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RFC 3652

Handle System Protocol (ver 2.1) Specification

Pages: 53
Informational
Part 1 of 2 – Pages 1 to 23
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Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 1
Network Working Group                                             S. Sun
Request for Comments: 3652                                     S. Reilly
Category: Informational                                        L. Lannom
                                                              J. Petrone
                                                                    CNRI
                                                           November 2003


            Handle System Protocol (ver 2.1) Specification

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 (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

IESG Note

   Several groups within the IETF and IRTF have discussed the Handle
   System and its relationship to existing systems of identifiers.  The
   IESG wishes to point out that these discussions have not resulted in
   IETF consensus on the described Handle System, nor on how it might
   fit into the IETF architecture for identifiers.  Though there has
   been discussion of handles as a form of URI, specifically as a URN,
   these documents describe an alternate view of how namespaces and
   identifiers might work on the Internet and include characterizations
   of existing systems which may not match the IETF consensus view.

Abstract

The Handle System is a general-purpose global name service that allows secured name resolution and administration over the public Internet. This document describes the protocol used for client software to access the Handle System for both handle resolution and administration. The protocol specifies the procedure for a client software to locate the responsible handle server of any given handle. It also defines the messages exchanged between the client and server for any handle operation.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 2

Table of Contents

1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Protocol Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1. Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1.1. Data Transmission Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1.2. Transport Layer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.1.3. Character Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2.1.4. Standard String Type: UTF8-String. . . . . . . . 7 2.2. Common Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.2.1. Message Envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.2.2. Message Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2.2.3. Message Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 2.2.4. Message Credential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 2.3. Message Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 3. Handle Protocol Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.1. Client Bootstrapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.1.1. Global Handle Registry and its Service Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.1.2. Locating the Handle System Service Component . . 22 3.1.3. Selecting the Responsible Server . . . . . . . . 23 3.2. Query Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.2.1. Query Request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3.2.2. Successful Query Response. . . . . . . . . . . . 25 3.2.3. Unsuccessful Query Response. . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.3. Error Response from Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.4. Service Referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 3.5. Client Authentication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 3.5.1. Challenge from Server to Client. . . . . . . . . 29 3.5.2. Challenge-Response from Client to Server . . . . 30 3.5.3. Challenge-Response Verification-Request. . . . . 33 3.5.4. Challenge-Response Verification-Response . . . . 33 3.6. Handle Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 3.6.1. Add Handle Value(s). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 3.6.2. Remove Handle Value(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 3.6.3. Modify Handle Value(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 3.6.4. Create Handle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 3.6.5. Delete Handle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 3.7. Naming Authority (NA) Administration . . . . . . . . . . 40 3.7.1. List Handle(s) under a Naming Authority. . . . . 40 3.7.2. List Sub-Naming Authorities under a Naming Authority. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 3.8. Session and Session Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 3.8.1. Session Setup Request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 3.8.2. Session Setup Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 3.8.3. Session Key Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 3.8.4. Session Termination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 3
   4.  Implementation Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
       4.1.  Server Implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
       4.2.  Client Implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
   5.  Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
   6.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
   7.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
   8.  Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
   9.  Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

1. Overview

The Handle System provides a general-purpose, secured global name service for the Internet. It was originally conceived and described in a paper by Robert Kahn and Robert Wilensky [18] in 1995. The Handle System defines a client server protocol in which client software submits requests via a network to handle servers. Each request describes the operation to be performed on the server. The server will process the request and return a message indicating the result of the operation. This document specifies the protocol for client software to access a handle server for handle resolution and administration. It does not include the description of the protocol used to manage handle servers. A discussion of the management protocol is out of the scope of this document and will be made available in a separate document. The document assumes that readers are familiar with the basic concepts of the Handle System as introduced in the "Handle System Overview" [1], as well as the data model and service definition given in the "Handle System Namespace and Service Definition" [2]. The Handle System consists of a set of service components as defined in [2]. From the client's point of view, the Handle System is a distributed database for handles. Different handles under the Handle System may be maintained by different handle servers at different network locations. The Handle protocol specifies the procedure for a client to locate the responsible handle server of any given handle. It also defines the messages exchanged between the client and server for any handle operation. Some key aspects of the Handle protocol include: o The Handle protocol supports both handle resolution and administration. The protocol follows the data and service model defined in [2]. o A client may authenticate any server response based on the server's digital signature.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 4
      o  A server may authenticate its client as handle administrator
         via the Handle authentication protocol.  The Handle
         authentication protocol is a challenge-response protocol that
         supports both public-key and secret-key based authentication.

      o  A session may be established between the client and server so
         that authentication information and network resources (e.g.,
         TCP connection) may be shared among multiple operations.  A
         session key can be established to achieve data integrity and
         confidentiality.

      o  The protocol can be extended to support new operations.
         Controls can be used to extend the existing operations.  The
         protocol is defined to allow future backward compatibility.

      o  Distributed service architecture.  Support service referral
         among different service components.

      o  Handles and their data types are based on the ISO-10646
         (Unicode 2.0) character set.  UTF-8 [3] is the mandated
         encoding under the Handle protocol.

