Internet Engineering Task Force                           G. Karagiannis
Internet-Draft                                      University of Twente
Intended status: Informational                                 T. Taylor
Expires: April 19, 2010                                          K. Chan
                                                     Huawei Technologies
                                                                M. Menth
                                                  University of Wurzburg
                                                        October 19, 2009






    Requirements for Signaling of (Pre-) Congestion Information in a
                           DiffServ Domain
                  draft-karagiannis-pcn-signaling-requirements-00

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   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.


Abstract

   Precongestion notification (PCN) is a means for protecting quality of
   service for inelastic traffic admitted to a Diffserv domain. The
   overall PCN architecture is described in RFC 5559. This memo
   describes the requirements for the signaling applied within the PCN
   domain, to carry PCN content from the PCN-egress-node towards either
   the PCN-ingress-node or towards the centralised decision point.

Requirements Language

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

Table of Contents
1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
     1.1.  Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
2.  Requirements for signaling from PCN-egress-nodes to PCN-ingress-
    Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
    2.1 PCN Reporting Frequency . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 4
    2.2 PCN Content requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
      2.2.1 Admission control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
      2.2.2 Flow Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
    2.3 Signaling requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
      2.3.1 General signaling requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
      2.3.2 Admission control signaling requirements . . . . . . . . . 6
      2.3.3 Flow Termination signaling requirements . . . . . . . . .  7
    2.4. Filter specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Requirements for PCN-egress-node to centralized decision point
   signaling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
    3.1 PCN Reporting Frequency . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 8
    3.2 PCN Content requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
      3.2.1 Admission control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
      3.2.2 Flow Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
    3.3 Signaling requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
      3.3.1 General signaling requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
      3.3.2 Admission control signaling requirements . . . . . . . . . 9
      3.3.3 Flow Termination signaling requirements . . . . . . . . .  9
    3.4. Filter specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
7.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
    7.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
    7.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
    Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . .


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1.  Introduction


   The main objective of Pre-Congestion Notification (PCN) is to support
   the quality of service (QoS) of inelastic flows within a Diffserv
   domain, in a simple, scalable, and robust fashion.  Two mechanisms
   are used: admission control and flow termination. Admission control
   is used to decide whether to admit or block a new flow request, while
   flow termination is used in abnormal circumstances to decide
   whether to terminate some of the existing flows.  To support these
   two features the overall rate of PCN-traffic is metered on every link
   in the domain, and PCN-packets are appropriately marked when certain
   configured rates are exceeded.  These configured rates are below the
   rate of the link thus providing notification to boundary nodes about
   overloads before any congestion occurs (hence "pre-congestion"
   notification).  The level of marking allows boundary nodes to make
   decisions about whether to admit or terminate. For more details see
   [RFC5559].

   Signaling is needed to transport PCN admission control and flow
   termination related PCN content from PCN-egress-nodes towards
   either PCN-ingress-nodes or a centralised decision point, see
   [RFC5559]. This memo briefly describes this PCN content and it
   specifies the requirements that have to be satisfied by the signaling
   protocol needed to transport this PCN content.

   Currently, only the CL [draft-ietf-pcn-cl-edge-behaviour-00] and SM
   [draft-ietf-pcn-sm-edge-behaviour-00] PCN edge behaviour drafts are
   PCN working group drafts. Therefore, the current version of this memo
   is only referring to the signaling requirements imposed by these
   drafts. If other PCN edge behaviour drafts, e.g.,
    [draft-karagiannis-pcn-hose-edge-behaviour-00],
   [I-D.Piggybacked-Edge-Behaviour] will become PCN working group
   drafts, then a new version of this memo will also incorporate the
   signaling requirements imposed by these new PCN edge behaviour
   drafts.




1.1.  Terminology

   In addition to the terms defined in [RFC5559], this document uses the
   following terms:

   Tbd.






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2.  Requirements for signaling from PCN-egress-nodes to PCN-ingress-
    nodes

   This section describes the PCN information and the requirements that
   apply to signaling protocols used for the transport of PCN
   content from PCN-egress-nodes to PCN-ingress-nodes.

