A Framework for the Interface to In-Network Computing Functions (I2ICF)
draft-jeong-nmrg-i2icf-framework-00
This document is an Internet-Draft (I-D).
Anyone may submit an I-D to the IETF.
This I-D is not endorsed by the IETF and has no formal standing in the
IETF standards process.
| Document | Type | Active Internet-Draft (individual) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Jaehoon Paul Jeong , Yiwen Chris Shen , Yoseop Ahn , Younghan Kim , Elias P. Duarte Jr. , Kehan Yao | ||
| Last updated | 2025-10-20 | ||
| RFC stream | (None) | ||
| Intended RFC status | (None) | ||
| Formats | |||
| Stream | Stream state | (No stream defined) | |
| Consensus boilerplate | Unknown | ||
| RFC Editor Note | (None) | ||
| IESG | IESG state | I-D Exists | |
| Telechat date | (None) | ||
| Responsible AD | (None) | ||
| Send notices to | (None) |
draft-jeong-nmrg-i2icf-framework-00
Internet Research Task Force J. Jeong, Ed.
Internet-Draft Sungkyunkwan University
Intended status: Informational Y. Shen
Expires: 23 April 2026 Ajou University
Y. Ahn
Sungkyunkwan University
Y. Kim
Soongsil University
E. Duarte Jr.
Federal University of Parana
K. Yao
China Mobile
20 October 2025
A Framework for the Interface to In-Network Computing Functions (I2ICF)
draft-jeong-nmrg-i2icf-framework-00
Abstract
This document specifies a framework to define Interface to In-Network
Computing Functions (I2ICF) for user services both on the network-
level and application-level. In-Network Computing Functions (ICF)
include In-Network Network Functions (INF), defined in the context of
Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined
Networking (SDN). ICFs also include In-Network Application Functions
(IAF) which appear in the context of Internet-of-Things (IoT)
Devices, Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV), and Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (UAV). This document describes an I2ICF framework, which
includes components and interfaces to configure and monitor the ICFs
that implement applications and services.
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/.
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
This Internet-Draft will expire on 23 April 2026.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 1]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2025 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
and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components
extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. A Framework for the Interface to In-Network Computing
Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4. Interfaces in the I2ICF Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1. Introduction
Network softwarization has been widely adopted in multiple
environments, such as in cloud and edge computing, as well as in the
network infrastructure itself, facilitating the deployment of network
services (e.g., 5G mobile networks [TS-23.501]). The multiple
technologies behind network softwarization include Network Functions
Virtualization (NFV) [ETSI-NFV][ETSI-NFV-Release-2] and Software-
Defined Networking (SDN) [RFC7149]. Furthermore, there is also an
integration with Intent-BasedNetworking
(IBN)[RFC9315][Survey-IBN-CST-2023], which can be used to define and
deploy intelligent network services as well as intelligent
application services.
In the context of Computing in the Network (COIN) terminology
[I-D.irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology], a Programmable Network Device
(PND) in an In-Network Computing (INC) environment can have multiple
kinds of features and capabilities. A PND can also interact with
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 2]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
other PNDs. PNDs from different product lines or vendors can provide
different functionalities for INC functions. In order to compose a
COIN system consisting of multiple PDNs that interact among
themselves, it is necessary to define a standard interface for PNDs
to be exposed so that they can learn about each other's capabilities
and properly interact with each other.
A standard framework to define the interfaces of Application
Functions (AFs) and Network Functions (NFs) is required to allow the
configuration and monitoring of applications and network services
consisting of those functions. There is currently no standard data
model to describe the capabilities of AFs and NFs. Furthermore,
there is no standard data model defining an interface to register the
capabilities of AFs and NFs with a controller-like device that would
process service requests for those functions. In addition, there are
no standard interfaces to configure and monitor those AFs and NFs
according to a user's intent. The Interface to Network Security
Functions (I2NSF) was standardized for the control and management of
Network Security Services with Network Security Functions (NSFs)
[RFC8329] [I-D.ietf-i2nsf-applicability]. The present document is
defined taking into account the I2NSF document, but the purpose is
beyond the scope of Security Functions, defining a more general
control and management framework for intelligent services consisting
of AFs and NFs.
