Internet DRAFT - draft-ciavaglia-anima-coordination

draft-ciavaglia-anima-coordination







ANIMA                                                       L. Ciavaglia
Internet-Draft                                                 P. Peloso
Intended status: Standards Track                          Alcatel-Lucent
Expires: September 22, 2016                               March 21, 2016


                    Autonomic Functions Coordination
               draft-ciavaglia-anima-coordination-01.txt

Abstract

   This document describes a management solution capable of avoiding
   conflicts between autonomic functions.  The objective of such a
   solution is to avoid network instabilities, by insuring that the
   autonomic functions pursuing different goals will cooperate instead
   of antagonize each other.  This document provides both requirements
   and specifications for such a solution.

   Disclaimer: the version -01 of the draft has been issued to
   reactivate the document in order to allow discussion within the ANIMA
   WG about the coordination of autonomic functions.

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].

Status of This Memo

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

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
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   This Internet-Draft will expire on September 22, 2016.







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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2016 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
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   This document may not be modified, and derivative works of it may not
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   translate it into languages other than English.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  Guiding principles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   4.  Initial sketch of a Coordination Function . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.1.  Preliminary assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     4.2.  Algorithms for coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     4.3.  Behavior of the coordination function . . . . . . . . . .   7
       4.3.1.  Times of the identification of interactions between
               AF  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       4.3.2.  Times of the coordination of AF . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.4.  Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   5.  External Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.1.  Autonomic Function Descriptor (AFD) . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.2.  control/command interface of AF . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.3.  Interaction/Information Maps  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   6.  Specifications  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   7.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   8.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   9.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   10. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     10.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     10.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12

1.  Introduction

   The document Autonomic Networking: Definitions and Design Goals
   [RFC7575] explains the fundamental concepts behind Autonomic
   Networking, and defines the relevant terms in this space.  The
   central concepts are Autonomic Nodes and Autonomic Functions.



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   An Autonomic Function is characterized by its implementing a closed
   control-loop, which we can summarize as successively:

   1.  Gathers metrics monitored by network equipments (that could be
       Autonomic Nodes, but not limited to)

   2.  Determines/computes new actions out of these inputs plus possibly
       some of the additional elements: e.g. contextual inputs, provided
       intents and gathered experience,

   3.  Set the computed parameters values (from the previous actions)
       inside the appropriate network equipments,

   4.  These new parameters values influence the network behavior, such
       that the metrics gathered by the autonomic function will evolve,

   (Section 7.5 of [I-D.behringer-anima-reference-model] details more
   the control loops).

   The Autonomic Functions are normally designed to stabilize
   (converge), at least when the network conditions are themselves
   stable.  However, conflicting interactions among Autonomic Functions
   can create instabilities even when the network conditions have not
   varied.

   The document A Reference Model for Autonomic Networking
   [I-D.behringer-anima-reference-model] describes the reference model
   of autonomic networks, by describing the architecture and enumerating
   fundamental blocks (either infrastructure pieces or enabling
   functionalities).  One of these functionalities pertains to the
   concomitant execution of multiple autonomic functions in a safe way
   (i.e. avoiding conflicts between these different autonomic loops).
   Section 8 of [I-D.behringer-anima-reference-model] (Coordination
   between Autonomic Functions) provides a brief introduction to this
   functionality.

   This document tackles this topic by successively:

   1.  Explaining why such a functionality is needed,

   2.  Detailing which objectives such a functionality should reach,

   3.  Sketching a simple behavior of this function,

   4.  Providing requirements on autonomic functions (a tentative list
       in this document version),





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   5.  Providing some specifications items (in this preliminary version,
       while future versions would provide specifications),

2.  Problem Statement

   The need to coordinate the joint behavior of autonomic functions
   arises from the need to cope with conflicting situations and to
   provide the operator with the ability to steer autonomic network
   performance to a given (intended) operational point.

   Several interaction types exist among autonomic functions such as
   cooperation, dependency, or conflict (and possibly others [TBD]).

   Cooperation happens when an autonomic function can improve the
   behavior or performance of another autonomic function, such as a
   traffic forecasting function used by a traffic allocation function.

