Internet-Draft QUIC event definitions for qlog July 2023
Marx, et al. Expires 11 January 2024 [Page]
Workgroup:
QUIC
Internet-Draft:
draft-ietf-quic-qlog-quic-events-05
Published:
Intended Status:
Standards Track
Expires:
Authors:
R. Marx, Ed.
Akamai
L. Niccolini, Ed.
Meta
M. Seemann, Ed.
Protocol Labs
L. Pardue, Ed.
Cloudflare

QUIC event definitions for qlog

Abstract

This document describes concrete qlog event definitions and their metadata for QUIC events. These events can then be embedded in the higher level schema defined in [QLOG-MAIN].

Note to Readers

  • Note to RFC editor: Please remove this section before publication.

Feedback and discussion are welcome at https://github.com/quicwg/qlog. Readers are advised to refer to the "editor's draft" at that URL for an up-to-date version of this document.

Concrete examples of integrations of this schema in various programming languages can be found at https://github.com/quiclog/qlog/.

Status of This Memo

This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

This Internet-Draft will expire on 11 January 2024.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

This document describes the values of the qlog name ("category" + "event") and "data" fields and their semantics for the QUIC protocol (see [QUIC-TRANSPORT], [QUIC-RECOVERY], and [QUIC-TLS]) and some of its extensions (see [QUIC-DATAGRAM] and [GREASEBIT]).

1.1. Notational Conventions

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

The event and data structure definitions in ths document are expressed in the Concise Data Definition Language [CDDL] and its extensions described in [QLOG-MAIN].

The following fields from [QLOG-MAIN] are imported and used: name, category, type, data, group_id, protocol_type, importance, RawInfo, and time-related fields.

2. Overview

This document describes how the QUIC protocol is can be expressed in qlog using the schema defined in [QLOG-MAIN]. QUIC protocol events are defined with a category, a name (the concatenation of "category" and "event"), an "importance", an optional "trigger", and "data" fields.

Some data fields use complex datastructures. These are represented as enums or re-usable definitions, which are grouped together on the bottom of this document for clarity.

When any event from this document is included in a qlog trace, the "protocol_type" qlog array field MUST contain an entry with the value "QUIC".

When the qlog "group_id" field is used, it is recommended to use QUIC's Original Destination Connection ID (ODCID, the CID chosen by the client when first contacting the server), as this is the only value that does not change over the course of the connection and can be used to link more advanced QUIC packets (e.g., Retry, Version Negotiation) to a given connection. Similarly, the ODCID should be used as the qlog filename or file identifier, potentially suffixed by the vantagepoint type (For example, abcd1234_server.qlog would contain the server-side trace of the connection with ODCID abcd1234).

2.1. Raw packet and frame information

QUIC packets always include an AEAD authentication tag at the end. In general, the length of the AEAD tag depends on the TLS cipher suite, although all cipher suites used in QUIC v1 use a 16 byte tag.

Note:

As QUIC appends an authentication tag after the packet payload, the packet header_lengths can be calculated as:

header_length = length - payload_length - 16

For UDP datagrams, the calculation is simpler:

header_length = length - payload_length

Note:

In some cases, the length fields are also explicitly reflected inside of packet headers. For example, the QUIC STREAM frame has a "length" field indicating its payload size. Similarly, the QUIC Long Header has a "length" field which is equal to the payload length plus the packet number length. In these cases, those fields are intentionally preserved in the event definitions. Even though this can lead to duplicate data when the full RawInfo is logged, it allows a more direct mapping of the QUIC specifications to qlog, making it easier for users to interpret.

2.2. Events not belonging to a single connection

A single qlog event trace is typically associated with a single QUIC connection. However, for several types of events (for example, a Section 5.7 event with trigger value of "connection_unknown"), it can be impossible to tie them to a specific QUIC connection, especially on the server.

There are various ways to handle these events, each making certain tradeoffs between file size overhead, flexibility, ease of use, or ease of implementation. Some options include:

  • Log them in a separate endpoint-wide trace (or use a special group_id value) not associated with a single connection.
  • Log them in the most recently used trace.
  • Use additional heuristics for connection identification (for example use the four-tuple in addition to the Connection ID).
  • Buffer events until they can be assigned to a connection (for example for version negotiation and retry events).

3. QUIC Event Overview

QUIC connections consist of different phases and interaction events. In order to model this, QUIC event types are divided into general categories: connectivity (Section 4), security (Section 6), quic Section 5, and recovery Section 7.

As described in Section 3.4.2 of [QLOG-MAIN], the qlog "name" field is the concatenation of category and type.

Table 1 summarizes the name value of each event type that is defined in this specification.

Table 1: QUIC Events
Name value Importance Definition
connectivity:server_listening Extra Section 4.1
connectivity:connection_started Base Section 4.2
connectivity:connection_closed Base Section 4.3
connectivity:connection_id_updated Base Section 4.4
connectivity:spin_bit_updated Base Section 4.5
connectivity:connection_state_updated Base Section 4.6
connectivity:mtu_updated Extra Section 4.7
quic:version_information Core Section 5.1
quic:alpn_information Core Section 5.2
quic:parameters_set Core Section 5.3
quic:parameters_restored Base Section 5.4
quic:packet_sent Core Section 5.5
quic:packet_received Core Section 5.6
quic:packet_dropped Base Section 5.7
quic:packet_buffered Base Section 5.8
quic:packets_acked Extra Section 5.9
quic:datagrams_sent Extra Section 5.10
quic:datagrams_received Extra Section 5.11
quic:datagram_dropped Extra Section 5.12
quic:stream_state_updated Base Section 5.13
quic:frames_processed Extra Section 5.14
quic:stream_data_moved Base Section 5.15
quic:datagram_data_moved Base Section 5.16
security:key_updated Base Section 6.1
security:key_discarded Base Section 6.2
recovery:parameters_set Base Section 7.1
recovery:metrics_updated Core Section 7.2
recovery:congestion_state_updated Base Section 7.3
recovery:loss_timer_updated Extra Section 7.4
recovery:packet_lost Core Section 7.5
recovery:marked_for_retransmit Extra Section 7.6

QUIC events extend the $ProtocolEventBody extension point defined in [QLOG-MAIN].

QuicEvents = ConnectivityServerListening /
             ConnectivityConnectionStarted /
             ConnectivityConnectionClosed /
             ConnectivityConnectionIDUpdated /
             ConnectivitySpinBitUpdated /
             ConnectivityConnectionStateUpdated /
             ConnectivityMTUUpdated /
             SecurityKeyUpdated /
             SecurityKeyDiscarded /
             QUICVersionInformation /
             QUICALPNInformation /
             QUICParametersSet /
             QUICParametersRestored /
             QUICPacketSent /
             QUICPacketReceived /
             QUICPacketDropped /
             QUICPacketBuffered /
             QUICPacketsAcked /
             QUICDatagramsSent /
             QUICDatagramsReceived /
             QUICDatagramDropped /
             QUICStreamStateUpdated /
             QUICFramesProcessed /
             QUICStreamDataMoved /
             QUICDatagramDataMoved /
             RecoveryParametersSet /
             RecoveryMetricsUpdated /
             RecoveryCongestionStateUpdated /
             RecoveryLossTimerUpdated /
             RecoveryPacketLost

$ProtocolEventBody /= QuicEvents
Figure 1: QuicEvents definition and ProtocolEventBody extension

4. Connectivity events

4.1. server_listening

Importance: Extra

Emitted when the server starts accepting connections.

