RFC 4340
Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP)
5. Packet Formats
The DCCP header can be from 12 to 1020 bytes long. The initial part of the header has the same semantics for all currently defined packet types. Following this comes any additional fixed-length fields required by the packet type, and then a variable-length list of options. The application data area follows the header. In some packet types, this area contains data for the application; in other packet types, its contents are ignored.
+---------------------------------------+ -. | Generic Header | | +---------------------------------------+ | | Additional Fields (depending on type) | +- DCCP Header +---------------------------------------+ | | Options (optional) | | +=======================================+ -' | Application Data Area | +---------------------------------------+5.1. Generic Header
The DCCP generic header takes different forms depending on the value of X, the Extended Sequence Numbers bit. If X is one, the Sequence Number field is 48 bits long, and the generic header takes 16 bytes, as follows. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Source Port | Dest Port | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Data Offset | CCVal | CsCov | Checksum | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |X| | . | Res | Type |=| Reserved | Sequence Number (high bits) . | | |1| | . +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ . Sequence Number (low bits) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ If X is zero, only the low 24 bits of the Sequence Number are transmitted, and the generic header is 12 bytes long. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Source Port | Dest Port | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Data Offset | CCVal | CsCov | Checksum | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |X| | | Res | Type |=| Sequence Number (low bits) | | | |0| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The generic header fields are defined as follows.
Source and Destination Ports: 16 bits each
These fields identify the connection, similar to the corresponding
fields in TCP and UDP. The Source Port represents the relevant
port on the endpoint that sent this packet, and the Destination
Port represents the relevant port on the other endpoint. When
initiating a connection, the client SHOULD choose its Source Port
randomly to reduce the likelihood of attack.
DCCP APIs should treat port numbers similarly to TCP and UDP port
numbers. For example, machines that distinguish between
"privileged" and "unprivileged" ports for TCP and UDP should do
the same for DCCP.
Data Offset: 8 bits
The offset from the start of the packet's DCCP header to the start
of its application data area, in 32-bit words. The receiver MUST
ignore packets whose Data Offset is smaller than the minimum-sized
header for the given Type or larger than the DCCP packet itself.
CCVal: 4 bits
Used by the HC-Sender CCID. For example, the A-to-B CCID's
sender, which is active at DCCP A, MAY send 4 bits of information
per packet to its receiver by encoding that information in CCVal.
The sender MUST set CCVal to zero unless its HC-Sender CCID
specifies otherwise, and the receiver MUST ignore the CCVal field
unless its HC-Receiver CCID specifies otherwise.
Checksum Coverage (CsCov): 4 bits
Checksum Coverage determines the parts of the packet that are
covered by the Checksum field. This always includes the DCCP
header and options, but some or all of the application data may be
excluded. This can improve performance on noisy links for
applications that can tolerate corruption. See Section 9.
Checksum: 16 bits
The Internet checksum of the packet's DCCP header (including
options), a network-layer pseudoheader, and, depending on Checksum
Coverage, all, some, or none of the application data. See Section
9.
Reserved (Res): 3 bits
Senders MUST set this field to all zeroes on generated packets,
and receivers MUST ignore its value.
Type: 4 bits
The Type field specifies the type of the packet. The following
values are defined:
Type Meaning
---- -------
0 DCCP-Request
1 DCCP-Response
2 DCCP-Data
3 DCCP-Ack
4 DCCP-DataAck
5 DCCP-CloseReq
6 DCCP-Close
7 DCCP-Reset
8 DCCP-Sync
9 DCCP-SyncAck
10-15 Reserved
Table 1: DCCP Packet Types
Receivers MUST ignore any packets with reserved type. That is,
packets with reserved type MUST NOT be processed, and they MUST
NOT be acknowledged as received.
Extended Sequence Numbers (X): 1 bit
Set to one to indicate the use of an extended generic header with
48-bit Sequence and Acknowledgement Numbers. DCCP-Data, DCCP-
DataAck, and DCCP-Ack packets MAY set X to zero or one. All
DCCP-Request, DCCP-Response, DCCP-CloseReq, DCCP-Close, DCCP-
Reset, DCCP-Sync, and DCCP-SyncAck packets MUST set X to one;
endpoints MUST ignore any such packets with X set to zero. High-
rate connections SHOULD set X to one on all packets to gain
increased protection against wrapped sequence numbers and attacks.
See Section 7.6.
Sequence Number: 48 or 24 bits
Identifies the packet uniquely in the sequence of all packets the
source sent on this connection. Sequence Number increases by one
with every packet sent, including packets such as DCCP-Ack that
carry no application data. See Section 7.
