



A Semantic Definition Format for Data and Interactions of ThingsR. Mohan
Internet-Draft                                              B. Brinckman
Intended status: Standards Track                           Cisco Systems
Expires: 30 March 2026                                         L. Corneo
                                                                Ericsson
                                                       26 September 2025


                        Protocol Mapping for SDF
                draft-ietf-asdf-sdf-protocol-mapping-00

Abstract

   This document defines protocol mapping extensions for the Semantic
   Definition Format (SDF) to enable mapping of protocol-agnostic SDF
   affordances to protocol-specific operations.  The protocol mapping
   mechanism allows SDF models to specify how properties, actions, and
   events should be accessed using specific IP and non-IP protocols such
   as Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee or HTTP and CoAP.

About This Document

   This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.

   Status information for this document may be found at
   https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-asdf-sdf-protocol-
   mapping/.

   Discussion of this document takes place on the A Semantic Definition
   Format for Data and Interactions of Things Working Group mailing list
   (mailto:asdf@ietf.org), which is archived at
   https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/asdf/.  Subscribe at
   https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/asdf/.

   Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
   https://github.com/ietf-wg-asdf/sdf-protocol-mapping.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.





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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Conventions and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   5.  Examples  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     5.1.  BLE Protocol Mapping  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       5.1.1.  BLE Protocol Mapping Structure  . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.2.  Zigbee Protocol Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       5.2.1.  Zigbee Protocol Mapping Structure . . . . . . . . . .   8
     5.3.  IP based Protocol Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     7.1.  Protocol mapping  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     8.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     8.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   Appendix A.  CDDL Definition  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13









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1.  Introduction

   The Semantic Definition Format (SDF) [I-D.ietf-asdf-sdf] provides a
   protocol-agnostic way to describe IoT devices and their capabilities
   through properties, actions, and events (collectively called
   affordances).  However, when implementing these affordances on actual
   devices using specific communication protocols, there needs to be a
   mechanism to map the protocol-agnostic SDF definitions to protocol-
   specific operations.

   These protocols can be non-IP protocols that are commonly used in IoT
   environments, such as [BLE53] and [Zigbee22], or IP-based protocols,
   such as HTTP [RFC2616] or CoAP [RFC7252].

   To leverage an SDF model to perform protocol-specific operations on
   an instance of a device, a mapping of the SDF affordance to a
   protocol-specific attribute is required.  This document defines the
   protocol mapping mechanism using the sdfProtocolMap keyword, which
   allows SDF models to include protocol-specific mapping information
   alongside the protocol-agnostic definitions.

2.  Conventions and Definitions

   The key words "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.

3.  Structure

   Protocol mapping is required to map a protocol-agnostic affordance to
   a protocol-specific operation, as implementations of the same
   affordance will differ between protocols.  For example, BLE will
   address a property as a service characteristic, while a property in
   Zigbee is addressed as an attribute in a cluster of an endpoint.

   A protocol mapping object is a JSON object identified by the
   sdfProtocolMap keyword.  Protocol-specific properties are embedded
   within this object, organized by protocol name, e.g., "ble" or
   "zigbee".  The protocol name MUST be specified in the IANA registry
   requested in Section 7.1.









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   sdfProtocolMap
     |
     +-----> ble
     |        |
     |        +--> BLE-specific mapping
     |
     +-----> zigbee
              |
              +--> Zigbee-specific mapping

                         Figure 1: Property Mapping

   As shown in Figure 1, protocol-specific properties must be embedded
   in an sdfProtocolMap object, for example a "ble" or a "zigbee"
   object.

    +===========+========+===========================================+
    | Attribute | Type   | Example                                   |
    +===========+========+===========================================+
    | ble       | object | an object with BLE-specific attributes    |
    +-----------+--------+-------------------------------------------+
    | zigbee    | object | an object with Zigbee-specific attributes |
    +-----------+--------+-------------------------------------------+

                        Table 1: Protocol objects

   where-

   *  "ble" is an object containing properties that are specific to the
      BLE protocol.

   *  "zigbee" is an object containing properties that are specific to
      the Zigbee protocol.

   *  Other protocol mapping objects can be added by creating a new
      protocol object

   Example protocol mapping:













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   {
     "sdfObject": {
       "healthsensor": {
         "sdfProperty": {
           "heartrate": {
             "description": "The current measured heart rate",
             "type": "number",
             "unit": "beat/min",
             "observable": false,
             "writable": false,
             "sdfProtocolMap": {
               "ble": {
                 "serviceID": "12345678-1234-5678-1234-56789abcdef4",
                 "characteristicID":
                   "12345678-1234-5678-1234-56789abcdef4"
               }
             }
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }

                     Figure 2: Example property mapping

4.  Usage

   A protocol map MAY be provided as part of the SDF model, specifically
   in the SDF affordance definition.  The extension points in the SDF
   affordance definition defined in [I-D.ietf-asdf-sdf] are used to
   specify the protocol mapping information as a part of the SDF model.

