Network Working Group                                              Z. Du
Internet-Draft                                                    P. Liu
Intended status: Informational                              China Mobile
Expires: January 12, 2022                                  July 11, 2021


    Micro-burst Decreasing in Layer3 Network for Low-Latency Traffic
                 draft-du-detnet-layer3-low-latency-03

Abstract

   It is complex to support deterministic forwarding in a large scale
   network because there is too much dynamic traffic in the network and
   the data model becomes hard to predict after aggregation in the
   intermediate nodes.  This document introduces the problem of micro-
   bursts in layer3 network, and proposed a method to decrease the
   micro-bursts in layer3 network for low-latency traffic.

Requirements Language

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

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
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   This Internet-Draft will expire on January 12, 2022.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2021 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



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   (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Gaps for Large-scale Layer 3 Deterministic Network  . . . . .   3
   3.  Rethinking the Problem in IP Forwarding . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Method to Decrease Micro-bursts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.1.  Working Flow of the Method  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.2.  Process of Edge Node  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.3.  Process of Forwarding Node  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Analysis of the Proposed Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   8.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     9.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9

1.  Introduction

   The DetNet architecture in RFC 8655 [RFC8655] is supposed to work in
   campus-wide networks and private WANs, including the large-scale ISP
   network scenario, such as the 5G bearing network, as mentioned in RFC
   8578 [RFC8578].  It is essential for the large-scale ISP network to
   be able to provide the low-latency service.  The low-latency
   requirement exists in both L2 and L3 networks, and in both small and
   large networks.

   However, as talked in [I-D.qiang-detnet-large-scale-detnet],
   deploying deterministic services in a large-scale network brings a
   lot of new challenges.  A novel method called LDN (Large-scale
   Deterministic Network) is introduced in
   [I-D.qiang-detnet-large-scale-detnet], which explores the
   deterministic forwarding over a large-scale network.  Meanwhile, the
   problem is introduced in
   [I-D.dang-queuing-with-multiple-cyclic-buffers].

   This document also explores the deterministic service in the large-
   scale layer 3 network, and proposed a method based on micro-burst




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   decreasing, which can benefit the forwarding of low-latency traffic
   in a large-scale network.

2.  Gaps for Large-scale Layer 3 Deterministic Network

   In this document, the large-scale network means there are many
   dynamic flows in the network, but it is hard to do per-flow shaping
   for the intermediate nodes because they have high pressure on
   forwarding on the data plane.

   According to RFC 8655 [RFC8655], DetNet operates at the IP layer and
   delivers service over lower-layer technologies such as MPLS and IEEE
   802.1 Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN).  However, the TSN mechanisms
   are designed for L2 network originally, and cannot be directly used
   in the large-scale layer 3 network because of various reasons.  Some
   of them are described as below.

   Some TSN mechanisms need synchronization of the network equipments,
   which is easier in a small network, but hard in a large network.  It
   brings in some complex maintenance jobs across a long distance that
   are not needed before.

   Some TSN mechanisms need a per-flow state in the forwarding plane,
   which is un-scalable.  Aggregation methods need to be considered.

   Some TSN mechanisms need a constant and forecastable traffic
   characteristics, which is more complicated in a large network which
   includes much more flows joining in or leaving randomly and the
   traffic characteristics are more dynamic.

   The main aspects of the problems are the simplicity and the
   scalability.  The former can ensure that the mechanism is easy to
   deploy, and the second can ensure that the mechanism is able to bear
   a large number of deterministic services.

3.  Rethinking the Problem in IP Forwarding

   The current IP forwarding mechanism is considered to be a good
   example fulfilling the requirements of simplicity and scalability.
   However, traditional IP network is based on statistical multiplexing,
   and can only provide Best Effort service, short of SLA guaranteed
   mechanisms.

   When we rethink the problem in the current IP forwarding mechanism,
   we can find that in the current IP network, a long delay in queuing,
   or some packet losses due to burst are acceptable; however, it may be
   unacceptable in the deterministic forwarding.  Therefore, they have
   different design principles in a low layer.



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   The current forwarding mechanism in an IP router, which is based on
   statistical multiplexing, cannot provide the deterministic service
   because of various reasons.  Even be given a high priority, a
   deterministic packet can experience a long congestion delay or be
   lost in a relatively light-loaded network, which is caused by micro-
   bursts in the network.