Definition:

ConnectivityServerListening = {
    ? ip_v4: IPAddress
    ? ip_v6: IPAddress
    ? port_v4: uint16
    ? port_v6: uint16

    ; the server will always answer client initials with a retry
    ; (no 1-RTT connection setups by choice)
    ? retry_required: bool
}
Figure 2: ConnectivityServerListening definition

Some QUIC stacks do not handle sockets directly and are thus unable to log IP and/or port information.

4.2. connection_started

Importance: Base

Used for both attempting (client-perspective) and accepting (server-perspective) new connections. Note that this event has overlap with connection_state_updated and this is a separate event mainly because of all the additional data that should be logged.

Definition:

ConnectivityConnectionStarted = {
    ? ip_version: IPVersion
    src_ip: IPAddress
    dst_ip: IPAddress

    ; transport layer protocol
    ? protocol: text .default "QUIC"
    ? src_port: uint16
    ? dst_port: uint16
    ? src_cid: ConnectionID
    ? dst_cid: ConnectionID
}
Figure 3: ConnectivityConnectionStarted definition

Some QUIC stacks do not handle sockets directly and are thus unable to log IP and/or port information.

4.3. connection_closed

Importance: Base

Used for logging when a connection was closed, typically when an error or timeout occurred. Note that this event has overlap with connectivity:connection_state_updated, as well as the CONNECTION_CLOSE frame. However, in practice, when analyzing large deployments, it can be useful to have a single event representing a connection_closed event, which also includes an additional reason field to provide additional information. Additionally, it is useful to log closures due to timeouts, which are difficult to reflect using the other options.

In QUIC there are two main connection-closing error categories: connection and application errors. They have well-defined error codes and semantics. Next to these however, there can be internal errors that occur that may or may not get mapped to the official error codes in implementation-specific ways. As such, multiple error codes can be set on the same event to reflect this.

Definition:

ConnectivityConnectionClosed = {

    ; which side closed the connection
    ? owner: Owner
    ? connection_code: TransportError /
                       CryptoError /
                       uint32
    ? application_code: $ApplicationError /
                        uint32
    ? internal_code: uint32
    ? reason: text
    ? trigger:
        "clean" /
        "handshake_timeout" /
        "idle_timeout" /
        ; this is called the "immediate close" in the QUIC RFC
        "error" /
        "stateless_reset" /
        "version_mismatch" /
        ; for example HTTP/3's GOAWAY frame
        "application"
}
Figure 4: ConnectivityConnectionClosed definition

4.4. connection_id_updated

Importance: Base

This event is emitted when either party updates their current Connection ID. As this typically happens only sparingly over the course of a connection, this event allows loggers to be more efficient than logging the observed CID with each packet in the .header field of the "packet_sent" or "packet_received" events.

This is viewed from the perspective of the endpoint applying the new id. As such, when the endpoint receives a new connection id from the peer, it will see the dst_ fields are set. When the endpoint updates its own connection id (e.g., NEW_CONNECTION_ID frame), it logs the src_ fields.

Definition:

ConnectivityConnectionIDUpdated = {
    owner: Owner
    ? old: ConnectionID
    ? new: ConnectionID
}
Figure 5: ConnectivityConnectionIDUpdated definition

4.5. spin_bit_updated

Importance: Base

To be emitted when the spin bit changes value. It SHOULD NOT be emitted if the spin bit is set without changing its value.

Definition:

ConnectivitySpinBitUpdated = {
    state: bool
}
Figure 6: ConnectivitySpinBitUpdated definition

4.6. connection_state_updated

Importance: Base

This event is used to track progress through QUIC's complex handshake and connection close procedures. It is intended to provide exhaustive options to log each state individually, but also provides a more basic, simpler set for implementations less interested in tracking each smaller state transition. As such, users should not expect to see -all- these states reflected in all qlogs and implementers should focus on support for the SimpleConnectionState set.

Definition:

ConnectivityConnectionStateUpdated = {
    ? old: ConnectionState /
           SimpleConnectionState
    new: ConnectionState /
         SimpleConnectionState
}

ConnectionState =
    ; initial sent/received
    "attempted" /
    ; peer address validated by: client sent Handshake packet OR
    ; client used CONNID chosen by the server.
    ; transport-draft-32, section-8.1
    "peer_validated" /
    "handshake_started" /
    ; 1 RTT can be sent, but handshake isn't done yet
    "early_write" /
    ; TLS handshake complete: Finished received and sent
    ; tls-draft-32, section-4.1.1
    "handshake_complete" /
    ; HANDSHAKE_DONE sent/received (connection is now "active", 1RTT
    ; can be sent). tls-draft-32, section-4.1.2
    "handshake_confirmed" /
    "closing" /
    ; connection_close sent/received
    "draining" /
    ; draining period done, connection state discarded
    "closed"

SimpleConnectionState =
    "attempted" /
    "handshake_started" /
    "handshake_confirmed" /
    "closed"
Figure 7: ConnectivityConnectionStateUpdated definition

These states correspond to the following transitions for both client and server:

Client:

  • send initial

    • state = attempted
  • get initial

    • state = validated (not really "needed" at the client, but somewhat useful to indicate progress nonetheless)
  • get first Handshake packet

    • state = handshake_started
  • get Handshake packet containing ServerFinished

    • state = handshake_complete
  • send ClientFinished

    • state = early_write (1RTT can now be sent)
  • get HANDSHAKE_DONE

    • state = handshake_confirmed

Server:

  • get initial

    • state = attempted
  • send initial (TODO don't think this needs a separate state, since some handshake will always be sent in the same flight as this?)
  • send handshake EE, CERT, CV, ...

    • state = handshake_started
  • send ServerFinished

    • state = early_write (1RTT can now be sent)
  • get first handshake packet / something using a server-issued CID of min length

    • state = validated
  • get handshake packet containing ClientFinished

    • state = handshake_complete
  • send HANDSHAKE_DONE

    • state = handshake_confirmed
Note:

connection_state_changed with a new state of "attempted" is the same conceptual event as the connection_started event above from the client's perspective. Similarly, a state of "closing" or "draining" corresponds to the connection_closed event.

4.7. mtu_updated

Importance: Extra

ConnectivityMTUUpdated = {
  ? old: uint16
  new: uint16

  ; at some point, MTU discovery stops, as a "good enough"
  ; packet size has been found
  ? done: bool .default false
}
Figure 8: ConnectivityMTUUpdated definition

This event indicates that the estimated Path MTU was updated. This happens as part of the Path MTU discovery process.

5. QUIC events

5.1. version_information

Importance: Core

QUIC endpoints each have their own list of of QUIC versions they support. The client uses the most likely version in their first initial. If the server does support that version, it replies with a version_negotiation packet, containing supported versions. From this, the client selects a version. This event aggregates all this information in a single event type. It also allows logging of supported versions at an endpoint without actual version negotiation needing to happen.

