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rfc:rfc1220

Network Working Group F. Baker, Editor Request for Comments: 1220 ACC

                                                            April 1991
          Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions for Bridging

1. Status of this Memo

 This document defines an extension of the Internet Point-to-Point
 Protocol (PPP) described in RFC 1171, targeting the use of Point-to-
 Point lines for Remote Bridging.  It is a product of the Point-to-
 Point Protocol Extensions Working Group of the Internet Engineering
 Task Force (IETF).
 This RFC specifies an IAB standards track protocol for the Internet
 community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
 Please refer to the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol
 Standards" for the standardization state and status of this protocol.
 Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

2. Historical Perspective

 Two basic algorithms are ambient in the industry for Bridging of
 Local Area Networks.  The more common algorithm is called
 "Transparent Bridging" and has been standardized for Extended LAN
 configurations by IEEE 802.1.  IEEE 802.5 has proposed an alternative
 approach, called "Source Routing", and is in the process of
 standardizing that approach for IEEE 802.5 extended networks.
 Although there is a subcommittee of IEEE 802.1 addressing remote
 bridging, neither standard directly defines Remote Bridging per se,
 as that would technically be beyond the IEEE 802 committee's charter.
 Both allow for it, however, modeling the line as an unspecified
 interface between half-bridges.
 This document assumes that the devices at either end of a serial link
  1. have agreed to utilize the RFC 1171 line discipline in some form.
  1. may have agreed, by some other means, to exchange other

protocols on the line interspersed with each other and with any

      bridged PDUs.
  1. may be willing to use the link as a vehicle for Remote Bridging.
  1. may have multiple point-to-point links that are configured in

parallel to simulate a single line of higher speed or

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 1] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

      reliability, but message sequence issues are solved by the
      transmitting end.

3. General Considerations

3.1. Link Quality Monitoring

 It is strongly recommended that Point-to-Point Bridge Protocol
 implementations utilize Magic Number Loopback Detection and Link-
 Quality-Monitoring.  This is because the 802.1 Spanning Tree
 protocol, which is integral to both Transparent Bridging and Source
 Routing (as standardized), is unidirectional during normal operation,
 with HELLO PDUs emanating from the Root System in the general
 direction of the leaves, without any reverse traffic except in
 response to network events.

3.2. Message Sequence

 The multiple link case requires consideration of message
 sequentiality.  The transmitting station must determine either that
 the protocol being bridged requires transmissions to arrive in the
 order of their original transmission, and enqueue all transmissions
 on a given conversation onto the same link to force order
 preservation, or that the protocol does NOT require transmissions to
 arrive in the order of their original transmission, and use that
 knowledge to optimize the utilization of the several links, enqueuing
 traffic to links to minimize delay.
 In the absence of such a determination, the transmitting station must
 act as though all protocols require order preservation; many
 protocols designed primarily for use on a single LAN in fact do.  A
 protocol could be described to maintain message sequentiality across
 multiple links, either by sequence numbering or by fragmentation and
 re-assembly, but this is neither elegant nor absolutely necessary.

3.3. Maximum Receive Unit Considerations

 Please note that the negotiated MRU must be large enough to support
 the MAC Types that are negotiated for support, there being no
 fragmentation and re-assembly.  Even Ethernet frames are larger than
 the default MRU of 1500 octets.

3.4. Separation of Spanning Tree Domains

 It is conceivable that a network manager might wish to inhibit the
 exchange of BPDUs on a link in order to logically divide two regions
 into separate Spanning Trees with different Roots (and potentially
 different Spanning Tree implementations or algorithms).  In order to

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 2] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 do that, he must configure both ends to not exchange BPDUs on a link.
 For the sake of robustness, a bridge which is so configured must
 silently discard the BPDU of its neighbor, should it receive one.

