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rfc:rfc3913

Network Working Group D. Thaler Request for Comments: 3913 Microsoft Category: Informational September 2004

             Border Gateway Multicast Protocol (BGMP):
                       Protocol Specification

Status of this Memo

 This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
 not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
 memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).

Abstract

 This document describes the Border Gateway Multicast Protocol (BGMP),
 a protocol for inter-domain multicast routing.  BGMP builds shared
 trees for active multicast groups, and optionally allows receiver
 domains to build source-specific, inter-domain, distribution branches
 where needed.  BGMP natively supports "source-specific multicast"
 (SSM).  To also support "any-source multicast" (ASM), BGMP requires
 that each multicast group be associated with a single root (in BGMP
 it is referred to as the root domain).  It requires that different
 ranges of the multicast address space are associated (e.g., with
 Unicast-Prefix-Based Multicast addressing) with different domains.
 Each of these domains then becomes the root of the shared domain-
 trees for all groups in its range.  Multicast participants will
 generally receive better multicast service if the session initiator's
 address allocator selects addresses from its own domain's part of the
 space, thereby causing the root domain to be local to at least one of
 the session participants.

Thaler Informational [Page 1] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

Table of Contents

 1.  Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
 2.  Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
 3.  Protocol Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
     3.1.  Design Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
 4.  Protocol Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     4.1.  Interaction with the EGP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     4.2.  Multicast Data Packet Processing . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
     4.3.  BGMP processing of Join and Prune messages and
           notifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
           4.3.1.  Receiving Joins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
           4.3.2.  Receiving Prune Notifications. . . . . . . . . . 11
           4.3.3.  Receiving Route Change Notifications . . . . . . 12
           4.3.4.  Receiving (S,G) Poison-Reverse messages. . . . . 12
     4.4.  Interaction with M-IGP components. . . . . . . . . . . . 13
           4.4.1.  Interaction with DVMRP and PIM-DM. . . . . . . . 14
           4.4.2.  Interaction with PIM-SM. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
           4.4.3.  Interaction with CBT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
           4.4.4.  Interaction with MOSPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
     4.5.  Operation over Multi-access Networks . . . . . . . . . . 17
     4.6.  Interaction between (S,G) state and G-routes . . . . . . 18
 5.  Message Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     5.1.  Message Header Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
     5.2.  OPEN Message Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
     5.3.  UPDATE Message Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     5.4.  Encoding examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     5.5.  KEEPALIVE Message Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     5.6.  NOTIFICATION Message Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
 6.  BGMP Error Handling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
     6.1.  Message Header error handling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
     6.2.  OPEN message error handling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
     6.3.  UPDATE message error handling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
     6.4.  NOTIFICATION message error handling. . . . . . . . . . . 32
     6.5.  Hold Timer Expired error handling. . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     6.6.  Finite State Machine error handling. . . . . . . . . . . 32
     6.7.  Cease. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     6.8.  Connection collision detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
 7.  BGMP Version Negotiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
     7.1.  BGMP Capability Negotiation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
 8.  BGMP Finite State machine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
 9.  Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
 10. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
 11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
     11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
     11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
 Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Thaler Informational [Page 2] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

1. Purpose

 It has been suggested that inter-domain "any-source" multicast is
 better supported with a rendezvous mechanism whereby members receive
 sources' data packets without any sort of global broadcast (e.g.,
 MSDP broadcasts source information, PIM-DM [PIMDM] and DVMRP [DVMRP]
 broadcast initial data packets, and MOSPF [MOSPF] broadcasts
 membership information).  PIM-SM [PIMSM] and CBT [CBT] use a shared
 group-tree, to which all members join and thereby hear from all
 sources (and to which non-members do not join and thereby hear from
 no sources).
 This document describes BGMP, a protocol for inter-domain multicast
 routing.  BGMP natively supports "source-specific multicast" (SSM).
 To also support "any-source multicast" (ASM), BGMP builds shared
 trees for active multicast groups, and allows domains to build
 source-specific, inter-domain, distribution branches where needed.
 Building upon concepts from PIM-SM and CBT, BGMP requires that each
 global multicast group be associated with a single root.  However, in
 BGMP, the root is an entire exchange or domain, rather than a single
 router.
 For non-source-specific groups, BGMP assumes that ranges of the
 multicast address space have been associated (e.g., with Unicast-
 Prefix-Based Multicast [V4PREFIX,V6PREFIX] addressing) with selected
 domains.  Each such domain then becomes the root of the shared
 domain-trees for all groups in its range.  An address allocator will
 generally achieve better distribution trees if it takes its multicast
 addresses from its own domain's part of the space, thereby causing
 the root domain to be local.
 BGMP uses TCP as its transport protocol.  This eliminates the need to
 implement message fragmentation, retransmission, acknowledgement, and
 sequencing.  BGMP uses TCP port 264 for establishing its connections.
 This port is distinct from BGP's port to provide protocol
 independence, and to facilitate distinguishing between protocol
 packets (e.g., by packet classifiers, diagnostic utilities, etc.)
 Two BGMP peers form a TCP connection between one another, and
 exchange messages to open and confirm the connection parameters.
 They then send incremental Join/Prune Updates as group memberships
 change.  BGMP does not require periodic refresh of individual
 entries.  KeepAlive messages are sent periodically to ensure the
 liveness of the connection.  Notification messages are sent in
 response to errors or special conditions.  If a connection encounters
 an error condition, a notification message is sent and the connection
 is closed if the error is a fatal one.

Thaler Informational [Page 3] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

2. Terminology

 This document uses the following technical terms:
 Domain:
    A set of one or more contiguous links and zero or more routers
    surrounded by one or more multicast border routers.  Note that
    this loose definition of domain also applies to an external link
    between two domains, as well as an exchange.
 Root Domain:
    When constructing a shared tree of domains for some group, one
    domain will be the "root" of the tree.  The root domain receives
    data from each sender to the group, and functions as a rendezvous
    domain toward which member domains can send inter-domain joins,
    and to which sender domains can send data.
 Multicast RIB:
    The Routing Information Base, or routing table, used to calculate
    the "next-hop" towards a particular address for multicast traffic.
 Multicast IGP (M-IGP):
    A generic term for any multicast routing protocol used for tree
    construction within a domain.  Typical examples of M-IGPs are:
    PIM-SM, PIM-DM, DVMRP, MOSPF, and CBT.
 EGP: A generic term for the interdomain unicast routing protocol in
    use.
    Typically, this will be some version of BGP which can support a
    Multicast RIB, such as MBGP [MBGP], containing both unicast and
    multicast address prefixes.
 Component:
    The portion of a border router associated with (and logically
    inside) a particular domain that runs the multicast IGP (M-IGP)
    for that domain, if any.  Each border router thus has zero or more
    components inside routing domains.  In addition, each border
    router with external links that do not fall inside any routing
    domain will have an inter-domain component that runs BGMP.
 External peer:
    A border router in another multicast AS (autonomous system, as
    used in BGP), to which a BGMP TCP-connection is open.  If BGP is
    being used as the EGP, a separate "eBGP" TCP-connection will also
    be open to the same peer.

Thaler Informational [Page 4] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 Internal peer:
    Another border router of the same multicast AS.  If BGP is being
    used as the EGP, the border router either speaks iBGP ("internal"
    BGP) directly to internal peers in a full mesh, or indirectly
    through a route reflector [REFLECT].
 Next-hop peer:
    The next-hop peer towards a given IP address is the next EGP
    router on the path to the given address, according to multicast
    RIB routes in the EGP's routing table (e.g., in MBGP, routes whose
    Subsequent Address Family Identifier field indicates that the
    route is valid for multicast traffic).
 target:
    Either an EGP peer, or an M-IGP component.
 Tree State Table:
    This is a table of (S-prefix,G) and (*,G-prefix) entries that have
    been explicitly joined by a set of targets.  Each entry has, in
    addition to the source and group addresses and masks, a list of
    targets that have explicitly requested data (on behalf of directly
    connected hosts or downstream routers).  (S,G) entries also have
    an "SPT" bit.
 The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", and "MAY"
 in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

3. Protocol Overview

 BGMP maintains group-prefix state in response to messages from BGMP
 peers and notifications from M-IGP components.  Group-shared trees
 are rooted at the domain advertising the group prefix covering those
 groups.  When a receiver joins a specific group address, the border
 router towards the root domain generates a group-specific Join
 message, which is then forwarded Border-Router-by-Border-Router
 towards the root domain (see Figure 1).  BGMP Join and Prune messages
 are sent over TCP connections between BGMP peers, and BGMP protocol
 state is refreshed by KEEPALIVE messages periodically sent over TCP.
 BGMP routers build group-specific bidirectional forwarding state as
 they process the BGMP Join messages.  Bidirectional forwarding state
 means that packets received from any target are forwarded to all
 other targets in the target list without any RPF checks.  No group-
 specific state or traffic exists in parts of the network where there
 are no members of that group.

