RFC 8832 PROPOSED STANDARD WEBRTC · TRANSPORT · SCTP

WebRTC DCEP: WebRTC Data Channel Establishment Protocol

How two browsers open a named, tunable message channel inside one SCTP connection, with a two-message handshake.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
January 2021
AUTHORS
R. Jesup, S. Loreto, M. Tüxen
STREAM
IETF
DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN MESSAGE TYPE
0x03
DATA_CHANNEL_ACK MESSAGE TYPE
0x02
SCTP PAYLOAD PROTOCOL IDENTIFIER
50
MESSAGE TYPE FIELD WIDTH
1 byte
STREAM IDENTIFIER RANGE
0 to 65534
STREAM PARITY RULE
Even for the DTLS client, odd for the DTLS server
DOI
10.17487/RFC8832
ERRATA
Reported errata

RFC text

Contents
Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          R. Jesup
Request for Comments: 8832                                       Mozilla
Category: Standards Track                                      S. Loreto
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                 Ericsson
                                                                M. Tüxen
                                         Münster Univ. of Appl. Sciences
                                                            January 2021


               WebRTC Data Channel Establishment Protocol

Abstract

   The WebRTC framework specifies protocol support for direct
   interactive rich communication using audio, video, and data between
   two peers' web browsers.  This document specifies a simple protocol
   for establishing symmetric data channels between the peers.  It uses
   a two-way handshake and allows sending of user data without waiting
   for the handshake to complete.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8832.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2021 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction
   2.  Conventions
   3.  Terminology
   4.  Protocol Overview
   5.  Message Formats
     5.1.  DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN Message
     5.2.  DATA_CHANNEL_ACK Message
   6.  Procedures
   7.  Security Considerations
   8.  IANA Considerations
     8.1.  SCTP Payload Protocol Identifier
     8.2.  New Standalone Registry for DCEP
       8.2.1.  New Message Type Registry
       8.2.2.  New Channel Type Registry
   9.  References
     9.1.  Normative References
     9.2.  Informative References
   Acknowledgements
   Authors' Addresses

1.  Introduction

   The Data Channel Establishment Protocol (DCEP) is designed to
   provide, in the WebRTC data channel context [RFC8831], a simple in-
   band method for opening symmetric data channels.  As discussed in
   [RFC8831], the protocol uses the Stream Control Transmission Protocol
   (SCTP) [RFC4960] encapsulated in Datagram Transport Layer Security
   (DTLS) (described in [RFC8261]).  This allows DCEP to benefit from
   the already standardized transport and security features of SCTP and
   DTLS.  DTLS 1.0 is defined in [RFC4347]; the present latest version,
   DTLS 1.2, is defined in [RFC6347]; and an upcoming version, DTLS 1.3,
   is defined in [TLS-DTLS13].

2.  Conventions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
   BCP?14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

3.  Terminology

   This document uses the following terms:

   Association:  An SCTP association.

   Stream:  A unidirectional stream of an SCTP association.  It is
      uniquely identified by an SCTP stream identifier (0-65534).  Note:
      The SCTP stream identifier 65535 is reserved due to SCTP INIT and
      INIT-ACK chunks only allowing a maximum of 65535 streams to be
      negotiated (0-65534).

   Stream Identifier:  The SCTP stream identifier uniquely identifying a
      stream.

   Data Channel:  Two streams with the same stream identifier, one in
      each direction, which are managed together.

4.  Protocol Overview

   The Data Channel Establishment Protocol is a simple, low-overhead way
   to establish bidirectional data channels over an SCTP association
   with a consistent set of properties.

   The set of consistent properties includes:

   *  reliable or unreliable message transmission.  In case of
      unreliable transmissions, the same level of unreliability is used.

   *  in-order or out-of-order message delivery.

   *  the priority of the data channel.

   *  an optional label for the data channel.

   *  an optional protocol for the data channel.

   *  the streams.