All currently defined packet types except DCCP-Request and DCCP-Data
carry an Acknowledgement Number Subheader in the four or eight bytes
immediately following the generic header. When X=1, its format is:
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Reserved | Acknowledgement Number . | | (high bits) . +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ . Acknowledgement Number (low bits) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ When X=0, only the low 24 bits of the Acknowledgement Number are transmitted, giving the Acknowledgement Number Subheader this format: +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Reserved | Acknowledgement Number (low bits) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Reserved: 16 or 8 bits Senders MUST set this field to all zeroes on generated packets, and receivers MUST ignore its value. Acknowledgement Number: 48 or 24 bits Generally contains GSR, the Greatest Sequence Number Received on any acknowledgeable packet so far. A packet is acknowledgeable if and only if its header was successfully processed by the receiver; Section 7.4 describes this further. Options such as Ack Vector (Section 11.4) combine with the Acknowledgement Number to provide precise information about which packets have arrived. Acknowledgement Numbers on DCCP-Sync and DCCP-SyncAck packets need not equal GSR. See Section 5.7.5.2. DCCP-Request Packets
A client initiates a DCCP connection by sending a DCCP-Request packet. These packets MAY contain application data and MUST use 48-bit sequence numbers (X=1). 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Generic DCCP Header with X=1 (16 bytes) / / with Type=0 (DCCP-Request) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Service Code | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Options and Padding / +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ / Application Data / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Service Code: 32 bits
Describes the application-level service to which the client
application wants to connect. Service Codes are intended to
provide information about which application protocol a connection
intends to use, thus aiding middleboxes and reducing reliance on
globally well-known ports. See Section 8.1.2.
5.3. DCCP-Response Packets
The server responds to valid DCCP-Request packets with DCCP-Response
packets. This is the second phase of the three-way handshake.
DCCP-Response packets MAY contain application data and MUST use
48-bit sequence numbers (X=1).
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
/ Generic DCCP Header with X=1 (16 bytes) /
/ with Type=1 (DCCP-Response) /
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
/ Acknowledgement Number Subheader (8 bytes) /
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Service Code |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
/ Options and Padding /
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
/ Application Data /
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Acknowledgement Number: 48 bits
Contains GSR. Since DCCP-Responses are only sent during
connection initiation, this will always equal the Sequence Number
on a received DCCP-Request.
Service Code: 32 bits
MUST equal the Service Code on the corresponding DCCP-Request.
5.4. DCCP-Data, DCCP-Ack, and DCCP-DataAck Packets
The central data transfer portion of every DCCP connection uses
DCCP-Data, DCCP-Ack, and DCCP-DataAck packets. These packets MAY use
24-bit sequence numbers, depending on the value of the Allow Short
Sequence Numbers feature (Section 7.6.1). DCCP-Data packets carry
application data without acknowledgements.
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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Generic DCCP Header (16 or 12 bytes) / / with Type=2 (DCCP-Data) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Options and Padding / +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ / Application Data / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ DCCP-Ack packets dispense with the data but contain an Acknowledgement Number. They are used for pure acknowledgements. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Generic DCCP Header (16 or 12 bytes) / / with Type=3 (DCCP-Ack) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Acknowledgement Number Subheader (8 or 4 bytes) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Options and Padding / +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ / Application Data Area (Ignored) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ DCCP-DataAck packets carry both application data and an Acknowledgement Number. This piggybacks acknowledgement information on a data packet. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Generic DCCP Header (16 or 12 bytes) / / with Type=4 (DCCP-DataAck) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Acknowledgement Number Subheader (8 or 4 bytes) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Options and Padding / +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ / Application Data / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ A DCCP-Data or DCCP-DataAck packet may have a zero-length application data area, which indicates that the application sent a zero-length datagram. This differs from DCCP-Request and DCCP-Response packets, where an empty application data area indicates the absence of
application data (not the presence of zero-length application data). The API SHOULD report any received zero-length datagrams to the receiving application. A DCCP-Ack packet MAY have a non-zero-length application data area, which essentially pads the DCCP-Ack to a desired length. Receivers MUST ignore the content of the application data area in DCCP-Ack packets. DCCP-Ack and DCCP-DataAck packets often include additional acknowledgement options, such as Ack Vector, as required by the congestion control mechanism in use.5.5. DCCP-CloseReq and DCCP-Close Packets
DCCP-CloseReq and DCCP-Close packets begin the handshake that normally terminates a connection. Either client or server may send a DCCP-Close packet, which will elicit a DCCP-Reset packet. Only the server can send a DCCP-CloseReq packet, which indicates that the server wants to close the connection but does not want to hold its TIMEWAIT state. Both packet types MUST use 48-bit sequence numbers (X=1). 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Generic DCCP Header with X=1 (16 bytes) / / with Type=5 (DCCP-CloseReq) or 6 (DCCP-Close) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Acknowledgement Number Subheader (8 bytes) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Options and Padding / +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ / Application Data Area (Ignored) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ As with DCCP-Ack packets, DCCP-CloseReq and DCCP-Close packets MAY have non-zero-length application data areas, whose contents receivers MUST ignore.5.6. DCCP-Reset Packets
DCCP-Reset packets unconditionally shut down a connection. Connections normally terminate with a DCCP-Reset, but resets may be sent for other reasons, including bad port numbers, bad option behavior, incorrect ECN Nonce Echoes, and so forth. DCCP-Resets MUST use 48-bit sequence numbers (X=1).
