \ .--+--. | | | DNS/ | ( Internet ) / Dual- \ +-------+ | DNS64 | \ / / Stack \ +--------+ \ / ( ) `-----' \ CDNs/ / \ Caches/ `-----' <-------------------- IPv4 to IPv6 to IPv4 flow --------------------> Figure 4: 464XLAT access to CDNs/Caches by IPv4-only apps Clearly, this is a non-optimal situation, as it means that even if there is a dual-stack service, the NAT46/CLAT translated IPv4 to IPv6 traffic flow, is unnecessarily translated back to IPv4, traversing the stateful NAT64. This has a direct impact in the need to scale the NAT64 beyond what will be actually needed, if possible solutions, Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 6] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 in order to keep using the IPv6 path towards those services, are considered. As shown in the Figure 4, this is also the case for many other services, not just CDNs or caches, such as VoIP access to the relevant operator infrastructure, which may be also dual-stack. This is true as well for many other dual-stack or IPv6-enabled services, which may be directly reachable from the operator infrastructure, even if they are not part of it, for example peering agreements, services in IXs, etc. In general, this will become a more frequent situation for many other services, which are not yet dual-stack. For simplicity, across the rest of this document, references to CDNs/ caches, should be understood, unless otherwise stated, as any dual- stacked resources. This document looks into different possible solution approaches in order to optimize the IPv4-only SIIT translation providing a direct path to IPv6-capable services, as depicted in Figure 5. +-------+ .-----. .-----. | IPv6 | / \ / \ .-----. | CE | / IPv6- \ .-----. / IPv4 \ / IPv4- \ | or +--( only )---( NAT64 )---( Internet ) / only \ | UE | \ Access /\ `-----' \ / ( SmartTV )--+ | \ / \ \ / \ STB / | with | `--+--' \ .-----. `-----' \ VoIP / | NAT46 | | \ / \ `-----' | CLAT | +---+----+ / IPv6 \ .-----. | | | DNS/ | ( Internet )IPv6/ Dual- \ +-------+ | DNS64 | \ /----/ Stack \ +--------+ \ / ( ) `-----' \ CDNs/ / \ Caches/ `-----' <------------------------ IPv4 to IPv6 flow ------------------------> Figure 5: Optimized 464XLAT access to CDNs/Caches by IPv4-only apps 5. Solution Approaches 5.1. Approach 1: DNS/Routing-based Solution Because the IPv4-only devices will not be able to query for AAAA records, the NAT46/CLAT/CE will translate the IPv4 addresses from the A record for the CDN/cache destination, using the WKP or NSP, as configured by the operator. Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 7] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 If the CDN/cache provider is able to configure, in the relevant interfaces of the CDN/caches, the same IPv6 addresses that will naturally result as the translated destination addresses for the queried A records, preceded by the WKP or NSP, then having more specific routing prefixes, will result in traffic to those destinations being directly forwarded towards those interfaces, instead of needing to traverse the NAT64. For example, let's suppose a provider using the WKP (64:ff9b::/96) and a SmartTV querying for www.example.com: www.example.com A 192.0.2.1 NAT46/CLAT translated to 64:ff9b::192.0.2.1 CDN IPv6 interface must be 64:ff9b::192.0.2.1 Operator must have a specific route to 64:ff9b::192.0.2.1 Note: Examples using text representation as per Section 2.3 of [RFC6052] and IPv4 documentation addresses following [RFC5737]. It should be remarked that this approach requires that the path to the destination is configured in such way (i.e., more specific routing prefixes), that doesn't traverse the NAT64 devices. Because the WKP is non-routable, this solution will only be possible if the CDN/cache is in the same ASN as the provider network, or somehow interconnected without routing thru Internet. This solution has the additional drawback of the operational complexity/issues added to the operation of the CDN/cache, and the need to synchronize any IPv4 interface address changes with the relevant IPv6 ones, and possibly with routing. 5.2. Approach 2: NAT46/CLAT/DNS-proxy-EAM-based Solution If the NAT46/CLAT/CE, as commonly is the case, is also a DNS proxy/ stub resolver, it is possible to modify the behavior and create an "internal" interaction among both of them. This approach uses the existing IPv4 and IPv6 addresses in the A and AAAA records, respectively, so no additional complexity/issues added to the CDN/caches operations. The following sub-sections detail this approach and provide a step- by-step example case. Note that this optimization MUST NOT be enabled when the WAN link is IPv4-only or dual-stack. In other words, only can be enabled if the WAN link is IPv6-only and consequently, the NAT46/CLAT is enabled in the CE. Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 8] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 5.2.1. Detection of IPv4-only hosts or applications The assumption is that, typically a dual-stack host will prefer using IPv6 as the DNS transport. So, when there is a DNS query, transported with IPv4, for an A record, and there is not a query for the AAAA record from the same IPv4 source (to the same destination), the DNS proxy/stub resolver can infer that, most probably, it is an IPv4-only device or application. It needs to be remarked that, if the detection of the IPv4-only device or application is done incorrectly (either not detecting it or by a false detection), no harm is caused. In the worst case, optimization will not be performed, at least, at the time being. However, optimization maybe performed later on, if a new detection succeeds (for example, another device using the same A record). 5.2.2. Detection of IPv6-enabled service In the case of an IPv4-only detected device or application, the DNS proxy/stub resolver MUST actually perform an additional AAAA query, unless the information is already present in the Additional Section, as per Section 3 of [RFC3596]. Note that the NAT46/CLAT MUST already know the WKP or NSP being used in that network. If the response contains at least one IPv6 address not using the WKP/NSP, it means that the destination is IPv6-enabled (because at least one of the IPv6 addresses is not synthesized). This means that it is possible for the NAT46/CLAT, to create an Explicit Address Mapping ([RFC7757]). 5.2.3. Creation of EAMT entries This way, an EAM Table (EAMT used for short, across the rest of this document) is created/maintained automatically by the DNS proxy/stub resolver in the NAT46/CLAT, and the NAT46/CLAT is responsible to prioritize any available entries in the EAMT, versus the use of any synthetic AAAA. In order to create the EAMT entry, to determine if there is an AAAA record after an A record query, it is suggested to use the same delay value (50 milliseconds) as the "Resolution Delay" indicated by Happy Eyeballs [RFC8305]. This avoids a slight NAT64 overload and flapping between destination addresses (IPv4/IPv6), which may impact some applications, at the cost of a small extra delay for the initial communication setup, when the EAMT entry doesn't yet exist. Each EAMT entry MUST contain, the fields already described in [RFC7757] and a few new ones: Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 9] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 1. ID: EAMT Entry Index (optional). 2. IPv4 address/prefix: By default, the prefix length is 32 bits. 3. IPv6 address/prefix: By default, the prefix length is 128 bits. 4. TTL: Because the optimization will make use of the AAAA (IPv6 address), the TTL for the EAMT entry MUST be set to the same value as in the AAAA RR. In normal conditions the TTL for both A and AAAA records, of a given FQDN, should be the same, so this ensures a proper behavior if there is any DNS mismatch. 5. FQDN: The one that originated the A query for this EAMT entry. Required in order to ensure a correct detection of cases such as the use of reverse-proxy with a single IPv4 address to multiple IPv6 addresses. 6. Valid/Invalid: When set to 1, means that this EAMT entry MUST NOT be used and consequently no optimization performed. It may be used also for an explicit configuration (GUI, CLI, provisioning system, etc.) to disallow optimization for explicitly configured IPv4 addresses. 7. Auto/Static: When set to 1, means that this EAMT entry has been manually/statically configured, for example by means of an explicit configuration (GUI, CLI, provisioning system, etc.), so it doesn't expire with TTL. When a new EAMT entry is first automatically created, it is marked as "Valid" and "Auto" (both bits cleared). If a subsequent A query, with a different FQDN, results in an IPv4 address that has already an EAMT entry and a different IPv6 address, it means that some reverse- proxy or similar functionality is being used by the IPv6-enabled service. In this case, the existing EAMT entry will be marked as "Invalid" (bit set). No new EAMT entry is created for that IPv4 address. Otherwise, the optimization will only allow to access