   This protocol uses a two-way handshake to open a data channel.  The
   handshake pairs one incoming and one outgoing stream, both having the
   same stream identifier, into a single bidirectional data channel.
   The peer that initiates opening a data channel selects a stream
   identifier for which the corresponding incoming and outgoing streams
   are unused and sends a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message on the outgoing
   stream.  The peer responds with a DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message on its
   corresponding outgoing stream.  Then the data channel is open.  DCEP
   messages are sent on the same stream as the user messages belonging
   to the data channel.  The demultiplexing is based on the SCTP Payload
   Protocol Identifier (PPID), since DCEP uses a specific PPID.

      |  Note: The opening side MAY send user messages before the
      |  DATA_CHANNEL_ACK is received.

   To avoid collisions where both sides try to open a data channel with
   the same stream identifiers, each side MUST use streams with either
   even or odd stream identifiers when sending a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN
   message.  When using SCTP over DTLS [RFC8261], the method used to
   determine which side uses odd or even is based on the underlying DTLS
   connection role: the side acting as the DTLS client MUST use streams
   with even stream identifiers; the side acting as the DTLS server MUST
   use streams with odd stream identifiers.

      |  Note: There is no attempt to ensure uniqueness for the label;
      |  if both sides open a data channel labeled "x" at the same time,
      |  there will be two data channels labeled "x" -- one on an even
      |  stream pair, one on an odd pair.

   The purpose of the protocol field is to ease cross-application
   interoperation ("federation") by identifying the user data being
   passed by means of an IANA-registered string from the "WebSocket
   Subprotocol Name Registry" defined in [RFC6455].  The field may be
   useful for homogeneous applications that may create more than one
   type of data channel.  Note that there is no attempt to ensure
   uniqueness for the protocol field.

5.  Message Formats

   Every DCEP message starts with a one-byte field called "Message Type"
   that indicates the type of the message.  The corresponding values are
   managed by IANA (see Section 8.2.1).

5.1.  DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN Message

   This message is initially sent using the data channel on the stream
   used for user messages.

      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
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     |  Message Type |  Channel Type |            Priority           |
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     |                    Reliability Parameter                      |
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     |         Label Length          |       Protocol Length         |
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     \                                                               /
     |                             Label                             |
     /                                                               \
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     \                                                               /
     |                            Protocol                           |
     /                                                               \
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Message Type: 1 byte (unsigned integer)
      This field holds the IANA-defined message type for the
      DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message.  The value of this field is 0x03, as
      specified in Section 8.2.1.

   Channel Type: 1 byte (unsigned integer)
      This field specifies the type of data channel to be opened.  The
      values are managed by IANA (see Section 8.2.2):

      DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE (0x00):  The data channel provides a
         reliable in-order bidirectional communication.

      DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE_UNORDERED (0x80):  The data channel provides
         a reliable unordered bidirectional communication.

      DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT (0x01):  The data channel
         provides a partially reliable in-order bidirectional
         communication.  User messages will not be retransmitted more
         times than specified in the Reliability Parameter.

      DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT_UNORDERED (0x81):  The data
         channel provides a partially reliable unordered bidirectional
         communication.  User messages will not be retransmitted more
         times than specified in the Reliability Parameter.

      DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED (0x02):  The data channel
         provides a partially reliable in-order bidirectional
         communication.  User messages might not be transmitted or
         retransmitted after a specified lifetime given in milliseconds
         in the Reliability Parameter.  This lifetime starts when
         providing the user message to the protocol stack.

      DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED_UNORDERED (0x82):  The data
         channel provides a partially reliable unordered bidirectional
         communication.  User messages might not be transmitted or
         retransmitted after a specified lifetime given in milliseconds
         in the Reliability Parameter.  This lifetime starts when
         providing the user message to the protocol stack.

   Priority: 2 bytes (unsigned integer)
      The priority of the data channel, as described in [RFC8831].