This document specifies a framework for the definition of the
Interface to In-Network Computing Functions (I2ICF) for In-Network
Computing Functions (ICFs), assuming arbitrary functionalities,
features and capabilities. The ICFs consist of Network Functions
(NFs) including PNDs and Application Functions (AFs) and are used to
compose user services. First of all, ICFs include In-Network Network
Functions (INF) which are NFs defined within the context of NFV and
SDN [I-D.irtf-coinrg-use-cases]. Secondly, they also include In-
Network Application Functions (IAF) which are AFs employed by
Internet-of-Things (IoT) Devices, Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV)
[AUTOSAR-SDV][Eclipse-SDV][COVESA], and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAV). Finally, this document shows how Intent-Based Networking
(IBN) can be realized with the proposed I2ICF framework and its
interfaces for user services that consist of a combination of ICFs in
a target network.
2. Terminology
This document uses the terminology described in [RFC9315], [RFC8329],
[I-D.irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology], [I-D.irtf-coinrg-use-cases],
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-security-management-automation],
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation], and [SPT]. In
addition, the following terms are defined below:
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 3]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
* Intent: the set of operational goals (that a network should meet)
and outcomes (that a network is supposed to deliver) defined in a
declarative manner without specifying how they are achieved or
should be implemented [RFC9315].
* Intent-Based System (IBS): the system that enforces an intent from
a user (or administrator) into a target system (e.g., SDV). An
intent can be expressed in Natural Language (e.g., English) and
can be translated into a policy (i.e., network policy and
application policy) using Natural Language Processing (NLP)
[Flan-T5][GPT-3] [USENIX-ATC-Lumi][BERT] [Deep-Learning]. In this
document, the intent can be translated into a corresponding high-
level policy by an intent translator
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-security-management-automation]. The high-level
policy can also be translated into the corresponding low-level
policy by a Policy Translator (PT) [SPT]. The low-level policy is
dispatched to appropriate Service Functions (SFs). Through the
monitoring of the SFs, the activity and performance of the SFs is
monitored and analyzed. If needed, the rules of the high-level or
low-level network policy are augmented or new rules are generated
and configured to appropriate SFs.
* Mobile Object (MO): the object that is capable of moving with its
own power source and wireless communication capability, e.g., in
the context of 5G Vehicle-to-Everything (e.g., 5G V2X). An MO can
be an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, Software-Defined Vehicle
(SDV) [AUTOSAR-SDV][Eclipse-SDV][COVESA], and Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV). An MO is a Programmable Network Device (PND)
[I-D.irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology] that can be reconfigured for
different network requirements inside the MO.
* In-Network Network Functions (INF): the service functions that
work for computing in the network infrastructure. They are a
group of COIN programs [I-D.irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology] to
provide required computing tasks and functions.
* In-Network Application Functions (IAF): the service functions that
work for applications in Mobile Objects. They are a group of COIN
programs [I-D.irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology] to provide the
required application tasks and functions.
* In-Network Computing Functions (ICF): the service functions that
include In-Network Network Functions (INF) and In-Network
Application Functions (IAF).
* Interface to In-Network Computing Functions (I2ICF): the
interfaces that are used between a pair of ICFs for the
interaction, configuration and monitoring.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 4]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
* A Framework for the Interface to In-Network Computing Functions
(I2ICF): the framework that consists of components and interfaces
to configure and monitor ICFs that can be employed by applications
and services in the network infrastructure and MOs.
3. A Framework for the Interface to In-Network Computing Functions
This section specifies a framework for defining the Interface to In-
Network Computing Functions (I2ICF), including its components and the
interfaces among those components. Figure 1 shows Wireless and Wired
Networks of a Central Cloud. The I2ICF framework includes network
entities and Mobile Objects (MO). Figure 2 shows a VNF-Consensus
Architecture that allows the I2ICF framework to synchronize flow
table information of all the replicated SDN Controllers in the same
Edge Cloud [NFV-COIN].
