| Registration Protocols Extensions | M. Loffredo |
| Internet-Draft | M. Martinelli |
| Intended status: Standards Track | IIT-CNR/Registro.it |
| Expires: October 30, 2020 | April 28, 2020 |
Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) Partial Response
draft-ietf-regext-rdap-partial-response-10
The Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) does not include capabilities to request partial responses. In fact, according to the user authorization, the server can only return full responses. A partial response capability, especially in the case of search queries, could bring benefits to both clients and servers. This document describes an RDAP query extension that allows clients to specify their preference for obtaining a partial response.
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The use of partial response in RESTful API ([REST]) design is very common. The rationale is quite simple: instead of returning objects in API responses with all data fields, only a subset of fields in each result object is returned. The benefit is obvious: less data transferred over the network means less bandwidth usage, faster server response, less CPU time spent both on the server and the client, as well as less memory usage on the client.
Several leading APIs providers (e.g. LinkedIn [LINKEDIN], Facebook [FACEBOOK], Google [GOOGLE]) implement the partial response feature by providing an optional query parameter by which users require the fields they wish to receive. Partial response is also considered a leading principle by many best practices guidelines in REST APIs implementation ([REST-API1], [REST-API2]) in order to improve performance, save on bandwidth and possibly accelerate the overall interaction. In other contexts, for example in digital libraries and bibliographic catalogues, servers can provide responses according to different element sets (i.e. "brief" to get back a short response and "full" to get back the complete response)
Currently, RDAP does not provide a client with any way to request a partial response: the server can only provide the client with the full response ([RFC7483]). Furthermore, servers cannot define the limits of the results according to partial responses and this causes strong inefficiencies.
The protocol described in this specification extends RDAP search capabilities to enable partial responses through the provisioning of pre-defined sets of fields the user can request to an RDAP service by adding a new query parameter. The service is implemented using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) ([RFC7230]) and the conventions described in RFC 7480 ([RFC7480]).
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 ([RFC2119]).
The path segment defined in this section is an OPTIONAL extension of search path segments defined in RFC 7482 ([RFC7482]). This document defines an RDAP query parameter, "fieldSet", whose value is a string identifying a server pre-defined set of fields (Figure 1).
This solution can be implemented by the RDAP providers with less effort than fields selection and easily requested by consumers. The considerations that has led to opt for this solution are reported in more detail in Appendix A.
https://example.com/rdap/domains?name=example*.com&fieldSet=afieldset
Figure 1: Example of RDAP search query reporting the "fieldSet" parameter
According to most advanced principles in REST design, collectively known as HATEOAS (Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State) ([HATEOAS]), a client entering a REST application through an initial URI should use the server-provided links to dynamically discover available actions and access the resources it needs. In this way, the client is not requested to have prior knowledge of the service and, consequently, to hard code the URIs of different resources. This would allow the server to make URI changes as the API evolves without breaking the clients. Definitively, a REST service should be as self-descriptive as possible.
Therefore, servers implementing the query parameter described in this specification SHOULD provide additional information in their responses about the available field sets. Such information is collected in a new data structure named "subsetting_metadata" containing the following properties:
Servers returning the "subsetting_metadata" section in their responses MUST include "subsetting" in the rdapConformance array.
An RDAP server MAY use the "links" array of the "subsetting_metadata" element to provide ready-made references ([RFC8288]) to the available field sets (Figure 2). The target URI in each link is the reference to an alternate view of the results with respect to the current view of the results identified by the context URI.
{
"rdapConformance": [
"rdap_level_0",
"subsetting"
],
...
"subsetting_metadata": {
"currentFieldSet": "afieldset",
"availableFieldSets": [
{
"name": "anotherfieldset",
"description": "Contains some fields",
"default": false,
"links": [
{
"value": "https://example.com/rdap/domains?name=*nr.com
&fieldSet=afieldset",
"rel": "alternate",
"href": "https://example.com/rdap/domains?name=*nr.com
&fieldSet=anotherfieldset",
"title": "Result Subset Link",
"type": "application/rdap+json"
}
]
},
...
]
},
...
"domainSearchResults": [
...
]
}
Figure 2: Example of a "subsetting_metadata" instance
Some additional considerations can be made about how second level objects could be represented within a field set. In fact, since the topmost objects could be returned according to different field sets, the same thing could go for their related objects. As a consequence, the response could contain either no relationship or associated objects which are in turn provided according to a field set.
In order to improve interoperability between clients and servers, the name, as well as the list of fields for each field set, should be shared by most of RDAP providers. This section defines three basic field sets which servers MAY implement to facilitate their interaction with clients:
The "objectClassName" field is implicitly included in each of the above field sets. RDAP providers are RECOMMENDED to include a "self" link in each field set. RDAP providers MAY also add any property providing service information.
Fields included in "brief" and "full" field sets could be returned according to the user access levels.
{
"rdapConformance": [
"rdap_level_0",
"subsetting"
],
...