   Dependency happens when an autonomic function cannot work without
   another one being present or accessible in the autonomic network.

   Conflicts among autonomic functions emerges from direct and indirect
   interactions.  A metric value conflict is a conflict where one metric
   is influenced by parameters of different autonomic functions.  A
   parameter value conflict is a conflict where one parameter is
   modified by different autonomic functions.  A simple example of
   conflicting interaction between autonomic functions is the
   oscillations caused by an energy-saving function (which switches-off
   interfaces to reduce power consumption) and a load-balancing function
   (which switches-on interfaces to reduce link load).

   Solving the coordination problem beyond one-by-one cases can rapidly
   become intractable if one considers networks composed of tens,
   hundreds or thousands of simultaneously interacting functions.
   Specifying a common functional block on coordination is a first step
   to address the problem in a systemic way.

3.  Guiding principles

   A coordination function appears as an essential component of the
   ANIMA reference model in order to achieve better control on the
   performance, stability and convergence of autonomic networks.

   As guiding principles, the ANIMA coordination function should:

   o  Maximize the autonomic network utility, i.e. mitigate the
      (observed or inferred) detrimental effects of conflicting
      autonomic functions (Efficiency property).




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   o  Balance the autonomic network goal(s) and autonomic functions
      individual goal(s) (Congruence and Coherence properties).

   o  Inform the autonomic network operator (being a human or a machine)
      with processed and aggregated "call(s) for governance" in case the
      goals are incompatible and no satisfactory solution can be found
      (i.e. compliant with the intent).

   o  Deviate the least possible autonomic functions from their design
      objective(s) and individual goal(s) (Liberality property).

   o  Impose minimal additional requirements on the external
      specifications of autonomic functions, such as the format and
      content of the autonomic function descriptor(s)/capabilities
      (Economy property).

   o  Not impose any requirement on the internal specifications of
      autonomic functions (Independence property).

   o  Support multiple coordination mechanism types (Plurality
      property).

   o  Enable coordination mechanisms to be plugged in at deploy- and
      run-time (Modularity property).

   o  Determine the most suitable coordination mechanism(s) to apply
      according to contexts (e.g. change in autonomic functions, change
      in intents/goals, change in coordination mechanisms available)
      (Dynamicity property).

   o  Develop a long-term vision of the autonomic functions interactions
      and devise the most suitable plan to address the conflicting
      cases, based on available coordination mechanisms and mission(s)
      set by the intent (Adaptivity property).

   o  Be able to fully or partially suspend/stop one or multiple
      autonomic functions, temporarily or an undetermined amount of time
      until the situation evolves (Authority property).

   o  Be able to operate equally well in a distributed or centralized
      manner (Distributivity property).

   o  Be able to cope with several thousands of simultaneous
      interactions (Performance and scalability property).







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4.  Initial sketch of a Coordination Function

   For the sake of the following sections, this section is providing a
   rough description of the functioning of a coordination function, and
   how it organizes itself along the network time.

4.1.  Preliminary assumptions

   Autonomic functions do exist in different states corresponding to
   different steps in their life-cycle.  The description of some of
   these steps is better understood by referring to the
   High level view of an Autonomic Network which is depicted in Figure 1
   of [I-D.behringer-anima-reference-model], which Figure is copied
   below:


   +- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
   :            :       Autonomic Function 1        :                 :
   : ASA 1      :      ASA 1      :      ASA 1      :          ASA 1  :
   +- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
                :                 :                 :
                :   +- - - - - - - - - - - - - - +  :
                :   :   Autonomic Function 2     :  :
                :   :  ASA 2      :      ASA 2   :  :
                :   +- - - - - - - - - - - - - - +  :
                :                 :                 :
   +- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
   :                Autonomic Networking Infrastructure               :
   +- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
   +--------+   :    +--------+   :    +--------+   :        +--------+
   | Node 1 |--------| Node 2 |--------| Node 3 |----...-----| Node n |
   +--------+   :    +--------+   :    +--------+   :        +--------+


             Figure 1: High level view of an Autonomic Network

   Undeployed -   In this state, the Autonomic Function is a mere piece
      of software, which may not even be copied on any node, but which
      may well be the code of the Autonomic Service Agents (ASA)
      corresponding to this Autonomic Function.

