Network Working Group                                         M.Bocci
Internet Draft                                          Alcatel-Lucent

                                                             S.Bryant
                                                         Cisco Systems

Intended Status: Informational
Expires: December 2008                                   June 26, 2008


    An Architecture for Multi-Segment Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge


                     draft-ietf-pwe3-ms-pw-arch-04.txt


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   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2008).  All Rights Reserved.




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Abstract

   This document describes an architecture for extending pseudowire
   emulation across multiple packet switched network segments. Scenarios
   are discussed where each segment of a given edge-to-edge emulated
   service spans a different provider's PSN, and where the emulated
   service originates and terminates on the same providers PSN, but may
   pass through several PSN tunnel segments in that PSN. It presents an
   architectural framework for such multi-segment pseudowires, defines
   terminology, and specifies the various protocol elements and their
   functions.

Conventions used in this document

   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 [1].

Table of Contents


   1. Introduction................................................3
      1.1. Motivation.............................................3
      1.2. Non-Goals of this Document..............................6
      1.3. Terminology............................................6
   2. Applicability...............................................7
   3. Protocol Layering model......................................8
      3.1. Domain of Multi-Segment PWE3............................8
      3.2. Payload Types..........................................8
   4. Multi-Segment PWE3 Reference Model...........................8
      4.1. Intra-Provider Architecture............................10
         4.1.1. Intra-Provider Switching Using ACs................10
         4.1.2. Intra-Provider Switching Using PWs................10
      4.2. Inter-Provider Architecture............................11
         4.2.1. Inter-Provider Switching Using ACs................11
         4.2.2. Inter-Provider Switching Using PWs................11
   5. PE Reference Model.........................................12
      5.1. PWE3 Pre-processing....................................12
         5.1.1. Forwarding........................................12
         5.1.2. Native Service Processing.........................12
   6. Protocol Stack reference Model..............................12
   7. Maintenance Reference Model.................................14
   8. PW Demultiplexer Layer and PSN Requirements.................14
      8.1. Multiplexing..........................................14
      8.2. Fragmentation.........................................15
   9. Control Plane..............................................15
      9.1. Setup or Teardown of Pseudowires.......................15


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      9.2. Pseudowire Up/Down Notification........................15
      9.3. Misconnection and Payload Type Mismatch................16
   10. Management and Monitoring..................................16
   11. Congestion Considerations..................................17
   12. IANA Considerations........................................18
   13. Security Considerations....................................18
   14. Acknowledgments...........................................21
   15. References................................................22
      15.1. Normative References..................................22
      15.2. Informative References................................22
   Author's Addresses............................................22
   Intellectual Property Statement................................23
   Disclaimer of Validity........................................23
   Copyright Statement...........................................23
   Acknowledgment................................................24

1. Introduction

   RFC 3985 [2] defines the architecture for pseudowires, where a
   pseudowire (PW) both originates and terminates on the edge of the
   same packet switched network (PSN). The PW passes through a maximum
   of one PSN tunnel between the originating and terminating PEs.

   This document extends the architecture in RFC 3985 to enable point to
   point pseudowires to be extended through multiple PSN tunnels. Use
   cases for multi-segment pseudowires, and the consequent requirements,
   are defined in [3].

1.1. Motivation

   Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3) aims to provide point-to-
   point connectivity between two edges of a provider network.
   Requirements for Multi-Segment Pseudowires for this are specified in
   [3]. These requirements address three main problems:

   o How to constrain the density of the mesh of PSN tunnels when the
      number of PEs grows to many hundreds or thousands, while
      minimizing the complexity of the PEs and P routers.

   o How to provide PWE3 across multiple PSN routing domains or areas
      in the same provider.

   o How to provide PWE3 across multiple provider domains, and
      different PSN types.

   Consider a single PWE3 domain, such as that shown in Figure 1. There
   are 4 PEs, and PWE3 must be provided from any PE to any other PE.


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   Traditionally, this would be achieved by establishing a full mesh of
   PSN tunnels between the PEs. This would also require a full mesh of
   LDP signaling adjacencies between the PEs. Pseudowires could then be
   established between any PE and any other PE via a single, direct PSN
   tunnel that is switched only by intermediate P-routers (not shown in
   the figure). PEs must terminate all pseudowires that are carried on
   PSN tunnels that terminate on that PE according to the architecture
   of RFC 3985. This solution is adequate for small numbers of PEs, but
   the number of PEs, PSN tunnels and signaling adjacencies will grow in
   proportion to the square of the number of PEs.

   A more efficient solution for large numbers of PEs would be to
   support a partial mesh of PSN tunnels between the PEs, as shown in
   Figure 1. For example, consider a PWE3 service whose endpoints are
   PE1 and PE4. Pseudowires for this can take the path PE1->PE2->PE4,
   and rather than terminating at PE2, be switched between ingress and
   egress PSN tunnels on that PE. This requires a capability in PE2 that
   can concatenate PW segments PE1-PE2 to PW segments PE2-PE4. The end-
   to-end PW is known as a multi-segment PW.

