Agent Gateway Intercommunication Framework
draft-han-rtgwg-agent-gateway-intercomm-framework-01
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| Document | Type | Active Internet-Draft (individual) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Han Zhengxin , Zheng Ruan , Mengyao Han , Jinjie Yan , Tao He , Ran Pang | ||
| Last updated | 2026-01-30 | ||
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draft-han-rtgwg-agent-gateway-intercomm-framework-01
RTGWG Z. Han, Ed.
Internet-Draft Z. Ruan, Ed.
Intended status: Informational M. Han
Expires: 3 August 2026 China Unicom
J. Yan
ZTE Corporation
T. He
R. Pang
China Unicom
30 January 2026
Agent Gateway Intercommunication Framework
draft-han-rtgwg-agent-gateway-intercomm-framework-01
Abstract
This document defines the framework and requirements for
intercommunication between Agent Gateways (AGw) in the Agent Internet
(IoA) ecosystem. It specifies a hierarchical layered model,
functional components, protocol requirements and deployment
consideration for AGw interconnection. The framework aims to address
data synchronization, protocol compatibility, and security challenges
in cross-domain agent collaboration, enabling efficient and scalable
communication for distributed intelligent agents. It is compatible
with existing IoA reference architectures while specializing in
cross-domain gateway interoperability.
Status of This Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
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material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
This Internet-Draft will expire on 3 August 2026.
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Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2026 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Conventions Used in This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1. Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2. Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4. Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.1. Inconsistent Data Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.2. Network Quality Blindness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.3. Protocol Incompatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.4. Security Risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.5. Scalability Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5. AGw Intercommunication Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.1. Application Service Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5.2. Orchestration & Control Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.3. Agent Connectivity Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.4. Network Communication Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6. AGw Functional Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6.1. Application Service Layer Components . . . . . . . . . . 7
6.2. Orchestration & Control Layer Components . . . . . . . . 8
6.3. Agent Connectivity Layer Components . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6.4. Network Communication Layer Components . . . . . . . . . 8
7. AGw Intercommunication Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8. Deployment Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
9. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
10. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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1. Introduction
The Agent Internet (IoA) enables collaborative work among massive
numbers of AI agents deployed across diverse environments. As the
core network component in IoA, Agent Gateway (AGw) acts as a
"connection hub" and "security steward" that bridges intra-domain
agents and cross-domain networks. It handles agent registration,
discovery, protocol translation, and security protection.
In distributed IoA ecosystems, numerous agents collaboration relies
heavily on intercommunication between AGws. For example, an agent in
a smart park may need to collaborate with a cloud-based payment
agent, requiring their respective AGws to exchange capability
information, network status, and task context. However, existing
network communication mechanisms lack standardized frameworks for AGw
interconnection, leading to challenges such as inconsistent data
synchronization, incompatible protocols, and inadequate network
quality awareness.
This document specifies the Agent Gateway Intercommunication
Framework to address these challenges. It defines the architectural
patterns for AGw intercommunication, core content to be transmitted,
protocol requirements, and target scenarios. This framework is
compatible with existing IoA components, providing a layered model
that addresses AGws specific interconnection challenges while
enabling secure, efficient, and scalable cross-domain collaboration.
2. Conventions Used in This Document
2.1. Abbreviations
2.2. Requirements Language
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. Terminology
AGw (Agent Gateway): A network component that acts as a connection
hub and security steward for agent communication, responsible for
route management, protocol translation, security protection, and
traffic control.
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AGw Intercommunication: The process of data exchange and
collaborative operations between AGws deployed in different domains
(e.g., different parks, enterprises, or network segments).
Agent Metadata: Core information about intelligent agents, including
identity identifier, capabilities, endpoint address, status, and
supported protocols.
Network Quality Metrics: Key indicators reflecting cross-AGw
communication performance, including latency, packet loss rate,
bandwidth, and jitter.
Protocol Translation: The function of converting between different
communication protocols (e.g., HTTP, MQTT, gRPC) and data formats
(e.g., JSON, Protobuf) to ensure interoperability.
Cross-Domain Collaboration: Collaborative task execution between
agents located in different network domains, facilitated by AGw
intercommunication.
4. Motivation
With the proliferation of intelligent agents in various industries,
cross-domain collaboration has become a key requirement for IoA. AGw
intercommunication is critical to enabling this collaboration, but
current implementations face several challenges as below. To address
these challenges, this framework defines standardized
intercommunication mechanisms that ensure consistent data
synchronization, network quality awareness, protocol compatibility,
security, and scalability for AGws in distributed IoA ecosystems.