the first set of IPv4/IPv6/FQDN, which may break the access to other FQDN that share the same IPv4 address and different IPv6 addresses. In this case the EAMT entry will still expire according the TTL, which allows to re-enable optimization if a new query for the A record has changed the situation. For example, maybe the reverse- proxy has been removed, or there is now only a single device using it, so at the time being, the optimization is again possible without creating troubles to other hosts. Note that when an EAMT entry is marked as "invalid", it will not affect the devices or applications, as they will still be able to use Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 10] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 the regular CLAT+NAT64 flow, of course, without the optimization. Note the newly defined EAMT fields, follow the "extensions" approach as per section 3.1 of [RFC7757]. 5.2.4. Forwarding path via stateful NAT for existing EAMT entries Following this approach, if there is a valid EAMT entry, for a given IPv4-destination, the IPv6-native path pointed by the IPv6 address of that EAMT entry, will take precedence versus the NAT64 path, so the traffic will not be forwarded to the NAT64. However, this is not sufficient to ensure that individual applications are able to keep existing connections. In many cases, audio and video streaming may use a single TCP connection lasting from minutes to hours. Instead, the CDN TTLs may be configured in the range from 10 to 300 seconds in order to allow new resolutions to switch quickly and to handle large recursive resolvers (with hundreds of thousands of clients behind them). Consequently, the EAMT entries should not be used directly to establish a forwarding path, but instead, to create a stateful NAT entry for the 4-tuple for the duration of the session/connection. 5.2.5. Maintenance of the EAMT entries The information in the EAMT MUST be kept timely-synchronized with the AAAA records TTL's, so the EAMT entries MUST expire on the AAAA TTL expiry and consequently be deleted. However, EAMT entries with the Auto/Static bit set, will not be deleted. This allows users/operators to set explicit rules for diagnostics or resolution of issues in special situations. 5.2.6. Usage example Using the same example as in the previous approach: www.example.com A 192.0.2.1 AAAA 2001:db8::a:b:c:d EAMT entry 192.0.2.1 2001:db8::a:b:c:d NAT46/CLAT translated to 2001:db8::a:b:c:d CDN IPv6 interface already is 2001:db8::a:b:c:d Operator already has a specific route to 2001:db8::a:b:c:d The following is an example of the CE behavior after the previous case has already created an EAMT entry and a reverse-proxy is detected: Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 11] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 1. A query for www.another-example.com A RR is received 2. www.another-example.com A 192.0.2.1 3. www.another-example.com AAAA 2001:db8::e:e:f:f 4. A conflict has been detected 5. The existing EAMT entry for 192.0.2.1 is set as invalid 5.2.7. Behavior in case of multiple A/AAAA RRs Existing DNS proxy/stub resolvers already implement mechanisms for DNS Load Balancing ([RFC1794]). This should not be modified to implement the optimization so, if multiple A and/or AAAA records are available, any of them could be chosen. In other words, the chosen pair of A/AAAA records doesn't present any different result compared with a situation when this mechanism is not used. 5.2.8. Behavior in presence/absence of DNS64 464XLAT can be deployed/used with and without a DNS64. However, as indicated in Section 5.2.2, the EAMT entry is only created when the service is IPv6-enabled, because the optimization is only relevant for destinations which already have AAAA records. In those cases DNS64 is not relevant. 5.2.9. Behavior when using literal addresses or non IPv6-compliant APIs Because the EAMT entries are only created when the NAT46/CLAT/CE proxy/stub DNS is being used, any devices or applications that don't use DNS, will not create the relevant entries. They may be optimized if devices or applications using DNS, at some point, query for the same A RRs, or if EAMT entries are statically configured. 