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author | Ted Lemon <source@isc.org> | 1997-12-06 12:13:48 +0000 |
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committer | Ted Lemon <source@isc.org> | 1997-12-06 12:13:48 +0000 |
commit | 0e98ad243224686282a963287c468a4c4addb045 (patch) | |
tree | 10133b536c33951ac3f84cadc385cb2fb4a38fa8 /doc | |
parent | 31d3229f0872ccafd158f5df61ce5820306cc9de (diff) | |
download | isc-dhcp-0e98ad243224686282a963287c468a4c4addb045.tar.gz |
BOOTP Protocol specification
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diff --git a/doc/rfc951.txt b/doc/rfc951.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..86cd69e6 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc951.txt @@ -0,0 +1,684 @@ + + +Network Working Group Bill Croft (Stanford University) +Request for Comments: 951 John Gilmore (Sun Microsystems) + September 1985 + + BOOTSTRAP PROTOCOL (BOOTP) + + +1. Status of this Memo + + This RFC suggests a proposed protocol for the ARPA-Internet + community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. + Distribution of this memo is unlimited. + +2. Overview + + This RFC describes an IP/UDP bootstrap protocol (BOOTP) which allows + a diskless client machine to discover its own IP address, the address + of a server host, and the name of a file to be loaded into memory and + executed. The bootstrap operation can be thought of as consisting of + TWO PHASES. This RFC describes the first phase, which could be + labeled 'address determination and bootfile selection'. After this + address and filename information is obtained, control passes to the + second phase of the bootstrap where a file transfer occurs. The file + transfer will typically use the TFTP protocol [9], since it is + intended that both phases reside in PROM on the client. However + BOOTP could also work with other protocols such as SFTP [3] or + FTP [6]. + + We suggest that the client's PROM software provide a way to do a + complete bootstrap without 'user' interaction. This is the type of + boot that would occur during an unattended power-up. A mechanism + should be provided for the user to manually supply the necessary + address and filename information to bypass the BOOTP protocol and + enter the file transfer phase directly. If non-volatile storage is + available, we suggest keeping default settings there and bypassing + the BOOTP protocol unless these settings cause the file transfer + phase to fail. If the cached information fails, the bootstrap should + fall back to phase 1 and use BOOTP. + + Here is a brief outline of the protocol: + + 1. A single packet exchange is performed. Timeouts are used to + retransmit until a reply is received. The same packet field + layout is used in both directions. Fixed length fields of maximum + reasonable length are used to simplify structure definition and + parsing. + + 2. An 'opcode' field exists with two values. The client + broadcasts a 'bootrequest' packet. The server then answers with a + 'bootreply' packet. The bootrequest contains the client's + hardware address and its IP address, if known. + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 1] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + 3. The request can optionally contain the name of the server the + client wishes to respond. This is so the client can force the + boot to occur from a specific host (e.g. if multiple versions of + the same bootfile exist or if the server is in a far distant + net/domain). The client does not have to deal with name / domain + services; instead this function is pushed off to the BOOTP server. + + 4. The request can optionally contain the 'generic' filename to be + booted. For example 'unix' or 'ethertip'. When the server sends + the bootreply, it replaces this field with the fully qualified + path name of the appropriate boot file. In determining this name, + the server may consult his own database correlating the client's + address and filename request, with a particular boot file + customized for that client. If the bootrequest filename is a null + string, then the server returns a filename field indicating the + 'default' file to be loaded for that client. + + 5. In the case of clients who do not know their IP addresses, the + server must also have a database relating hardware address to IP + address. This client IP address is then placed into a field in + the bootreply. + + 6. Certain network topologies (such as Stanford's) may be such + that a given physical cable does not have a TFTP server directly + attached to it (e.g. all the gateways and hosts on a certain cable + may be diskless). With the cooperation of neighboring gateways, + BOOTP can allow clients to boot off of servers several hops away, + through these gateways. See the section 'Booting Through + Gateways' below. This part of the protocol requires no special + action on the part of the client. Implementation is optional and + requires a small amount of additional code in gateways and + servers. + +3. Packet Format + + All numbers shown are decimal, unless indicated otherwise. The BOOTP + packet is enclosed in a standard IP [8] UDP [7] datagram. For + simplicity it is assumed that the BOOTP packet is never fragmented. + Any