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RFC 6864: Updated Specification of the IPv4 ID Field

In plain English — editorial summary, not part of the RFC

The IPv4 Identification (ID) field enables fragmentation and reassembly and, as currently specified, is required to be unique within the maximum lifetime for all datagrams with a given source address/destination address/protocol tuple. If enforced, this uniqueness requirement would limit all connections to 6.4 Mbps for typical datagram sizes. Because individual connections commonly exceed this speed, it is clear that existing systems violate the current specification. This document updates the specification of the IPv4 ID field in RFCs 791, 1122, and 2003 to more closely reflect current practice and to more closely match IPv6 so that the field's value is defined only when a datagram is actually fragmented. It also discusses the impact of these changes on how datagrams are used. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Document record

Document ID
RFC6864
Published
February 2013
Authors
J. Touch
Status
PROPOSED STANDARD
Stream
IETF
Area
int
Pages
19
Also known as
—
Updates:
RFC 791, RFC 1122, RFC 2003

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The document record above — title, authors, date, status, stream, area, relationships, DOI and errata — is imported verbatim from the public RFC Editor index. The “in plain English” section is editorial: written by The metasystema editorial team, not part of the RFC. Where the two differ, the RFC text governs.

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