4. IEEE 802.1 Transparent Bridging

4.1. Overview of IEEE 802.1 Transparent Bridging

 As a favor to the uninitiated, let us first describe Transparent
 Bridging.  Essentially, the bridges in a network operate as isolated
 entities, largely unaware of each others' presence.  A Transparent
 Bridge maintains a Forwarding Database consisting of
          {address, interface}
 records by saving the Source Address of each LAN transmission that it
 receives along with the interface identifier for the interface it was
 received on.  It goes on to check whether the Destination Address is
 in the database, and if so, either discards the message (if the
 destination and source are located at the same interface) or forwards
 the message to the indicated interface.  A message whose Destination
 Address is not found in the table is forwarded to all interfaces
 except the one it was received on; this describes Broadcast/Multicast
 behavior as well.
 The obvious fly in the ointment is that redundant paths in the
 network cause indeterminate (nay, all too determinate) forwarding
 behavior to occur.  To prevent this, a protocol called the IEEE
 802.1(d) Spanning Tree Protocol is executed between the bridges to
 detect and logically remove redundant paths from the network.
 One system is elected as the "Root", which periodically emits a
 message called a Bridge Hello Protocol Data Unit, or BPDU, heard by
 all of its neighboring bridges.  Each of these modifies and passes
 the BPDU on to its neighbors, and they to theirs, until it arrives at
 the leaf LAN segments in the network (where it dies, having no
 further neighbors to pass it along) or until the message is stopped
 by a bridge which has a superior path to the "Root".  In this latter
 case, the interface the BPDU was received on is ignored (i.e., it is
 placed in a Hot Standby status, no traffic is emitted onto it except
 the BPDU, and all traffic received from it is discarded) until a
 topology change forces a recalculation of the network.

4.2. IEEE 802.1 Remote Bridging Activity

 There exist two basic sorts of bridges - ones that interconnect LANs
 directly, called Local Bridges, and ones that interconnect LANs via
 an intermediate medium such as a leased line, called Remote Bridges.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 3] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 The Point-to-Point Protocol might be used by a Remote Bridge.
 There is more than one proposal within the IEEE 802.1 Interworking
 Committee for modeling the Remote Bridge.  In one model, the
 interconnecting serial link(s) are treated in the same way that a LAN
 is, having a standard IEEE 802.1 Link State; in another, the serial
 links operate in a mode quite different from the LANs that they
 interconnect.  For the sake of simplicity of specification, the first
 model is adopted, although some of the good ideas from proponents of
 the second model are included or allowed for.
 Therefore, given that transparent bridging is configured on a line or
 set of lines, the specifics of the link state with respect to the
 bridge is defined by IEEE 802.1(d).  The Bridge Protocol Data Unit,
 or BPDU, is defined there, as well as the algorithms for its use.
 It is assumed that, if a Point-to-Point Link neighbor receives IEEE
 802.1 BPDUs without rejecting them with the RFC 1171 Protocol-Reject
 LCP PDU, Transparent Bridging is permitted on the link.

4.3. IEEE 802.5 Source Routing

 The IEEE 802.5 Committee has defined a different approach to bridging
 for use on the Token Ring, called Source Routing.  In this approach,
 the originating system has the responsibility of indicating what path
 that the message should follow.  It does this, if the message is
 directed off the local ring, by including a variable length MAC
 header extension called the Routing Information Field, or RIF.  The
 RIF consists of one 16 bit word of flags and parameters followed by
 zero or more ring-and-bridge identifiers.  Each bridge en route
 determines from this "source route list" whether it should receive
 the message and how to forward it.
 The algorithm for Source Routing requires the bridge to be able to
 identify any interface by its ring-and-bridge identifier, and to be
 able to identify any of its OTHER interfaces likewise.  When a packet
 is received which has the Routing Information Field (RIF) present, a
 boolean in the RIF is inspected to determine whether the ring-and-
 bridge identifiers are to be inspected in "forward" or "reverse"
 sense.  In a "forward" search, the bridge looks for the ring-and-
 bridge identifier of the interface the packet was received on, and
 forwards the packet toward the ring identified in the ring-and-bridge
 identifier that follows it.  In a "reverse" search, the bridge looks
 for the ring-and-bridge identifier of the OTHER INTERFACE, and
 delivers the packet to the indicated interface if such is found.
 The algorithms for handling multicasts ("Functional Addresses" and
 "Group Addresses") have been the subject of much discussion in 802.5,

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 4] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 and are likely to be the most troublesome for bridge implementations.
 Fortunately, they are beyond the scope of this document.