   Reliability Parameter: 4 bytes (unsigned integer)
      For reliable data channels, this field MUST be set to 0 on the
      sending side and MUST be ignored on the receiving side.  If a
      partially reliable data channel with a limited number of
      retransmissions is used, this field specifies the number of
      retransmissions.  If a partially reliable data channel with a
      limited lifetime is used, this field specifies the maximum
      lifetime in milliseconds.  The following table summarizes this:

     +================================================+=============+
     | Channel Type                                   | Reliability |
     |                                                |  Parameter  |
     +================================================+=============+
     | DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE                          |   Ignored   |
     +------------------------------------------------+-------------+
     | DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE_UNORDERED                |   Ignored   |
     +------------------------------------------------+-------------+
     | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT           |  Number of  |
     |                                                |     RTX     |
     +------------------------------------------------+-------------+
     | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT_UNORDERED |  Number of  |
     |                                                |     RTX     |
     +------------------------------------------------+-------------+
     | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED            | Lifetime in |
     |                                                |      ms     |
     +------------------------------------------------+-------------+
     | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED_UNORDERED  | Lifetime in |
     |                                                |      ms     |
     +------------------------------------------------+-------------+

                                 Table 1

   Label Length: 2 bytes (unsigned integer)
      The length of the label field in bytes.

   Protocol Length: 2 bytes (unsigned integer)
      The length of the protocol field in bytes.

   Label: Variable Length (sequence of characters)
      The name of the data channel as a UTF-8-encoded string, as
      specified in [RFC3629].  This may be an empty string.

   Protocol: Variable Length (sequence of characters)
      If this is an empty string, the protocol is unspecified.  If it is
      a non-empty string, it specifies a protocol registered in the
      "WebSocket Subprotocol Name Registry" created in [RFC6455].  This
      string is UTF-8 encoded, as specified in [RFC3629].

5.2.  DATA_CHANNEL_ACK Message

   This message is sent in response to a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN_RESPONSE
   message.  It is sent on the stream used for user messages using the
   data channel.  Reception of this message tells the opener that the
   data channel setup handshake is complete.

      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
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     |  Message Type |
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Message Type: 1 byte (unsigned integer)
      This field holds the IANA-defined message type for the
      DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message.  The value of this field is 0x02, as
      specified in Section 8.2.1.

6.  Procedures

   All DCEP messages MUST be sent using ordered delivery and reliable
   transmission.  They MUST be sent on the same outgoing stream as the
   user messages belonging to the corresponding data channel.
   Multiplexing and demultiplexing is done by using the SCTP PPID.
   Therefore, a DCEP message MUST be sent with the assigned PPID for the
   Data Channel Establishment Protocol (see Section 8.1).  Other
   messages MUST NOT be sent using this PPID.

   The peer that initiates opening a data channel selects a stream
   identifier for which the corresponding incoming and outgoing streams
   are unused.  If the side is acting as the DTLS client, it MUST choose
   an even stream identifier; if the side is acting as the DTLS server,
   it MUST choose an odd one.  The initiating peer fills in the
   parameters of the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message and sends it on the
   chosen stream.

   If a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message is received on an unused stream, the
   stream identifier corresponds to the role of the peer, and all
   parameters in the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message are valid, then a
   corresponding DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message is sent on the stream with the
   same stream identifier as the one the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message was
   received on.

   If the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message doesn't satisfy the conditions
   above, the receiver MUST close the corresponding data channel using
   the procedure described in [RFC8831] and MUST NOT send a
   DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message in response to the received message.  This
   might occur if, for example, a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message is received
   on an already used stream, there are problems with parameters within
   the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message, the odd/even rule is violated, or the
   DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message itself is not well formed.  Therefore,
   receiving an SCTP stream-reset request for a stream on which no
   DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message has been received indicates to the sender of
   the corresponding DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message the failure of the data
   channel setup procedure.  After also successfully resetting the
   corresponding outgoing stream, which concludes the data channel
   closing initiated by the peer, a new DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message can be
   sent on the stream.

   After the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message has been sent, the sender of that
   message MAY start sending messages containing user data without
   waiting for the reception of the corresponding DATA_CHANNEL_ACK
   message.  However, before the DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message or any other
   message has been received on a data channel, all other messages
   containing user data and belonging to this data channel MUST be sent
   ordered, no matter whether the data channel is ordered or not.  After
   the DATA_CHANNEL_ACK or any other message has been received on the
   data channel, messages containing user data MUST be sent ordered on
   ordered data channels and MUST be sent unordered on unordered data
   channels.  Therefore, receiving a message containing user data on an
   unused stream indicates an error.  In that case, the corresponding
   data channel MUST be closed, as described in [RFC8831].