Thaler Informational [Page 5] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 BGMP routers optionally build source-specific unidirectional
 forwarding state, only where needed, to be compatible with source-
 specific trees (SPTs) used by some M-IGPs (e.g., DVMRP, PIM-DM, or
 PIM-SM), or to construct trees for source-specific groups.  A domain
 that uses an SPT-based M-IGP may need to inject multicast packets
 from external sources via different border routers (to be compatible
 with the M-IGP RPF checks) which thus act as "surrogates".  For
 example, in the Transit_1 domain, data from Src_A arrives at BR12,
 but must be injected by BR11.  A surrogate router may create a
 source-specific BGMP branch if no shared tree state exists.  Note:
 stub domains with a single border router, such as Rcvr_Stub_7 in
 Figure 1, receive all multicast data packets through that router, to
 which all RPF checks point.  Therefore, stub domains never build
 source-specific state.
           Root_Domain
            [BR91]--------------------------\
               |                            |
            [BR32]                         [BR41]
           Transit_3                     Transit_4
            [BR31]                      [BR42] [BR43]
               |                          |      |
            [BR22]                      [BR52] [BR53]
           Transit_2                     Transit_5
            [BR21]                         [BR51]
               |                            |
            [BR12]                         [BR61]
           Transit_1[BR11]----------[BR62]Stub_6
            [BR13]                        (Src_A)
               |                          (Rcvr_D)
     -------------------
     |                 |
  [BR71]              [BR81]
 Rcvr_Stub_7       Src_only_Stub_8
 (Rcvr_C)             (Src_B)
 Figure 1: Example inter-domain topology.  [BRxy] represents a BGMP
 border router.  Transit_X is a transit domain network.  *_Stub_X is a
 stub domain network.
 Data packets are forwarded based on a combination of BGMP and M-IGP
 rules.  The router forwards to a set of targets according to a
 matching (S,G) BGMP tree state entry if it exists.  If not found, the
 router checks for a matching (*,G) BGMP tree state entry.  If neither
 is found, then the packet is sent natively to the next-hop EGP peer
 for G, according to the Multicast RIB (for example, in the case of a
 non-member sender such as Src_B in Figure 1).  If a matching entry
 was found, the packet is forwarded to all other targets in the target

Thaler Informational [Page 6] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 list.  In this way BGMP trees forward data in a bidirectional manner.
 If a target is an M-IGP component then forwarding is subject to the
 rules of that M-IGP protocol.

3.1. Design Rationale

 Several other protocols, or protocol proposals, build shared trees
 within domains [PIMSM, CBT].  The design choices made for BGMP result
 from our focus on Inter-Domain multicast in particular.  The design
 choices made by PIM-SM and CBT are better suited to the wide-area
 intra-domain case.  There are three major differences between BGMP
 and other shared-tree protocols:
 (1) Unidirectional vs. Bidirectional trees
 Bidirectional trees (using bidirectional forwarding state as
 described above) minimize third party dependence which is essential
 in the inter-domain context.  For example, in Figure 1, stub domains
 7 and 8 would like to exchange multicast packets without being
 dependent on the quality of connectivity of the root domain.
 However, unidirectional shared trees (i.e., those using RPF checks)
 have more aggressive loop prevention and share the same processing
 rules as source-specific entries which are inherently unidirectional.
 The lack of third party dependence concerns in the INTRA domain case
 reduces the incentive to employ bidirectional trees.  BGMP supports
 bidirectional trees because it has to, and because it can without
 excessive cost.
 (2) Source-specific distribution trees/branches
 In a departure from other shared tree protocols, source-specific BGMP
 state is built ONLY where (a) it is needed to pull the multicast
 traffic down to a BGMP router that has source-specific (S,G) state,
 and (b) that router is NOT already on the shared tree (i.e., has no
 (*,G) state), and (c) that router does not want to receive packets
 via encapsulation from a router which is on the shared tree.  BGMP
 provides source-specific branches because most M-IGP protocols in use
 today build source-specific trees.  BGMP's source-specific branches
 eliminate the unnecessary overhead of encapsulations for high data
 rate sources from the shared tree's ingress router to the surrogate
 injector (e.g., from BR12 to BR11 in Figure 1).  Moreover, cases in
 which shared paths are significantly longer than SPT paths will also
 benefit.
 However, except for source-specific group distribution trees, we do
 not build source-specific inter-domain trees in general because (a)
 inter-domain connectivity is generally less rich than intra-domain

Thaler Informational [Page 7] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 connectivity, so shared distribution trees should have more
 acceptable path length and traffic concentration properties in the
 inter-domain context, than in the intra-domain case, and (b) by
 having the shared tree state always take precedence over source-
 specific tree state, we avoid ambiguities that can otherwise arise.
 In summary, BGMP trees are, in a sense, a hybrid between PIM-SM and
 CBT trees.
 (3) Method of choosing root of group shared tree
 The choice of a group's shared-tree-root has implications for
 performance and policy.  In the intra-domain case it is sometimes
 assumed that all potential shared-tree roots (RPs/Cores) within the
 domain are equally suited to be the root for a group that is
 initiated within that domain.  In the INTER-domain case, there is far
 more opportunity for unacceptably poor locality, and administrative
 control of a group's shared-tree root.  Therefore in the intra-domain
 case, other protocols sometimes treat all candidate roots (RPs or
 Cores) as equivalent and emphasize load sharing and stability to
 maximize performance.  In the Inter-Domain case, all roots are not
 equivalent, and we adopt an approach whereby a group's root domain is
 not random but is subject to administrative control.

4. Protocol Details

 In this section, we describe the detailed protocol that border
 routers perform.  We assume that each border router conforms to the
 component-based model described in [INTEROP], modulo one correction
 to section 3.2 ("BGMP" Dispatcher), as follows:
 The iif owner of a (*,G) entry is the component owning the next-hop
 interface towards the nominal root of G, in the multicast RIB.

4.1. Interaction with the EGP

 The fundamental requirements imposed by BGMP are that:
 (1)   For a given source-specific group and source, BGMP must be able
       to look up the next-hop towards the source in the Multicast
       RIB, and
 (2)   For a given non-source-specific group, BGMP will map the group
       address to a nominal "root" address, and must be able to look
       up the next-hop towards that address in the Multicast RIB.

Thaler Informational [Page 8] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 BGMP determines the nominal "root" address as follows.  If the
 multicast address is a Unicast-Prefix-based Multicast address, then
 the nominal root address is the embedded unicast prefix, padded with
 a suffix of 0 bits to form a full address.
 For example, if the IPv6 group address is
 ff2e:0100:1234:5678:9abc:def0::123, then the unicast prefix is
 1234:5678:9abc:def0/64, and the nominal root address would be
 1234:5678:9abc:def0::.  (This address is in fact the subnet router
 anycast address [IPv6AA].)
 Support for any-source-multicast using any address other than a
 Unicast-prefix-based Multicast Address is outside the scope of this
 document.

4.2. Multicast Data Packet Processing

 For BGMP rules to be applied, an incoming packet must first be
 "accepted":
 o  If the packet arrived on an interface owned by an M-IGP, the M-IGP
    component determines whether the packet should be accepted or
    dropped according to its rules.  If the packet is accepted, the
    packet is forwarded (or not forwarded) out any other interfaces
    owned by the same component, as specified by the M-IGP.
 o  If the packet was received over a point-to-point interface owned
    by BGMP, the packet is accepted.
 o  If the packet arrived on a multiaccess network interface owned by
    BGMP, the packet is accepted if it is receiving data on a source-
    specific branch, if it is the designated forwarder for the longest
    matching route for S, or for the longest matching route for the
    nominal root of G.
 If the packet is accepted, then the router checks the tree state
 table for a matching (S,G) entry.  If one is found, but the packet
 was not received from the next hop target towards S (if the entry's
 SPT bit is True), or was not received from the next hop target
 towards G (if the entry's SPT bit is False) then the packet is
 dropped and no further actions are taken.  If no (S,G) entry was
 found, the router then checks for a matching (*,G) entry.
 If neither is found, then the packet is forwarded towards the next-
 hop peer for the nominal root of G, according to the Multicast RIB.
 If a matching entry was found, the packet is forwarded to all other
 targets in the target list.

Thaler Informational [Page 9] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 Forwarding to a target which is an M-IGP component means that the
 packet is forwarded out any interfaces owned by that component
 according to that component's multicast forwarding rules.