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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Generic DCCP Header with X=1 (16 bytes) / / with Type=7 (DCCP-Reset) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Acknowledgement Number Subheader (8 bytes) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Reset Code | Data 1 | Data 2 | Data 3 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Options and Padding / +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ / Application Data Area (Error Text) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Reset Code: 8 bits Represents the reason that the sender reset the DCCP connection. Data 1, Data 2, and Data 3: 8 bits each The Data fields provide additional information about why the sender reset the DCCP connection. The meanings of these fields depend on the value of Reset Code. Application Data Area: Error Text If present, Error Text is a human-readable text string encoded in Unicode UTF-8, and preferably in English, that describes the error in more detail. For example, a DCCP-Reset with Reset Code 11, "Aggression Penalty", might contain Error Text such as "Aggression Penalty: Received 3 bad ECN Nonce Echoes, assuming misbehavior". The following Reset Codes are currently defined. Unless otherwise specified, the Data 1, 2, and 3 fields MUST be set to 0 by the sender of the DCCP-Reset and ignored by its receiver. Section references describe concrete situations that will cause each Reset Code to be generated; they are not meant to be exhaustive. 0, "Unspecified" Indicates the absence of a meaningful Reset Code. Use of Reset Code 0 is NOT RECOMMENDED: the sender should choose a Reset Code that more clearly defines why the connection is being reset. 1, "Closed" Normal connection close. See Section 8.3. 2, "Aborted" The sending endpoint gave up on the connection because of lack of progress. See Sections 8.1.1 and 8.1.5.
3, "No Connection"
No connection exists. See Section 8.3.1.
4, "Packet Error"
A valid packet arrived with unexpected type. For example, a
DCCP-Data packet with valid header checksum and sequence numbers
arrived at a connection in the REQUEST state. See Section 8.3.1.
The Data 1 field equals the offending packet type as an eight-bit
number; thus, an offending packet with Type 2 will result in a
Data 1 value of 2.
5, "Option Error"
An option was erroneous, and the error was serious enough to
warrant resetting the connection. See Sections 6.6.7, 6.6.8, and
11.4. The Data 1 field equals the offending option type; Data 2
and Data 3 equal the first two bytes of option data (or zero if
the option had less than two bytes of data).
6, "Mandatory Error"
The sending endpoint could not process an option O that was
immediately preceded by Mandatory. The Data fields report the
option type and data of option O, using the format of Reset Code
5, "Option Error". See Section 5.8.2.
7, "Connection Refused"
The Destination Port didn't correspond to a port open for
listening. Sent only in response to DCCP-Requests. See Section
8.1.3.
8, "Bad Service Code"
The Service Code didn't equal the service code attached to the
Destination Port. Sent only in response to DCCP-Requests. See
Section 8.1.3.
9, "Too Busy"
The server is too busy to accept new connections. Sent only in
response to DCCP-Requests. See Section 8.1.3.
10, "Bad Init Cookie"
The Init Cookie echoed by the client was incorrect or missing.
See Section 8.1.4.
11, "Aggression Penalty"
This endpoint has detected congestion control-related misbehavior
on the part of the other endpoint. See Section 12.3.
12-127, Reserved
Receivers should treat these codes as they do Reset Code 0,
"Unspecified".
128-255, CCID-specific codes
Semantics depend on the connection's CCIDs. See Section 10.3.
Receivers should treat unknown CCID-specific Reset Codes as they
do Reset Code 0, "Unspecified".
The following table summarizes this information.
Reset
Code Name Data 1 Data 2 & 3
----- ---- ------ ----------
0 Unspecified 0 0
1 Closed 0 0
2 Aborted 0 0
3 No Connection 0 0
4 Packet Error pkt type 0
5 Option Error option # option data
6 Mandatory Error option # option data
7 Connection Refused 0 0
8 Bad Service Code 0 0
9 Too Busy 0 0
10 Bad Init Cookie 0 0
11 Aggression Penalty 0 0
12-127 Reserved
128-255 CCID-specific codes
Table 2: DCCP Reset Codes
Options on DCCP-Reset packets are processed before the connection is
shut down. This means that certain combinations of options,
particularly involving Mandatory, may cause an endpoint to respond to
a valid DCCP-Reset with another DCCP-Reset. This cannot lead to a
reset storm; since the first endpoint has already reset the
connection, the second DCCP-Reset will be ignored.
5.7. DCCP-Sync and DCCP-SyncAck Packets
DCCP-Sync packets help DCCP endpoints recover synchronization after
bursts of loss and recover from half-open connections. Each valid
received DCCP-Sync immediately elicits a DCCP-SyncAck. Both packet
types MUST use 48-bit sequence numbers (X=1).
