Additional Snoop Datalink Types

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 © The Internet Society (2004).

Abstract

The snoop file format provides a way to store and exchange datalink layer packet traces. This document describes extensions to this file format to support new media.

1. Introduction

[RFC1761] defines the snoop file format used to store captured network packets for tools that capture, display, and interpret network traffic. The file format specifies a header containing the Datalink Type field that identifies the network's datalink type. This document defines new values for this field, as well as an IANA registry for future datalink types.

2. New Datalink Types

In addition to the Datalink Type codes listed in [RFC1761], this document defines the following type codes for the corresponding media:

             Datalink Type           Code
             -------------           ----
             
             Fibre Channel           16
             ATM                     17
             ATM Classical IP        18
             IP over Infiniband      26

The IP over Infiniband packet format is described in [IPoIB].

3. IANA Considerations

This document created a new IANA registry named "Snoop Datalink Types" to hold the various possible 32-bit (4 octet) snoop datalink types. This new registry holds the values previously defined in [RFC1761] and tabulated below:

             Datalink Type           Code
             -------------           ----
             
             IEEE 802.3              0
             IEEE 802.4 Token Bus    1
             IEEE 802.5 Token Ring   2
             IEEE 802.6 Metro Net    3
             Ethernet                4
             HDLC                    5
             Character Synchronous   6
             IBM Channel-to-Channel  7
             FDDI                    8
             Other                   9

Additionally, the new registry also holds the values defined above in section 2 of this document.

All new allocations and assignments to this registry starting from code 27 will follow the First Come First Served policy outlined in [BCP0026]. Type codes up to 26 not defined by this section of the document (10-15 and 19-25) are considered reserved.

4. Security Considerations

The addition of new datalink type codes to the existing file format poses no known security risks.

5. Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Jim Carlson, Brent Callaghan, and Bill Strahm for meticulously reviewing this document.

6. References

6.1. Normative References

   [RFC1761] Callaghan, B. and R. Gilligan, "Snoop Version 2 Packet
             Capture File Format", RFC 1761, February 1995.
   
   [BCP0026] Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
             IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 2434,
             October 1998.

6.2. Informative References

   [IPoIB]   Kashyap, V. and H.K. Chu, "IP encapsulation and address
             resolution over InfiniBand networks", Work in Progress,
             April 2003.

7. Author's Address

   Kanoj Sarcar
   Sun Microsystems, Inc.
   14 Network Circle
   Bldg 14, MPK14-333
   Menlo Park, CA  94025
   
   Phone: 1-650-786-4785
   EMail: kanoj.sarcar@sun.com

8. Full Copyright Statement

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Acknowledgement

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