SCMP Specification
This document contains the specification for the SCION Control Message Protocol.
Introduction
The SCION Control Message Protocol (SCMP) is analogous to the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). It provides functionality for network diagnostics, such as ping and traceroute, and error messages that signal packet processing or network-layer problems. SCMP is a helpful tool for network diagnostics and, in the case of External Interface Down and Internal Connectivity Down messages, an optimization for end hosts to detect network failures more rapidly and fail-over to different paths. However, SCION nodes should not strictly rely on the availability of SCMP, as this protocol may not be supported by all devices and/or may be subject to rate limiting.
General Format
Every SCMP message is preceded by a SCION header, and zero or more SCION
extension headers. The SCMP header is identified by a NextHdr value of 202
in the immediately preceding header.
The messages have the following general format:
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| InfoBlock |
+ +
| (variable length) |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| DataBlock |
+ +
| (variable length) |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The
Typefield indicates the type of SCMP message. Its value determines the format of the info and data block.The
Codeprovides additional granularity to the SCMP type.The
Checksumfield is used to detect data corruption.The
InfoBlockis an optional field of variable length. The format is dependent on the message type.The
DataBlockis an optional field of variable length. The format is dependent on the message type.
Types
SCMP messages are grouped into two classes: error messages and informational messages. Error messages are identified by a zero in the high-order bit of the type value. I.e., error messages have a type value in the range of 0-127. Informational messages have type values in the range of 128-255.
This specification defines the message formats for the following SCMP messages:
SCMP error messages:
Type |
Meaning |
|---|---|
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
(not assigned) |
4 |
|
5 |
|
6 |
|
100 |
Private Experimentation |
101 |
Private Experimentation |
127 |
Reserved for expansion of SCMP error messages |
SCMP informational messages:
Type |
Meaning |
|---|---|
128 |
|
129 |
|
130 |
|
131 |
|
200 |
Private Experimentation |
201 |
Private Experimentation |
255 |
Reserved for expansion of SCMP informational messages |
Type values 100, 101, 200, and 201 are reserved for private experimentation. They are not intended for general use. Any wide-scale and/or uncontrolled usage should obtain a real allocation.
Type values 127 and 255 are reserved for future expansion of in case of a shortage of type values.
Checksum Calculation
The checksum is the 16-bit one’s complement of the one’s complement sum of the entire SCMP message, starting with the SCMP message type field, and prepended with a “pseudo-header” consisting of the SCION address header and the layer-4 protocol type as defined in Pseudo Header for Upper-Layer Checksum.
Processing Rules
Implementations MUST respect the following rules when processing SCMP messages:
If an SCMP error message of unknown type is received at its destination, it MUST be passed to the upper-layer process that originated the packet that caused the error, if it can be identified.
If an SCMP informational message of unknown type is received, it MUST be silently dropped.
Every SCMP error message MUST include as much of the offending SCION packet as possible without making the error message packet - including the SCION header and all extension headers - exceed 1232 bytes.
In case the implementation is required to pass an SCMP error message to the upper-layer process, the upper-layer protocol type is extracted from the original packet in the body of the SCMP error message and used to select the appropriate process to handle the error.
In case the upper-layer protocol type cannot be extracted from the SCMP error message body, the SCMP message MUST be silently dropped.
In SCMP error message MUST NOT be originated in response of receiving any of the following:
A SCMP error message
A packet whose source address does not uniquely identify a single node. E.g., an IPv4 or IPv6 multicast address.
SCMP Error Messages
Destination Unreachable
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Unused |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| As much of the offending packet |
+ as possible without the SCMP packet +
| exceeding 1232 bytes. |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
1 |
Code |
0 - No route to destination |
Unused |
Initialized to zero by originator and ignored by the receiver. |
A Destination Unreachable message SHOULD be generated in the originating node in response to a packet that cannot be delivered to its destination address for reasons other than congestion. This type of error message MUST only be originated by nodes in the destination AS of the offending packet. In particular, issues with a packet’s path header do not spawn this error message.
If the reason for the failure to deliver is lack of a matching entry in the forwarding node’s routing table, the code is set to 0.
If the reason for the failure to deliver is administrative prohibition, the code is set to 1.
If the reason for failure to deliver is that the destination is beyond the scope of the source address, the code is set to 2.
If the reason for the failure to deliver cannot be mapped to any of the other codes, the code is set to 3.
If a destination node has no listener for the transport protocol, it SHOULD originate a Destination Unreachable message with code 4, if the protocol has no alternative means of informing the sender.
If the reason for the failure to deliver is that the packet with this source address is not allowed due to ingress/egress filtering policies, the code is 5.
If the reason for the failure to deliver is that the route is rejected, the code is set to 6.
Codes 5 and 6 are more granular subsets of code 1.
Implementations SHOULD allow disabling origination of Destination Unreachable messages for security reasons.
Packet Too Big
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| reserved | MTU |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| As much of the offending packet |
+ as possible without the SCMP packet +
| exceeding 1232 bytes. |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
2 |
Code |
0 |
MTU |
The Maximum Transmission Unit of the next-hop link. |
A Packet Too Big message SHOULD be originated by a router in response to a packet that cannot be forwarded because the packet is larger than the MTU of the outgoing link. The MTU value is set to the maximum size a SCION packet can have to still fit on the next-hop link, as the sender has no knowledge of the underlay.
