An RDAP Extension for Geofeed Data

1.1. Requirements Language

The keywords "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.¶

Indentation and whitespace in examples are provided only to illustrate element relationships, and are not a REQUIRED feature of this protocol.¶

"..." in examples is used as shorthand for elements defined outside of this document.¶

2.1. Extension

A new RDAP extension "geofeed1" is defined for accessing the geofeed data through RDAP. It updates the IP Network object class definition (Section 5.4 of [RFC9083]) to include a new link object for the geofeed file URL in its "links" array (Section 4.2 of [RFC9083]).¶

An RDAP server conforming to this specification MUST include the "geofeed1" extension string in the "rdapConformance" array for the IP Network lookup and search responses, as well as in the help response. Here is an elided example for this inclusion:¶

{
    "rdapConformance": [ "rdap_level_0", "geofeed1", ... ],
    ...
}

2.2. Geofeed Link

The IP Network object class (Section 5.4 of [RFC9083]) MAY include a link object for the geofeed file URL (also referred to as a Geofeed link object) in its "links" array, with the following REQUIRED JSON members:¶

• "value" -- The "value" JSON value is the context URI (Section 4.2 of [RFC9083]).¶
• "rel" -- The "rel" JSON value is the link relation type and set to the "geo" string. The "geo" link relation type is new and will be registered in the IANA Link Relations Registry (see Section 6.2).¶
• "href" -- The "href" JSON value is the target URI and set to the HTTPS URL of the geofeed file for an IP network.¶

Per the definition of a web link ([RFC8288]), a Geofeed link object may have additional JSON members. Specifically:¶

• "type" -- The "type" JSON value is the media type for the target URI. Given that the geofeed data is mostly intended for use by automated/scripted processes, it is RECOMMENDED that server operators set a media type in Geofeed link objects. See Section 2.3 for acceptable "type" values.¶
• "hreflang" -- The "hreflang" JSON value is an attribute for the target URI and could be used to indicate the languages the geofeed data is available in. It is OPTIONAL.¶

There MAY be zero or more Geofeed link objects in the "links" array of an IP Network object. In other words, the Geofeed link objects are OPTIONAL.¶

2.3. Media Type for a Geofeed Link

[I-D.ymbk-opsawg-9092-update] requires a geofeed file to be a UTF-8 CSV file, with a series of "#" comments at the end for the optional RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) signature. At first glance, the "text/csv" media type (Section 4 of [I-D.shafranovich-rfc4180-bis]) seems like a good candidate to represent a geofeed file since it now supports the "#" comments needed for including the RPKI signature.¶

However, although the CSV geofeed data could be directly viewed by a user, the most common use case will involve it being processed by some sort of application first, in order to facilitate subsequent address lookup operations. Therefore, using a new “application” media type with a “geofeed” subtype under the "application" top-level type (Section 4.2.5 of [RFC6838]) for the geofeed data is preferable over the existing "text/csv" media type.¶

To that end, a new media type "application/geofeed+csv" will be registered in the IANA Media Types Registry (see Section 6.3), and a new suffix "+csv" will be registered in the IANA Structured Syntax Suffixes Registry (see Section 6.4).¶

The "type" JSON value in a Geofeed link object SHOULD be set to the "application/geofeed+csv" media type.¶

If alternative geofeed formats (beside CSV) are defined in the future, they could be included in future versions of this specification.¶

2.4. Example

The following is an elided example of an IP Network object with a Geofeed link object:¶

{
    "objectClassName": "ip network",
    "handle": "XXXX-RIR",
    "startAddress": "2001:db8::",
    "endAddress": "2001:db8:0:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff",
    "ipVersion": "v6",
    "name": "NET-RTR-1",
    "type": "DIRECT ALLOCATION",
    "country": "AU",
    "parentHandle": "YYYY-RIR",
    "status": [ "active" ],
    "links":
     [
        {
            "value": "https://example.net/ip/2001:db8::/48",
            "rel": "self",
            "href": "https://example.net/ip/2001:db8::/48",
            "type": "application/rdap+json"
        },
        {
            "value": "https://example.net/ip/2001:db8::/48",
            "rel": "geo",
            "href": "https://example.net/geofeed",
            "type": "application/geofeed+csv"
        },
        ...
    ],
    ...
}

6.1. RDAP Extensions Registry

IANA is requested to register the following value in the RDAP Extensions Registry:¶

• Extension identifier: geofeed1¶
• Registry operator: Any¶
• Published specification: This document.¶
• Contact: IETF iesg@ietf.org¶
• Intended usage: This extension describes version 1 of a method to access the IP geolocation feed data through RDAP.¶

6.2. Link Relations Registry

IANA is requested to register the following value in the Link Relations Registry:¶

• Relation Name: geo¶
• Description: Indicates that the link context has a resource with geographic information at the link target.¶
• Reference: This document.¶

6.3. Media Types Registry

• Type name: application¶
• Subtype name: geofeed+csv¶
• Required parameters: N/A¶
• Optional parameters: N/A¶
• Encoding considerations: See Section 2 of [I-D.ymbk-opsawg-9092-update].¶
• Security considerations: See Section 5 of this document.¶
• Interoperability considerations: There are no known interoperability problems regarding this media format.¶
• Published specification: This document.¶
• Applications that use this media type: Implementations of the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) Extension for Geofeed Data. Furthermore, any application that processes the CSV geofeed data.¶
• Additional information: This media type is a product of the IETF REGEXT Working Group. The REGEXT charter, information on the REGEXT mailing list, and other documents produced by the REGEXT Working Group can be found at https://datatracker.ietf.org/wg/regext/.¶
• Person & email address to contact for further information: IETF iesg@ietf.org¶
• Intended usage: COMMON¶
• Restrictions on usage: None¶
• Authors: Tom Harrison, Jasdip Singh¶
• Change controller: IETF¶
• Provisional Registration: No¶

6.4. Structured Syntax Suffixes Registry

• Name: Comma-Separated Values (CSV)¶
• +suffix: +csv¶
• References: [RFC4180], [RFC7111]¶
• Encoding Considerations: Same as "text/csv".¶
• Interoperability Considerations: Same as "text/csv".¶

• Fragment Identifier Considerations:¶

  The syntax and semantics of fragment identifiers specified for +csv SHOULD be as specified for "text/csv".¶

  The syntax and semantics for fragment identifiers for a specific "xxx/yyy+csv" SHOULD be processed as follows:¶

  For cases defined in +csv, where the fragment identifier resolves per the +csv rules, then as specified in +csv.¶

  For cases defined in +csv, where the fragment identifier does not resolve per the +csv rules, then as specified in "xxx/yyy+csv".¶

  For cases not defined in +csv, then as specified in "xxx/yyy+csv".¶

• Security Considerations: Same as "text/csv".¶

• Contact: IETF iesg@ietf.org¶

8.1. Changes from 00 to 01

• Now using a web link instead of a simple URI string to specify a geofeed file URL.¶
• Renamed the extension as "geofeed1" instead of "geofeedv1".¶
• Introduced the new "geo" link relation type.¶
• Introduced the new "application/geofeed+csv" media type.¶

8.2. Changes from 01 to 02

• Updated the "Requirements Language" section for examples.¶
• Added an example for RDAP conformance.¶
• Updated the rationale for using the new "application/geofeed+csv" media type.¶
• Updated the "Applications that use this media type" section for the "application/geofeed+csv" registration.¶