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rfc:rfc4744

Network Working Group E. Lear Request for Comments: 4744 Cisco Systems Category: Standards Track K. Crozier

                                                         December 2006
                  Using the NETCONF Protocol over
           the Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol (BEEP)

Status of This Memo

 This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
 Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
 improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
 Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
 and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

 Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2006).

Abstract

 This document specifies an application protocol mapping for the
 Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) over the Blocks Extensible
 Exchange Protocol (BEEP).

Table of Contents

 1. Introduction ....................................................2
    1.1. Why BEEP? ..................................................2
 2. BEEP Transport Mapping ..........................................2
    2.1. NETCONF Session Establishment ..............................2
    2.2. Starting a Channel for NETCONF .............................4
    2.3. NETCONF Session Usage ......................................5
    2.4. NETCONF Session Teardown ...................................5
    2.5. BEEP Profile for NETCONF ...................................6
 3. Security Considerations .........................................6
 4. IANA Considerations .............................................7
 5. Acknowledgments .................................................7
 6. References ......................................................8
    6.1. Normative References .......................................8
    6.2. Informative References .....................................8

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 1] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

1. Introduction

 The NETCONF protocol [1] defines a simple mechanism through which a
 network device can be managed.  NETCONF is designed to be usable over
 a variety of application protocols.  This document specifies an
 application protocol mapping for NETCONF over the Blocks Extensible
 Exchange Protocol (BEEP) [7].
 The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
 "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
 document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [2].

1.1. Why BEEP?

 Use of BEEP is natural as an application protocol for transport of
 XML.  As a peer-to-peer protocol, BEEP provides an easy way to
 implement NETCONF, no matter which side of the connection was the
 initiator.  This "bidirectionality" allows for either manager or
 agent to initiate a connection.  This is particularly important to
 support large numbers of intermittently connected devices, as well as
 those devices that must reverse the management connection in the face
 of firewalls and network address translators (NATs).
 BEEP makes use of the Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL)
 [3].  The SASL profile used by BEEP allows for a simple and direct
 mapping to the existing security model for command line interface
 (CLI), while Transport Layer Security (TLS) [4] provides a strong,
 well-tested encryption mechanism with either server or server and
 client-side authentication.

2. BEEP Transport Mapping

 All NETCONF over BEEP implementations MUST implement the profile and
 functional mapping between NETCONF and BEEP as described below.
 For purposes of this document, a manager is a NETCONF client, and an
 agent is a NETCONF server.  Use of client/server language in BEEP is
 avoided because of the common notion that in networking clients
 connect to servers.

2.1. NETCONF Session Establishment

 Managers may be either BEEP listeners or initiators.  Similarly,
 agents may be either listeners or initiators.  To establish a
 connection, the initiator connects to the listener on TCP port 831.
 Thus, the initial exchange takes place without regard to whether a
 manager or the agent is the initiator.  After the transport
 connection is established, as greetings are exchanged, they SHOULD

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 2] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

 each announce their support for TLS and optionally SASL.  Once BEEP
 greeting messages are exchanged, if TLS is to be used and available
 by both parties, the listener STARTs a channel with the TLS profile.
 Once TLS has been started, a new BEEP greeting message is sent by
 both initiator and listener, as required by the BEEP RFC.
 After all BEEP greeting messages are exchanged in order for roles to
 be clear, the agent MUST advertise the NETCONF profile.  The manager
 MUST NOT advertise the NETCONF profile.  If the agent side of the
 communication (either initiator or listener) receives a BEEP
 <greeting> element that contains the NETCONF profile, it MUST close
 the connection.  Similarly, if neither side issues a NETCONF profile
 it is equally an error, and the listener MUST close the connection.
 At this point, if SASL is desired, the initiator starts a BEEP
 channel to perform a SASL exchange to authenticate itself.  Upon
 completion of authentication the channel is closed.  That is, the
 channel is exclusively used to authenticate.
 Examples of both TLS and SASL profiles can be found in [7].
 It is anticipated that the SASL PLAIN mechanism will be heavily used
 in conjunction with TLS [5].  In such cases, in accordance with RFC
 2595 the PLAIN mechanism MUST NOT be advertised in the first BEEP
 <greeting>, but only in the one following a successful TLS
 negotiation.  This applies only if TLS and SASL PLAIN mechanisms are
 both to be used.  To avoid risk of eavesdropping, the SASL PLAIN
 mechanism MUST NOT be used over unencrypted channels.  More specifics
 about the use of SASL and TLS are mentioned in Security
 Considerations below.
 Once authentication has occurred, there is no need to distinguish
 between initiator and listener.  We now distinguish between manager
 and agent, and it is assumed that each knows its role in the
 conversation.

