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RFC 2637

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)

Pages: 57
Informational
Errata
Part 2 of 2 – Pages 25 to 57
First   Prev   None

Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 25   prevText

2.9. Incoming-Call-Request

The Incoming-Call-Request is a PPTP control message sent by the PAC to the PNS to indicate that an inbound call is to be established from the PAC. This request provides the PNS with parameter information for the incoming call. This message is the first in the "three-way handshake" used by PPTP for establishing incoming calls. The PAC may defer answering the call until it has received an Incoming-Call-Reply from the PNS indicating that the call should be established. This mechanism allows the PNS to obtain sufficient information about the call before it is answered to determine whether the call should be answered or not.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 26
       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |            Length             |       PPTP Message Type       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         Magic Cookie                          |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |     Control Message Type      |           Reserved0           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |            Call ID            |      Call Serial Number       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                       Call Bearer Type                        |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                      Physical Channel ID                      |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |     Dialed Number Length      |     Dialing Number Length     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                                                               |
      +                   Dialed Number (64 octets)                   +
      |                                                               |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                                                               |
      +                  Dialing Number (64 octets)                   +
      |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                                                               |
      +                    Subaddress (64 octets)                     +
      |                                                               |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Length                   Total length in octets of this PPTP message,
                            including the entire PPTP header.

   PPTP Message Type        1 for Control Message.

   Magic Cookie             0x1A2B3C4D.

   Control Message Type     9 for Incoming-Call-Request.

   Reserved0                This field MUST be 0.

   Call ID                  A unique identifier for this tunnel,
                            assigned by the PAC to this session.  It is
                            used to multiplex and demultiplex data sent
                            over the tunnel between the PNS and PAC
                            involved in this session.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 27
   Call Serial Number       An identifier assigned by the PAC to this
                            session for the purpose of identifying this
                            particular session in logged session
                            information.  Unlike the Call ID, both the
                            PNS and PAC associate the same Call Serial
                            Number to a given session. The combination
                            of IP address and call serial number should
                            be unique.

   Bearer Type              A value indicating the bearer capability
                            used for this incoming call.  Currently
                            defined values are:

                                  1 - Call is on an analog channel

                                  2 - Call is on a digital channel

   Physical Channel ID      This field is set by the PAC in a vendor-
                            specific manner to the number of the
                            physical channel this call arrived on.

   Dialed Number Length     The actual number of valid digits in the
                            Dialed Number field.

   Dialing Number Length    The actual number of valid digits in the
                            Dialing Number field.

   Dialed Number            The number that was dialed by the caller.
                            For ISDN and analog calls this field is an
                            ASCII string.  If the Dialed Number is less
                            than 64 octets in length, the remainder of
                            this field is filled with octets of value 0.

   Dialing Number           The number from which the call was placed.
                            For ISDN and analog calls this field is an
                            ASCII string.  If the Dialing Number is less
                            than 64 octets in length, the remainder of
                            this field is filled with octets of value 0.

   Subaddress               A 64 octet field used to specify additional
                            dialing information.  If the subaddress is
                            less than 64 octets long, the remainder of
                            this field is filled with octets of value 0.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 28

2.10. Incoming-Call-Reply

The Incoming-Call-Reply is a PPTP control message sent by the PNS to the PAC in response to a received Incoming-Call-Request message. The reply indicates the result of the incoming call attempt. It also provides information to allow the PAC to regulate the transmission of data to the PNS for this session. This message is the second in the three-way handshake used by PPTP for establishing incoming calls. It indicates to the PAC whether the call should be answered or not. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Length | PPTP Message Type | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Magic Cookie | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Control Message Type | Reserved0 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Call ID | Peer's Call ID | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Result Code | Error Code | Packet Recv. Window Size | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Packet Transmit Delay | Reserved1 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Length Total length in octets of this PPTP message, including the entire PPTP header. PPTP Message Type 1 for Control Message. Magic Cookie 0x1A2B3C4D. Control Message Type 10 for Incoming-Call-Reply. Reserved0 This field MUST be 0. Call ID A unique identifier for this tunnel assigned by the PNS to this session. It is used to multiplex and demultiplex data sent over the tunnel between the PNS and PAC involved in this session. Peer's Call ID This field is set to the value received in the Call ID field of the corresponding Incoming-Call-Request message. It is used by
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 29
                            the PAC to match the Incoming-Call-Reply
                            with the Incoming-Call-Request it issued.
                            This value is included in the GRE header of
                            transmitted data packets for this session.

   Result Code              This value indicates the result of the
                            Incoming-Call-Request attempt.  Current
                            valid Result Code values are:

                                  1 (Connect) - The PAC should answer
                                    the incoming call

                                  2 (General Error) - The Incoming Call
                                    should not be established due to the
                                    reason indicated in Error Code

                                  3 (Do Not Accept) - The PAC should not
                                    accept the incoming call.  It should
                                    hang up or issue a busy indication

   Error Code               This field is set to 0 unless a "General
                            Error" condition exists, in which case
                            Result Code is set to 2 and this field is
                            set to the value corresponding to the
                            general error condition as specified in
                            section 2.2.

   Packet Recv. Window Size The number of received data packets the PAC
                            will buffer for this session.

   Packet Transmit Delay    A measure of the packet processing delay
                            that might be imposed on data sent to the
                            PAC from the PNS.  This value is specified
                            in units of 1/10 seconds.

   Reserved1                This field MUST be 0.

2.11. Incoming-Call-Connected

The Incoming-Call-Connected message is a PPTP control message sent by the PAC to the PNS in response to a received Incoming-Call-Reply. It provides information to the PNS about particular parameters used for the call. It also provides information to allow the PNS to regulate the transmission of data to the PAC for this session. This message is the third in the three-way handshake used by PPTP for establishing incoming calls. It provides a mechanism for providing the PNS with additional information about the call that cannot, in
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 30
   general, be obtained at the time the Incoming-Call-Request is issued
   by the PAC.