   Instantiated/Deployed -   In this state the Autonomic Function is
      deployed, which means the ASA are available in the Nodes and
      gathered together into an Autonomic Function.  In this state the
      autonomic function is bind to a scope which is the part of the
      network on which the autonomic function is meant to perform its
      duties.  As a first approximation, the scope matches the Nodes




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      which receive instructions from one of the ASA gathered in the
      Autonomic Function.

   Running -   In this state, the autonomic function is deployed and is
      executing its closed control loop, hence acting on network, by
      modifying Nodes parameters.

   The above list of states is not meant to be exhaustive, and would be
   better expanded in a document dedicated to Autonomic Functions,
   nevertheless the distinctions between the three above states are
   unavoidable.

4.2.  Algorithms for coordination

   This sub-section does not intend to specify algorithms capable of
   achieving coordination between autonomic functions, but means to
   illustrate different ways of avoiding conflicts, we can briefly list
   the following families of algorithms:

   Random token -   This algorithm is insuring that each autonomic
      function is executing its control-loop the one after the other,
      the sequence is following a random pattern.

   Time separation -   This algorithm is insuring that each autonomic
      function is executing its control-loop at different rates, e.g.
      for 2 functions: one is running fast enough to have time to
      converge in between two iterations of the slower one (this
      algorithm requires proper settings with regards of the autonomic
      functions to coordinate).

   Efficiency bids -   In this algorithm, each autonomic function
      predicts which improvement its executing of its control-loop would
      bring, hence the coordination algorithms, picks the autonomic
      function promising the "best" improvement, and grants it the right
      to execute.

4.3.  Behavior of the coordination function

   This function is expected to steer the network towards a better
   "operating" point, by avoiding/mitigating detrimental interactions
   between Autonomic Functions.

   The first step of such a process is the identification of these
   interactions and their classification in order to determine which
   ones have to be handled (at least the problematic ones i.e.
   conflicting ones).





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   The second step is the gathering of the identified interactions in
   groups that can be handled together while insuring the proper
   behavior of the network.  This step intends to avoid handling all the
   interactions in one raw, but possibly to split the whole problem in
   smaller pieces, easier to handle.

   The third step is the instantiation of coordination mechanisms well
   suited to handle each groups of interactions previously identified.
   Hence these coordination mechanisms would control the autonomic
   functions in order to insure a network behavior matching the intents
   of the network operator.

4.3.1.  Times of the identification of interactions between AF

   As the coordination function handles autonomic functions, its working
   is related to the different states of autonomic functions, namely,
   build-time, deploy-time and run-time.  Hence the coordination
   function also present a life-cycle consisting in these 3 different
   states , in which the coordination function behaves according to the
   following descriptions:

   At build-time, a common description of the autonomic function
   attributes (metrics, parameters, actions, capabilities...) allows to
   construct a "static interaction map" from the a-priori knowledge that
   can be derived/inferred from the functions attributes relationship.
   The static interaction map can be used as a first element by the
   operator (or mechanism) to (pre-)define policies and priorities as
   coordination strategies to manage the a-priori conflicts identified.

   At deploy-time, autonomic functions are deployed on the network (i.e.
   installed, configured, instantiated...) but are not yet active/acting
   on the network.  At this stage, for each instance of the autonomic
   functions and on a per resource basis, an inventory of the metrics
   monitored, of the actions performed and their relationships can be
   realized, resulting in a "dynamic interaction map".  The dynamic
   interaction map provides the basis to identify conflicts that will
   happen at run-time, categorize them and plan for the appropriate
   coordination strategies/mechanisms.

   At run-time, conflicts happens and arbitration is driven by the
   coordination strategies and available mechanisms.  This is also the
   stage where new dependencies can be observed and inferred, ultimately
   resulting in update of the dynamic interaction map and possible
   adaptation of the coordination strategies and mechanisms.