4.3. BGMP processing of Join and Prune messages and notifications

4.3.1. Receiving Joins

 When the BGMP component receives a (*,G) or (S,G) Join alert from
 another component, or a BGMP (S,G) or (*,G) Join message from an
 external peer, it searches the tree state table for a matching entry.
 If an entry is found, and that peer is already listed in the target
 list, then no further actions are taken.
 Otherwise, if no (*,G) or (S,G) entry was found, one is created.  In
 the case of a (*,G), the target list is initialized to contain the
 next-hop peer towards the nominal root of G, if it is an external
 peer.  If the peer is internal, the target list is initialized to
 contain the M-IGP component owning the next-hop interface.  If there
 is no next-hop peer (because the nominal root of G is inside the
 domain), then the target  list is initialized to contain the next-hop
 component.  If an (S,G) entry exists for the same G for which the
 (*,G) Join is being processed, and the next-hop peers toward S and
 the nominal root of G are different, the BGMP router must first send
 a (S,G) Prune message toward the source and clear the SPT bit on the
 (S,G) entry, before activating the (*,G) entry.
 When creating (S,G) state, if the source is internal to the BGMP
 speaker's domain, a "Poison-Reverse" bit (PR-bit) is set.  This bit
 indicates that the router may receive packets matching (S,G) anyway
 due to the BGMP speaker being a member of a domain on the path
 between S and the root domain.  (Depending on the M-IGP protocol, it
 may in fact receive such packets anyway only if it is the best exit
 for the nominal root of G.)
 The target from which the Join was received is then added to the
 target list.  The router then looks up S or the nominal root of G in
 the Multicast RIB to find the next-hop EGP peer.  If the target list,
 not including the next-hop target towards G for a (*,G) entry,
 becomes non-null as a result, the next-hop EGP peer must be notified
 as follows:
 a) If the next-hop peer towards the nominal root of G (for a (*,G)
    entry) is an external peer, a BGMP (*,G) Join message is unicast
    to the external peer.  If the next-hop peer towards S (for an
    (S,G) entry) is an external peer, and the router does NOT have any
    active (*,G) state for that group address G, a BGMP (S,G) Join
    message is unicast to the external peer.  A BGMP (S,G) Join

Thaler Informational [Page 10] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

    message is never sent to an external peer by a router that also
    contains active (*,G) state for the same group.  If the next-hop
    peer towards S (for an (S,G entry) is an external peer and the
    router DOES have active (*,G) state for that group G, the SPT bit
    is always set to False.
 b) If the next-hop peer is an internal peer, a (*,G) or (S,G) Join
    alert is sent to the M-IGP component owning the next-hop
    interface.
 c) If there is no next-hop peer, a (*,G) or (S,G) Join alert is sent
    to the M-IGP component owning the next-hop interface.
 Finally, if an (S,G) Join is received from an internal peer, the peer
 should be stored with the M-IGP component target.  If (S,G) state
 exists with the PR-bit set, and the next-hop towards the nominal root
 for G is through the M-IGP component, an (S,G) Poison-Reverse message
 is immediately sent to the internal peer.
 If an (S,G) Join is received from an external peer, and (S,G) state
 exists with the PR-bit set, and the local BGMP speaker is the best
 exit for the nominal root of G, and the next-hop towards the nominal
 root for G is through the interface towards the external peer, an
 (S,G) Poison-Reverse message is immediately sent to the external
 peer.

4.3.2. Receiving Prune Notifications

 When the BGMP component receives a (*,G) or (S,G) Prune alert from
 another component, or a BGMP (*,G) or (S,G) Prune message from an
 external peer, it searches the tree state table for a matching entry.
 If no (S,G) entry was found for an (S,G) Prune, but (*,G) state
 exists, an (S,G) entry is created, with the target list copied from
 the (*,G) entry.  If no matching entry exists, or if the component or
 peer is not listed in the target list, no further actions are taken.
 Otherwise, the component or peer is removed from the target list.  If
 the target list becomes null as a result, the next-hop peer towards
 the nominal root of G (for a (*,G) entry), or towards S (for an (S,G)
 entry if and only if the BGMP router does NOT have any corresponding
 (*,G) entry), must be notified as follows.
 a) If the peer is an external peer, a BGMP (*,G) or (S,G) Prune
    message is unicast to it.
 b) If the next-hop peer is an internal peer, a (*,G) or (S,G) Prune
    alert is sent to the M-IGP component owning the next-hop
    interface.

Thaler Informational [Page 11] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 c) If there is no next-hop peer, a (*,G) or (S,G) Prune alert is sent
    to the M-IGP component owning the next-hop interface.

4.3.3. Receiving Route Change Notifications

 When a border router receives a route for a new prefix in the
 multicast RIB, or a existing route for a prefix is withdrawn, a route
 change notification for that prefix must be sent to the BGMP
 component.  In addition, when the next hop peer (according to the
 multicast RIB) changes, a route change notification for that prefix
 must be sent to the BGMP component.
 In addition, in IPv4 (only), an internal route for each class-D
 prefix associated with the domain (if any) MUST be injected into the
 multicast RIB in the EGP by the domain's border routers.
 When a route for a new group prefix is learned, or an existing route
 for a group prefix is withdrawn, or the next-hop peer for a group
 prefix changes, a BGMP router updates all affected (*,G) target
 lists.  The router sends a (*,G) Join to the new next-hop target, and
 a (*,G) Prune to the old next-hop target, as appropriate.  In
 addition, if any (S,G) state exists with the PR-bit set:
 o  If the BGMP speaker has just become the best exit for the nominal
    root of G, an (S,G) Poison Reverse message with the PR-bit set is
    sent as noted below.
 o  If the BGMP speaker was the best exit for the nominal root of G
    and is no longer, an (S,G) Poison Reverse message with the PR-bit
    clear is sent as noted below.
 The (S,G) Poison-Reverse messages are sent to all external peers on
 the next-hop interface towards the nominal root of G from which (S,G)
 Joins have been received.
 When an existing route for a source prefix is withdrawn, or the
 next-hop peer for a source prefix changes, a BGMP router updates all
 affected (S,G) target lists.  The router sends a (S,G) Join to the
 new next-hop target, and a (S,G) Prune to the old next-hop target, as
 appropriate.

4.3.4. Receiving (S,G) Poison-Reverse messages

 When a BGMP speaker receives an (S,G) Poison-Reverse message from a
 peer, it sets the PR-bit on the (S,G) state to match the PR-bit in
 the message, and looks up the next-hop towards the nominal root of G.
 If the next-hop target is an M-IGP component, it forwards the (S,G)
 Poison Reverse message to all internal peers of that component from

Thaler Informational [Page 12] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 which it has received (S,G) Joins.  If the next-hop target is an
 external peer on a given interface, it forwards the (S,G) Poison
 Reverse message to all external peers on that interface.
 When a BGMP speaker receives an (S,G) Poison-Reverse message from an
 external peer, with the PR-bit set, and the speaker has received no
 (S,G) Joins from any other peers (e.g., only from the M-IGP, or has
 (S,G) state due to encapsulation as described in 5.4.1), it knows
 that its own (S,G) Join is unnecessary, and should send an (S,G)
 Prune.
 When a BGMP speaker receives an (S,G) Poison-Reverse message from an
 internal peer, with the PR-bit set, and the speaker is the best exit
 for the nominal root of G, and has (S,G) prune state, an (S,G) Join
 message is sent to cancel the prune state and the state is deleted.

4.4. Interaction with M-IGP components

 When an M-IGP component on a border router first learns that there
 are internally-reached members for a group G (whose scope is larger
 than that domain), a (*,G) Join alert is sent to the BGMP component.
 Similarly, when an M-IGP component on a border router learns that
 there are no longer internally-reached members for a group G (whose
 scope is larger than a single domain), a (*,G) Prune alert is sent to
 the BGMP component.
 At any time, any M-IGP domain MAY decide to join a source-specific
 branch for some external source S and group G.  When the M-IGP
 component in the border router that is the next-hop router for a
 particular source S learns that a receiver wishes to receive data
 from S on a source-specific path, an (S,G) Join alert is sent to the
 BGMP component.  When it is learned that such receivers no longer
 exist, an (S,G) Prune alert is sent to the BGMP component.  Recall
 that the BGMP component will generate external source-specific Joins
 only where the source-specific branch does not coincide with the
 shared tree distribution tree for that group.
 Finally, we will require that the border router that is the next-hop
 internal peer for a particular address S or the nominal root of G be
 able to forward data for a matching tree state table entry to all
 members within the domain.  This requirement has implications on
 specific M-IGPs as follows.

Thaler Informational [Page 13] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

4.4.1. Interaction with DVMRP and PIM-DM

 DVMRP and PIM-DM are both "broadcast and prune" protocols in which
 every data packet must pass an RPF check against the packet's source
 address, or be dropped.  If the border router receiving packets from
 an external source is the only BR to inject the route for the source
 into the domain, then there are no problems.  For example, this will
 always be true for stub domains with a single border router (see
 Figure 1).  Otherwise, the border router receiving packets externally
 is responsible for encapsulating the data to any other border routers
 that must inject the data into the domain for RPF checks to succeed.
 When an intended border router injector for a source receives
 encapsulated packets from another border router in its domain, it
 should create source-specific (S,G) BGMP state.  Note that the border
 router may be configured to do this on a data-rate triggered basis so
 that the state is not created for very low data-rate/intermittent
 sources.  If source-specific state is created, then its incoming
 interface points to the virtual encapsulation interface from the
 border router that forwarded the packet, and it has an SPT flag that
 is initialized to be False.
 When the (S,G) BGMP state is created, the BGMP component will in turn
 send a BGMP (S,G) Join message to the next-hop external peer towards
 S if there is no (*,G) state for that same group, G.  The (S,G) BGMP
 state will have the SPT bit set to False if (*,G) BGMP state is
 present.
 When the first data packet from S arrives from the external peer and
 matches on the BGMP (S,G) state, and IF there is no (*,G) state, the
 router sets the SPT flag to True, resets the incoming interface to
 point to the external peer, and sends a BGMP (S,G) Prune message to
 the border router that was encapsulating the packets (e.g., in Figure
 1, BR11 sends the (Src_A,G) Prune to BR12).  When the border router
 with (*,G) state receives the prune for (S,G), it then deletes that
 border router from its list of targets.
 If the decapsulator receives a (S,G) Poison Reverse message with the
 PR-bit set, it will forward it to the encapsulator (which may again
 forward it up the shared tree according to normal BGMP rules), and
 both will delete their BGMP (S,G) state.
 PIM-DM and DVMRP present an additional problem, i.e., no protocol
 mechanism exists for joining and pruning entire groups; only joins
 and prunes for individual sources are available.  As a result, BGMP
 does not currently support such protocols being used in a transit
 domain.