   The Handle protocol (version 2.1) specified in this document has
   changed significantly from its earlier versions.  These changes are
   necessary due to changes made in the Handle System data model and the
   service model.  Servers that implement this protocol may continue to
   support earlier versions of the protocol by checking the protocol
   version specified in the Message Envelope (see section 2.2.1).

2. Protocol Elements

2.1. Conventions

The following conventions are followed by the Handle protocol to ensure interoperability among different implementations.

2.1.1. Data Transmission Order

The order of transmission of data packets follows the network byte order (also called the Big-Endian [11]). That is, when a data-gram consists of a group of octets, the order of transmission of those octets follows their natural order from left to right and from top to bottom, as they are read in English. For example, in the following diagram, the octets are transmitted in the order they are numbered.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 5
          0                   1
          0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5
         .-------------------------------.
         |       1       |       2       |
         |-------------------------------|
         |       3       |       4       |
         |-------------------------------|
         |       5       |       6       |
         '-------------------------------'

   If an octet represents a numeric quantity, the left most bit is the
   most significant bit.  For example, the following diagram represents
   the value 170 (decimal).

          0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
         .---------------.
         |1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0|
         '---------------'

   Similarly, whenever a multi-octet field represents a numeric
   quantity, the left most bit is the most significant bit and the most
   significant octet of the whole field is transmitted first.

2.1.2. Transport Layer

The Handle protocol is designed so that messages may be transmitted either as separate data-grams over UDP or as a continuous byte stream via a TCP connection. The recommended port number for both UDP and TCP is 2641. UDP Usage Messages carried by UDP are restricted to 512 bytes (not including the IP or UDP header). Longer messages must be fragmented into UDP packets where each packet carries a proper sequence number in the Message Envelope (see Section 2.2.1). The optimum retransmission policy will vary depending on the network or server performance, but the following are recommended: o The client should try other servers or service interfaces before repeating a request to the same server address. o The retransmission interval should be based on prior statistics if possible. Overly aggressive retransmission should be avoided to prevent network congestion. The recommended retransmission interval is 2-5 seconds.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 6
         o  When transmitting large amounts of data, TCP-friendly
            congestion control, such as an interface to the Congestion
            Manager [12], should be implemented whenever possible to
            avoid unfair consumption of the bandwidth against TCP-based
            applications.  Details of the congestion control will be
            discussed in a separate document.

   TCP Usage

      Messages under the Handle protocol can be mapped directly into a
      TCP byte-stream.  However, the size of each message is limited by
      the range of a 4-byte unsigned integer.  Longer messages may be
      fragmented into multiple messages before the transmission and
      reassembled at the receiving end.

      Several connection management policies are recommended:

         o  The server should support multiple connections and should
            not block other activities waiting for TCP data.

         o  By default, the server should close the connection after
            completing the request.  However, if the request asks to
            keep the connection open, the server should assume that the
            client will initiate connection closing.

2.1.3. Character Case

Handles are character strings based on the ISO-10646 character set and must be encoded in UTF-8. By default, handle characters are treated as case-sensitive under the Handle protocol. A handle service, however, may be implemented in such a way that ASCII characters are processed case-insensitively. For example, the Global Handle Registry (GHR) provides a handle service where ASCII characters are processed in a case-insensitive manner. This suggests that ASCII characters in any naming authority are case-insensitive. When handles are created under a case-insensitive handle server, their original case should be preserved. To avoid any confusion, the server should avoid creating any handle whose character string matches that of an existing handle, ignoring the case difference. For example, if the handle "X/Y" was already created, the server should refuse any request to create the handle "x/y" or any of its case variations.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 7

2.1.4. Standard String Type: UTF8-String

Handles are transmitted as UTF8-Strings under the Handle protocol. Throughout this document, UTF8-String stands for the data type that consists of a 4-byte unsigned integer followed by a character string in UTF-8 encoding. The leading integer specifies the number of octets of the character string.