Definition:

QUICVersionInformation = {
    ? server_versions: [+ QuicVersion]
    ? client_versions: [+ QuicVersion]
    ? chosen_version: QuicVersion
}
Figure 9: QUICVersionInformation definition

Intended use:

  • When sending an initial, the client logs this event with client_versions and chosen_version set
  • Upon receiving a client initial with a supported version, the server logs this event with server_versions and chosen_version set
  • Upon receiving a client initial with an unsupported version, the server logs this event with server_versions set and client_versions to the single-element array containing the client's attempted version. The absence of chosen_version implies no overlap was found.
  • Upon receiving a version negotiation packet from the server, the client logs this event with client_versions set and server_versions to the versions in the version negotiation packet and chosen_version to the version it will use for the next initial packet

5.2. alpn_information

Importance: Core

QUIC implementations each have their own list of application level protocols and versions thereof they support. The client includes a list of their supported options in its first initial as part of the TLS Application Layer Protocol Negotiation (alpn) extension. If there are common option(s), the server chooses the most optimal one and communicates this back to the client. If not, the connection is closed.

Definition:

QUICALPNInformation = {
    ? server_alpns: [* text]
    ? client_alpns: [* text]
    ? chosen_alpn: text
}
Figure 10: QUICALPNInformation definition

Intended use:

  • When sending an initial, the client logs this event with client_alpns set
  • When receiving an initial with a supported alpn, the server logs this event with server_alpns set, client_alpns equalling the client-provided list, and chosen_alpn to the value it will send back to the client.
  • When receiving an initial with an alpn, the client logs this event with chosen_alpn to the received value.
  • Alternatively, a client can choose to not log the first event, but wait for the receipt of the server initial to log this event with both client_alpns and chosen_alpn set.

5.3. parameters_set

Importance: Core

This event groups settings from several different sources (transport parameters, TLS ciphers, etc.) into a single event. This is done to minimize the amount of events and to decouple conceptual setting impacts from their underlying mechanism for easier high-level reasoning.

All these settings are typically set once and never change. However, they are typically set at different times during the connection, so there will typically be several instances of this event with different fields set.

Note that some settings have two variations (one set locally, one requested by the remote peer). This is reflected in the "owner" field. As such, this field MUST be correct for all settings included a single event instance. If you need to log settings from two sides, you MUST emit two separate event instances.

In the case of connection resumption and 0-RTT, some of the server's parameters are stored up-front at the client and used for the initial connection startup. They are later updated with the server's reply. In these cases, utilize the separate parameters_restored event to indicate the initial values, and this event to indicate the updated values, as normal.

Definition:

QUICParametersSet = {
    ? owner: Owner

    ; true if valid session ticket was received
    ? resumption_allowed: bool

    ; true if early data extension was enabled on the TLS layer
    ? early_data_enabled: bool

    ; e.g., "AES_128_GCM_SHA256"
    ? tls_cipher: text

    ; RFC9000
    ? original_destination_connection_id: ConnectionID
    ? initial_source_connection_id: ConnectionID
    ? retry_source_connection_id: ConnectionID
    ? stateless_reset_token: StatelessResetToken
    ? disable_active_migration: bool
    ? max_idle_timeout: uint64
    ? max_udp_payload_size: uint32
    ? ack_delay_exponent: uint16
    ? max_ack_delay: uint16
    ? active_connection_id_limit: uint32
    ? initial_max_data: uint64
    ? initial_max_stream_data_bidi_local: uint64
    ? initial_max_stream_data_bidi_remote: uint64
    ? initial_max_stream_data_uni: uint64
    ? initial_max_streams_bidi: uint64
    ? initial_max_streams_uni: uint64
    ? preferred_address: PreferredAddress

    ; RFC9221
    ? max_datagram_frame_size: uint64

    ; RFC9287
    ; true if present, absent or false if extension not negotiated
    ? grease_quic_bit: bool
}

PreferredAddress = {
    ip_v4: IPAddress
    ip_v6: IPAddress
    port_v4: uint16
    port_v6: uint16
    connection_id: ConnectionID
    stateless_reset_token: StatelessResetToken
}
Figure 11: QUICParametersSet definition

Additionally, this event can contain any number of unspecified fields. This is to reflect setting of for example unknown (greased) transport parameters or employed (proprietary) extensions.

5.4. parameters_restored

Importance: Base

When using QUIC 0-RTT, clients are expected to remember and restore the server's transport parameters from the previous connection. This event is used to indicate which parameters were restored and to which values when utilizing 0-RTT. Note that not all transport parameters should be restored (many are even prohibited from being re-utilized). The ones listed here are the ones expected to be useful for correct 0-RTT usage.

Definition:

QUICParametersRestored = {
    ? disable_active_migration: bool
    ? max_idle_timeout: uint64
    ? max_udp_payload_size: uint32
    ? active_connection_id_limit: uint32
    ? initial_max_data: uint64
    ? initial_max_stream_data_bidi_local: uint64
    ? initial_max_stream_data_bidi_remote: uint64,
    ? initial_max_stream_data_uni: uint64
    ? initial_max_streams_bidi: uint64
    ? initial_max_streams_uni: uint64
}
Figure 12: QUICParametersRestored definition

Note that, like parameters_set above, this event can contain any number of unspecified fields to allow for additional/custom parameters.

5.5. packet_sent

Importance: Core

Definition:

QUICPacketSent = {
    header: PacketHeader
    ? frames: [* $QuicFrame]
    ? is_coalesced: bool .default false

    ; only if header.packet_type === "retry"
    ? retry_token: Token

    ; only if header.packet_type === "stateless_reset"
    ; is always 128 bits in length.
    ? stateless_reset_token: StatelessResetToken

    ; only if header.packet_type === "version_negotiation"
    ? supported_versions: [+ QuicVersion]
    ? raw: RawInfo
    ? datagram_id: uint32
    ? is_mtu_probe_packet: bool .default false
    ? trigger:
      ; draft-23 5.1.1
      "retransmit_reordered" /
      ; draft-23 5.1.2
      "retransmit_timeout" /
      ; draft-23 5.3.1
      "pto_probe" /
      ; draft-19 6.2
      "retransmit_crypto" /
      ; needed for some CCs to figure out bandwidth allocations
      ; when there are no normal sends
      "cc_bandwidth_probe"
}
Figure 13: QUICPacketSent definition

The encryption_level and packet_number_space are not logged explicitly: the header.packet_type specifies this by inference (assuming correct implementation)

For more details on "datagram_id", see Section 5.10. It is only needed when keeping track of packet coalescing.

5.6. packet_received

Importance: Core

Definition:

QUICPacketReceived = {
    header: PacketHeader
    ? frames: [* $QuicFrame]
    ? is_coalesced: bool .default false

    ; only if header.packet_type === "retry"
    ? retry_token: Token

    ; only if header.packet_type === "stateless_reset"
    ; Is always 128 bits in length.
    ? stateless_reset_token: StatelessResetToken

    ; only if header.packet_type === "version_negotiation"
    ? supported_versions: [+ QuicVersion]
    ? raw: RawInfo
    ? datagram_id: uint32
    ? trigger:
        ; if packet was buffered because it couldn't be
        ; decrypted before
        "keys_available"
}
Figure 14: QUICPacketReceived definition

The encryption_level and packet_number_space are not logged explicitly: the header.packet_type specifies this by inference (assuming correct implementation)

For more details on "datagram_id", see Section 5.10. It is only needed when keeping track of packet coalescing.

5.7. packet_dropped

Importance: Base

This event indicates a QUIC-level packet was dropped.

The trigger field indicates a general reason category for dropping the packet, while the details field can contain additional implementation-specific information.

Definition:

QUICPacketDropped = {

    ; Primarily packet_type should be filled here,
    ; as other fields might not be decrypteable or parseable
    ? header: PacketHeader
    ? raw: RawInfo
    ? datagram_id: uint32
    ? details: {* text => any}
    ? trigger:
        "internal_error" /
        "rejected" /
        "unsupported" /
        "invalid" /
        "connection_unknown" /
        "decryption_failure" /
        "general"
}
Figure 15: QUICPacketDropped definition

Some example situations for each of the trigger categories include:

  • internal_error: not initialized, out of memory
  • rejected: limits reached, DDoS protection, unwilling to track more paths, duplicate packet
  • unsupported: unknown or unsupported version. See also Section 2.2.
  • invalid: packet parsing or validation error
  • connection_unknown: packet does not relate to a known connection or Connection ID
  • decryption_failure: decryption key was unavailable, decryption failed
  • general: situations not clearly covered in the other categories

For more details on "datagram_id", see Section 5.10.

5.8. packet_buffered

Importance: Base

This event is emitted when a packet is buffered because it cannot be processed yet. Typically, this is because the packet cannot be parsed yet, and thus only the full packet contents can be logged when it was parsed in a packet_received event.

Definition:

QUICPacketBuffered = {

    ; primarily packet_type and possible packet_number should be
    ; filled here as other elements might not be available yet
    ? header: PacketHeader
    ? raw: RawInfo
    ? datagram_id: uint32
    ? trigger:
        ; indicates the parser cannot keep up, temporarily buffers
        ; packet for later processing
        "backpressure" /
        ; if packet cannot be decrypted because the proper keys were
        ; not yet available
        "keys_unavailable"
}
Figure 16: QUICPacketBuffered definition

For more details on "datagram_id", see Section 5.10. It is only needed when keeping track of packet coalescing.

5.9. packets_acked

Importance: Extra

This event is emitted when a (group of) sent packet(s) is acknowledged by the remote peer for the first time. This information could also be deduced from the contents of received ACK frames. However, ACK frames require additional processing logic to determine when a given packet is acknowledged for the first time, as QUIC uses ACK ranges which can include repeated ACKs. Additionally, this event can be used by implementations that do not log frame contents.

Definition:

QUICPacketsAcked = {
    ? packet_number_space: PacketNumberSpace
    ? packet_numbers: [+ uint64]
}
Figure 17: QUICPacketsAcked definition

If packet_number_space is omitted, it assumes the default value of PacketNumberSpace.application_data, as this is by far the most prevalent packet number space a typical QUIC connection will use.

5.10. datagrams_sent

Importance: Extra

When one or more UDP-level datagrams are passed to the socket. This is useful for determining how QUIC packet buffers are drained to the OS.

Definition:

QUICDatagramsSent = {

    ; to support passing multiple at once
    ? count: uint16

    ; The RawInfo fields do not include the UDP headers,
    ; only the UDP payload
    ? raw: [+ RawInfo]
    ? datagram_ids: [+ uint32]
}
Figure 18: QUICDatagramsSent definition

Since QUIC implementations rarely control UDP logic directly, the raw data excludes UDP-level headers in all fields.

The "datagram_id" is a qlog-specific concept to allow tracking of QUIC packet coalescing inside UDP datagrams. Since QUIC generates many UDP datagrams, unique identifiers are required to be able to track them individually in qlog traces. However, neither UDP nor QUIC exchanges datagram identifiers on the wire. Selecting identifier values is thus left to qlog implementations, which should consider how to generate unique values within the scope of their created traces.

5.11. datagrams_received

Importance: Extra

When one or more UDP-level datagrams are received from the socket. This is useful for determining how datagrams are passed to the user space stack from the OS.

Definition:

QUICDatagramsReceived = {

    ; to support passing multiple at once
    ? count: uint16

    ; The RawInfo fields do not include the UDP headers,
    ; only the UDP payload
    ? raw: [+ RawInfo]
    ? datagram_ids: [+ uint32]
}
Figure 19: QUICDatagramsReceived definition

For more details on "datagram_ids", see Section 5.10.

5.12. datagram_dropped

Importance: Extra

When a UDP-level datagram is dropped. This is typically done if it does not contain a valid QUIC packet. If it does, but the QUIC packet is dropped for other reasons, packet_dropped (Section 5.7) should be used instead.

Definition:

QUICDatagramDropped = {

    ; The RawInfo fields do not include the UDP headers,
    ; only the UDP payload
    ? raw: RawInfo
}
Figure 20: QUICDatagramDropped definition

5.13. stream_state_updated

Importance: Base

This event is emitted whenever the internal state of a QUIC stream is updated, as described in QUIC transport draft-23 section 3. Most of this can be inferred from several types of frames going over the wire, but it's much easier to have explicit signals for these state changes.

Definition:

StreamType = "unidirectional" /
             "bidirectional"

QUICStreamStateUpdated = {
    stream_id: uint64

    ; mainly useful when opening the stream
    ? stream_type: StreamType
    ? old: StreamState
    new: StreamState
    ? stream_side: "sending" /
                   "receiving"
}

StreamState =
    ; bidirectional stream states, draft-23 3.4.
    "idle" /
    "open" /
    "half_closed_local" /
    "half_closed_remote" /
    "closed" /
    ; sending-side stream states, draft-23 3.1.
    "ready" /
    "send" /
    "data_sent" /
    "reset_sent" /
    "reset_received" /
    ; receive-side stream states, draft-23 3.2.
    "receive" /
    "size_known" /
    "data_read" /
    "reset_read" /
    ; both-side states
    "data_received" /
    ; qlog-defined:
    ; memory actually freed
    "destroyed"
Figure 21: QUICStreamStateUpdated definition

QUIC implementations SHOULD mainly log the simplified bidirectional (HTTP/2-alike) stream states (e.g., idle, open, closed) instead of the more fine-grained stream states (e.g., data_sent, reset_received). These latter ones are mainly for more in-depth debugging. Tools SHOULD be able to deal with both types equally.

5.14. frames_processed

Importance: Extra

This event's main goal is to prevent a large proliferation of specific purpose events (e.g., packets_acknowledged, flow_control_updated, stream_data_received). Implementations have the opportunity to (selectively) log this type of signal without having to log packet-level details (e.g., in packet_received). Since for almost all cases, the effects of applying a frame to the internal state of an implementation can be inferred from that frame's contents, these events are aggregated into this single "frames_processed" event.

This event can be used to signal internal state change not resulting directly from the actual "parsing" of a frame (e.g., the frame could have been parsed, data put into a buffer, then later processed, then logged with this event).

Implementations logging "packet_received" and which include all of the packet's constituent frames therein, are not expected to emit this "frames_processed" event. Rather, implementations not wishing to log full packets or that wish to explicitly convey extra information about when frames are processed (if not directly tied to their reception) can use this event.

Note that for some events, this approach will lose some information (e.g., for which encryption level are packets being acknowledged?). If this information is important, the packet_received event can be used instead.

In some implementations, it can be difficult to log frames directly, even when using packet_sent and packet_received events. For these cases, this event also contains the packet_numbers field, which can be used to more explicitly link this event to the packet_sent/received events. The field is an array, which supports using a single "frames_processed" event for multiple frames received over multiple packets. To map between frames and packets, the position and order of entries in the "frames" and "packet_numbers" is used. If the optional "packet_numbers" field is used, each frame MUST have a corresponding packet number at the same index.