2.1 PCN Reporting Frequency

   For the CL [draft-ietf-pcn-cl-edge-behaviour-00] and SM
      [draft-ietf-pcn-sm-edge-behaviour-00] the content described in the
   next section is reported at regular intervals, as new measurements
   become available. An interval of the order of 100 to 300 ms is
   suggested in the edge behaviour drafts.

2.2 PCN Content requirements

   This section describes the PCN content, i.e., PCN information, that
   has to be transported by a signaling protocol from a PCN-egress-node
   to a PCN-ingress-node. Different types of content can be
   distinguished depending on the used PCN edge behaviour in use and on
   whether the PCN content is used during admission control or flow
   termination. It is important to note that the description of the PCN
   contents in the CL and SM edge behaviors is not yet stable. This
   means that the PCN contents associated with Cl and SM edge behaviours
   draft might change. Future versions of this memo will encompass these
   changes.

2.2.1 Admission control

   This subsection describes which PCN contents are required to be
   transported from the PCN-egress-node to the PCN-ingress-node
   during PCN admission control. Furthermore, for each PCN content, it
   specifies which edge behaviours is using it.

2.2.1.1 Admission Control state

   The CL [draft-ietf-pcn-cl-edge-behaviour-00] and SM
   [draft-ietf-pcn-sm-edge-behaviour-00] edge behaviours need to
   transmit a computed admission state to the point where the flow
   decision is made. The "Admission control state" PCN content is a
   boolean that uses the following values:

          o admit (Boolean TRUE); this PCN content value is
            used to notify the PCN-ingress-node that the admission
            control process at the PCN-ingress-node should continue.

          o block (Boolean FALSE); this PCN content value is used
            to notify the PCN-ingress-node that the admission control
            process at the PCN-ingress-node should stop.


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   This PCN content can be reported by the PCN-egress-
   node using one of the following ways:
1) report all periodically generated PCN content  (at the end of
  each measurement interval)
2) report only when PCN content changes, unless either ThM packets
  (for CL) or ETM packets (for SM) are observed. Then all
  periodically (per each measurement interval) must be reported.


2.2.2 Flow Termination

   This subsection describes which PCN contents are required to be
   transported from the PCN-egress-node to the PCN-ingress-node
   during PCN flow termination. Furthermore, for each PCN content, it
   specifies which edge behaviour is using it.


2.2.2.1 Traffic rate

   The CL and SM edge behaviours both need to send a traffic rate to the
   decision point when flow termination may be required. This rate is
   calculated in both cases as the number of octets per second of PCN
   traffic carried in packets that are not excess-marked. The CL edge
   behaviour calls this the estimated edge-to-edge supportable rate,
   while the SM edge behaviour calls it the sustainable admission rate.
   The processing of this rate at the decision point differs between the
   two edge behaviours. According to the CL edge behaviour, this rate is
   required (flow termination may be necessary) only when the PCN-
   egress-node has observed excess-marked packets in the ingress-egress
   aggregate being reported. The SM edge behaviour requires reporting of
   the traffic rate whenever the admission control state is "block".


2.2.2.2 List with flow IDs

   In the case where Equal Cost Multipath (ECMP) routing is being used,
   if flow termination may be necessary, the CL, provide a list of flow
   identifiers (e.g., IP five-tuples) to the decision point. These flow
   identifiers indicate flows which are candidates for termination
   because excess-marked packets have been received within those flows.
   The representation of a flow ID depends on the surrounding
   environment, e.g., "pure IP", MPLS, GMPLS, etc. For the
   representation of a flow ID in a "pure IP" surrounding environment,
   see Section 2.3. This "List with flow IDs" PCN content can be sent
   when the PCN-egress-node is operating in flow termination:

      o either regularly at the end of each measurement interval;

      o or when the list, compared to previous measurement intervals, is
        being modified.


