DetNet                                                         G. Mirsky
Internet-Draft                                                 ZTE Corp.
Intended status: Standards Track                            F. Theoleyre
Expires: July 19, 2021                                              CNRS
                                                         G. Papadopoulos
                                                          IMT Atlantique
                                                           CJ. Bernardos
                                                                    UC3M
                                                        January 15, 2021


   Framework of Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) for
                   Deterministic Networking (DetNet)
                   draft-tpmb-detnet-oam-framework-00

Abstract

   Deterministic Networking (DetNet), as defined in RFC 8655, is aimed
   to provide a bounded end-to-end latency on top of the network
   infrastructure, comprising both Layer 2 bridged and Layer 3 routed
   segments.  This document's primary purpose is to detail the specific
   requirements of the Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM)
   recommended to maintain a deterministic network.  With the
   implementation of the OAM framework in DetNet, an operator will have
   a real-time view of the network infrastructure regarding the
   network's ability to respect the Service Level Objective, such as
   packet delay, delay variation, and packet loss ratio, assigned to
   each data flow.

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
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   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 July 19, 2021.






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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2021 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
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   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.2.  Acronyms  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.3.  Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.  Role of OAM in DetNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  Information Collection  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.2.  Continuity Check  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.3.  Connectivity Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.4.  Route Tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.5.  Fault Verification/detection  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.6.  Fault Isolation/identification  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     3.7.  Use of Hybrid OAM in DetNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   4.  Administration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     4.1.  Collection of metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     4.2.  Worst-case metrics  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   5.  Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     5.1.  Replication / Elimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     5.2.  Resource Reservation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     5.3.  Soft transition after reconfiguration . . . . . . . . . .   9
   6.  Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   8.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   9.  Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   10. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     10.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     10.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12






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1.  Introduction

   Deterministic Networking (DetNet) [RFC8655] has proposed to provide a
   bounded end-to-end latency on top of the network infrastructure,
   comprising both Layer 2 bridged and Layer 3 routed segments.  Their
   work encompasses the data plane, OAM, time synchronization,
   management, control, and security aspects.

   Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) Tools are of
   primary importance for IP networks [RFC7276].  DetNet OAM should
   provide a toolset for fault detection, localization, and performance
   measurement.

   This document's primary purpose is to detail the specific
   requirements of the OAM features recommended to maintain a
   deterministic/reliable network.  Specifically, it investigates the
   requirements for a deterministic network, supporting critical flows.

   In this document, the term OAM will be used according to its
   definition specified in [RFC6291].  DetNet expects to implement an
   OAM framework to maintain a real-time view of the network
   infrastructure, and its ability to respect the Service Level
   Objectives (SLO), such as packet delay, delay variation, and packet
   loss ratio, assigned to each data flow.

   This document lists the functional requirements toward OAM for DetNet
   domain.  The list can further be used for gap analysis of available
   OAM tools to identify possible enhancements of existing or whether
   new OAM tools are required to support proactive and on-demand path
   monitoring and service validation.

1.1.  Terminology

   The following terms are used througout this document as defined
   below:

   o  OAM entity: a data flow to be monitored for defects and/or its
      performance metrics measured.

   o  Maintenance End Point (MEP): OAM systems traversed by a data flow
      when entering/exiting the network.  In DetNet, it corresponds with
      the source and destination of a data flow.  OAM messages can be
      exchanged between two MEPs.

   o  Maintenance Intermediate endPoint (MIP): an OAM system along the
      flow; a MIP MAY respond to an OAM message generated by the MEP.





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   o  Control and management plane: the control and management planes
      are used to configure and control the network (long-term).
      Relative to a data flow, the control and/or management plane can
      be out-of-band.

   o  Active measurement methods (as defined in [RFC7799]) modify a
      normal data flow by inserting novel fields, injecting specially
      constructed test packets [RFC2544]).  It is critical for the
      quality of information obtained using an active method that
      generated test packets are in-band with the monitored data flow.
      In other words, a test packet is required to cross the same
      network nodes and links and receive the same Quality of Service
      (QoS) treatment as a data packet.

   o  Passive measurement methods [RFC7799] infer information by
      observing unmodified existing flows.

   o  Hybrid measurement methods [RFC7799] is the combination of
      elements of both active and passive measurement methods.

1.2.  Acronyms

   OAM: Operations, Administration, and Maintenance

   DetNet: Deterministic Networking

   SLO: Service Level Objective

   QoS: Quality of Service

   SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol

   SDN: Software Defined Network

   <TODO> we need here an exhaustive list, to be completed after the
   document has evolved.

1.3.  Requirements Language

   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.







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2.  Role of OAM in DetNet

   DetNet networks expect to provide communications with predictable low
   packet delay and packet loss.  Most critical applications will define
   an SLO to be required for the data flows it generates.

   To respect strict guarantees, DetNet can use an orchestrator able to
   monitor and maintain the network.  Typically, a Software-Defined
   Network (SDN) controller places DetNet flows in the deployed network
   based on their the SLO.  Thus, resources have to be provisioned a
   priori for the regular operation of the network.  OAM represents the
   essential elements of the network operation and necessary for OAM
   resources that need to be accounted for to maintain the network
   operational.

   Fault-tolerance also assumes that multiple paths could be provisioned
   so that an end-to-end circuit is maintained by adapting to the
   existing conditions.  The central controller/orchestrator typically
   controls the Packet Replication, Elimination, and Ordering Functions
   (PREOF) on a node.  OAM is expected to support monitoring and
   troubleshooting PREOF on a particular node and within the domain.

   Note that PREOF can also be controlled by a set of distributed
   controllers, in those scenarios where DetNet solutions involve more
   than one single central controller.

3.  Operation

   OAM features will enable DetNet with robust operation both for
   forwarding and routing purposes.

3.1.  Information Collection

   Information about the state of the network can be collected using
   several mechanisms.  Some protocols, e.g., Simple Network Management
   Protocol (SNMP), send queries.  Others, e.g., YANG-based data models,
   generate notifications based on the publish-subscribe method.  In
   either way, information about the state of the network being
   collected and sent to the controller.

   Also, we can characterize methods of transporting OAM information
   relative to the path of data.  For instance, OAM information may be
   transported out-of-band or in-band with the data flow.








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3.2.  Continuity Check

   Continuity check is used to monitor the continuity of a path, i.e.,
   that there exists a way to deliver the packets between two endpoints
   A and B.

3.3.  Connectivity Verification

   In addition to the Continuity Check, DetNet solutions have to verify
   the connectivity.  This verification considers additional
   constraints, i.e., the absence of misconnection.

   In particular, resources have to be reserved for a given flow, so
   they are booked for use without being impacted by other flows.
   Similarly, the destination does not receive packets from different
   flows through its interface.

   It is worth noting that the test and data packets MUST follow the
   same path, i.e., the connectivity verification has to be conducted
   in-band without impacting the data traffic.  Test packets MUST share
   fate with the monitored data traffic without introducing congestion
   in normal network conditions.

3.4.  Route Tracing

   Ping and traceroute are two ubiquitous tools that help localize and
   characterize a failure in the network.  They help to identify a
   subset of the list of routers in the route.  However, to be
   predictable, resources are reserved per flow in DetNet.  Thus, DetNet
   needs to define route tracing tools able to track the route for a
   specific flow.

   DetNet with IP data plane is NOT RECOMMENDED to use multiple paths or
   links, i.e., Equal-Cost Multipath (ECMP) [RFC8939].  As the result,
   OAM in IP ECMP environment is outside the scope of this document.

3.5.  Fault Verification/detection

   DetNet expects to operate fault-tolerant networks.  Thus, mechanisms
   able to detect faults before they impact the network performance are
   needed.

   The network has to detect when a fault occurred, i.e., the network
   has deviated from its expected behavior.  While the network must
   report an alarm, the cause may not be identified precisely.  For
   instance, the end-to-end reliability has decreased significantly, or
   a buffer overflow occurs.




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   DetNet OAM mechanisms SHOULD allow a fault detection in real time.
   They MAY, when possible, predict faults based on current network
   conditions.  They MAY also identify and report the cause of the
   actual/predicted network failure.

3.6.  Fault Isolation/identification

   The network has isolated and identified the cause of the fault.  For
   instance, the replication process behaves not as expected to a
   specific intermediary router.

3.7.  Use of Hybrid OAM in DetNet

   Hybrid OAM methods are used in performance monitoring and defined in
   [RFC7799] as:

      Hybrid Methods are Methods of Measurement that use a combination
      of Active Methods and Passive Methods.

   A hybrid measurement method may produce metrics as close to passive,
   but it still alters something in a data packet even if that is the
   value of a designated field in the packet encapsulation.  One example
   of such a hybrid measurement method is the Alternate Marking method
   (AMM) described in [RFC8321].  One of the advantages of the use of
   AMM in a DetNet domain with the IP data plane is that the marking is
   applied to a data flow, thus ensuring that measured metrics are
   directly applicable to the DetNet flow.