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 3] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

2.2. Starting a Channel for NETCONF

 The manager now establishes a new channel and specifies the single
 NETCONF profile.  For example:
       (M = Manager; A = Agent)
       M: MSG 0 1 . 10 48 118
       M: Content-type: application/beep+xml
       M:
       M: <start number="1">
       M:   <profile uri="http://iana.org/beep/netconf" />
       M: </start>
       M: END
       A: RPY 0 1 . 38 87
       A: Content-Type: application/beep+xml
       A:
       A: <profile uri="http://iana.org/beep/netconf" />
       A: END
 At this point, we are ready to proceed on BEEP channel 1 with NETCONF
 operations.
 NETCONF messages are transmitted with a Content-type header set to
 "text/xml".
 Next the manager and the agent exchange NETCONF <hello> elements on
 the new channel so that each side learns the other's capabilities.
 This occurs through a MSG.  Each side will then respond positively.
 The following example is adapted from [1] Section 8.1:
     A: MSG 1 0 . 0 457
     A: Content-type: application/beep+xml
     A:
     A: <?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
     A: <hello xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:netconf:base:1.0">
     A:   <capabilities>
     A:     <capability>
     A:       urn:ietf:params:netconf:base:1.0
     A:     </capability>
     A:     <capability>
     A:       urn:ietf:params:netconf:capability:startup:1.0
     A:     </capability>
     A:     <capability>
     A:       http://example.net/router/2.3/core#myfeature
     A:     </capability>
     A:   </capabilities>

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 4] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

     A:   <session-id>4</session-id>
     A: </hello>
     A: END
     M: RPY 1 0 . 0 0
     M: END
 Future NETCONF capabilities may require additional BEEP channels.
 When such capabilities are defined, a BEEP mapping must be defined as
 well.
 At this point, the NETCONF session is established, and capabilities
 have been exchanged.

2.3. NETCONF Session Usage

 Nearly all NETCONF operations are executed through the <rpc> element.
 To issue a remote procedure call (RPC), the manager transmits on the
 operational channel a BEEP MSG containing the RPC and its arguments.
 In accordance with the BEEP standard, RPC requests may be split
 across multiple BEEP frames.
 Once received and processed, the agent responds with BEEP RPY
 messages on the same channel with the response to the RPC.  In
 accordance with the BEEP standard, responses may be split across
 multiple BEEP frames.

2.4. NETCONF Session Teardown

 Upon receipt of <close-session> from the manager, once the agent has
 completed all RPCs, it will close BEEP channel 0.  When an agent
 needs to initiate a close, it will do so by closing BEEP channel 0.
 Although not required to do so, the agent should allow for a
 reasonable period for a manager to release an existing lock prior to
 initiating a close.  Once the agent has closed channel 0, all locks
 are released, and each side follows teardown procedures as specified
 in [8].  Having received a BEEP close or having sent <close-session>,
 a manager MUST NOT send further requests.  If there are additional
 activities due to expanded capabilities, they MUST cease in an
 orderly manner and should be properly described in the capability
 mapping.

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 5] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

2.5. BEEP Profile for NETCONF

 Profile Identification: http://iana.org/beep/netconf
 Messages exchanged during Channel Creation: not applicable
 Messages starting one-to-one exchanges: "hello", "rpc", "rpc-reply"
 Messages in positive replies: "rpc-reply"
 Messages in negative replies: "rpc-reply"
 Messages in one-to-many exchanges: none
 Message syntax: [1]
 Message semantics: [1]
 Contact Information: See the "Author's Address" section of this memo.