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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Generic DCCP Header with X=1 (16 bytes) / / with Type=8 (DCCP-Sync) or 9 (DCCP-SyncAck) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Acknowledgement Number Subheader (8 bytes) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ / Options and Padding / +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ / Application Data Area (Ignored) / +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The Acknowledgement Number field has special semantics for DCCP-Sync and DCCP-SyncAck packets. First, the packet corresponding to a DCCP-Sync's Acknowledgement Number need not have been acknowledgeable. Thus, receivers MUST NOT assume that a packet was processed simply because it appears in the Acknowledgement Number field of a DCCP-Sync packet. This differs from all other packet types, where the Acknowledgement Number by definition corresponds to an acknowledgeable packet. Second, the Acknowledgement Number on any DCCP-SyncAck packet MUST correspond to the Sequence Number on an acknowledgeable DCCP-Sync packet. In the presence of reordering, this might not equal GSR. As with DCCP-Ack packets, DCCP-Sync and DCCP-SyncAck packets MAY have non-zero-length application data areas, whose contents receivers MUST ignore. Padded DCCP-Sync packets may be useful when performing Path MTU discovery; see Section 14.5.8. Options
Any DCCP packet may contain options, which occupy space at the end of the DCCP header. Each option is a multiple of 8 bits in length. Individual options are not padded to multiples of 32 bits, and any option may begin on any byte boundary. However, the combination of all options MUST add up to a multiple of 32 bits; Padding options MUST be added as necessary to fill out option space to a word boundary. Any options present are included in the header checksum. The first byte of an option is the option type. Options with types 0 through 31 are single-byte options. Other options are followed by a byte indicating the option's length. This length value includes the two bytes of option-type and option-length as well as any option-data bytes; it must therefore be greater than or equal to two. Options MUST be processed sequentially, starting with the first option in the packet header. Options with unknown types MUST be
ignored. Also, options with nonsensical lengths (length byte less than two or more than the remaining space in the options portion of the header) MUST be ignored, and any option space following an option with nonsensical length MUST likewise be ignored. Unless otherwise specified, multiple occurrences of the same option MUST be processed independently; for some options, this will mean in practice that the last valid occurrence of an option takes precedence. The following options are currently defined: Option DCCP- Section Type Length Meaning Data? Reference ---- ------ ------- ----- --------- 0 1 Padding Y 5.8.1 1 1 Mandatory N 5.8.2 2 1 Slow Receiver Y 11.6 3-31 1 Reserved 32 variable Change L N 6.1 33 variable Confirm L N 6.2 34 variable Change R N 6.1 35 variable Confirm R N 6.2 36 variable Init Cookie N 8.1.4 37 3-8 NDP Count Y 7.7 38 variable Ack Vector [Nonce 0] N 11.4 39 variable Ack Vector [Nonce 1] N 11.4 40 variable Data Dropped N 11.7 41 6 Timestamp Y 13.1 42 6/8/10 Timestamp Echo Y 13.3 43 4/6 Elapsed Time N 13.2 44 6 Data Checksum Y 9.3 45-127 variable Reserved 128-255 variable CCID-specific options - 10.3 Table 3: DCCP Options Not all options are suitable for all packet types. For example, since the Ack Vector option is interpreted relative to the Acknowledgement Number, it isn't suitable on DCCP-Request and DCCP- Data packets, which have no Acknowledgement Number. If an option occurs on an unexpected packet type, it MUST generally be ignored; any such restrictions are mentioned in each option's description. The table summarizes the most common restriction: when the DCCP- Data? column value is N, the corresponding option MUST be ignored when received on a DCCP-Data packet. (Section 7.5.5 describes why such options are ignored as opposed to, say, causing a reset.) Options with invalid values MUST be ignored unless otherwise specified. For example, any Data Checksum option with option length
4 MUST be ignored, since all valid Data Checksum options have option length 6. This section describes two generic options, Padding and Mandatory. Other options are described later.5.8.1. Padding Option
+--------+ |00000000| +--------+ Type=0 Padding is a single-byte "no-operation" option used to pad between or after options. If the length of a packet's other options is not a multiple of 32 bits, then Padding options are REQUIRED to pad out the options area to the length implied by Data Offset. Padding may also be used between options; for example, to align the beginning of a subsequent option on a 32-bit boundary. There is no guarantee that senders will use this option, so receivers must be prepared to process options even if they do not begin on a word boundary.5.8.2. Mandatory Option
+--------+ |00000001| +--------+ Type=1 Mandatory is a single-byte option that marks the immediately following option as mandatory. Say that the immediately following option is O. Then the Mandatory option has no effect if the receiving DCCP endpoint understands and processes O. If the endpoint does not understand or process O, however, then it MUST reset the connection using Reset Code 6, "Mandatory Failure". For instance, the endpoint would reset the connection if it did not understand O's type; if it understood O's type, but not O's data; if O's data was invalid for O's type; if O was a feature negotiation option, and the endpoint did not understand the enclosed feature number; or if the endpoint understood O, but chose not to perform the action O implies. This list is not exhaustive and, in particular, individual option specifications may describe additional situations in which the endpoint should reset the connection and situations in which it should not. Mandatory options MUST NOT be sent on DCCP-Data packets, and any Mandatory options received on DCCP-Data packets MUST be ignored.
