IPv6 Flow Label Specification
RFC 6437, “IPv6 Flow Label Specification”, is a Proposed Standard document published in November 2011 by S. Amante, B. Carpenter, S. Jiang, J. Rajahalme. It updates RFC 2205, RFC 2460. It obsoletes RFC 3697. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.
Abstract
This document specifies the IPv6 Flow Label field and the minimum requirements for IPv6 nodes labeling flows, IPv6 nodes forwarding labeled packets, and flow state establishment methods. Even when mentioned as examples of possible uses of the flow labeling, more detailed requirements for specific use cases are out of the scope for this document.
The usage of the Flow Label field enables efficient IPv6 flow classification based only on IPv6 main header fields in fixed positions. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
What “Proposed Standard” means
An entry-level standards-track specification: stable, peer-reviewed and a solid basis for implementation, though it may still evolve before becoming an Internet Standard.
The canonical text of RFC 6437 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.
- RFC 6436 Rationale for Update to the IPv6 Flow Label Specification
- RFC 6438 Using the IPv6 Flow Label for Equal Cost Multipath Routing and Link Aggregation in Tunnels
- RFC 6435 MPLS Transport Profile Lock Instruct and Loopback Functions
- RFC 6439 Routing Bridges : Appointed Forwarders
- RFC 6434 IPv6 Node Requirements
- RFC 6440 The EAP Re-authentication Protocol Local Domain Name DHCPv6 Option
- RFC 6433 Requirements for a Working Group Milestones Tool
- RFC 6441 Time to Remove Filters for Previously Unallocated IPv4 /8s