2.2. Common Elements

Each message exchanged under the system protocol consists of four sections (see Fig. 2.2). Some of these sections (e.g., the Message Body) may be empty depending on the protocol operation. The Message Envelope must always be present. It has a fixed size of 20 octets. The Message Envelope does not carry any application layer information and is primarily used to help deliver the message. Content in the Message Envelope is not protected by the digital signature in the Message Credential. The Message Header must always be present as well. It has a fixed size of 24 octets and holds the common data fields of all messages exchanged between client and server. These include the operation code, the response code, and the control options for each protocol operation. Content in the Message Header is protected by the digital signature in the Message Credential. The Message Body contains data specific to each protocol operation. Its format varies according to the operation code and the response code in the Message Header. The Message Body may be empty. Content in the Message Body is protected by the digital signature in the Message Credential. The Message Credential provides a mechanism for transport security for any message exchanged between the client and server. A non-empty Message Credential may contain the digital signature from the originator of the message or the one-way Message Authentication Code (MAC) based on a pre-established session key. The Message Credential may be used to authenticate the message between the client and server. It can also be used to check data integrity after its transmission.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 8
      .----------------------.
      |                      |  ; Message wrapper for proper message
      |   Message Envelope   |  ; delivery.  Not protected by the
      |                      |  ; digital signature in the Message
      |                      |  ; Credential.
      |----------------------|
      |                      |  ; Common data fields for all handle
      |   Message Header     |  ; operations.
      |                      |
      |----------------------|
      |                      |  ; Specific data fields for each
      |   Message Body       |  ; request/response.
      |                      |
      |----------------------|
      |                      |  ; Contains digital signature or
      |  Message Credential  |  ; message authentication code (MAC)
      |                      |  ; upon Message Header and Message
      '----------------------'  ; Body.

         Fig 2.2: Message format under the Handle protocol

2.2.1. Message Envelope

Each message begins with a Message Envelope under the Handle protocol. If a message has to be truncated before its transmission, each truncated portion must also begin with a Message Envelope. The Message Envelope allows the reassembly of the message at the receiving end. It has a fixed size of 20 octets and consists of seven fields: 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 .---------------------------------------------------------------. | MajorVersion | MinorVersion | MessageFlag | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | SessionId | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | RequestId | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | SequenceNumber | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | MessageLength | '---------------------------------------------------------------'
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 9
2.2.1.1. <MajorVersion> and <MinorVersion>
The <MajorVersion> and <MinorVersion> are used to identify the version of the Handle protocol. Each of them is defined as a one- byte unsigned integer. This specification defines the protocol version whose <MajorVersion> is 2 and <MinorVersion> is 1. <MajorVersion> and <MinorVersion> are designed to allow future backward compatibility. A difference in <MajorVersion> indicates major variation in the protocol format and the party with the lower <MajorVersion> will have to upgrade its software to ensure precise communication. An increment in <MinorVersion> is made when additional capabilities are added to the protocol without any major change to the message format.
2.2.1.2. <MessageFlag>
The <MessageFlag> consists of two octets defined as follows: 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 .---------------------------------------------------------------. |CP |EC |TC | Reserved | '---------------------------------------------------------------' Bit 0 is the CP (ComPressed) flag that indicates whether the message (excluding the Message Envelope) is compressed. If the CP bit is set (to 1), the message is compressed. Otherwise, the message is not compressed. The Handle protocol uses the same compression method as used by the FTP protocol[8]. Bit 1 is the EC (EnCrypted) flag that indicates whether the message (excluding the Message Envelope) is encrypted. The EC bit should only be set under an established session where a session key is in place. If the EC bit is set (to 1), the message is encrypted using the session key. Otherwise the message is not encrypted. Bit 2 is the TC (TrunCated) flag that indicates whether this is a truncated message. Message truncation happens most often when transmitting a large message over the UDP protocol. Details of message truncation (or fragmentation) will be discussed in section 2.3. Bits 3 to 15 are currently reserved and must be set to zero.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 10
2.2.1.3. <SessionId>
The <SessionId> is a four-byte unsigned integer that identifies a communication session between the client and server. Session and its <SessionId> are assigned by a server, either upon an explicit request from a client or when multiple message exchanges are expected to fulfill the client's request. For example, the server will assign a unique <SessionId> in its response if it has to authenticate the client. A client may explicitly ask the server to set up a session as a virtually private communication channel like SSL [4]. Requests from clients without an established session must have their <SessionId> set to zero. The server must assign a unique non-zero <SessionId> for each new session. It is also responsible for terminating those sessions that are not in use after some period of time. Both clients and servers must maintain the same <SessionId> for messages exchanged under an established session. A message whose <SessionId> is zero indicates that no session has been established. The session and its state information may be shared among multiple handle operations. They may also be shared over multiple TCP connections as well. Once a session is established, both client and server must maintain their state information according to the <SessionId>. The state information may include the stage of the conversation, the other party's authentication information, and the session key that was established for message encryption or authentication. Details of these are discussed in section 3.8.
2.2.1.4. <RequestId>
Each request from a client is identified by a <RequestId>, a 4-byte unsigned integer set by the client. Each <RequestId> must be unique from all other outstanding requests from the same client. The <RequestId> allows the client to keep track of its requests, and any response from the server must include the correct <RequestId>.
2.2.1.5. <SequenceNumber>
Messages under the Handle protocol may be truncated during their transmission (e.g., under UDP). The <SequenceNumber> is a 4-byte unsigned integer used as a counter to keep track of each truncated portion of the original message. The message recipient can reassemble the original message based on the <SequenceNumber>. The <SequenceNumber> must start with 0 for each message. Each truncated message must set its TC flag in the Message Envelope. Messages that are not truncated must set their <SequenceNumber> to zero.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 11
2.2.1.6. <MessageLen>
A 4-byte unsigned integer that specifies the total number of octets of any message, excluding those in the Message Envelope. The length of any single message exchanged under the Handle protocol is limited by the range of a 4-byte unsigned integer. Longer data can be transmitted as multiple messages with a common <RequestId>.

