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A Framework for Interface to In-Network Functions (I2INF)
draft-jeong-opsawg-i2inf-framework-00

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This is an older version of an Internet-Draft whose latest revision state is "Active".
Authors Jaehoon Paul Jeong , Yiwen Chris Shen , Yoseop Ahn , Younghan Kim , Elias P. Duarte Jr.
Last updated 2024-07-22
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draft-jeong-opsawg-i2inf-framework-00
Operations and Management Area Working Group               J. Jeong, Ed.
Internet-Draft                                                   Y. Shen
Intended status: Informational                                    Y. Ahn
Expires: 23 January 2025                         Sungkyunkwan University
                                                                  Y. Kim
                                                     Soongsil University
                                                           E. Duarte Jr.
                                            Federal University of Parana
                                                            22 July 2024

       A Framework for Interface to In-Network Functions (I2INF)
                 draft-jeong-opsawg-i2inf-framework-00

Abstract

   This document specifies a framework for Interface to In-Network
   Functions (I2INF) for a user's services involved in both networks and
   applications.  In-Network Functions (INF) include In-Network
   Computing Functions (INCF) in Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)
   and Software-Defined Networking (SDN).  They also include In-Network
   Application Functions (INAF) in Internet-of-Things (IoT) Devices,
   Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV), and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).
   This document describes an I2INF framework with its components and
   interfaces to configure and monitor the INFs for the user's 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
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   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 January 2025.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2024 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

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   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 Interface to In-Network Functions . . . . . .   4
   4.  Interfaces in the I2INF Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   7.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     7.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     7.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   Appendix A.  Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   Appendix B.  Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19

1.  Introduction

   Network softwarization is widely deployed for network services in
   network infrastructure (e.g., 5G mobile networks [TS-23.501]),
   clouding computing, and edge computing.  The network softwarization
   is realized by the technologies of Network Functions Virtualization
   (NFV) [ETSI-NFV][ETSI-NFV-Release-2] and Software-Defined Networking
   (SDN) [RFC7149].  Also, Intent-Based Networking (IBN)
   [RFC9315][Survey-IBN-CST-2023] can be used for intelligent network
   services as well as intelligent application services.

   As per definitions of Computing in the Network (COIN), a Programmable
   Network Device (PND) in an In-Network Computing (INC) environment can
   have multiple kinds of capabilities (i.e., features)
   [I-D.irtf-coinrg-coin-terminology] to work with other PNDs.  PNDs
   from different product lines or vendors can have different
   capabilities for INC functions.  When working togther for a COIN
   system, the PDNs may be unaware of capabilities of others.
   Therefore, it is necessary to define a standard interface for PNDs to
   exchange their capabilities.

   For the configuration and monitoring of Application Functions (AFs)
   for applications and Network Functions (NFs) for network services for
   a given user's service, a standard framework with interfaces is

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   required.  There is no standard data model to describe the
   capabilities of AFs and NFs for a user-demanded service.  Also, there
   is no standard data model for a registration interface that is used
   to register the capabilities of those AFs and NFs with a controller
   for the requested service.  In addition, there are no standard
   interfaces to configure and monitor those AFs and NFs according to a
   user's intent.  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].  This document is based on the work
   of I2NSF for a more general control and management framework for
   intelligent services consisting of AFs and NFs.

   This document specifies a framework for Interface to In-Network
   Functions (I2INF) for In-Network Functions (INFs) having different
   capabilities.  The INFs consist of Network Functions (NFs) including
   PNDs and Application Functions (AFs) in order to compose a user's
   services.  First of all, INFs include In-Network Computing Functions
   (INCF) as NFs within NFV and SDN [I-D.irtf-coinrg-use-cases].
   Secondly, they also include In-Network Application Functions (INAF)
   as AFs within 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 I2INF framework
   and its interfaces for a user's services consisting of a combination
   of INFs 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-i2nsf-security-management-automation],
   [I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation], and
   [I-D.yang-i2nsf-security-policy-translation].  In addition, the
   following terms are defined below:

   *  Intent: A 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 to achieve or implement
      them [RFC9315].

   *  Intent-Based System (IBS): A system that enforces an intent from a
      user (or administrator) into a target system (e.g., SDV).  An
      intent can be expressed as a Natural Language (e.g., English) and
      can be translated into a policy (i.e., network policy and
      application policy) by a Natural Language Processing (NLP)
      [USENIX-ATC-Lumi][BERT] [Deep-Learning].  In this document, the
      intent can be translated into the corresponding high policy by an

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      intent translator
      [I-D.jeong-i2nsf-security-management-automation].  The high-level
      policy can also be translated into the corresponding low-level
      policy by a policy translator
      [I-D.yang-i2nsf-security-policy-translation].  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): An object that is capable of moving by its
      power source with wireless communication capability such as 5G
      Vehicle-to-Everything (e.g., 5G V2X).  It 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 Computing Functions (INCF): 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 (INAF): 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
      required application tasks and functions.

   *  Interface to In-Network Functions (I2INF): Interfaces that are
      used between a pair of INFs for the interaction for configuration
      and monitoring.

   *  A Framework for Interface to In-Network Functions (I2INF): a
      framework that consists of components and interfaces to configure
      and monitor INFs for various services in the network
      infrastructure and MOs.

3.  A Framework for Interface to In-Network Functions

   This section specifies a framework for Interface to In-Network
   Functions (I2INF) with its components and interfaces among the
   components.  Figure 1 shows Wireless and Wired Networks in a Central
   Cloud for the I2INF framework having network entities and Mobile
   Objects (MO).  On the other hand, Figure 2 shows a VNF-Consensus
   Architecture in an Edge Cloud for the I2INF framework to synchonize
   the SDN Controllers for flow table information in the same Edge Cloud

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   [NFV-COIN].

                                  Central Cloud
                   *******************************************
                 *                                             *
                *              +------------------+             *
               *               | Cloud Controller |              *
               *               +------------------+              *
               *                         ^                       *
                *                        |                      *
                 *                       v                     *
                   *******************************************
                    ^                   ^                    ^
                    |                   |                    |
                    V                   V                    V
              +-----------+       +-----------+        +-----------+
              |Edge-Cloud1|       |Edge-Cloud2|        |Edge-Cloud3|
              +-----------+       +-----------+        +-----------+
                    ^                   ^                    ^
                    |                   |                    |
                    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: Wireless and Wired Networks in Central Cloud for I2INF
                              Framework

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                         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
      (Subnet1)            (Prefix2)            (Prefix3)

 <----> Wired Link

      Figure 2: VNF-Consensus Architecture in Edge Cloud for I2INF
                               Framework

   For the automatic network configuration of MOs, an intent-based
   management is required between the central cloud and MOs
   [I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation].  Figure 3 shows
   an I2INF framework as an IBS for an MO.  The framework consists of a
   Central Cloud and an MO.  Figure 4 shows an I2INF framework as an IBS
   for an Edge Cloud.  The framework consists of a Central Cloud and an
   Edge Cloud.

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                          <Central Cloud (CC)>
 +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | +------------------+                      +--------------------+    |
 | |    I2INF User    |          +---------->|   I2INF 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)  |     |
 |   +---------------+  +---------------+        +---------------+     |
 +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
                         <Mobile Object (MO)>

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    Figure 3: A Framework for Interface to In-Network Functions for
                             Mobile Object

                          <Central Cloud (CC)>
 +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | +------------------+                      +--------------------+    |
 | |    I2INF User    |          +---------->|   I2INF 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) |   |

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 |   +---------------+  +----------------------+   +---------------+   |
 +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
                           <Edge Cloud (EC)>

    Figure 4: A Framework for Interface to In-Network Functions for
                               Edge Cloud

   A Central Cloud (CC) consists of I2INF User (as network
   administrator), Cloud Controller (as an orchestrator for a central
   cloud), I2INF Database (as a main repository for INF management and
   monitoring), and 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].

   *  I2INF User: It is the software (e.g., web-browser-based user
      interface) used by I2INF administrators to deliver network intents
      to MO controllers and edge controlller.  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: It is a component that controls and manages
      other system components of the central cloud.  From a security
      point of view, a security service policy can be transmitted to the
      service function (SF) by converting the I2INF 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: It is a component that provides
      images of virtualized SFs for cloud services and registers the SFs
      and access information with Cloud Controller.

   *  Cloud Analyzer: It 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.

   *  I2INF Database: It is a database for managing 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 of MOs (e.g., SDVs).  For ECs, it maintains the
      network configuration and status of AFs and NFs within the edge
      cloud.

   An IBS in an MO (or EC) is composed of MO Controller (or Edge
   Controller) as a manager for the MO (or EC), MO Analyzer (or Edge
   Analyzer) as a monitoring data analyzer for an MO (or EC))
   [I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation], Vendor's
   Management System (as a vendor system to provide cloud-native

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   containers) [RFC8329], and Service Functions (SFs).  As SFs for the
   MO, NFs include router, DNS server, and firewall
   [I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation]), and AFs include
   safe driver and navigator.  As SFs for the EC, NFs include VNF-
   Consensus, NFV-Failure-Detector, and NFV-RBCast (i.e., NFV Reliable-
   Ordered Broadcast) [NFV-COIN]).  The functions of each component is
   described as follows.

   *  MO Controller: It is a component that controls and manages other
      components of the MO framework (or EC framework).  It translates
      the high-level policy received from the Cloud Controller into a
      low-level policy that the SF can understand.  An SF to perform
      this low-level service policy is selected, and the policy is
      transmitted to the SF.

   *  MO Vendor's Management System (or Edge Vendor's Management
      System): It is a component that provides an image of a virtualized
      SF for MO services (or EC services) to the MO framework (or EC
      framework) and registers the function and access information of
      the SF with MO Controller (or Edge Controller).

   *  Service Function (SF): It is a component that refers to a virtual
      network function (VNF), cloud native network function (CNF), or
      physical network function (PNF) for a specific service.  For
      security services, it provides 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): It is a component that collects
      monitoring data from SFs of MOs (or ECs) and analyzes these data
      to confirm the activity and performance of SFs.  MO Analyzer (or
      Edge Analyzer) acts as NWDAF in a 5G network.  If there are
      problems (e.g., security attacks, traffic congestion, QoS
      degradation) in the MO's internal network (or EC's internet
      network), MO Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer) delivers either policy
      reconfiguration or feedback information to MO Controller (or Edge
      Controller) for security and network troubleshooting.

4.  Interfaces in the I2INF Framework

   Together with the designed I2INF framework, in Figure 3 and Figure 4,
   interfaces are also defined between a pair of system components in
   the central cloud and MO (or EC), respectively.  These interfaces
   include

   *  Consumer-Facing Interface: It is an interface between I2INF User
      and Cloud Controller for conveying intents.

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   *  Controller-Facing Interface: It is an interface between Cloud
      Controller and MO Controller (or Edge Controller) for high-level
      policy delivery with translated intents.

   *  SF-Facing Interface: It is an interface between MO Controller (or
      Edge Controller) and SF for the delivery of a translated lower-
      level policy.

   *  Registration Interface: It is an interface used to transfer SF
      capabilities and access information for registration to either
      Cloud Controller or MO Controller (or Edge Controller), or deliver
      SF queries for searching the requested SFs.  For an MO, this
      interface can be an interface between Cloud Controller and Cloud
      Vendor's Management System (Cloud VMS), or between MO Controller
      and MO Vendor's Management System (MO VMS).  Also, for an EC, this
      interface can be an interface between Cloud Controller and Cloud
      Vendor's Management System (Cloud VMS), or between Edge Controller
      and Edge Vendor's Management System (Edge VMS).

   *  Monitoring Interface: It is an interface between the SF and the MO
      Analyzer (or Edge Analyzer) used to collect the SF's monitoring
      data to identify SF-related security, system, and network issues.

   *  Analytics Interface: It is an interface for delivering policy
      reconfiguration or feedback as a result of analyzing SF monitoring
      data.  For an MO, this interface is an interface between MO
      Analyzer and MO Controller, or between Cloud Analyzer and Cloud
      Controller.  Also, for an EC, this interface is an interface
      between Edge Analyzer and Edge Controller, or between Cloud
      Analyzer and Cloud Controller.

   *  Analyzer-Facing Interface: It is an interface between MO Analyzer
      (or Edge Analyzer) and Cloud Analyzer for the exchange of
      security, network, and system-related analysis of SFs.

   *  VMS-Facing Interface: It is an interface between Cloud VMS and MO
      VMS (or Edge VMS) to exchange SF container images with SF feature
      information.

   *  Database Interface: It is an interface for exchanging data in an
      I2INF database.  It is an interface between I2INF Database and
      Cloud Controller, or between I2INF Database and Cloud Analyzer.

   The intent, high-level policy, and low-level policy can be either XML
   documents [RFC6020][RFC7950] or YAML documents [YAML].  They can be
   delivered to the destination components via NETCONF [RFC6241],
   RESTCONF [RFC8040], or REST API [REST].

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   As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, the I2INF Framework enforces an
   intent from an I2INF User, which as a user (or administrator), into a
   target system such as an MO (e.g., SDV) and an Edge Cloud.  The
   intent from the I2INF User can be translated into the corresponding
   high-level policy by an intent translator in the Cloud Controller of
   the Central Cloud [I-D.jeong-i2nsf-security-management-automation].
   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.yang-i2nsf-security-policy-translation].  For the MO, as shown
   in Figure 3, the low-level policy is dispatched from the MO
   Controller to appropriate Service Functions (SFs) in the MO, such as
   Router, Firewall, and Navigator.  Also, for 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).

   Therefore, this document proposes an I2INF 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 better configured and managed.  Base on the
   proposed framework, both virtualized NFs and AFs can be efficiently
   orchestrated for agile resource re-configurations 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

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>.

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   [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

   [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-18, 16
              September 2019, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/
              draft-ietf-i2nsf-applicability-18>.

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   [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-05, 23 February 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-irtf-coinrg-
              use-cases-05>.

   [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>.

   [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>.

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   [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-i2nsf-analytics-interface-dm]
              Lingga, P., Jeong, J. P., and Y. Choi, "I2NSF Analytics
              Interface YANG Data Model", Work in Progress, Internet-
              Draft, draft-lingga-i2nsf-analytics-interface-dm-03, 7
              February 2024, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/
              draft-lingga-i2nsf-analytics-interface-dm-03>.

   [I-D.jeong-i2nsf-security-management-automation]
              Jeong, J. P., Lingga, P., Jung-Soo, J., Lopez, D., and S.
              Hares, "Security Management Automation of Cloud-Based
              Security Services in I2NSF Framework", Work in Progress,
              Internet-Draft, draft-jeong-i2nsf-security-management-
              automation-07, 7 February 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-jeong-i2nsf-
              security-management-automation-07>.

   [I-D.jeong-nmrg-ibn-network-management-automation]
              Jeong, J. P., Ahn, Y., 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-04, 22 April 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-jeong-nmrg-
              ibn-network-management-automation-04>.

   [I-D.yang-i2nsf-security-policy-translation]
              Jeong, J. P., Lingga, P., and J. Yang, "Guidelines for
              Security Policy Translation in Interface to Network
              Security Functions", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
              draft-yang-i2nsf-security-policy-translation-16, 7
              February 2024, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/
              draft-yang-i2nsf-security-policy-translation-16>.

   [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.

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   [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.

   [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.

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   [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.

   [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.

   [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.

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   [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.

Appendix A.  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).

   This work was supported in part by Institute of Information &
   Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded
   by the Korea Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) (No. 2022-0-01015,
   Development of Candidate Element Technology for Intelligent 6G Mobile
   Core Network).

Appendix B.  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

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   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

Authors' Addresses

   Jaehoon Paul Jeong (editor)
   Department of Computer Science and 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

   Yiwen Shen
   Department of Computer Science and Engineering
   Sungkyunkwan University
   2066 Seobu-Ro, Jangan-Gu
   Suwon
   Gyeonggi-Do
   16419
   Republic of Korea
   Phone: +82 31 299 4106
   Email: chrisshen@skku.edu
   URI:   https://chrisshen.github.io

   Yoseop Ahn
   Department of Computer Science and 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

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   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 Computer Science and Engineering
   Federal University of Parana
   Brazil
   Email: elias@inf.ufpr.br

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