7.  Security Considerations

   The DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message contains two variable-length fields:
   the protocol and the label.  A receiver must be prepared to receive
   DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN messages where these fields have the maximum length
   of 65535 bytes.  Error cases such as using inconsistent lengths of
   fields, using unknown parameter values, or violating the odd/even
   rule must also be handled by closing the corresponding data channel.
   An end point must also be prepared for the peer to open the maximum
   number of data channels.

   This protocol does not provide privacy, integrity, or authentication.
   It needs to be used as part of a protocol suite that contains all
   these things.  Such a protocol suite is specified in [RFC8261].

   For general considerations, see [RFC8826] and [RFC8827].

8.  IANA Considerations

   IANA has updated the reference of an already existing SCTP PPID
   assignment (Section 8.1) and created a new standalone registry with
   its own URL for DCEP (Section 8.2) containing two new registration
   tables (Sections 8.2.1 and 8.2.2).

8.1.  SCTP Payload Protocol Identifier

   This document uses an SCTP Payload Protocol Identifier (PPID)
   previously registered as "WebRTC Control".  [RFC4960] created the
   "SCTP Payload Protocol Identifiers" registry, in which this
   identifier was assigned.  IANA has updated the PPID name from "WebRTC
   Control" to "WebRTC DCEP" and has updated the reference to point to
   this document.  The corresponding date has been kept.

   Therefore, this assignment now appears as follows:

           +=============+===========+===========+============+
           | Value       | SCTP PPID | Reference | Date       |
           +=============+===========+===========+============+
           | WebRTC DCEP | 50        | RFC 8832  | 2013-09-20 |
           +-------------+-----------+-----------+------------+

                                 Table 2

8.2.  New Standalone Registry for DCEP

   IANA has created the "Data Channel Establishment Protocol (DCEP)
   Parameters" registry.  It contains the two tables provided in
   Sections 8.2.1 and 8.2.2.

8.2.1.  New Message Type Registry

   IANA has created the "Message Types" registry for DCEP to manage the
   one-byte "Message Type" field in DCEP messages (see Section 5).  This
   registration table is a subregistry of the registry described in
   Section 8.2.

   The assignment of new message types is done through an RFC Required
   action, as defined in [RFC8126].  Documentation of new message types
   MUST contain the following information:

   1.  A name for the new message type.

   2.  A detailed procedural description of how each message type is
       used with within DCEP.

   The following are the initial registrations:

               +===================+===========+===========+
               | Name              | Type      | Reference |
               +===================+===========+===========+
               | Reserved          | 0x00      | RFC 8832  |
               +-------------------+-----------+-----------+
               | Reserved          | 0x01      | RFC 8832  |
               +-------------------+-----------+-----------+
               | DATA_CHANNEL_ACK  | 0x02      | RFC 8832  |
               +-------------------+-----------+-----------+
               | DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN | 0x03      | RFC 8832  |
               +-------------------+-----------+-----------+
               | Unassigned        | 0x04-0xfe |           |
               +-------------------+-----------+-----------+
               | Reserved          | 0xff      | RFC 8832  |
               +-------------------+-----------+-----------+

                                  Table 3

   Note that values 0x00 and 0x01 are reserved to avoid interoperability
   problems, since they have been used in draft versions of the
   document.  The value 0xff has been reserved for future extensibility.
   The range of possible values is from 0x00 to 0xff.

8.2.2.  New Channel Type Registry

   IANA has created the "Channel Types" registry for DCEP to manage the
   one-byte "Channel Type" field in DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN messages (see
   Section 5.1).  This registration table is a subregistry within the
   registry described in Section 8.2.