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 5]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
Central Cloud
*******************************************
* *
* +------------------+ *
* | Cloud Controller | *
* +------------------+ *
* ^ *
* | *
* v *
*******************************************
^ ^ ^
| | |
V V V
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+
| IP-RSU1 |<------->| IP-RSU2 |<------->| IP-RSU3 |
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+
^ ^ ^
: : :
+-----------------+ +-----------------+ +-----------------+
| : V2I | | : V2I | | : V2I |
| v | | v | | v |
+--------+ | +--------+ | | +--------+ | | +--------+ |
| MO1 |===> | MO2 |===>| | | MO3 |===>| | | MO4 |===>|
+--------+<...>+--------+<........>+--------+ | | +--------+ |
V2V ^ V2V ^ | | ^ |
| : V2V | | : V2V | | : V2V |
| v | | v | | v |
| +--------+ | | +--------+ | | +--------+ |
| | MO5 |===> | | | MO6 |===>| | | MO7 |==>|
| +--------+ | | +--------+ | | +--------+ |
+-----------------+ +-----------------+ +-----------------+
Subnet1 Subnet2 Subnet3
(Prefix1) (Prefix2) (Prefix3)
<----> Wired Link <....> Wireless Link ===> Moving Direction
Figure 1: I2ICF Framework: Wireless and Wired Networks in a
Central Cloud
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 6]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
Edge Cloud Central Cloud
****************************************** **********
* * * *
* * * +----------+ *
* +---------------+ +-----------------+ * * | Cloud | *
* | VNF-Consensus |<->| Edge Controller |<->*<->* |Controller| *
* +-------^-------+ +--------^--------+ * * +----------+ *
* | | * * *
* v V * * *
****************************************** **********
^ ^ ^
| | |
V V V
+---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+
|SDN-Controller1| |SDN-Controller2| |SDN-Controller3|
+---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+
^ ^ ^
| | |
V V V
+---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+
| +-----+ | | +-----+ | | +-----+ |
| | SW1 | | | | SW3 | | | | SW5 | |
| +---^-+ | | +---^-+ | | +---^-+ |
| | | | | | | | |
| +-V---+ | | +-V---+ | | +-V---+ |
| | SW2 | | | | SW4 | | | | SW6 | |
| +-----+ | | +-----+ | | +-----+ |
+---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+
SDN-Network1 SDN-Network2 SDN-Network3
(Prefix1) (Prefix2) (Prefix3)
<----> Wired Link
Figure 2: I2ICF Framework: VNF-Consensus Architecture in an Edge
Cloud
An intent-based management strategy is required between the central
cloud and MOs to allow the automatic configuration of MOs
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation]. Figure 3 shows
an instance of the I2ICF framework as an IBS for an MO. The
framework in this case includes a Central Cloud and an MO. Figure 4
shows an I2ICF framework as an IBS for an Edge Cloud. The framework
in this case consists of a Central Cloud and an Edge Cloud.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 7]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
<Cloud>
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| +------------------+ +--------------------+ |
| | I2ICF User | +---------->| I2ICF Database | |
| +------------------+ | +--------------------+ |
| ^ | ^ |
| | | Database | Database |
| | | Interface | Interface |
| | Consumer-Facing | V |
| | Interface (Intent) | +--------------------+ |
| | | +-------->| Cloud Analyzer |<-+ |
| | | | +--------------------+ | |
| V | |Analytics | |
| +------------------+<---------+ |Interface | |
| | Cloud Controller |<-----------+ +--------------------+ | |
| +------------------+<-------------------->|Vendor's Mgmt System| | |
| ^ Registration Interface +--------------------+ | |
| | ^ | |
+----------|------------------------------------------|-------------|-+
| Controller-Facing Interface VMS-Facing | Analyzer- |
| (High-level Policy) Interface | Facing |
| | Interface |
+----------|------------------------------------------|-------------|-+
| | | | |
| v v | |
| +------------------+ Registration +--------------------+ | |
| | MO Controller |<-------------------->| MO Vendor's | | |
| +------------------+ Interface | Mgmt System | | |
| ^ ^ +--------------------+ | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | Analytics Interface +--------------------+ | |
| | +------------------------>| MO Analyzer |<-+ |
| | +--------------------+ |
| | SF-Facing Interface ^ |
| | (Low-level Policy) | |
| | | |
| | +--------------+----------------------+---+ |
| | | | Monitoring Interface | |
| v v v v |
| +---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+ |
| | SF-1 | | SF-2 |........| SF-n | |
| | (Router) | | (Firewall) | | (Navigator) | |
| +---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+ |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
<Moving Object (MO)>
Figure 3: I2ICF Framework for a Moving Object
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 8]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
<Central Cloud (CC)>
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| +------------------+ +--------------------+ |
| | I2ICF User | +---------->| I2ICF Database | |
| +------------------+ | +--------------------+ |
| ^ | ^ |
| | | Database | Database |
| | | Interface | Interface |
| | Consumer-Facing | V |
| | Interface (Intent) | +--------------------+ |
| | | +-------->| Cloud Analyzer |<-+ |
| | | | +--------------------+ | |
| V | |Analytics | |
| +------------------+<---------+ |Interface | |
| | Cloud Controller |<-----------+ +--------------------+ | |
| +------------------+<-------------------->|Vendor's Mgmt System| | |
| ^ Registration Interface +--------------------+ | |
| | ^ | |
+----------|------------------------------------------|-------------|-+
| Controller-Facing Interface VMS-Facing | Analyzer- |
| (High-level Policy) Interface | Facing |
| | Interface |
+----------|------------------------------------------|-------------|-+
| | | | |
| v v | |
| +------------------+ Registration +--------------------+ | |
| | Edge Controller |<-------------------->| Edge Vendor's | | |
| +------------------+ Interface | Mgmt System | | |
| ^ ^ +--------------------+ | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | Analytics Interface +--------------------+ | |
| | +------------------------>| Edge Analyzer |<-+ |
| | +--------------------+ |
| | SF-Facing Interface ^ |
| | (Low-level Policy) | |
| | | |
| | +--------------+----------------------+---+ |
| | | | Monitoring Interface | |
| v v v v |
| +---------------+ +----------------------+ +---------------+ |
| | SF-1 | | SF-2 |...| SF-n | |
| |(VNF-Consensus)| |(NFV-Failure-Detector)| | (NFV-RBCast) | |
| +---------------+ +----------------------+ +---------------+ |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
<Edge Cloud (EC)>
Figure 4: I2ICF Framework for an Edge Cloud
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 9]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
A Central Cloud (CC) consists of an I2ICF User (as network
administrator), a Cloud Controller (which acts as an orchestrator for
the central cloud), an I2ICF Database (which is the main repository
for ICF management and monitoring information), and a Cloud Analyzer
(as a monitoring data analyzer for MOs and ECs) such as Network Data
Analytics Function (NWDAF) in 5G networks [TS-23.288][TS-29.520].