                                ,,..--..,,_
                            .-``           `'.,
                    +-----+`                   '+-----+
                    | PE1 |---------------------| PE2 |
                    |     |---------------------|     |
                    +-----+      PSN Tunnel     +-----+
                    / ||                          || \
                   /  ||                          ||  \
                  |   ||                          ||   |
                  |   ||         PSN              ||   |
                  |   ||                          ||   |
                   \  ||                          ||  /
                    \ ||                          || /
                     \||                          ||/
                    +-----+                     +-----+
                    | PE3 |---------------------| PE4 |
                    |     |---------------------|     |
                    +-----+`'.,_           ,.'` +-----+
                                `'''---''``
         Figure 1 Single PSN PWE3 with Partial Mesh of PSN Tunnels

   Figure 1 shows a simple flat PSN topology. However, large provider
   networks are typically not flat, consisting of many domains that are
   connected together to provide edge-to-edge services. The elements in
   each domain are specialized for a particular role.




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   An example application is shown in Figure 2. Here, the provider's
   network is divided into three domains: Two access domains and the
   core domain. The access domains represent the edge of the provider's
   network at which services are delivered. In the access domain,
   simplicity is required in order to minimize the cost of the network.
   The core domain must support all of the aggregated services from the
   access domains, and the design requirements here are for scalability,
   performance, and information hiding (i.e. minimal state). The core
   must not be exposed to the state associated with large numbers of
   individual edge-to-edge flows. That is, the core must be simple and
   fast.

   In a traditional layer 2 network, the interconnection points between
   the domains are where services in the access domains are aggregated
   for transport across the core to other access domains. In an IP
   network, the interconnection points could also represent interworking
   points between different types of IP networks e.g. those with MPLS
   and those without, and also points where network policies can be
   applied.

         <-------- Edge to Edge Emulated Services ------->

             ,'    .      ,-`       `',       ,'    .
            /       \   .`             `,    /       \
           /        \  /                 ,  /        \
    AC  +----+     +----+               +----+       +----+    AC
     ---| PE |-----| PE |---------------| PE |-------| PE |---
        |  1 |     |  2 |               | 3  |       | 4  |
        +----+     +----+               +----+       +----+
           \        /  \                 /  \        /
            \       /  \      Core       `   \       /
             `,    `     .             ,`     `,    `
               '-'`       `.,       _.`         '-'`
            Access 1         `''-''`         Access 2

                    Figure 2 Multi-Domain Network Model

   This model can also be applied to inter-provider services, where they
   also rely on a number of separate provider networks to be connected
   together, with the exception that each provider will typically
   maintain their own PE at the border of their network in order to
   apply policies such as security and QoS to PWs entering their
   network.

   Consider the application of this model to PWE3. PWE3 uses tunneling
   mechanisms such as MPLS to enable the underlying PSN to emulate
   characteristics of the native service. One solution to the multi-


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   domain network model above is to extend PSN tunnels edge-to-edge
   between all of the PEs in access domain 1 and all of the PEs in
   access domain 2, but this requires a large number of PSN tunnels as
   described above, and also exposes the access and the core of the
   network to undesirable complexity. An alternative is to constrain the
   complexity to the network domain interconnection points (PE2 and PE3
   in the example above). Pseudowires between PE1 and PE4 would then be
   switched between PSN tunnels at the interconnection points, enabling
   PWs from many PEs in the access domains to be aggregated across only
   a few PSN tunnels in the core of the network. PEs in the access
   domains would only need to maintain direct signaling sessions, and
   PSN tunnels, with other PEs in their own domain, thus minimizing
   complexity of the access domains.

1.2. Non-Goals of this Document

   The following are non-goals for this document:

   o The on-the-wire specification of PW encapsulations

   o The detailed specification of mechanisms for establishing and
      maintaining multi-segment pseudo-wires.

1.3. Terminology

   The terminology specified in RFC 3985 [2] and RFC 4026 [4] applies.
   In addition, we define the following terms:

   o PW Terminating Provider Edge (T-PE).  A PE where the customer-
      facing attachment circuits (ACs) are bound to a PW forwarder. A
      Terminating PE is present in the first and last segments of a MS-
      PW. This incorporates the functionality of a PE as defined in RFC
      3985.

   o Single-Segment Pseudowire (SS-PW). A PW setup directly between two
      T-PE devices. Each PW in one direction of a SS-PW traverses one
      PSN tunnel that connects the two T-PEs.

   o Multi-Segment Pseudowire (MS-PW).  A static or dynamically
      configured set of two or more contiguous PW segments that behave
      and function as a single point-to-point PW. Each end of a MS-PW by
      definition MUST terminate on a T-PE.

   o PW Segment. A part of a single-segment or multi-segment PW, which
      is set up between two PE devices, T-PEs and/or S-PEs.




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   o PW Switching Provider Edge (S-PE).  A PE capable of switching the
      control and data planes of the preceding and succeeding PW
      segments in a MS-PW. The S-PE terminates the PSN tunnels of the
      preceding and succeeding segments of the MS-PW. It is therefore a
      PW switching point for a MS-PW. A PW Switching Point is never the
      S-PE and the T-PE for the same MS-PW. A PW switching point runs
      necessary protocols to setup and manage PW segments with other PW
      switching points and terminating PEs.

2. Applicability

   A MS-PW is a single PW that for technical or administrative reasons
   is segmented into a number of concatenated hops. From the perspective
   of a L2VPN, a MS-PW is indistinguishable from a SS-PW. Thus, the
   following are equivalent from the perspective of the T-PE

       +----+                                                  +----+
       |TPE1+--------------------------------------------------+TPE2|
       +----+                                                  +----+

       |<---------------------------PW----------------------------->|

       +----+              +---+           +---+               +----+
       |TPE1+--------------+SPE+-----------+SPE+---------------+TPE2|
       +----+              +---+           +---+               +----+


                      Figure 3     MS-PW Equivalence

   Although a MS-PW may require services such as node discovery and path
   signaling to construct the PW, it should not be confused with a L2VPN
   system, which also requires these services. A VPWS connects its
   endpoints via a set of PWs. MS-PW is a mechanism that abstracts the
   construction of complex PWs from the construction of a L2VPN. Thus a
   T-PE might be an edge device optimized for simplicity and an S-PE
   might be an aggregation device designed to absorb the complexity of
   continuing the PW across the core of one or more service provider
   networks to another T-PE located at the edge of the network.

   A MS-PW is applicable to PWE3 providing a packet transport service
   between the PEs, as well as to traditional L2VPNs, as described
   above. A transport services uses PWE3 to support the transport and
   aggregation and transport of all services in a common, client-
   agnostic manner.   These services require deterministic
   characteristics and behavior from the network. The operational
   requirements of such services may need pseudowire segments that can
   be established and maintained in the absence of a control plane, and


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   the operational independence of PW maintenance from the underlying
   PSN. Some mechanisms to suit these applications are described in [6].

3. Protocol Layering model

   The protocol-layering model specified in RFC 3985 applies to multi-
   segment PWE3 with the following clarification: the pseudowires may be
   considered to be a separate layer to the PSN tunnel. That is,
   although a PW segment will follow the path of the PSN tunnel between
   S-PEs, the MS-PW is independent of the PSN tunnel routing,
   operations, signaling and maintenance. The design of PW routing
   domains should not imply that the underlying PSN routing domains are
   the same. However, MS-PWs will reuse the protocols of the PSN and may
   use information that is extracted from the PSN e.g. reachability.

3.1. Domain of Multi-Segment PWE3

   PWE3 defines the Encapsulation Layer, i.e. the method of carrying
   various payload types, and the interface to the PW Demultiplexer
   Layer. It is expected that other layers will provide the following:

      . PSN tunnel setup, maintenance and routing

      . T-PE discovery

   It is assumed that any node that is reachable via a PSN tunnel from
   an S-PE or T-PE is a PE, a subset of which may be capable of behaving
   as an S-PE. The selection of which S-PEs to use to reach a T-PE is
   considered to be within the domain of PWE3.

3.2. Payload Types

   Multi-segment PWE3 is applicable to all PWE3 payload types.
   Encapsulations defined for SS-PWs are also used for MS-PW without
   change. If different segments run over different PSN types, the
   encapsulation may change but the S-PE must not need an NSP. It is
   recommended that a list of compatible PWE3 encapsulations that do not
   need an NSP be published. Translations between segments must not
   require processing of the pseudowire payload.

4. Multi-Segment PWE3 Reference Model

   The PWE3 reference architecture for the single segment case is shown
   in [2]. This architecture applies to the case where a PSN tunnel
   extends between two edges of a single PSN domain to transport a PW
   with endpoints at these edges.



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       Native  |<------Multi-Segment Pseudowire------>|  Native
       Service |         PSN              PSN         |  Service
        (AC)   |     |<-Tunnel->|     |<-Tunnel->|    |   (AC)
          |    V     V     1    V     V    2     V    V     |
          |    +----+           +-----+          +----+     |
   +----+ |    |TPE1|===========|SPE1 |==========|TPE2|     | +----+
   |    |------|..... PW.Seg't1.........PW.Seg't3.....|-------|    |
   | CE1| |    |    |           |     |          |    |     | |CE2 |
   |    |------|..... PW.Seg't2.........PW.Seg't4.....|-------|    |
   +----+ |    |    |===========|     |==========|    |     | +----+
        ^      +----+           +-----+          +----+       ^
        |   Provider Edge 1        ^        Provider Edge 2   |
        |                          |                          |
        |                          |                          |
        |                    PW switching point               |
        |                                                     |
        |<------------------ Emulated Service --------------->|

                   Figure 4 PW switching Reference Model

   Figure 4 extends this architecture to show a multi-segment case. The
   PEs that provide PWE3 to CE1 and CE2 are Terminating-PE1 (T-PE1) and
   Terminating-PE2 (T-PE2) respectively. A PSN tunnel extends from T-PE1
   to switching-PE1 (S-PE1) across PSN1, and a second PSN tunnel extends
   from S-PE1 to S-PE2 across PSN2. PWs are used to connect the
   attachment circuits (ACs) attached to PE1 to the corresponding ACs
   attached to PE3.

   Each PW segment on the tunnel across PSN1 is switched to a PW segment
   in the tunnel across PSN2 at S-PE1 to complete the multi-segment PW
   (MS-PW) between T-PE1 and T-PE2. S-PE1 is therefore the PW switching
   point. PW segment 1 and PW segment 3 are segments of the same MS-PW
   while PW segment 2 and PW segment 4 are segments of another MS-PW. PW
   segments of the same MS-PW (e.g., PW segment 1 and PW segment 3) MUST
   be of the same PW type, while PSN tunnels (e.g., PSN1 and PSN2) MAY
   be of the same or different PSN type. An S-PE switches an MS-PW from
   one segment to another based on the PW demultiplexer, i.e., PW label
   that may take one of the forms defined in RFC3985 Section 5.4.1 [2].

   Note that although Figure 4 only shows a single S-PE, a PW may
   transit more one S-PE along its path. This architecture is applicable
   when the S-PEs are statically chosen, or when they are chosen using a
   dynamic path selection mechanism. Both directions of an MS-PW must
   traverse the same set of S-PEs. Note that although the S-PE path is
   therefore reciprocal, the path taken by the PSN tunnels between the


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   T-PEs and S-PEs may not be reciprocal due to choices made by the PSN
   routing protocol.

4.1. Intra-Provider Architecture

   There is a requirement to deploy PWs edge-to-edge in large service
   provider networks [3]. Such networks typically encompass hundreds or
   thousands of aggregation devices at the edge, each of which would be
   a PE. These networks may be partitioned into separate metro and core
   PWE3 domains, where the PEs are interconnected by a sparse mesh of
   tunnels.

   Whether or not the network is partitioned into separate PWE3 domains,
   there is also a requirement to support a partial mesh of traffic
   engineered PSN tunnels.

   The architecture shown in Figure 4 can be used to support such cases.
   PSN1 and PSN2 may be in different administrative domains or access,
   core or metro regions within the same provider's network. PSN 1 and
   PSN2 may also be of different types. For example, S-PEs may be used
   to connect PW segments traversing metro networks of one technology
   e.g. statically allocated labels, with segments traversing a MPLS
   core network.

   Alternatively, T-PE1, S-PE1 and T-PE2 may reside at the edges of the
   same PSN.

4.1.1. Intra-Provider Switching Using ACs

   In this model, the PW reverts to the native service AC at the PE.
   This AC is then connected to a separate PW on the same PE. In this
   case, the reference models of RFC 3985 apply to each segment and to
   the PEs. The remaining PE architectural considerations in this
   document do not apply to this case.



4.1.2. Intra-Provider Switching Using PWs

   In this model, PW segments are switched between PSN tunnels that span
   portions of a provider's network, without reverting to the native
   service at the boundary. For example, in Figure 4, PSN 1 and PSN 2
   would be portions of the same provider's network.






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4.2. Inter-Provider Architecture

   Intra-provider PWs may need to be switched between PSN tunnels at the
   provider boundary in order to minimize the number of tunnels required
   to provide PWE3 services to CEs attached to each providers network.
   In addition, AAA and security mechanisms may need to be implemented
   on a per-PW basis at the provider boundary. Further security related
   architectural considerations are described in Section 13.

4.2.1. Inter-Provider Switching Using ACs.

   In this model, the PW reverts to the native service at the provider
   boundary PE. This AC is then connected to a separate PW at the peer
   provider boundary PE. In this case, the reference models of RFC 3985
   apply to each segment and to the PEs. The remaining PE architectural
   considerations in this document do not apply to this case.

4.2.2. Inter-Provider Switching Using PWs.

   In this model, PW segments are switched between PSN tunnels in each
   provider's network, without reverting to the native service at the
   boundary. This architecture is shown in Figure 5. Here, S-PE1 and S-
   PE2 are provider border routers. PW segment 1 is switched to PW
   segment 2 at S-PE1. PW segment 2 is then carried across an inter-
   provider PSN tunnel to S-PE2, where it is switched to PW segment 3 in
   PSN 2.

                |<------Multi-Segment Pseudowire------>|
                |       Provider         Provider      |
           AC   |    |<----1---->|     |<----2--->|    |  AC
            |   V    V           V     V          V    V  |
            |   +----+     +-----+     +----+     +----+  |
   +----+   |   |    |=====|     |=====|    |=====|    |  |    +----+
   |    |-------|......PW..........PW.........PW.......|-------|    |
   | CE1|   |   |    |Seg 1|     |Seg 2|    |Seg 3|    |  |    |CE2 |
   +----+   |   |    |=====|     |=====|    |=====|    |  |    +----+
        ^       +----+     +-----+     +----+     +----+       ^
        |       T-PE1       S-PE1       S-PE2     T-PE2        |
        |                     ^          ^                     |
        |                     |          |                     |
        |                  PW switching points                 |
        |                                                      |
        |                                                      |
        |<------------------- Emulated Service --------------->|

                  Figure 5 Inter-Provider Reference Model



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5. PE Reference Model

5.1. PWE3 Pre-processing

   PWE3 preprocessing is applied in the T-PEs as specified in RFC 3985.
   Processing at the S-PEs is specified in the following sections.

5.1.1. Forwarding

   Each forwarder in the S-PE forwards packets from one PW segment on
   the ingress PSN facing interface of the S-PE to one PW segment on the
   egress PSN facing interface of the S-PE.

   The forwarder selects the egress segment PW based on the ingress PW
   label. The mapping of ingress to egress PW label may be statically or
   dynamically configured. Figure 6 shows how a single forwarder is
   associated with each PW segment at the S-PE.

               +------------------------------------------+
               |                S-PE Device               |
               +------------------------------------------+
     Ingress   |             |             |              |   Egress
   PW instance |   Single    |             |    Single    | PW Instance
   <==========>X PW Instance +  Forwarder  + PW Instance  X<==========>
               |             |             |              |
               +------------------------------------------+

                      Figure 6 Point-to-Point Service

   Other mappings of PW to forwarder are for further study.

5.1.2. Native Service Processing

   There is no native service processing in the S-PEs for point-to-point
   MS-PWs.

6. Protocol Stack reference Model

   Figure 7 illustrates the protocol stack reference model for multi-
   segment PWs.








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+----------------+                                  +----------------+
|Emulated Service|                                  |Emulated Service|
|(e.g., TDM, ATM)|<======= Emulated Service =======>|(e.g., TDM, ATM)|
+----------------+                                  +----------------+
|    Payload     |                                  |    Payload     |
|  Encapsulation |<=== Multi-segment Pseudowire ===>|  Encapsulation |
+----------------+            +--------+            +----------------+
|PW Demultiplexer|<PW Segment>|PW Demux|<PW Segment>|PW Demultiplexer|
+----------------+            +--------+            +----------------+
|   PSN Tunnel,  |<PSN Tunnel>|  PSN   |<PSN Tunnel>|  PSN Tunnel,   |
| PSN & Physical |            |Physical|            | PSN & Physical |
|     Layers     |            | Layers |            |    Layers      |
+-------+--------+            +--------+            +----------------+
        |            ..........   |   ..........            |
        |           /          \  |  /          \           |
        +==========/    PSN     \===/    PSN     \==========+
                   \  domain 1  /   \  domain 2  /
                    \__________/     \__________/
                     ``````````       ``````````

                 Figure 7 Multi-Segment PW Protocol Stack

   The MS-PW provides the CE with an emulated physical or virtual
   connection to its peer at the far end. Native service PDUs from the
   CE are passed through an Encapsulation Layer and a PW demultiplexer
   is added at the sending T-PE. The PDU is sent over PSN domain 1. The
   receiving S-PE removes the existing PW demultiplexer, adds a new
   demultiplexer, and then sends the PDU over PSN2. Where the ingress
   and egress PSN domains of the S-PE are of the same type e.g. they are
   both MPLS PSNs, a simple label swap operation is performed, as
   described in RFC 3031 [5] Section 3.13. However, where the ingress
   and egress PSNs are of different types, e.g. MPLS and L2TPv3, the
   ingress PW demuletiplexer is removed (or popped), a mapping to the
   egress PW demultiplexer is performed, and then inserted (or pushed).

   Policies may also be applied to the PW at this point. Examples of
   such policies include: admission control, rate control, QoS mappings,
   and security. The receiving T-PE removes the PW demultiplexer and
   restores the payload to its native format for transmission to the
   destination CE.

   Where the encapsulation format is different e.g. MPLS and L2TPv3, the
   payload encapsulation may be transparently translated at the S-PE.






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7. Maintenance Reference Model

   Figure 8 shows the maintenance reference model for multi-segment
   PWE3.



         |<------------- CE (end-to-end) Signaling ------------>|
         |                                                      |
         |       |<-------- MS-PW/T-PE Maintenance ----->|      |
         |       |  |<---PW Seg't-->| |<--PW Seg't--->|  |      |
         |       |  |   Maintenance | | Maintenance   |  |      |
         |       |  |               | |               |  |      |
         |       |  |     PSN       | |     PSN       |  |      |
         |       |  | |<-Tunnel1->| | | |<-Tunnel2->| |  |      |
         |       V  V V Signaling V V V V Signaling V V  V      |
         V       +----+           +-----+           +----+      V
    +----+       |TPE1|===========|SPE1 |===========|TPE2|      +----+
    |    |-------|......PW.Seg't1.........PW Seg't3......|------|    |
    | CE1|       |    |           |     |           |    |      |CE2 |
    |    |-------|......PW.Seg't2.........PW Seg't4......|------|    |
    +----+       |    |===========|     |===========|    |      +----+
      ^          +----+           +-----+           +----+         ^
      |        Terminating           ^            Terminating      |
      |      Provider Edge 1         |          Provider Edge 2    |
      |                              |                             |
      |                      PW switching point                    |
      |                                                            |
      |<--------------------- Emulated Service ------------------->|

