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Status:

PROPOSED STANDARD

Authors:

J. Wu
Y. Cui
C. Metz
E. Rosen

Stream:

IETF

Source:

softwire (int)

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DOI:  https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC5565

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Abstract

The Internet needs to be able to handle both IPv4 and IPv6 packets.However, it is expected that some constituent networks of theInternet will be "single-protocol" networks. One kind ofsingle-protocol network can parse only IPv4 packets and can processonly IPv4 routing information; another kind can parse only IPv6packets and can process only IPv6 routing information. It isnevertheless required that either kind of single-protocol network beable to provide transit service for the "other" protocol. This isdone by passing the "other kind" of routing information from one edgeof the single-protocol network to the other, and by tunneling the"other kind" of data packet from one edge to the other. The tunnelsare known as "softwires". This framework document explains how therouting information and the data packets of one protocol are passedthrough a single-protocol network of the other protocol. Thedocument is careful to specify when this can be done with existingtechnology and when it requires the development of new or modifiedtechnology. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

For the definition ofStatus,seeRFC 2026.

For the definition ofStream, seeRFC 8729.