These and other components are defined next:
* I2ICF User: the software (e.g., web-browser-based user interface)
that is used by I2ICF administrators to deliver network intents to
MO controllers and edge controllers. In the 3GPP intent-driven
management service document, it is assumed that a network intent
is configured by an intent data model [TS-28.312] [TR-28.812].
* Cloud Controller: the main component that is responsible for the
management and control of other system components of the central
cloud, including security. From a security point of view, a
security service policy can be transmitted to the service function
(SF) by converting the I2ICF User's security service intent into
the corresponding security service policy and selecting an SF that
provides an appropriate security service.
* Cloud Vendor's Management System: the component that provides
images of virtualized SFs for cloud services and registers the SFs
and access information with the Cloud Controller.
* Cloud Analyzer: the component that gathers and evaluates
monitoring data from MO Analyzers and Edge Analyzers to ensure the
functionality and performance of SFs, e.g., the network data
analytics function (NWDAF) in 5G networks.
* I2ICF Database: the database that manages the information of MOs
and ECs, including network and security configuration and status
of MOs and ECs. For example, for MOs it maintains the current
locations and navigation paths (e.g., SDVs). For ECs, it
maintains network configuration information, including for
instance the status of AFs and NFs within the edge cloud.
An IBS in an MO (or EC) is composed of an MO Controller (or Edge
Controller) which acts as a manager for the MO (or EC), an MO
Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer) which acts as a monitoring data analyzer
for an MO (or EC))
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation], it can also
include a Vendor's Management System (as a vendor system to provide
cloud-native containers) [RFC8329], and Service Functions (SFs). SFs
for the MO require NFs such as routers, DNS servers, and firewalls
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation]), and AFs include
safe driver devices and navigators. SFs for the EC include NFs such
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 10]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
as VNF-Consensus, NFV-Failure-Detector, and NFV-RBCast (i.e., NFV
Reliable-Ordered Broadcast) [NFV-COIN]). Those components are
further described next:
* MO Controller: the component that controls and manages other
components of the MO framework (or the EC framework). It
translates the high-level policies received from the Cloud
Controller into a low-level policies that the SF can understand.
Any SF can be selected to execute any low-level service. Yet
another task is the transmission of the policy to the SF.
* MO Vendor Management System (or Edge Vendor Management System):
the component that provides an image of a virtualized SF for MO
services (or EC services) to the MO framework (or the EC
framework). Also responsible for registering functions and SF
access control information on MO Controller (or the Edge
Controller).
* Service Function (SF): the component that can be either a virtual
network function (VNF), cloud-native network function (CNF), or
physical network function (PNF) of a specific service. In the
context of security, SFs provide security services such as
firewalls, web filters, DDoS attack mitigators, and anti-viruses.
In addition, networks and application services can also operate as
SFs.
* MO Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer): the component that collects
monitoring data from SFs of MOs (or ECs) and analyzes the
collected data to monitor the activity and performance of SFs.
The MO Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer) acts as NWDAF of a 5G network.
If there are problems (e.g., security attacks, traffic congestion,
QoS degradation) in the MO network (or EC network), the MO
Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer) requests either policy
reconfigurations or feedback information to MO Controller (or Edge
Controller) to restore security or troubleshoot the network.