4.1. Inconsistent Data Synchronization
Lack of standardized agent metadata exchange formats leads to
incomplete or outdated information sharing between AGws, preventing
accurate agent discovery.
4.2. Network Quality Blindness
AGws lack mechanisms to exchange real-time network quality metrics,
resulting in agents collaborating over suboptimal paths with high
latency or packet loss.
4.3. Protocol Incompatibility
Different AGws may adopt diverse communication protocols, causing
interconnection failures and hindering cross-domain agent
interactions.
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4.4. Security Risks
Cross-domain AGw communication involves sensitive agent identity and
task data, requiring robust authentication and encryption mechanisms
that are currently lacking.
4.5. Scalability Limitations
Existing point-to-point communication models cannot efficiently
support large-scale AGw deployments (e.g., hundreds of park AGws),
leading to performance bottlenecks.
5. AGw Intercommunication Framework
The AGw intercommunication framework is structured into four
hierarchical layers. This empowers AGws to function dually as
advanced communication gateways and AI agents with cognitive
collaborative characteristics.
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+-------------------+-------------------+
| APPLICATION SERVICE LAYER |
+---------------------------------------+
| * Agent Registry |
| * Capability Discovery |
| * Identity Manager |
+-------------------+-------------------+
|
+-------------------+-------------------+
| ORCHESTRATION & CONTROL LAYER |
+---------------------------------------+
| * Task Decomposer |
| * Path Orchestrator |
| * Policy Controller |
+-------------------+-------------------+
|
+-------------------+-------------------+
| AGENT CONNECTIVITY LAYER |
+---------------------------------------+
| * Protocol Translator |
| * Semantic Adapter |
| * Network Service Abstractor |
+-------------------+-------------------+
|
+-------------------+-------------------+
| NETWORK COMMUNICATION LAYER |
+---------------------------------------+
| * QoS Enforcer |
| * SLA Monitor |
| * Secure Manager |
+---------------------------------------+
layered model of AGw
5.1. Application Service Layer
Serves as the "intelligent directory" for the agent ecosystem,
providing agent registration, capability discovery, identity
management, and semantic matching between business requirements and
agent capabilities.
Interconnection Role: AGws exchange agent metadata including
capabilities, security levels, response times, and service SLAs
through application-layer protocols, maintaining a distributed
directory of available agents across domains.
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5.2. Orchestration & Control Layer
Provides centralized intelligence for complex task decomposition,
policy enforcement, path orchestration, and global governance of
cross-domain agent collaborations.
Interconnection Role: Analyzes complex task requirements and selects
optimal agent combinations and network paths based on comprehensive
factors including security policies, service levels, and network
conditions.
5.3. Agent Connectivity Layer
Acts as the "communication bridge" between heterogeneous agents,
providing protocol translation, semantic adaptation, and abstraction
of underlying network capabilities.
Interconnection Role: Enables seamless communication between agents
with different technical implementations by performing real-time
protocol conversion and semantic mediation, while abstracting complex
network functions into simplified, agent-accessible services.
5.4. Network Communication Layer
Provides the foundational connectivity with guaranteed quality of
service, differentiated SLA enforcement, and reliable data
transmission between AGws.
Interconnection Role: Establishes and maintains high-quality
communication channels between AGws, continuously monitoring network
metrics (latency, loss, bandwidth) to ensure SLA compliance for agent
collaborations.
6. AGw Functional Components
6.1. Application Service Layer Components
* Agent Registry: Maintains a database of registered agents with
their capabilities, security levels, and service attributes,
synchronizing this information with peer AGws.
* Capability Discovery: Processes semantic queries to match business
requirements with appropriate agent capabilities across domains.
* Identity Manager: Verifies agent identities through integration
with certificate authorities and manages authentication
credentials for cross-domain access.
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6.2. Orchestration & Control Layer Components
* Task Decomposer: Breaks down complex tasks into executable
subtasks and identifies required agent capabilities for each step.
* Path Orchestrator: Computes optimal agent combinations and network
paths based on security, service SLA, and network SLA
requirements.
* Policy Controller: Enforces governance policies, security rules,
and compliance requirements across all cross-domain
collaborations. Distributes policy decisions to lower layers and
audits enforcement results for consistency.
6.3. Agent Connectivity Layer Components
* Protocol Translator: Converts between different agent
communication protocols and data formats in real-time.
* Semantic Adapter: Ensures semantic compatibility between agents
with different data models and interaction patterns.