5.2.10. Behavior in case of Foreign DNS Devices or applications may use DNS servers from other networks. For a complete description of reasons for that, refer to Section 4.4 of [RFC8683]. In the case the DNS is modified, or some devices or applications use other DNS servers, the possible scenarios and the implications are: a. Devices configured to use a DNS proxy/resolver which is not the CE/NAT46/CLAT. In this case this optimization will not work, because the EAMT entry will not be created based on their own Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 12] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 flows. Nevertheless, the EAMT entry may be created by other devices using the same destinations. However, the lack of EAMT entry, will not impact negatively in the user's devices/ applications (the optimization is not performed). It should be noticed that users commonly, don't change the configuration of devices such as SmartTVs or STBs (if they do, some other functionalities, such as CDN/caches optimizations may not work as well), so this only happens typically if the vendor is doing it on-purpose and for good well-known reasons. b. DNS privacy/encryption. Hosts or applications that use mechanisms for DNS privacy/encryption, such as DoT ([RFC7858], [RFC8094]), DoH ([RFC8484]) or DoQ ([I-D.huitema-dprive-dnsoquic]), will not make use of the stub/ proxy resolver, so the same considerations as for the previous case applies. c. Users that modify the DNS in their Operating Systems. This is quite frequent, however commonly Operating Systems are dual- stack, so aren't part of the problem statement described by this document and will not be adversely affected. d. Users that modify the DNS in the CE. This is less common. In this case, this optimization is not adversely affected, because it doesn't depend on the operator DNS, it works only based on the internal CE interaction between the NAT46/CLAT and the stub/proxy resolver. Note that it may be affected if the operator offers different "DNS views" or "split DNS", however this is not related to this optimization and will anyway impact in the other possible operator optimizations (i.e. CDN/cache features). e. Combinations of the above ones. No further impact, than the one already described, is observed. 5.2.11. False detection of a dual-stack host as IPv4-only If a dual-stack host is issuing the A query using IPv4 transport, and the AAAA query using IPv6 transport, or in the other way around, or using different IPv4 addresses for the A and AAAA queries, the EAMT entry will be created. However, this EAMT entry may not be used by dual-stack devices or applications, because those devices or applications should prefer IPv6. If the host is preferring IPv4 for connecting to the CDN/cache or IPv6-enabled service, it will be actually using the NAT46/CLAT, including the EAMT entry and consequently IPv6, so this mechanism will be correcting an undesirable behavior. This is a special case, which actually seems to be an incoherent host or application implementation. Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 13] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 Afterwards, if other IPv4-only devices or applications subsequently need to connect to the same IPv6-enabled service, they will take advantage of the already existing EAMT entry, and consequently use the IPv6-optimised path. 5.2.12. Behavior in presence of Happy Eyeballs Happy Eyeballs [RFC8305] is only enabled in dual-stack hosts. Consequently, it is not affected by this optimization because both, the A and the AAAA queries should be issued by the host as soon after one another as possible. In summary, the host should not be detected as IPv4-only, following Section 5.2.1. Nevertheless, if the same NAT46/CLAT/CE is serving IPv4-only hosts and dual-stack hosts and both of them are using the same destinations, an EAMT entry may have been previously created for that destination. Consequently, if Happy Eyeballs triggers a fallback to IPv4, it will be actually using the relevant EAMT entry towards the IPv6 destination. This has the disadvantage that the IPv4-IPv6-IPv4 translation path can't be used by Happy Eyeballs-enabled applications, so avoiding a real IPv4-fallback and making IPv6 the only available protocol. This is the natural and expected path for IPv6-only networks, so actually it may be considered as a good thing, in the sense that an operator is interested in knowing as soon as possible, if the IPv6-only network is not performing correctly. Note that when using 464XLAT, the WAN link of the NAT46/CLAT/CE is IPv6-only. So even if Happy Eyeballs is present, IPv4 is expected to be slower than native IPv6 itself due to delays added by the NAT46+NAT64 translations. This optimization reduces those delays by eliminating the second translation (NAT64). However, there may be cases where this may be understood as problematic. The possible reasons why Happy Eyeballs may trigger an IPv4 fallback, in the case of IPv6-only access networks with IPv4aaS, in general, can be classified as: 1. Failure at the CE or customer LANs. It may happen that the CE or other devices in the customer LANs are showing erratic behaviors or malfunctions. It is difficult to believe that this happens only with IPv6, and if that's the case Happy Eyeballs will not resolve the issue, because IPv4 is provided as a service on top of IPv6. 