   Micro-burst is a special case of network congestion, which typically
   lasts a short period, at the granularity of millisecond.  In a micro-
   burst, a lot of data are received on the interface suddenly, and the
   temporary bandwidth requirement would be tens of or hundreds of the
   average bandwidth requirement, or even exceed the interface
   bandwidth.

   In most cases, the buffer on the equipment can handle the micro-
   bursts.  However, in some corner cases, micro-bursts bring in a long
   delay (for example, at the granularity of millisecond) or even packet
   loss.

   The following paragraphs introduce the causes of the micro-burst.

   Firstly, IP traffic has an instinct of burstiness no matter in the
   macro or micro aspect, i.e., it does not have a constant traffic
   model even after aggregations.

   Secondly, IP network has a flexible topology, where the incoming
   traffic may exceed the bandwidth of the outgoing interface.  For
   example, an interface with a large bandwidth may need to send traffic
   to an interface with a smaller bandwidth, or multiple flows from
   several incoming interfaces may need to occupy the same outgoing
   interface.

   Thirdly, the IP node has been designed to send traffic as quickly as
   possible, and it is not aware whether the downstream node's buffer
   can handle the traffic.  For example, Figure 1 below shows the
   problem of the current IP scheduling mechanism.  Before the
   scheduling in an IP network, the packets are well paced, but after
   the scheduling, the packets will be gathered even the total traffic
   rate is unchanged.  When an IP outgoing interface receives multiple
   critical flows from several incoming interfaces, the situation
   becomes worse.  However, an IP router will try to send them as soon
   as possible, so occasionally, in some later hops, micro-bursts will
   emerge.








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       _     _     _     _     _     _     _     _     _     _     _
      | |   | |   | |   | |   | |   | |   | |   | |   | |   | |   | |
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Before scheduling in an IP network

       _  _  _  _  _  _                 _  _  _  _  _
      | || || || || || |               | || || || || |
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------
                      After scheduling in an IP network

      Figure 1: Change of the traffic characteristics in an IP network


   This document proposes a method to support the low latency traffic
   bearing in an IP network, such as the 5G bearing network, by avoiding
   micro-bursts in the network as much as possible.  The principle in
   this method is to forward critical and BE traffic separately, and do
   not distinguish different critical flows in the intermediate nodes on
   the forwarding plane.

4.  Method to Decrease Micro-bursts

   The method needs the cooperation of the edge nodes and the
   forwarding/core nodes in an IP network.

4.1.  Working Flow of the Method

   Generally, the method contains two steps:

   Step1: per flow schedule in the edge node.  The purpose is to make
   sure that each critical traffic has a constant traffic model.

   Step2: per interface schedule in the core node.  Traffic are
   aggregated to ensure the scalability, and the pacing also makes sure
   that they do not gather.  The purpose is to make the critical traffic
   be forwarded as the shape when outgoing the edge, not as quickly as
   possible.  We assume that the sending rate of the buffer for the
   critical traffic is the same as the receiving rate (maybe an
   algorithm is needed here).  If all work well, the buffer will be
   maintained with a proper depth.

   Other requirements include an RSVP liked mechanism with a good
   scalability, which should be used to make sure the bandwidth is not
   exceeded on the interface.







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4.2.  Process of Edge Node

   The edge node of the IP network can recognize each critical flows
   just as in the TSN network, and then give them individually a good
   shaping.  In fact, in TSN mechanisms, no micro-busrt will emerge for
   critical traffic, and each TSN mechanism is proved to be effective
   under certain conditions.

   This document suggests the edge node to shape the critical traffic by
   using the CBS method in IEEE 802.1Qav, or the shaping methods in IEEE
   802.1Qcr.  Generally, the shaping methods can generate a paced
   traffic for each critical flow.

   The parameters of the shaper, such as the sending rate, can be
   configured for each flow by some means.

4.3.  Process of Forwarding Node

   For the forwarding node, it is uneasy to recognize each critical flow
   because of the high pressure of forwarding a large amount of packets.
   It is suggested that no per-flow state is maintained in the
   forwarding node.  It is to say that, in the forwarding node, the
   critical flows should be aggregated and handled together.

   This document suggests that the forwarding node can deploy a specific
   queue at each outgoing interface.  The queue will buffer all critical
   traffic that need to go out through that interface, and will pace
   them by using methods mentioned in the last section.

   The shaping method in TSN is used here instead of the original
   forwarding method in an IP router, which can make the critical
   traffic be forwarded orderly instead of as soon as possible.
   Therefore, micro-bursts can be decreased in the network.