2.2.2. Message Header

The Message Header contains the common data elements among any protocol operation. It has a fixed size of 24 octets and consists of eight fields. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 .---------------------------------------------------------------. | OpCode | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | ResponseCode | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | OpFlag | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | SiteInfoSerialNumber | RecursionCount| | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | ExpirationTime | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | BodyLength | '---------------------------------------------------------------' Every message that is not truncated must have a Message Header. If a message has to be truncated for its transmission, the Message Header must appear in the first truncated portion of the message. This is different from the Message Envelope, which appears in each truncated portion of the message.
2.2.2.1. <OpCode>
The <OpCode> stands for operation code, which is a four-byte unsigned integer that specifies the intended operation. The following table lists the <OpCode>s that MUST be supported by all implementations in order to conform to the base protocol specification. Each operation code is given a symbolic name that is used throughout this document for easy reference.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 12
       Op_Code    Symbolic Name            Remark
      ---------   -------------            ------

          0       OC_RESERVED              Reserved
          1       OC_RESOLUTION            Handle query
          2       OC_GET_SITEINFO          Get HS_SITE values

        100       OC_CREATE_HANDLE         Create new handle
        101       OC_DELETE_HANDLE         Delete existing handle
        102       OC_ADD_VALUE             Add handle value(s)
        103       OC_REMOVE_VALUE          Remove handle value(s)
        104       OC_MODIFY_VALUE          Modify handle value(s)
        105       OC_LIST_HANDLE           List handles
        106       OC_LIST_NA               List sub-naming authorities

        200       OC_CHALLENGE_RESPONSE    Response to challenge
        201       OC_VERIFY_RESPONSE       Verify challenge response

        300
         :        { Reserved for handle server administration }
        399

        400       OC_SESSION_SETUP         Session setup request
        401       OC_SESSION_TERMINATE     Session termination request
        402       OC_SESSION_EXCHANGEKEY   Session key exchange

   A detailed description of each of these <OpCode>s can be found in
   section 3 of this document.  In general, clients use the <OpCode> to
   tell the server what kind of handle operation they want to
   accomplish.  Response from the server must maintain the same <OpCode>
   as the original request and use the <ResponseCode> to indicate the
   result.

2.2.2.2. <ResponseCode>
The <ResponseCode> is a 4-byte unsigned integer that is given by a server to indicate the result of any service request. The list of <ResponseCode>s used in the Handle protocol is defined in the following table. Each response code is given a symbolic name that is used throughout this document for easy reference.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 13
      Res. Code   Symbolic Name            Remark
      ---------   -------------            ------

         0        RC_RESERVED              Reserved for request
         1        RC_SUCCESS               Success response
         2        RC_ERROR                 General error
         3        RC_SERVER_BUSY           Server too busy to respond
         4        RC_PROTOCOL_ERROR        Corrupted or
                                           unrecognizable message
         5        RC_OPERATION_DENIED      Unsupported operation
         6        RC_RECUR_LIMIT_EXCEEDED  Too many recursions for
                                           the request

         100      RC_HANDLE_NOT_FOUND      Handle not found
         101      RC_HANDLE_ALREADY_EXIST  Handle already exists
         102      RC_INVALID_HANDLE        Encoding (or syntax) error

         200      RC_VALUE_NOT_FOUND       Value not found
         201      RC_VALUE_ALREADY_EXIST   Value already exists
         202      RC_VALUE_INVALID         Invalid handle value

         300      RC_EXPIRED_SITE_INFO     SITE_INFO out of date
         301      RC_SERVER_NOT_RESP       Server not responsible
         302      RC_SERVICE_REFERRAL      Server referral
         303      RC_NA_DELEGATE           Naming authority delegation
                                           takes place.