       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |            Length             |      PPTP Message Type        |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         Magic Cookie                          |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |     Control Message Type      |           Reserved0           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |       Peer's Call ID          |           Reserved1           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         Connect Speed                         |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |   Packet Recv. Window Size    |     Packet Transmit Delay     |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         Framing Type                          |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Length                   Total length in octets of this PPTP message,
                            including the entire PPTP header.

   PPTP Message Type        1 for Control Message.

   Magic Cookie             0x1A2B3C4D.

   Control Message Type     11 for Incoming-Call-Connected.

   Reserved0                This field MUST be 0.

   Peer's Call ID           This field is set to the value received in
                            the Call ID field of the corresponding
                            Incoming-Call-Reply message.  It is used by
                            the PNS to match the Incoming-Call-Connected
                            with the Incoming-Call-Reply it issued.

   Connect Speed            The actual connection speed used, in
                            bits/second.

   Packet Recv. Window Size The number of received data packets the PAC
                            will buffer for this session.

   Packet Transmit Delay    A measure of the packet processing delay
                            that might be imposed on data sent to the
                            PAC from the PNS.  This value is specified
                            in units of 1/10 seconds.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 31
   Framing Type             A value indicating the type of PPP framing
                            being used by this incoming call.

                                  1 - Call uses asynchronous framing

                                  2 - Call uses synchronous framing

2.12. Call-Clear-Request

The Call-Clear-Request is a PPTP control message sent by the PNS to the PAC indicating that a particular call is to be disconnected. The call being cleared can be either an incoming or outgoing call, in any state. The PAC responds to this message with a Call-Disconnect- Notify message. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Length | PPTP Message Type | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Magic Cookie | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Control Message Type | Reserved0 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Call ID | Reserved1 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Length Total length in octets of this PPTP message, including the entire PPTP header. PPTP Message Type 1 for Control Message. Magic Cookie 0x1A2B3C4D. Control Message Type 12 for Call-Clear-Request. Reserved0 This field MUST be 0. Call ID The Call ID assigned by the PNS to this call. This value is used instead of the Peer's Call ID because the latter may not be known to the PNS if the call must be aborted during call establishment. Reserved1 This field MUST be 0.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 32

2.13. Call-Disconnect-Notify

The Call-Disconnect-Notify message is a PPTP control message sent by the PAC to the PNS. It is issued whenever a call is disconnected, due to the receipt by the PAC of a Call-Clear-Request or for any other reason. Its purpose is to inform the PNS of both the disconnection and the reason for it. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Length | PPTP Message Type | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Magic Cookie | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Control Message Type | Reserved0 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Call ID | Result Code | Error Code | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Cause Code | Reserved1 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | + Call Statistics (128 octets) + | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Length Total length in octets of this PPTP message, including the entire PPTP header. PPTP Message Type 1 for Control Message. Magic Cookie 0x1A2B3C4D. Control Message Type 13 for Call-Disconnect-Notify. Reserved0 This field MUST be 0. Call ID The value of the Call ID assigned by the PAC to this call. This value is used instead of the Peer's Call ID because the latter may not be known to the PNS if the call must be aborted during call establishment.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 33
   Result Code              This value indicates the reason for the
                            disconnect. Current valid Result Code values
                            are:

                                  1 (Lost Carrier) - Call disconnected
                                    due to loss of carrier

                                  2 (General Error) - Call disconnected
                                    for the reason indicated in Error
                                    Code

                                  3 (Admin Shutdown) - Call disconnected
                                    for administrative reasons

                                  4 (Request) - Call disconnected due to
                                    received Call-Clear-Request

   Error Code               This field is set to 0 unless a "General
                            Error" condition exists, in which case the
                            Result Code is set to 2 and this field is
                            set to the value corresponding to the
                            general error condition as specified in
                            section 2.2.

   Cause Code               This field gives additional disconnect
                            information.  Its value varies depending on
                            the type of call being disconnected.  For
                            ISDN calls it is the Q.931 cause code.

   Call Statistics          This field is an ASCII string containing
                            vendor-specific call statistics that can be
                            logged for diagnostic purposes.  If the
                            length of the string is less than 128, the
                            remainder of the field is filled with octets
                            of value 0.

2.14. WAN-Error-Notify

The WAN-Error-Notify message is a PPTP control message sent by the PAC to the PNS to indicate WAN error conditions (conditions that occur on the interface supporting PPP). The counters in this message are cumulative. This message should only be sent when an error occurs, and not more than once every 60 seconds. The counters are reset when a new call is established.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 34
       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
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |            Length             |      PPTP Message Type        |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                         Magic Cookie                          |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |     Control Message type      |           Reserved0           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |        Peer's Call ID         |           Reserved1           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                          CRC Errors                           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                        Framing Errors                         |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                       Hardware Overruns                       |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                        Buffer Overruns                        |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                        Time-out Errors                        |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |                       Alignment Errors                        |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Length                   Total length in octets of this PPTP message,
                            including the entire PPTP header.

   PPTP Message Type        1 for Control Message.

   Magic Cookie             0x1A2B3C4D.

   Control Message Type     14 for WAN-Error-Notify.

   Reserved0                This field MUST be 0.

   Peer's Call ID           Th Call ID assigned by the PNS to this call.

   CRC Errors               Number of PPP frames received with CRC
                            errors since session was established.

   Framing Errors           Number of improperly framed PPP packets
                            received.

   Hardware Overruns        Number of receive buffer over-runs since
                            session was established.

   Buffer Overruns          Number of buffer over-runs detected since
                            session was established.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 35
   Time-out Errors          Number of time-outs since call was
                            established.

   Alignment Errors         Number of alignment errors since call was
                            established.

2.15. Set-Link-Info

The Set-Link-Info message is a PPTP control message sent by the PNS to the PAC to set PPP-negotiated options. Because these options can change at any time during the life of the call, the PAC must be able to update its internal call information dynamically and perform PPP negotiation on an active PPP session. 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Length | PPTP Message Type | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Magic Cookie | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Control Message type | Reserved0 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Peer's Call ID | Reserved1 | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Send ACCM | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Receive ACCM | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Length Total length in octets of this PPTP message, including the entire PPTP header. PPTP Message Type 1 for Control Message. Magic Cookie 0x1A2B3C4D. Control Message Type 15 for Set-Link-Info. Reserved0 This field MUST be 0. Peer's Call ID The value of the Call ID assigned by the PAC to this call. Reserved1 This field MUST be 0.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 36
   Send ACCM                The send ACCM value the client should use to
                            process outgoing PPP packets.  The default
                            value used by the client until this message
                            is received is 0XFFFFFFFF.  See [7].

   Receive ACCM             The receive ACCM value the client should use
                            to process incoming PPP packets. The default
                            value used by the client until this message
                            is received is 0XFFFFFFFF.  See [7].

2.16. General Error Codes

General error codes pertain to types of errors which are not specific to any particular PPTP request, but rather to protocol or message format errors. If a PPTP reply indicates in its Result Code that a general error occurred, the General Error value should be examined to determined what the error was. The currently defined General Error codes and their meanings are: 0 (None) - No general error 1 (Not-Connected) - No control connection exists yet for this PAC-PNS pair 2 (Bad-Format) - Length is wrong or Magic Cookie value is incorrect 3 (Bad-Value) - One of the field values was out of range or reserved field was non-zero 4 (No-Resource) - Insufficient resources to handle this command now 5 (Bad-Call ID) - The Call ID is invalid in this context 6 (PAC-Error) - A generic vendor-specific error occurred in the PAC

3. Control Connection Protocol Operation

This section describes the operation of various PPTP control connection functions and the Control Connection messages which are used to support them. The protocol operation of the control connection is simplified because TCP is used to provide a reliable transport mechanism. Ordering and retransmission of messages is not a concern at this level. The TCP connection itself, however, can close at any time and an appropriate error recovery mechanism must be provided to handle this case.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 37
   Some error recovery procedures are common to all states of the
   control connection.  If an expected reply does not arrive within 60
   seconds, the control connection is closed, unless otherwise
   specified.  Appropriate logging should be implemented for easy
   determination of the problems and the reasons for closing the control
   connection.

   Receipt of an invalid or malformed Control Connection message should
   be logged appropriately, and the control connection should be closed
   and restarted to ensure recovery into a known state.

3.1. Control Connection States

The control connection relies on a standard TCP connection for its service. The PPTP control connection protocol is not distinguishable between the PNS and PAC, but is distinguishable between the originator and receiver. The originating peer is the one which first attempts the TCP open. Since either PAC or PNS may originate a connection, it is possible for a TCP collision to occur. See section 3.1.3 for a description of this situation.

3.1.1. Control Connection Originator (may be PAC or PNS)

TCP Open Indication /Send Start Control Connection Request +-----------------+ +------------------------------------>| wait_ctl_reply | | +-----------------+ | Collision/See (4.1.3) Close TCP V V V Receive Start Ctl | +-------------------------------+ | | Connection Reply | | | | Version OK ^ V | V +-----------------+ Receive Start Ctl | +-----------------+ | idle | Connection Reply | | established | +-----------------+ Version Not OK | +-----------------+ ^ | V Local Terminate | Receive Stop Control | | /Send Stop | Connection Request | | Control Request | /Send Stop Control Reply V V | Close TCP +-----------------+ +-------------------------------------| wait_stop_reply | +-----------------+
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 38
   idle
      The control connection originator attempts to open a TCP
      connection to the peer during idle state. When the TCP connection
      is open, the originator transmits a send Start-Control-
      Connection-Request and then enters the wait_ctl_reply state.

   wait_ctl_reply
      The originator checks to see if another TCP connection has been
      requested from the same peer, and if so, handles the collision
      situation described in section 3.1.3.

      When a Start-Control-Connection-Reply is received, it is examined
      for a compatible version. If the version of the reply is lower
      than the version sent in the request, the older (lower) version
      should be used provided it is supported.  If the version in the
      reply is earlier and supported, the originator moves to the
      established state. If the version is earlier and not supported, a
      Stop-Control-Connection-Request SHOULD be sent to the peer and the
      originator moves into the wait_stop_reply state.

   established
      An established connection may be terminated by either a local
      condition or the receipt of a Stop-Control-Connection-Request. In
      the event of a local termination, the originator MUST send a
      Stop-Control-Connection-Request and enter the wait_stop_reply
      state.