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2.3 Signaling requirements

   This section describes the requirements for signaling protocols that
   are used to carry the PCN content from PCN-egress-nodes to PCN-
   ingress-nodes.

2.3.1 General signaling requirements

   This section describes the signaling requirements that are valid for
   both admission control and flow termination features.

2.3.1.1 Priority of signaling messages

   Signaling messages SHOULD have a higher priority than data packets.
   This is needed to avoid as much as possible the situations that
   during severe overload cases the signaling messages are dropped
   within the PCN domain.

2.3.1.2 Local information exchange

   Signaling messages MUST be able to carry the PCN contents from the
   PCN-egress-node to the PCN-ingress-node.

2.3.1.3 Carry identification of PCN edge nodes

   The signaling protocol MUST be able to carry identification
   (address information) of the PCN edge nodes. However, the
   identification of the PCN edge nodes MUST NOT be visible outside
   the PCN domain.


 2.3.1.4 Signaling load

   The load generated by the signaling protocol to carry the PCN content
   from the PCN-egress-nodes to the PCN-ingress-node SHOULD be minimized
   as much as possible.

2.3.2 Admission control signaling requirements

   This subsection describes the signaling requirements for admission
   control purposes.

2.3.2.1 Reliability

   There are situations that PCN contents need to be sent in a reliable
   way, meaning that the PCN-egress-node MUST be acknowledged that the
   sent PCN content is successfully received by the PCN-ingress-node. It
   is considered that the PCN contents that are sent in a regular
   fashion do not need to be sent reliably.



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   The signaling requirements associated with each PCN content that is
   sent by the PCN-egress-node during admission control are described
   below:

   o "Admission control state": The signaling protocol MUST be able to
     carry this PCN content, which MAY be carried reliably from
     the PCN-egress-node to the PCN-ingress-node.


2.3.3 Flow Termination signaling requirements

   This subsection describes the signaling requirements for flow
   termination purposes.

2.3.3.1 Reliability

   This section describes which PCN contents used during flow
   termination have to be sent reliably:

     o "Traffic rate": The signaling protocol MUST be
       able to carry this PCN content, which MAY be carried reliably
       from the PCN-egress-node to the PCN-ingress-node.


     o "List with flow IDs": The signaling protocol SHOULD be
        able to carry this PCN content. Moreover, this PCN contents
        MUST be sent reliably.

2.4. Filter specifications

   The filter specification at the PCN-egress-nodes depends on the
   surrounding environment, e.g., pure IP, MPLS, GMPLS. In this
   document, only the pure IP filter spec is given as an example. In
   this case the filter spec should be able to identify a flow using
   (all of a subset of the) following information:

   o  source IP address;

   o  destination IP address;

   o  protocol identifier and higher layer (port) addressing;

   o  flow label (typical for IPv6);

   o  SPI field for IPsec encapsulated data;

   o  DSCP/TOS field.

   o  IP address of PCN-ingress-node



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3. Requirements for PCN-egress-node to centralised decision point
   signaling

   This section describes the PCN information and the requirements that
   apply to signaling protocols used for the transport of PCN
   content from PCN-egress-nodes to centralised decision points.


3.1 PCN Reporting Frequency

   The reporting frequeny required for this type of scenario is similar
   to the one described in Section 2.1. The only difference is the fact
   that these PCN contents need to be sent from the PCN-egress-node to
   the centralised decision point.


3.2 PCN Content requirements

   This section describes the PCN content, i.e., PCN information, that
   has to be transported by a signaling protocol from a PCN-egress-node
   to a centralized decision point. Different types of content can be
   distinguished depending on the PCN edge behaviour used and on
   whether the PCN content is used during admission control or flow
   termination.


3.2.1 Admission control

   The same PCN contents and the same method of transmission described
   in Section 2.2.1 applies for this case. The only difference is the
   fact that these PCN contents need to be sent from the PCN-egress-node
   to the centralised decision pont.


3.2.2 Flow Termination

   The same PCN contents and the same method of transmission described
   in Section 2.2.2 applies for this case. The only difference is the
   fact that these PCN contents need to be sent from the PCN-egress-node
   to the centralised decision point.