4.  Administration

   The network SHOULD expose a collection of metrics to support an
   operator making proper decisions, including:

   o  Queuing Delay: the time elapsed between a packet enqueued and its
      transmission to the next hop.

   o  Buffer occupancy: the number of packets present in the buffer, for
      each of the existing flows.

   The following metrics SHOULD be collected:

   o  per virtual circuit to measure the end-to-end performance for a
      given flow.  Each of the paths has to be isolated in multipath
      routing strategies.

   o  per path to detect misbehaving path when multiple paths are
      applied.




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   o  per device to detect misbehaving node, when it relays the packets
      of several flows.

4.1.  Collection of metrics

   DetNet OAM SHOULD optimize the number of statistics / measurements to
   collected, frequency of collecting.  Distributed and centralized
   mechanisms MAY be used in combination.  Periodic and event-triggered
   collection information characterizing the state of a network MAY be
   used.

4.2.  Worst-case metrics

   DetNet aims to enable real-time communications on top of a
   heterogeneous multi-hop architecture.  To make correct decisions, the
   controller needs to know the distribution of packet losses/delays for
   each flow, and each hop of the paths.  In other words, the average
   end-to-end statistics are not enough.  The collected information must
   be sufficient to allow the controller to predict the worst-case.

5.  Maintenance

   DetNet needs to implement a self-healing and self-optimization
   approach.  The controller MUST be able to continuously retrieve the
   state of the network, to evaluate conditions and trends about the
   relevance of a reconfiguration, quantifying:

      the cost of the sub-optimality: resources may not be used
      optimally (e.g., a better path exists).

      the reconfiguration cost: the controller needs to trigger some
      reconfigurations.  For this transient period, resources may be
      twice reserved, and control packets have to be transmitted.

   Thus, reconfiguration may only be triggered if the gain is
   significant.

5.1.  Replication / Elimination

   When multiple paths are reserved between two maintenance endpoints,
   packet replication may be used to introduce redundancy and alleviate
   transmission errors and collisions.  For instance, in Figure 1, the
   source node S is transmitting the packet to both parents, nodes A and
   B.  Each maintenance endpoint will decide to trigger the packet
   replication, elimination or the ordering process when a set of
   metrics passes a threshold value.





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                          ===> (A) => (C) => (E) ===
                        //        \\//   \\//       \\
              source (S)          //\\   //\\         (R) (root)
                        \\       //  \\ //  \\      //
                          ===> (B) => (D) => (F) ===

   Figure 1: Packet Replication: S transmits twice the same data packet,
                           to DP(A) and AP (B).

5.2.  Resource Reservation

   Because the QoS criteria associated with a path may degrade, the
   network has to provision additional resources along the path.  We
   need to provide mechanisms to patch the network configuration.

5.3.  Soft transition after reconfiguration

   Since DetNet expects to support real-time flows, DetNet OAM MUST
   support soft-reconfiguration, where the novel resources are reserved
   before the ancient ones are released.  Some mechanisms have to be
   proposed so that packets are forwarded through the novel track only
   when the resources are ready to be used, while maintaining the global
   state consistent (no packet reordering, duplication, etc.)

6.  Requirements

   This section lists requirements for OAM in DetNet domain with MPLS
   data plane:

   1.   It MUST be possible to initiate DetNet OAM session from any
        DetNet node towards another DetNet node(s) within given domain.

   2.   It SHOULD be possible to initialize DetNet OAM session from a
        centralized controller.

   3.   DetNet OAM MUST support proactive and on-demand OAM monitoring
        and measurement methods.

   4.   DetNet OAM packets MUST be in-band, i.e., follow precisely the
        same path as DetNet data plane traffic.

   5.   DetNet OAM MUST support unidirectional OAM methods, continuity
        check, connectivity verification, and performance measurement.

   6.   DetNet OAM MUST support bi-directional OAM methods.  Such OAM
        methods MAY combine in-band monitoring or measurement in the
        forward direction and out-of-bound notification in the reverse




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        direction, i.e., from egress to ingress end point of the OAM
        test session.

   7.   DetNet OAM MUST support proactive monitoring of a DetNet node
        availability in the given DetNet domain.

   8.   DetNet OAM MUST support Path Maximum Transmission Unit
        discovery.

   9.   DetNet OAM MUST support Remote Defect Indication (RDI)
        notification to the DetNet node performing continuity checking.