      If the originator receives a Stop-Control-Connection-Request it
      SHOULD send a Stop-Control-Connection-Reply and close the TCP
      connection making sure that the final TCP information has been
      "pushed" properly.

   wait_stop_reply
      If a Stop-Control-Connection-Reply is received, the TCP connection
      SHOULD be closed and the control connection becomes idle.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 39

3.1.2. Control connection Receiver (may be PAC or PNS)

Receive Start Control Connection Request Version Not OK/Send Start Control Connection Reply with Error +--------+ | | Receive Control Connection Request Version OK | | /Send Start Control Connection Reply | | +----------------------------------------+ ^ V ^ V +-----------------+ Receive Start Ctl +-----------------+ | Idle | Connection Request | Established | +-----------------+ /Send Stop Reply +-----------------+ ^ ^ Close TCP V V Local Terminate | +-------------------------------------+ | /Send Stop | | Control Conn. | V Request | +-----------------+ +-------------------------------------| Wait-Stop-Reply | Receive Stop Control +-----------------+ Connection Reply /Close TCP idle The control connection receiver waits for a TCP open attempt on port 1723. When notified of an open TCP connection, it should prepare to receive PPTP messages. When a Start-Control- Connection-Request is received its version field should be examined. If the version is earlier than the receiver's version and the earlier version can be supported by the receiver, the receiver SHOULD send a Start-Control-Connection-Reply. If the version is earlier than the receiver's version and the version cannot be supported, the receiver SHOULD send a Start-Connection- Reply message, close the TCP connection and remain in the idle state. If the receiver's version is the same as earlier than the peer's, the receiver SHOULD send a Start-Control-Connection-Reply with the receiver's version and enter the established state. established An established connection may be terminated by either a local condition or the reception of a Stop-Control-Connection-Request. In the event of a local termination, the originator MUST send a Stop-Control-Connection-Request and enter the wait_stop_reply state.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 40
      If the originator receives a Stop-Control-Connection-Request it
      SHOULD send a Stop-Control-Connection-Reply and close the TCP
      connection, making sure that the final TCP information has been
      "pushed" properly.

   wait_stop_reply
      If a Stop-Control-Connection-Reply is received, the TCP connection
      SHOULD be closed and the control connection becomes idle.

3.1.3. Start Control Connection Initiation Request Collision

A PAC and PNS must have only one control connection between them. It is possible, however, for a PNS and a PAC to simultaneously attempt to establish a control connection to each other. When a Start- Control-Connection-Request is received on one TCP connection and another Start-Control-Connection-Request has already been sent on another TCP connection to the same peer, a collision has occurred. The "winner" of the initiation race is the peer with the higher IP address (compared as 32 bit unsigned values, network number more significant). For example, if the peers 192.33.45.17 and 192.33.45.89 collide, the latter will be declared the winner. The loser will immediately close the TCP connection it initiated, without sending any further PPTP control messages on it and will respond to the winner's request with a Start-Control-Connection-Reply message. The winner will wait for the Start-Control-Connection-Reply on the connection it initiated and also wait for a TCP termination indication on the connection the loser opened. The winner MUST NOT send any messages on the connection the loser initiated.

3.1.4. Keep Alives and Timers

A control connection SHOULD be closed by closing the underlying TCP connection under the following circumstances: 1. If a control connection is not in the established state (i.e., Start-Control-Connection-Request and Start-Control-Connection- Reply have not been exchanged), a control connection SHOULD be closed after 60 seconds by a peer waiting for a Start-Control- Connection-Request or Start-Control-Connection-Reply message. 2. If a peer's control connection is in the established state and has not received a control message for 60 seconds, it SHOULD send a Echo-Request message. If an Echo-Reply is not received 60 seconds after the Echo-Request message transmission, the control connection SHOULD be closed.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 41

3.2. Call States

3.2.1. Timing considerations

Because of the real-time nature of telephone signaling, both the PNS and PAC should be implemented with multi-threaded architectures such that messages related to multiple calls are not serialized and blocked. The transit delay between the PAC and PNS should not exceed one second. The call and connection state figures do not specify exceptions caused by timers. The implicit assumption is that since the TCP-based control connection is being verified with keep-alives, there is less need to maintain strict timers for call control messages. Establishing outbound international calls, including the modem training and negotiation sequences, may take in excess of 1 minute so the use of short timers is discouraged. If a state transition does not occur within 1 minute (except for connections in the idle or established states), the integrity of the protocol processing between the peers is suspect and the ENTIRE CONTROL CONNECTION should be closed and restarted. All Call IDs are logically released whenever a control connection is started. This presumably also helps in preventing toll calls from being "lost" and never cleared.

3.2.2. Call ID Values

Each peer assigns a Call ID value to each user session it requests or accepts. This Call ID value MUST be unique for the tunnel between the PNS and PAC to which it belongs. Tunnels to other peers can use the same Call ID number so the receiver of a packet on a tunnel needs to associate a user session with a particular tunnel and Call ID. It is suggested that the number of potential Call ID values for each tunnel be at least twice as large as the maximum number of calls expected on a given tunnel. A session is defined by the triple (PAC, PNS, Call ID).

3.2.3. Incoming Calls

An Incoming-Call-Request message is generated by the PAC when an associated telephone line rings. The PAC selects a Call ID and serial number and indicates the call bearer type. Modems should always indicate analog call type. ISDN calls should indicate digital when unrestricted digital service or rate adaption is used and analog if
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 42
   digital modems are involved. Dialing number, dialed number, and
   subaddress may be included in the message if they are available from
   the telephone network.

   Once the PAC sends the Incoming-Call-Request, it waits for a response
   from the PNS but does not answer the call from the telephone network.
   The PNS may choose not to accept the call if:

      -  No resources are available to handle more sessions

      -  The dialed, dialing, or subaddress fields are not indicative of
         an authorized user

      -  The bearer service is not authorized or supported

   If the PNS chooses to accept the call, it responds with an Incoming-
   Call-Reply which also indicates window sizes (see section 4.2). When
   the PAC receives the Outgoing-Call-Reply, it attempts to connect the
   call, assuming the calling party has not hung up. A final call
   connected message from the PAC to the PNS indicates that the call
   states for both the PAC and the PNS should enter the established
   state.