2. Complete failure of the IPv6-only link or IPv6-only operator's infrastructure (up to the NAT64). In this case, IPv4 will not Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 14] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 work for that subscriber. Happy Eyeballs will not resolve the issue, and instead will only be adding some extra delay (the attempt to fallback to IPv4 before timing-out). 3. Complete failure of both IPv4 and IPv6 links behind the operator's NAT64 towards the destination. In this case, typically both, IPv4 and IPv6 will fail (in many cases, they are dual-stack links, not different links). Again, Happy Eyeballs will also fail to resolve the issue. 4. Complete failure only in the IPv6 links behind the operator's NAT64 towards the destination. This is less frequent, bus still miss-configured AAAA RRs, or diverse paths for IPv4 and IPv6 together with outages or IPv6-only routing issues, could generate this problem. In this case, Happy Eyeballs could resolve the issue, however, the optimization will disallow it. 5. Partial failure: Slower IPv6 vs IPv4 path end-to-end. In general, the added delay of the IPv4 translations and NAT across the path, increases the chances that IPv4 is faster than IPv6. However, it may happen that there is some IPv6 specific link congestion or packet dropping, that generates the reverse situation, so IPv4 becomes faster than IPv6. Because the optimization, the end-to-end path is forced to be IPv6, so Happy Eyeballs will not be able to offer any significative advantage in resolving the issue. In summary, the optimization may be hindering the Happy Eyeballs assistance, only in the last two cases. In one of the cases (partial failure: slower IPv6 vs IPv4 path end-to-end), just don't help to make IPv6 faster. In the other case (complete failure only in the IPv6 links behind the operator's NAT64 towards the destination), it will completely fail. However, it should be observed that in both cases, the problem will also impact other operators (even if not using the optimization), and especially those using only NAT64+DNS64 instead of 464XLAT, or even more, any IPv6-only hosts or applications in any operator network across the entire Internet. It looks like it is very important to make sure that, as IPv6 is more prevalent, there is a better monitoring and failures are detected ASAP, instead of being hidden by Happy Eyeballs, specially in IPv6-only networks, so it seems an acceptable trade-off. It should be noticed also that in IPv6-only with IPv4aaS, the chances of troubles in the IPv4 paths seem to be higher than in the IPv6, as there are more translations, more devices, more delays, while the optimization will precisely reduce them. Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 15] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 5.2.13. Troubleshooting Implications When there is a need to troubleshoot IPv4 from the CE LANs, it may happen that there is an EAMT entry forcing the flow to a given destination(s) to use IPv6, which will distort the results. This can be avoided, using a CLI/GUI or provisioning procedure, to either completely disable the optimization during the troubleshooting, or create specific static EAMT entries, using the Valid/Invalid and Auto/Static flags, as described in Section 5.2.3. Consequently, the CE MUST allow both, disabling the optimization and the setup of manual/static EAMT entries. 