PCEP Extension for Stateful Inter-Domain Tunnels

1.1. General Assumptions

In the remainder of this document, the same references as per BRPC [RFC5441] are used and the following set of assumptions are made (see figure below):¶

• Domain refers to administrative partitions, i.e. an IGP area or an Autonomous System (AS).¶

• Inter-domain path is used to refer to a path that crosses two or more different domains as defined previously,¶

• At least one PCE is deployed in each domain. These PCEs are all active stateful-capable and can request to enforce LSPs in their respective domain by means of PCInitiate messages.¶

• LSRs, including border nodes, are PCC-enabled and support active stateful mode. PCEP sessions are established between these routers and their domains' PCE.¶

• Each PCE establishes a PCEP session with its respective neighbor domains' PCEs. The way a PCE discovers its neighboring PCEs is out of the scope of this document.¶

• Each PCC is able to configure a Binding Label/Segment Identifier (BSID) and each PCE is able to request a BSID to a PCC or a neighbor domains' PCE.¶

• PCEs are able to compute an end-to-end path as per BRPC procedure [RFC5441] or as per H-PCE procedure (stateless [RFC6805] or stateful [RFC8751]).¶

• "Path" is a generic term to refer to both LSP setup by mean of RSVP-TE or Segment Path in a Segment Routing network.¶

                 ...(H-PCE)...........................
                .            .                        .
               .              .                        .
    --------------           --------------           --------------
   |Domain-A .    |         |   .  Domain-B|         |   .  Domain-C|
   |        .     |         |    .         |         |    .         |
   |     PCE------+--PCEP---+---PCE--------+--PCEP---+---PCE        |
   |    /         |         |  /           |         |  /           |
   |   /          |         | /            |         | /            |
   | Src=========BNA-------BNB1===========BNB2------BNC=========Dst |
   |              |  Inter- |              |  Inter- |              |
    --------------   Domain  --------------   Domain  --------------
                     Link                     Link

    Figure 1: Example of the representation of 3 domains with 3 PCEs

Operations, according to the figure above, are as follow:¶

1. The PCEs in Domain-A, Domain-B, and Domain-C communicate using PCEP either directly, as shown, using BRPC or with a parent PCE if using H-PCE.¶

2. The PCE in Domain-A selects an end-to-end domain path. It tells the PCE in Domain-B that the path will be used, and that PCE passes the information on to the PCE in Domain-C.¶

3. Each of the PCEs use PCEP to instruct the segment head ends backward from destination to source:¶

   1. In Domain-C, the PCE instructs the ingress Border Node, BNC, with the path to reach the Destination. The instructions also ask BNC to provide the incoming label or SID that will be stitched to the intra-domain path. Once done, PCE reports this label or SID to PCE of Domain-B.¶

   2. In Domain-B, the PCE instructs the ingress Border Node, BNB1, with the path to reach the egress Border Node, BNB2. The instructions also tell BNB1 the label or SID to use on the inter-domain link to BNC and ask to provide the incoming label or SID that will be stitched to the intra-domain path. Once done, PCE reports this label or SID to PCE of Domain-A.¶

   3. In Domain-A, the PCE instructs the Source node with the path to use to reach Border Node, BNA. The instructions also include the label or SID to use on the inter-domain link to BNB1.¶

1.2. Terminology

ABR: Area Border Routers. Routers used to connect two IGP areas (areas in OSPF or levels in IS-IS).¶

AS: Autonomous System¶

ASBR: Autonomous System Border Router. Router used to connect together ASes (of the same or different service providers) via one or more inter-AS links.¶

BSID: Binding Label / Segment Identifier.¶

Border Node (BN): a boundary node is either an ABR in the context of inter-area TE or an ASBR in the context of inter-AS TE.¶

BN-en(i): Entry BN of domain(i) connecting domain(i-1) to domain(i) along a determined sequence of domains. Multiple entry BN-en(i) could be used to connect domain(i-1) to domain(i).¶

BN-ex(i): Exit BN of domain(i) connecting domain(i) to domain(i+1) along a determined sequence of domains. Multiple exit BN-ex(i) could be used to connect domain(i) to domain(i+1).¶

Domains: Autonomous System (AS) or IGP Area. An Autonomous System is composed by one or more IGP area.¶

ERO(i): The Explicit Route Object scoped to domain(i)¶

IGP-TE: Interior Gateway Protocol with Traffic Engineering support. Both OSPF-TE and IS-IS-TE are identified in this category.¶

Inter-domain path: A path that crosses two or more domains through a pair of Border Node (BN-ex, BN-en).¶

LK(i): A Link that connect BN-ex(i-1) to BN-en(i). Note that BN-ex(i-1) could be connected to BN-en(i) by more than one link. LK(i) identifies which of the multiple links will be used for the inter-domain path setup. For inter-AS scenario, LK(i) represents the link between ASBR of domain i to the ASBR of domain i-1. For inter-area scenario, LK(i) is present only in IS-IS networks and represents the link between ABR of region L1, reciprocally L2, to the ABR of region L2, reciprocally L1.¶

Local path: A path that does not cross a domain border. It is set up either from entry BN-en, to output BN-ex or between both. This path could be enforce by means of RSVP-TE signaling or Segment Routing labels stack.¶

Local path(i): A Local path of domain(i)¶

PLSP-ID(i): A PLSP-ID that identifies, in the domain(i), the local part of an inter-domain path.¶

PCE: Path Computation Element. An entity (component, application, or network node) that is capable of computing a network path or route based on a network graph and applying computational constraints.¶

PCE(i) is a PCE within the scope of domain(i).¶

R(i,j): The router j of domain i¶

Stitching Label (SL): A dedicated label that is used to stitch two RSVP-TE LSPs or two Segment Routing paths.¶

SL(i): A Stitching Label that links domain(i-1) to domain(i) and is conveyed as an inter-domain BSID.¶

TPB(): An empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV to request an inter-domain BSID i.e. a Stitching Label.¶

TPB(i): A TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with an inter-domain Binding Value equal to the Stitching Label SL(i).¶

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].¶

2.1. Definition

The operation of stitch or nest a local path(i) to a local path(i+1) in order to form and inter-domain path mainly consists in defining the label that the output BN-ex(i) will use to send its traffic to the entry BN-en(i+1). Indeed, the entry BN-en(i+1) needs to identify the incoming traffic (e.g. IP packets), in order to know if this traffic must follow the local path(i+1) or not. Forwarding Equivalent Class (FEC) could be used for that purpose. But, when stitching or nesting tunnels, the FEC is reduced to the incoming label that the entry BN-en(i+1) has chosen for the local path(i+1).¶

In this document, we introduce the term of "Stitching Label (SL)" to refer to this label. Such label is usually exchanged between output BN-ex(i) and entry BN-en(i+1) with the RSVP-TE signaling. But, as we want to avoid to use RSVP-TE signaling due to operational constraints, and allow compatibility support for Segment Routing, this Stitching Label is here conveyed by PCEP. Binding Label / Segment Identifier (BSID) [I-D.ietf-pce-binding-label-sid] defines a new TE-PATH-BINDING TLV to exchange a Binding Segment / Label Identifier (BSID) between a PCC and a PCE. This BSID is then used to steer incoming traffic using this BSID into the associated path. Thus, the Stitching Label defines in this draft is a particular use case of BSID, named inter-domain BSID, and could be conveyed in the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV of the LSP Object without any modification of PCEP nor PCEP Objects.¶

2.2. Inter-domain traffic steering

If BSID allows to automatically steer traffic identified with this BSID into the associated path, for inter-domain BSID, it is different as the Stitching Label is associated to the inter-domain link LK(i+1) i.e. the link between the border node BN-ex(i) of the domain(i) and the border node BN-en(i+1) of the domain(i+1). Indeed, the Border Node BN-en(i+1) needs to received the traffic identified by the Stitching Label SL(i+1) from BN-ex(i). Thus, it is necessary to instruct the border node BN-ex(i) to push the Stitching Label(i+1) on top of the packets of traffic going from domain(i) to domain(i+1), and send them to the border node BN-en(i+1) through the inter-domain link LK(i+1). Depending of technology used by domain(i), RSVP-TE or Segment Routing, the operation uses two different approaches.¶

             .-,(  ),-.                           .-,(  ),-.
   +----+ .-(          ) +----+  LK(i+1)   +----+ (          )-.
   | BN |(    Domain(i) )| BN |------------| BN |( Domain(i+1   )
   +----+ '-(          ) +----+  SL(i+1)   +----+ (          ).-'
     |        '-.( ).-'    |                  |   '-.( ).-'
  BN-en(i)              BN-ex(i)           BN-en(i+1)

                Figure 2: Inter-domain Link

2.3. Inter-domain Flags for TE-PATH-BINDING TLV

In order to convey the Stitching Label and manage traffic steering at inter-domain, this specification defines new flags (See IANA section of this document) for the Binding Label / Segment Identifier. The format of the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV is defined in Binding Label / Segment Identifier (BSID) [I-D.ietf-pce-binding-label-sid] and included here for easy reference with the addition of the new flags as follow:¶

       0                   1                   2                   3
       0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |           Type = 55           |             Length            |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      |      BT       |R|I|S|  Flags  |            Reserved           |
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
      ~            Binding Value (variable length)                    ~
      +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                       Figure 3: TE-PATH-BINDING TLV

• I flag: Inter-Domain Binding indicates that this Binding Value corresponds to an inter-domain path, thus that this Binding Value is a Stitching Label.¶

• S flag: Strict Binding indicates that the PCC MUST restrict the Binding Value to the interface that corresponds to the domain source End-Point of the associated path and MUST reject incoming traffic with this Binding Value when it reaches the PCC through another interface.¶

2.4. Operations

An empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set to 1 MUST be present in a PCInitiate messages sent by a PCE(i-1) to its neighbor PCE(i) in the Backward Recursive method or by the Parent PCE to the Child PCE(i) to initiate a new inter-domain path. In its response, the neighbor PCE(i) or Child PCE(i) MUST return a Stitching Label SL in the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set in the LSP object of the PCRpt message to PCE(i-1) or the Parent PCE. PCE(i-1) MUST NOT provide a Stitching Label as a Binding Value of the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV to its neighbor PCE(i).¶

An empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set to 1 MUST be present in the PCInitiate message sent by a PCE(i) requesting to a PCC of domain(i) to initiate a new local path(i) which is part of an inter-domain path. The I flag MUST be set by the PCE(i) only after receiving a PCInitiate message with an empty TE-PATH-BINDING with the I flag set from a neighbor PCE(i-1) in the Backward Recursive method or Parent PCE in the Hierarchical method. In its response, the PCC of domain(i) MUST return a Stitching Label SL in the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set in the LSP object of the PCRpt message. Alternatively, the PCE(i) could provide a Stitching Label as a Binding Value of the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set to the PCC of the domain(i) when initiating a new local path(i) as per section #8 of draft Binding Label / Segment Identifier (BSID) [I-D.ietf-pce-binding-label-sid]. If the PCC is not able to allocate a BSID for inter-domain, it MUST send a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Binding label/SID failure" and Error-Value = "Unable to allocate a new binding label/SID" defined in draft Binding Label / Segment Identifier (BSID) [I-D.ietf-pce-binding-label-sid].¶

If a PCE(i) receives a PCRpt without a TE-PATH-BENDING TLV while it has requested a Stitching Label in the PCInitiate message, it MUST send a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Mandatory Object missing"" and Error-Value = TBD2. If a PCE(i) receives a PCRpt with a TE-PATH-BENDING TLV with the I flag unset while it has requested a Stitching Label in the PcInitiate message, it MUST send a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Binding label/SID failure" and Error-Value = TBD3.¶

PCE(i) SHOULD set the S flag in addition to the I flag if it requests traffic steering strictly coming from a given interface, i.e. traffic using the BSID and coming from a different interface MUST be rejected by the PCC. When the S flag is set, PCE(i) MUST set the EndPoint source address of the requested local path with the IP address of the interface where the traffic is strictly steered. When the PCC receives an LSP object with an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV and the S flag set, it MUST allocate a Binding Value and configure its MPLS L(F)IB to accept traffic with this BSID only coming from the interface identified by the source address of the EndPoint Object. If the PCC is not be able to strictly steer traffic, it MUST send a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Binding label/SID failure" and Error-Value = "Unable to allocate a new binding label/SID".¶

3.1. Mode of Operation

This section describes how PCInitiate and PCRpt messages are combined between PCE in order to set up inter-domain paths between a source domain(1) to a destination domain(n). S and D are respectively the source and destination of the inter-domain path. Domain(1) and domain(n) are different and connected through 0 (i.e. direct connection when n = 2) or more intermediate domains denoted domain(i) with i = [2, n-1].¶

First, the PCE(1) runs standard BRPC algorithm as per RFC5441 [RFC5441] with its neighbor PCEs in order to compute the inter-domain path from S to D, where S and D are respectively a node in the domain(1) and domain(n). Path Key confidentiality as per RFC5520 [RFC5520] SHOULD be used to obfuscate the detailed ERO(i) of the different domains(i). The resulting ERO is in the form {S, PKS(1), BN-ex(1), ..., BN-en(i), PKS(i), BN-ex(i), ..., BN-en(n), PKS(n), D} when Path Key is used and of the form {S, R(1,1), ..., R(1,k), BN-ex(1), ..., BN-en(i), R(i,1), ..., R(i,l), BN-ex(i), ..., BN-en(n), R(n,1), ..., R(n,m), D} otherwise . As subsequent domains are not aware about the computed end-to-end ERO in case of Virtual Source Path trees (VSPTs), the final ERO selected by the PCE(1) MUST be sent in the PCInitiate message to indicate to the subsequent PCEs which path has been finally chosen. PCE(1) MUST ensure that this ERO is self comprehensive by subsequent PCEs. Indeed, when a PCE(i) receives the ERO, it MUST be able to verify that this ERO matches its own scope and be able to determine the next PCE(i+1). When Path Key is used, PCEs MUST encode the Path Key with a reachable IP address so that previous PCEs in the AS chain are able to join them. When Path Key is not used, the PCEs MUST be able to retrieve an IP address of the next PCE corresponding to the ERO (e.g., relying on a per prefix table).¶

The complete procedure with Path Key follows the different steps described below:¶

Steps 1: Initialization¶

Once ERO(S, D) is computed, PCE(1) sends a PCInitiate message to PCE(2) containing an ERO equal to {S, PKS(2), ..., PKS(i), ..., PKS(n), D}, an LSP Object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and the End-Points Object = (S, D). The ERO corresponds to the one PCE(1) has received from PCE(2) during the BRPC process in which only Path Key are kept. In case of multiple EROs, i.e. VSPT, PCE(1) has chosen one of them and used the selected one for the PCInitiate message. PKS(i) could be replaced by the full ERO description if Path Key is not used by PCE(i).¶

When PCE(i) receives a PCInitiate message from domain(i-1) with an LSP containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with I flag set and ERO = {PKS(i), PKS(i+1), ..., PKS(n), D)}, it MUST sends the received PCInitiate message to PCE(i+1) with a popped ERO and records its received PKS(i) part. All PCE(i)s MUST generate the appropriate PCInitiate message to PCE(i+1) up to PCE(n), i.e. to the destination domain(n).¶

Steps 2: Actions taken at the destination domain(n) by PCE(n)¶

1. When a PCInitiate message reaches the destination domain(n), PCE(n) retrieves the detailed ERO(n) from the PKS(n) if necessary and MUST send to BN-en(n) a PCInitiate message with the ERO(n) = {BN-en(n), ..., D}, an LSP containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and End-Points Object = {BN(n), D} in order to inform the PCC BN-en(n) that this local path(n) is part of an inter-domain service and that it MUST allocate a Binding Value for this path.¶

2. When the PCC BN-en(n) receives the PCInitiate message from its PCE(n), it sets up the local path from entry BN-en(n) to D by means of RSVP-TE signaling or Segment Routing, accordingly to the PST value, with the given ERO(n).¶

3. Once the tunnel is set up, BN-en(n) chooses a free label for the Stitching Label SL(n) and adds a new entry in its MPLS L(F)IB with this SL(n) label. Then, it MUST send a PCRpt message to its PCE(n) including PLSP-ID(n) and a TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the Binding Value equal to SL(n) and the I flag set¶

4. Once PCE(n) receives the PCRpt from the PCC BN-en(n) with the RRO, PLSP-ID and TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, it MUST send to the PCE(n-1) a PCRpt containing the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV it received from the PCC BN-en(n) and PLSP-ID(n). PCE(n) MAY add {PKS(n), D} in the RRO.¶

Steps i: Actions performed by all intermediate domains(i), for i = 2 to n-1¶

1. When the PCE(i) receives a PCRpt message from domain(i+1) with an LSP object containing PLSP-ID(i+1) and a Binding Value in the TE-PATH-BINDIG TLV with the I flag set, it retrieves the detailed ERO(i) from the PKS(i), recorded in step 1, if necessary. Then, it MUST send to the PCC BN-en(i) a PCInitiate message with this ERO(i), an LSP object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and the End-Points Object = {BN-en(i), BN-ex(i)} in order to inform the PCC BN-en(i) that this local path(i) is part of an inter-domain path and that it MUST allocate a Binding Value for this path. PCE(i) sets Path Setup Type (PST) to 0, respectively to 1 to instruct the PCC to enforce the local path by means of RSVP-TE respectively Segment Routing.¶

2. Egress Control mechanism, as per RFC4003 section 2.1 [RFC4003] for RSVP-TE, respectively, Egress Peer Engineering [RFC9086] for Segment Routing, is used to stitch and steer traffic between the border node BN-ex(i) and BN-en(i+1). This allow PCE(i) to instruct the egress node of domain(i), i.e. BN-ex(i), to forward packets belonging to this tunnel with the Stitching Label. For that purpose, PCE(i) should identify the link LK(i+1) by retrieving from the PKS(i) the corresponding IP address of the link LK(i+1) for RSVP-TE or from the BGP-LS the label that could be use to reach link LK(i+1) for Segment Routing. As a result, BN-ex(i) installs in its MPLS L(F)IB the SWAP instruction to label SL(i+1) with forward to LK(i+1). Thus, PCE(i) MUST complete the ERO(i), in order to provide the Stitching Label SL(i+1) and Link identifier LK(i+1) to the PCC, as the last hop of the local path i.e. ERO(i) = {ERO(i), [LK(i+1), SL(i+1)]}.¶

3. When the PCC BN-en(i) receives the PCInitiate message from its PCE(i), it sets up the local path from BN-en(i) to BN-ex(i) by means of RSVP-TE signaling or Segment Routing, accordingly to the PST value, with the given ERO(i).¶

4. Once the tunnel is set up, PCC BN-en(i) chooses a free label for the Stitching Label SL(i) and adds a new entry in its MPLS L(F)IB with this SL(i) label. Then, it MUST send a PCRpt message to its PCE(i) including PLSP-ID(i) and a TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set containing a Binding Value equal to SL(i).¶

5. Once PCE(i) receives the PCRpt from the PCC BN-en(i) with the RRO PLSP-ID and TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, it MUST send to the PCE(i-1) a PCRpt containing the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV it received from the PCC BN-en(i) and the PLSP-ID(i). PCE(i) MAY add {PKS(i), ..., PKS(n)} in the RRO.¶

Steps n: Actions performed at the source domain(1) by PCE(1)¶

Once PCE(1) receives the PCRpt message from PCE(2) with the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set containing the Binding Value equal to the Stitching Label SL(2), it MUST send a PCInitiate message to PCC node S with ERO equal to {ERO(1), [LK(2), SL(2)]}, once retrieves the identifier of link LK(2), and End-Points Object = {S, BN-ex(1)}. This time, no TE-PATH-BINDING TLV is provided as the PCC S does not need to return a Stitching Label SL, because it is the head-end of the inter-domain path. A usual PCRpt message is sent back to PCE(1) by the PCC node S.¶

3.2. Example

In the figure below, two different domains S and D are interconnected through BN respectively BN-S and BN-D. PE-S and PE-D are edge routers. All routers in the figure are connected to their respective PCE through PCEP. In this example, we consider that PCE(S) needs to set up an inter-domain path between PE-S and PE-D acting as source and destination of the path. To simplify the figure, neither intermediate routers between (PE-S, BN-S), (BN-D and PE-D), nor RSVP-TE messages are represented, but they are all presents. The following notation is used (in this example, we use the PKS for the sake of simplicity):¶

• PKS(D) = Path Key corresponding to the path from BN(D) to PE-D¶

• ERO(D) = Explicit Route Object corresponding to the path from BN(D) to PE-D, retrieved from PKS(D)¶

• RRO(D) = Record Route Object of the local path(D) from BN(D) to PE-D¶

• SL(D) = Stitching Label for the local path from BN(D) to PE-D¶

• ERO(S) = Explicit Route Object corresponding to the path from PE-S to BN(S)¶

• RRO(S) = Record Route Object of local path(S) from PE-S to BN(S)¶

• TPB(I) = Empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set¶

• TPB(I, SL) = TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with Binding Value equal to Stitching Label SL and the I flag set¶

  PE-S      PCE-S                           BN-D      PCE-D
   |          |                              |          |
   |        [ -------- Standard BRPC exchange ------------]
   |          |                              |          |
   |          | PCInitiate(ERO={PKS(D)}, TPB(I)
   |          | --------------------------------------> |
   |          |                              |          |
   |          |             PCInitiate(ERO = ERO(D), TPB(I))
   |          |                              | <------- |
   |          |                              |          |
   |          |            PCRpt(RRO = {RRO(D)}, TPB(I, SL))
   |          |                              |  ------> |
   |          |                              |          |
   |         PCRpt(RRO = {PKS(D)}, TPB(I, SL), PLSP-ID(D))
   |          | <-------------------------------------- |
   |          |                              |          |
   |  PCInitiate(ERO={ERO(S), LK(D), SL(D), BN(D)})     |
   | <------- |                              |          |
   |          |                              |          |
   |  PCRpt(RRO={RRO(S)})                    |          |
   | -------> |                              |          |
   |          |                              |          |

  +----------------------+                  +----------------------+
  |                      |                  |                      |
  |       +------+       |     PCEP         |       +------+       |
  | +---->|PCE(S)|<-------------------------------->|PCE(D)|       |
  | |     +------+       |                  |       +------+       |
  | |         ^          |                  |        ^  ^          |
  | |         |          |                  |        |  |          |
  | |PCEP     |          |                  |        |  |          |
  | |         |PCEP      |                  |   PCEP |  | PCEP     |
  | v         |          |                  |        |  |          |
(PE-S)        +------> (BN-S) <---------> (BN-D)<----+  +----> (PE-D)
  |                      |  Inter-Domain    |                      |
  |     Domain (S)       |   Link           |   Domain (D)         |
  +----------------------+                  +----------------------+

 [--- LSP Tunnel (S) ---][---- SL label ----][--- LSP Tunnel (D) ---]

   Figure 4: Example of inter-domain path setup between two domains

3.3. Completion Failure of Inter-domain Path Setup Procedure

In case of error during path setup, PCRpt and or PCErr messages MUST be used to signal the problem to the neighbor PCE domain backward. In particular, if the new I flag of the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV defined in this document is not supported by the neighbor PCE or PCC, the PCE, respectively PCC, MUST return a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Binding label/SID failure" and Error-Value = "Unable to allocate a new binding label/SID" (as per section #12 of draft Binding Label / Segment Identifier (BSID) [I-D.ietf-pce-binding-label-sid]) to its neighbor PCE respectively PCE.¶

If a PCE(i) receives a PCInitiate message from its peer PCE(i-1) without an TE-PATH-BINDING with the I flag set in the LSP object, it MUST return a PCErr message with Error-Type = 24 (LSP instantiation error) and Error-Value = 1 (Unacceptable instantiation parameters) to its peer PCE(i-1).¶

Following a PCInitiate message with an LSP object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, if a neighbor PCE(i+1) or a PCC returns no TE-PATH-BINDING TLV, or a TE-PATH-BINDING TLV without the I flag set, the PCE(i), respectively the PCE(i), MUST return a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Binding label/SID failure" and Error-Value = "Unable to allocate a new binding label/SID".¶

In case of completion failure, the PCE(i) MUST propagate the PCErr message up to the PCE(1). In turn, PCE(1) MUST send a PCInitate message (R flag set in the SRP Object as per [RFC8281]) to tear down this inter-domain path from its neighbor PCEs. PCE(i) MUST propagate the PCInitiate message and remove its local path by means of PCInitiate message to its PCC BN-en(i) and send back PCRpt message to PCE(i-1).¶

In case of error in domain(i+1), PCE(i) MAY add the AS number of domain(i+1) in the RRO to identify the faulty domain.¶

4.1. Mode of Operation

This section describes how PCInitiate and PCRpt messages are combined between PCEs in order to set up inter-domain paths between a source domain(1) to a destination domain(n). S and D are respectively the source and destination of the inter-domain path. Domain(1) and domain(n) are different and connected through 0 or more intermediate domains denoted domain(i) with i = (2, n-1). Domains are directly connected when n = 2.¶

First, the Parent PCE contacts its Child PCE as per [RFC6805] in order to compute the inter-domain path from S to D, where S and D are respectively a node in the domain(1) and domain(n). Path Key confidentiality as per RFC5520 [RFC5520] SHOULD be used to obfuscate the detailed ERO(i) of the different domains(i). The resulting ERO is of the form (S, PKS(1), BN-ex(1), ..., BN-en(i), PKS(i), BN-ex(i), ..., BN-en(n), PKS(n), D) when Path Key is used and of the form {S, R(1,1), ..., R(1,k), BN-ex(1), ..., BN-en(i), R(i,1), ..., R(i,l), BN-ex(i), ..., BN-en(n), R(n,1), ..., R(n,m), D} otherwise.¶

The complete procedure with Path Key follow the different steps described below:¶

Step 1: Initialization¶

1. The Parent PCE MUST send a PCInitiate message to Child PCE(n) with an ERO = {PKS(n)} an LSP containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and End-Points = {BN-en(n), D}. Then, PCE(n) retrieves the ERO from the PKS(n), if necessary, and MUST send to BN-en(n) a PCInitiate message with the ERO(n) = {BN-en(n), ..., D}, an LSP Object with empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and End-Points Object = {BN-en(n), D} in order to inform the PCC BN-en(n) that this local path(n) is part of an inter-domain path and that it MUST allocate a Binding Value for this path.¶

2. When the PCC BN-en(n) receives the PCInitiate message from its PCE(n), it sets up the local path from the entry BN-en(n) to D by means of RSVP-TE signaling or Segment Routing, accordingly to the PST value, with the given ERO(n).¶

3. Once the path is set up, it chooses a free label for the Stitching Label SL(n) and adds a new entry in its MPLS L(F)IB with this SL(n) label. Then, it MUST send a PCRpt message to its PCE(n) with PLSP-ID(n) and a TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and a Binding Value equal to SL(n).¶

4. Once PCE(n) receives the PCRpt from the PCC BN-en(n) with the RRO, PLSP-ID and TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, it MUST send to its Parent PCE a PCRpt containing the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV it received from the PCC BN-en(n) and PLSP-ID(n). PCE(n) MAY add PKS(n) in the RRO.¶

Steps i: Actions performed for all intermediate domains(i), for i = n-1 to 2¶

1. Once the Parent PCE receives a PcRpt from Child PCE(i+1), it MUST send a PCInitiate message to Child PCE(i) with an LSP object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, the ERO(i) to which it appends the SL(i+1) i.e. ERO(i) = {PKS(i), SL(i+1)} and End-Points = {BN-en(i), BN-ex(i)}.¶

2. When PCE(i) receives a PcInitiate message from its Parent PCE, it retrieves the detailed ERO(i) from the PKS(i) if necessary. Then, it MUST send to the PCC BN-en(i) a PCInitiate message with an LSP object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDIG TLV with the I flag set, this ERO(i) and End-Points Object = {BN-en(i), BN-ex(i)} in order to inform the PCC BN-en(i) that this local path(i) is part of an inter-domain path and that it MUST allocate a Binding Value for this path. PCE(i) sets Path Setup Type (PST) to 0, respectively to 1 to instruct the PCC to enforce the local path by means of RSVP-TE respectively Segment Routing.¶

3. Egress Control mechanism, as per RFC4003 section 2.1 [RFC4003] for RSVP-TE, respectively, Egress Peer Engineering [RFC9086] for Segment Routing, is used to stitch and steer traffic between the border node BN-ex(i) and BN-en(i+1). This allow PCE(i) to instruct the egress node of domain(i), i.e. BN-ex(i), to forward packets belonging to this tunnel with the Stitching Label. For that purpose, PCE(i) should identify the link LK(i+1) by retrieving from the PKS(i) the corresponding IP address of the link LK(i+1) for RSVP-TE or from the BGP-LS the label that could be use to reach link LK(i+1) for Segment Routing. As a result, BN-ex(i) installs in its MPLS L(F)IB the SWAP instruction to label SL(i+1) with forward to LK(i+1). Thus, PCE(i) MUST complete the ERO(i), in order to provide the Stitching Label SL(i+1) and Link identifier LK(i+1) to the PCC, as the last hop of the local path i.e. ERO(i) = {ERO(i), [LK(i+1), SL(i+1)]}.¶

4. When the PCC BN-en(i) receives the PCInitiate message from its PCE(i), it sets up the local path from BN-en(i) to BN-ex(i) by means of RSVP-TE signaling or Segment Routing, accordingly to the PST value, with the given ERO(i).¶

5. Once the tunnel is set up, PCC BN-en(i) chooses a free label for the Stitching Label SL(i) and adds a new entry in its MPLS L(F)IB with this SL(i) label. Then, it MUST send a PCRpt message to its PCE(i) with PLSP-ID(i) and a TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with I flag set and a Binding Value equal to SL(i).¶

6. Once PCE(i) receives the PCRpt from the PCC BN-en(i) with the RRO, PLSP-ID and TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, it MUST send to its Parent PCE a PCRpt containing the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV it received from the PCC BN-en(i) and the PLSP-ID(i). PCE(i) MAY add {PKS(i), ..., PKS(n)} in the RRO.¶

7. Once the Parent PCE receives the PCRpt from the Child PCE(i), it stores the corresponding PLSP-ID for this inter-domain path part.¶

Steps n: Actions performed to the source domain(1)¶

Finally, the Parent PCE MUST send a last PCInitiate message to its Child PCE(1) with an LSP Object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, ERO = {PKS(1), SL(2)} and End-Points = {S, BN-ex(1)}. In turn, Child PCE(1) MUST send a PCInitiate message to PCC node S with ERO equal to {ERO(1), [LK(2), SL(2)]} and End-Points Object = {S, BN-ex(1)}. This time, no TE-PATH-BINDING TLV is provided as the PCC S does not need to return a Stitching Label SL, because it is the head-end of the inter-domain path. A usual PCRpt message is sent back to PCE(1) by the PCC node S. In turn, Child PCE(1) sends a final PCRpt message to the Parent PCE with the PSLP-ID(1). PCE(1) MAY add {S, BN-ex(1)} in the RRO.¶

4.2. Completion Failure of Inter-domain Path Setup Procedure

In case of error during path set up, PCRpt and/or PCErr messages MUST be used to signal the problem to the Parent PCE. In particular, if the new I flag of the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV defined in this document is not supported by the Child PCE or the PCC, the Child PCE, respectively the PCC, MUST return a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Binding label/SID failure" and Error-Value = "Unable to allocate a new binding label/SID" (as per section #12 of draft Binding Label / Segment Identifier (BSID) [I-D.ietf-pce-binding-label-sid]) to its Parent PCE respectively PCE.¶

If a PCE(i) receives a PCInitiate message from its Parent PCE without an TE-PATH-BINDING with the I flag set in the LSP, it MUST return a PCErr message with Error-Type = 24 (LSP instantiation error) and Error-Value = 1 (Unacceptable instantiation parameters) to its Parent PCE.¶

Following a PCInitiate message with an LSP containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set, if a Child PCE or a PCC returns no TE-PATH-BINDING TLV, or a TE-PATH-BINDING TLV without the I flag set, the Parent PCE, respectively the Child PCE, MUST return a PCErr message with Error-Type = "Binding label/SID failure" and Error-Value = "Unable to allocate a new binding label/SID".¶

In case of completion failure, the Parent PCE MUST send a PCInitate message (R flag set in the SRP Object as per [RFC8281]) to tear down this inter-domain path from the Child PCEs that already set up their respective part of the inter-domain path. Child PCE(i) MUST remove its local path by means of PCInitiate message with R flag set to 1 to its PCC BN-en(i) and send back a PCRpt message to the Parent PCE.¶

In case of error during path setup, PCRpt and or PCErr messages MUST be used to signal the problem to the neighbor PCE domain backward.¶

4.3. Example for Stateful H-PCE Stiching Procedure

Taking the sample hierarchical domain topology example from [RFC6805] as the reference topology for the entirety of this section.¶

-----------------------------------------------------------------
|   Domain 5                                                      |
|                              -------                            |
|                             |P-PCE 5|                           |
|                              -------                            |
|                                                                 |
|    ----------------     ----------------     ----------------   |
|   | Domain 1       |   | Domain 2       |   | Domain 3       |  |
|   |                |   |                |   |                |  |
|   |      -------   |   |      -------   |   |      -------   |  |
|   |     |C-PCE 1|  |   |     |C-PCE 2|  |   |     |C-PCE 3|  |  |
|   |      -------   |   |      -------   |   |      -------   |  |
|   |                |   |                |   |                |  |
|   |            ----|   |----        ----|   |----            |  |
|   |           |BN11+---+BN21|      |BN23+---+BN31|           |  |
|   |   -        ----|   |----        ----|   |----        -   |  |
|   |  |S|           |   |                |   |           |D|  |  |
|   |   -        ----|   |----        ----|   |----        -   |  |
|   |           |BN12+---+BN22|      |BN24+---+BN32|           |  |
|   |            ----|   |----        ----|   |----            |  |
|   |                |   |                |   |                |  |
|   |         ----   |   |                |   |   ----         |  |
|   |        |BN13|  |   |                |   |  |BN33|        |  |
|    -----------+----     ----------------     ----+-----------   |
|                \                                /               |
|                 \       ----------------       /                |
|                  \     |                |     /                 |
|                   \    |----        ----|    /                  |
|                    ----+BN41|      |BN42+----                   |
|                        |----        ----|                       |
|                        |                |                       |
|                        |      -------   |                       |
|                        |     |C-PCE 4|  |                       |
|                        |      -------   |                       |
|                        |                |                       |
|                        | Domain 4       |                       |
|                         ----------------                        |
|                                                                 |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------

        Figure 5: Hierarchical domain topology from RFC6805

Section 3.3.1 of [RFC8751] describes the per-domain stitched LSP mode and list all the steps needed. To support SL-based stitching, using the reference architecture described in the figure above, the steps are modified as follows (note that we do not use PKS in this example for simplicity):¶

Step 1: initialization¶

The P-PCE (PCE5) is requested to initiate a path. Steps 4 to 10 of section 4.6.2 of [RFC6805] are executed to determine the end-to-end path, which are split into per-domain paths, e.g. {S-BN41, BN41-BN33, BN33-D}.¶

Step 2: Path (BN33-D) at C-PCE3:¶

1. The P-PCE (P-PCE5) sends the initiate request to the C-PCE (C-PCE3) via PCInitiate message for path (BN33-D) with ERO={BN33..D} and an LSP object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and PST = 0/1 based on the setup type.¶

2. C-PCE3 further propagates the initiate message it receives from P-PCE to BN33.¶

3. BN33 initiates the setup of the path and reports to the status ("GOING-UP") to C-PCE3.¶

4. C-PCE3 further reports the status of the path to the P-PCE (P-PCE5)¶

5. The node BN33 notifies the path state to C-PCE3 when the state is "UP"; it also sends the Stitching Label (SL33) as the Binding Value of the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and the RRO through the PCRpt message.¶

6. C-PCE3 further reports the PCRpt message it receives from BN33 to the P-PCE (P-PCE5).¶

Step 3: Path (BN41-BN33) at C-PCE4¶

1. The P-PCE (P-PCE5) sends the initiate request to the C-PCE (C-PCE4) via PCInitiate message for path (BN41-BN33) with ERO={BN41..BN42,SL33,BN33} and an LSP object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and PST = 0/1 based on the setup type.¶

2. C-PCE4 further propagates the initiate message it receives from P-PCE to BN41 once complete the the ERO with the Link Identifier LK33 i.e. ERO={BN41..BN42,LK33,SL33,BN33}.¶

3. BN41 initiates the setup of the path and reports the path status ("GOING-UP") to C-PCE4.¶

4. C-PCE4 further reports the status of the path to the P-PCE (P-PCE5).¶

5. The node BN41 notifies the path state to C-PCE4 when the state is "UP"; it also sends the Stitching Label (SL41) as the Binding Value of the TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and the RRO through the PCRpt message.¶

6. C-PCE4 further reports the PCRpt message it receives from BN41 to the P-PCE (P-PCE5).¶

Step 3: Path (S-BN41) at C-PCE1¶

1. The P-PCE (P-PCE5) sends the initiate request to the C-PCE (C-PCE1) via PCInitiate message for path (S-BN41) with ERO={S..BN13,SL41,BN41} and an LSP object containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set and PST = 0/1 based on the setup type.¶

2. C-PCE1 further propagates the initiate message it receives from P-PCE to node S once complete the the ERO with the Link Identifier LK41 i.e. ERO={S..BN13,LK41,SL41,BN41}.¶

3. S initiates the setup of the path and reports the path status ("GOING-UP") to C-PCE1.¶

4. C-PCE1 further reports the status of the path to the P-PCE (P-PCE5)¶

5. The node S notifies the path state to C-PCE1 when the state is "UP".¶

6. C-PCE1 further reports the PCRpt message it receives from node S to the P-PCE (P-PCE5).¶

5.1. Stitching Label PCE Capabilities

A PCE needs to know if its neighbor PCEs as well as PCCs are able to configure and provide a Stitching Label. The STITCHING-LABEL-PCE-CAPABILITY TLV is an optional TLV for use in the OPEN object for Stitching Label PCE capability advertisement. Its format is shown in the following figure:¶

0                   1                   2                   3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|               Type=TBD7       |            Length=4           |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|                             Flags                           |I|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

        Figure 6: STITCHING-LABEL-PCE-CAPABILITY TLV Format

The Type (16 bits) of the TLV is TBD7. The Length field is 16 bits long and has a fixed value of 4.¶

The value comprises a single 32 bits "Flags" field:¶

I (INTER-DOMAIN-STITCHING-LABEL-CAPABILITY - 1 bit): if set to 1 by a PCE, the I flag indicates that the domain is supporting Stitching Label to set up inter-domain paths. When set by a PCC, the I flag indicates the the PCC is able to provide a Stitching Label as value of TE-PATH-BINDING TLV.¶

Unassigned bits are considered reserved. They MUST be set to 0 on transmission and MUST be ignored on receipt.¶

PCC MUST set the I flag when adding the Stitching Label Capability to the PCEP Open Message when establishing a PCEP session with a PCE.¶

A PCE MUST set the I flag when establishing a PCEP session with a neighbor PCE when adding Stitching Label Capability to the PCEP Open Message.¶

5.2. Identification of Inter-domain Paths

First, in order to manage inter-domain paths composed by the stitching or nesting of local paths, it is important to identify them. For this purpose, the PLSP-ID managed by the PCEs are combined to one provided by PCCs to form a global identifier as follow:¶

• PCE(i) in the Backward Recursive method or the Child PCE in Hierarchical method MUST create a new unique PLSP-ID for this inter-domain path part and MUST send it in the PCRpt message, to the PCE(i-1), respectively the Parent PCE. In addition this new PLSP-ID MUST be associated to the one received from the PCC that instantiates the local path part for further reference.¶

• In the Hierarchical mode, the Parent PCE MUST store and associate the different PLSP-ID(i)s received from the different Child PCE(i)s in order to identify the different part of the inter-domain paths.¶

• In the Backward Recursive method, PCE(i) MUST store and associate its PLSP-ID(i) and the PLSP-ID(i+1) it received from the PCE(i+1). PCE(n), i.e. the last one in the chain, does not need to perform such association.¶

Further reference to the inter-domain path will use this PLSP-ID(i). In the Backward Recursive method, PCE(i) MUST replace the PLSP-ID(i) by PLSP-ID(i+1) in the PCUpd, PCRpt or PCinitiate message before propagating it to PCE(i+1); and PCE(i) MUST replace the PLSP-ID(i+1) by PLSP-ID(i) in the PCRpt message before propagating it to the PCE(i-1). In the Hierarchical method, the Parent PCE MUST use the corresponding PLSP-ID(i) of the Child PCE(i).¶

5.3. Inter-domain Association Group

In case of failure, a PCE(i) will received PCRpt messages from its PCCs and neighbors PCE(i+1) to synchronize the Inter-domain paths. In addition, it may received PCInitiate messages from its previous neighbors PCE(i-1) to re-initiate its inter-domain path part. As the PCE(i) may loose the PLSP-ID association, a new association group (within Association Object) is used to ease the association of the different parts of the inter-domain path: the local part and the PCE-to-PCE part. The use of the Association Object is MANDATORY in the Backward Recursive method and OPTIONAL in the Hierarchical method.¶

For that purpose, a new Inter-Domain Association Type with value TBD4 is defined. The first PCE in the Backward Recursive chain (the one which received the initial request) MUST send the PCInitiate message with an Association Object as follows:¶

• Association Type field MUST be set to new value TBD4¶

• Association ID MUST be set to a unique value. In case the Association ID field is too short or wraps, the first PCE MAY use the Extended Association ID to increase the number of association groups. The Association ID is managed locally by the PCE and does not need to be coordinated with neighbor or remote PCEs.¶

• IPV4 or IPv6 association source MUST be set to the IP address which identifies PCE(1) in domain(1).¶

• The Global Association Source TLV MUST be present and set with the ASN number of domain(1). It allows to create a globally unique association scope without putting constraint on operator's IP association source. Thus the IP Association Source is associated with the Global Association source to form a unique identifier.¶

• Extended Association ID MAY be present and MANDATORY if association ID is too short or wraps.¶

Subsequent PCE(i), for i = 2 to n, MUST send this Association Object as is to the local PCC and the neighbor PCE(i+1).¶

In case of error with the association group, a PCErr message MUST be raised with Error = 26 (Association Error) and Error value set accordingly. A new Error value TBD6 is defined to identify association of inter-domain paths.¶

In the Hierarchical method, the Parent PCE MAY act as the initiator of the Association and send to the Child PCEs an Association Object that follows the same rules as for the Backward Recursive method. In turn, Child PCEs MUST propagate the Association Object to the local PCCs as is.¶

5.4. Modification of Inter-domain Paths

For the Backward Recursive method, each domain manages their respective local path of an inter-domain path independently of each other. In particular, Stitching Label(i) is managed by domain(i) and is of interest of domain(i-1) only. Thus, Stitching Label SL(i) is not supposed to be propagated to other domains. The same behavior apply to PLSP-ID(i). In the Hierarchical method, the Parent PCE MUST ensure the correct distribution of Stitching Label SL(i) to Child PCE(i-1). The PLSP-ID(i) is kept for the usage of the Parent PCE and thus is not propagated. Only the Association Object defined in section 5.2 is propagated if it is present.¶

If PCE(i) needs to modify its local path(i) with a PCUpd message to the PCC BN-en(i), once the PCRpt message received from the PCC BN-en(i), it MUST sends a new PCRpt message to advertise the modification. This message is targeted to its neighbor PCE(i-1) in the Backward Recursive method, respectively to the Parent PCE in the Hierarchical method. In this case PLSP-ID(i) is used to identify the inter-domain path. PCE(i-1), respectively the Parent PCE, MUST propagate the PCRpt message if the modification implies the upstream domain, e.g. if the PCRpt indicates that the Stitching Label SL(i) has changed.¶