   When the dialed-in client hangs up, the call is cleared normally and
   the PAC sends a Call-Disconnect-Notify message. If the PNS wishes to
   clear a call, it sends a Call-Clear-Request message and then waits
   for a Call-Disconnect-Notify.

3.2.3.1. PAC Incoming Call States
Ring/Send Incoming Call Request +-----------------+ +----------------------------------------->| wait_reply | | +-----------------+ | Receive Incoming Call Reply V V V | Not Accepting | | | Receive Incoming | +--------------------------------+ | | Call Reply Accept- | | +------------------------------+ | ing/Answer call; | | | Abort/Send Call | Send Call ^ V V Disconnect Notify V Connected +-----------------+ +-----------------+ | idle |<-----------------------------| established | +-----------------+ Receive Clear Call Request +-----------------+ or telco call dropped or local disconnect /Send Call Disconnect Notify
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 43
The states associated with the PAC for incoming calls are:

   idle
      The PAC detects an incoming call on one of its telco interfaces.
      Typically this means an analog line is ringing or an ISDN TE has
      detected an incoming Q.931 SETUP message. The PAC sends an
      Incoming-Call-Request message and moves to the wait_reply state.

   wait_reply
      The PAC receives an Incoming-Call-Reply message indicating non-
      willingness to accept the call (general error or don't accept) and
      moves back into the idle state. If the reply message indicates
      that the call is accepted, the PAC sends an Incoming-Call-
      Connected message and enters the established state.

   established
      Data is exchanged over the tunnel.  The call may be cleared
      following:

         An event on the telco connection. The PAC sends a
         Call-Disconnect-Notify message

         Receipt of a Call-Clear-Request.  The PAC sends a
         Call-Disconnect-Notify message

         A local reason. The PAC sends a Call-Disconnect-Notify message.

3.2.3.2. PNS Incoming Call States
Receive Incoming Call Request /Send Incoming Call Reply +-----------------+ Not Accepting if Error | Wait-Connect | +-----+ +-----------------+ | | Receive Incoming Call Req. ^ V V | | /Send Incoming Call Reply OK | | | Receive Incoming | | +--------------------------------+ | | Call Connect ^ V ^ V------------------------------+ V +-----------------+ Receive Call Disconnect +-----------------+ | Idle | Notify +- | Established | +-----------------+ | +-----------------+ ^ ^ | V Local Terminate | +----------------------------+ | /Send Call Clear | Receive Call Disconnect | Request | Notify V | +-----------------+ +--------------------------------------| Wait-Disconnect | Receive Call Disconnect +-----------------+ Notify
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The states associated with the PNS for incoming calls are:

   idle
      An Incoming-Call-Request message is received. If the request is
      not acceptable, an Incoming-Call-Reply is sent back to the PAC and
      the PNS remains in the idle state.  If the Incoming-Call-Request
      message is acceptable, an Incoming-Call-Reply is sent indicating
      accept in the result code. The session moves to the wait_connect
      state.

   wait_connect
      If the session is connected on the PAC, the PAC sends an incoming
      call connect message to the PNS which then moves into established
      state. The PAC may send a Call-Disconnect-Notify to indicate that
      the incoming caller could not be connected.  This could happen,
      for example, if a telephone user accidently places a standard
      voice call to a PAC resulting in a handshake failure on the called
      modem.

   established
      The session is terminated either by receipt of a Call-Disconnect-
      Notify message from the PAC or by sending a Call-Clear-Request.
      Once a Call-Clear-Request has been sent, the session enters the
      wait_disconnect state.

   wait_disconnect
      Once a Call-Disconnect-Notify is received the session moves back
      to the idle state.

3.2.4. Outgoing Calls

Outgoing messages are initiated by a PNS and instruct a PAC to place a call on a telco interface. There are only two messages for outgoing calls: Outgoing-Call-Request and Outgoing-Call-Reply. The PNS sends an Outgoing-Call-Request specifying the dialed party phone number and subaddress as well as speed and window parameters. The PAC MUST respond to the Outgoing-Call-Request message with an Outgoing-Call- Reply message once the PAC determines that: The call has been successfully connected A call failure has occurred for reasons such as: no interfaces are available for dial-out, the called party is busy or does not answer, or no dial tone is detected on the interface chosen for dialing
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3.2.4.1. PAC Outgoing Call States
Receive Outgoing Call Request in Error /Send Outgoing Call Reply with Error |--------+ | | Receive Outgoing Call Request No Error | | /Off Hook; Dial | | +----------------------------------------- ^ V ^ V +-----------------+ Incomplete Call +-----------------+ | idle | /Send Outgoing Call | wait_cs_ans | +-----------------+ Reply with Error +-----------------+ ^ ^ or Recv. Call Clear Req. V V Telco Answer | | /Send Disconnect Notify| | /Send Outgoing | +-------------------------------------+ | Call Reply. | V | +-----------------+ +-------------------------------------| established | Receive Call Clear Request +-----------------+ or local terminate or telco disconnect /Hangup call and send Call Disconnect Notify The states associated with the PAC for outgoing calls are: idle Received Outgoing-Call-Request. If this is received in error, respond with an Outgoing-Call-Reply with error condition set. Otherwise, allocate physical channel to dial on. Place the outbound call, wait for a connection, and move to the wait_cs_ans state. wait_cs_ans If the call is incomplete, send an Outgoing-Call-Reply with a non-zero Error Code. If a timer expires on an outbound call, send back an Outgoing-Call-Reply with a non-zero Error Code. If a circuit switched connection is established, send an Outgoing- Call-Reply indicating success. established If a Call-Clear-Request is received, the telco call SHOULD be released via appropriate mechanisms and a Call-Disconnect-Notify message SHOULD BE sent to the PNS. If the call is disconnected by the client or by the telco interface, a Call-Disconnect-Notify message SHOULD be sent to the PNS.
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3.2.4.2. PNS Outgoing Call States
Open Indication Abort/Send /Send Outgoing Call Call Clear Request +-----------------+Request +-------------------------------->| Wait-Reply |----------+ | +-----------------+ | | Receive Outgoing Call Reply V V Receive Outgoing | | with Error | | Call Reply | | +-------------------------------+ | No Error | ^ V V | +-----------------+ +-----------------+ | | Idle |<-----------------------------| Established | | +-----------------+ Receive Call Disconnect +-----------------+ | ^ Notify V Local Terminate | | | /Send Call Clear | | | Request | | Receive Call Disconnect V | | Notify +-----------------+ | +---------------------------------| Wait-Disconnect |<---------+ +-----------------+ The states associated with the PNS for outgoing calls are: idle An Outgoing-Call-Request message is sent to the PAC and the session moves into the wait_reply state. wait_reply An Outgoing-Call-Reply is received which indicates an error. The session returns to idle state. No telco call is active. If the Outgoing-Call-Reply does not indicate an error, the telco call is connected and the session moves to the established state. established If a Call-Disconnect-Notify is received, the telco call has been terminated for the reason indicated in the Result and Cause Codes. The session moves back to the idle state. If the PNS chooses to terminate the session, it sends a Call-Clear-Request to the PAC and then enters the wait_disconnect state. wait_disconnect A session disconnection is waiting to be confirmed by the PAC. Once the PNS receives the Call-Disconnect-Notify message, the session enters idle state.
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4. Tunnel Protocol Operation