The connection is in error and should be reset with Reset Code 5, "Option Error", if option O is absent (Mandatory was the last byte of the option list), or if option O equals Mandatory. However, the combination "Mandatory Padding" is valid, and MUST behave like two bytes of Padding. Section 6.6.9 describes the behavior of Mandatory feature negotiation options in more detail.6. Feature Negotiation
Four DCCP options, Change L, Confirm L, Change R, and Confirm R, are used to negotiate feature values. Change options initiate a negotiation; Confirm options complete that negotiation. The "L" options are sent by the feature location, and the "R" options are sent by the feature remote. Change options are retransmitted to ensure reliability. All these options have the same format. The first byte of option data is the feature number, and the second and subsequent data bytes hold one or more feature values. The exact format of the feature value area depends on the feature type; see Section 6.3. +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- | Type | Length |Feature#| Value(s) ... +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Together, the feature number and the option type ("L" or "R") uniquely identify the feature to which an option applies. The exact format of the Value(s) area depends on the feature number. Feature negotiation options MUST NOT be sent on DCCP-Data packets, and any feature negotiation options received on DCCP-Data packets MUST be ignored.6.1. Change Options
Change L and Change R options initiate feature negotiation. The option to use depends on the relevant feature's location: To start a negotiation for feature F/A, DCCP A will send a Change L option; to start a negotiation for F/B, it will send a Change R option. Change options are retransmitted until some response is received. They contain at least one Value, and thus have a length of at least 4.
+--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Change L: |00100000| Length |Feature#| Value(s) ... +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Type=32 +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Change R: |00100010| Length |Feature#| Value(s) ... +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Type=346.2. Confirm Options
Confirm L and Confirm R options complete feature negotiation and are sent in response to Change R and Change L options, respectively. Confirm options MUST NOT be generated except in response to Change options. Confirm options need not be retransmitted, since Change options are retransmitted as necessary. The first byte of the Confirm option contains the feature number from the corresponding Change. Following this is the selected Value, and then possibly the sender's preference list. +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Confirm L: |00100001| Length |Feature#| Value(s) ... +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Type=33 +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Confirm R: |00100011| Length |Feature#| Value(s) ... +--------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Type=35 If an endpoint receives an invalid Change option -- with an unknown feature number, or an invalid value -- it will respond with an empty Confirm option containing the problematic feature number, but no value. Such options have length 3.6.3. Reconciliation Rules
Reconciliation rules determine how the two sets of preferences for a given feature are resolved into a unique result. The reconciliation rule depends only on the feature number. Each reconciliation rule must have the property that the result is uniquely determined given the contents of Change options sent by the two endpoints. All current DCCP features use one of two reconciliation rules: server-priority ("SP") and non-negotiable ("NN").
6.3.1. Server-Priority
The feature value is a fixed-length byte string (length determined by the feature number). Each Change option contains a list of values ordered by preference, with the most preferred value coming first. Each Confirm option contains the confirmed value, followed by the confirmer's preference list. Thus, the feature's current value will generally appear twice in Confirm options' data, once as the current value and once in the confirmer's preference list. To reconcile the preference lists, select the first entry in the server's list that also occurs in the client's list. If there is no shared entry, the feature's value MUST NOT change, and the Confirm option will confirm the feature's previous value (unless the Change option was Mandatory; see Section 6.6.9).6.3.2. Non-Negotiable
The feature value is a byte string. Each option contains exactly one feature value. The feature location signals a new value by sending a Change L option. The feature remote MUST accept any valid value, responding with a Confirm R option containing the new value, and it MUST send empty Confirm R options in response to invalid values (unless the Change L option was Mandatory; see Section 6.6.9). Change R and Confirm L options MUST NOT be sent for non-negotiable features; see Section 6.6.8. Non-negotiable features use the feature negotiation mechanism to achieve reliability.
6.4. Feature Numbers
This document defines the following feature numbers. Rec'n Initial Section Number Meaning Rule Value Req'd Reference ------ ------- ----- ----- ----- --------- 0 Reserved 1 Congestion Control ID (CCID) SP 2 Y 10 2 Allow Short Seqnos SP 0 Y 7.6.1 3 Sequence Window NN 100 Y 7.5.2 4 ECN Incapable SP 0 N 12.1 5 Ack Ratio NN 2 N 11.3 6 Send Ack Vector SP 0 N 11.5 7 Send NDP Count SP 0 N 7.7.2 8 Minimum Checksum Coverage SP 0 N 9.2.1 9 Check Data Checksum SP 0 N 9.3.1 10-127 Reserved 128-255 CCID-specific features 10.3 Table 4: DCCP Feature Numbers Rec'n Rule The reconciliation rule used for the feature. SP means server-priority, NN means non-negotiable. Initial Value The initial value for the feature. Every feature has a known initial value. Req'd This column is "Y" if and only if every DCCP implementation MUST understand the feature. If it is "N", then the feature behaves like an extension (see Section 15), and it is safe to respond to Change options for the feature with empty Confirm options. Of course, a CCID might require the feature; a DCCP that implements CCID 2 MUST support Ack Ratio and Send Ack Vector, for example.
