General Gap Analysis for Autonomic Networking
RFC 7576

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Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)                             S. Jiang
Request for Comments: 7576                  Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd
Category: Informational                                     B. Carpenter
ISSN: 2070-1721                                        Univ. of Auckland
                                                            M. Behringer
                                                           Cisco Systems
                                                               June 2015

             General Gap Analysis for Autonomic Networking

Abstract

   This document provides a problem statement and general gap analysis
   for an IP-based Autonomic Network that is mainly based on distributed
   network devices.  The document provides background by reviewing the
   current status of autonomic aspects of IP networks and the extent to
   which current network management depends on centralization and human
   administrators.  Finally, the document outlines the general features
   that are missing from current network abilities and are needed in the
   ideal Autonomic Network concept.

   This document is a product of the IRTF's Network Management Research
   Group.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for informational purposes.

   This document is a product of the Internet Research Task Force
   (IRTF).  The IRTF publishes the results of Internet-related research
   and development activities.  These results might not be suitable for
   deployment.  This RFC represents the consensus of the Network
   Management Research Group of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF).
   Documents approved for publication by the IRSG are not a candidate
   for any level of Internet Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7576.

Jiang, et al.                 Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 7576            Autonomic Networking Gap Analysis          June 2015

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 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
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Automatic and Autonomic Aspects of Current IP Networks  . . .   3
     3.1.  IP Address Management and DNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.2.  Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.3.  Configuration of Default Router in a Host . . . . . . . .   5
     3.4.  Hostname Lookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.5.  User Authentication and Accounting  . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.6.  Security  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.7.  State Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   4.  Current Non-autonomic Behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     4.1.  Building a New Network  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     4.2.  Network Maintenance and Management  . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     4.3.  Security Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.4.  Troubleshooting and Recovery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   5.  Features Needed by Autonomic Networks . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.1.  More Coordination among Devices or Network Partitions . .  11
     5.2.  Reusable Common Components  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     5.3.  Secure Control Plane  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     5.4.  Less Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     5.5.  Forecasting and Dry Runs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     5.6.  Benefit from Knowledge  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   7.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17

Jiang, et al.                 Informational                     [Page 2]
RFC 7576            Autonomic Networking Gap Analysis          June 2015

1.  Introduction

   The general goals and relevant definitions for Autonomic Networking
   are discussed in [RFC7575].  In summary, the fundamental goal of an
   Autonomic Network is self-management, including self-configuration,
   self-optimization, self-healing, and self-protection.  Whereas
   interior gateway routing protocols such as OSPF and IS-IS largely