Thaler Informational [Page 14] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

4.4.2. Interaction with PIM-SM

 Protocols such as PIM-SM build unidirectional shared and source-
 specific trees.  As with DVMRP and PIM-DM, every data packet must
 pass an RPF check against some group-specific or source-specific
 address.
 The fewest encapsulations/decapsulations will be done when the
 intra-domain tree is rooted at the next-hop internal peer (which
 becomes the RP) towards the nominal root of G, since in general that
 router will receive the most packets from external sources.  To
 achieve this, each BGMP border router to a PIM-SM domain should send
 Candidate-RP-Advertisements within the domain for those groups for
 which it is the shared-domain tree ingress router.  When the border
 router that is the RP for a group G receives an external data packet,
 it forwards the packet according to the M-IGP (i.e., PIM-SM) shared-
 tree outgoing interface list.
 Other border routers will receive data packets from external sources
 that are farther down the bidirectional tree of domains.  When a
 border router that is not the RP receives an external packet for
 which it does not have a source-specific entry, the border router
 treats it like a local source by creating (S,G) state with a Register
 flag set, based on normal PIM-SM rules; the Border router then
 encapsulates the data packets in PIM-SM Registers and unicasts them
 to the RP for the group.  As explained above, the RP for the inter-
 domain group will be one of the other border routers of the domain.
 If a source's data rate is high enough, DRs within the PIM-SM domain
 may switch to the shortest path tree.  If the shortest path to an
 external source is via the group's ingress router for the shared
 tree, the new (S,G) state in the BGMP border router will not cause
 BGMP (S,G) Joins because that border router will already have (*,G)
 state.  If however, the shortest path to an external source is via
 some other border router, that border router will create (S,G) BGMP
 state in response to the M-IGP (S,G) Join alert.  In this case,
 because there is no local (*,G) state to suppress it, the border
 router will send a BGMP (S,G) Join to the next-hop external peer
 towards S, in order to pull the data down directly.  (See BR11 in
 Figure 1).  As in normal PIM-SM operation, those PIM-SM routers that
 have (*,G) and (S,G) state pointing to different incoming interfaces
 will prune that source off the shared tree.  Therefore, all internal
 interfaces may be eventually pruned off the internal shared tree.

Thaler Informational [Page 15] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 After the border router sends a BGMP (S,G) Join, if its (S,G) state
 has the PR-bit clear, a (S,G) Poison-Reverse message (with the PR-bit
 clear) is sent to the ingress router for G.  The ingress router then
 creates (S,G) if it does not already exist, and removes the next hop
 towards the nominal root of G from the target list.
 If the border router later receives an (S,G) Poison-Reverse message
 with the PR-bit set, the Poison-Reverse message is forwarded to the
 ingress router for G.  The best-exit router then creates (S,G) state
 if it does not already exist, and puts the next hop towards the
 nominal root of G in the target list if not already present.

4.4.3. Interaction with CBT

 CBT builds bidirectional shared trees but must address two points of
 compatibility with BGMP.  First, CBT can not accommodate more than
 one border router injecting a packet.  Therefore, if a CBT domain
 does have multiple external connections, the M-IGP components of the
 border routers are responsible for insuring that only one of them
 will inject data from any given source.
 Second, CBT cannot process source-specific Joins or Prunes.  Two
 options thus exist for each CBT domain:
 Option A:
    The CBT component interprets a (S,G) Join alert as if it were an
    (*,G) Join alert, as described in [INTEROP].  That is, if it is
    not already on the core-tree for G, then it sends a CBT (*,G)
    JOIN-REQUEST message towards the core for G.  Similarly, when the
    CBT component receives an (S,G) Prune alert, and the child
    interface list for a group is NULL, then it sends a (*,G)
    QUIT_NOTIFICATION towards the core for G.  This option has the
    disadvantage of pulling all data for the group G down to the CBT
    domain when no members exist.
 Option B:
    The CBT domain does not propagate any routes to their external
    peers for the Multicast RIB unless it is known that no other path
    exists to that prefix (e.g., routes for prefixes internal to the
    domain or in a singly-homed customer's domain may be propagated).
    This insures that source-specific joins are never received unless
    the source's data already passes through the domain on the shared
    tree, in which case the (S,G) Join need not be propagated anyway.
    BGMP border routers will only send source-specific Joins or Prunes
    to an external peer if that external peer advertises source-
    prefixes in the EGP.  If a BGMP-CBT border router does receive an
    (S,G) Join or Prune, that border router should ignore the message.

Thaler Informational [Page 16] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 To minimize en/de-capsulations, CBTv2 BR's may follow the same scheme
 as described under PIM-SM above, in which Candidate-Core
 advertisements are sent for those groups for which it is the shared-
 tree ingress router.

4.4.4. Interaction with MOSPF

 As with CBTv2, MOSPF cannot process source-specific Joins or Prunes,
 and the same two options are available.  Therefore, an MOSPF domain
 may either:
 Option A:
    send a Group-Membership-LSA for all of G in response to a (S,G)
    Join alert, and "prematurely age" it out (when no other downstream
    members exist) in response to an (S,G) Prune alert, OR
 Option B:
    not propagate any routes to their external peers for the Multicast
    RIB unless it is known that no other path exists to that prefix
    (e.g., routes for prefixes internal to the domain or in a singly-
    homed customer's domain may be propagated)

4.5. Operation over Multi-access Networks

 Multiaccess links require special handling to prevent duplicates.
 The following mechanism enables BGMP to operate over multiaccess
 links which do not run an M-IGP.  This avoids broadcast-and-prune
 behavior and does not require (S,G) state.
 To elect a designated forwarder per prefix, BGMP uses a FWDR_PREF
 message to exchange "forwarder preference" values for each prefix.
 The peer with the highest forwarder preference becomes the designated
 forwarder, with ties broken by lowest BGMP Identifier.  The
 designated forwarder is the router responsible for forwarding packets
 up the tree, and is the peer to which joins will be sent.
 When BGMP first learns that a route exists in the multicast RIB whose
 next-hop interface is NOT the multiaccess link, the BGMP router sends
 a BGMP FWDR_PREF message for the prefix, to all BGMP peers on the
 LAN.  The FWDR_PREF message contains a "forwarder preference value"
 for the local router, and the same value MUST be sent to all peers on
 the LAN.  Likewise, when the prefix is no longer reachable, a
 FWDR_PREF of 0 is sent to all peers on the LAN.
 Whenever a BGMP router calculates the next-hop peer towards a
 particular address, and that peer is reached over a BGMP-owned
 multiaccess LAN, the designated forwarder is used instead.

Thaler Informational [Page 17] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 When a BGMP router receives a FWDR_PREF message from a peer, it looks
 up the matching route in its multicast RIB, and calculates the new
 designated forwarder.  If the router has tree state entries whose
 parent target was the old forwarder, it sends Joins to the new
 forwarder and Prunes to the old forwarder.
 When a BGMP router which is NOT the designated forwarder receives a
 packet on the multiaccess link, it is silently dropped.
 Finally, this mechanism prevents duplicates where full peering exists
 on a "logical" link.  Where full peering does not exist, steps must
 be taken (outside of BGMP) to present separate logical interfaces to
 BGMP, each of which is a link with full peering.  This might entail,
 for example, using different link-layer address mappings, doing
 encapsulation, or changing the physical media.

4.6. Interaction between (S,G) state and G-routes

 As discussed earlier, routers with (*,G) state will not propagate
 (S,G) joins.  However, a special case occurs when (S,G) state
 coincides with the G-route (or route towards the nominal root of G).
 When this occurs, care must be taken so that the data will reach the
 root domain without causing duplicates or black holes.  For this
 reason, (S,G) state on the path between the source and the root
 domain is annotated as being "poison-reversed".  A PR-bit is kept for
 this purpose, which is updated by (UN)POISON_REVERSE messages.
 The PR-bit indicates to BGMP nodes whether they need to forward
 packets up towards the root domain.  For example, in a case where an
 (S,G) branch exists, a transit domain may get packets along the (S,G)
 branch, and needs to know whether to (also) forward them up towards
 the root domain.  If the domain in question is on the path between S
 and the root domain, then the answer is yes (and the PR bit will be
 set on the S,G state).  If the domain in question is not on the path
 between S and the root domain, then the answer is no (and the PR bit
 will be clear on the S,G state).