4. Interfaces in the I2ICF Framework
Together with the I2ICF framework, interfaces are also defined
between pairs of system components in the central cloud and MO (or
EC), respectively. These interfaces are shown in Figure 3 and
Figure 4 and include the following:
* Consumer-Facing Interface: the interface between I2ICF User
Internet and the Cloud Controller. This interface is used for
communicating intents.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 11]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
* Controller-Facing Interface: the interface between the Cloud
Controller and the MO Controller (or Edge Controller) for the
transmission of high-level policies corresponding to translated
intents.
* SF-Facing Interface: the interface between the MO Controller (or
Edge Controller) and SF for the transmission of translated lower-
level policies.
* Registration Interface: the interface used to transfer information
about SF capabilities and access control for the registration of
the SF with either the Cloud Controller or MO Controller (or Edge
Controller). This interface is also used to deliver SF queries
issued for searching for a requested SF. For an MO, this can be
the interface between the Cloud Controller and the Cloud Vendor
Management System (Cloud VMS), or between MO Controller and MO
Vendor Management System (MO VMS). Also, for an EC, this can be
the interface between the Cloud Controller and the Cloud Vendor
Management System (Cloud VMS), or between Edge Controller and Edge
Vendor Management System (Edge VMS).
* Monitoring Interface: the interface between the SF and the MO
Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer) used to collect the SF monitoring data
and is employed to identify security, system, and network issues
related to the SF.
* Analytics Interface: the interface for the transmission of policy
reconfigurations or feedback produced as a result of analyzing the
SF monitoring data. For an MO, this is an interface between the
MO Analyzer and MO Controller, or between the Cloud Analyzer and
Cloud Controller. Also, for an EC, this is an interface between
the Edge Analyzer and the Edge Controller, or between the Cloud
Analyzer and the Cloud Controller.
* Analyzer-Facing Interface: the interface between the MO Analyzer
(or Edge Analyzer) and the Cloud Analyzer for the exchange of
security, network, and system-related analysis of SFs.
* VMS-Facing Interface: the interface between the Cloud VMS and the
MO VMS (or Edge VMS) used to exchange SF feature information, such
as SF container images.
* Database Interface: the interface for exchanging data of an I2ICF
Database. This is an interface between the I2INC Database and the
Cloud Controller, or between the I2ICF Database and the Cloud
Analyzer.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 12]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
The intents, high-level policies, and low-level policies can be
either XML documents [RFC6020][RFC7950] or YAML documents [YAML].
They can be delivered to the destination components using NETCONF
[RFC6241], RESTCONF [RFC8040], or REST API [REST].
As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, the I2ICF Framework receives an
intent from the I2ICF User, entered by a user (who can be an
administrator) into a target system such as an MO (e.g., SDV) or an
Edge Cloud. The intent from the I2ICF User can be translated into
the corresponding high-level policy by an intent translator
[I-D.gu-nmrg-intent-translator] in the Cloud Controller of the
Central Cloud. The high-level policy can also be translated into the
corresponding low-level policy by a policy translator in the MO
Controller of the MO or the Edge Controller of the Edge Cloud
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-security-management-automation][SPT]. For the MO, as
shown in Figure 3, the low-level policy is dispatched from the MO
Controller to the appropriate Service Functions (SFs) in the MO,
examples of which include a Router or a Firewall. Also, in the
context of the EC, as shown in Figure 4, the low-level policy is
dispatched from the Edge Controller to appropriate Service Functions
(SFs) in the EC, such as VNF-Consensus, NFV-Failure-Detector, and
NFV-RBCast. Through the monitoring of the SFs, the activity and
performance of the SFs in the MO (or EC) is monitored and analyzed by
the MO Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer) in the MO (or EC). If needed, the
rules of the high-level or low-level network policy can be augmented
by the MO Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer). Also, new rules can be
automatically generated and configured to appropriate SFs by the MO
Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer).
In conclusion, this document proposed an I2ICF framework as an IBS
for both MOs and ECs. Through this IBS, the SFs (i.e., NFs and AFs)
in the MOs and ECs can be configured and managed. Based on the
proposed framework, both virtualized NFs and AFs can be efficiently
orchestrated, also allowing agile resource reconfigurations and
flexible updates.
5. IANA Considerations
This document does not require any IANA actions.
6. Security Considerations
The same security considerations for the Interface to Network
Security Functions (I2NSF) Framework [RFC8329] are applicable to the
Intent-Based System this document.
7. References
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 13]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
7.1. Normative References
[RFC6020] Bjorklund, M., Ed., "YANG - A Data Modeling Language for
the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF)", RFC 6020,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6020, October 2010,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6020>.