6.5. Feature Negotiation Examples
Here are three example feature negotiations for features located at the server, the first two for the Congestion Control ID feature, the last for the Ack Ratio. Client Server ------ ------ 1. Change R(CCID, 2 3 1) --> ("2 3 1" is client's preference list) 2. <-- Confirm L(CCID, 3, 3 2 1) (3 is the negotiated value; "3 2 1" is server's pref list) * agreement that CCID/Server = 3 * 1. XXX <-- Change L(CCID, 3 2 1) 2. Retransmission: <-- Change L(CCID, 3 2 1) 3. Confirm R(CCID, 3, 2 3 1) --> * agreement that CCID/Server = 3 * 1. <-- Change L(Ack Ratio, 3) 2. Confirm R(Ack Ratio, 3) --> * agreement that Ack Ratio/Server = 3 * This example shows a simultaneous negotiation. Client Server ------ ------ 1a. Change R(CCID, 2 3 1) --> b. <-- Change L(CCID, 3 2 1) 2a. <-- Confirm L(CCID, 3, 3 2 1) b. Confirm R(CCID, 3, 2 3 1) --> * agreement that CCID/Server = 3 * Here are the byte encodings of several Change and Confirm options. Each option is sent by DCCP A. Change L(CCID, 2 3) = 32,5,1,2,3 DCCP B should change CCID/A's value (feature number 1, a server- priority feature); DCCP A's preferred values are 2 and 3, in that preference order.
Change L(Sequence Window, 1024) = 32,9,3,0,0,0,0,4,0
DCCP B should change Sequence Window/A's value (feature number 3,
a non-negotiable feature) to the 6-byte string 0,0,0,0,4,0 (the
value 1024).
Confirm L(CCID, 2, 2 3) = 33,6,1,2,2,3
DCCP A has changed CCID/A's value to 2; its preferred values are 2
and 3, in that preference order.
Empty Confirm L(126) = 33,3,126
DCCP A doesn't implement feature number 126, or DCCP B's proposed
value for feature 126/A was invalid.
Change R(CCID, 3 2) = 34,5,1,3,2
DCCP B should change CCID/B's value; DCCP A's preferred values are
3 and 2, in that preference order.
Confirm R(CCID, 2, 3 2) = 35,6,1,2,3,2
DCCP A has changed CCID/B's value to 2; its preferred values were
3 and 2, in that preference order.
Confirm R(Sequence Window, 1024) = 35,9,3,0,0,0,0,4,0
DCCP A has changed Sequence Window/B's value to the 6-byte string
0,0,0,0,4,0 (the value 1024).
Empty Confirm R(126) = 35,3,126
DCCP A doesn't implement feature number 126, or DCCP B's proposed
value for feature 126/B was invalid.
6.6. Option Exchange
A few basic rules govern feature negotiation option exchange.
1. Every non-reordered Change option gets a Confirm option in
response.
2. Change options are retransmitted until a response for the latest
Change is received.
3. Feature negotiation options are processed in strictly-increasing
order by Sequence Number.
The rest of this section describes the consequences of these rules in
more detail.
6.6.1. Normal Exchange
Change options are generated when a DCCP endpoint wants to change the value of some feature. Generally, this will happen at the beginning of a connection, although it may happen at any time. We say the endpoint "generates" or "sends" a Change L or Change R option, but of course the option must be attached to a packet. The endpoint may attach the option to a packet it would have generated anyway (such as a DCCP-Request), or it may create a "feature negotiation packet", often a DCCP-Ack or DCCP-Sync, just to carry the option. Feature negotiation packets are controlled by the relevant congestion control mechanism. For example, DCCP A may send a DCCP-Ack or DCCP-Sync for feature negotiation only if the B-to-A CCID would allow sending a DCCP-Ack. In addition, an endpoint SHOULD generate at most one feature negotiation packet per round-trip time. On receiving a Change L or Change R option, a DCCP endpoint examines the included preference list, reconciles that with its own preference list, calculates the new value, and sends back a Confirm R or Confirm L option, respectively, informing its peer of the new value or that the feature was not understood. Every non-reordered Change option MUST result in a corresponding Confirm option, and any packet including a Confirm option MUST carry an Acknowledgement Number. (Section 6.6.4 describes how Change reordering is detected and handled.) Generated Confirm options may be attached to packets that would have been sent anyway (such as DCCP-Response or DCCP-SyncAck) or to new feature negotiation packets, as described above. The Change-sending endpoint MUST wait to receive a corresponding Confirm option before changing its stored feature value. The Confirm-sending endpoint changes its stored feature value as soon as it sends the Confirm. A packet MAY contain more than one feature negotiation option, possibly including two options that refer to the same feature; as usual, the options are processed sequentially.6.6.2. Processing Received Options
DCCP endpoints exist in one of three states relative to each feature. STABLE is the normal state, where the endpoint knows the feature's value and thinks the other endpoint agrees. An endpoint enters the CHANGING state when it first sends a Change for the feature and returns to STABLE once it receives a corresponding Confirm. The final state, UNSTABLE, indicates that an endpoint in CHANGING state changed its preference list but has not yet transmitted a Change option with the new preference list.