5. Message Formats

 This section describes message formats used by BGMP.
 Messages are sent over a reliable transport protocol connection.  A
 message is processed only after it is entirely received.  The maximum
 message size is 4096 octets.  All implementations are required to
 support this maximum message size.
 All fields labelled "Reserved" below must be transmitted as 0, and
 ignored upon receipt.

Thaler Informational [Page 18] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

5.1. Message Header Format

 Each message has a fixed-size (4-byte) header.  There may or may not
 be a data portion following the header, depending on the message
 type.  The layout of these fields is shown below:
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |          Length               |      Type     |    Reserved   |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Length:
    This 2-octet unsigned integer indicates the total length of the
    message, including the header, in octets.  Thus, e.g., it allows
    one to locate in the transport-level stream the start of the next
    message.  The value of the Length field must always be at least 4
    and no greater than 4096, and may be further constrained,
    depending on the message type.  No "padding" of extra data after
    the message is allowed, so the Length field must have the smallest
    value required given the rest of the message.
 Type:
    This 1-octet unsigned integer indicates the type code of the
    message.  The following type codes are defined:
       1 - OPEN
       2 - UPDATE
       3 - NOTIFICATION
       4 - KEEPALIVE

5.2. OPEN Message Format

 After a transport protocol connection is established, the first
 message sent by each side is an OPEN message.  If the OPEN message is
 acceptable, a KEEPALIVE message confirming the OPEN is sent back.
 Once the OPEN is confirmed, UPDATE, KEEPALIVE, and NOTIFICATION
 messages may be exchanged.
 In addition to the fixed-size BGMP header, the OPEN message contains
 the following fields:

Thaler Informational [Page 19] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |   Version     | Rsvd| AddrFam |           Hold Time           |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                BGMP Identifier (variable length)              |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                                                               |
 +                      (Optional Parameters)                    |
 |                                                               |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Version:
    This 1-octet unsigned integer indicates the protocol version
    number of the message.  The current BGMP version number is 1.
 AddrFam:
    The IANA-assigned address family number of the BGMP Identifier.
    These include (among others):
    Number    Description
    ------    -----------
       1      IP (IP version 4)
       2      IPv6 (IP version 6)
 Hold Time:
    This 2-octet unsigned integer indicates the number of seconds that
    the sender proposes for the value of the Hold Timer.  Upon receipt
    of an OPEN message, a BGMP speaker MUST calculate the value of the
    Hold Timer by using the smaller of its configured Hold Time and
    the Hold Time received in the OPEN message.  The Hold Time MUST be
    either zero or at least three seconds.  An implementation may
    reject connections on the basis of the Hold Time.  The calculated
    value indicates the maximum number of seconds that may elapse
    between the receipt of successive KEEPALIVE, and/or UPDATE
    messages by the sender.
 BGMP Identifier:
    This 4-octet (for IPv4) or 16-octet (IPv6) unsigned integer
    indicates the BGMP Identifier of the sender.  A given BGMP speaker
    sets the value of its BGMP Identifier to a globally-unique value
    assigned to that BGMP speaker (e.g., an IPv4 address).  The value
    of the BGMP Identifier is determined on startup and is the same
    for every BGMP session opened.

Thaler Informational [Page 20] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 Optional Parameters:
    This field may contain a list of optional parameters, where each
    parameter is encoded as a <Parameter Length, Parameter Type,
    Parameter Value> triplet.  The combined length of all optional
    parameters can be derived from the Length field in the message
    header.
     0                   1
     0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-...
    |  Parm. Type   | Parm. Length  |  Parameter Value (variable)
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-...
    Parameter Type is a one octet field that unambiguously identifies
    individual parameters.  Parameter Length is a one octet field that
    contains the length of the Parameter Value field in octets.
    Parameter Value is a variable length field that is interpreted
    according to the value of the Parameter Type field.
    This document defines the following Optional Parameters:
 a) Authentication Information (Parameter Type 1):  This optional
    parameter may be used to authenticate a BGMP peer.  The Parameter
    Value field contains a 1-octet Authentication Code followed by a
    variable length Authentication Data.
     0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    |  Auth. Code   |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
    |                                                     |
    |              Authentication Data                    |
    |                                                     |
    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Authentication Code:
    This 1-octet unsigned integer indicates the authentication
    mechanism being used.  Whenever an authentication mechanism is
    specified for use within BGMP, three things must be included in
    the specification:
  1. the value of the Authentication Code which indicates use of the

mechanism, and - the form and meaning of the Authentication Data.

    Note that a separate authentication mechanism may be used in
    establishing the transport level connection.

Thaler Informational [Page 21] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 Authentication Data:
    The form and meaning of this field is a variable-length field
    depend on the Authentication Code.
 The minimum length of the OPEN message is 12 octets (including
 message header).
 b) Capability Information (Parameter Type 2):  This is an Optional
    Parameter that is used by a BGMP-speaker to convey to its peer the
    list of capabilities supported by the speaker.  The parameter
    contains one or more triples <Capability Code, Capability Length,
    Capability Value>, where each triple is encoded as shown below:
    +------------------------------+
    | Capability Code (1 octet)    |
    +------------------------------+
    | Capability Length (1 octet)  |
    +------------------------------+
    | Capability Value (variable)  |
    +------------------------------+
 Capability Code:
    Capability Code is a one octet field that unambiguously identifies
    individual capabilities.
 Capability Length:
    Capability Length is a one octet field that contains the length of
    the Capability Value field in octets.
 Capability Value:
    Capability Value is a variable length field that is interpreted
    according to the value of the Capability Code field.
 A particular capability, as identified by its Capability Code, may
 occur more than once within the Optional Parameter.
 This document reserves Capability Codes 128-255 for vendor-specific
 applications.
 This document reserves value 0.
 Capability Codes (other than those reserved for vendor specific use)
 are assigned only by the IETF consensus process and IESG approval.

Thaler Informational [Page 22] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

5.3. UPDATE Message Format

 UPDATE messages are used to transfer Join/Prune/FwdrPref information
 between BGMP peers.  The UPDATE message always includes the fixed-
 size BGMP header, and one or more attributes as described below.
 The message format below allows compact encoding of (*,G) Joins and
 Prunes, while allowing the flexibility needed to do other updates
 such as (S,G) Joins and Prunes towards sources as well as on the
 shared tree.  In the discussion below, an Encoded-Address-Prefix is
 of the form:
  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
                                                 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                                                 |EnTyp| AddrFam |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                         Address (variable length)             |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                         Mask    (variable length)             |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 EnTyp:
   0 - All 1's Mask.  The Mask field is 0 bytes long.
   1 - Mask length included.  The Mask field is 4 bytes long, and
       contains the mask length, in bits.
   2 - Full Mask included.  The Mask field is the same length
       as the Address field, and contains the full bitmask.
 AddrFam:
   The IANA-assigned address family number of the encoded prefix.
 Address:
   The address associated with the given prefix to be encoded.  The
   length is determined based on the Address Family.
 Mask:
   The mask associated with the given prefix.  The format (or absence)
   of this field is determined by the EnTyp field.
 Each attribute is of the form:
   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
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |              Length           |     Type      |   Data ...
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Thaler Informational [Page 23] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 All attributes are 4-byte aligned.
 Length:
   The Length is the length of the entire attribute, including the
   length, type, and data fields.  If other attributes are nested
   within the data field, the length includes the size of all such
   nested attributes.
 Type:
   Types 128-255 are reserved for "optional" attributes.  If a
   required attribute is unrecognized, a NOTIFICATION will be sent and
   the connection will be closed if the error is a fatal one.
   Unrecognized optional attributes are simply ignored.
      0 - JOIN
      1 - PRUNE
      2 - GROUP
      3 - SOURCE
      4 - FWDR_PREF
      5 - POISON_REVERSE
 a) JOIN (Type Code 0)
 The JOIN attribute indicates that all GROUP or SOURCE options
 nested immediately within the JOIN option should be joined.
   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
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |              Length           |    Type=0     |   Reserved    |
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |  Nested Attributes ...
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 No JOIN, PRUNE, or FWDR_PREF attributes may be immediately nested
 within a JOIN attribute.
 b) PRUNE (Type Code 1)
 The PRUNE attribute indicates that all GROUP or SOURCE attributes
 nested immediately within the PRUNE attribute should be pruned.