   The assignment of new message types is done through an RFC Required
   action, as defined in [RFC8126].  Documentation of new Channel Types
   MUST contain the following information:

   1.  A name for the new Channel Type.

   2.  A detailed procedural description of the user message handling
       for data channels using this new Channel Type.

   If new Channel Types support ordered and unordered message delivery,
   the high-order bit MUST be used to indicate whether or not the
   message delivery is unordered.

   The following are the initial registrations:

   +================================================+======+===========+
   | Name                                           | Type | Reference |
   +================================================+======+===========+
   | DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE                          | 0x00 | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE_UNORDERED                | 0x80 | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT           | 0x01 | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT_UNORDERED | 0x81 | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED            | 0x02 | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED_UNORDERED  | 0x82 | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | Reserved                                       | 0x7f | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | Reserved                                       | 0xff | RFC 8832  |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+
   | Unassigned                                     | rest |           |
   +------------------------------------------------+------+-----------+

                                  Table 4

   Values 0x7f and 0xff have been reserved for future extensibility.
   The range of possible values is from 0x00 to 0xff.

9.  References

9.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

   [RFC3629]  Yergeau, F., "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO
              10646", STD 63, RFC 3629, DOI 10.17487/RFC3629, November
              2003, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3629>.

   [RFC4960]  Stewart, R., Ed., "Stream Control Transmission Protocol",
              RFC 4960, DOI 10.17487/RFC4960, September 2007,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4960>.

   [RFC8126]  Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for
              Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26,
              RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, June 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8126>.

   [RFC8261]  Tuexen, M., Stewart, R., Jesup, R., and S. Loreto,
              "Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) Encapsulation of
              SCTP Packets", RFC 8261, DOI 10.17487/RFC8261, November
              2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8261>.

   [RFC8831]  Jesup, R., Loreto, S., and M. Tüxen, "WebRTC Data
              Channels", RFC 8831, DOI 10.17487/RFC8831, January 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8831>.

9.2.  Informative References

   [RFC4347]  Rescorla, E. and N. Modadugu, "Datagram Transport Layer
              Security", RFC 4347, DOI 10.17487/RFC4347, April 2006,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4347>.

   [RFC6347]  Rescorla, E. and N. Modadugu, "Datagram Transport Layer
              Security Version 1.2", RFC 6347, DOI 10.17487/RFC6347,
              January 2012, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6347>.

   [RFC6455]  Fette, I. and A. Melnikov, "The WebSocket Protocol",
              RFC 6455, DOI 10.17487/RFC6455, December 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6455>.

   [RFC8826]  Rescorla, E., "Security Considerations for WebRTC",
              RFC 8826, DOI 10.17487/RFC8826, January 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8826>.

   [RFC8827]  Rescorla, E., "WebRTC Security Architecture", RFC 8827,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8827, January 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8827>.

   [TLS-DTLS13]
              Rescorla, E., Tschofenig, H., and N. Modadugu, "The
              Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) Protocol Version
              1.3", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-tls-
              dtls13-39, 2 November 2020,
              <https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-tls-dtls13-39>.

Acknowledgements

   The authors wish to thank Harald Alvestrand, Richard Barnes, Adam
   Bergkvist, Spencer Dawkins, Barry Dingle, Stefan Håkansson, Cullen
   Jennings, Paul Kyzivat, Doug Leonard, Alexey Melnikov, Pete Resnick,
   Irene Rüngeler, Randall Stewart, Peter Thatcher, Martin Thomson,
   Justin Uberti, and many others for their invaluable comments.

Authors' Addresses

   Randell Jesup
   Mozilla
   United States of America

   Email: randell-ietf@jesup.org


   Salvatore Loreto
   Ericsson
   Hirsalantie 11
   FI-02420 Jorvas
   Finland

   Email: salvatore.loreto@ericsson.com


   Michael Tüxen
   Münster University of Applied Sciences
   Stegerwaldstrasse 39
   48565  Steinfurt
   Germany

   Email: tuexen@fh-muenster.de

ISO Plain Language

On this page
PROBLEMA WebRTC data channel has to be opened before any application data can flow, and the two peers have to agree on its properties first.
MECHANISMThe Data Channel Establishment Protocol opens a channel with two messages: the opener sends a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN carrying the channel type, priority, reliability setting, label and protocol, and the peer answers with a DATA_CHANNEL_ACK. Each side uses streams of a fixed parity, even for the DTLS client and odd for the DTLS server, so both can open channels at the same time without colliding.
WHY IT MATTERSA data channel can be opened with a consistent set of properties, and the opener may send user data before the acknowledgement arrives, which saves a round trip.