4.4. IEEE 802.5 Remote Bridging Activity

 There is no Remote Bridge proposal in IEEE 802.5 at this time,
 although IBM ships a remote Source Routing Bridge.  Simplicity would
 dictate that we choose the same model for IEEE 802.5 Source Routing
 that was selected for IEEE 802.1, but necessity requires a ring
 number for the line in some cases.  We allow for both models.
 Given that source routing is configured on a line or set of lines,
 the specifics of the link state with respect to the bridge is defined
 by the IEEE 802.5 Addendum on Source Routing.  The requisite PDUs for
 calculating the spanning tree (used for assuring that each ring will
 receive at most one copy of a multicast) are defined there, as well
 as the algorithms for their use.  MAC PDUs (Beacon, Ring Management,
 etc) are specific to the MAU technology and are not exchanged on the
 line.

4.5. Source Routing to Transparent Bridge Translation

 IEEE 802 also has a subcommittee looking at the interoperation of
 Transparent Bridging and Source Routing.  For the purposes of this
 standard, such a device is both a transparent and a source routing
 bridge, and will act on the line in both ways, just as it does on the
 LAN.

5. Traffic Services

 Several services are provided for the benefit of different system
 types and user configurations.  These include LAN Frame Checksum
 Preservation, LAN Frame Checksum Generation, Tinygram Compression,
 and the identification of closed sets of LANs.

5.1. LAN Frame Checksum Preservation

 IEEE 802.1 stipulates that the Extended LAN must enjoy the same
 probability of undetected error that an individual LAN enjoys.
 Although there has been considerable debate concerning the algorithm,
 no other algorithm has been proposed than having the LAN Frame
 Checksum received by the ultimate receiver be the same value
 calculated by the original transmitter.  Achieving this requires, of
 course, that the line protocols preserve the LAN Frame Checksum from
 end to end.  The protocol is optimized towards this approach.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 5] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

5.2. Traffic having no LAN Frame Checksum

 The fact that the protocol is optimized towards LAN Frame Checksum
 preservation raises twin questions: "What is the approach to be used
 by systems which, for whatever reason, cannot easily support Frame
 Checksum preservation?" and "What is the approach to be used when the
 system originates a message, which therefore has no Frame Checksum
 precalculated?".
 Surely, one approach would be to require stations to calculate the
 Frame Checksum in software if hardware support were unavailable; this
 would meet with profound dismay, and would raise serious questions of
 interpretation in a Bridge/Router.
 However, stations which implement LAN Frame Checksum preservation
 must already solve this problem, as they do originate traffic.
 Therefore, the solution adopted is that messages which have no Frame
 Checksum are tagged and carried across the line.
 When a system which does not implement LAN Frame Checksum
 preservation receives a frame having an embedded FCS, it converts it
 for its own use by removing the trailing four octets.  When any
 system forwards a frame which contains no embedded FCS to a LAN, it
 forwards it in a way which causes the FCS to be calculated.

5.3. Tinygram Compression

 An issue in remote Ethernet bridging is that the protocols that are
 most attractive to bridge are prone to problems on low speed (64 KBPS
 and below) lines.  This can be partially alleviated by observing that
 the vendors defining these protocols often fill the PDU with octets
 of ZERO.  Thus, an Ethernet or IEEE 802.3 PDU received from a line
 that is (1) smaller than the minimum PDU size, and (2) has a LAN
 Frame Checksum present, must be padded by inserting zeroes between
 the last four octets and the rest of the PDU before transmitting it
 on a LAN.  These protocols are frequently used for interactive
 sessions, and therefore are frequently this small.
 To prevent ambiguity, PDUs requiring padding are explicitly tagged.
 Compression is at the option of the transmitting station, and is
 probably performed only on low speed lines, perhaps under
 configuration control.
 The pseudo-code in Figure 1 describes the algorithms.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 6] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