[RFC6241] Enns, R., Ed., Bjorklund, M., Ed., Schoenwaelder, J., Ed.,
and A. Bierman, Ed., "Network Configuration Protocol
(NETCONF)", RFC 6241, DOI 10.17487/RFC6241, June 2011,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6241>.
[RFC7149] Boucadair, M. and C. Jacquenet, "Software-Defined
Networking: A Perspective from within a Service Provider
Environment", RFC 7149, DOI 10.17487/RFC7149, March 2014,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7149>.
[RFC7950] Bjorklund, M., Ed., "The YANG 1.1 Data Modeling Language",
RFC 7950, DOI 10.17487/RFC7950, August 2016,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7950>.
[RFC8040] Bierman, A., Bjorklund, M., and K. Watsen, "RESTCONF
Protocol", RFC 8040, DOI 10.17487/RFC8040, January 2017,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8040>.
[RFC8329] Lopez, D., Lopez, E., Dunbar, L., Strassner, J., and R.
Kumar, "Framework for Interface to Network Security
Functions", RFC 8329, DOI 10.17487/RFC8329, February 2018,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8329>.
[RFC9315] Clemm, A., Ciavaglia, L., Granville, L. Z., and J.
Tantsura, "Intent-Based Networking - Concepts and
Definitions", RFC 9315, DOI 10.17487/RFC9315, October
2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9315>.
[RFC9365] Jeong, J., Ed., "IPv6 Wireless Access in Vehicular
Environments (IPWAVE): Problem Statement and Use Cases",
RFC 9365, DOI 10.17487/RFC9365, March 2023,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9365>.
7.2. Informative References
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 14]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
[I-D.ietf-i2nsf-applicability]
Jeong, J. P., Hyun, S., Ahn, T., Hares, S., and D. Lopez,
"Applicability of Interfaces to Network Security Functions
to Network-Based Security Services", Work in Progress,
Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-i2nsf-applicability-19, 3 April
2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-
i2nsf-applicability-19>.
[I-D.irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology]
Hong, J., Kunze, I., Wehrle, K., Trossen, D., Montpetit,
M., de Foy, X., Griffin, D., and M. Rio, "Terminology for
Computing in the Network", Work in Progress, Internet-
Draft, draft-irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology-01, 10 July
2023, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-irtf-
coinrg-coin-terminology-01>.
[I-D.irtf-coinrg-use-cases]
Kunze, I., Wehrle, K., Trossen, D., Montpetit, M., de Foy,
X., Griffin, D., and M. Rio, "Use Cases for In-Network
Computing", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-irtf-
coinrg-use-cases-07, 4 December 2024,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-irtf-coinrg-
use-cases-07>.
[I-D.ietf-i2nsf-capability-data-model]
Hares, S., Jeong, J. P., Kim, J. T., Moskowitz, R., and Q.
Lin, "I2NSF Capability YANG Data Model", Work in Progress,
Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-i2nsf-capability-data-model-32,
23 May 2022, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-
ietf-i2nsf-capability-data-model-32>.
[I-D.ietf-i2nsf-registration-interface-dm]
Hyun, S., Jeong, J. P., Roh, T., Wi, S., and J. Jung-Soo,
"I2NSF Registration Interface YANG Data Model for NSF
Capability Registration", Work in Progress, Internet-
Draft, draft-ietf-i2nsf-registration-interface-dm-26, 10
May 2023, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-
ietf-i2nsf-registration-interface-dm-26>.
[I-D.ietf-i2nsf-consumer-facing-interface-dm]
Jeong, J. P., Chung, C., Ahn, T., Kumar, R., and S. Hares,
"I2NSF Consumer-Facing Interface YANG Data Model", Work in
Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-i2nsf-consumer-
facing-interface-dm-31, 15 May 2023,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-i2nsf-
consumer-facing-interface-dm-31>.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 15]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
[I-D.ietf-i2nsf-nsf-facing-interface-dm]
Kim, J. T., Jeong, J. P., Jung-Soo, J., Hares, S., and Q.
Lin, "I2NSF Network Security Function-Facing Interface
YANG Data Model", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-
ietf-i2nsf-nsf-facing-interface-dm-29, 1 June 2022,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-i2nsf-
nsf-facing-interface-dm-29>.
[I-D.ietf-i2nsf-nsf-monitoring-data-model]
Jeong, J. P., Lingga, P., Hares, S., Xia, L., and H.
Birkholz, "I2NSF NSF Monitoring Interface YANG Data
Model", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-
i2nsf-nsf-monitoring-data-model-20, 1 June 2022,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-i2nsf-
nsf-monitoring-data-model-20>.