3.3 Signaling requirements

   This section describes the requirements for signaling protocols that
   are used to carry the PCN content from PCN-egress-nodes to
   centralized decision points.





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3.3.1 General signaling requirements

   The general signaling requirements specified in Section 2.3.1 apply
   also for this case. The following general signaling requirements are
   different.

3.3.1.1 Local information exchange

   Signaling messages MUST be able to carry the PCN contents from the
   PCN-egress-node to centralised decision point.


3.3.1.2 Carry identification of PCN edge nodes

   The signaling protocol MUST be able to carry identification
   (address information) of the PCN edge nodes and centralised decision
   point. However, the identification of the PCN edge nodes and the
   centralised decision points MUST NOT be visible outside the PCN
   domain.


3.3.1.3 Signaling load

   The load generated by the signaling protocol to carry the PCN content
   from the PCN-egress-nodes to the centralized decision point SHOULD be
   minimized as much as possible.


3.3.2 Admission control signaling requirements

   The same admission control signaling requirements described in
   Section 2.3.2 apply for this case. The only difference is the fact
   that these signaling requirements apply for signaling messages that
   have to be sent from a PCN-egress-node to a centralised decision
   point.


3.3.3 Flow Termination signaling requirements

   The same flow termination signaling requirements described in
   Section 2.3.3 apply for this case. The only difference is the fact
   that these signaling requirements apply for signaling messages that
   have to be sent from a PCN-egress-node to a centralised decision
   point.






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3.4. Filter specifications

   The filter specification at the PCN-egress-nodes depends on the
   surrounding environment, e.g., pure IP, MPLS, GMPLS. The filter
   specifications at a PCN-egress-node described in Section 2.4 apply
   also for this case. The main difference is the fact that the filter
   specification, in this case, should be able to identify in addition
   to the set of parameters listed in Section 2.4, also the "IP address
   of the centralised decision point".


4.  Security Considerations

   [RFC5559] provides a general description of the security
   considerations for PCN.  This memo introduces no new considerations.


5.  IANA Considerations

   This memo includes no request to IANA.


6.  Acknowledgements

    Tbd.

7.  References


7.1.  Normative References


   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.


   [RFC5559]  Eardley, P., "Pre-Congestion Notification (PCN)
              Architecture", RFC 5559, June 2009.


   [draft-karagiannis-pcn-hose-edge-behaviour-00] G. Karagiannis,
               L. Westberg, G. Apostolopoulos, "PCN Boundary Node
               Behaviour for the HOSE Mode of Operation (Work in
               progress)", October 2009.

   [draft-ietf-pcn-cl-edge-behaviour-00] T. Taylor, A, Charny,
              F. Huang, G. Karagiannis, M. Menth, "PCN Boundary Node
              Behaviour for the Controlled Load (CL) Mode of Operation
              (Work in progress)", July 2009.


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   [draft-ietf-pcn-sm-edge-behaviour-00] A. Charny, J. Zhang,
              G.  Karagiannis, M. Menth, T. Taylor, "PCN Boundary Node
              Behaviour for the Single Marking (SM) Mode of Operation
              (Work in progress)", July 2009.


7.2.  Informative References


Authors' Addresses

   Georgios Karagiannis
   University of Twente
   P.O. Box 217
   7500 AE Enschede,
   The Netherlands
   EMail: g.karagiannis@ewi.utwente.nl

   Tom Taylor
   Huawei Technologies
   1852 Lorraine Ave.
   Ottawa, Ontario  K1H 6Z8
   Canada
   Phone: +1 613 680 2675
   Email: tom111.taylor@bell.net


   Kwok Ho Chan
   Huawei Technologies
   125 Nagog Park
   Acton, MA  01720
   USA
   Email: khchan@huawei.com


   Michael Menth
   University of Wurzburg
   Institute of Computer Science
   Room B206
   Am Hubland, Wuerzburg  D-97074
   Germany
   Email: menth@informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de








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