Thaler Informational [Page 24] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

   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
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |              Length           |    Type=1     |   Reserved    |
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
  |  Nested Attributes ...
  +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 No JOIN, PRUNE, or FWDR_PREF attributes may be immediately nested
 within a PRUNE attribute.
 c) GROUP (Type Code 2)
 The GROUP attribute identifies a given group-prefix.  In addition,
 any attributes nested immediately within the GROUP attribute also
 apply to the given group-prefix.
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |              Length           |    Type=2     |               |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+               +
 |                                                               |
 |                   Encoded-Address-Prefix                      |
 |                                                               |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 | Nested Attributes (optional) ...
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Encoded-Address-Prefix The multicast group prefix to be joined to
                        pruned, in the format described above.
 Nested Attributes      No GROUP, SOURCE, or FWDR_PREF attributes may
                        be immediately nested within a GROUP
                        attribute.
 d) SOURCE (Type Code 3):
 The SOURCE attribute identifies a given source-prefix.  In
 addition, any attributes nested immediately within the SOURCE
 attribute also apply to the given source-prefix.

Thaler Informational [Page 25] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 The SOURCE attribute has the following 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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |              Length           |    Type=2     |               |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+               +
 |                                                               |
 |                   Encoded-Address-Prefix                      |
 |                                                               |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 | Nested Attributes (optional) ...
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Encoded-Address-Prefix  The Source-prefix in the format described
                         above.
 Nested Attributes       No GROUP, SOURCE, or FWDR_PREF attributes may
                         be immediately nested within a SOURCE
                         attribute.
 e) FWDR_PREF (Type Code 4)
 The FWDR_PREF attribute provides a forwarder preference value for
 all GROUP or SOURCE attributes nested immediately within the
 FWDR_PREF attribute.  It is used by a BGMP speaker to inform other
 BGMP speakers of the originating speaker's degree of preference for
 a given group or source prefix.  Usage of this attribute is
 described in 5.5.
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |              Length           |    Type=1     |   Reserved    |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |                       Preference Value                        |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |  Nested Attributes ...
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 Preference Value    A 32-bit non-negative integer.
 Nested Attributes   No JOIN, PRUNE, or FWDR_PREF attributes may be
                     immediately nested within a FWDR_PREF attribute.
 e) POISON_REVERSE (Type Code 5)
 The POISON_REVERSE attribute provides a "poison-reverse" (PR-bit)
 value for all SOURCE attributes nested immediately within the
 POISON_REVERSE attribute.  It is used by a BGMP speaker to inform

Thaler Informational [Page 26] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 other BGMP speakers from which it has received (S,G) Joins that
 they are on the path of domains between the source and the root
 domain.
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |              Length           |    Type=1     |   Reserved  |P|
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |  Nested Attributes ...
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 P                   The PR-bit value.
 Nested Attributes   No attributes in the document other than SOURCE
                     may be immediately nested within a POISON_REVERSE
                     attribute.

5.4. Encoding examples

 Below are enumerated examples of how various updates are built using
 nested attributes, where A ( B ) denotes that attribute B is nested
 within attribute A.

(*,G-prefix) Join: JOIN ( GROUP ) (*,G-prefix) Prune: PRUNE ( GROUP ) (S,G) Join towards S : GROUP ( JOIN ( SOURCE ) ) (S,G) Join cancelling prune towards root of G: GROUP ( JOIN ( SOURCE ) ) (S,G) Prune towards S: GROUP ( PRUNE ( SOURCE ) ) (S,G) Prune towards root of G: GROUP ( PRUNE ( SOURCE ) ) Switch from (*,G) to (S,G): PRUNE ( GROUP ( JOIN ( SOURCE ) ) ) Switch from (S,G) to (*,G): JOIN ( GROUP ) Initial (*,G) Join with S pruned: JOIN ( GROUP ( PRUNE ( SOURCE ) ) ) Forwarder preference announcement for G-prefix: FWDR_PREF ( GROUP ) Forwarder preference announcement for S-prefix: FWDR_PREF ( SOURCE )

5.5. KEEPALIVE Message Format

 BGMP does not use any transport protocol-based keep-alive mechanism
 to determine if peers are reachable.  Instead, KEEPALIVE messages are
 exchanged between peers often enough as not to cause the Hold Timer
 to expire.  A reasonable maximum time between the last KEEPALIVE or
 UPDATE message sent, and the time at which a KEEPALIVE message is
 sent, would be one third of the Hold Time interval.  KEEPALIVE
 messages MUST NOT be sent more frequently than one per second.  An
 implementation MAY adjust the rate at which it sends KEEPALIVE
 messages as a function of the Hold Time interval.

Thaler Informational [Page 27] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 If the negotiated Hold Time interval is zero, then periodic KEEPALIVE
 messages MUST NOT be sent.
 A KEEPALIVE message consists of only a message header, and has a
 length of 4 octets.

5.6. NOTIFICATION Message Format

 A NOTIFICATION message is sent when an error condition is detected.
 The BGMP connection is closed immediately after sending it if the
 error is a fatal one.
 In addition to the fixed-size BGMP header, the NOTIFICATION message
 contains the following fields:
  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
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 |O| Error code  | Error subcode |           Data                |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+                               +
 |                                                               |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 O-bit:
    Open-bit.  If clear, the connection will be closed.  If set,
    indicates the error is not fatal.
 Error Code:
    This 1-octet unsigned integer indicates the type of NOTIFICATION.
    The following Error Codes have been defined:
       Error Code       Symbolic Name               Reference
         1         Message Header Error             Section 9.1
         2         OPEN Message Error               Section 9.2
         3         UPDATE Message Error             Section 9.3
         4         Hold Timer Expired               Section 9.5
         5         Finite State Machine Error       Section 9.6
         6         Cease                            Section 9.7

Thaler Informational [Page 28] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 Error subcode:
    This 1-octet unsigned integer provides more specific information
    about the nature of the reported error.  Each Error Code may have
    one or more Error Subcodes associated with it.  If no appropriate
    Error Subcode is defined, then a zero (Unspecific) value is used
    for the Error Subcode field.  The notation (MC) below indicates
    the error is a fatal one and the O-bit must be clear.  Non-fatal
    subcodes SHOULD be sent with the O-bit set.
    Message Header Error subcodes:
                          2  - Bad Message Length (MC)
                          3  - Bad Message Type (MC)
    OPEN Message Error subcodes:
                          1  - Unsupported Version (MC)
                          4  - Unsupported Optional Parameter
                          5  - Authentication Failure (MC)
                          6  - Unacceptable Hold Time (MC)
                          7  - Unsupported Capability (MC)
    UPDATE Message Error subcodes:
                          1 - Malformed Attribute List (MC)
                          2 - Unrecognized Attribute Type
                          5 - Attribute Length Error (MC)
                         10 - Invalid Address
                         11 - Invalid Mask
                         13 - Unrecognized Address Family
 Data:
    This variable-length field is used to diagnose the reason for the
    NOTIFICATION.  The contents of the Data field depend upon the
    Error Code and Error Subcode.  See Section 7 below for more
    details.
    Note that the length of the Data field can be determined from the
    message Length field by the formula:
       Message Length = 6 + Data Length
    The minimum length of the NOTIFICATION message is 6 octets
    (including message header).

Thaler Informational [Page 29] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

6. BGMP Error Handling

 This section describes actions to be taken when errors are detected
 while processing BGMP messages.  BGMP Error Handling is similar to
 that of BGP [BGP].
 When any of the conditions described here are detected, a
 NOTIFICATION message with the indicated Error Code, Error Subcode,
 and Data fields is sent, and the BGMP connection is closed if the
 error is a fatal one.  If no Error Subcode is specified, then a zero
 must be used.
 The phrase "the BGMP connection is closed" means that the transport
 protocol connection has been closed and that all resources for that
 BGMP connection have been deallocated.  The remote peer is removed
 from the target list of all tree state entries.
 Unless specified explicitly, the Data field of the NOTIFICATION
 message that is sent to indicate an error is empty.

6.1. Message Header error handling

 All errors detected while processing the Message Header are indicated
 by sending the NOTIFICATION message with Error Code Message Header
 Error.  The Error Subcode elaborates on the specific nature of the
 error.
 If the Length field of the message header is less than 4 or greater
 than 4096, or if the Length field of an OPEN message is less  than
 the minimum length of the OPEN message, or if the Length field of an
 UPDATE message is less than the minimum length of the UPDATE message,
 or if the Length field of a KEEPALIVE message is not equal to 4, then
 the Error Subcode is set to Bad Message Length.  The Data field
 contains the erroneous Length field.
 If the Type field of the message header is not recognized, then the
 Error Subcode is set to Bad Message Type.  The Data field contains
 the erroneous Type field.

6.2. OPEN message error handling

 All errors detected while processing the OPEN message are indicated
 by sending the NOTIFICATION message with Error Code OPEN Message
 Error.  The Error Subcode elaborates on the specific nature of the
 error.