5.4. LAN Identification

 In some applications, it is useful to tag traffic by the user
 community it is a part of, and guarantee that it will be only emitted
 onto a LAN which is of the same community.  The user community is
 defined by a LAN ID.  Systems which choose to not implement this
 feature must assume that any frame received having a LAN ID is from a
 different community than theirs, and discard it.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 7] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

Figure 1: Tinygram Compression Pseudo-Code

PPP Transmitter:

if (ZeroPadCompressionEnabled &&

  BridgedProtocolHeaderFormat == IEEE8023 &&
  PacketLength == Minimum8023PacketLength) {

/*

  • Remove any continuous run of zero octets preceding,
  • but not including, the LAN FCS, but not extending
  • into the MAC header.
  • /

Set (ZeroCompressionFlag); /* Signal receiver */

  if (is_Set (LAN_FCS_Present)) {
      FCS = TrailingOctets (PDU, 4);    /* Store FCS */
      RemoveTrailingOctets (PDU, 4);    /* Remove FCS */
      while (PacketLength > 14 &&       /* Stop at MAC header */
             TrailingOctet (PDU) == 0)  /*  or last non-zero octet */
          RemoveTrailingOctets (PDU, 1);/* Remove zero octet */
      Appendbuf (PDU, 4, FCS);          /* Restore FCS */
  }
  else {
      while (PacketLength > 14 &&       /* Stop at MAC header */
             TrailingOctet (PDU) == 0)  /*  or last zero octet */
          RemoveTrailingOctets (PDU, 1);/* Remove zero octet */
  }

}

PPP Receiver:

if (ZeroCompressionFlag) { /* Flag set in header? */ /* Restoring packet to minimum 802.3 length */

  Clear (ZeroCompressionFlag);
  if (is_Set (LAN_FCS_Present)) {
      FCS = TrailingOctets (PDU, 4);   /* Store FCS */
      RemoveTrailingOctets (PDU, 4);   /* Remove FCS */
      Appendbuf (PDU, 60 - PacketLength, zeroes);/* Add zeroes */
      Appendbuf (PDU, 4, FCS);         /* Restore FCS */
  }
  else {
      Appendbuf (PDU, 60 - PacketLength, zeroes);/* Add zeroes */
  }

}

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 8] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

6. Protocol Data Unit Formats

6.1. Common LAN Traffic

 Figure 2: 802.3 Frame 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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |   HDLC FLAG   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |      0xFF     |      0x03     |      0x00     |      0x31     +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |F|I|Z|0| Count |    MAC Type   |  LAN ID high word (optional)  +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |   LAN ID low word (optional)  |      Destination MAC Address  +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                       Destination MAC Address                 +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                       Source MAC Address                      +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |     Source MAC Address        |      Length/Type              +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |               LLC data                                        +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                              ...                              +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                   LAN FCS (optional)                          +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                potential line protocol pad                    +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |           HDLC CRC            |   HDLC FLAG   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 For Bridging LAN traffic, the format of the frame on the line is as
 shown in Figures 2 or 3.  This conforms to RFC 1171 section 3.1
 "Frame Format".  It also allows for RFC 1172 [2] negotiation of
 Protocol Field Compression and Address and Control Field Compression.
 It is recommended that devices which use controllers that require
 even memory addresses negotiate to NOT USE Protocol Field Compression
 on other than low speed links.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 9] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 Figure 3: 802.4/802.5/FDDI Frame 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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |   HDLC FLAG   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |      0xFF     |      0x03     |      0x00     |      0x31     +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |F|I|Z|0| Count |    MAC Type   |  LAN ID high word (optional)  +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |   LAN ID low word (optional)  |   Pad Byte    | Frame Control +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                       Destination MAC Address                 +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |     Destination MAC Address   |  Source MAC Address           +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                       Source MAC Address                      +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |               LLC data                                        +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                              ...                              +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                       FCS (optional)                          +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |              optional Data Link Layer padding                 +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |           HDLC CRC            |   HDLC FLAG   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