numeric fields shown are packed in 'standard network byte order', + i.e. high order bits are sent first. + + In the IP header of a bootrequest, the client fills in its own IP + source address if known, otherwise zero. When the server address is + unknown, the IP destination address will be the 'broadcast address' + 255.255.255.255. This address means 'broadcast on the local cable, + (I don't know my net number)' [4]. + + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 2] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + The UDP header contains source and destination port numbers. The + BOOTP protocol uses two reserved port numbers, 'BOOTP client' (68) + and 'BOOTP server' (67). The client sends requests using 'BOOTP + server' as the destination port; this is usually a broadcast. The + server sends replies using 'BOOTP client' as the destination port; + depending on the kernel or driver facilities in the server, this may + or may not be a broadcast (this is explained further in the section + titled 'Chicken/Egg issues' below). The reason TWO reserved ports + are used, is to avoid 'waking up' and scheduling the BOOTP server + daemons, when a bootreply must be broadcast to a client. Since the + server and other hosts won't be listening on the 'BOOTP client' port, + any such incoming broadcasts will be filtered out at the kernel + level. We could not simply allow the client to pick a 'random' port + number for the UDP source port field; since the server reply may be + broadcast, a randomly chosen port number could confuse other hosts + that happened to be listening on that port. + + The UDP length field is set to the length of the UDP plus BOOTP + portions of the packet. The UDP checksum field can be set to zero by + the client (or server) if desired, to avoid this extra overhead in a + PROM implementation. In the 'Packet Processing' section below the + phrase '[UDP checksum.]' is used whenever the checksum might be + verified/computed. + + FIELD BYTES DESCRIPTION + ----- ----- ----------- + + op 1 packet op code / message type. + 1 = BOOTREQUEST, 2 = BOOTREPLY + + htype 1 hardware address type, + see ARP section in "Assigned Numbers" RFC. + '1' = 10mb ethernet + + hlen 1 hardware address length + (eg '6' for 10mb ethernet). + + hops 1 client sets to zero, + optionally used by gateways + in cross-gateway booting. + + xid 4 transaction ID, a random number, + used to match this boot request with the + responses it generates. + + secs 2 filled in by client, seconds elapsed since + client started trying to boot. + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 3] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + -- 2 unused + + ciaddr 4 client IP address; + filled in by client in bootrequest if known. + + yiaddr 4 'your' (client) IP address; + filled by server if client doesn't + know its own address (ciaddr was 0). + + siaddr 4 server IP address; + returned in bootreply by server. + + giaddr 4 gateway IP address, + used in optional cross-gateway booting. + + chaddr 16 client hardware address, + filled in by client. + + sname 64 optional server host name, + null terminated string. + + file 128 boot file name, null terminated string; + 'generic' name or null in bootrequest, + fully qualified directory-path + name in bootreply. + + vend 64 optional vendor-specific area, + e.g. could be hardware type/serial on request, + or 'capability' / remote file system handle + on reply. This info may be set aside for use + by a third phase bootstrap or kernel. + +4. Chicken / Egg Issues + + How can the server send an IP datagram to the client, if the client + doesnt know its own IP address (yet)? Whenever a bootreply is being + sent, the transmitting machine performs the following operations: + + 1. If the client knows its own IP address ('ciaddr' field is + nonzero), then the IP can be sent 'as normal', since the client + will respond to ARPs [5]. + + 2. If the client does not yet know its IP address (ciaddr zero), + then the client cannot respond to ARPs sent by the transmitter of + the bootreply. There are two options: + + a. If the transmitter has the necessary kernel or driver hooks + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 4] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + to 'manually' construct an ARP address cache entry, then it can + fill in an entry using the 'chaddr' and 'yiaddr' fields. Of + course, this entry should have a timeout on it, just like any + other entry made by the normal ARP code itself. The + transmitter of the bootreply can then simply send the bootreply + to the client's IP address. UNIX (4.2 BSD) has this + capability. + + b. If the transmitter lacks these kernel hooks, it can simply + send the bootreply to the IP broadcast address on the + appropriate interface. This is only one additional broadcast + over the previous case. + +5. Client Use of ARP + + The client PROM must contain a simple implementation of ARP, e.g. the + address cache could be just one entry in size. This will allow a + second-phase-only boot (TFTP) to be performed when the client knows + the IP addresses and bootfile name. + + Any time the client is expecting to receive a TFTP or BOOTP reply, it + should be prepared to answer an ARP request for its