   If all the forwarding nodes can do their jobs properly, i.e., they
   can well pace the critical traffic, no or rare micro-bursts for the
   critical traffic would take place.  In this way, the critical traffic
   will have a relatively low latency in the IP network with less
   uncertainties of micro-bursts.

   As no per-flow state is maintained in the forwarding node, the
   sending rate of the shaper is hard to decide.  In this document, the
   sending rate is suggested to be generated referring to the incoming
   rate of the queue.  The purpose is to maintain a proper buffer depth
   for the queue.

   Although it is claimed that the proposed method is simpler than the
   TSN mechanisms, forwarding/intermediate nodes also need to be



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   updated.  The detailed realization of the method on the intermediate
   nodes is out of scope of this document.

5.  Analysis of the Proposed Method

   The method proposed does not need synchronization, just as the
   asynchronous mechanisms studied in IEEE 802.1 Qcr. Furthermore, the
   method has a larger aggregation granularity, which can fulfill the
   requirements of simplicity and scalability.  However, it has a larger
   uncertainty in the forwarding than the TSN mechanisms.

   We compare three mechanisms in the following paragraphs.  The first
   is the priority based light-load mechanism.  The second is the TSN
   mechanism, such as CQF.  The third is the proposed mechanism.

   If we only give a high priority to the critical traffic, the
   scalability of the deterministic system is good.  However, the
   uncertainty in the forwarding plane perhaps can not fulfill the
   requirements in the industry network where SLA requirements are very
   essential.  It should work well when only a small amount of critical
   traffic exist in the network.

   If we use the scheduling method in the TSN, such as CQF.  Its
   uncertainty is very low, but its scalability is not very good as said
   in Section 2.  It should be noted that in a large deterministic
   system, the ISP can not guarantee 100 percent reliability, instead of
   which it perhaps is a value very close to.

   The proposed method has a better scalability than traditional TSN
   mechanisms, and a better reliability than the priority based method.
   If we assume that different services need different deterministic
   levels, this method may be helpful for the service that does not need
   a very high deterministic level.  For example, the method can be used
   in the consumption Internet, in which the deterministic service needs
   a relatively lower deterministic level than the industry Internet.

6.  IANA Considerations

   This document has no IANA actions.

7.  Security Considerations

   Detailed security considerations can refer to
   [I-D.ietf-detnet-bounded-latency] and [I-D.ietf-detnet-security].







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8.  Acknowledgements

   Thanks for the valuable comments from Janos Farkas, Lou Berger, and
   David Black.

9.  References

9.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC8578]  Grossman, E., Ed., "Deterministic Networking Use Cases",
              RFC 8578, DOI 10.17487/RFC8578, May 2019,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8578>.

   [RFC8655]  Finn, N., Thubert, P., Varga, B., and J. Farkas,
              "Deterministic Networking Architecture", RFC 8655,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8655, October 2019,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8655>.

9.2.  Informative References

   [I-D.dang-queuing-with-multiple-cyclic-buffers]
              Liu, B. and J. Dang, "A Queuing Mechanism with Multiple
              Cyclic Buffers", draft-dang-queuing-with-multiple-cyclic-
              buffers-00 (work in progress), February 2021.

   [I-D.ietf-detnet-bounded-latency]
              Finn, N., Boudec, J. L., Mohammadpour, E., Zhang, J.,
              Varga, B., and J. Farkas, "DetNet Bounded Latency", draft-
              ietf-detnet-bounded-latency-05 (work in progress), April
              2021.

   [I-D.ietf-detnet-security]
              Grossman, E., Mizrahi, T., and A. J. Hacker,
              "Deterministic Networking (DetNet) Security
              Considerations", draft-ietf-detnet-security-16 (work in
              progress), March 2021.

   [I-D.qiang-detnet-large-scale-detnet]
              Qiang, L., Geng, X., Liu, B., Eckert, T., Geng, L., and G.
              Li, "Large-Scale Deterministic IP Network", draft-qiang-
              detnet-large-scale-detnet-05 (work in progress), September
              2019.




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Authors' Addresses

   Zongpeng Du
   China Mobile
   No.32 XuanWuMen West Street
   Beijing  100053
   China

   Email: duzongpeng@foxmail.com


   Peng Liu
   China Mobile
   No.32 XuanWuMen West Street
   Beijing  100053
   China

   Email: liupengyjy@chinamobile.com

































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