The fields of this message are as follows:

Address Field and Control Field:

   As defined by RFC 1171

Protocol Field:

   0x0031

Flags:

   bits 0-3: length of the line protocol pad field.
   bit 4:  Reserved, Set to Zero
   bit 5:  Set if IEEE 802.3 Pad must be zero filled to minimum size
   bit 6:  Set if the LAN ID Field is present
   bit 7:  Set if the LAN FCS Field is present
   The "number of trailing "pad" octets is a deference to the fact
   that any point-to-point frame may have padding at the end.  This

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 10] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

   number tells the receiving system how many octets to strip off the
   end.

MAC Type:

   0: Reserved
   1: IEEE 802.3/Ethernet
   2: IEEE 802.4
   3: IEEE 802.5
   4: FDDI
   other:  Assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

LAN ID:

   This optional 32 bit field identifies the Community of LANs which
   may be interested to receive this frame, as described in section
   5.4.  If the LAN ID flag is not set, then this field is not
   present, and the PDU is four octets shorter.

Frame Control:

   On 802.4, 802.5, and FDDI LANs, there are a few octets preceding
   the Destination MAC Address, one of which is protected by the FCS.
   Since the MAC Type field defines the bit ordering, these are sent
   in MAC order.  A pad octet is present to avoid odd machine address
   boundary problems.

Destination MAC Address:

   As defined by the IEEE.  Since the MAC Type field defines the bit
   ordering, this is sent in MAC order.

Source MAC Address:

   As defined by the IEEE.  Since the MAC Type field defines the bit
   ordering, this is sent in MAC order.

LLC data:

   This is the remainder of the MAC frame.  This is that portion of
   the frame which is (or would be were it present) protected by the
   LAN FCS; for example, the 802.5 Access Control field, and Status
   Trailer are not meaningful to transmit to another ring, and are
   omitted.

LAN Frame Checksum:

   If present, this is the LAN FCS which was calculated by (or which
   appears to have been calculated by) the originating station.  If
   the FCS Present flag is not set, then this field is not present,
   and the PDU is four octets shorter.

Optional Data Link Layer Padding

   RFC 1171 specifies that an arbitrary pad can be added after the
   data intended for transmission.  The "Count" portion of the flag

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 11] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

   field contains the length of this pad, which may not exceed 15
   octets.

CRC-CCITT

   Mentioned primarily for clarity.  The CRC used on the PPP link is
   separate from and unrelated to the LAN FCS.

6.2. IEEE 802.1 Bridge

 This is the BPDU as defined by IEEE 802.1(d), without any MAC or
 802.2 LLC header (these being functionally equivalent to the Address,
 Control, and Protocol Fields).  The LAN Pad and Frame Checksum fields
 are likewise superfluous and absent. The Address and Control Fields
 are optional, subject to the Address and Control Field Compression
 negotiation.
 Figure 4: Bridge "Hello" PDU
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |   HDLC FLAG   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |      0xFF     |      0x03     |      0x02     |      0x01     +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |              BPDU data                                        +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                              ...                              +
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |           HDLC CRC            |   HDLC FLAG   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 The fields of this message are as follows:
 Address Field and Control Field:
      As defined by RFC 1171
 Protocol Field:
      0x0201
 MAC Frame:
      802.1(d) BPDU

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 12] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