               Figure 8 MS-PWE3 Maintenance Reference Model

   RFC 3985 specifies the use of CE (end-to-end) and PSN tunnel
   signaling, and PW/PE maintenance. CE and PSN tunnel signaling is as
   specified in RFC 3985. However, in the case of MS-PWs, signaling
   between the PEs now has both an edge-to-edge and a hop-by-hop
   context. That is, signaling and maintenance between T-PEs and S-PEs
   and between adjacent S-PEs is used to set up, maintain, and tear down
   the MS-PW segments, which include the coordination of parameters
   related to each switching point, as well as the MS-PW end points.

8. PW Demultiplexer Layer and PSN Requirements

8.1. Multiplexing

   The purpose of the PW demultiplexer layer at the S-PE is to
   demultiplex PWs from ingress PSN tunnels and to multiplex them into


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   egress PSN tunnels. Although each PW may contain multiple native
   service circuits, e.g. multiple ATM VCs, the S-PEs do not have
   visibility of, and hence do not change, this level of multiplexing
   because they contain no NSP.

8.2. Fragmentation

   An S-PE is not required to make any attempt to reassemble a
   fragmented PW payload. An S-PE may fragment a PW payload.



9. Control Plane

9.1. Setup or Teardown of Pseudowires

   For multi-segment pseudowires, the intermediate PW switching points
   may be statically provisioned, or they may be dynamically signaled.

   For the static case, there are two options for exchanging the PW
   labels:

   o By configuration at the T-PEs or S-PEs

   o By signaling across each segment using a dynamic maintenance
      protocol.

   A multi-segment pseudowire may thus consist of segments where the
   labels are statically configured and segments where the labels are
   signaled.

   For the dynamic case, there are two options for selecting the path of
   the PW:

   o T-PEs determine the full path of the PW through intermediate
      switching points. This may be either static or based on a dynamic
      PW path selection mechanism.

   o Each segment of the PW path is determined locally by each T-PE or
      S-PE, either through static configuration or based on a dynamic PW
      path selection mechanism.

9.2. Pseudowire Up/Down Notification

   Since a multi-segment PW consists of a number of concatenated PW
   segments, the emulated service can only be considered as being up



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   when all of the PW segments and PSN tunnels (if used) are functional
   along the entire path of the MS-PW.

   If a native service requires bi-directional connectivity, the
   corresponding emulated service can only be signaled as being up when
   the PW segments and PSN tunnels (if used), are functional in both
   directions.

   RFC 3985 describes the need for failure and other status notification
   mechanisms for PWs. These considerations also apply to multi-segment
   pseudowires. In addition, if a failure notification mechanism is
   provided for consecutive segments of the same PW, the S-PE must be
   able to propagate such notifications between the consecutive
   concatenated segments.

9.3. Misconnection and Payload Type Mismatch

   With PWE3, misconnection and payload type mismatch can occur.
   Misconnection can breach the integrity of the system.  Payload
   mismatch can disrupt the customer network.  In both instances, there
   are security and operational concerns.

   The services of the underlying tunneling mechanism or the PWE3
   control and OAM protocols can be used to ensure that the identity of
   the PW next hop is as expected. As part of the PW setup, a PW-TYPE
   identifier is exchanged. This is then used by the forwarder and the
   NSP of the T-PEs to verify the compatibility of the ACs. This can
   also be used by S-PEs to ensure that concatenated segments of a given
   MS-PW are compatible, or that a MS-PW is not misconnected into a
   local AC. In addition, it is advisable to do an end-to-end connection
   verification to check the integrity of the PW, to verify the identity
   of S-PEs and check the correct connectivity at S-PEs, and to verify
   the identity of the T-PE.

10. Management and Monitoring

   The management and monitoring as described in RFC 3985 applies here.

   The MS-PW architecture introduces additional considerations related
   to management and monitoring.

   The first is that each S-PE is a new point at which defects may occur
   along the path of the PW. In order to troubleshoot MS-PWs, management
   and monitoring should be able to operate on a subset of the segments
   of an MS-PW, as well as edge-to-edge. That is, connectivity
   verification mechanisms should be able to troubleshoot the



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   connectivity between T-PEs and intermediate S-PEs, as well as T-PE to
   T-PE.

   The second is that the set of S-PEs used by an MS-PW to reach a T-PE
   may not coincide with that which would be determined by the routing
   and path selection mechanisms in the underlying PSN. While the path
   taken between consecutive T/S-PEs on a given MS-PW will be determined
   by the path of the PSN tunnel, the set of T/S-PEs that are used may
   be chosen by configuration or by a dynamic MS-PW path selection
   mechanism that operates independently of the underlying PSN.
   Troubleshooting mechanisms should therefore be provided to verify the
   set of S-PEs that are traversed by a MS-PW to reach a T-PE.