Definition:

QUICFramesProcessed = {
    frames: [* $QuicFrame]
    ? packet_numbers: [* uint64]
}
Figure 22: QUICFramesProcessed definition

For example, an instance of this event that represents four STREAM frames received over two packets would have the fields serialized as:

"frames":[
  {"frame_type":"stream","stream_id":0,"offset":0,"length":500},
  {"frame_type":"stream","stream_id":0,"offset":500,"length":200},
  {"frame_type":"stream","stream_id":1,"offset":0,"length":300},
  {"frame_type":"stream","stream_id":1,"offset":300,"length":50}
  ],
"packet_numbers":[
  1,
  1,
  2,
  2
]

5.15. stream_data_moved

Importance: Base

Used to indicate when QUIC stream data moves between the different layers (for example passing from the application protocol (e.g., HTTP) to QUIC stream buffers and vice versa) or between the application protocol (e.g., HTTP) and the actual user application on top (for example a browser engine). This helps make clear the flow of data, how long data remains in various buffers and the overheads introduced by individual layers.

For example, this helps make clear whether received data on a QUIC stream is moved to the application protocol immediately (for example per received packet) or in larger batches (for example, all QUIC packets are processed first and afterwards the application layer reads from the streams with newly available data). This in turn can help identify bottlenecks, flow control issues or scheduling problems.

This event is only for data in QUIC streams. For data in QUIC Datagram Frames, see Section 5.16.

Definition:

QUICStreamDataMoved = {
    ? stream_id: uint64
    ? offset: uint64

    ; byte length of the moved data
    ? length: uint64
    ? from: "user" /
            "application" /
            "transport" /
            "network" /
            text
    ? to: "user" /
          "application" /
          "transport" /
          "network" /
          text
    ? raw: RawInfo
}
Figure 23: QUICStreamDataMoved definition

5.16. datagram_data_moved

Importance: Base

Used to indicate when QUIC Datagram Frame data (see [RFC9221]) moves between the different layers (for example passing from the application protocol (e.g., WebTransport) to QUIC Datagram Frame buffers and vice versa) or between the application protocol and the actual user application on top (for example a gaming engine or media playback software). This helps make clear the flow of data, how long data remains in various buffers and the overheads introduced by individual layers.

For example, this helps make clear whether received data in a QUIC Datagram Frame is moved to the application protocol immediately (for example per received packet) or in larger batches (for example, all QUIC packets are processed first and afterwards the application layer reads all Datagrams at once). This in turn can help identify bottlenecks or scheduling problems.

This event is only for data in QUIC Datagram Frames. For data in QUIC streams, see Section 5.15.

Definition:

QUICDatagramDataMoved = {
    ; byte length of the moved data
    ? length: uint64
    ? from: "user" /
            "application" /
            "transport" /
            "network" /
            text
    ? to: "user" /
          "application" /
          "transport" /
          "network" /
          text
    ? raw: RawInfo
}
Figure 24: QUICDatagramDataMoved definition

6. Security Events

6.1. key_updated

Importance: Base

Definition:

SecurityKeyUpdated = {
    key_type: KeyType
    ? old: hexstring
    new: hexstring

    ; needed for 1RTT key updates
    ? generation: uint32
    ? trigger:
        ; (e.g., initial, handshake and 0-RTT keys
        ; are generated by TLS)
        "tls" /
        "remote_update" /
        "local_update"
}
Figure 25: SecurityKeyUpdated definition

6.2. key_discarded

Importance: Base

Definition:

SecurityKeyDiscarded = {
    key_type: KeyType
    ? key: hexstring

    ; needed for 1RTT key updates
    ? generation: uint32
    ? trigger:
        ; (e.g., initial, handshake and 0-RTT keys
        ; are generated by TLS)
        "tls" /
        "remote_update" /
        "local_update"
}
Figure 26: SecurityKeyDiscarded definition

7. Recovery events

Most of the events in this category are kept generic to support different recovery approaches and various congestion control algorithms. Tool creators SHOULD make an effort to support and visualize even unknown data in these events (e.g., plot unknown congestion states by name on a timeline visualization).

7.1. parameters_set

Importance: Base

This event groups initial parameters from both loss detection and congestion control into a single event. All these settings are typically set once and never change. Implementation that do, for some reason, change these parameters during execution, MAY emit the parameters_set event twice.

Definition:

RecoveryParametersSet = {

    ; Loss detection, see recovery draft-23, Appendix A.2
    ; in amount of packets
    ? reordering_threshold: uint16

    ; as RTT multiplier
    ? time_threshold: float32

    ; in ms
    timer_granularity: uint16

    ; in ms
    ? initial_rtt:float32

    ; congestion control, Appendix B.1.
    ; in bytes. Note that this could be updated after pmtud
    ? max_datagram_size: uint32

    ; in bytes
    ? initial_congestion_window: uint64

    ; Note that this could change when max_datagram_size changes
    ; in bytes
    ? minimum_congestion_window: uint64
    ? loss_reduction_factor: float32

    ; as PTO multiplier
    ? persistent_congestion_threshold: uint16
}
Figure 27: RecoveryParametersSet definition

Additionally, this event can contain any number of unspecified fields to support different recovery approaches.

7.2. metrics_updated

Importance: Core

This event is emitted when one or more of the observable recovery metrics changes value. This event SHOULD group all possible metric updates that happen at or around the same time in a single event (e.g., if min_rtt and smoothed_rtt change at the same time, they should be bundled in a single metrics_updated entry, rather than split out into two). Consequently, a metrics_updated event is only guaranteed to contain at least one of the listed metrics.

Definition:

RecoveryMetricsUpdated = {

    ; Loss detection, see recovery draft-23, Appendix A.3
    ; all following rtt fields are expressed in ms
    ? min_rtt: float32
    ? smoothed_rtt: float32
    ? latest_rtt: float32
    ? rtt_variance: float32
    ? pto_count: uint16

    ; Congestion control, Appendix B.2.
    ; in bytes
    ? congestion_window: uint64
    ? bytes_in_flight: uint64

    ; in bytes
    ? ssthresh: uint64

    ; qlog defined
    ; sum of all packet number spaces
    ? packets_in_flight: uint64

    ; in bits per second
    ? pacing_rate: uint64
}
Figure 28: RecoveryMetricsUpdated definition

In order to make logging easier, implementations MAY log values even if they are the same as previously reported values (e.g., two subsequent RecoveryMetricsUpdated entries can both report the exact same value for min_rtt). However, applications SHOULD try to log only actual updates to values.

Additionally, this event can contain any number of unspecified fields to support different recovery approaches.

7.3. congestion_state_updated

Importance: Base

This event signifies when the congestion controller enters a significant new state and changes its behaviour. This event's definition is kept generic to support different Congestion Control algorithms. For example, for the algorithm defined in the Recovery draft ("enhanced" New Reno), the following states are defined:

  • slow_start
  • congestion_avoidance
  • application_limited
  • recovery

Definition:

RecoveryCongestionStateUpdated = {
    ? old: text
    new: text
    ? trigger:
        "persistent_congestion" /
        "ECN"
}
Figure 29: RecoveryCongestionStateUpdated definition

The "trigger" field SHOULD be logged if there are multiple ways in which a state change can occur but MAY be omitted if a given state can only be due to a single event occurring (e.g., slow start is exited only when ssthresh is exceeded).