6.3. IEEE 802 Network Control Protocol

 The Bridge Network Control Protocol is responsible for configuring,
 enabling, and disabling the bridges on both ends of the point-to-
 point link.  As with the Link Control Protocol, this is accomplished
 through an exchange of packets.  BNCP packets may not be exchanged
 until LCP has reached the network-layer Protocol Configuration
 Negotiation phase.  Likewise, LAN traffic may not be exchanged until
 BNCP has first opened the connection.
 The Bridge Network Control Protocol is exactly the same as the Point-
 to-Point Link Control Protocol with the following exceptions:
 Data Link Layer Protocol Field
      Exactly one Bridge Network Control Protocol packet is encapsulated
      in the Information field of PPP Data Link Layer frames where the
      Protocol field indicates type hex 8031 (BNCP).
 Code field
      Only Codes 1 through 7 (Configure-Request, Configure-Ack,
      Configure-Nak, Configure-Reject, Terminate-Request,
      Terminate-Ack and Code-Reject) are used.  Other Codes should
      be treated as unrecognized and should result in Code-Rejects.
 Timeouts
      BNCP packets may not be exchanged until the Link Control
      Protocol has reached the network-layer Protocol Configuration
      Negotiation phase.  An implementation should be prepared to wait
      for Link Quality testing to finish before timing out waiting
      for Configure-Ack or other response.
 Configuration Option Types
      The Bridge Network Control Protocol has a separate set of
      Configuration Options.  These permit the negotiation of the
      following items:
  1. MAC Types supported
  2. Tinygram Compression support
  3. LAN Identification support
  4. Ring and Bridge Identification

6.4. IEEE 802.5 Remote Ring Identification Option

 Since the Remote Bridges are modeled as normal Bridges with a strange
 internal interface, each bridge needs to know the ring/bridge numbers
 of the bridges it is adjacent to.  This is the subject of a Link
 Negotiation.  The exchange of ring-and-bridge identifiers is done
 using this option on the Network Control Protocol.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 13] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 The Token Ring Ring-and-Bridge Identifier, and its use, is specified
 by the IEEE 802.5 Addendum on Source Routing.  It identifies the ring
 that the interface is attached to by its configured ring number, and
 itself by bridge number on the ring.
 Figure 5: Remote Ring Identification Option
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |     type=1    |length = 4     | ring number           |bridge#|
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Type 1 = IEEE 802.5 Source Routing Ring/Bridge Identifier
 Length
      4 Octets
 Ring Number
      A 12 bit number identifying the token ring, as defined in the
      IEEE 802.5 Source Routing Specification.
 Bridge Number
      A 4 bit number identifying the bridge on the token ring, as
      defined in the IEEE 802.5 Source Routing Specification.

6.5. IEEE 802.5 Line Identification Option

 This option permits the systems to treat the line as a visible "Token
 Ring", in accordance with the Source Routing algorithm.  The bridges
 exchange ring-and-bridge identifiers using this option on the Network
 Control Protocol.  The configured ring numbers must be identical in
 normal operation.
 The Token Ring Ring-and-Bridge Identifier, and its use, is specified
 by the IEEE 802.5 Addendum on Source Routing.  It identifies the ring
 that the interface is attached to by its configured ring number, and
 itself by bridge number on the ring.
 Figure 6: Line Identification Option
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |     type=2    |length = 4     | ring number           |bridge#|
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 14] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 Type 2 = IEEE 802.5 Line "Ring/Bridge" Identifier
 Length
      4 Octets
 Ring Number
      A 12 bit number identifying the line, as defined in the
      IEEE 802.5 Source Routing Specification.
 Bridge Number
      A 4 bit number identifying the bridge on the token ring, as
      defined in the IEEE 802.5 Source Routing Specification.