   Some of the S-PEs and the T-PEs for an MS-PW may reside in different
   service provider's PSN domain from that of the operator who initiated
   the establishment of the MS-PW. These situations may necessitate the
   use of remote management of the MS-PW, which is able to securely
   operate across provider boundaries.





11. Congestion Considerations

   The following congestion considerations apply to MS-PWs. These are in
   addition to the considerations for PWs described in RFC 3985 [2] and
   in the respective RFCs specifying each PW type.

   The control plane and the data plane fate-share in traditional IP
   networks. The implication of this is that congestion in the data
   plane can cause degradation of the operation of the control plane.
   Under quiescent operating conditions it is expected that the network
   will be designed to avoid such problems. However, MS-PW mechanisms
   should also consider what happens when congestion does occur, when
   the network is stretched beyond its design limits, for example during
   unexpected network failure conditions.

   Although congestion within a single provider's network can be
   mitigated by suitable engineering of the network so that the traffic
   imposed by PWs can never cause congestion in the underlying PSN, a
   significant number of MS-PWs are expected to be deployed for inter-
   provider services. In this case, there may be no way of a provider
   who initiates the establishment of a MS-PW at a T-PE guaranteeing
   that it will not cause congestion in a downstream PSN. A specific PSN
   may be able to protect itself from excess PW traffic by policing all
   PWs at the S-PE at the provider border. However, this may not


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   effective when the PSN tunnel across a provider utilizes the transit
   services of another provider that cannot distinguish PW traffic from
   ordinary, TCP-controlled, IP traffic.

   Each segment of an MS-PW therefore needs to implement congestion
   detection and congestion control mechanisms where it is not possible
   to explicitly provision sufficient capacity to avoid congestion.

   In many cases, only the T-PEs may have sufficient information about
   each PW to fairly apply congestion control. Therefore, T-PEs need to
   be aware which of their PWs are causing congestion in a downstream
   PSN and their native service characteristics and to apply congestion
   control accordingly. S-PEs therefore need to propagate PSN congestion
   state information between their downstream and upstream directions.
   If the MS-PW transits many S-PEs, it may take some time for
   congestion state information to propagate from the congested PSN
   segment to the source T-PE, thus delaying the application of
   congestion control. Congestion control in the S-PE at the border of
   the congested PSN can enable a more rapid response and thus
   potentially reduce the duration of congestion.

   In addition to protecting the operation of the underlying PSN,
   consistent QoS and traffic engineering mechanisms should be used on
   each segment of a MS-PW to support the requirements of the emulated
   service. The QoS treatment given to a PW packet at an S-PE may be
   derived from context information of the PW (e.g. traffic or QoS
   parameters signaled to the S-PE by an MS-PW control protocol), or
   from PSN-specific QoS flags in the PSN tunnel label or PW
   demultiplexer e.g. EXP bits for an MPLS PSN or the DS field of the
   outer IP header for L2TPv3.



12. IANA Considerations

   This document does not contain any IANA actions.

13. Security Considerations

   The security considerations described in RFC 3985 [2] apply here.

   Detailed security requirements for MS-PWs are specified in [3]. This
   section describes the architectural implications of those
   requirements.

   The security implications for T-PEs are similar to those for PEs in
   single segment pseudowires. However, S-PEs represent a point in the


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   network where the PW label is exposed to additional processing.
   Additional consideration needs to be given to the security of the S-
   PEs, both at the data plane and the control plane, particularly when
   these are dynamically selected and/or when the MS-PW transits the
   networks of multiple operators.

   An implicit trust relationship exists between the initiator of an MS-
   PW, the T-PEs, and the S-PEs along the MS-PW's path. That is, the T-
   PE trusts the S-PEs to process and switch PWs without compromising
   the security or privacy of the PWE3 service. An S-PE SHOULD NOT
   select a next-hop S-PE or T-PE unless it knows it would be considered
   eligible, as defined in [3], by the originator of the MS-PW. For
   dynamically placed MS-PWs, this can be achieved by allowing the T-PE
   to explicitly specify the path of the MS-PW. When the MS-PW is
   dynamically created by the use of a signaling protocol, an S-PE or T-
   PE SHOULD determine the authenticity of the peer entity from which it
   receives the request, and its compliance with policy.

   Where a MS-PW crosses a border between one provider and another
   provider, the MS-PW segment endpoints (S-PEs or T-PEs), or P-routers
   for the PSN tunnel, typically reside on the same nodes as the ASBRs
   interconnecting the two providers. In either case, an S-PE in one
   provider is connected to a limited number of trusted T-PEs or S-PEs
   in the other provider. The number of such trusted T-PEs or S-PEs is
   bounded and not anticipated to create a scaling issue for the control
   plane authentication mechanisms.

