vCard KIND:deviceCisco Systems7200-12 Kit Creek RoadResearch Triangle ParkNC27709US+1-919-392-3266gsalguei@cisco.comCisco Systems7200-12 Kit Creek RoadResearch Triangle ParkNC27709US+1-919-392-2867jclarke@cisco.comCisco Systems1899 Wynkoop Street, Suite 600DenverCO80202US+1-303-308-3282psaintan@cisco.com
Applications
VCARDDAVvCardThis document defines a value of "device" for the vCard KIND property so that the vCard format can be used to represent computing devices such as appliances, computers, or network elements (e.g., a server, router, switch, printer, sensor, or phone).Version 4 of the vCard specification defines a new "KIND" property to specify the type of entity that a vCard represents. During its work on the base vCard4 specification, the VCARDDAV Working Group defined values of "individual", "org", "group", and "location" for the KIND property. During working group discussion of the document that became , consideration was given to defining a more general value
of "thing", but it was decided to split "thing" into software applications and
hardware devices and to define only the "application" value at that time.
Since then, use cases for device vCards have emerged. These use cases involve
using vCards as a primer for inventory and asset tracking data specific to network elements. Therefore, this document complements by defining a value of "device" for the KIND property to represent computing devices such as appliances, computers, or network elements. In this context, the concept of a device is constrained to computing devices and thus is distinct from purely mechanical devices such as elevators, electric generators, etc., that cannot communicate in any way over a network. This does not preclude, however, network-attached sensors that are connected to such mechanical devices.When the KIND property has a value of "device", the vCard represents a computing device such as an appliance, a computer, or a network element (e.g., a server, router, switch, printer, sensor, or phone). More formally, a "device" is functionally equivalent to the "device" object class used in the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol as derived from the Open Systems Interconnection model . However, whereas specifies that devices are "physical" elements, a device in this context can also be virtual such as a virtual machine running within another physical element. As one example of the "device" KIND, vCards can be embedded into devices at manufacturing time so that basic information such as serial number, support email, and documentation URL can be retrieved upon initial deployment. This vCard can be modified after the device is deployed to contain user-specified data about the device's characteristics. The vCard data can therefore be used for both asset tracking and operational purposes.A device might have a number of embedded vCards for varying purposes. The process for discovering and accessing these vCards is purposefully left unspecified in this document, as this process could rely on any mechanism that makes sense for the device in question. For example, a device could have one or more of the following vCard instances:The device itself. For example, the FN ("full name") property might
represent the hostname of a computing device; the URL property might represent
a website that contains details on where to find documentation or get further
information about the device; the KEY property might represent a digital
certificate that was provisioned into the device at the time of manufacture
, or a public key certificate previously
provisioned into the device; and the ADR, GEO, and TZ properties might
represent the physical address, geographical location, and time zone where the device is deployed.An organization or person that produces or manufactures the device.A person or role that maintains or administers the device.Application-level vCards as described in for each application installed on the device.When a device has vCards other than its KIND:device vCard, those vCards can be linked together with RELATED (see the definition of the RELATED organizational property in Section 6.6.6 of ). In multi-vCard instances, the KIND:device vCard would use the RELATED property to express the relationship with the ancillary vCard(s). Those supplementary vCards need not use RELATED to point back to the KIND:device vCard. In this manner, the vCard for the device itself can be easily distinguished from vCards referring to the vendor organization, device administrator, and installed applications.The following base properties make sense for vCards that represent devices (this list is not exhaustive, and other properties might be applicable as well):
ADREMAILFNGEOIMPPKEYKINDLANGLOGONOTEORGPHOTORELATEDREVSOURCETELTZUIDURLAlthough it might be desirable to define a more fine-grained taxonomy of devices (e.g., a KIND of "device" with a subtype of "router" or "computer"), such a taxonomy is out of scope for this document.The following is an example of a router device that contains both manufacturing details as well as post-deployment attributes and uses the XML representation of vCard (xCard) described in . This vCard points to another, related vCard that contains the details of an administrative contact for the device. This vCard also leverages the extensibility of the xCard format to reference additional namespaces in order to provide richer details about the given device (e.g., the serial number and software version are specified as xCard extensions).IANA has added the following entry to the "vCard Property
Values" table of the "vCard Elements" registry (http://www.iana.org/assignments/vcard-elements):PropertyValueReferenceKINDdeviceRFC &rfc.number;, Section 3In conformance with Section 10.2.6 of , the registration template is as follows:deviceThe entity represented by the vCard is a computing device such as an appliance, computer, or network element.This value can be used with the "KIND" property.See Section 3 of RFC &rfc.number;.Registration of this vCard KIND to represent devices does not in itself introduce security considerations beyond those specified for vCards in general as described in . Nevertheless, risks can arise for vulnerable Internet-connected devices as a result of the publication of the identification details provided by device vCards. Well-known publicly accessible device vCard repositories, while not defined in this document, can increase the probability of an exploitation of an existing vulnerability,
especially for devices with no good way to update their software or firmware.
It is the responsibility of the device administrator to adhere to best current
security practices and employ proper strategies for software upgrades and security
patches in order to mitigate vulnerability to attack. Specifications defining device-specific vCard extensions or profiles that might be included in such vCards also need to consider this potential increased risk.vCard Format SpecificationThis document defines the vCard data format for representing and exchanging a variety of information about individuals and other entities (e.g., formatted and structured name and delivery addresses, email address, multiple telephone numbers, photograph, logo, audio clips, etc.). This document obsoletes RFCs 2425, 2426, and 4770, and updates RFC 2739. [STANDARDS-TRACK]Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP): Schema for User ApplicationsThis document is an integral part of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) technical specification. It provides a technical specification of attribute types and object classes intended for use by LDAP directory clients for many directory services, such as White Pages. These objects are widely used as a basis for the schema in many LDAP directories. This document does not cover attributes used for the administration of directory servers, nor does it include directory objects defined for specific uses in other documents. [STANDARDS-TRACK]xCard: vCard XML RepresentationThis document defines the XML schema of the vCard data format. [STANDARDS-TRACK]vCard KIND:applicationThis document defines a value of "application" for the vCard KIND property so that vCards can be used to represent software applications. [STANDARDS-TRACK]Information Technology - Open Systems Interconnection - Basic Reference Model: The Basic ModelInternational Telecommunication UnionInformation Technology - Open Systems Interconnection - The Directory: Selected Object ClassesInternational Telecommunication UnionSecure Device IdentityInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers