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Hierarchical methods of computing metrics distribution
draft-yi-cats-hierarchical-metric-distribution-01

Document Type Active Internet-Draft (individual)
Authors Xinxin Yi , Naihan Zhang , Hang Shi
Last updated 2024-10-16
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draft-yi-cats-hierarchical-metric-distribution-01
CATS                                                          X. Yi, Ed.
Internet-Draft                                             N. Zhang, Ed.
Intended status: Standards Track                            China Unicom
Expires: 20 April 2025                                            H. Shi
                                                                  Huawei
                                                         17 October 2024

         Hierarchical methods of computing metrics distribution
           draft-yi-cats-hierarchical-metric-distribution-01

Abstract

   This document analyzes the necessarity of setting hierarchical
   methods of computing metrics distribution.  Besides, we propose the
   workflow of hierarchical metric distribution for different CATS
   frameworks.

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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   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 20 April 2025.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2024 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.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.2.  Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Conventions and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Definition and requirements of hierarchical metric
           distribution  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Optional hierarchical parameters  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.1.  Geographical distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.2.  Performance of service sites  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.3.  Number of service sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.4.  Other Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Workflow of hierarchical metric distribution  . . . . . . . .   6
     5.1.  Distributed model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.2.  Centralized model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.3.  Hybrid model  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   8.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

1.  Introduction

   The path computation needs to process both network and computing
   metrics in CATS.  As described in [I-D.ldbc-cats-framework], after
   the computing metrics are collected, they will be distributed to CATS
   Path Selector (C-PS) for path computation.  The C-PS can be
   integrated into ingress CATS-Forwarders or deployed as a functional
   component of a centralized controller.  Computing metrics are defined
   in [I-D.du-cats-computing-modeling-description].  And
   [I-D.yao-cats-ps-usecases] describes the importance of the
   representation and encoding of computing metrics.  As service scale
   increases, the data amount reported to C-PS and size of routing table
   increases, which will bring greater processing pressure to network
   devices.  As a result, the service quality will be affected.
   Therefore, it is necessary to set a hierarchical method of computing
   metric distribution between service site and different C-PSes.  The
   hierarchical method can be set according to geographical distance or
   performance of service sites, etc.

1.1.  Terminology

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1.2.  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.

2.  Conventions and Definitions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
   14 RFC2119 [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.  This document uses terms defined in
   [I-D.ldbc-cats-framework].  We list them below for clarification.

   *Computing-Aware Traffic Steering (CATS): An architecture that takes
   into account the dynamic nature of computing resources and network
   state to steer service traffic to a service instance.  This
   dynamicity is expressed by means of relevant metrics.

   *Ingress CATS-Forwarder: An entity that steers service-specific
   traffic along a CATS-computed path that leads to an Egress CATS-
   Forwarder that connects to the most suitable service site that host
   the service contact instance selected to satisfy the initial service
   request.

   *Egress CATS-Forwarder: An entity that is located at the end of a
   CATS-computed path and which connects to a CATS-serviced site.

   *CATS Path Selector (C-PS): An entity that determines the path toward
   the appropriate service location and service instances to meet a
   service demand given the service status and network status
   information.

3.  Definition and requirements of hierarchical metric distribution

   The hierarchical method of cpmputing metrics is based on the CATS
   framework defined in [I-D.ldbc-cats-framework](see Figure 1, the
   figure is replicated here for better understanding).

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          +-----+              +------+           +------+
        +------+|            +------+ |         +------+ |
        |client|+            |client|-+         |client|-+
        +---+--+             +---+--+           +---+--+
            |                    |                  |
            | +----------------+ |            +-----+----------+
            +-+    C-TC#1      +-+      +-----+    C-TC#2      |
              |----------------|        |     |----------------|
              |     |C-PS#1    |    +------+  |CATS-Forwarder 4|
        ......|     +----------|....|C-PS#2|..|                |...
        :     |CATS-Forwarder 2|    |      |  |                |  .
        :     +----------------+    +------+  +----------------+  :
        :                                                         :
        :                                            +-------+    :
        :                         Underlay           | C-NMA |    :
        :                      Infrastructure        +-------+    :
        :                                                         :
        :                                                         :
        : +----------------+                +----------------+    :
        : |CATS-Forwarder 1|  +-------+     |CATS-Forwarder 3|    :
        :.|                |..|C-SMA#1|.... |                |....:
          +---------+------+  +-------+     +----------------+
                    |         |             |   C-SMA#2      |
                    |         |             +-------+--------+
                    |         |                     |
                    |         |                     |
                 +------------+               +------------+
                +------------+ |             +------------+ |
                |  Service   | |             |  Service   | |
                |  Contact   | |             |  Contact   | |
                |  Instance  |-+             |  Instance  |-+
                +------------+               +------------+
                 service site 1              service site 2

                    Figure 1: CATS-Functional-Components

   The hierarchical metric distribution is defined as reporting
   different levels of the computing metric to C-PS in ingress CATS-
   Forwarder according to geographical scope (distance or radius) and
   performance of service sites, etc.  The service sites classified as
   high priority report high-level computing metrics (full metric
   information).  And the service sites classified as low priority only
   report a simple computing metric (i.e. available or unavailable).  If
   the priorities are classified by distance, then the near service site
   can be set to a higher priority.  On the one hand, setting a
   hierarchical method of computing metric distribution can reduce the
   processing pressure of network devices and the size of distribution
   data and routing table.  On the other hand, the increase in service

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   delay caused by processing large amounts of data can be avoided.  The
   impact is particularly obvious when C-PS is deployed in CATS-
   Forwader.  Therefore, hierarchical method of computing metric
   distribution is particularly important in distributed and hybrid
   model.