PCE(1), respectively the Parent PCE, could modify the inter-domain path. For that purpose, it MUST send a PCUpd message to its neighbor PCEs, respectively Child PCE, using the PLSP-ID it received. Each PCE(i) MUST process the PCUpd message the same way they process the PCInitiate message as define in section 3.1 for the Backward Recursive method and in section 4.1 for the Hierarchical method.¶

In case a failure appear in domain(i), e.g. path becoming down, PCE(i) MUST sends a PCRpt message to its neighbor PCE(i-1), respectively its Parent PCE to advertise the problem in its local part of the inter-domain path. Once PCE(1), respectively the Parent PCE, receives this PCRpt message indicating that the path is down, it is up to the PCE(1), respectively the Parent PCE to take appropriate correction e.g. start a new path computation to update the ERO.¶

5.5. Modification of Local Paths

The modification of local paths, i.e. between BN-en(i) and BN-ex(i), is also left to the discretion of PCE(i). More precisely, if the PCE(i) wishes to modify the local part of the inter-domain path, it MUST send a standard PcUpd message and wait to receive the corresponding PcRpt message. The PCE(i) MUST propagate the PcUpd message to the PCE(i-1) if and only if the modification of the local part of the interdomain path affects the domain(i-1), i.e. if the Stitching Label is modified or if the modification failed and the local path goes down.¶

However, PCE(i) MUST NOT modify the BN-ex(i-1), BN-en(i), BN-ex(i) and BN-en(i+1) as the interdomain path is only delegated to the PCE(i) and is not initiated by the PCE(i). Only PCE(1) is able to modify the BN-en(1.. n) and BN-ex(1 .. n) by triggering a new inter-domain path computation using the Backward Recursive or the Hierarchical method. Once the new inter-domain path is computed according to step 1 of section 3 respectively 4, the instantiation of the inter-domain path follows the same steps by replacing the PcInit messages with PcUpd messages.¶

5.6. Tear-Down of Inter-domain Paths

The tear-down of an inter-domain path is only possible by the inter-domain path initiator i.e. PCE(1). For the Backward Recursive method, a PCInitiate message with R flag set to 1, PLSP-ID set accordingly to section 5.1 and the Association Object with R flag set to 1, is sent by PCE(1) to PCE(n) through PCE(i), and processed the same way as described in section 3.1. For the Hierarchical method, a PCInitiate message with R flag set to 1 is sent by the Parent PCE to each Child PCE(i) with corresponding PLSP-ID(i), and processed according to section 4.1. Each domain PCE(i) is responsible to tear down its part of the path and the PCC MUST release both the Stitching label SL(i) in its L(F)IB and the path when it receives the PCInitiate message with the R flag set to 1 and the corresponding PLSP-ID(i). The Association Group MUST also be removed by the PCC and PCE(i).¶

6.1. Mixing Technologies

During the instantiation procedure, if PCE(i) decides to reuse a local tunnel which is not yet part of an inter-domain tunnel, it SHOULD send a PCUpd message with an LSP containing an empty TE-PATH-BINDING TLV with the I flag set to 1 to the PCC BN-en(i), in order to request a Stitching Label SL(i), and new ERO(i) to add the Stitching Label SL(i+1) and the associated link to the previous ERO.¶

[RFC8453] describes framework for Abstraction and Control of TE Networks (ACTN), where each Physical Network Controller (PNC) is equivalent to C-PCE and the Multi-Domain Service Coordinator (MDSC) to the P-PCE. The per-domain stitched LSP as per the Hierarchical PCE architecture described in Section 3.3.1 and Section 4.1 of [RFC8751] is well suited for ACTN. The Stitching Label mechanism as described in this document is well suited for ACTN when per-domain LSPs need to be stitched to form an E2E tunnel or a VN Member. It is to be noted that certain VNs require isolation from other clients. The SL mechanism described in this document can be applicable to the VN isolation use-case by uniquely identifying the concatenated stitching labels across multi-domain only to a certain VN member or an E2E tunnel.¶

As each operator is free to enforce the tunnel with its technology choice, it is a local policy decision for PCE(i) to instantiate the local part of the end-to-end tunnel by either RSVP-TE or Segment Routing. The PST value 0 or 1 used in the PCinitiate message sent by the PCE(i) to the local PCC is determined by the local policy. How the local policy decision is set in the PCE is out of the scope of this document. This flexibility is allowed because the SL principle allows to mix (data plane) technologies between domains. For example, a domain(i) could use RSVP-TE while domain(i+1) uses SR. The SL could serve to stitch indifferently Segment Paths and RSVP-TE tunnels. Indeed, the SL will be part of the label stack in order to become the top label in the stack when reaching the BN-en(i+1). This SL could be swapped as usual if the next domain uses RSVP-TE tunnels. When the upstream domain uses an RSVP-TE tunnel, the SL will serve as a key for the BN-en(i+1) to determine which label stack it must use on top of the packet for a Segment Routing path. Finally, PCE(i) MUST completes accordingly ERO(i) with the identifier of Link(i+1): IP address of link between BN-ex(i) and BN-en(i+1) for RSVP-TE or EPE label of link between BN-ex(i) and BN-en(i+1) for Segment Routing.¶

6.2. Inter-Area

If use cases for inter-AS are easily identifiable, this is less evident for inter-area. However, two scenarios have been identified:¶

• Paths between levels for IS-IS networks.¶

• Reduction of labels stack depth for Segment Routing.¶

Thus, the SL could be used to stitch or nest independent tunnels deployed through different IS-IS levels, even if there are controlled by the same PCE. IS-IS levels are considered as domains but under the control of the same PCE. In this scenario, there is no exchange between PCEs (it remains internal and implementation matter) and new TLVs are only applicable between the PCE and PCCs. The PCE requests to the different PCCs it identifies (i.e. BNs of the different IS-IS levels) to set up SLs and propagated them.¶

In large-scale networks, MSD could constraints the path computation in the possibility of path selection i.e. explicit expression of a path could exceeded the MSD. The SL could be used to split a too long explicit path regarding the MSD constraints. In this scenario, there is also no communications between PCEs and new TLVs are only used between PCE and PCCs.¶

6.3. Nested traffic

When a domain(i) would groups into the same local path all traffic that enter into the domain through the same border node BN-en(i) and exit by the same border node BN-ex(i), it could be useful to identify the different inter-domain paths within this local path. Indeed, traffic entering in this nested local path could goes to different domains or different destination of the same domain. Thus, it is mandatory to keep them perfectly identifiable through a dedicated Stitching Label. In this case, PCE(i) proceeds as if it nested internal traffic. Nested tunnel MUST be created in top of existing inter-domain local path. Subsequent inter-domain local path will follow this nested local path. As a consequence, PCE(i) MUST NOT request a second Stitching Label(i) for an existing inter-domain local path.¶

6.4. VPN

For VPN use case, inter-domain paths link PEs that spawn in different domains. Such connectivity could be considered as Seamless MPLS. In order for the source PE to route L3/L2 VPN packets to the destination, it must be aware that the next-hop BGP i.e. the destination PE, is joignable through the appropriate inter-domain path. For that purpose, the corresponding prefix i.e. the L3/L2 VPN one, must be exchange with 'next hop unchanged' command to keep unmodified the IP address of the PE which advertised this VPN prefix. And, like for inter-domain option C, Route Reflectors could be use to exchange and advertise between domains the IP addresses of BGP next-hop i.e. in general the loopback IP address of the PE routers.¶

6.5. Intent-Based Networking

Intent-Based Networking as per [RFC9315] defines goals and outcomes that an implementation must respect. The present memo addresses most of the concepts of Intent-Based Networking and in particular:¶