Thaler Informational [Page 30] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 If the version number contained in the Version field of the received
 OPEN message is not supported, then the Error Subcode is set to
 Unsupported Version Number.  The Data field is a 2-octet unsigned
 integer, which indicates the largest locally supported version number
 less than the version the remote BGMP peer bid (as indicated in the
 received OPEN message).
 If the Hold Time field of the OPEN message is unacceptable, then the
 Error Subcode MUST be set to Unacceptable Hold Time.  An
 implementation MUST reject Hold Time values of one or two seconds.
 An implementation MAY reject any proposed Hold Time.  An
 implementation which accepts a Hold Time MUST use the negotiated
 value for the Hold Time.
 If one of the Optional Parameters in the OPEN message is not
 recognized, then the Error Subcode is set to Unsupported Optional
 Parameters.
 If the OPEN message carries Authentication Information (as an
 Optional Parameter), then the corresponding authentication procedure
 is invoked.  If the authentication procedure (based on Authentication
 Code and Authentication Data) fails, then the Error Subcode is set to
 Authentication Failure.
 If the OPEN message indicates that the peer does not support a
 capability which the receiver requires, the receiver may send a
 NOTIFICATION message to the peer, and terminate peering.  The Error
 Subcode in the message is set to Unsupported Capability.  The Data
 field in the NOTIFICATION message lists the set of capabilities that
 cause the speaker to send the message.  Each such capability is
 encoded the same way as it was encoded in the received OPEN message.

6.3. UPDATE message error handling

 All errors detected while processing the UPDATE message are indicated
 by sending the NOTIFICATION message with Error Code UPDATE Message
 Error.  The error subcode elaborates on the specific nature of the
 error.
 If any recognized attribute has Attribute Length that conflicts with
 the expected length (based on the attribute type code), then the
 Error Subcode is set to Attribute Length Error.  The Data field
 contains the erroneous attribute (type, length and value).
 If the Encoded-Address-Prefix field in some attribute is
 syntactically incorrect, then the Error Subcode is set to Invalid
 Prefix Field.

Thaler Informational [Page 31] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 If any other is encountered when processing attributes (such as
 invalid nestings), then the Error Subcode is set to Malformed
 Attribute List, and the problematic attribute is included in the data
 field.

6.4. NOTIFICATION message error handling

 If a peer sends a NOTIFICATION message, and there is an error in that
 message, there is unfortunately no means of reporting this error via
 a subsequent NOTIFICATION message.  Any such error, such as an
 unrecognized Error Code or Error Subcode, should be noticed, logged
 locally, and brought to the attention of the administration of the
 peer.  The means to do this, however, lies outside the scope of this
 document.

6.5. Hold Timer Expired error handling

 If a system does not receive successive KEEPALIVE and/or UPDATE
 and/or NOTIFICATION messages within the period specified in the Hold
 Time field of the OPEN message, then the NOTIFICATION message with
 Hold Timer Expired Error Code must be sent and the BGMP connection
 closed.

6.6. Finite State Machine error handling

 Any error detected by the BGMP Finite State Machine (e.g., receipt of
 an unexpected event) is indicated by sending the NOTIFICATION message
 with Error Code Finite State Machine Error.

6.7. Cease

 In absence of any fatal errors (that are indicated in this section),
 a BGMP peer may choose at any given time to close its BGMP connection
 by sending the NOTIFICATION message with Error Code Cease.  However,
 the Cease NOTIFICATION message must not be used when a fatal error
 indicated by this section does exist.

6.8. Connection collision detection

 If a pair of BGMP speakers try simultaneously to establish a TCP
 connection to each other, then two parallel connections between this
 pair of speakers might well be formed.  We refer to this situation as
 connection collision.  Clearly, one of these connections must be
 closed.
 Based on the value of the BGMP Identifier a convention is established
 for detecting which BGMP connection is to be preserved when a
 collision does occur.  The convention is to compare the BGMP

Thaler Informational [Page 32] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 Identifiers of the peers involved in the collision and to retain only
 the connection initiated by the BGMP speaker with the higher-valued
 BGMP Identifier.
 Upon receipt of an OPEN message, the local system must examine all of
 its connections that are in the OpenConfirm state.  A BGMP speaker
 may also examine connections in an OpenSent state if it knows the
 BGMP Identifier of the peer by means outside of the protocol.  If
 among these connections there is a connection to a remote BGMP
 speaker whose BGMP Identifier equals the one in the OPEN message,
 then the local system performs the following collision resolution
 procedure:
 1. The BGMP Identifier of the local system is compared to the BGMP
    Identifier of the remote system (as specified in the OPEN
    message).
 2. If the value of the local BGMP Identifier is less than the remote
    one, the local system closes BGMP connection that already exists
    (the one that is already in the OpenConfirm state), and accepts
    BGMP connection initiated by the remote system.
 3. Otherwise, the local system closes newly created BGMP connection
    (the one associated with the newly received OPEN message), and
    continues to use the existing one (the one that is already in the
    OpenConfirm state).
 Comparing BGMP Identifiers is done by treating them as (4-octet long)
 unsigned integers.
 A connection collision with an existing BGMP connection that is in
 Established states causes unconditional closing of the newly created
 connection.  Note that a connection collision cannot be detected with
 connections that are in Idle, or Connect, or Active states.
 Closing the BGMP connection (that results from the collision
 resolution procedure) is accomplished by sending the NOTIFICATION
 message with the Error Code Cease.

7. BGMP Version Negotiation

 BGMP speakers may negotiate the version of the protocol by making
 multiple attempts to open a BGMP connection, starting with the
 highest version number each supports.  If an open attempt fails with
 an Error Code OPEN Message Error, and an Error Subcode Unsupported
 Version Number, then the BGMP speaker has available the version
 number it tried, the version number its peer tried, the version
 number passed by its peer in the NOTIFICATION message, and the

Thaler Informational [Page 33] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 version numbers that it supports.  If the two peers do support one or
 more common versions, then this will allow them to rapidly determine
 the highest common version.  In order to support BGMP version
 negotiation, future versions of BGMP must retain the format of the
 OPEN and NOTIFICATION messages.

7.1. BGMP Capability Negotiation

 When a BGMP speaker sends an OPEN message to its BGMP peer, the
 message may include an Optional Parameter, called Capabilities.  The
 parameter lists the capabilities supported by the speaker.
 A BGMP speaker may use a particular capability when peering with
 another speaker only if both speakers support that capability.  A
 BGMP speaker determines the capabilities supported by its peer by
 examining the list of capabilities present in the Capabilities
 Optional Parameter carried by the OPEN message that the speaker
 receives from the peer.

8. BGMP Finite State machine

 This section specifies BGMP operation in terms of a Finite State
 Machine (FSM).  Following is a brief summary and overview of BGMP
 operations by state as determined by this FSM.
 Initially BGMP is in the Idle state.
 Idle state:
    In this state BGMP refuses all incoming BGMP connections.  No
    resources are allocated to the peer.  In response to the Start
    event (initiated by either system or operator) the local system
    initializes all BGMP resources, starts the ConnectRetry timer,
    initiates a transport connection to the other BGMP peer, while
    listening for a connection that may be initiated by the remote
    BGMP peer, and changes its state to Connect.  The exact value of
    the ConnectRetry timer is a local matter, but should be
    sufficiently large to allow TCP initialization.
    If a BGMP speaker detects an error, it shuts down the connection
    and changes its state to Idle.  Getting out of the Idle state
    requires generation of the Start event.  If such an event is
    generated automatically, then persistent BGMP errors may result in
    persistent flapping of the speaker.  To avoid such a condition it
    is recommended that Start events should not be generated
    immediately for a peer that was previously transitioned to Idle
    due to an error.  For a peer that was previously transitioned to
    Idle due to an error, the time between consecutive generation of

Thaler Informational [Page 34] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

    Start events, if such events are generated automatically, shall
    exponentially increase.  The value of the initial timer shall be
    60 seconds.  The time shall be doubled for each consecutive retry.
    Any other event received in the Idle state is ignored.
 Connect state:
    In this state BGMP is waiting for the transport protocol
    connection to be completed.
    If the transport protocol connection succeeds, the local system
    clears the ConnectRetry timer, completes initialization, sends an
    OPEN message to its peer, and changes its state to OpenSent.  If
    the transport protocol connect fails (e.g., retransmission
    timeout), the local system restarts the ConnectRetry timer,
    continues to listen for a connection that may be initiated by the
    remote BGMP peer, and changes its state to Active state.
    In response to the ConnectRetry timer expired event, the local
    system restarts the ConnectRetry timer, initiates a transport
    connection to the other BGMP peer, continues to listen for a
    connection that may be initiated by the remote BGMP peer, and
    stays in the Connect state.
    The Start event is ignored in the Connect state.
    In response to any other event (initiated by either system or
    operator), the local system releases all BGMP resources associated
    with this connection and changes its state to Idle.
 Active state:
    In this state BGMP is trying to acquire a peer by listening for an
    incoming transport protocol connection.
    If the transport protocol connection succeeds, the local system
    clears the ConnectRetry timer, completes initialization, sends an
    OPEN message to its peer, sets its Hold Timer to a large value,
    and changes its state to OpenSent.  A Hold Timer value of 4
    minutes is suggested.
    In response to the ConnectRetry timer expired event, the local
    system restarts the ConnectRetry timer, initiates a transport
    connection to other BGMP peer, continues to listen for a
    connection that may be initiated by the remote BGMP peer, and
    changes its state to Connect.