   In the distributed model,all computing metrics are processed in C-PS
   in the ingress CATS-Forwarder.  It is better to set a suitable
   priority for each service site.  Therefore, the processing pressure
   of the CATS-Forwarder can be relieved while maintaining sufficient
   service resource utilization.

   In the centralized model, all computing metrics are processed in
   centralized C-PS.  A centralized C-PS may have a hierarchical control
   system, and different levels of controllers can be set to receive
   different levels of the computing metric.

   In the hybrid model, computing metrics can be chosen to be processed
   in the ingress CATS-Forwarder or centralized C-PS according to
   service types.  [I-D.yi-cats-hybrid-solution] has discussed how to
   choose the appropriate processing location in different scenarios.
   Because not all computing metrics need to be processed in the CATS-
   Forwarder in hybrid model, the hierarchical method can be more
   flexible.

4.  Optional hierarchical parameters

   The priority of service sites is determined by parameters of service
   sites, such as geographical distance and performance.  When
   calculating the priority, different parameters of service sites are
   assigned different weights based on the service type.  The product of
   the parameter and corresponding weight is the corresponding parameter
   score.  And the weighted sum of all parameter scores determines the
   priority score.  The higher the priority score, the higher the
   priority of the service site.

4.1.  Geographical distance

   If prioritizing based on geographic distance, whether the distance
   between each network device is known needs to be considered.  If the
   distance is unknown, the distance can be measured through the network
   packet transmission delay.  Parameter score of distance is negatively
   correlated with the distance.

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4.2.  Performance of service sites

   The performance of a service site is related to the processing speed
   and resource idle rate of the service site.  Parameter score of
   service site performance is positively correlated with the
   performance.

4.3.  Number of service sites

   TBD

4.4.  Other Options

   TBD

5.  Workflow of hierarchical metric distribution

   The hierarchical policies are set in egress CATS-Forwarder.  When
   ingress CATS-Forwarder sends service request to egress CATS-
   Forwarder, the egress CATS-Forwarder calculates the priority of
   service sites and instructs them to send corresponding levels of
   computing metric.  Then egress CATS-Forwader send computing metrics
   to C-PS (CATS Path Selector).  For different CATS frameworks, the
   workflow of hierarchical metric distribution is different.

5.1.  Distributed model

   When an egress CATS-Forwarder establishes a one-to-one neighbor
   relationship with an ingress CATS-Forwarder, the egress CATS-Forwader
   determines what level of computing metric to report to C-PS in this
   ingress CATS-Forwarder.

5.2.  Centralized model

   The egress CATS-Forwader determines what level of computing metric to
   report to the different level of controller in the centralized C-PS.

5.3.  Hybrid model

   The hierarchical policies are set in both egress CATS-Forwarder and
   centralized C-PS.

   Firstly, the egress CATS-Forwarder determine whether to report the
   collected computing metrics to centralized C-PS or C-PS in the
   ingress CATS-Forwarder according to the requirements (delay or global
   utilization, etc.) of different service types.

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   If the CATS-Forwarder is selected, the hierarchical metric
   distribution workflow follows the distributed model mentioned above.

   If there is hierarchical control in hybrid model, the hierarchical
   metric distribution workflow follows the centralized model mentioned
   above.

6.  Security Considerations

   TBD

7.  IANA Considerations

   TBD

8.  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/info/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/info/rfc8174>.

   [I-D.ldbc-cats-framework]
              Li, C., Du, Z., Boucadair, M., Contreras, L. M., and J.
              Drake, "A Framework for Computing-Aware Traffic Steering
              (CATS)", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ldbc-
              cats-framework-06, 8 February 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ldbc-cats-
              framework-06>.

   [I-D.yao-cats-ps-usecases]
              Yao, K., Trossen, D., Boucadair, M., Contreras, L. M.,
              Shi, H., Li, Y., and S. Zhang, "Computing-Aware Traffic
              Steering (CATS) Problem Statement, Use Cases, and
              Requirements", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-
              yao-cats-ps-usecases-03, 30 June 2023,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-yao-cats-ps-
              usecases-03>.

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   [I-D.du-cats-computing-modeling-description]
              Du, Z., Yao, K., Li, C., Huang, D., and Z. Fu, "Computing
              Information Description in Computing-Aware Traffic
              Steering", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-du-
              cats-computing-modeling-description-03, 6 July 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-du-cats-
              computing-modeling-description-03>.

   [I-D.yi-cats-hybrid-solution]
              Yi, X., Pang, R., and H. Shi, "Hybrid Computing and
              Network Awareness and Routing Solution for CATS", Work in
              Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-yi-cats-hybrid-solution-
              03, 24 July 2024, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/
              draft-yi-cats-hybrid-solution-03>.

Authors' Addresses

   Xinxin Yi (editor)
   China Unicom
   Beijing
   China
   Email: yixx3@chinaunicom.cn

   Naihan Zhang (editor)
   China Unicom
   Beijing
   China
   Email: zhangnh12@chinaunicom.cn

   Hang Shi
   Huawei
   Beijing
   China
   Email: shihang9@huawei.com

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