PCEP Procedures and Protocol Extensions for Using PCE as a Central Controller (PCECC) of LSPs
draft-zhao-pce-pcep-extension-for-pce-controller-08

Abstract

The Path Computation Element (PCE) is a core component of Software- Defined Networking (SDN) systems. It can compute optimal paths for traffic across a network and can also update the paths to reflect changes in the network or traffic demands. PCE was developed to derive paths for MPLS Label Switched Paths (LSPs), which are supplied to the head end of the LSP using the Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP). But SDN has a broader applicability than signaled (G)MPLS traffic-engineered (TE) networks, and the PCE may be used to determine paths in a range of use cases. PCEP has been proposed as a control protocol for use in these environments to allow the PCE to be fully enabled as a central controller. A PCE-based central controller (PCECC) can simplify the processing of a distributed control plane by blending it with elements of SDN and without necessarily completely replacing it. Thus, the LSP can be calculated/setup/initiated and the label forwarding entries can also be downloaded through a centralized PCE server to each network devices along the path while leveraging the existing PCE technologies as much as possible. This document specifies the procedures and PCEP protocol extensions for using the PCE as the central controller.

Authors

Quintin Zhao
Zhenbin Li
Dhruv Dhody
Satish Karunanithi
Adrian Farrel
Chao Zhou

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