   Directly interconnecting the S-PEs/T-PEs using a physically secure
   link, and enabling signaling and routing authentication between the
   S-PEs/T-PEs, eliminates the possibility of receiving a MS-PW
   signaling message or packet from an untrusted peer. The S-PEs/T-PEs
   represent security policy enforcement points for the MS-PW, while the
   ASBRs represent security policy enforcement points for the provider's
   PSNs. This architecture is illustrated in Figure 9.














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               |<------------- MS-PW ---------------->|
               |       Provider         Provider      |
          AC   |    |<----1---->|     |<----2--->|    |  AC
           |   V    V           V     V          V    V  |
           |   +----+     +-----+     +----+     +----+  |
   +---+   |   |    |=====|     |=====|    |=====|    |  |    +---+
   |   |-------|......PW..........PW.........PW.......|-------|   |
   |CE1|   |   |    |Seg 1|     |Seg 2|    |Seg 3|    |  |    |CE2|
   +---+   |   |    |=====|     |=====|    |=====|    |  |    +---+
       ^       +----+     +-----+  ^  +----+     +----+       ^
       |       T-PE1       S-PE1   |   S-PE2     T-PE2        |
       |                    ASBR   |    ASBR                  |
       |                           |                          |
       |                  Physically secure link              |
       |                                                      |
       |                                                      |
       |<------------------- Emulated Service --------------->|

         Figure 9 Directly Connected Inter-Provider Reference Model



   Alternatively, the P-routers for the PSN tunnel may reside on the
   ASBRs, while the S-PEs or T-PEs reside behind the ASBRs within each
   provider's network. A limited number of trusted inter-provider PSN
   tunnels interconnect the provider networks. This is illustrated in
   Figure 10.

             |<-------------- MS-PW -------------------->|
             |          Provider          Provider       |
         AC  |    |<------1----->|   |<-----2------->|   |  AC
          |  V    V              V   V               V   V  |
          |  +---+     +---+  +--+   +--+  +---+     +---+  |
   +---+  |  |   |=====|   |===============|   |=====|   |  |   +---+
   |   |-----|.....PW............PW..............PW......|------|   |
   |CE1|  |  |   |Seg 1|   |    Seg 2      |   |Seg 3|   |  |   |CE2|
   +---+  |  |   |=====|   |===============|   |=====|   |  |   +---+
       ^     +---+     +---+  +--+ ^ +--+  +---+     +---+      ^
       |      T-PE1    S-PE1  ASBR | ASBR  S-PE2     T-PE2      |
       |                           |                            |
       |                           |                            |
       |                Trusted Inter-AS PSN Tunnel             |
       |                                                        |
       |                                                        |
       |<------------------- Emulated Service ----------------->|

       Figure 10 Indirectly Connected Inter-Provider Reference Model


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   Particular consideration needs to be given to Quality of Service
   requests because the inappropriate use of priority may impact any
   service guarantees given to other PWs. Consideration also needs to be
   given to the avoidance of spoofing the PW demultiplexer.

   Where an S-PE provides interconnection between different providers,
   similar considerations to those applied to ASBRs apply. In particular
   peer entity authentication SHOULD be used.

   Where an S-PE also supports T-PE functionality, mechanisms should be
   provided to ensure that MS-PWs to switched correctly to the
   appropriate outgoing PW segment, rather than a local AC. Other
   mechanisms for PW end point verification may also be used to confirm
   the correct PW connection prior to enabling the attachment circuits.

14. Acknowledgments

   The authors gratefully acknowledge the input of Mustapha Aissaoui,
   Dimitri Papadimitrou, Sasha Vainshtein, and Luca Martini.





























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15. References

15.1. Normative References

   [1]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
         Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [2]  Bryant, S. and Pate, P. (Editors), "Pseudo Wire Emulation Edge-
         to-Edge (PWE3) Architecture", RFC 3985, March 2005

   [3]  Martini, L. Bitar, N. and Bocci, M (Editors), "Requirements for
         Multi-Segment Pseudowire Emulation Edge-to-Edge (PWE3)", draft-
         ietf-pwe3-ms-pw-requirements-07.txt, Internet Draft, June 2008

   [4]  Andersson, L. and Madsen, T., "Provider Provisioned Virtual
         Private Network (VPN) Terminology", RFC 4026, March 2005

   [5]  Rosen, E. Viswanathan, A. and Callon, R., "Multiprotocol Label
         Switching Architecture", RFC 3031, January 2001

15.2. Informative References

   [6]  Bryant et al, "Application of Ethernet Pseudowires to MPLS
         Transport Networks", draft-ietf-pwe3-mpls-transport-02.txt,
         Internet Draft, February 2008



Author's Addresses

   Matthew Bocci
   Alcatel-Lucent
   Voyager Place,
   Maidenhead,
   Berks, UK
   Phone: +44 1633 413600
   Email: matthew.bocci@alcatel-lucent.co.uk

   Stewart Bryant
   Cisco
   250, Longwater,
   Green Park,
   Reading, RG2 6GB,
   United Kingdom.
   Email: stbryant@cisco.com




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Acknowledgment

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.












































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