3. Security Considerations

 Configuration information is by its very nature sensitive.  Its
 transmission in the clear and without integrity checking leaves
 devices open to classic so-called "person-in-the-middle" attacks.
 Configuration information often times contains passwords, user names,
 service descriptions, and topological information, all of which are
 sensitive.  A NETCONF application protocol, therefore, must minimally
 support options for both confidentiality and authentication.
 The BEEP mapping described in this document addresses both
 confidentiality and authentication in a flexible manner through the
 use of TLS and SASL profiles.  Confidentiality is provided via the
 TLS profile and is used as discussed above.  In addition, the server
 certificate shall serve as the server's authentication to the client.
 The client MUST be prepared to recognize and validate a server
 certificate and SHOULD by default reject invalid certificates.
 In order to validate a certificate, the client must be able to access
 a trust anchor.  While such validation methods are beyond the scope
 of this document, they will depend on the type of device and
 circumstance.  Both the implementor and the administrator are
 cautioned to be aware of any circular dependencies that various
 methods may introduce.  For instance, Online Certificate Status
 Protocol (OCSP) servers may not be available in a network cold-start
 scenario and would be ill-advised for core routers to depend on to
 receive configuration at boot.

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 6] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

 For client-side authentication, there are several options.  The
 client MAY provide a certificate during the initiation phase of TLS,
 in which case the subject of that certificate shall be considered
 principle for authentication purposes.  Once again, server
 implementors should be aware of any interdependencies that could be
 created through protocols used to validate trust anchors.
 TLS endpoints may be authorized based on subject name or certificate
 authority (CA), depending on circumstances.  For instance, it would
 be unwise for a core Internet router to allow a netconf agent
 connection simply based on a valid certificate signed by a common CA,
 but not unreasonable to allow a connection from an agent with a
 particular distinguished name.  On the other hand, it might be
 desirable for enterprises to trust certificates signed by CAs of
 their network operations team.
 In the case where the client has not authenticated through TLS, the
 server SHOULD advertise one or more SASL profiles, from which the
 client will choose.  In the singular case where TLS is established,
 the minimum profile MAY be PLAIN.  Otherwise, implementations MUST
 support the DIGEST-MD5 profile as described in [6], and they MAY
 support other profiles such as the One-Time Password (OTP) mechanism
 [10].
 Different environments may well allow different rights prior to and
 then after authentication.  An authorization model is not specified
 in this document.  When an operation is not properly authorized, then
 a simple rpc-error containing "permission denied" is sufficient.
 Note that authorization information may be exchanged in the form of
 configuration information, which is all the more reason to ensure the
 security of the connection.

4. IANA Considerations

 IANA assigned TCP port (831) for NETCONF over BEEP.

5. Acknowledgments

 This work is the product of the NETCONF IETF working group, and many
 people have contributed to the NETCONF discussion.  Most notably, Rob
 Ens, Phil Schafer, Andy Bierman, Wes Hardiger, Ted Goddard, and
 Margaret Wasserman all contributed in some fashion to this work,
 which was originally to be found in the NETCONF base protocol
 specification.  Thanks also to Weijing Chen, Keith Allen, Juergen
 Schoenwaelder, Marshall Rose, and Eamon O'Tuathail for their very
 constructive participation.  The authors would also like to thank
 Elwyn Davies for his constructive review.

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 7] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

6. References

6.1. Normative References

 [1]  Enns, R., Ed., "NETCONF Configuration Protocol", RFC 4741,
      December 2006.
 [2]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
      Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
 [3]  Melnikov, A. and K. Zeilenga, "Simple Authentication and
      Security Layer (SASL)", RFC 4422, June 2006.
 [4]  Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer Security (TLS)
      Protocol Version 1.1", RFC 4346, April 2006.
 [5]  Newman, C., "Using TLS with IMAP, POP3 and ACAP", RFC 2595,
      June 1999.
 [6]  Leach, P. and C. Newman, "Using Digest Authentication as a SASL
      Mechanism", RFC 2831, May 2000.
 [7]  Rose, M., "The Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol Core",
      RFC 3080, March 2001.
 [8]  Rose, M., "Mapping the BEEP Core onto TCP", RFC 3081,
      March 2001.

6.2. Informative References

 [9]   Sperberg-McQueen, C., Paoli, J., Maler, E., and T. Bray,
       "Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Second Edition)", World
       Wide Web Consortium, First Edition,
       http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-xml-20001006, October 2000.
 [10]  Newman, C., "The One-Time-Password SASL Mechanism", RFC 2444,
       October 1998.

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 8] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

Authors' Addresses

 Eliot Lear
 Cisco Systems
 Glatt-com
 CH-8301 Glattzentrum, Zurich
 CH
 EMail: lear@cisco.com
 Ken Crozier
 EMail: ken.crozier@gmail.com

Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 9] RFC 4744 NETCONF over BEEP December 2006

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Lear & Crozier Standards Track [Page 10]

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