own IP to + hardware address mapping (if known). + + Since the bootreply will contain (in the hardware encapsulation) the + hardware source address of the server/gateway, the client MAY be able + to avoid sending an ARP request for the server/gateway IP address to + be used in the following TFTP phase. However this should be treated + only as a special case, since it is desirable to still allow a + second-phase-only boot as described above. + +6. Comparison to RARP + + An earlier protocol, Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) [1] + was proposed to allow a client to determine its IP address, given + that it knew its hardware address. However RARP had the disadvantage + that it was a hardware link level protocol (not IP/UDP based). This + means that RARP could only be implemented on hosts containing special + kernel or driver modifications to access these 'raw' packets. Since + there are many network kernels existent now, with each source + maintained by different organizations, a boot protocol that does not + require kernel modifications is a decided advantage. + + BOOTP provides this hardware to IP address lookup function, in + addition to the other useful features described in the sections + above. + + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 5] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + +7. Packet Processing + + 7.1. Client Transmission + + Before setting up the packet for the first time, it is a good idea + to clear the entire packet buffer to all zeros; this will place + all fields in their default state. The client then creates a + packet with the following fields. + + The IP destination address is set to 255.255.255.255. (the + broadcast address) or to the server's IP address (if known). The + IP source address and 'ciaddr' are set to the client's IP address + if known, else 0. The UDP header is set with the proper length; + source port = 'BOOTP client' port destination port = 'BOOTP + server' port. + + 'op' is set to '1', BOOTREQUEST. 'htype' is set to the hardware + address type as assigned in the ARP section of the "Assigned + Numbers" RFC. 'hlen' is set to the length of the hardware address, + e.g. '6' for 10mb ethernet. + + 'xid' is set to a 'random' transaction id. 'secs' is set to the + number of seconds that have elapsed since the client has started + booting. This will let the servers know how long a client has + been trying. As the number gets larger, certain servers may feel + more 'sympathetic' towards a client they don't normally service. + If a client lacks a suitable clock, it could construct a rough + estimate using a loop timer. Or it could choose to simply send + this field as always a fixed value, say 100 seconds. + + If the client knows its IP address, 'ciaddr' (and the IP source + address) are set to this value. 'chaddr' is filled in with the + client's hardware address. + + If the client wishes to restrict booting to a particular server + name, it may place a null-terminated string in 'sname'. The name + used should be any of the allowable names or nicknames of the + desired host. + + The client has several options for filling the 'file' name field. + If left null, the meaning is 'I want to boot the default file for + my machine'. A null file name can also mean 'I am only interested + in finding out client/server/gateway IP addresses, I dont care + about file names'. + + The field can also be a 'generic' name such as 'unix' or + + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 6] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + 'gateway'; this means 'boot the named program configured for my + machine'. Finally the field can be a fully directory qualified + path name. + + The 'vend' field can be filled in by the client with + vendor-specific strings or structures. For example the machine + hardware type or serial number may be placed here. However the + operation of the BOOTP server should not DEPEND on this + information existing. + + If the 'vend' field is used, it is recommended that a 4 byte + 'magic number' be the first item within 'vend'. This lets a + server determine what kind of information it is seeing in this + field. Numbers can be assigned by the usual 'magic number' + process --you pick one and it's magic. A different magic number + could be used for bootreply's than bootrequest's to allow the + client to take special action with the reply information. + + [UDP checksum.] + + 7.2. Client Retransmission Strategy + + If no reply is received for a certain length of time, the client + should retransmit the request. The time interval must be chosen + carefully so as not to flood the network. Consider the case of a + cable containing 100 machines that are just coming up after a + power failure. Simply retransmitting the request every four + seconds will inundate the net. + + As a possible strategy, you might consider backing off + exponentially, similar to the way ethernet backs off on a + collision. So for example if the first packet is at time 0:00, + the second would be at :04, then :08, then :16, then :32, then + :64. You should also randomize each time; this would be done + similar to the ethernet specification by starting with a mask and + 'and'ing that with with a random