Middlebox
Encyclopedia : M : MI : MID : Middlebox
A middlebox is a device in the Internet that provides transport policy enforcement. Examples of these devices include firewalls, network address translators (both within and between address families), signature management for intrusion detection systems, and multimedia buffer management.
Firewalls and NATs present problems for many Internet protocols, especially when UDP packets need to travel across the firewalls and NATs. The Internet Engineering Task Force is working on standardizing a protocol to allow these problems to be addressed.
Three approaches are discussed in [link]:
- a "Call Agent" using a MIDCOM MIB and/or Simple Middlebox Control (SIMCO) protocol
- Smart Middlebox: Self-configuring firewall modules
- Path-Coupled Signaling, to be developed and standardized at the IETF. This would involve the NSIS Transport Layer Protocol (NTLP) from the Next Steps in Signalling (NSIS) working group.
See also
- Firewall (networking)
- Network address translation
- End-to-end connectivity
- NSIS Signaling Layer Protocol (NSLP)
External links
- [RFC3304 - Middlebox Communications (MIDCOM) Protocol Requirements]
- [RFC3234 - Middleboxes: Taxonomy and Issues]
- [Solving the Middlebox Problem]
- [Next Steps in Signaling (nsis)] - IETF working group
- [Middlebox Communication (midcom) Working Group] of the Internet Engineering Task Force
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