* Network Service Abstractor: Presents network capabilities as
callable services that agents can utilize through simplified APIs.
6.4. Network Communication Layer Components
* QoS Enforcer: Implements traffic prioritization, bandwidth
allocation, and latency management for different classes of agent
traffic.
* SLA Monitor: Continuously measures network performance metrics and
triggers alerts when SLAs are violated.
* Secure Manager: Establishes and maintains encrypted tunnels
between AGws with mutual authentication.
7. AGw Intercommunication Requirements
* Agent Identity Identification & Discovery: Distinguish agents from
real users, integrate semantic understanding and addressing to
match business needs with corresponding agents.
* Heterogeneous Compatibility: Different agents vary in resources
and supported protocols, so adaptation and protocol conversion are
required for agents communication.
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* Efficient Agent Communication: For agent interaction, consider
network reachability, QoS guarantee, and differentiated SLA
services. Due to high pressure in peer-to-peer collaboration
among multiple agents, convergence is needed to enable
hierarchical communication.
* Agent Identifier Parsing: AGws are capable of identifying and
parsing agent identifier information carried in network-layer
packets.
* Routing Protocol Extensions: AGws support encapsulating and
transmitting agent information through routing protocol
extensions, achieving agent information synchronization between
gateways. AGws support generating and maintaining agent-level
routing tables based on global agent information.
* Agent Scheduling & Management: Realize agent scheduling within and
across enterprise campus; unify orchestration of network resources
and agent services to align network and business.
* Security & Privacy: Implement access management and permission
control to enhance security.
8. Deployment Considerations
* Hierarchical Deployment: For large enterprises or service
providers, AGws should be deployed at domain edges (e.g., campus
gateways, cloud VPCs), with regional directory servers at network
aggregation points.
* Redundancy Design: Critical domains SHOULD deploy redundant AGws
to avoid single points of failure. Directory services SHOULD be
deployed in a clustered mode for high availability.
* Network Integration: AGws SHOULD be integrated with existing
network infrastructure (e.g., SDN controllers) and IoA components
(ACA, ARS) via standard APIs to enable unified orchestration of
network and agent resources.
* Extensibility: The intercommunication protocols and data formats
SHOULD be designed with extensibility in mind, using versioning
and optional fields to accommodate future enhancements without
breaking backward compatibility.
9. Security Considerations
This document does not have any specific security considerations.
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10. IANA Considerations
This document does not have any IANA considerations.
11. References
11.1. Normative References
[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>.
[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>.
11.2. Informative References
[I-D.zl-agents-networking-framework]
Zhang, L., Liu, B., Geng, N., Shang, X., Gao, Q., and Z.
Li, "Agents Networking Framework for Enterprise and
Broadband", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-zl-
agents-networking-framework-00, 2 November 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-zl-agents-
networking-framework-00>.
[I-D.liu-rtgwg-agent-gateway-requirements]
Liu, B., Geng, N., Shang, X., Gao, Q., Li, Z., and J. Gao,
"Requirements for Agent Gateway", Work in Progress,
Internet-Draft, draft-liu-rtgwg-agent-gateway-
requirements-01, 27 November 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-liu-rtgwg-
agent-gateway-requirements-01>.
[I-D.mzsg-rtgwg-agent-cross-device-comm-framework]
Mao, J., Zeng, G., Liu, B., Geng, N., Shang, X., Gao, Q.,
and Z. Li, "Cross-device Communication Framework for AI
Agents in Network Devices", Work in Progress, Internet-
Draft, draft-mzsg-rtgwg-agent-cross-device-comm-framework-
01, 1 November 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-mzsg-rtgwg-
agent-cross-device-comm-framework-01>.
[I-D.zeng-mcp-network-measurement]
Zeng, G. and J. Mao, "MCP-based Network Measurement
Framework: Using Model Context Protocol for Intelligent
Network Measurement", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
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draft-zeng-mcp-network-measurement-00, 20 October 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-zeng-mcp-
network-measurement-00>.
Acknowledgements
TBD.
Contributors
TBD.
Authors' Addresses
Zhengxin Han (editor)
China Unicom
Beijing
China
Email: [email protected]
Zheng Ruan (editor)
China Unicom
Beijing
China
Email: [email protected]
Mengyao Han
China Unicom
Beijing
China
Email: [email protected]
Jinjie Yan
ZTE Corporation
China
Email: [email protected]
Tao He
China Unicom
Beijing
China
Email: [email protected]
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Ran Pang
China Unicom
Beijing
China
Email: [email protected]
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