Feature state transitions at a feature location are implemented according to this diagram. The diagram ignores sequence number and option validity issues; these are handled explicitly in the pseudocode that follows. timeout/ rcv Confirm R app/protocol evt : snd Change L rcv non-ack : ignore +---------------------------------------+ : snd Change L +----+ | | +----+ | v | rcv Change R v | v +------------+ rcv Confirm R : calc new value, +------------+ | | : accept value snd Confirm L | | | STABLE |<-----------------------------------| CHANGING | | | rcv empty Confirm R | | +------------+ : revert to old value +------------+ | ^ | ^ +----+ pref list | | snd rcv Change R changes | | Change L : calc new value, snd Confirm L v | +------------+ +---| | rcv Confirm/Change R | | UNSTABLE | : ignore +-->| | +------------+ Feature locations SHOULD use the following pseudocode, which corresponds to the state diagram, to react to each feature negotiation option on each valid non-Data packet received. The pseudocode refers to "P.seqno" and "P.ackno", which are properties of the packet; "O.type" and "O.len", which are properties of the option; "FGSR" and "FGSS", which are properties of the connection and handle reordering as described in Section 6.6.4; "F.state", which is the feature's state (STABLE, CHANGING, or UNSTABLE); and "F.value", which is the feature's value. First, check for unknown features (Section 6.6.7); If F is unknown, If the option was Mandatory, /* Section 6.6.9 */ Reset connection and return Otherwise, if O.type == Change R, Send Empty Confirm L on a future packet Return Second, check for reordering (Section 6.6.4); If F.state == UNSTABLE or P.seqno <= FGSR or (O.type == Confirm R and P.ackno < FGSS), Ignore option and return
Third, process Change R options;
If O.type == Change R,
If the option's value is valid, /* Section 6.6.8 */
Calculate new value
Send Confirm L on a future packet
Set F.state := STABLE
Otherwise, if the option was Mandatory,
Reset connection and return
Otherwise,
Send Empty Confirm L on a future packet
/* Remain in existing state. If that's CHANGING, this
endpoint will retransmit its Change L option later. */
Fourth, process Confirm R options (but only in CHANGING state).
If F.state == CHANGING and O.type == Confirm R,
If O.len > 3, /* nonempty */
If the option's value is valid,
Set F.value := new value
Otherwise,
Reset connection and return
Set F.state := STABLE
Versions of this diagram and pseudocode are also used by feature
remotes; simply switch the "L"s and "R"s, so that the relevant
options are Change R and Confirm L.
6.6.3. Loss and Retransmission
Packets containing Change and Confirm options might be lost or
delayed by the network. Therefore, Change options are repeatedly
transmitted to achieve reliability. We refer to this as
"retransmission", although of course there are no packet-level
retransmissions in DCCP: a Change option that is sent again will be
sent on a new packet with a new sequence number.
A CHANGING endpoint transmits another Change option once it realizes
that it has not heard back from the other endpoint. The new Change
option need not contain the same payload as the original; reordering
protection will ensure that agreement is reached based on the most
recently transmitted option.
A CHANGING endpoint MUST continue retransmitting Change options until
it gets some response or the connection terminates.
Endpoints SHOULD use an exponential-backoff timer to decide when to
retransmit Change options. (Packets generated specifically for
feature negotiation MUST use such a timer.) The timer interval is
initially set to not less than one round-trip time, and should back
off to not less than 64 seconds. The backoff protects against delayed agreement due to the reordering protection algorithms described in the next section. Again, endpoints may piggyback Change options on packets they would have sent anyway or create new packets to carry the options. Any new packets are controlled by the relevant congestion-control mechanism. Confirm options are never retransmitted, but the Confirm-sending endpoint MUST generate a Confirm option after every non-reordered Change.6.6.4. Reordering
Reordering might cause packets containing Change and Confirm options to arrive in an unexpected order. Endpoints MUST ignore feature negotiation options that do not arrive in strictly-increasing order by Sequence Number. The rest of this section presents two algorithms that fulfill this requirement. The first algorithm introduces two sequence number variables that each endpoint maintains for the connection. FGSR Feature Greatest Sequence Number Received: The greatest sequence number received, considering only valid packets that contained one or more feature negotiation options (Change and/or Confirm). This value is initialized to ISR - 1. FGSS Feature Greatest Sequence Number Sent: The greatest sequence number sent, considering only packets that contained one or more new Change options. A Change option is new if and only if it was generated during a transition from the STABLE or UNSTABLE state to the CHANGING state; Change options generated within the CHANGING state are retransmissions and MUST have exactly the same contents as previously transmitted options, allowing tolerance for reordering. FGSS is initialized to ISS. Each endpoint checks two conditions on sequence numbers to decide whether to process received feature negotiation options. 1. If a packet's Sequence Number is less than or equal to FGSR, then its Change options MUST be ignored. 2. If a packet's Sequence Number is less than or equal to FGSR, if it has no Acknowledgement Number, OR if its Acknowledgement Number is less than FGSS, then its Confirm options MUST be ignored.