         400      RC_NOT_AUTHORIZED        Not authorized/permitted
         401      RC_ACCESS_DENIED         No access to data
         402      RC_AUTHEN_NEEDED         Authentication required
         403      RC_AUTHEN_FAILED         Failed to authenticate
         404      RC_INVALID_CREDENTIAL    Invalid credential
         405      RC_AUTHEN_TIMEOUT        Authentication timed out
         406      RC_UNABLE_TO_AUTHEN      Unable to authenticate

         500      RC_SESSION_TIMEOUT       Session expired
         501      RC_SESSION_FAILED        Unable to establish session
         502      RC_NO_SESSION_KEY        No session yet available
         503      RC_SESSION_NO_SUPPORT    Session not supported
         504      RC_SESSION_KEY_INVALID   Invalid session key

         900      RC_TRYING                Request under processing
         901      RC_FORWARDED             Request forwarded to
                                           another server
         902      RC_QUEUED                Request queued for later
                                           processing
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 14
   Response codes under 10000 are reserved for system use.  Any message
   with a response code under 10000 but not listed above should be
   treated as an unknown error.  Response codes above 10000 are user
   defined and can be used for application specific purposes.

   Detailed descriptions of these <ResponseCode>s can be found in
   section 3 of this document.  In general, any request from a client
   must have its <ResponseCode> set to 0.  The response message from the
   server must have a non-zero <ResponseCode> to indicate the result.
   For example, a response message from a server with <ResponseCode> set
   to RC_SUCCESS indicates that the server has successfully fulfilled
   the client's request.

2.2.2.3. <OpFlag>
The <OpFlag> is a 32-bit bit-mask that defines various control options for protocol operation. The following figure shows the location of each option flag in the <OpFlag> field. 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 .---------------------------------------------------------------. |AT |CT |ENC|REC|CA |CN |KC |PO |RD | Reserved | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Reserved | '---------------------------------------------------------------' AT - AuThoritative bit. A request with the AT bit set (to 1) indicates that the request should be directed to the primary service site (instead of any mirroring sites). A response message with the AT bit set (to 1) indicates that the message is returned from a primary server (within the primary service site). CT - CerTified bit. A request with the CT bit set (to 1) asks the server to sign its response with its digital signature. A response with the CT bit set (to 1) indicates that the message is signed. The server must sign its response if the request has its CT bit set (to 1). If the server fails to provide a valid signature in its response, the client should discard the response and treat the request as failed. ENC - ENCryption bit. A request with the ENC bit set (to 1) requires the server to encrypt its response using the pre-established session key.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 15
       REC  -  RECursive bit.  A request with the REC bit set (to 1)
               asks the server to forward the query on behalf of the
               client if the request has to be processed by another
               handle server.  The server may honor the request by
               forwarding the request to the appropriate handle server
               and passing on any result back to the client.  The server
               may also deny any such request by sending a response
               with <ResponseCode> set to RC_SERVER_NOT_RESP.

       CA   -  Cache Authentication.  A request with the CA bit set (to
               1) asks the caching server (if any) to authenticate any
               server response (e.g., verifying the server's signature)
               on behalf of the client.  A response with the CA bit set
               (to 1) indicates that the response has been
               authenticated by the caching server.

       CN   -  ContiNuous bit.  A message with the CN bit set (to 1)
               tells the message recipient that more messages that are
               part of the same request (or response) will follow.  This
               happens if a request (or response) has data that is too
               large to fit into any single message and has to be
               fragmented into multiple messages.

       KC   -  Keep Connection bit.  A message with the KC bit set
               requires the message recipient to keep the TCP
               connection open (after the response is sent back).  This
               allows the same TCP connection to be used for multiple
               handle operations.

       PO   -  Public Only bit.  Used by query operations only.  A query
               request with the PO bit set (to 1) indicates that the
               client is only asking for handle values that have the
               PUB_READ permission.  A request with PO bit set to zero
               asks for all the handle values regardless of their read
               permission.  If any of the handle values require
               ADMIN_READ permission, the server must authenticate the
               client as the handle administrator.