5.3. Approach 3: NAT46/CLAT-provider-EAM-based Solution Instead of using the DNS proxy/stub resolver to create the EAMT entries, the operator may push this table (or parts of it) into the CE/NAT46/CLAT, by using configuration/management mechanisms. This solution has the advantage of not being affected by any DNS changes from the user (the EAMT is created by the operator) and ensures a complete control from the operator. However, it may impact the cases of devices with a DNS configured by the vendor. In general, most of the considerations from the previous approach will apply. One more advantage of this solution is that the EAMT pairs doesn't need to match the "real" IPv4/IPv6 addresses available in the A/AAAA records, as shown in the next example. www.example.com A 192.0.2.1 AAAA 2001:db8::a:b:c:d EAMT pulled/pushed entry 192.0.2.1 2001:db8::f:e:d:c NAT46/CLAT translated to 2001:db8::f:e:d:c CDN IPv6 interface already is 2001:db8::f:e:d:c Operator already has a specific route to 2001:db8::f:e:d:c EAMT may contain TTLs which probably are derived from DNS ones, or alternatively, a global TTL for the full table. An alternative way to configure the table, is that the CE is actually pulling the table (or parts of it) from the operator infrastructure. In this case it will be mandatory that the entries have individual TTLs, again probably derived from the DNS ones. The major drawback of this approach is that it requires a new Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 16] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 protocol, or an extension to existing ones, in order to push or pull the EAMT, in addition to the possible impact in terms of bandwidth each time the CEs reboot, or an EAMT must be pushed to all the CEs, etc. 6. IPv6-only Services become accessible to IPv4-only devices/apps One of the issues with the IPv6 deployment, is that those services which become IPv6-only in Internet, aren't reachable by IPv4-only devices and applications. This means that new content providers must support dual-stack even for new services, even while IPv4 public addresses aren't available. If NAT46/CLAT/DNS-proxy-EAM approach (Section 5.2) is chosen, it also offers the chance to resolve this issue. This is possible if IPv6-only services get configured with an A resource record pointing to a well-known IPv4 address despite they aren't actually connected to IPv4. This is out of scope for this document, as it will require further work and a reservation by IANA, This will mean that those services will work fine if there is a NAT46/CLAT supporting the optimization. This A RR has no negative impact if the NAT46/CLAT doesn't exist, or it is not optimized, because is not reachable via IPv4-only, so is not a different situation compared with not having an A RR. The result of this is equivalent to the approach taken by MAP-T (Section 12.3 of [RFC7599]). However, it has the advantage that the MAP-T approach is restricted to services in the MAP-T domain. In fact, it may become an incentive for the IPv6 deployment in Internet services, as it provides the option to use a well-known IPv4 address (maybe anycast) for the "non-valid" A RR, that points, in case of port 80/443 to a web page or service that returns a warning such as "This service is only available if the network is properly connected to Internet with IPv6". 7. Conclusions NAT46/CLAT/DNS-proxy-EAM approach (Section 5.2) seems the right solution for optimizing the access to dual-stack services, whether they are located inside or outside the ISP. It is also the only approach which has no additional requirements for the network operators (both ISPs and CDN/cache operators). Having this type of optimization facilitates and increases the usage of IPv6, even for IPv4-only devices and applications, at the same time that decreases the use of the NAT64. Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 17] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 SIIT already has a SHOULD for EAM support, so it is not a high additional burden the support required for existing implementations to be updated for this optimization. 8. Security Considerations This document does not have any new specific security considerations, besides the ones already known for DNS64. Spoofed DNS responses could generate incorrect EAMT entries. However, this seems not different than if the optimization is not in place and the spoofed DNS responses are cached by the CE DNS proxy/ stub resolver or even by hosts in the CE LANs. It very much depends on how and where the attack is actually performed. In both cases, 464XLAT and MAP-T, the CE device should contain a DNS proxy/stub resolver, which is also required for the optimization. Nevertheless, it is common that the user change DNS settings. If it happens, in the case of MAP-T, the port-set is restricted for an efficient public IPv4 address sharing, so the entropy of the source ports is significantly lowered. In this case, theoretically MAP-T is less resilient against cache poisoning ([RFC5452]) compared with 464XLAT. However, an efficient cache poisoning attack requires that the subscriber operates its own caching DNS server and the attack is performed in the service provider network, so the chances of a successful exploitation of this vulnerability are low. 9. IANA Considerations This document does not have any new specific IANA considerations. 10. Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the inputs of Erik Nygren, Fred Baker, Martin Hunek, Chongfeng Xie, Fernando Gont, Fernando Frediani and Jen Linkova. 11. References 11.1. Normative References [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, . Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 18] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 [RFC3596] Thomson, S., Huitema, C., Ksinant, V., and M. Souissi, "DNS Extensions to Support IP Version 6", STD 88, RFC 3596, DOI 10.17487/RFC3596, October 2003, . [RFC5452] Hubert, A. and R. van Mook, "Measures for Making DNS More Resilient against Forged Answers", RFC 5452, DOI 10.17487/RFC5452, January 2009, . [RFC6052] Bao, C., Huitema, C., Bagnulo, M., Boucadair, M., and X. Li, "IPv6 Addressing of IPv4/IPv6 Translators", RFC 6052, DOI 10.17487/RFC6052, October 2010, . [RFC6146] Bagnulo, M., Matthews, P., and I. van Beijnum, "Stateful NAT64: Network Address and Protocol Translation from IPv6 Clients to IPv4 Servers", RFC 6146, DOI 10.17487/RFC6146, April 2011, . [RFC6147] Bagnulo, M., Sullivan, A., Matthews, P., and I. van Beijnum, "DNS64: DNS Extensions for Network Address Translation from IPv6 Clients to IPv4 Servers", RFC 6147, DOI 10.17487/RFC6147, April 2011, . [RFC6877] Mawatari, M., Kawashima, M., and C. Byrne, "464XLAT: Combination of Stateful and Stateless Translation", RFC 6877, DOI 10.17487/RFC6877, April 2013, . [RFC7050] Savolainen, T., Korhonen, J., and D. Wing, "Discovery of the IPv6 Prefix Used for IPv6 Address Synthesis", RFC 7050, DOI 10.17487/RFC7050, November 2013, . [RFC7225] Boucadair, M., "Discovering NAT64 IPv6 Prefixes Using the Port Control Protocol (PCP)", RFC 7225, DOI 10.17487/RFC7225, May 2014, . [RFC7599] Li, X., Bao, C., Dec, W., Ed., Troan, O., Matsushima, S., and T. Murakami, "Mapping of Address and Port using Translation (MAP-T)", RFC 7599, DOI 10.17487/RFC7599, July 2015, . Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 19] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 [RFC7757] Anderson, T. and A. Leiva Popper, "Explicit Address Mappings for Stateless IP/ICMP Translation", RFC 7757, DOI 10.17487/RFC7757, February 2016, . [RFC7915] Bao, C., Li, X., Baker, F., Anderson, T., and F. Gont, "IP/ICMP Translation Algorithm", RFC 7915, DOI 10.17487/RFC7915, June 2016, . [RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, May 2017, . [RFC8305] Schinazi, D. and T. Pauly, "Happy Eyeballs Version 2: Better Connectivity Using Concurrency", RFC 8305, DOI 10.17487/RFC8305, December 2017, . [RFC8781] Colitti, L. and J. Linkova, "Discovering PREF64 in Router Advertisements", RFC 8781, DOI 10.17487/RFC8781, April 2020, . 11.2. Informative References [I-D.huitema-dprive-dnsoquic] Huitema, C., Mankin, A., and S. Dickinson, "Specification of DNS over Dedicated QUIC Connections", draft-huitema- dprive-dnsoquic-00 (work in progress), March 2020. [RFC1794] Brisco, T., "DNS Support for Load Balancing", RFC 1794, DOI 10.17487/RFC1794, April 1995, . [RFC5737] Arkko, J., Cotton, M., and L. Vegoda, "IPv4 Address Blocks Reserved for Documentation", RFC 5737, DOI 10.17487/RFC5737, January 2010, . [RFC7858] Hu, Z., Zhu, L., Heidemann, J., Mankin, A., Wessels, D., and P. Hoffman, "Specification for DNS over Transport Layer Security (TLS)", RFC 7858, DOI 10.17487/RFC7858, May 2016, . [RFC8094] Reddy, T., Wing, D., and P. Patil, "DNS over Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS)", RFC 8094, DOI 10.17487/RFC8094, February 2017, . Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 20] Internet-Draft 464XLAT/NAT64 Optimization July 2020 [RFC8484] Hoffman, P. and P. McManus, "DNS Queries over HTTPS (DoH)", RFC 8484, DOI 10.17487/RFC8484, October 2018, . [RFC8683] Palet Martinez, J., "Additional Deployment Guidelines for NAT64/464XLAT in Operator and Enterprise Networks", RFC 8683, DOI 10.17487/RFC8683, November 2019, . Authors' Addresses Jordi Palet Martinez The IPv6 Company Molino de la Navata, 75 La Navata - Galapagar, Madrid 28420 Spain Email: jordi.palet@theipv6company.com URI: http://www.theipv6company.com/ Alejandro D'Egidio Telecentro Argentina Email: adegidio@telecentro.net.ar Palet Martinez & D'EgidiExpires January 12, 2021 [Page 21]