The Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) Working Group specifies mechanisms for data communications in the presence of long delays and/or intermittent connectivity. The Working Group has published the Bundle Protocol v7 (BPv7), corresponding Bundle Protocol Security protocol (BPSec) and an interoperable Security Context, and the TCP Convergence Layer specifications as standards track RFCs. Multiple independent implementations exist for these technologies in both space and terrestrial environments, and the technology is now used in production by governments and commercial organizations world-wide. This Working Group now focuses on the further work relevant to the area of Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking, dividing work items into 3 broad categories: * An architecture for Naming, Addressing and Forwarding The Bundle Protocol v7 defines an encoding of Names for use in DTN, but the detailed semantics have not been specified. The Working Group will define a common architecture for the delay/disruption tolerant assignment of names, and the late-binding of such names during bundle forwarding to end-points within a DTN. This architecture will define a model for the forwarding process of a Bundle Process Agent, providing an informational reference point for further specifications. The Working Group charter intentionally excludes topics related to Routing in DTNs. This does not preclude discussion of the subject, in coordination with the Routing Area, but no Working Group documents will be adopted under this charter. * The definition of an architecture and protocols in the areas of Operations, Administration, and Management (OAM), and Key Management Current DTN deployments rely on the use of pre-placed keys and configuration or bespoke tooling, and there is a growing demand for standards to improve the automation and reliability of DTN management. Existing IETF protocols for OAM and Key Management generally rely on a bi-directional end-to-end path between devices, and in Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) such paths rarely exist. To enable OAM and Key Management in such cases, there may be a need to standardize an architecture supporting alternative methods and their supporting protocols and data models. The Working Group will liaise with relevant experts in the OPS Area to discover if there are existing standards that meet, or may be extended to meet, the DTN use-cases before standardizing new protocols. There is also believed to be cross-over between the use-cases for OAM and Key Management in DTNs and the use-cases in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs); to this end the Working Group will coordinate with the MANET Working Group to explore potential synergies and avoid duplication of effort. * Extensions to and best practices for existing protocols Extensions to the Bundle Protocol to enable reliability signalling, tunnelling and Quality of Service indication are needed for the operational deployment of Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks, and these capabilities will be standardized by the Working Group. Additional extensions to the Bundle Protocol, additional Security Context definitions for BPSec, and new Convergence Layer adapters will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the working group. The Working Group will also document best practices learned from existing deployments. The Working Group will coordinate with other IETF Working Groups, especially in the Security, Routing, Operation and Management Areas, to ensure the quality of peer review, the avoidance of duplication of effort, and alignment with specifications produced in other Working Groups. ============================================= Proposed milestones: * Naming and Addressing Architecture document * Neighbor/Peer Discovery protocol specification * Delay-Tolerant Management Architecture and Protocols * Key Management protocol specification * Bundle progress signalling extension to Bundle Protocol specification * Bundle-in-Bundle Encapsulation extension to Bundle Protocol specification * Quality of Service/Flow indication extension to Bundle Protocol specification