       RD   -  Request-Digest bit.  A request with the RD bit set (to 1)
               asks the server to include in its response the message
               digest of the request.  A response message with the RD
               bit set (to 1) indicates that the first field in the
               Message Body contains the message digest of the original
               request.  The message digest can be used to check the
               integrity of the server response.  Details of these are
               discussed later in this document.
Top   ToC   RFC3652 - Page 16
   All other bits in the <OpFlag> field are reserved and must be set to
   zero.

   In general, servers must honor the <OpFlag> specified in the request.
   If a requested option cannot be met, the server should return an
   error message with the proper <ResponseCode> as defined in the
   previous section.

2.2.2.4. <SiteInfoSerialNumber>
The <SiteInfoSerialNumber> is a two-byte unsigned integer. The <SiteInfoSerialNumber> in a request refers to the <SerialNumber> of the HS_SITE value used by the client (to access the server). Servers can check the <SiteInfoSerialNumber> in the request to find out if the client has up-to-date service information. When possible, the server should fulfill a client's request even if the service information used by the client is out-of-date. However, the response message should specify the latest version of service information in the <SiteInforSerialNumber> field. Clients with out- of-date service information can update the service information from the Global Handle Registry. If the server cannot fulfill a client's request due to expired service information, it should reject the request and return an error message with <ResponseCode> set to RC_EXPIRED_SITE_INFO.
2.2.2.5. <RecursionCount>
The <RecursionCount> is a one-byte unsigned integer that specifies the number of service recursions. Service recursion happens if the server has to forward the client's request to another server. Any request directly from the client must have its <RecursionCount> set to 0. If the server has to send a recursive request on behalf of the client, it must increment the <RecursionCount> by 1. Any response from the server must maintain the same <RecursionCount> as the one in the request. To prevent an infinite loop of service recursion, the server should be configurable to stop sending a recursive request when the <RecursionCount> reaches a certain value.
2.2.2.6. <ExpirationTime>
The <ExpirationTime> is a 4-byte unsigned integer that specifies the time when the message should be considered expired, relative to January 1st, 1970 GMT, in seconds. It is set to zero if no expiration is expected.
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2.2.2.7. <BodyLength>
The <BodyLength> is a 4-byte unsigned integer that specifies the number of octets in the Message Body. The <BodyLength> does not count the octets in the Message Header or those in the Message Credential.

2.2.3. Message Body

The Message Body always follows the Message Header. The number of octets in the Message Body can be determined from the <BodyLength> in the Message Header. The Message Body may be empty. The exact format of the Message Body depends on the <OpCode> and the <ResponseCode> in the Message Header. Details of the Message Body under each <OpCode> and <ResponseCode> are described in section 3 of this document. For any response message, if the Message Header has its RD bit (in <OpFlag>) set to 1, the Message Body must begin with the message digest of the original request. The message digest is defined as follows: <RequestDigest> ::= <DigestAlgorithmIdentifier> <MessageDigest> where <DigestAlgorithmIdentifier> An octet that identifies the algorithm used to generate the message digest. If the octet is set to 1, the digest is generated using the MD5 [9] algorithm. If the octet is set to 2, SHA-1 [10] algorithm is used. <MessageDigest> The message digest itself. It is calculated upon the Message Header and the Message Body of the original request. The length of the field is fixed according to the digest algorithm. For MD5 algorithm, the length is 16 octets. For SHA-1, the length is 20 octets. The Message Body may be truncated into multiple portions during its transmission (e.g., over UDP). Recipients of such a message may reassemble the Message Body from each portion based on the <SequenceNumber> in the Message Envelope.
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2.2.4. Message Credential

The Message Credential is primarily used to carry any digital signatures signed by the message issuer. It may also carry the Message Authentication Code (MAC) if a session key has been established. The Message Credential is used to protect contents in the Message Header and the Message Body from being tampered with during transmission. The format of the Message Credential is designed to be semantically compatible with PKCS#7 [5]. Each Message Credential consists of the following fields: 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 .---------------------------------------------------------------. | CredentialLength | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Version | Reserved | Options | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | | Signer: <Handle, Index> | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Type (UTF8-String) | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | | SignedInfo: <Length> : 4-byte unsigned integer | DigestAlgorithm: <UTF8-String> | SignedData: <Length, Signature> | '---------------------------------------------------------------' where <CredentialLength> A 4-byte unsigned integer that specifies the number of octets in the Message Credential. It must be set to zero if the message has no Message Credential. <Version> An octet that identifies the version number of the Message Credential. The version number specified in this document is zero. <Reserved> An octet that must be set to zero. <Options> Two octets reserved for various cryptography options.
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      <Signer> ::= <HANDLE>
                   <INDEX>
      A reference to a handle value in terms of the <HANDLE> and the
      <INDEX> of the handle value.  The handle value may contain the
      public key, or the X.509 certificate, that can be used to
      validate the digital signature.