The user data carried by the PPTP protocol are PPP data packets. PPP packets are carried between the PAC and PNS, encapsulated in GRE packets which in turn are carried over IP. The encapsulated PPP packets are essentially PPP data packets less any media specific framing elements. No HDLC flags, bit insertion, control characters, or control character escapes are included. No CRCs are sent through the tunnel. The IP packets transmitted over the tunnels between a PAC and PNS has the following general structure: +--------------------------------+ | Media Header | +--------------------------------+ | IP Header | +--------------------------------+ | GRE Header | +--------------------------------+ | PPP Packet | +--------------------------------+

4.1. Enhanced GRE header

The GRE header used in PPTP is enhanced slightly from that specified in the current GRE protocol specification [1,2]. The main difference involves the definition of a new Acknowledgment Number field, used to determine if a particular GRE packet or set of packets has arrived at the remote end of the tunnel. This Acknowledgment capability is not used in conjunction with any retransmission of user data packets. It is used instead to determine the rate at which user data packets are to be transmitted over the tunnel for a given user session. The format of the enhanced GRE header is 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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |C|R|K|S|s|Recur|A| Flags | Ver | Protocol Type | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Key (HW) Payload Length | Key (LW) Call ID | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Sequence Number (Optional) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Acknowledgment Number (Optional) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 48
   C
      (Bit 0) Checksum Present.  Set to zero (0).

   R
      (Bit 1) Routing Present.  Set to zero (0).

   K
      (Bit 2) Key Present.  Set to one (1).
   S
      (Bit 3) Sequence Number Present.  Set to one (1) if a payload
      (data) packet is present.  Set to zero (0) if payload is not
      present (GRE packet is an Acknowledgment only).

   s
      (Bit 4) Strict source route present.  Set to zero (0).

   Recur
      (Bits 5-7) Recursion control.  Set to zero (0).

   A
      (Bit 8) Acknowledgment sequence number present.  Set to one (1) if
      packet contains Acknowledgment Number to be used for acknowledging
      previously transmitted data.

   Flags
      (Bits 9-12) Must be set to zero (0).

   Ver
      (Bits 13-15) Must contain 1 (enhanced GRE).

   Protocol Type
      Set to hex 880B [8].

   Key
      Use of the Key field is up to the implementation.  PPTP uses it as
      follows:
         Payload Length
            (High 2 octets of Key) Size of the payload, not including
            the GRE header

         Call ID
            (Low 2 octets) Contains the Peer's Call ID for the session
            to which this packet belongs.

         Sequence Number
            Contains the sequence number of the payload.  Present if S
            bit (Bit 3) is one (1).
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 49
         Acknowledgment Number
            Contains the sequence number of the highest numbered GRE
            packet received by the sending peer for this user session.
            Present if A bit (Bit 8) is one (1).

         The payload section contains a PPP data packet without any
         media specific framing elements.

         The sequence numbers involved are per packet sequence numbers.
         The sequence number for each user session is set to zero at
         session startup.  Each packet sent for a given user session
         which contains a payload (and has the S bit (Bit 3) set to one)
         is assigned the next consecutive sequence number for that
         session.

         This protocol allows acknowledgments to be carried with the
         data and makes the overall protocol more efficient, which in
         turn requires less buffering of packets.

4.2. Sliding Window Protocol

The sliding window protocol used on the PPTP data path is used for flow control by each side of the data exchange. The enhanced GRE protocol allows packet acknowledgments to be piggybacked on data packets. Acknowledgments can also be sent separately from data packets. Again, the main purpose of the sliding window protocol is for flow control--retransmissions are not performed by the tunnel peers.

4.2.1. Initial Window Size

Although each side has indicated the maximum size of its receive window, it is recommended that a conservative approach be taken when beginning to transmit data. The initial window size on the transmitter is set to half the maximum size the receiver requested, with a minimum size of one packet. The transmitter stops sending packets when the number of packets awaiting acknowledgment is equal to the current window size. As the receiver successfully digests each window, the window size on the transmitter is bumped up by one packet until the maximum is reached. This method prevents a system from flooding an already congested network because no history has been established.

