Re: [Ntp] New I-D: NTP Port Randomization (draft-gont-ntp-port-randomization-00.txt)

[Miroslav Lichvar <[e-mail]>]

On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 12:56:04AM +0200, Fernando Gont wrote:
> On 18/4/19 14:36, Miroslav Lichvar wrote:
> > The source port in client mode packets can be random and it can also
> > change with each request, which might be recommended in the document.
> > Most NTP clients do that.
> 
> FWIW, I'm running ntpd 4.2.8p11@1.3728-o on Ubuntu, and all packets use
> src port 123.

Yes, ntpd and ntpdate (without -q or -d) seem to be in the minority of
clients using source port 123.

> > The source port in active mode packets doesn't necessarily have to be
> > 123. It can be random if the other peer is not expected to have a
> > permanent association with the peer, but it must not change between
> > requests as that would create new assocations.
> 
> Are you referring to to symmetric mode? My understanding is that if one
> of the peers employs a port other than 123, then symmetric mode would
> result in two different associations, rather than a single one. Am I
> missing something?

Yes, symmetric mode.

If both peers are using the active mode (i.e. permanent association),
they need to use the same port numbers in order to avoid creating more
associations. If one of them is expected to be using passive mode
(i.e. ephemeral association or stateless), I think the active peer can
use any source port as long as it doesn't change (frequently).

-- 
Miroslav Lichvar