6.6. MAC Type Support Selection

 The MAC Type Selection Option is provided to permit nodes to
 advertise what sort of traffic they are prepared to convey.  A device
 negotiating a 1600 octet MRU, for example, may not be willing to
 support 802.5 (although it might, with certain changes necessary in
 the RIFs it passes, and given that the hosts it supports implement
 the 802.5 Maximum Frame Size correctly), and is definitely not
 prepared to support 802.4 or FDDI.
 A system which does not announce the MAC Types that it supports may
 be assumed to support all MAC Types; it will discard those that it
 does not understand.  A system which chooses to announce MAC Types is
 advising its neighbor that all unspecified MAC Types will be
 discarded.  Announcement of multiple MAC Types is accomplished by
 placing multiple options in the Configure Request.
 The Rejection of a MAC Type Announcement (in a Configure-Reject) is
 essentially a statement that traffic appropriate to the MAC Type, if
 encountered, will be forwarded on the link even though the receiving
 system has indicated it will discard it.
 Figure 7: MAC Type Selection Option
  0                   1                   2
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |     type=3    |length = 3     | MAC Type      |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Type 3 = MAC Type Selector
 Length
      3 Octets

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 15] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 MAC Type Selector
      One of the values of the PDU's MAC Type Field that this system is
      prepared to receive and service.

6.7. Tinygram Compression

 Not all systems are prepared to make modifications to messages in
 transit; on high speed lines, it is probably not worth the effort.
 This option permits the system to negotiate compression.
 Consistent with the behavior of other compression options in the
 Internet Point-to-Point set of protocols, no negotiation implies no
 compression.  The systems need not agree on the setting of this
 parameter; one may be willing to decompress and the other not.  A
 system which does not negotiate, or negotiates this option to be
 disabled, should never receive a compressed packet, however.
 Figure 8: Tinygram Compression Option
  0                   1                   2
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |     type=4    |length = 3     | Compression   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Type 4 = Tinygram Compression Support Option
 Length
      3 Octets
 Compression Enable/Disable
      If the value is 1, Tinygram Compression is enabled.  If the
      value is 2, Tinygram Compression is disabled, and no
      decompression will occur.

6.8. LAN Identification Support

 Not all systems are prepared to make use of the LAN Identification
 field.  This option enables the systems to negotiate its use.
 The parameter is advisory; if the value is "enabled", then there may
 exist labeled LANs beyond the system, and the system is prepared to
 service traffic to it.  if the value is "disabled", then there are no
 labeled LANs beyond the system, and all such traffic will by
 definition be dropped.  Therefore, a system which is advised that his
 peer does not service LAN Identifications need not forward such
 traffic on the link.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 16] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

 The default value is that LAN Identification disabled.
 Figure 9: LAN Identification Option
  0                   1                   2
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |     type=5    |length = 3     | Identification|
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Type 5 = LAN Identification Support Option
 Length
      3 Octets
 Identification Enable/Disable
      If the value is 1, LAN Identification is enabled.  If the value
      is 2, LAN Identification is disabled.

7. Acknowledgements

 This document is a product of the Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions
 Working Group.  Special thanks go to Steve Senum of Network Systems,
 Dino Farinacci of 3COM, and Rick Szmauz of Digital Equipment
 Corporation.

8. Bibliography

 [1] Perkins, D., "The Point-to-Point Protocol for the Transmission of
     Multi-Protocol Datagrams Over Point-to-Point Links", RFC 1171,
     CMU, July 1990.
 [2] Hobby R., and D. Perkins, "The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
     Initial Configuration Options", RFC 1172, CMU, UC Davis, July
     1990.
 [3] IEEE Draft Standard P802.1d/D9 MAC Bridges, Institute of
     Electrical and Electronic Engineers.  Also Published as ISO DIS
     10038, July 1989.
 [4] IEEE Draft Standard P802.5d/D13 Draft Addendum to ANSI/IEEE Std
     802.5-1988 Token Ring MAC and PHY Specification Enhancement for
     Multiple-Ring Networks, Institute of Electrical and Electronic
     Engineers, May 1989.

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 17] RFC 1220 Bridging Point-to-Point Protocol April 1991

9. Security Considerations

 Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

10. Author's Address

 Fred Baker
 Advanced Computer Communications
 720 Santa Barbara Street
 Santa Barbara, CA 93101
 Phone: (805) 963-9431
 EMail: fbaker@ACC.COM
 Or send comments to: ietf-ppp@ucdavis.edu

Point-to-Point Protocol Extensions Working Group [Page 18]

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