Parameter Problem
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| reserved | Pointer |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| As much of the offending packet |
+ as possible without the SCMP packet +
| exceeding 1232 bytes. |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
4 |
Code |
0 - Erroneous header field 16 - Invalid common header 32 - Invalid address header 48 - Invalid path 64 - Invalid extension header |
Pointer |
Byte offset in the offending packet where the error was detected. Can point beyond the end of the SCMP packet if the offending byte is in the part of the original packet that does not fit in the data block. |
If a node processing a packet finds a problem with a field in the SCION common header, the path header, or SCION extensions headers such that it cannot complete processing the packet, it MUST discard the packet and SHOULD originate a Parameter Problem message indicating the type and location of the problem.
The pointer identifies the offending byte of the original packet where the error was detected.
The codes are structured hierarchically. At the top is code 0 that catches all errors of this type. All other codes are a more granular description of the error.
Codes 16-21 describe problems related to the common header. 17-21 are more granular subsets of 16.
Codes 32-35 describe problems related to the address header. 33-35 are more granular subsets of 32.
A Parameter Problem error message with code 35 SHOULD be originated in response to a packet that is on the last hop of its path, but the destination ISD-AS does not match the local ISD-AS.
Codes 48-53 describe problems related to the path header. 49-53 are more granular subsets of 48.
Codes 64-66 describe problems related to extension headers. 65-66 are more granular subsets of 64.
External Interface Down
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ISD | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ AS +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
+ Interface ID +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| As much of the offending packet |
+ as possible without the SCMP packet +
| exceeding 1232 bytes. |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
5 |
Code |
0 |
ISD |
The 16-bit ISD identifier of the SCMP originator |
AS |
The 48-bit AS identifier of the SCMP originator |
Interface ID |
The interface ID of the external link with connectivity issue. |
A External Interface Down message SHOULD be originated by a router in response to a packet that cannot be forwarded because the link to an external AS broken. The ISD and AS identifier are set to the ISD-AS of the originating router. The interface ID identifies the link of the originating AS that is down.
Recipients can use this information to route around broken data-plane links.
Internal Connectivity Down
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ISD | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ AS +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
+ Ingress Interface ID +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
+ Egress Interface ID +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| As much of the offending packet |
+ as possible without the SCMP packet +
| exceeding 1232 bytes. |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
6 |
Code |
0 |
ISD |
The 16-bit ISD identifier of the SCMP originator |
AS |
The 48-bit AS identifier of the SCMP originator |
Ingress ID |
The interface ID of the ingress link. |
Egress ID |
The interface ID of the egress link. |
A Internal Connectivity Down message SHOULD be originated by a router in response to a packet that cannot be forwarded inside the AS because because the connectivity between the ingress and egress routers is broken. The ISD and AS identifier are set to the ISD-AS of the originating router. The ingress interface ID identifies the interface on which the packet enters the AS. The egress interface ID identifies the interface on which the packet is destined to leave the AS, but the connection is broken to.
Recipients can use this information to route around broken data-plane inside an AS.
SCMP Informational Messages
Echo Request
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Data...
+-+-+-+-+-
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
128 |
Code |
0 |
Identifier |
A 16-bit identifier to aid matching replies with requests |
Sequence Nr. |
A 16-bit sequence number to aid matching replies with requests |
Data |
Variable length of arbitrary data |
Every node SHOULD implement a SCMP Echo responder function that receives Echo Requests and originates corresponding Echo replies.
Echo Reply
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Data...
+-+-+-+-+-
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
129 |
Code |
0 |
Identifier |
The identifier of the Echo Request |
Sequence Nr. |
The sequence number of the Echo Request |
Data |
The data of the Echo Request |
Every node SHOULD implement a SCMP Echo responder function that receives Echo Requests and originates corresponding Echo replies.
The data received in the SCMP Echo Request message MUST be returned entirely and unmodified in the SCMP Echo Reply message.
Traceroute Request
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ISD | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ AS +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
+ Interface ID +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
130 |
Code |
0 |
Identifier |
A 16-bit identifier to aid matching replies with requests |
Sequence Nr. |
A 16-bit sequence number to aid matching replies with request |
ISD |
Place holder set to zero by SCMP sender |
AS |
Place holder set to zero by SCMP sender |
Interface ID |
Place holder set to zero by SCMP sender |
The border router is alerted of the Traceroute Request message through the ConsIngress or ConsEgress Router Alert flag in the hop field. Senders have to set them appropriately.
Traceroute Reply
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
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type | Code | Checksum |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Identifier | Sequence Number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| ISD | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ AS +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
+ Interface ID +
| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
SCMP Fields |
|
|---|---|
Type |
131 |
Code |
0 |
Identifier |
The identifier set in the Traceroute Request |
Sequence Nr. |
The sequence number of the Tracroute Request |
ISD |
The 16-bit ISD identifier of the SCMP originator |
AS |
The 48-bit AS identifier of the SCMP originator |
Interface ID |
The interface ID of the SCMP originating router |
The border router is alerted of the Traceroute Request message through the ConsIngress or ConsEgress Router Alert flag in the hop field. When such a packet is received, the border router SHOULD reply with a Traceroute Reply message.
The identifier is set to the value of the Traceroute Request message. The ISD and AS identifiers are set to the ISD-AS of the originating border router.