§1What the Protocol Does

The Data Channel Establishment Protocol is designed to provide, in the WebRTC data channel context, a simple in-band method for opening symmetric data channels. The protocol uses the Stream Control Transmission Protocol encapsulated in Datagram Transport Layer Security, so that DCEP benefits from the already standardized transport and security features of SCTP and DTLS. DTLS 1.0 is defined in RFC 4347, the present latest version DTLS 1.2 is defined in RFC 6347, and an upcoming version DTLS 1.3 is defined in the work on TLS and DTLS 1.3.

Nothing new travels on the network for this. A WebRTC call already carries an SCTP connection inside DTLS, and the establishment messages are simply extra pieces of data on that connection, with a marker that tells the two sides they are control messages rather than application data.

§3Association, Stream and Data Channel

The document uses three terms. An association is an SCTP association. A stream is a unidirectional stream of an SCTP association, uniquely identified by an SCTP stream identifier in the range 0 to 65534; the identifier 65535 is reserved because the SCTP INIT and INIT-ACK chunks only allow a maximum of 65535 streams to be negotiated. The stream identifier is the number that identifies a stream. A data channel is two streams with the same stream identifier, one in each direction, managed together.

A data channel is not a new connection. It is two one-way streams inside the existing SCTP connection, one in each direction, sharing the same number, and the protocol manages the pair as one thing.

§4The Two-Way Handshake

The Data Channel Establishment Protocol is a simple, low-overhead way to establish bidirectional data channels over an SCTP association with a consistent set of properties. The set includes reliable or unreliable message transmission, where unreliable transmissions use the same level of unreliability; in-order or out-of-order message delivery; the priority of the data channel; an optional label for the data channel; an optional protocol for the data channel; and the streams themselves.

The protocol uses a two-way handshake to open a data channel. The handshake pairs one incoming and one outgoing stream, both having the same stream identifier, into a single bidirectional data channel. The peer that initiates opening a data channel selects a stream identifier for which the corresponding incoming and outgoing streams are unused, and sends a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message on the outgoing stream. The peer responds with a DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message on its corresponding outgoing stream, and then the data channel is open. DCEP messages are sent on the same stream as the user messages belonging to the data channel, and the demultiplexing is based on the SCTP Payload Protocol Identifier, since DCEP uses a specific one.

The opening side may send user messages before the DATA_CHANNEL_ACK is received.

To avoid collisions where both sides try to open a data channel with the same stream identifiers, each side must use streams with either even or odd stream identifiers when sending a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message. When using SCTP over DTLS, the method used to determine which side uses odd or even is based on the underlying DTLS connection role: the side acting as the DTLS client must use streams with even stream identifiers, and the side acting as the DTLS server must use streams with odd ones. There is no attempt to ensure uniqueness for the label, so if both sides open a data channel labeled 'x' at the same time, there will be two data channels labeled 'x', one on an even stream pair and one on an odd pair.

The purpose of the protocol field is to ease cross-application interoperation by identifying the user data being passed by means of an IANA-registered string from the WebSocket Subprotocol Name Registry. It may also be useful for homogeneous applications that create more than one type of data channel. There is no attempt to ensure uniqueness for the protocol field either.

Opening a channel takes two messages, and it works over the connection the call already has. The two sides avoid stepping on each other by a simple rule: one of them may only use even stream numbers and the other only odd ones, decided by which side is the DTLS client. Labels are not unique, so the same name can legitimately exist twice.

The two-message data channel handshake
Opening peerPeer
  1. DATA_CHANNEL_OPENSent on a stream whose identifier is unused in both directions.
  2. DATA_CHANNEL_ACKSent on the matching stream; the data channel is now open.
  3. USER DATAThe opener may send user data before the acknowledgement arrives, but in order.