7.4. loss_timer_updated

Importance: Extra

This event is emitted when a recovery loss timer changes state. The three main event types are:

  • set: the timer is set with a delta timeout for when it will trigger next
  • expired: when the timer effectively expires after the delta timeout
  • cancelled: when a timer is cancelled (e.g., all outstanding packets are acknowledged, start idle period)

In order to indicate an active timer's timeout update, a new "set" event is used.

Definition:

RecoveryLossTimerUpdated = {

    ; called "mode" in draft-23 A.9.
    ? timer_type: "ack" /
                  "pto"
    ? packet_number_space: PacketNumberSpace
    event_type: "set" /
                "expired" /
                "cancelled"

    ; if event_type === "set": delta time is in ms from
    ; this event's timestamp until when the timer will trigger
    ? delta: float32
}
Figure 30: RecoveryLossTimerUpdated definition

7.5. packet_lost

Importance: Core

This event is emitted when a packet is deemed lost by loss detection. It is RECOMMENDED to populate the optional "trigger" field in order to help disambiguate among the various possible causes of a loss declaration.

Definition:

RecoveryPacketLost = {

    ; should include at least the packet_type and packet_number
    ? header: PacketHeader

    ; not all implementations will keep track of full
    ; packets, so these are optional
    ? frames: [* $QuicFrame]
    ? is_mtu_probe_packet: bool .default false
    ? trigger:
        "reordering_threshold" /
        "time_threshold" /
        ; RFC 9002 Section 6.2.4 paragraph 6, MAY
        "pto_expired"
}
Figure 31: RecoveryPacketLost definition

7.6. marked_for_retransmit

Importance: Extra

This event indicates which data was marked for retransmit upon detecting a packet loss (see packet_lost). Similar to the reasoning for the "frames_processed" event, in order to keep the amount of different events low, this signal is grouped into in a single event based on existing QUIC frame definitions for all types of retransmittable data.

Implementations retransmitting full packets or frames directly can just log the constituent frames of the lost packet here (or do away with this event and use the contents of the packet_lost event instead). Conversely, implementations that have more complex logic (e.g., marking ranges in a stream's data buffer as in-flight), or that do not track sent frames in full (e.g., only stream offset + length), can translate their internal behaviour into the appropriate frame instance here even if that frame was never or will never be put on the wire.

Much of this data can be inferred if implementations log packet_sent events (e.g., looking at overlapping stream data offsets and length, one can determine when data was retransmitted).

Definition:

RecoveryMarkedForRetransmit = {
    frames: [+ $QuicFrame]
}
Figure 32: RecoveryMarkedForRetransmit definition

8. QUIC data field definitions

8.3. Owner

Owner = "local" /
        "remote"
Figure 35: Owner definition

8.4. IPAddress and IPVersion

; an IPAddress can either be a "human readable" form
; (e.g., "127.0.0.1" for v4 or
; "2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334" for v6) or
; use a raw byte-form (as the string forms can be ambiguous)
IPAddress = text /
            hexstring
Figure 36: IPAddress definition
IPVersion = "v4" /
            "v6"
Figure 37: IPVersion definition

8.5. PacketType

PacketType = "initial" /
             "handshake" /
             "0RTT" /
             "1RTT" /
             "retry" /
             "version_negotiation" /
             "stateless_reset" /
             "unknown"
Figure 38: PacketType definition

8.6. PacketNumberSpace

PacketNumberSpace = "initial" /
                    "handshake" /
                    "application_data"
Figure 39: PacketNumberSpace definition

8.7. PacketHeader

PacketHeader = {
    ? quic_bit: bool .default true
    packet_type: PacketType

    ; only if packet_type === "initial" || "handshake" || "0RTT" ||
    ;                         "1RTT"
    ? packet_number: uint64

    ; the bit flags of the packet headers (spin bit, key update bit,
    ; etc. up to and including the packet number length bits
    ; if present
    ? flags: uint8

    ; only if packet_type === "initial"
    ? token: Token

    ; only if packet_type === "initial" || "handshake" || "0RTT"
    ; Signifies length of the packet_number plus the payload
    ? length: uint16

    ; only if present in the header
    ; if correctly using transport:connection_id_updated events,
    ; dcid can be skipped for 1RTT packets
    ? version: QuicVersion
    ? scil: uint8
    ? dcil: uint8
    ? scid: ConnectionID
    ? dcid: ConnectionID
}
Figure 40: PacketHeader definition

8.8. Token

Token = {
    ? type: "retry" /
            "resumption"

    ; decoded fields included in the token
    ; (typically: peer's IP address, creation time)
    ? details: {
      * text => any
    }
    ? raw: RawInfo
}
Figure 41: Token definition

The token carried in an Initial packet can either be a retry token from a Retry packet, or one originally provided by the server in a NEW_TOKEN frame used when resuming a connection (e.g., for address validation purposes). Retry and resumption tokens typically contain encoded metadata to check the token's validity when it is used, but this metadata and its format is implementation specific. For that, this event includes a general-purpose "details" field.

8.9. Stateless Reset Token

StatelessResetToken = hexstring .size 16
Figure 42: Stateless Reset Token definition

The stateless reset token is carried in stateless reset packets, in transport parameters and in NEW_CONNECTION_ID frames.

8.10. KeyType

KeyType = "server_initial_secret" /
          "client_initial_secret" /
          "server_handshake_secret" /
          "client_handshake_secret" /
          "server_0rtt_secret" /
          "client_0rtt_secret" /
          "server_1rtt_secret" /
          "client_1rtt_secret"
Figure 43: KeyType definition

8.11. QUIC Frames

The generic $QuicFrame is defined here as a CDDL extension point (a "socket" or "plug"). It can be extended to support additional QUIC frame types.

; The QuicFrame is any key-value map (e.g., JSON object)
$QuicFrame /= {
    * text => any
}
Figure 44: QuicFrame plug definition

The QUIC frame types defined in this document are as follows:

QuicBaseFrames /= PaddingFrame /
                  PingFrame /
                  AckFrame /
                  ResetStreamFrame /
                  StopSendingFrame /
                  CryptoFrame /
                  NewTokenFrame /
                  StreamFrame /
                  MaxDataFrame /
                  MaxStreamDataFrame /
                  MaxStreamsFrame /
                  DataBlockedFrame /
                  StreamDataBlockedFrame /
                  StreamsBlockedFrame /
                  NewConnectionIDFrame /
                  RetireConnectionIDFrame /
                  PathChallengeFrame /
                  PathResponseFrame /
                  ConnectionCloseFrame /
                  HandshakeDoneFrame /
                  UnknownFrame /
                  DatagramFrame

$QuicFrame /= QuicBaseFrames
Figure 45: QuicBaseFrames definition

8.11.1. PaddingFrame

In QUIC, PADDING frames are simply identified as a single byte of value 0. As such, each padding byte could be theoretically interpreted and logged as an individual PaddingFrame.

However, as this leads to heavy logging overhead, implementations SHOULD instead emit just a single PaddingFrame and set the payload_length property to the amount of PADDING bytes/frames included in the packet.

PaddingFrame = {
    frame_type: "padding"

    ; total frame length, including frame header
    ? length: uint32
    payload_length: uint32
}
Figure 46: PaddingFrame definition

8.11.2. PingFrame

PingFrame = {
    frame_type: "ping"

    ; total frame length, including frame header
    ? length: uint32
    ? payload_length: uint32
}
Figure 47: PingFrame definition

8.11.3. AckFrame

; either a single number (e.g., [1]) or two numbers (e.g., [1,2]).
; For two numbers:
; the first number is "from": lowest packet number in interval
; the second number is "to": up to and including the highest
; packet number in the interval
AckRange = [1*2 uint64]

AckFrame = {
    frame_type: "ack"

    ; in ms
    ? ack_delay: float32

    ; e.g., looks like [[1,2],[4,5], [7], [10,22]] serialized
    ? acked_ranges: [+ AckRange]

    ; ECN (explicit congestion notification) related fields
    ; (not always present)
    ? ect1: uint64
    ? ect0:uint64
    ? ce: uint64

    ; total frame length, including frame header
    ? length: uint32
    ? payload_length: uint32
}
Figure 48: AckFrame definition

Note that the packet ranges in AckFrame.acked_ranges do not necessarily have to be ordered (e.g., [[5,9],[1,4]] is a valid value).

Note that the two numbers in the packet range can be the same (e.g., [120,120] means that packet with number 120 was ACKed). However, in that case, implementers SHOULD log [120] instead and tools MUST be able to deal with both notations.

8.11.4. ResetStreamFrame

ResetStreamFrame = {
    frame_type: "reset_stream"
    stream_id: uint64
    error_code: $ApplicationError /
                uint32

    ; in bytes
    final_size: uint64

    ; total frame length, including frame header
    ? length: uint32
    ? payload_length: uint32
}
Figure 49: ResetStreamFrame definition

8.11.5. StopSendingFrame

StopSendingFrame = {
    frame_type: "stop_sending"
    stream_id: uint64
    error_code: $ApplicationError /
                uint32

    ; total frame length, including frame header
    ? length: uint32
    ? payload_length: uint32
}
Figure 50: StopSendingFrame definition

8.11.6. CryptoFrame

CryptoFrame = {
    frame_type: "crypto"
    offset: uint64
    length: uint64
    ? payload_length: uint32
}
Figure 51: CryptoFrame definition

8.11.7. NewTokenFrame

NewTokenFrame = {
  frame_type: "new_token"
  token: Token
}
Figure 52: NewTokenFrame definition

8.11.8. StreamFrame

StreamFrame = {
    frame_type: "stream"
    stream_id: uint64

    ; These two MUST always be set
    ; If not present in the Frame type, log their default values
    offset: uint64
    length: uint64

    ; this MAY be set any time,
    ; but MUST only be set if the value is true
    ; if absent, the value MUST be assumed to be false
    ? fin: bool .default false
    ? raw: RawInfo
}
Figure 53: StreamFrame definition

8.11.9. MaxDataFrame

MaxDataFrame = {
  frame_type: "max_data"
  maximum: uint64
}
Figure 54: MaxDataFrame definition

8.11.10. MaxStreamDataFrame

MaxStreamDataFrame = {
  frame_type: "max_stream_data"
  stream_id: uint64
  maximum: uint64
}
Figure 55: MaxStreamDataFrame definition

8.11.11. MaxStreamsFrame

MaxStreamsFrame = {
  frame_type: "max_streams"
  stream_type: StreamType
  maximum: uint64
}
Figure 56: MaxStreamsFrame definition

8.11.12. DataBlockedFrame

DataBlockedFrame = {
  frame_type: "data_blocked"
  limit: uint64
}
Figure 57: DataBlockedFrame definition

8.11.13. StreamDataBlockedFrame

StreamDataBlockedFrame = {
  frame_type: "stream_data_blocked"
  stream_id: uint64
  limit: uint64
}
Figure 58: StreamDataBlockedFrame definition

8.11.14. StreamsBlockedFrame

StreamsBlockedFrame = {
  frame_type: "streams_blocked"
  stream_type: StreamType
  limit: uint64
}
Figure 59: StreamsBlockedFrame definition

8.11.15. NewConnectionIDFrame

NewConnectionIDFrame = {
  frame_type: "new_connection_id"
  sequence_number: uint32
  retire_prior_to: uint32

  ; mainly used if e.g., for privacy reasons the full
  ; connection_id cannot be logged
  ? connection_id_length: uint8
  connection_id: ConnectionID
  ? stateless_reset_token: StatelessResetToken
}
Figure 60: NewConnectionIDFrame definition

8.11.16. RetireConnectionIDFrame

RetireConnectionIDFrame = {
  frame_type: "retire_connection_id"
  sequence_number: uint32
}
Figure 61: RetireConnectionIDFrame definition

8.11.17. PathChallengeFrame

PathChallengeFrame = {
  frame_type: "path_challenge"

  ; always 64-bit
  ? data: hexstring
}
Figure 62: PathChallengeFrame definition

8.11.18. PathResponseFrame

PathResponseFrame = {
  frame_type: "path_response"

  ; always 64-bit
  ? data: hexstring
}
Figure 63: PathResponseFrame definition

8.11.19. ConnectionCloseFrame

The error_code_value field is the numerical value without VLIE encoding. This is useful because some error types are spread out over a range of codes (e.g., QUIC's crypto_error).

ErrorSpace = "transport" /
             "application"

ConnectionCloseFrame = {
    frame_type: "connection_close"
    ? error_space: ErrorSpace
    ? error_code: TransportError /
                  $ApplicationError /
                  uint32
    ? error_code_value: uint64
    ? reason: text

    ; For known frame types, the appropriate "frame_type" string
    ; For unknown frame types, the hex encoded frame identifier value
    ? trigger_frame_type: uint64 /
                          text
}
Figure 64: ConnectionCloseFrame definition

8.11.20. HandshakeDoneFrame

HandshakeDoneFrame = {
  frame_type: "handshake_done";
}
Figure 65: HandshakeDoneFrame definition

8.11.21. UnknownFrame

The frame_type_value field is the numerical value without VLIE encoding.

UnknownFrame = {
    frame_type: "unknown"
    frame_type_value: uint64
    ? raw: RawInfo
}
Figure 66: UnknownFrame definition

8.11.22. DatagramFrame

The QUIC DATAGRAM frame is defined in Section 4 of [RFC9221].

DatagramFrame = {
    frame_type: "datagram"
    ? length: uint64
    ? raw: RawInfo
}
Figure 67: DatagramFrame definition

8.11.23. TransportError

TransportError = "no_error" /
                 "internal_error" /
                 "connection_refused" /
                 "flow_control_error" /
                 "stream_limit_error" /
                 "stream_state_error" /
                 "final_size_error" /
                 "frame_encoding_error" /
                 "transport_parameter_error" /
                 "connection_id_limit_error" /
                 "protocol_violation" /
                 "invalid_token" /
                 "application_error" /
                 "crypto_buffer_exceeded" /
                 "key_update_error" /
                 "aead_limit_reached" /
                 "no_viable_path"
                 ; there is no value to reflect CRYPTO_ERROR
                 ; use the CryptoError type instead
Figure 68: TransportError definition

8.11.24. ApplicationError

By definition, an application error is defined by the application-level protocol running on top of QUIC (e.g., HTTP/3).

As such, it cannot be defined here directly. Applications MAY use the provided extension point through the use of the CDDL "socket" mechanism.

Application-level qlog definitions that wish to define new ApplicationError strings MUST do so by extending the $ApplicationError socket as such:

$ApplicationError /= "new_error_name" /
                     "another_new_error_name"

8.11.25. CryptoError

These errors are defined in the TLS document as "A TLS alert is turned into a QUIC connection error by converting the one-byte alert description into a QUIC error code. The alert description is added to 0x100 to produce a QUIC error code from the range reserved for CRYPTO_ERROR."