   10.  DetNet OAM MUST support performance measurement methods.

   11.  DetNet OAM MAY support hybrid performance measurement methods.

   12.  DetNet OAM MUST support unidirectional performance measurement
        methods.  Calculated performance metrics MUST include but are
        not limited to throughput, packet loss, delay and delay
        variation metrics.  [RFC6374] provides excellent details on
        performance measurement and performance metrics.

   13.  DetNet OAM MUST support defect notification mechanism, like
        Alarm Indication Signal.  Any DetNet node in the given DetNet
        domain MAY originate a defect notification addressed to any
        subset of nodes within the domain.

   14.  DetNet OAM MUST support methods to enable survivability of the
        DetNet domain.  These recovery methods MAY use protection
        switching and restoration.

   15.  DetNet OAM MUST support the discovery of Packet Replication,
        Elimination, and Order preservation sub-functions locations in
        the domain.

   16.  DetNet OAM MUST support testing of Packet Replication,
        Elimination, and Order preservation sub-functions in the domain.

   17.  DetNet OAM MUST support monitoring any sub-set of paths
        traversed through the DetNet domain by the DetNet flow.

7.  IANA Considerations

   This document has no actionable requirements for IANA.  This section
   can be removed before the publication.






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8.  Security Considerations

   This document lists the OAM requirements for a DetNet domain and does
   not raise any security concerns or issues in addition to ones common
   to networking and those specific to a DetNet discussed in
   [I-D.ietf-detnet-security].

9.  Acknowledgments

   TBD

10.  References

10.1.  Normative References

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

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

10.2.  Informative References

   [I-D.ietf-detnet-security]
              Grossman, E., Mizrahi, T., and A. Hacker, "Deterministic
              Networking (DetNet) Security Considerations", draft-ietf-
              detnet-security-13 (work in progress), December 2020.

   [RFC2544]  Bradner, S. and J. McQuaid, "Benchmarking Methodology for
              Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 2544,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2544, March 1999,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2544>.

   [RFC6291]  Andersson, L., van Helvoort, H., Bonica, R., Romascanu,
              D., and S. Mansfield, "Guidelines for the Use of the "OAM"
              Acronym in the IETF", BCP 161, RFC 6291,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6291, June 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6291>.

   [RFC6374]  Frost, D. and S. Bryant, "Packet Loss and Delay
              Measurement for MPLS Networks", RFC 6374,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6374, September 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6374>.





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   [RFC7276]  Mizrahi, T., Sprecher, N., Bellagamba, E., and Y.
              Weingarten, "An Overview of Operations, Administration,
              and Maintenance (OAM) Tools", RFC 7276,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7276, June 2014,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7276>.

   [RFC7799]  Morton, A., "Active and Passive Metrics and Methods (with
              Hybrid Types In-Between)", RFC 7799, DOI 10.17487/RFC7799,
              May 2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7799>.

   [RFC8321]  Fioccola, G., Ed., Capello, A., Cociglio, M., Castaldelli,
              L., Chen, M., Zheng, L., Mirsky, G., and T. Mizrahi,
              "Alternate-Marking Method for Passive and Hybrid
              Performance Monitoring", RFC 8321, DOI 10.17487/RFC8321,
              January 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8321>.

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

   [RFC8939]  Varga, B., Ed., Farkas, J., Berger, L., Fedyk, D., and S.
              Bryant, "Deterministic Networking (DetNet) Data Plane:
              IP", RFC 8939, DOI 10.17487/RFC8939, November 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8939>.

Authors' Addresses

   Greg Mirsky
   ZTE Corp.

   Email: gregimirsky@gmail.com


   Fabrice Theoleyre
   CNRS
   300 boulevard Sebastien Brant - CS 10413
   Illkirch - Strasbourg  67400
   FRANCE

   Phone: +33 368 85 45 33
   Email: theoleyre@unistra.fr
   URI:   http://www.theoleyre.eu








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   Georgios Z. Papadopoulos
   IMT Atlantique
   Office B00 - 102A
   2 Rue de la Chataigneraie
   Cesson-Sevigne - Rennes  35510
   FRANCE

   Phone: +33 299 12 70 04
   Email: georgios.papadopoulos@imt-atlantique.fr


   Carlos J. Bernardos
   Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
   Av. Universidad, 30
   Leganes, Madrid  28911
   Spain

   Phone: +34 91624 6236
   Email: cjbc@it.uc3m.es
   URI:   http://www.it.uc3m.es/cjbc/































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