   For SDF properties, the protocol mapping is specified as an extension
   to a named property quality using the sdfProtocolMap keyword.  For
   SDF actions and events, the protocol mapping can be specified as an
   extension to the named quality or as part of the sdfInputData or
   sdfOutputData objects.

5.  Examples

5.1.  BLE Protocol Mapping

   The BLE protocol mapping allows SDF models to specify how properties,
   actions, and events should be accessed using Bluetooth Low Energy
   (BLE) protocol.  The mapping includes details such as service IDs and
   characteristic IDs that are used to access the corresponding SDF
   affordances.




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5.1.1.  BLE Protocol Mapping Structure

   For SDF properties and actions, the BLE protocol mapping structure is
   defined as follows:

   $$SDF-EXTENSION-DATA //= ble-protocol-map

   ble-protocol-map = {
     serviceID: text
     characteristicID: text
   }

     Figure 3: CDDL definition for BLE Protocol Mapping for properties
                                and actions

   Where:

   *  serviceID is the BLE service ID that corresponds to the SDF
      property or action.

   *  characteristicID is the BLE characteristic ID that corresponds to
      the SDF property or action.

   For example, a BLE protocol mapping for a temperature property might
   look like:

   {
     "sdfProperty": {
       "temperature": {
         "sdfProtocolMap": {
           "ble": {
             "serviceID": "12345678-1234-5678-1234-56789abcdef4",
             "characteristicID": "12345678-1234-5678-1234-56789abcdef5"
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }

   For SDF events, the BLE protocol mapping structure is similar, but it
   may include additional attributes such as the type of the event.










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   $$SDF-EXTENSION-DATA //= ble-event-map

   ble-event-map = {
     type: "gatt" / "advertisements" / "connection_events"
     ? serviceID: text
     ? characteristicID: text
   }

                 Figure 4: BLE Protocol Mapping for events

   Where:

   *  type specifies the type of BLE event, such as "gatt" for GATT
      events, "advertisements" for advertisement events, or
      "connection_events" for connection-related events.

   *  serviceID and characteristicID are optional attributes that are
      specified if the type is "gatt".

   For example, a BLE event mapping for a heart rate measurement event
   might look like:

   {
     "sdfEvent": {
       "heartRate": {
         "sdfOutputData": {
           "sdfProtocolMap": {
             "ble": {
               "type": "gatt",
               "serviceID": "12345678-1234-5678-1234-56789abcdef4",
               "characteristicID": "12345678-1234-5678-1234-56789abcdef5"
             }
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }

   Another example of an isPresent event using BLE advertisements:












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   {
     "sdfEvent": {
       "isPresent": {
         "sdfOutputData": {
           "sdfProtocolMap": {
             "ble": {
               "type": "advertisements"
             }
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }

5.2.  Zigbee Protocol Mapping

   The Zigbee protocol mapping allows SDF models to specify how
   properties, actions, and events should be accessed using the Zigbee
   protocol.  The mapping includes details such as cluster IDs and
   attribute IDs that are used to access the corresponding SDF
   affordances.

5.2.1.  Zigbee Protocol Mapping Structure

   For SDF properties and actions, the Zigbee protocol mapping structure
   is defined as follows:

   $$SDF-EXTENSION-DATA //= zigbee-protocol-map

   zigbee-protocol-map = {
     endpointID: uint
     clusterID: uint
     attributeID: uint
     type: uint
   }

         Figure 5: CDDL definition for Zigbee Protocol Mapping for
                           properties and actions

   Where:

   *  endpointID is the Zigbee endpoint ID that corresponds to the SDF
      affordance.

   *  clusterID is the Zigbee cluster ID that corresponds to the SDF
      affordance.





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   *  attributeID is the Zigbee attribute ID that corresponds to the SDF
      affordance.

   *  type is the Zigbee data type of the attribute.

