RFC - 2129

Toshiba's Flow Attribute Notification Protocol (FANP) Specification

Original:	ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2129.txt
Authors:	K. Nagami [Toshiba R&D Center], Y. Katsube [Toshiba R&D Center], Y. Shobatake [Toshiba R&D Center], A. Mogi [Toshiba R&D Center], S. Matsuzawa [Toshiba R&D Center], T. Jinmei [Toshiba R&D Center], H. Esaki [Toshiba R&D Center]
Date:	April 1997
Category:	Informational

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Referred by:	2 RFC
Refers to:	2 RFC

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Status

This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

This memo discusses Flow Attribute Notification Protocol (FANP), which is a protocol between neighbor nodes for the management of cut-through packet forwarding functionalities. In cut-through packet forwarding, a router doesn't have to perform conventional IP packet processing for received packets. FANP indicates mapping information between a datalink connection and a packet flow to the neighbor node and helps a pair of nodes manage the mapping information. By using FANP, routers (e.g., CSR; Cell Switch Router) can forward incoming packets based on their datalink-level connection identifiers, bypassing usual IP packet processing. The design policy of the FANP is;

1. soft-state cut-through path (Dedicated-VC) management
2. protocol between neighbor nodes instead of end-to-end
3. applicable to any connection oriented datalink platform

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