      <Type>
      A UTF8-String that indicates the type of content in the
      <SignedInfo> field (described below).  It may contain HS_DIGEST if
      <SignedInfo> contains the message digest, or HS_MAC if
      <SignedInfo> contains the Message Authentication Code (MAC).  The
      <Type> field will specify the signature algorithm identifier if
      <SignedInfo> contains a digital signature.  For example, with the
      <Type> field set to HS_SIGNED_PSS, the <SignedInfo> field will
      contain the digital signature generated using the RSA-PSS
      algorithm [16].  If the <Type> field is set to HS_SIGNED, the
      <SignedInfo> field will contain the digital signature generated
      from a DSA public key pair.

      <SignedInfo> ::=  <Length>
                        <DigestAlgorithm>
                        <SignedData>
         where

            <Length>
            A 4-byte unsigned integer that specifies the number of
            octets in the <SignedInfo> field.

            <DigestAlgorithm>
            A UTF8-String that refers to the digest algorithm used to
            generate the digital signature.  For example, the value
            "SHA-1" indicates that the SHA-1 algorithm is used to
            generate the message digest for the signature.

            <SignedData> ::=  <LENGTH>
                            <SIGNATURE>
               where

                  <LENGTH>
                  A 4-byte unsigned integer that specifies the number of
                  octets in the <SIGNATURE>.

                  <SIGNATURE>
                  Contains the digital signature or the MAC over the
                  Message Header and Message Body.  The syntax and
                  semantics of the signature depend on the <Type> field
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                  and the public key referenced in the <Signer> field.
                  For example, if the <Type> field is "HS_SIGNED" and
                  the public key referred to by the <Signer> field is
                  a DSA [6] public key, the signature will be the
                  ASN.1 octet string representation of the parameter R
                  and S as described in [7].  If the <Signer> field
                  refers to a handle value that contains a X.509
                  certificate, the signature should be encoded according
                  to RFC 3279 and RFC 3280 [14, 15].

   The Message Credential may contain the message authentication code
   (MAC) generated using a pre-established session key.  In this case,
   the <Signer> field must set its <HANDLE> to a zero-length UTF8-String
   and its <INDEX> to the <SessionId> specified in the Message Envelope.
   The <Signature> field must contain the MAC in its <SIGNATURE> field.
   The MAC is the result of the one-way hash over the concatenation of
   the session key, the <Message Header>, the <MessageBody>, and the
   session key again.

   The Message Credential in a response message may contain the digital
   signature signed by the server.  The server's public key can be found
   in the service information used by the client to send the request to
   the server.  In this case, the client should ignore any reference in
   the <Signer> field and use the public key in the service information
   to verify the signature.

   The Message Credential can also be used for non-repudiation purposes.
   This happens if the Message Credential contains a server's digital
   signature.  The signature may be used as evidence to demonstrate that
   the server has rendered its service in response to a client's
   request.

   The Message Credential provides a mechanism for safe transmission of
   any message between the client and server.  Any message whose Message
   Header and Message Body complies with its Message Credential suggests
   that the message indeed comes from its originator and assures that
   the message has not been tampered with during its transmission.

2.3. Message Transmission

A large message may be truncated into multiple packets during its transmission. For example, to fit the size limit of a UDP packet, the message issuer must truncate any large message into multiple UDP packets before its transmission. The message recipient must reassemble the message from these truncated packets before further processing. Message truncation must be carried out over the entire
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   message except the Message Envelope.  A new Message Envelope has to
   be inserted in front of each truncated packet before its
   transmission.  For example, a large message that consists of

      .--------------------------------------------------------.
      |  Message Envelope  |  Message Header, Body, Credential |
      '--------------------------------------------------------'

   may be truncated into:

         .--------------------------------------------.
         |  Message Envelope 1 |  Truncated_Packet 1  |
         '--------------------------------------------'
         .--------------------------------------------.
         |  Message Envelope 2 |  Truncated_Packet 2  |
         '--------------------------------------------'

            ......