§5.1The DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN Message

Every DCEP message starts with a one-byte field called the Message Type, whose values are managed by IANA. The DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message is initially sent using the data channel on the stream used for user messages, and its fields are:

  • Message Type, 1 byte, holding the value 0x03 for this message.
  • Channel Type, 1 byte, specifying the type of data channel to be opened. The value 0x00, DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE, gives reliable in-order bidirectional communication; 0x80, DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE_UNORDERED, gives reliable unordered bidirectional communication; 0x01, DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT, gives partially reliable in-order communication where user messages are not retransmitted more times than the Reliability Parameter specifies; 0x81, DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT_UNORDERED, the same but unordered; 0x02, DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED, gives partially reliable in-order communication where messages might not be transmitted or retransmitted after a lifetime given in milliseconds in the Reliability Parameter, with the lifetime starting when the user message is handed to the protocol stack; and 0x82, DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED_UNORDERED, the same but unordered.
  • Priority, 2 bytes, the priority of the data channel as described in RFC 8831.
  • Reliability Parameter, 4 bytes. For reliable data channels it must be set to zero on the sending side and must be ignored on the receiving side. For a partially reliable channel with a limited number of retransmissions it gives that number, and for a partially reliable channel with a limited lifetime it gives the maximum lifetime in milliseconds.
  • Label Length and Protocol Length, 2 bytes each, giving the lengths of the two variable fields.
  • Label, variable length, the name of the data channel as a UTF-8 encoded string, which may be empty.
  • Protocol, variable length. If it is an empty string the protocol is unspecified; if it is not empty it names a protocol registered in the WebSocket Subprotocol Name Registry, and is UTF-8 encoded.

The open message names the channel's behaviour and its optional label. Six channel types are defined, from fully reliable and ordered, through reliable but unordered, to partially reliable with either a retransmission count or a lifetime in milliseconds. One four-byte field carries whichever of those two limits applies.

The fixed part of the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message
DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN
FieldNameSizeValueDescription
MESSAGE-TYPEMessage Type1 byteThe value 0x03 for this message.
CHANNEL-TYPEChannel Type1 byteThe type of data channel being opened.
PRIORITYPriority2 bytesThe priority of the data channel.
RELIABILITYReliability Parameter4 bytesZero for a reliable channel, a retransmission count or a lifetime in milliseconds otherwise.
LABEL-LENGTHLabel Length2 bytesLength of the label field in bytes.
PROTOCOL-LENGTHProtocol Length2 bytesLength of the protocol field in bytes.
The channel types this document defines
  • 0x00DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE — Reliable in-order bidirectional communication.
  • 0x80DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE_UNORDERED — Reliable unordered bidirectional communication.
  • 0x01DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT — Partially reliable and in order, with a limit on retransmissions.
  • 0x81PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT_UNORDERED — Partially reliable and unordered, with a limit on retransmissions.
  • 0x02DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED — Partially reliable and in order, with a limit on lifetime.
  • 0x82PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED_UNORDERED — Partially reliable and unordered, with a limit on lifetime.

§5.2The DATA_CHANNEL_ACK Message

The DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message is sent in response to a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message. It is sent on the stream used for user messages using the data channel, and its reception tells the opener that the data channel setup handshake is complete.

The message has a single field, the Message Type, of 1 byte, holding the value 0x02 for this message.

The reply is one byte long. Its only job is to say that the channel is open.

§6How the Two Sides Behave

All DCEP messages must be sent using ordered delivery and reliable transmission, and they must be sent on the same outgoing stream as the user messages belonging to the corresponding data channel. Multiplexing and demultiplexing is done by using the SCTP Payload Protocol Identifier, so a DCEP message must be sent with the assigned PPID for the Data Channel Establishment Protocol, and other messages must not be sent using that PPID.

The peer that initiates opening a data channel selects a stream identifier for which the corresponding incoming and outgoing streams are unused. If the side is acting as the DTLS client it must choose an even stream identifier; if it is acting as the DTLS server, an odd one. The initiating peer fills in the parameters of the DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message and sends it on the chosen stream.