• From a service point of view, the inter-domain path computation is abstracted though by the use of PKS and enforcement technology i.e. RSVP-TE, SR-TE, over-provisioning ... is done independently by each domain. The user is therefore is unaware of the details of the creation, modification, deletion and management of the inter-domain path,¶

• AS path computation performed during the initial step allows to include or exclude some domains allowing geography or geo-political routing,¶

• Intra domain path computation done by domain(i) allows to include or exclude some Border Nodes, internal nodes, internal links ... based on any policy deployed by domain(i) and independently of the other domains,¶

• Traffic usage is controlled by each domains independently while end-to-end constraints are respected during inter-domain path computation and enforcement.¶

In addition, the Backward Recursive method avoids the usage of a centralize controller and completely distributes the service instantiation across the involved domains.¶

6.6. QoS management

When performing the path computation, the initial request to the PCE(1) could contains the CLASSTYPE (CT) Object in the list of constrained parameters. This Class-Type MUST be propagated during the inter-domain path computation in the Backward Recursive method, respectively to the Parent PCE in the Hierarchical method and take into account for Bandwidth Reservation. As per [RFC5455], each PCE(i) MUST store the Class-Type in order to complete the path computation, in particular in the Backward Recursive method. In addition, the Class-Type MAY be used by domain(i) to set the EXP bits in the MPLS label in order for router to process the packets accordingly to DiffServ-TE configured in the domain(i). To maintain the independance, domain(i) is free to implement or not DiffServ-TE queuing, and if DiffServe-TE queing is implemented, to configre the different queue parameters with its own traffic engineering rules. Thus, the proposed mechanism just allows to propagate the EXP bits without modification. If domain(i) is not able or would not accept traffic in the specified Class-Type, during the inter-domain path computation it MUST reply with a NO_PATH Object to domain(i-1) for the Backward Recursive method, respectively to the Parent PCE in the Hierarchical method.¶

In case of Bandwidth Reservation i.e. initial request containts a Bandwidth Metric Object, domain (i) MAY configure the BN-en(i) of the inter-domain path to verify and enforce traffic corresponding to the requested bandwidth with the mechanism domain(i) seems appropriate. In other words, domain(i) MAY apply its own traffic engineering and policy rules at the entry of its domain independtly from the other domains. The detailed configuration of the QoS for the BN-en(i) router is outside the scope of this draft.¶

11.1. Normative References

[I-D.ietf-pce-binding-label-sid]

Sivabalan, S., Filsfils, C., Tantsura, J., Previdi, S., and C. Li, "Carrying Binding Label/Segment Identifier (SID) in PCE-based Networks.", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-pce-binding-label-sid-16, 27 March 2023, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-pce-binding-label-sid-16>.

[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>.

[RFC5440]

Vasseur, JP., Ed. and JL. Le Roux, Ed., "Path Computation Element (PCE) Communication Protocol (PCEP)", RFC 5440, DOI 10.17487/RFC5440, March 2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5440>.

[RFC5441]

Vasseur, JP., Ed., Zhang, R., Bitar, N., and JL. Le Roux, "A Backward-Recursive PCE-Based Computation (BRPC) Procedure to Compute Shortest Constrained Inter-Domain Traffic Engineering Label Switched Paths", RFC 5441, DOI 10.17487/RFC5441, April 2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5441>.

[RFC8231]

Crabbe, E., Minei, I., Medved, J., and R. Varga, "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for Stateful PCE", RFC 8231, DOI 10.17487/RFC8231, September 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8231>.

[RFC8281]

Crabbe, E., Minei, I., Sivabalan, S., and R. Varga, "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for PCE-Initiated LSP Setup in a Stateful PCE Model", RFC 8281, DOI 10.17487/RFC8281, December 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8281>.

[RFC8697]

Minei, I., Crabbe, E., Sivabalan, S., Ananthakrishnan, H., Dhody, D., and Y. Tanaka, "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for Establishing Relationships between Sets of Label Switched Paths (LSPs)", RFC 8697, DOI 10.17487/RFC8697, January 2020, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8697>.

11.2. Informative References

[RFC3209]

Awduche, D., Berger, L., Gan, D., Li, T., Srinivasan, V., and G. Swallow, "RSVP-TE: Extensions to RSVP for LSP Tunnels", RFC 3209, DOI 10.17487/RFC3209, December 2001, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3209>.

[RFC3473]

Berger, L., Ed., "Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) Signaling Resource ReserVation Protocol-Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE) Extensions", RFC 3473, DOI 10.17487/RFC3473, January 2003, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3473>.

[RFC4003]

Berger, L., "GMPLS Signaling Procedure for Egress Control", RFC 4003, DOI 10.17487/RFC4003, February 2005, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4003>.

[RFC4206]

Kompella, K. and Y. Rekhter, "Label Switched Paths (LSP) Hierarchy with Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) Traffic Engineering (TE)", RFC 4206, DOI 10.17487/RFC4206, October 2005, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4206>.

[RFC4655]

Farrel, A., Vasseur, J.-P., and J. Ash, "A Path Computation Element (PCE)-Based Architecture", RFC 4655, DOI 10.17487/RFC4655, August 2006, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4655>.

[RFC5150]

Ayyangar, A., Kompella, K., Vasseur, JP., and A. Farrel, "Label Switched Path Stitching with Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching Traffic Engineering (GMPLS TE)", RFC 5150, DOI 10.17487/RFC5150, February 2008, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5150>.

[RFC5455]

Sivabalan, S., Ed., Parker, J., Boutros, S., and K. Kumaki, "Diffserv-Aware Class-Type Object for the Path Computation Element Communication Protocol", RFC 5455, DOI 10.17487/RFC5455, March 2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5455>.

[RFC5520]

Bradford, R., Ed., Vasseur, JP., and A. Farrel, "Preserving Topology Confidentiality in Inter-Domain Path Computation Using a Path-Key-Based Mechanism", RFC 5520, DOI 10.17487/RFC5520, April 2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5520>.

[RFC6805]

King, D., Ed. and A. Farrel, Ed., "The Application of the Path Computation Element Architecture to the Determination of a Sequence of Domains in MPLS and GMPLS", RFC 6805, DOI 10.17487/RFC6805, November 2012, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6805>.

[RFC8253]

Lopez, D., Gonzalez de Dios, O., Wu, Q., and D. Dhody, "PCEPS: Usage of TLS to Provide a Secure Transport for the Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP)", RFC 8253, DOI 10.17487/RFC8253, October 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8253>.

[RFC8453]

Ceccarelli, D., Ed. and Y. Lee, Ed., "Framework for Abstraction and Control of TE Networks (ACTN)", RFC 8453, DOI 10.17487/RFC8453, August 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8453>.

[RFC8664]

Sivabalan, S., Filsfils, C., Tantsura, J., Henderickx, W., and J. Hardwick, "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for Segment Routing", RFC 8664, DOI 10.17487/RFC8664, December 2019, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8664>.

[RFC8751]

Dhody, D., Lee, Y., Ceccarelli, D., Shin, J., and D. King, "Hierarchical Stateful Path Computation Element (PCE)", RFC 8751, DOI 10.17487/RFC8751, March 2020, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8751>.

[RFC9086]

Previdi, S., Talaulikar, K., Ed., Filsfils, C., Patel, K., Ray, S., and J. Dong, "Border Gateway Protocol - Link State (BGP-LS) Extensions for Segment Routing BGP Egress Peer Engineering", RFC 9086, DOI 10.17487/RFC9086, August 2021, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9086>.

[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>.