[Nut-upsuser] Request to IANA for transfer of port 401/TCP (ups) to the NUT Project

[Roger Price]

I have begun the process of requesting the transfer of port 401/TCP (ups) to the 
NUT Project with Jim as Assignee.  For the project's records I attach a copy of 
the request.

Since this transfer involves a system port below 1024, which is considered as 
very valuable real estate, Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) approval 
will be needed.  This can take several weeks.  However our IETF document 
reviewer is also part of the IESG group of Expert Reviewers and this may speed 
things up.

Note that IANA forbids transfers, so we must go through a two-step process.

I will keep you informed of progress.   Roger

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2022 14:55:15 +0200
From: ietf at rogerprice.org
To: iana at iana.org
Subject: Request for Assignment

Contact Name:
Roger PRICE

Contact Email:
ietf at rogerprice.org

Type of Assignment:
A de-assignment of 401/TCP (ups), followed by an assignment of the same port to a different assignee.

Registry:
Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry, RFC6335

Description:
Dear IANA,

On behalf of the Network UPS Tools (NUT) project, I would like to
request de-assignment and re-assignment of port 401/TCP (ups)
following the procedure given by RFC6335 8.3.  "Service Name and Port
Number Reuse".

Background
----------

The Network UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) Tools (NUT) project
https://networkupstools.org/ provides software consisting of a server
daemon and a client daemon used to manage UPS devices.  The project
has been in operation since 1998 with a major rework in 2003.  The
software currently uses port 3493/TCP (nut) for communication between
client and server.  The project is developing an I-D which defines the
protocol. See
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-rprice-ups-management-protocol/
(Work in progress).

The UPS field is very slow moving: once equipment is installed it
stays in place for years with no change.  This has led to security
weaknesses with out-of-date security protocols still in use.

UPS management is not a many-to-many relationship as seen on the World
Wide Web.  It is usually few-to-one, and often one-to-one.  The server
administrators know exactly who their clients are, and this has led to
a false sense of security.  The NUT Project seeks to improve the
security of communication between client and server by using TLS 1.3,
for example by upgrading an installation when possible, or by placing
TLS 1.3 supporting software in front of the client and server.

In 2008 IANA assigned 401/TCP (ups) "Uninterruptible Power Supply" to
Mr Charles Bennett as both assignee and contact.  We have been unable
to find any protocol document or other published activity report for
this port other than the One Windows Trojan.  Mr Bennett himself died
in 2015, see obituary
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/charles-bennett-obituary?pid=174356861
Since his email address was registered by IANA as bennettc at ohio.edu it
is possible that the University of Ohio is a successor in interest.
The I-D editor tried to contact the IT support department of the
university by email and telephone but was rejected.

The NUT Project would like to use existing port 401/TCP (ups) to carry
TLS 1.3 encrypted traffic between client and server.  Port 3493/TCP
(nut) would continue to support legacy traffic.


Additional Info:
Request 1: De-assignment of 401/TCP (ups)
-----------------------------------------

Following RFC 6335 clause 8.2 Service Name and Port Number De-Assignment,
the NUT Project requests the de-assignment of 401/TCP (ups):

1. Service Name: ups

2. Transport Protocol: TCP (TCP only)

3. Assignee: Assigned in 2008 to Charles Bennett who died in 2015, see
obituary
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/charles-bennett-obituary?pid=174356861

4. Contact: idem

5. Description: There are no published specifications for use of this
port, neither are there any reports of its use.

6. Reference: None

7. Port Number: 401

8. Service code: (Not applicable to TCP)

9. Known Unauthorized Uses: One Windows Trojan

10. De-Assignment Notes: This action is part of a de-assignment and
re-assignment of 401/TCP to the NUT project.

Request 2: Re-assignment of 401/TCP (ups)
-----------------------------------------

Following RFC 6335 clause 8.1 Service Name and Port Number Assignment,
the NUT Project requests the assignment of 401/TCP (nut):

1. Service Name: ups

2. Transport Protocol: TCP (TCP only)

3. Assignee: Evgeny Klimov (same as port 3493/TCP)

4. Contact: Roger Price ietf at rogerprice.org

5. Description: The port will carry UPS management traffic as
specified by the Commands and Responses already used by the NUT
project.  The protocol is simple: every 5 seconds the client queries
the server to which the UPS is attached, waiting for the UPS to signal
"power failure - running on battery".  When this persists, the client
orders the system shutdown.

The UPS field is very slow moving: once equipment is installed it
stays in place for years with no change.  This has led to security
weaknesses with out-of-date security protocols still in use.

The NUT Project proposes to use existing port 401/TCP (ups) to carry
TLS 1.3 encrypted traffic between client and server.  Port 3493/TCP
(nut) would continue to support legacy traffic.

6. Reference:
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-rprice-ups-management-protocol
(Work in progress)

7. Port Number: 401. This port number has already been attached to the
name "ups" since 2008, and was intended for UPS management.

Declaration required by RFC6335 8.1.2. Variances for Specific Port
Number Ranges:

The NUT project has developed a freely available software daemon for
UPS management which requires a port which can be advertised
reliably. This means that a Dynamic Port in the range 49152-65535 is
not suitable.  The daemon is capable of operating equally well on a
System Port 0-1023, or a User Port 1024-49151.

Rather than request the assignment of a new port taken from limited
resources, we request re-use of an existing port already assigned to
UPS management.

8. Service code: (Not applicable to TCP)

9. Known Unauthorized Uses: One Windows Trojan

10. Assignment Notes: This assignment is part of a de-assignment and
re-assignment of 401/TCP to the NUT project.