Thaler Informational [Page 35] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

    If the local system detects that a remote peer is trying to
    establish BGMP connection to it, and the IP address of the remote
    peer is not an expected one, the local system restarts the
    ConnectRetry timer, rejects the attempted connection, continues to
    listen for a connection that may be initiated by the remote BGMP
    peer, and stays in the Active state.
    The Start event is ignored in the Active state.
    In response to any other event (initiated by either system or
    operator), the local system releases all BGMP resources associated
    with this connection and changes its state to Idle.
 OpenSent state:
    In this state BGMP waits for an OPEN message from its peer.  When
    an OPEN message is received, all fields are checked for
    correctness.  If the BGMP message header checking or OPEN message
    checking detects an error (see Section 6.2), or a connection
    collision (see Section 6.8) the local system sends a NOTIFICATION
    message and changes its state to Idle.
    If there are no errors in the OPEN message, BGMP sends a KEEPALIVE
    message and sets a KeepAlive timer.  The Hold Timer, which was
    originally set to a large value (see above), is replaced with the
    negotiated Hold Time value (see section 4.2).  If the negotiated
    Hold Time value is zero, then the Hold Time timer and KeepAlive
    timers are not started.  If the configured remote Autonomous
    System value for this peering is the same as the local Autonomous
    System number, then the connection is an "internal" connection;
    otherwise, it is "external".  Finally, the state is changed to
    OpenConfirm.
    If a disconnect notification is received from the underlying
    transport protocol, the local system closes the BGMP connection,
    restarts the ConnectRetry timer, while continue listening for
    connection that may be initiated by the remote BGMP peer, and goes
    into the Active state.
    If the Hold Timer expires, the local system sends NOTIFICATION
    message with error code Hold Timer Expired and changes its state
    to Idle.
    In response to the Stop event (initiated by either system or
    operator) the local system sends NOTIFICATION message with Error
    Code Cease and changes its state to Idle.
    The Start event is ignored in the OpenSent state.

Thaler Informational [Page 36] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

    In response to any other event the local system sends NOTIFICATION
    message with Error Code Finite State Machine Error and changes its
    state to Idle.
    Whenever BGMP changes its state from OpenSent to Idle, it closes
    the BGMP (and transport-level) connection and releases all
    resources associated with that connection.
 OpenConfirm state:
    In this state BGMP waits for a KEEPALIVE or NOTIFICATION message.
    If the local system receives a KEEPALIVE message, it changes its
    state to Established.
    If the Hold Timer expires before a KEEPALIVE message is received,
    the local system sends NOTIFICATION message with error code Hold
    Timer Expired and changes its state to Idle.
    If the local system receives a NOTIFICATION message, it changes
    its state to Idle.
    If the KeepAlive timer expires, the local system sends a KEEPALIVE
    message and restarts its KeepAlive timer.
    If a disconnect notification is received from the underlying
    transport protocol, the local system changes its state to Idle.
    In response to the Stop event (initiated by either system or
    operator) the local system sends NOTIFICATION message with Error
    Code Cease and changes its state to Idle.
    The Start event is ignored in the OpenConfirm state.
    In response to any other event the local system sends NOTIFICATION
    message with Error Code Finite State Machine Error and changes its
    state to Idle.
    Whenever BGMP changes its state from OpenConfirm to Idle, it
    closes the BGMP (and transport-level) connection and releases all
    resources associated with that connection.
 Established state:
    In the Established state BGMP can exchange UPDATE, NOTIFICATION,
    and KEEPALIVE messages with its peer.

Thaler Informational [Page 37] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

    If the local system receives an UPDATE or KEEPALIVE message, it
    restarts its Hold Timer, if the negotiated Hold Time value is
    non-zero.
    If the local system receives a NOTIFICATION message, it changes
    its state to Idle.
    If the local system receives an UPDATE message and the UPDATE
    message error handling procedure (see Section 6.3) detects an
    error, the local system sends a NOTIFICATION message and changes
    its state to Idle.
    If a disconnect notification is received from the underlying
    transport protocol, the local system changes its state to Idle.
    If the Hold Timer expires, the local system sends a NOTIFICATION
    message with Error Code Hold Timer Expired and changes its state
    to Idle.
    If the KeepAlive timer expires, the local system sends a KEEPALIVE
    message and restarts its KeepAlive timer.
    Each time the local system sends a KEEPALIVE or UPDATE message, it
    restarts its KeepAlive timer, unless the negotiated Hold Time
    value is zero.
    In response to the Stop event (initiated by either system or
    operator), the local system sends a NOTIFICATION message with
    Error Code Cease and changes its state to Idle.
    The Start event is ignored in the Established state.
    In response to any other event, the local system sends
    NOTIFICATION message with Error Code Finite State Machine Error
    and changes its state to Idle.
    Whenever BGMP changes its state from Established to Idle, it
    closes the BGMP (and transport-level) connection, releases all
    resources associated with that connection, and deletes all routes
    derived from that connection.

9. Security Considerations

 If a BGMP speaker accepts unauthorized or altered BGMP messages,
 denial of service due to excess bandwidth consumption or lack of
 multicast connectivity can result.  Authentication of BGMP messages
 can protect against this behavior.

Thaler Informational [Page 38] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

 A BGMP implementation MUST implement Keyed MD5 [RFC2385] to secure
 control messages, and MUST be capable of interoperating with peers
 that do not support it.  However, if one side of the connection is
 configured with Keyed MD5 and the other side is not, the connection
 SHOULD NOT be established.
 This provides a weak security mechanism, as it is still possible for
 denial of service to occur as a result of messages relayed through a
 trusted peer.  However, this model is the same as the currently
 practiced security mechanism for BGP.  It is anticipated that future
 work will provide different stronger mechanisms for dealing with
 these issues in routing protocols.

10. Acknowledgements

 In addition to the editor, the following individuals have contributed
 to the design of BGMP: Cengiz Alaettinoglu, Tony Ballardie, Steve
 Casner, Steve Deering, Deborah Estrin, Dino Farinacci, Bill Fenner,
 Mark Handley, Ahmed Helmy, Van Jacobson, Dave Meyer, and Satish
 Kumar.
 This document is the product of the IETF BGMP Working Group with Dave
 Thaler as editor.
 Rusty Eddy, Isidor Kouvelas, and Pavlin Radoslavov also provided
 valuable feedback on this document.

11. References

11.1. Normative References

 [INTEROP]  Thaler, D., "Interoperability Rules for Multicast Routing
            Protocols", RFC 2715, October 1999.
 [RFC2385]  Heffernan, A., "Protection of BGP sessions via the TCP MD5
            Signature Option", RFC 2385, August 1998.
 [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
            Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
 [V6PREFIX] Haberman, B. and D. Thaler, "Unicast-Prefix-based IPv6
            Multicast Addresses", RFC 3306, August 2002.

Thaler Informational [Page 39] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

11.2. Informative References

 [BGP]      Rekhter, Y. and T. Li, "A Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-
            4)", RFC 1771, March 1995.
 [MBGP]     Bates, T., Rekhter, Y., Chandra, R., and D. Katz,
            "Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP-4", RFC 2858, June 2000.
 [CBT]      Ballardie, A., "Core Based Trees (CBT version 2) Multicast
            Routing -- Protocol Specification", RFC 2189, September
            1997.
 [DVMRP]    Pusateri, T., "Distance Vector Multicast Routing
            Protocol", Work in Progress, October 2003.
 [IPv6AA]   Hinden, R. and S. Deering, "Internet Protocol Version 6
            (IPv6) Addressing Architecture", RFC 3513, April 2003.
 [MOSPF]    Moy, J., "Multicast Extensions to OSPF", RFC 1584, March
            1994.
 [PIMDM]    Adams, A., Nicholas, J. and W. Siadak, "Protocol
            Independent Multicast - Dense Mode (PIM-DM): Protocol
            Specification (Revised)", Work in Progress, September
            2003.
 [PIMSM]    Estrin, D., Farinacci, D., Helmy, A., Thaler, D., Deering,
            S., Handley, M., Jacobson, V., Liu, C., Sharma, P., and L.
            Wei, "Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode (PIM-SM):
            Protocol Specification", RFC 2362, June 1998.
 [REFLECT]  Bates, T. and R. Chandra, "BGP Route Reflection: An
            alternative to full mesh IBGP", RFC 1966, June 1996.
 [V4PREFIX] Thaler, D., "Unicast-Prefix-based IPv4 Multicast
            Addresses", Work in Progress, August 2004.

Authors' Address

 Dave Thaler
 Microsoft
 One Microsoft Way
 Redmond, WA 98052
 EMail: dthaler@microsoft.com

Thaler Informational [Page 40] RFC 3913 BGMP: Protocol Specification September 2004

Full Copyright Statement

 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).
 This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
 contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
 retain all their rights.
 This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
 "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/S HE
 REPRESENTS OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE
 INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
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 attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
 such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
 specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
 http://www.ietf.org/ipr.
 The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
 copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
 rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement
 this standard.  Please address the information to the IETF at ietf-
 ipr@ietf.org.

Acknowledgement

 Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
 Internet Society.

Thaler Informational [Page 41]

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