number to get the first backoff. + On each succeeding backoff, the mask is increased in length by one + bit. This doubles the average delay on each backoff. + + After the 'average' backoff reaches about 60 seconds, it should be + increased no further, but still randomized. + + Before each retransmission, the client should update the 'secs' + field. [UDP checksum.] + + + + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 7] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + 7.3. Server Receives BOOTREQUEST + + [UDP checksum.] If the UDP destination port does not match the + 'BOOTP server' port, discard the packet. + + If the server name field (sname) is null (no particular server + specified), or sname is specified and matches our name or + nickname, then continue with packet processing. + + If the sname field is specified, but does not match 'us', then + there are several options: + + 1. You may choose to simply discard this packet. + + 2. If a name lookup on sname shows it to be on this same cable, + discard the packet. + + 3. If sname is on a different net, you may choose to forward + the packet to that address. If so, check the 'giaddr' (gateway + address) field. If 'giaddr' is zero, fill it in with my + address or the address of a gateway that can be used to get to + that net. Then forward the packet. + + If the client IP address (ciaddr) is zero, then the client does + not know its own IP address. Attempt to lookup the client + hardware address (chaddr, hlen, htype) in our database. If no + match is found, discard the packet. Otherwise we now have an IP + address for this client; fill it into the 'yiaddr' (your IP + address) field. + + We now check the boot file name field (file). The field will be + null if the client is not interested in filenames, or wants the + default bootfile. If the field is non-null, it is used as a + lookup key in a database, along with the client's IP address. If + there is a default file or generic file (possibly indexed by the + client address) or a fully-specified path name that matches, then + replace the 'file' field with the fully-specified path name of the + selected boot file. If the field is non-null and no match was + found, then the client is asking for a file we dont have; discard + the packet, perhaps some other BOOTP server will have it. + + The 'vend' vendor-specific data field should now be checked and if + a recognized type of data is provided, client-specific actions + should be taken, and a response placed in the 'vend' data field of + the reply packet. For example, a workstation client could provide + + + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 8] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + an authentication key and receive from the server a capability for + remote file access, or a set of configuration options, which can + be passed to the operating system that will shortly be booted in. + + Place my (server) IP address in the 'siaddr' field. Set the 'op' + field to BOOTREPLY. The UDP destination port is set to 'BOOTP + client'. If the client address 'ciaddr' is nonzero, send the + packet there; else if the gateway address 'giaddr' is nonzero, set + the UDP destination port to 'BOOTP server' and send the packet to + 'giaddr'; else the client is on one of our cables but it doesnt + know its own IP address yet --use a method described in the 'Egg' + section above to send it to the client. If 'Egg' is used and we + have multiple interfaces on this host, use the 'yiaddr' (your IP + address) field to figure out which net (cable/interface) to send + the packet to. [UDP checksum.] + + 7.4. Server/Gateway Receives BOOTREPLY + + [UDP checksum.] If 'yiaddr' (your [the client's] IP address) + refers to one of our cables, use one of the 'Egg' methods above to + forward it to the client. Be sure to send it to the 'BOOTP + client' UDP destination port. + + 7.5. Client Reception + + Don't forget to process ARP requests for my own IP address (if I + know it). [UDP checksum.] The client should discard incoming + packets that: are not IP/UDPs addressed to the boot port; are not + BOOTREPLYs; do not match my IP address (if I know it) or my + hardware address; do not match my transaction id. Otherwise we + have received a successful reply. 'yiaddr' will contain my IP + address, if I didnt know it before. 'file' is the name of the + file name to TFTP 'read request'. The server address is in + 'siaddr'. If 'giaddr' (gateway address) is nonzero, then the + packets should be forwarded there first, in order to get to the + server. + +8. Booting Through Gateways + + This part of the protocol is optional and requires some additional + code in cooperating gateways and servers, but it allows cross-gateway + booting. This is mainly useful when gateways are diskless machines. + Gateways containing disks (e.g. a UNIX machine acting as a gateway), + might as well run their own BOOTP/TFTP servers. + + Gateways listening to broadcast BOOTREQUESTs may decide to forward or + rebroadcast these requests 'when appropriate'. For example, the + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 9] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + gateway could have, as part of his configuration tables, a list of + other