[I-D.lingga-nmrg-analytics-interface-dm]
Lingga, P., Jeong, J. P., and Y. Choi, "A YANG Data Model
for Interface to Network Security Functions (I2NSF)
Analytics Interface", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
draft-lingga-nmrg-analytics-interface-dm-00, 20 October
2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-lingga-
nmrg-analytics-interface-dm-00>.
[I-D.gu-nmrg-intent-translator]
Gu, M., Jeong, J. P., and Y. Ahn, "An Intent Translation
Framework for IoT Networks", Work in Progress, Internet-
Draft, draft-gu-nmrg-intent-translator-01, 7 July 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-gu-nmrg-
intent-translator-01>.
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-security-management-automation]
Jeong, J. P., Lingga, P., Park, J., Lopez, D. R., and S.
Hares, "An I2NSF Framework for Security Management
Automation in Cloud-Based Security Systems", Work in
Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-jeong-nmrg-security-
management-automation-00, 20 October 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-jeong-nmrg-
security-management-automation-00>.
[I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation]
Jeong, J. P., Ahn, Y., Gu, M., Kim, Y., and J. Jung-Soo,
"Intent-Based Network Management Automation in 5G
Networks", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-jeong-
nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation-06, 9 June 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-jeong-nmrg-
ibn-network-management-automation-06>.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 16]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
[SPT] Lingga, P., Jeong, J., Yang, J., and J. Kim, "SPT:
Security Policy Translator for Network Security Functions
in Cloud-Based Security Services", IEEE Transactions on
Dependable and Secure Computing, Volume 21, Issue 6,
DOI https://doi.org/10.1109/TDSC.2024.3371788, November
2024, <https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1109/
TDSC.2024.3371788>.
[YAML] Ingerson, B., Evans, C., and O. Ben-Kiki, "Yet Another
Markup Language (YAML) 1.0",
Available: https://yaml.org/spec/history/2001-05-26.html,
October 2023.
[TS-23.501]
"System Architecture for the 5G System (5GS)", Available:
https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/
SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3144, September
2023.
[TS-28.312]
"Intent Driven Management Services for Mobile Networks",
Available:
https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/
SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3554, September
2023.
[TR-28.812]
"Study on Scenarios for Intent Driven Management Services
for Mobile Networks", Available:
https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/
SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3553, December
2020.
[TS-23.288]
"Architecture Enhancements for 5G System (5GS) to Support
Network Data Analytics Services", Available:
https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/
SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3579, September
2023.
[TS-29.520]
"Network Data Analytics Services", Available:
https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/
SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3355, September
2023.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 17]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
[ETSI-NFV] "Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV); Architectural
Framework", Available:
https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gs/
nfv/001_099/002/01.02.01_60/gs_nfv002v010201p.pdf,
December 2014.
[ETSI-NFV-Release-2]
"Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) Release 2;
Management and Orchestration; Architectural Framework
Specification", Available:
https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gs/
nfv/001_099/006/02.01.01_60/gs_nfv006v020101p.pdf, January
2021.
[NFV-COIN] Venancio, G., Turchetti, R., and E. Duarte Jr., "NFV-COIN:
Unleashing The Power of In-Network Computing with
Virtualization Technologies", SBC Journal of Internet
Services and Applications, Available: https://journals-
sol.sbc.org.br/index.php/jisa/article/view/2342, December
2022.
[REST] Fielding, R. and R. Taylor, "Principled Design of the
Modern Web Architecture", ACM Transactions on Internet
Technology, Vol. 2, Issue 2,,
Available: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/514183.514185,
May 2002.
[Flan-T5] Chung, H., "Scaling Instruction-Finetuned Language
Models", arXiv arXiv:2210.11416,
Available: https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.11416, October 2022.
[GPT-3] Brown, T., "Language Models are Few-Shot Learners",
arXiv arXiv:2005.14165,
Available: https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.14165, May 2020.
[USENIX-ATC-Lumi]
Jacobs, A., Pfitscher, R., Ribeiro, R., Ferreira, R.,
Granville, L., Willinger, W., and S. Rao, "Hey, Lumi!
Using Natural Language for Intent-Based Network
Management", USENIX Annual Technical Conference,
Available:
https://www.usenix.org/conference/atc21/presentation/
jacobs, July 2021.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 18]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
[BERT] Devlin, J., Chang, M., Lee, K., and K. Toutanova, "BERT:
Pre-training of Deep Bidirectional Transformers for
Language Understanding", NAACL-HLT Conference,
Available: https://aclanthology.org/N19-1423.pdf, June
2019.