"domainSearchResults": [
{
"objectClassName": "domain",
"ldhName": "example1.com",
"links": [
{
"value": "https://example.com/rdap/domain/example1.com",
"rel": "self",
"href": "https://example.com/rdap/domain/example1.com",
"type": "application/rdap+json"
}
]
},
{
"objectClassName": "domain",
"ldhName": "example2.com",
"links": [
{
"value": "https://example.com/rdap/domain/example2.com",
"rel": "self",
"href": "https://example.com/rdap/domain/example2.com",
"type": "application/rdap+json"
}
]
},
...
]
}
Figure 3: Example of RDAP response according to the "id" field set
Each request including an unsupported field set SHOULD obtain an HTTP 400 (Bad Request) response code.
Optionally, the response MAY include additional information regarding the negative answer in the HTTP entity body.
NOTE: Please remove this section and the reference to RFC 7942 prior to publication as an RFC.
This section records the status of known implementations of the protocol defined by this specification at the time of posting of this Internet-Draft, and is based on a proposal described in RFC 7942 ([RFC7942]). The description of implementations in this section is intended to assist the IETF in its decision processes in progressing drafts to RFCs. Please note that the listing of any individual implementation here does not imply endorsement by the IETF. Furthermore, no effort has been spent to verify the information presented here that was supplied by IETF contributors. This is not intended as, and must not be construed to be, a catalog of available implementations or their features. Readers are advised to note that other implementations may exist.
According to RFC 7942, "this will allow reviewers and working groups to assign due consideration to documents that have the benefit of running code, which may serve as evidence of valuable experimentation and feedback that have made the implemented protocols more mature. It is up to the individual working groups to use this information as they see fit".
IANA is requested to register the following value in the RDAP Extensions Registry:
The search query typically requires more server resources (such as memory, CPU cycles, and network bandwidth) when compared to the lookup query. This increases the risk of server resource exhaustion and subsequent denial of service due to abuse. Partial response can contribute together with other strategies (e.g. restricting search functionality, limiting the rate of search requests, truncating and paging results) to mitigate this risk.
Furthermore, partial response can support RDAP operators to implement a versatile access control policy through the HTTP authentication mechanisms as described in RFC 7481 ([RFC7481]). In fact, RDAP operators can follow different, not alternative, approaches to the building of responses according to the user access levels:
Servers can also define different results limits according to the available field sets, so a more flexible truncation strategy can be realized.
Therefore, the new query parameter presented in this document provides the RDAP operators with a way to implement a secure server without penalizing its efficiency.
The authors would like to acknowledge Scott Hollenbeck, Tom Harrison, Karl Heinz Wolf, Jasdip Singh and Patrick Mevzek for their contribution to this document.
| [CQL] | Whitaker, G., "Catnap Query Language Reference", September 2017. |
| [FACEBOOK] | facebook.com, "facebook for developers - Using the Graph API", July 2017. |
| [GOOGLE] | google.com, "Making APIs Faster: Introducing Partial Response and Partial Update", March 2010. |
| [HATEOAS] | Jedrzejewski, B., "HATEOAS - a simple explanation", 2018. |
| [LINKEDIN] | linkedin.com, "Java One 2009: Building Consistent RESTful APIs in a High Performance Environment", July 2009. |
| [REST] | Fielding, R., "Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures", 2000. |
| [REST-API1] | Jobinesh, P., "RESTful Java Web Services - Second Edition", September 2015. |
| [REST-API2] | Masse, M., "REST API Design Rulebook", October 2011. |
Looking at the implementation experiences described in Section 1, two approaches to the implementation of partial response can be detected:
The former is more flexible than the latter because clients can specify all the data fields they need. However, it has some drawbacks:
In addition to those listed above, RDAP responses raise some specific issues:
As an example compliant to the first approach, the Catnap Query Language ([CQL]) is a comprehensive expression language that can be used to customize the JSON response of a RESTful web service. The practical application of CQL to RDAP responses points out that declaring explicitly the output fields would still be acceptable when a few fields are requested but it would become very complicated if the fields should be more. In the following, two CQL expressions for a search domain query are shown (Figure 4): in the first, only objectClassName and ldhName are requested, in the second, the fields of a possible WHOIS-like response are listed.
https://example.com/rdap/domains?name=example*.com
&fields=domainSearchResults(objectClassName,ldhName)
https://example.com/rdap/domains?name=example*.com
&fields=domainSearchResults(objectClassName,ldhName,
unicodeName,
status,
events(eventAction,eventDate),
entities(objectClassName,handle,roles),
nameservers(objectClassName,ldhName))
Figure 4: Examples of CQL expressions for a search domain query
The latter approach seems to facilitate RDAP interoperability. In fact, servers can define some basic field sets which, if known to the clients, can increase the probability to get a valid response. The usage of field sets lets the query string be less complex. In addition, the definition of pre-defined sets of fields makes easier to establish the results limits.
Finally, considering that there is not a real need for RDAP users to have the maximum flexibility in defining all the possible sets of logically connected fields (e.g. users interested in domains usually need to know the status, the creation date, the expiry date of each domain), the latter approach is preferred.