Overview
ISO/IEC 10747:1994 specifies an inter-domain routing protocol for Boundary Intermediate Systems (BISs) to exchange reachability and path information that supports forwarding of ISO 8473 PDUs. Often referenced as the IDRP (Inter‑Domain Routeing Protocol) standard, it sits at the top of the network layer and defines the procedures, message encodings and functional requirements for maintaining inter‑domain routeing information bases (RIBs). The standard focuses on inter‑domain interaction and does not mandate internal intra‑domain routing protocols or the establishment of administrative domains.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Protocol scope and architecture: operation at the network‑layer level between routing domains; BIS roles and types of routeing domains (intra/inter‑administrative).
- BISPDU formats and PDUs: encoding and use of OPEN, UPDATE, KEEPALIVE, CEASE, RIB‑REFRESH and ERROR PDUs for exchanging inter‑domain information.
- Routeing Information Bases (RIBs): structure, validation, RIB refresh and maintenance procedures for inter‑domain RIBs.
- Path attributes and NLRI: definition, encoding and use of path attributes (examples in the standard include NEXT‑HOP, MULTI‑EXIT‑DISC, ROUTE‑SEPARATOR, RD‑PATH, DIST lists and security attributes) and how NPDU‑derived distinguishing attributes are matched against RIB‑Atts.
- Policy and decision processes: configuration language and statements for policy, aggregation, distribution and preference; decision phases for preference calculation, route selection and dissemination.
- Connection management and security: BIS‑BIS connection state machines, authentication types, checksum and error‑handling mechanisms for robust inter‑domain exchanges.
- Management and conformance: system management (GDMO) definitions, ASN.1 modules, PICS/PIGS proforma and conformance requirements for implementations.
Applications and who uses it
- Network equipment vendors implementing BIS (boundary router) functionality for multi‑domain interconnection.
- Large service providers and enterprise network architects designing inter‑administrative and inter‑domain peering, policy enforcement and route aggregation.
- Systems integrators and network operators who need standardized procedures for exchanging reachability/path information and for interoperability across domains.
- Standards and compliance teams validating implementations against IDRP conformance and management specifications.
Related standards (for context)
- ISO 8473 - supports the NPDU/transfer service used by IDRP.
- ISO/IEC 7498 family - OSI Reference Model and addressing/naming.
- Other referenced standards for service definitions and management (ISO/IEC 8348, 8208, etc.).
Keywords: ISO/IEC 10747, IDRP, inter‑domain routing, Boundary Intermediate System, ISO 8473, routeing information base, path attributes, NEXT‑HOP, MULTI‑EXIT‑DISC, inter‑domain policy.