[Deep-Learning]
Goodfellow, I., Bengio, Y., and A. Courville, "Deep
Learning", Publisher: The MIT Press,
Available: https://www.deeplearningbook.org/, November
2016.
[AUTOSAR-SDV]
"AUTOSAR Adaptive Platform", Available:
https://www.autosar.org/standards/adaptive-platform, March
2024.
[Eclipse-SDV]
"Eclipse Software Defined Vehicle Working Group Charter",
Available: https://www.eclipse.org/org/workinggroups/sdv-
charter.php, March 2024.
[COVESA] "Connected Vehicle Systems Alliance",
Available: https://covesa.global/, March 2024.
[Kubernetes]
"Kubernetes: Cloud Native Computing Platform",
Available: https://kubernetes.io/, March 2024.
[Survey-IBN-CST-2023]
Leivadeas, A. and M. Falkner, "A Survey on Intent-Based
Networking",
Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9925251,
March 2023.
[ClickINC-Sigcomm-2023]
Xu, W., Zhang, Z., Feng, Y., Song, H., Chen, Z., Wu, W.,
Liu, G., Zhang, Y., Liu, S., Tian, Z., and B. Liu,
"ClickINC: In-network Computing as a Service in
Heterogeneous Programmable Data-center Networks",
Publisher: ACM SIGCOMM,
Available: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3603269.3604835,
September 2023.
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 19]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Institute of Information & Communications
Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the Korea
Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) (No. RS-2024-00398199 and RS-
2022-II221015).
Contributors
This document is made by the group effort of OPWAWG, greatly
benefiting from inputs and texts by Linda Dunbar (Futurewei), Yong-
Geun Hong (Daejeon University), and Joo-Sang Youn (Dong-Eui
University). The authors sincerely appreciate their contributions.
The following are coauthors of this document:
Mose Gu
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Sungkyunkwan University
2066 Seobu-Ro, Jangan-Gu
Suwon
Gyeonggi-Do
16419
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 31 299 4106
Email: rna0415@skku.edu
URI: http://iotlab.skku.edu/people-Moses-Gu.php
Juwon Hong
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Sungkyunkwan University
2066 Seobu-Ro, Jangan-Gu
Suwon
Gyeonggi-Do
16419
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 31 299 4106
Email: hongju2024@skku.edu
URI: http://iotlab.skku.edu/people-Joo-Won-Hong.php
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 20]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
Jiwon Suh
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Sungkyunkwan University
2066 Seobu-Ro, Jangan-Gu
Suwon
Gyeonggi-Do
16419
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 31 299 4106
Email: sjw6136@skku.edu
URI: http://iotlab.skku.edu/people-Jiwon-Suh.php
Jisuk Chae
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Sungkyunkwan University
2066 Seobu-Ro, Jangan-Gu
Suwon
Gyeonggi-Do
16419
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 31 299 4106
Email: sue030124
URI: http://iotlab.skku.edu/people-Jisuk-Chae.php
Giovanni Venancio
Department of Informatics
Federal University of Parana
Brazil
Email: giovanni@inf.ufpr.br
Authors' Addresses
Jaehoon Paul Jeong (editor)
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Sungkyunkwan University
2066 Seobu-Ro, Jangan-Gu
Suwon
Gyeonggi-Do
16419
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 31 299 4957
Email: pauljeong@skku.edu
URI: http://iotlab.skku.edu/people-jaehoon-jeong.php
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 21]
Internet-Draft I2ICF Framework October 2025
Yiwen Shen
Department of Software
Ajou University
206 Worldcup-Ro, Yeongtong-Gu
Suwon
Gyeonggi-Do
16499
Republic of Korea
Email: chrisshen@ajou.ac.kr
URI: https://chrisshen.github.io
Yoseop Ahn
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Sungkyunkwan University
2066 Seobu-Ro, Jangan-Gu
Suwon
Gyeonggi-Do
16419
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 31 299 4106
Email: ahnjs124@skku.edu
URI: http://iotlab.skku.edu/people-Ahn-Yoseop.php
Younghan Kim
School of Electronic Engineering
Soongsil University
369, Sangdo-ro, Dongjak-gu
Seoul
06978
Republic of Korea
Email: younghak@ssu.ac.kr
Elias P. Duarte Jr.
Department of Informatics
Federal University of Parana
Brazil
Email: elias@inf.ufpr.br
Kehan Yao
China Mobile
Beijing
100053
China
Email: yaokehan@chinamobile.com
Jeong, et al. Expires 23 April 2026 [Page 22]