This approach maps badly to a pre-defined enum. As such, the crypto_error string is defined as having a dynamic component here, which should include the hex-encoded and zero-padded value of the TLS alert description.

; all strings from "crypto_error_0x100" to "crypto_error_0x1ff"
CryptoError = text .regexp "crypto_error_0x1[0-9a-f][0-9a-f]"
Figure 69: CryptoError definition

9. Security and Privacy Considerations

The security and privacy considerations discussed in [QLOG-MAIN] apply to this document as well.

11. Normative References

[CDDL]
Birkholz, H., Vigano, C., and C. Bormann, "Concise Data Definition Language (CDDL): A Notational Convention to Express Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR) and JSON Data Structures", RFC 8610, DOI 10.17487/RFC8610, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8610>.
[GREASEBIT]
Thomson, M., "Greasing the QUIC Bit", RFC 9287, DOI 10.17487/RFC9287, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9287>.
[QLOG-MAIN]
Marx, R., Niccolini, L., Seemann, M., and L. Pardue, "Main logging schema for qlog", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-quic-qlog-main-schema-05, , <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-quic-qlog-main-schema-05>.
[QUIC-DATAGRAM]
Pauly, T., Kinnear, E., and D. Schinazi, "An Unreliable Datagram Extension to QUIC", RFC 9221, DOI 10.17487/RFC9221, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9221>.
[QUIC-RECOVERY]
Iyengar, J., Ed. and I. Swett, Ed., "QUIC Loss Detection and Congestion Control", RFC 9002, DOI 10.17487/RFC9002, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9002>.
[QUIC-TLS]
Snijders, J., Heitz, J., Scudder, J., and A. Azimov, "Extended BGP Administrative Shutdown Communication", RFC 9003, DOI 10.17487/RFC9003, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9003>.
[QUIC-TRANSPORT]
Iyengar, J., Ed. and M. Thomson, Ed., "QUIC: A UDP-Based Multiplexed and Secure Transport", RFC 9000, DOI 10.17487/RFC9000, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9000>.
[RFC2119]
Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.
[RFC8174]
Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.
[RFC9221]
Pauly, T., Kinnear, E., and D. Schinazi, "An Unreliable Datagram Extension to QUIC", RFC 9221, DOI 10.17487/RFC9221, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9221>.

Appendix A. Change Log

A.1. Since draft-ietf-qlog-quic-events-04:

  • Updated guidance on logging events across connections (#279)
  • Renamed 'transport' category to 'quic' (#302)
  • Added support for multiple packet numbers in 'quic:frames_processed' (#307)
  • Added definitions for RFC9287 (QUIC GREASE Bit extension) (#311)
  • Added definitions for RFC9221 (QUIC Datagram Frame extension) (#310)
  • (Temporarily) removed definitions for connection migration events (#317)
  • Editorial and formatting changes (#298, #299, #304, #306, #327)

A.2. Since draft-ietf-qlog-quic-events-03:

  • Ensured consistent use of RawInfo to indicate raw wire bytes (#243)
  • Renamed UnknownFrame:raw_frame_type to :frame_type_value (#54)
  • Renamed ConnectionCloseFrame:raw_error_code to :error_code_value (#54)
  • Changed triggers for packet_dropped (#278)
  • Added entries to TransportError enum (#285)
  • Changed minimum_congestion_window to uint64 (#288)

A.3. Since draft-ietf-qlog-quic-events-02:

  • Renamed key_retired to key_discarded (#185)
  • Added fields and events for DPLPMTUD (#135)
  • Made packet_number optional in PacketHeader (#244)
  • Removed connection_retried event placeholder (#255)
  • Changed QuicFrame to a CDDL plug type (#257)
  • Moved data definitions out of the appendix into separate sections
  • Added overview Table of Contents

A.4. Since draft-ietf-qlog-quic-events-01:

  • Added Stateless Reset Token type (#122)

A.5. Since draft-ietf-qlog-quic-events-00:

  • Change the data definition language from TypeScript to CDDL (#143)

A.6. Since draft-marx-qlog-event-definitions-quic-h3-02:

  • These changes were done in preparation of the adoption of the drafts by the QUIC working group (#137)
  • Split QUIC and HTTP/3 events into two separate documents
  • Moved RawInfo, Importance, Generic events and Simulation events to the main schema document.
  • Changed to/from value options of the data_moved event

A.7. Since draft-marx-qlog-event-definitions-quic-h3-01:

Major changes:

  • Moved data_moved from http to transport. Also made the "from" and "to" fields flexible strings instead of an enum (#111,#65)
  • Moved packet_type fields to PacketHeader. Moved packet_size field out of PacketHeader to RawInfo:length (#40)
  • Made events that need to log packet_type and packet_number use a header field instead of logging these fields individually
  • Added support for logging retry, stateless reset and initial tokens (#94,#86,#117)
  • Moved separate general event categories into a single category "generic" (#47)
  • Added "transport:connection_closed" event (#43,#85,#78,#49)
  • Added version_information and alpn_information events (#85,#75,#28)
  • Added parameters_restored events to help clarify 0-RTT behaviour (#88)

Smaller changes:

  • Merged loss_timer events into one loss_timer_updated event
  • Field data types are now strongly defined (#10,#39,#36,#115)
  • Renamed qpack instruction_received and instruction_sent to instruction_created and instruction_parsed (#114)
  • Updated qpack:dynamic_table_updated.update_type. It now has the value "inserted" instead of "added" (#113)
  • Updated qpack:dynamic_table_updated. It now has an "owner" field to differentiate encoder vs decoder state (#112)
  • Removed push_allowed from http:parameters_set (#110)
  • Removed explicit trigger field indications from events, since this was moved to be a generic property of the "data" field (#80)
  • Updated transport:connection_id_updated to be more in line with other similar events. Also dropped importance from Core to Base (#45)
  • Added length property to PaddingFrame (#34)
  • Added packet_number field to transport:frames_processed (#74)
  • Added a way to generically log packet header flags (first 8 bits) to PacketHeader
  • Added additional guidance on which events to log in which situations (#53)
  • Added "simulation:scenario" event to help indicate simulation details
  • Added "packets_acked" event (#107)
  • Added "datagram_ids" to the datagram_X and packet_X events to allow tracking of coalesced QUIC packets (#91)
  • Extended connection_state_updated with more fine-grained states (#49)

A.8. Since draft-marx-qlog-event-definitions-quic-h3-00:

  • Event and category names are now all lowercase
  • Added many new events and their definitions
  • "type" fields have been made more specific (especially important for PacketType fields, which are now called packet_type instead of type)
  • Events are given an importance indicator (issue #22)
  • Event names are more consistent and use past tense (issue #21)
  • Triggers have been redefined as properties of the "data" field and updated for most events (issue #23)

Acknowledgements

Much of the initial work by Robin Marx was done at the Hasselt and KU Leuven Universities.

Thanks to Jana Iyengar, Brian Trammell, Dmitri Tikhonov, Stephen Petrides, Jari Arkko, Marcus Ihlar, Victor Vasiliev, Mirja Kuehlewind, Jeremy Laine, Kazu Yamamoto, and Christian Huitema for their feedback and suggestions.

Authors' Addresses

Robin Marx (editor)
Akamai
Luca Niccolini (editor)
Meta
Marten Seemann (editor)
Protocol Labs
Lucas Pardue (editor)
Cloudflare