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4.3.2.  Times of the coordination of AF

   TBC

4.4.  Conclusions

   Some of the previous elements impact directly the coordination
   function, some other imply capacities of external elements such as
   Autonomic Functions and the Autonomic Control Plane.  This conclusion
   is briefly categorizing and summarizing those:

   Requirements onto the AF -

         a descriptor of metrics and parameters/actions: a generic way
         of describing the inputs and outputs of the closed control
         loop, in order to identify the interactions.

         a life-cycle: to match the process of the coordination (shortly
         stated, interaction identification and then conflict solving).

         a common command interface of the autonomic functions: for the
         coordination to control the pace at which an autonomic function
         executes its control loop.

   Requirements onto the ACP -

         a common representation of information and knowledge: a
         function used to build the interactions maps.

   Requirements onto the Coordination Function -

         interaction identification: a function in charge of identifying
         interactions

         interaction grouping: a function coping with grouping the
         previously identified interactions, in bundles that can be
         managed independently (for scalability concerns)

         supporting various coordination mechanisms: to have the freedom
         of picking the most appropriate one.

         interaction solving: a function capable of handling an
         independent bundle of interactions by controling the implied
         autonomic functions according to the picked algorithms.







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5.  External Requirements

   At this stage of the document, this section is merely providing a
   structure of its content.

   In order to achieve the aforementioned goals (detailed in section
   Section 3) a Coordination Functional Block should bring the following
   features:

      a common description of autonomic functions attributes and its
      life-cycle.

      a common command interface between the coordination "agent" and
      the autonomic functions.

      a common representation of information and knowledge (cf.
      interaction maps).

   Guidelines, recommendations or BCPs can also be provided for the
   aspects pertaining to the coordination strategies and mechanisms.

   The coordination function requires a certain set of elements to work
   properly such as the autonomic function descriptor and the
   interaction map(s).

5.1.  Autonomic Function Descriptor (AFD)

   The Autonomic Function Descriptor (AFD) should contain the following
   elements:

      actions, metrics, parameters, controlled resources.

5.2.  control/command interface of AF

   The Autonomic Function could be guided in its executing of its
   control-loop by the coordination mechanism.  The guidance could range
   from preventing the executing of the control loop, to letting run on
   its own.  In the middle of the range, coordination mechanism could
   restrain the actions, halt the control-loop at a given state of the
   execution (before enforcement).

   This section can be expanded in conjunction with Section 7.5 of
   [I-D.behringer-anima-reference-model] details more the control loops.








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5.3.  Interaction/Information Maps

   The Autonomic Control Plane(ACP) should be able to provide a view of
   the interactions between metrics in order to build the interaction
   maps.  This functionality is needed to identify that metrics are
   coupled.  E.g. the capacity of a link and its load ratio are
   intimately coupled, and to identify interactions between autonomic
   function, having this knowledge may prove instrumental.

6.  Specifications

   The coordination function can be decomposed in the following sub-
   functions:

      interaction identification: in charge of identifying interactions

      interaction grouping: coping with assigning the interactions to
      instances of cooperation mechanisms

      interaction solving: coping with various algorithms

   TBC.

7.  Acknowledgements

   This draft was written using the xml2rfc project.

   This draft content builds upon work achieved during UniverSelf FP7 EU
   project.

   The authors thank Dimitri Papadimitriou for his valuable comments.

8.  IANA Considerations

   This memo includes no request to IANA.

9.  Security Considerations

   TBC

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,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.



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10.2.  Informative References

   [I-D.behringer-anima-reference-model]
              Behringer, M., Carpenter, B., Eckert, T., Ciavaglia, L.,
              Liu, B., Jeff, J., and J. Strassner, "A Reference Model
              for Autonomic Networking", draft-behringer-anima-
              reference-model-04 (work in progress), October 2015.

   [RFC7575]  Behringer, M., Pritikin, M., Bjarnason, S., Clemm, A.,
              Carpenter, B., Jiang, S., and L. Ciavaglia, "Autonomic
              Networking: Definitions and Design Goals", RFC 7575,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7575, June 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7575>.

Authors' Addresses

   Laurent Ciavaglia
   Alcatel-Lucent
   Villarceaux
   Nozay  91460
   FR

   Email: laurent.ciavaglia@alcatel-lucent.com


   Peloso Pierre
   Alcatel-Lucent
   Villarceaux
   Nozay  91460
   FR

   Email: pierre.peloso@alcatel-lucent.com



















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