         .--------------------------------------------.
         |  Message Envelope N |  Truncated Packet N  |
         '--------------------------------------------'

   where the "Truncated_packet 1", "Truncated_packet 2", ..., and
   "Truncated_packet N" result from truncating the Message Header, the
   Message Body and the Message Credential.  Each "Message Envelope i"
   (inserted before each truncation) must set its TC flag to 1 and
   maintain the proper sequence count (in the <SequenceNumber>).  Each
   "Message Envelope i" must also set its <MessageLength> to reflect the
   size of the packet.  The recipient of these truncated packets can
   reassemble the message by concatenating these packets based on their
   <SequenceNumber>.

3. Handle Protocol Operations

This section describes the details of each protocol operation in terms of messages exchanged between the client and server. It also defines the format of the Message Body according to each <OpCode> and <ResponseCode> in the Message Header.

3.1. Client Bootstrapping

3.1.1. Global Handle Registry and its Service Information

The service information for the Global Handle Registry (GHR) allows clients to contact the GHR to find out the responsible service components for their handles. The service information is a set of HS_SITE values assigned to the root handle "0.NA/0.NA" and is also
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   called the root service information.  The root service information
   may be distributed along with the client software, or be downloaded
   from the Handle System website at http://www.handle.net.

   Changes to the root service information are identified by the
   <SerialNumber> in the HS_SITE values.  A server at GHR can find out
   if the root service information used by the client is outdated by
   checking the <SerialNumber> in the client's request.  The client
   should update the root service information if the <ResponseCode> of
   the response message is RC_EXPIRED_SITE_INFO.  Clients may obtain the
   most up-to-date root service information from the root handle.  The
   GHR must sign the root service information using the public key
   specified in the outdated service information (identified in the
   client's request) so that the client can validate the signature.

3.1.2. Locating the Handle System Service Component

Each handle under the Handle System is managed by a unique handle service component (e.g., LHS). For any given handle, the responsible service component (and its service information) can be found from its naming authority handle. Before resolving any given handle, the client needs to find the responsible service component by querying the naming authority handle from the GHR. For example, to find the responsible LHS for the handle "1000/abc", client software can query the GHR for the HS_SITE (or HS_SERV) values assigned to the naming authority handle "0.NA/1000". The set of HS_SITE values provides the service information of the LHS that manages every handle under the naming authority "1000". If no HS_SITE values are found, the client can check if there is any HS_SERV value assigned to the naming authority handle. The HS_SERV value provides the service handle that maintains the service information for the LHS. Service handles are used to manage the service information shared by different naming authorities. It is possible that the naming authority handle requested by the client does not reside at the GHR. This happens when naming authority delegation takes place. Naming authority delegation happens when a naming authority delegates an LHS to manage all its child naming authorities. In this case, the delegating naming authority must contain the service information, a set of HS_NA_DELEGATE values, of the LHS that manages its child naming authorities. All top-level naming authority handles must be registered and managed by the GHR. When a server at the GHR receives a request for a naming authority that has been delegated to an LHS, it must return a message with the <ResponseCode> set to RC_NA_DELEGATE, along with the
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   HS_NA_DELAGATE values from the nearest ancestor naming authority.
   The client can query the LHS described by the HS_NA_DELAGATE values
   for the delegated naming authority handle.  In practice, the ancestor
   naming authority should make itself available to any handle server
   within the GHR, by replicating itself at the time of delegation.
   This will prevent any cross-queries among handle servers (within a
   service site) when the naming authority in query and the ancestor
   naming authority do not hash into the same handle server.

3.1.3. Selecting the Responsible Server

Each handle service component is defined in terms of a set of HS_SITE values. Each of these HS_SITE values defines a service site within the service component. A service site may consist of a group of handle servers. For any given handle, the responsible handle server within the service component can be found following this procedure: 1. Select a preferred service site. Each service site is defined in terms of an HS_SITE value. The HS_SITE value may contain a <Description> or other attributes (under the <AttributeList>) to help the selection. Clients must select the primary service site for any administrative operations. 2. Locate the responsible server within the service site. This can be done as follows: Convert every ASCII character in the handle to its upper case. Calculate the MD5 hash of the converted handle string according to the <HashOption> given in the HS_SITE value. Take the last 4 bytes of the hash result as a signed integer. Modulo the absolute value of the integer by the <NumOfServer> given in the HS_SITE value. The result is the sequence number of the <ServerRecord> listed in the HS_SITE value. For example, if the result of the modulation is 2, the third <ServerRecord> listed in the <HS_SITE> should be selected. The <ServerRecord> defines the responsible handle server for the given handle.

3.2. Query Operation

A query operation consists of a client sending a query request to the responsible handle server and the server returning the query result to the client. Query requests are used to retrieve handle values assigned to any given handle.