If a DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message is received on an unused stream, the stream identifier corresponds to the role of the peer, and all the parameters in the message are valid, then a corresponding DATA_CHANNEL_ACK message is sent on the stream with the same stream identifier as the one the open message arrived on. If the message does not satisfy those conditions, the receiver must close the corresponding data channel using the procedure in RFC 8831 and must not send an acknowledgement. This might occur if the message arrives on an already used stream, if there are problems with the parameters, if the odd and even rule is violated, or if the message is not well formed. Receiving an SCTP stream-reset request for a stream on which no acknowledgement was received therefore tells the sender that the setup failed. After also successfully resetting the corresponding outgoing stream, which concludes the closing initiated by the peer, a new open message can be sent on the stream.

After the open message has been sent, the sender may start sending messages containing user data without waiting for the corresponding acknowledgement. However, before the acknowledgement or any other message has been received on a data channel, all other messages containing user data and belonging to that channel must be sent ordered, no matter whether the channel is ordered or not. After the acknowledgement or any other message has been received, messages containing user data must be sent ordered on ordered channels and unordered on unordered ones. Receiving a message containing user data on an unused stream therefore indicates an error, and the corresponding data channel must be closed.

The control messages always travel reliably and in order, even when the channel itself does not. Until the reply arrives, the opening side has to send its user data in order, because the peer cannot yet know the channel is open. If anything about the open message is wrong, the peer closes the channel instead of answering.

What the reliability parameter means for each channel type
Channel typeReliability parameter
DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLEIgnored
DATA_CHANNEL_RELIABLE_UNORDEREDIgnored
DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMITNumber of retransmissions
DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_REXMIT_UNORDEREDNumber of retransmissions
DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMEDLifetime in milliseconds
DATA_CHANNEL_PARTIAL_RELIABLE_TIMED_UNORDEREDLifetime in milliseconds

§7Security Considerations

The DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN message contains two variable-length fields, the protocol and the label. A receiver must be prepared to receive messages where these fields have the maximum length of 65535 bytes. Error cases such as using inconsistent lengths of fields, using unknown parameter values, or violating the odd and even rule must also be handled by closing the corresponding data channel. An endpoint must also be prepared for the peer to open the maximum number of data channels.

This protocol does not provide privacy, integrity or authentication. It needs to be used as part of a protocol suite that contains all of these things, and such a suite is specified in RFC 8261. For general considerations, see RFC 8826 and RFC 8827.

This protocol opens channels; it does not protect them. The protection comes from the DTLS layer around SCTP, and the receiver has to cope with a peer that sends enormous labels or opens as many channels as it likes.

§8Registry Entries

IANA has updated the reference of an already existing SCTP Payload Protocol Identifier assignment and created a new standalone registry for DCEP with its own URL, containing two registration tables.

The PPID was previously registered as WebRTC Control. The name has been updated to WebRTC DCEP and the reference now points to this document, keeping the original date: the value is 50, with the date 2013-09-20.

The Data Channel Establishment Protocol Parameters registry holds the Message Types registry for the one-byte Message Type field and the Channel Types registry for the one-byte Channel Type field. New message types and channel types are assigned through an RFC Required action. The initial message type registrations are 0x00 and 0x01 reserved, 0x02 for DATA_CHANNEL_ACK, 0x03 for DATA_CHANNEL_OPEN, 0x04 to 0xfe unassigned, and 0xff reserved for future extensibility. The values 0x00 and 0x01 are reserved to avoid interoperability problems, since they were used in draft versions of the document.

The initial channel type registrations are 0x00, 0x80, 0x01, 0x81, 0x02 and 0x82 for the six channel types defined in this document, with 0x7f and 0xff reserved and the rest unassigned. If new channel types support both ordered and unordered delivery, the high-order bit must be used to indicate whether delivery is unordered.

The protocol reuses an existing SCTP payload number, renaming it from WebRTC Control to WebRTC DCEP, and adds two small registries: one for the message types, which currently has just two values, and one for the channel types.

§9References