Current support for the storage of Internet addresses in the Domain
Name System (DNS) [1,2] cannot easily be extended to support IPv6
addresses [3] since applications assume that address queries return
32-bit IPv4 addresses only.
To support the storage of IPv6 addresses in the DNS, this document
defines the following extensions:
o A resource record type is defined to map a domain name to an
IPv6 address.
o A domain is defined to support lookups based on address.
o Existing queries that perform additional section processing to
locate IPv4 addresses are redefined to perform additional
section processing on both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
The changes are designed to be compatible with existing software.
The existing support for IPv4 addresses is retained. Transition
issues related to the co-existence of both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses in
the DNS are discussed in [4].
The IP protocol version used for querying resource records is
independent of the protocol version of the resource records; e.g.,
IPv4 transport can be used to query IPv6 records and vice versa.
This document combines RFC 1886 [5] and changes to RFC 1886 made by
RFC 3152 [6], obsoleting both. Changes mainly consist in replacing
the IP6.INT domain by IP6.ARPA as defined in RFC 3152.
A record type is defined to store a host's IPv6 address. A host that
has more than one IPv6 address must have more than one such record.
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RFC 3596 DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 October 2003
The AAAA resource record type is a record specific to the Internet
class that stores a single IPv6 address.
The IANA assigned value of the type is 28 (decimal).
An AAAA query for a specified domain name in the Internet class
returns all associated AAAA resource records in the answer section of
a response.
A type AAAA query does not trigger additional section processing.
The textual representation of the data portion of the AAAA resource
record used in a master database file is the textual representation
of an IPv6 address as defined in [3].
A special domain is defined to look up a record given an IPv6
address. The intent of this domain is to provide a way of mapping an
IPv6 address to a host name, although it may be used for other
purposes as well. The domain is rooted at IP6.ARPA.
An IPv6 address is represented as a name in the IP6.ARPA domain by a
sequence of nibbles separated by dots with the suffix ".IP6.ARPA".
The sequence of nibbles is encoded in reverse order, i.e., the
low-order nibble is encoded first, followed by the next low-order
nibble and so on. Each nibble is represented by a hexadecimal digit.
For example, the reverse lookup domain name corresponding to the
address
4321:0:1:2:3:4:567:89ab
would be
b.a.9.8.7.6.5.0.4.0.0.0.3.0.0.0.2.0.0.0.1.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.1.2.3.4.IP6.
ARPA.
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RFC 3596 DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 October 2003
All existing query types that perform type A additional section
processing, i.e., name server (NS), location of services (SRV) and
mail exchange (MX) query types, must be redefined to perform both
type A and type AAAA additional section processing. These
definitions mean that a name server must add any relevant IPv4
addresses and any relevant IPv6 addresses available locally to the
additional section of a response when processing any one of the above
queries.
Any information obtained from the DNS must be regarded as unsafe
unless techniques specified in [7] or [8] are used. The definitions
of the AAAA record type and of the IP6.ARPA domain do not change the
model for use of these techniques.
So, this specification is not believed to cause any new security
problems, nor to solve any existing ones.
The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
intellectual property or other rights that might be claimed to
pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
might or might not be available; neither does it represent that it
has made any effort to identify any such rights. Information on the
IETF's procedures with respect to rights in standards-track and
standards-related documentation can be found in BCP-11. Copies of
claims of rights made available for publication and any assurances of
licenses to be made available, or the result of an attempt made to
obtain a general license or permission for the use of such
proprietary rights by implementors or users of this specification can
be obtained from the IETF Secretariat.
The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
rights which may cover technology that may be required to practice
this standard. Please address the information to the IETF Executive
Director.
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RFC 3596 DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 October 2003
Acknowledgments
Vladimir Ksinant and Mohsen Souissi would like to thank Sebastien
Barbin (IRISA), Luc Beloeil (France Telecom R&D), Jean-Mickael Guerin
(6WIND), Vincent Levigneron (AFNIC), Alain Ritoux (6WIND), Frederic
Roudaut (IRISA) and G6 group for their help during the RFC 1886
Interop tests sessions.
Many thanks to Alain Durand and Olafur Gudmundsson for their support.
Thomson, et al. Standards Track [Page 5]
RFC 3596 DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 October 2003
Appendix A: Changes from RFC 1886
The following changes were made from RFC 1886 "DNS Extensions to
support IP version 6":
- Replaced the "IP6.INT" domain by "IP6.ARPA".
- Mentioned SRV query types in section 3 "MODIFICATIONS TO
EXISTING QUERY TYPES"
- Added security considerations.
- Updated references :
* From RFC 1884 to RFC 3513 (IP Version 6 Addressing
Architecture).
* From "work in progress" to RFC 2893 (Transition Mechanisms for
IPv6 Hosts and Routers).
* Added reference to RFC 1886, RFC 3152, RFC 2535 and RFC 2845.
- Updated document abstract
- Added table of contents
- Added full copyright statement
- Added IANA considerations section
- Added Intellectual Property Statement
Normative References
[1] Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities", STD
13, RFC 1034, November 1987.
[2] Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Implementation and
Specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, November 1987.
[3] Hinden, R. and S. Deering, "Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)
Addressing Architecture", RFC 3513, April 2003.
Informative References
[4] Gilligan, R. and E. Nordmark, "Transition Mechanisms for IPv6
Hosts and Routers", RFC 2893, August 2000.
[5] Thomson, S. and C. Huitema, "DNS Extensions to support IP
version 6", RFC 1886, December 1995.
[6] Bush, R., "Delegation of IP6.ARPA", BCP 49, RFC 3152, August
2001.
[7] Eastlake, D., "Domain Name System Security Extensions", RFC
2535, March 1999
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RFC 3596 DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 October 2003
[8] Vixie, P., Gudmundsson, O., Eastlake, D. and B. Wellington,
"Secret Key Transaction Authentication for DNS (TSIG)", RFC
2845, May 2000.
Authors' Addresses
Susan Thomson
Cisco Systems
499 Thornall Street, 8th floor
Edison, NJ 08837
Phone: +1 732-635-3086
EMail: sethomso@cisco.com
Christian Huitema
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
EMail: huitema@microsoft.com
Vladimir Ksinant
6WIND S.A.
Immeuble Central Gare - Bat.C
1, place Charles de Gaulle
78180, Montigny-Le-Bretonneux - France
Phone: +33 1 39 30 92 36
EMail: vladimir.ksinant@6wind.com
Mohsen Souissi
AFNIC
Immeuble International
2, rue Stephenson,
78181, Saint-Quentin en Yvelines Cedex - France
Phone: +33 1 39 30 83 40
EMail: Mohsen.Souissi@nic.fr
Thomson, et al. Standards Track [Page 7]
RFC 3596 DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 October 2003
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
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included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
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followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
English.
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
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Acknowledgement
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
Thomson, et al. Standards Track [Page 8]