IPv6 Administration Guide

Packets Belonging to the Same Flow

All packets that belong to the same flow must be sent with the same source address, same destination address, and same nonzero flow label. If any of those packets include a hop-by-hop options header, then the packets must be originated with the contents of the hop-by-hop options header. The next header field of the hop-by-hop options header is excluded. If any of those packets include a routing header, then the packets must be originated with the same contents in all extension headers. The same contents include all extensions before the routing header and the routing header. The next header field in the routing header is excluded. The routers or destinations are permitted, but not required, to verify that these conditions are satisfied. If a violation is detected, the violation should be reported to the source. The violation is reported by a problem message for an ICMP parameter, Code 0. The violation points to the high-order octet of the flow label field. The high-order octet is offset one octet within the IPv6 packet.

Routers are free to set up the flow-handling state for any flow. Routers do not need explicit flow establishment information from a control protocol, a hop-by-hop option, or other means. For example, when a router receives a packet from a particular source with an unknown, non-zero flow label, a router can process its IPv6 header. The router processes any necessary extension headers in the same way that the router processes extension headers with the flow label field set to zero. The routers also determine the next-hop interface. The routers might also update a hop-by-hop option, advance the pointer and addresses in a routing header, or decide how to queue the packet. The decision to queue the packet is based on the Traffic Class field of the packet. The routers can then choose to remember the results of the processing steps. Then, the routers can cache the information. The routers use the source address and the flow label as the cache key. Subsequent packets, with the same source address and flow label, can then be handled by referring to the cached information. The routers do not need to examine all those fields. The routers can assume that the fields are unchanged from the first packet that is checked in the flow.