A Uniform Resource Name (URN) Namespace for IANA Registries
draft-saintandre-iana-urn-00

Abstract

This document defines a Uniform Resource Name (URN) namespace for uniquely identifying information contained in registries maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

Status of This Memo

This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

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This Internet-Draft will expire on May 12, 2013.

Copyright Notice

Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Specification Template
• 3. Namespace Considerations
• 4. Community Considerations
• 5. Security Considerations
• 6. IANA Considerations
• 7. References
• 7.1. Normative References
• 7.2. Informative References
• Authors' Addresses

1. Introduction

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) allocates and maintains unique codes and numbering systems that are used in the context of Internet protocols. Most of the constants and other well-known values maintained by the IANA are contained in registries that are accessible over the Internet, where each registry is hosted at iana.org and identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) [RFC3986] whose resources are retrieved using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) [RFC2616].

Some Internet protocols need persistent identifiers for the entries contained in IANA registries. However, currently such identifiers do not exist, for several reasons:

1. Each IANA registry is located at an HTTP URI (e.g., "http://www.iana.org/assignments/sdp-security-descriptions/sdp-security-descriptions.xml"), but there are no "pointers" to specific entries in each registry (e.g., the "AES_256_CM_HMAC_SHA1_80" entry in the SRTP Crypto Suite registry located at that URI).
   
   
2. From time to time, the IANA might change the URIs for its registries (as was done not long ago when the IANA changed all of its registries to use Extensible Markup Language [XML] files instead of plain text files).

It is desirable that names for the entries in IANA registries can be persistent and location-independent, which is not necessarily the case with names that are also HTTP URIs. However, Uniform Resource Names (URNs) [RFC2141] are designed to be both persistent and location-independent. For example, a URN for the foregoing registry entry might be:

    urn:iana:sdp-security-descriptions:AES_256_CM_HMAC_SHA1_80
        

Therefore, in accordance with the process defined in [RFC3406], this document defines a formal namespace identifier (NID) that could be used to assign URNs representing the information contained in IANA registries.

2. Specification Template

Namespace ID:

   The Namespace ID "iana" is requested.

Registration Information:

   Version 1
   Date: [[to be assigned by the RFC Editor]]

Declared Registrant of the Namespace:

   Registering organization
      Organization: Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
      Address: 4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330
               Marina del Rey, CA 
               90292-6601 
               USA

   Designated contact
      Role: IANA team
      Email: iana@iana.org

Declaration of Syntactic Structure:

   The Namespace Specific String (NSS) of all URNs that use the
   "iana" NID shall have the following structure:

      urn:iana:{RegistryName}:{EntryName}
  
   The keywords have the following meaning:

      (1) the "RegistryName" is a required ASCII string that 
      conforms to the URN syntax (RFC 2141) and defines a 
      particular registry maintained by the IANA.

      (2) the "EntryName" is a required ASCII string that 
      conforms to the URN syntax (RFC 2141) and defines a 
      particular entry in the relevant registry.

   The IANA is responsible for managing the assignment of both 
   "RegistryName" and "EntryName" strings.

Relevant Ancillary Documentation:

   Information about IANA registration procedures can be found 
   on the IANA website and in RFC 5226.

Identifier Uniqueness Considerations:

   The IANA ensures the uniqueness of all IANA URNs by checking
   RegistryNames and EntryNames against existing names for both
   registries and entries.  The IANA directly ensures the 
   uniqueness of the assigned strings and does not assign
   secondary responsibility for management of any sub-trees.  
   In no case will the resulting URNs be re-assigned.

Identifier Persistence Considerations:

   Through its existing registration procedures, the IANA
   ensures that registrants provide clear documentation of 
   the entries in IANA registries.

Process of Identifier Assignment:

   The processes and procedures for identifier assignment are 
   documented on the IANA website and in RFC 5226.

Process for Identifier Resolution:

   The namespace is not currently listed with a Resolution 
   Discovery System (RDS).  However, nothing about the namespace 
   prohibits the future definition of appropriate resolution 
   methods or listing with an RDS.

Rules for Lexical Equivalence:

   No special considerations; the rules for lexical
   equivalence specified in RFC 2141 apply.

Conformance with URN Syntax:

   No special considerations.

Validation Mechanism:

   None specified.

Scope:

   Global.
        

3. Namespace Considerations

The IANA is one of the Internet's oldest institutions, with its activities dating back to the 1970s. The use of Uniform Resource Names with an appropriate Namespace ID will enable the IANA to assign cleaner, more general, more permanent, more reliable, and more controllable names for the parameters used by Internet protocols and applications.

4. Community Considerations

The Internet community will benefit from this namespace by having more permanent and reliable names for parameters used in the context of Internet protocols and applications.

The registries maintained by the IANA are open to contributions from any interested individual or organization. See the IANA website and documentation of its registration procedures [RFC5226] for detailed descriptions of the registration procedures.

5. Security Considerations

This document introduces no additional security considerations beyond those associated with the use and resolution of URNs in general.

6. IANA Considerations

This document defines a URN NID registration of "iana" and thus opens the possibility that the IANA can use that namespace if desired. However, this document does not stipulate that the IANA is to create names for every entry in every registry that it maintains. The IANA's use of the namespace is a matter for IANA policy, which is outside the scope of this document.

7. References

7.1. Normative References

7.2. Informative References

Authors' Addresses