   For example, a Zigbee protocol mapping for a temperature property
   might look like:

   {
     "sdfProperty": {
       "temperature": {
         "sdfProtocolMap": {
           "zigbee": {
             "endpointID": 1,
             "clusterID": 1026, // 0x0402
             "attributeID": 0, // 0x0000
             "type": 41 // 0x29
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }

5.3.  IP based Protocol Mapping

   The protocol mapping mechanism can potentially also be used for IP-
   based protocols such as HTTP or CoAP.  An example of a protocol
   mapping for a property using HTTP might look like:

   =============== NOTE: '\' line wrapping per RFC 8792 ================

   {
     "sdfProperty": {
       "heartrate": {
         "sdfProtocolMap": {
           "openapi": {
               "operationRef": "https://example.com/openapi.json#/paths\
   /~1heartrate~1{id}~1current/get",
               "$ref": "https://example.com/openapi.json#/components/sc\
   hema/HeartRate/properties/pulse"
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }






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   The operationRef points to the OpenAPI operation that retrieves the
   current heart rate, and the $ref points to the OpenAPI schema that
   defines the heart rate property.  An example of the OpenAPI schema
   might look like:

   paths:
     /heartrate/{id}/current:
       get:
         summary: Get current heart rate
         description: |-
           Retrieve the current heart rate for a specific user
           identified by {id}.
         parameters:
           - name: id
             in: path
             required: true
             description: |-
               The ID of the user whose heart rate is being queried.
             schema:
               type: string
         responses:
           "200":
             description: |-
               Successful response with current heart rate data.
             content:
               application/json:
                 schema:
                   $ref: "#/components/schemas/HeartRate/properties/pulse"

   components:
     schemas:
       HeartRate:
         type: object
         properties:
           pulse:
             type: integer
             description: The current heart rate in beats per minute.
           spo2:
             type: number
             format: float
             description: |-
               The current body temperature in degrees Celsius.

6.  Security Considerations

   TODO Security





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7.  IANA Considerations

   This section provides guidance to the Internet Assigned Numbers
   Authority (IANA) regarding registration of values related to this
   document, in accordance with [RFC8126].

7.1.  Protocol mapping

   IANA is requested to create a new registry called "SDF Protocol
   mapping".

   The registry must contain following attributes:

   *  Protocol map name

   *  Protocol name

   *  Description

   *  Reference of the specification describing the protocol mapping.
      This specification must be reviewed by an expert.

   Following protocol mappings are described in this document:

     +==============+===============+====================+===========+
     | Protocol map | Protocol Name | Description        | Reference |
     +==============+===============+====================+===========+
     | ble          | Bluetooth Low | Protocol mapping   | This      |
     |              | Energy (BLE)  | for BLE devices    | document  |
     +--------------+---------------+--------------------+-----------+
     | zigbee       | Zigbee        | Protocol mapping   | This      |
     |              |               | for Zigbee devices | document  |
     +--------------+---------------+--------------------+-----------+

                     Table 2: Protocol Mapping Registry

8.  References

8.1.  Normative References

   [I-D.ietf-asdf-sdf]
              Koster, M., Bormann, C., and A. Keränen, "Semantic
              Definition Format (SDF) for Data and Interactions of
              Things", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-
              asdf-sdf-24, 27 July 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-asdf-
              sdf-24>.




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   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.

   [RFC8126]  Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for
              Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26,
              RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, June 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8126>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.

8.2.  Informative References

   [BLE53]    Bluetooth SIG, "Bluetooth Core Specification Version 5.3",
              13 July 2021,
              <https://www.bluetooth.com/specifications/specs/core-
              specification-5-3/>.

   [RFC2616]  Fielding, R., Gettys, J., Mogul, J., Frystyk, H.,
              Masinter, L., Leach, P., and T. Berners-Lee, "Hypertext
              Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1", RFC 2616,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2616, June 1999,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2616>.

   [RFC7252]  Shelby, Z., Hartke, K., and C. Bormann, "The Constrained
              Application Protocol (CoAP)", RFC 7252,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7252, June 2014,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7252>.

   [Zigbee22] Zigbee Alliance, "Zigbee 3.0 Specification", 2022,
              <https://zigbeealliance.org/solution/zigbee/>.

Appendix A.  CDDL Definition















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   $$SDF-EXTENSION-DATA //= ble-protocol-map

   ble-protocol-map = {
     serviceID: text
     characteristicID: text
   }

   $$SDF-EXTENSION-DATA //= ble-event-map

   ble-event-map = {
     type: "gatt" / "advertisements" / "connection_events"
     ? serviceID: text
     ? characteristicID: text
   }

   $$SDF-EXTENSION-DATA //= zigbee-protocol-map

   zigbee-protocol-map = {
     endpointID: uint
     clusterID: uint
     attributeID: uint
     type: uint
   }

Acknowledgments

   TODO acknowledge.

Authors' Addresses

   Rohit Mohan
   Cisco Systems
   170 West Tasman Drive
   San Jose,  95134
   United States of America
   Email: rohitmo@cisco.com


   Bart Brinckman
   Cisco Systems
   170 West Tasman Drive
   San Jose,  95134
   United States of America
   Email: bbrinckm@cisco.com







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   Lorenzo Corneo
   Ericsson
   Hirsalantie 11
   FI-1296 Jorvas
   Finland
   Email: lorenzo.corneo@ericsson.com













































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