4.2.2. Closing the Window

When a time-out does occur on a packet, the sender adjusts the size of the transmit window down to one half its value when it failed. Fractions are rounded up, and the minimum window size is one.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 50

4.2.3. Opening the Window

With every successful transmission of a window's worth of packets without a time-out, the transmit window size is increased by one packet until it reaches the maximum window size that was sent by the other side when the call was connected. As stated earlier, no retransmission is done on a time-out. After a time-out, the transmission resumes with the window starting at one half the size of the transmit window when the time-out occurred and adjusting upward by one each time the transmit window is filled with packets that are all acknowledged without time-outs.

4.2.4. Window Overflow

When a receiver's window overflows with too many incoming packets, excess packets are thrown away. This situation should not arise if the sliding window procedures are being properly followed by the transmitter and receiver. It is assumed that, on the transmit side, packets are buffered for transmission and are no longer accepted from the packet source when the transmit buffer fills.

4.2.5. Multi-packet Acknowledgment

One feature of the PPTP sliding window protocol is that it allows the acknowledgment of multiple packets with a single acknowledgment. All outstanding packets with a sequence number lower or equal to the acknowledgment number are considered acknowledged. Time-out calculations are performed using the time the packet corresponding to the highest sequence number being acknowledged was transmitted. Adaptive time-out calculations are only performed when an Acknowledgment is received. When multi-packet acknowledgments are used, the overhead of the adaptive time-out algorithm is reduced. The PAC is not required to transmit multi-packet acknowledgments; it can instead acknowledge each packet individually as it is delivered to the PPP client.

4.3. Out-of-sequence Packets

Occasionally packets lose their sequencing across a complicated internetwork. Say, for example that a PNS sends packets 0 to 5 to a PAC. Because of rerouting in the internetwork, packet 4 arrives at the PAC before packet 3. The PAC acknowledges packet 4, and may assume packet 3 is lost. This acknowledgment grants window credit beyond packet 4.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 51
   When the PAC does receive packet 3, it MUST not attempt to transmit
   it to the corresponding PPP client.  To do so could cause problems,
   as proper PPP protocol operation is premised upon receiving packets
   in sequence.  PPP does properly deal with the loss of packets, but
   not with reordering so out of sequence packets between the PNS and
   PAC MUST be silently discarded, or they may be reordered by the
   receiver.  When packet 5 comes in, it is acknowledged by the PAC
   since it has a higher sequence number than 4, which was the last
   highest packet acknowledged by the PAC.  Packets with duplicate
   sequence numbers should never occur since the PAC and PNS never
   retransmit GRE packets.  A robust implementation will silently
   discard duplicate GRE packets, should it receive any.

4.4. Acknowledgment Time-Outs

PPTP uses sliding windows and time-outs to provide both user session flow-control across the internetwork and to perform efficient data buffering to keep the PAC-PNS data channels full without causing receive buffer overflow. PPTP requires that a time-out be used to recover from dropped data or acknowledgment packets. The exact implementation of the time-out is vendor-specific. It is suggested that an adaptive time-out be implemented with backoff for congestion control. The time-out mechanism proposed here has the following properties: Independent time-outs for each session. A device (PAC or PNS) will have to maintain and calculate time-outs for every active session. An administrator-adjustable maximum time-out, MaxTimeOut, unique to each device. An adaptive time-out mechanism that compensates for changing throughput. To reduce packet processing overhead, vendors may choose not to recompute the adaptive time-out for every received acknowledgment. The result of this overhead reduction is that the time-out will not respond as quickly to rapid network changes. Timer backoff on time-out to reduce congestion. The backed-off timer value is limited by the configurable maximum time-out value. Timer backoff is done every time an acknowledgment time-out occurs. In general, this mechanism has the desirable behavior of quickly backing off upon a time-out and of slowly decreasing the time-out value as packets are delivered without time-outs.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 52
   Some definitions:

      Packet Processing Delay (PPD) is the amount of time required for
      each side to process the maximum amount of data buffered in their
      receive packet sliding window. The PPD is the value exchanged
      between the PAC and PNS when a call is established. For the PNS,
      this number should be small.  For a PAC making modem connections,
      this number could be significant.

      Sample is the actual amount of time incurred receiving an
      acknowledgment for a packet. The Sample is measured, not
      calculated.

      Round-Trip Time (RTT) is the estimated round-trip time for an
      Acknowledgment to be received for a given transmitted packet. When
      the network link is a local network, this delay will be minimal
      (if not zero). When the network link is the Internet, this delay
      could be substantial and vary widely. RTT is adaptive: it will
      adjust to include the PPD and whatever shifting network delays
      contribute to the time between a packet being transmitted and
      receiving its acknowledgment.

      Adaptive Time-Out (ATO) is the time that must elapse before an
      acknowledgment is considered lost.  After a time-out, the sliding
      window is partially closed and the ATO is backed off.

   The Packet Processing Delay (PPD) parameter is a 16-bit word
   exchanged during the Call Control phase that represents tenths of a
   second (64 means 6.4 seconds). The protocol only specifies that the
   parameter is exchanged, it does not specify how it is calculated. The
   way values for PPD are calculated is implementation-dependent and
   need not be variable (static time-outs are allowed). The PPD must be
   exchanged in the call connect sequences, even if it remains constant
   in an implementation. One possible way to calculate the PPD is:

   PPD' = ((PPP_MAX_DATA_MTU - Header) * WindowSize * 8) / ConnectRate
   PPD = PPD' + PACFudge

   Header is the total size of the IP and GRE headers, which is 36. The
   MTU is the overall MTU for the internetwork link between the PAC and
   PNS.  WindowSize represents the number of packets in the sliding
   window, and is implementation-dependent. The latency of the
   internetwork could be used to pick a window size sufficient to keep
   the current session's pipe full. The constant 8 converts octets to
   bits (assuming ConnectRate is in bits per second).  If ConnectRate is
   in bytes per second, omit the 8.  PACFudge is not required but can be
   used to take overall processing overhead of the PAC into account.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 53
   The value of PPD is used to seed the adaptive algorithm with the
   initial RTT[n-1] value.

4.4.1. Calculating Adaptive Acknowledgment Time-Out

We still must decide how much time to allow for acknowledgments to return. If the time-out is set too high, we may wait an unnecessarily long time for dropped packets. If the time-out is too short, we may time out just before the acknowledgment arrives. The acknowledgment time-out should also be reasonable and responsive to changing network conditions. The suggested adaptive algorithm detailed below is based on the TCP 1989 implementation and is explained in [11]. 'n' means this iteration of the calculation, and 'n-1' refers to values from the last calculation. DIFF[n] = SAMPLE[n] - RTT[n-1] DEV[n] = DEV[n-1] + (beta * (|DIFF[n]| - DEV[n-1])) RTT[n] = RTT[n-1] + (alpha * DIFF[n]) ATO[n] = MAX (MinTimeOut, MIN (RTT[n] + (chi * DEV[n]), MaxTimeOut)) DIFF represents the error between the last estimated round-trip time and the measured time. DIFF is calculated on each iteration. DEV is the estimated mean deviation. This approximates the standard deviation. DEV is calculated on each iteration and stored for use in the next iteration. Initially, it is set to 0. RTT is the estimated round-trip time of an average packet. RTT is ycalculated on each iteration and stored for use in the next iteration. Initially, it is set to PPD. ATO is the adaptive time-out for the next transmitted packet. ATO is calculated on each iteration. Its value is limited, by the MIN function, to be a maximum of the configured MaxTimeOut value. Alpha is the gain for the average and is typically 1/8 (0.125). Beta is the gain for the deviation and is typically 1/4 (0.250). Chi is the gain for the time-out and is typically set to 4.
Top   ToC   RFC2637 - Page 54
   To eliminate division operations for fractional gain elements, the
   entire set of equations can be scaled. With the suggested gain
   constants, they should be scaled by 8 to eliminate all division.  To
   simplify calculations, all gain values are kept to powers of two so
   that shift operations can be used in place of multiplication or
   division.

4.4.2. Congestion Control: Adjusting for Time-Out

This section describes how the calculation of ATO is modified in the case where a time-out does occur. When a time-out occurs, the time- out value should be adjusted rapidly upward. Although the GRE packets are not retransmitted when a time-out occurs, the time-out should be adjusted up toward a maximum limit. To compensate for shifting internetwork time delays, a strategy must be employed to increase the time-out when it expires (notice that in addition to increasing the time-out, we are also shrinking the size of the window as described in the next section). For an interval in which a time- out occurs, the new ATO is calculated as: RTT[n] = delta * RTT[n-1] DEV[n] = DEV[n-1] ATO[n] = MAX (MinTimeOut, MIN (RTT[n] + (chi * DEV[n]), MaxTimeOut)) In this calculation of ATO, only the two values that both contribute to ATO and are stored for the next iteration are calculated. RTT is scaled by delta, and DEV is unmodified. DIFF is not carried forward and is not used in this scenario. A value of 2 for Delta, the time- out gain factor for RTT, is suggested.

5. Security Considerations

The security of user data passed over the tunneled PPP connection is addressed by PPP, as is authentication of the PPP peers. Because the PPTP control channel messages are neither authenticated nor integrity protected, it might be possible for an attacker to hijack the underlying TCP connection. It is also possible to manufacture false control channel messages and alter genuine messages in transit without detection. The GRE packets forming the tunnel itself are not cryptographically protected. Because the PPP negotiations are carried out over the tunnel, it may be possible for an attacker to eavesdrop on and modify those negotiations.
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   Unless the PPP payload data is cryptographically protected, it can be
   captured and read or modified.

6. Authors' Addresses

Kory Hamzeh Ascend Communications 1275 Harbor Bay Parkway Alameda, CA 94502 EMail: kory@ascend.com Gurdeep Singh Pall Microsoft Corporation Redmond, WA EMail: gurdeep@microsoft.com William Verthein U.S. Robotics/3Com Jeff Taarud Copper Mountain Networks W. Andrew Little ECI Telematics Glen Zorn Microsoft Corporation Redmond, WA EMail: glennz@microsoft.com
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7. References

[1] Hanks, S., Li, T., Farinacci, D. and P. Traina, "Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)", RFC 1701, October 1994. [2] Hanks, S., Li, T., Farinacci, D. and P. Traina, "Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) over IPv4 Networks", RFC 1702, October 1994. [3] Lloyd, B. and W. Simpson, "PPP Authentication Protocols", RFC 1334, October 1992. [4] Postel, J., "Transmission Control Protocol", STD 7, RFC 793, September 1981. [5] Postel, J., "User Data Protocol", STD 6, RFC 768, August 1980. [6] Reynolds, J. and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", STD 2, RFC 1700, October 1994. See also: http://www.iana.org/numbers.html [7] Simpson, W., editor, "The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)", STD 51, RFC 1661, July 1994. [8] Ethertype for PPP, Reserved with Xerox Corporation. [9] Simpson, W., "PPP Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)", RFC 1994, August 1996. [10] Blunk, L. and J Vollbrecht, "PPP Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)", RFC 2284, March 1998. [11] Stevens, R., "TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1", p. 300, Addison- Wesley, 1994. [12] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
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8. Full Copyright Statement

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved. This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than English. The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. This document and the information contained herein is provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Acknowledgement Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the Internet Society.