networks or hosts to receive a copy of any broadcast + BOOTREQUESTs. Even though a 'hops' field exists, it is a poor idea + to simply globally rebroadcast the requests, since broadcast loops + will almost certainly occur. + + The forwarding could begin immediately, or wait until the 'secs' + (seconds client has been trying) field passes a certain threshold. + + If a gateway does decide to forward the request, it should look at + the 'giaddr' (gateway IP address) field. If zero, it should plug its + own IP address (on the receiving cable) into this field. It may also + use the 'hops' field to optionally control how far the packet is + reforwarded. Hops should be incremented on each forwarding. For + example, if hops passes '3', the packet should probably be discarded. + [UDP checksum.] + + Here we have recommended placing this special forwarding function in + the gateways. But that does not have to be the case. As long as + some 'BOOTP forwarding agent' exists on the net with the booting + client, the agent can do the forwarding when appropriate. Thus this + service may or may not be co-located with the gateway. + + In the case of a forwarding agent not located in the gateway, the + agent could save himself some work by plugging the broadcast address + of the interface receiving the bootrequest into the 'giaddr' field. + Thus the reply would get forwarded using normal gateways, not + involving the forwarding agent. Of course the disadvantage here is + that you lose the ability to use the 'Egg' non-broadcast method of + sending the reply, causing extra overhead for every host on the + client cable. + +9. Sample BOOTP Server Database + + As a suggestion, we show a sample text file database that the BOOTP + server program might use. The database has two sections, delimited + by a line containing an percent in column 1. The first section + contains a 'default directory' and mappings from generic names to + directory/pathnames. The first generic name in this section is the + 'default file' you get when the bootrequest contains a null 'file' + string. + + The second section maps hardware addresstype/address into an + ipaddress. Optionally you can also overide the default generic name + by supplying a ipaddress specific genericname. A 'suffix' item is + also an option; if supplied, any generic names specified by the + client will be accessed by first appending 'suffix' to the 'pathname' + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 10] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + + appropriate to that generic name. If that file is not found, then + the plain 'pathname' will be tried. This 'suffix' option allows a + whole set of custom generics to be setup without a lot of effort. + Below is shown the general format; fields are delimited by one or + more spaces or tabs; trailing empty fields may be omitted; blank + lines and lines beginning with '#' are ignored. + + # comment line + + homedirectory + genericname1 pathname1 + genericname2 pathname2 + ... + + % end of generic names, start of address mappings + + hostname1 hardwaretype hardwareaddr1 ipaddr1 genericname suffix + hostname2 hardwaretype hardwareaddr2 ipaddr2 genericname suffix + ... + + Here is a specific example. Note the 'hardwaretype' number is the + same as that shown in the ARP section of the 'Assigned Numbers' RFC. + The 'hardwaretype' and 'ipaddr' numbers are in decimal; + 'hardwareaddr' is in hex. + + # last updated by smith + + /usr/boot + vmunix vmunix + tip ethertip + watch /usr/diag/etherwatch + gate gate. + + % end of generic names, start of address mappings + + hamilton 1 02.60.8c.06.34.98 36.19.0.5 + burr 1 02.60.8c.34.11.78 36.44.0.12 + 101-gateway 1 02.60.8c.23.ab.35 36.44.0.32 gate 101 + mjh-gateway 1 02.60.8c.12.32.bc 36.42.0.64 gate mjh + welch-tipa 1 02.60.8c.22.65.32 36.47.0.14 tip + welch-tipb 1 02.60.8c.12.15.c8 36.46.0.12 tip + + In the example above, if 'mjh-gateway' does a default boot, it will + get the file '/usr/boot/gate.mjh'. + + + + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 11] + + + +RFC 951 September 1985 +Bootstrap Protocol + + +10. Acknowledgements + + Ross Finlayson (et. al.) produced two earlier RFC's discussing TFTP + bootstraping [2] using RARP [1]. + + We would also like to acknowledge the previous work and comments of + Noel Chiappa, Bob Lyon, Jeff Mogul, Mark Lewis, and David Plummer. + +REFERENCES + + 1. Ross Finlayson, Timothy Mann, Jeffrey Mogul, Marvin Theimer. A + Reverse Address Resolution Protocol. RFC 903, NIC, June, 1984. + + 2. Ross Finlayson. Bootstrap Loading using TFTP. RFC 906, NIC, + June, 1984. + + 3. Mark Lottor. Simple File Transfer Protocol. RFC 913, NIC, + September, 1984. + + 4. Jeffrey Mogul. Broadcasting Internet Packets. RFC 919, NIC, + October, 1984. + + 5. David Plummer. An Ethernet Address Resolution Protocol. RFC + 826, NIC, September, 1982. + + 6. Jon Postel. File Transfer Protocol. RFC 765, NIC, June, 1980. + + 7. Jon Postel. User Datagram Protocol. RFC 768, NIC, August, 1980. + + 8. Jon Postel. Internet Protocol. RFC 791, NIC, September, 1981. + + 9. K. R. Sollins, Noel Chiappa. The TFTP Protocol. RFC 783, NIC, + June, 1981. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Croft & Gilmore [Page 12] + |