Alternatively, an endpoint MAY maintain separate FGSR and FGSS values for every feature. FGSR(F/X) would equal the greatest sequence number received, considering only packets that contained Change or Confirm options applying to feature F/X; FGSS(F/X) would be defined similarly. This algorithm requires more state, but is slightly more forgiving to multiple overlapped feature negotiations. Either algorithm MAY be used; the first algorithm, with connection-wide FGSR and FGSS variables, is RECOMMENDED. One consequence of these rules is that a CHANGING endpoint will ignore any Confirm option that does not acknowledge the latest Change option sent. This ensures that agreement, once achieved, used the most recent available information about the endpoints' preferences.6.6.5. Preference Changes
Endpoints are allowed to change their preference lists at any time. However, an endpoint that changes its preference list while in the CHANGING state MUST transition to the UNSTABLE state. It will transition back to CHANGING once it has transmitted a Change option with the new preference list. This ensures that agreement is based on active preference lists. Without the UNSTABLE state, simultaneous negotiation -- where the endpoints began independent negotiations for the same feature at the same time -- might lead to the negotiation's terminating with the endpoints thinking the feature had different values.6.6.6. Simultaneous Negotiation
The two endpoints might simultaneously open negotiation for the same feature, after which an endpoint in the CHANGING state will receive a Change option for the same feature. Such received Change options can act as responses to the original Change options. The CHANGING endpoint MUST examine the received Change's preference list, reconcile that with its own preference list (as expressed in its generated Change options), and generate the corresponding Confirm option. It can then transition to the STABLE state.
6.6.7. Unknown Features
Endpoints may receive Change options referring to feature numbers they do not understand -- for instance, when an extended DCCP converses with a non-extended DCCP. Endpoints MUST respond to unknown Change options with Empty Confirm options (that is, Confirm options containing no data), which inform the CHANGING endpoint that the feature was not understood. However, if the Change option was Mandatory, the connection MUST be reset; see Section 6.6.9. On receiving an empty Confirm option for some feature, the CHANGING endpoint MUST transition back to the STABLE state, leaving the feature's value unchanged. Section 15 suggests that the default value for any extension feature correspond to "extension not available". Some features are required to be understood by all DCCPs (see Section 6.4). The CHANGING endpoint SHOULD reset the connection (with Reset Code 5, "Option Error") if it receives an empty Confirm option for such a feature. Since Confirm options are generated only in response to Change options, an endpoint should never receive a Confirm option referring to a feature number it does not understand. Nevertheless, endpoints MUST ignore any such options they receive.6.6.8. Invalid Options
A DCCP endpoint might receive a Change or Confirm option for a known feature that lists one or more values that it does not understand. Some, but not all, such options are invalid, depending on the relevant reconciliation rule (Section 6.3). For instance: o All features have length limitations, and options with invalid lengths are invalid. For example, the Ack Ratio feature takes 16-bit values, so valid "Confirm R(Ack Ratio)" options have option length 5. o Some non-negotiable features have value limitations. The Ack Ratio feature takes two-byte, non-zero integer values, so a "Change L(Ack Ratio, 0)" option is never valid. Note that server-priority features do not have value limitations, since unknown values are handled as a matter of course. o Any Confirm option that selects the wrong value, based on the two preference lists and the relevant reconciliation rule, is invalid.
However, unexpected Confirm options -- that refer to unknown feature numbers, or that don't appear to be part of a current negotiation -- are not invalid, although they are ignored by the receiver. An endpoint receiving an invalid Change option MUST respond with the corresponding empty Confirm option. An endpoint receiving an invalid Confirm option MUST reset the connection, with Reset Code 5, "Option Error".6.6.9. Mandatory Feature Negotiation
Change options may be preceded by Mandatory options (Section 5.8.2). Mandatory Change options are processed like normal Change options except that the following failure cases will cause the receiver to reset the connection with Reset Code 6, "Mandatory Failure", rather than send a Confirm option. The connection MUST be reset if: o the Change option's feature number was not understood; o the Change option's value was invalid, and the receiver would normally have sent an empty Confirm option in response; or o for server-priority features, there was no shared entry in the two endpoints' preference lists. Other failure cases do not cause connection reset; in particular, reordering protection may cause a Mandatory Change option to be ignored without resetting the connection. Confirm options behave identically and have the same reset conditions whether or not they are Mandatory.
(page 44 continued on part 3)
