Internet DRAFT - draft-polk-diffserv-stds-problem-statement

draft-polk-diffserv-stds-problem-statement




Network WG                                                   James Polk
Internet-Draft                                                    Cisco
Intended status: Informational                            June 20, 2012
Expires: December 20, 2012                                  

                 The Problem Statement for the Standard
                Configuration of DiffServ Service Classes
            draft-polk-diffserv-stds-problem-statement-01.txt

Abstract

   This document describes the problem statement on two recently 
   proposed expansions to DiffServ. The first of these expansions 
   proposes updating the informational RFC 4594 document to standards 
   track status, while making the necessary changes to make it current;
   for example, creating more granular traffic treatments, some with 
   new Per Hop Behaviors (PHB). The second proposal defines 6 new 
   DiffServ Codepoints necessary from these new PHBs in the proposal 
   within the first draft.


Status of this Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
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   This Internet-Draft will expire on December 20, 2012.

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   document authors.  All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
   2.  Brief Overview of RFC 4594 and RFC 5127 . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     2.1 Brief Overview of RFC 4594  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     2.2 Brief Overview of RFC 5127  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   3. Brief Discussion of the RFC 4594 Update Draft  . . . . . . . .  5
   4.  Conclusion and What's Next  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   5.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     8.1   Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     8.2   Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
       Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9


1.  Introduction

   Differentiated Services (DiffServ) [RFC2474] creates an IP header 
   marking or indicator with which intermediate nodes (i.e., routers 
   and switches) can make policy decisions. These 6-bit values are 
   called Differentiated Services Codepoint Point (DSCP) values. DSCP 
   values are used to differentiate packet treatment within an 
   intermediate node, not across a network, as the conditions affecting
   that marking are different within each node. This is called Per Hop 
   Behavior (PHB). A packet could have the same DSCP value from source 
   to destination, but the intended mode of operation is for the DSCP 
   value to be rewritten when the packet crosses the boundary of a 
   DiffServ administrative domain. Indeed, the packet may be fully 
   reclassified at a domain boundary. The DSCP value should stay the 
   same only if adjacent domains have agreed to use the same set of 
   DSCP values and the same, or equivalent, PHBs. Inconsistency will 
   arise if a domain does not rewrite the DSCP value when receiving a 
   packet from another domain that uses a different set of DSCPs and 
   PHBs.

   At issue is a combination of the number of networks or endpoints 
   that are choosing to use DiffServ markings, and the number of 
   administrative domains (called "networks" in this document) a packet
   traverses with different policies for how packet flows of a similar 
   type (e.g., a voice flow, or an email flow, etc.) are to be marked. 

   The community presently has RFC 4594 [RFC4594], which is an 
   informational guideline on how networks can or should mark certain 
   packet flows with differing traffic characteristics using DiffServ. 
   There are several reasons why this informational RFC lacks the 
   necessary clarity and strength to reach widespread adoption:

   o  confusion between RFC 4594 and RFC 5127 [RFC5127], the latter of 
      which is for aggregating many 6-bit DSCP values into the 3-bit (8


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      value) field available in MPLS. This confusion arises because 
      RFC 5127 is written in general terms, and indeed aggregation 
      could be used on non-MPLS paths, but the specific restriction 
      to 3 bits is due entirely to MPLS and only applies to the 
      MPLS portion of a packet's path. A similar 3-bit field exists 
      within IEEE's 802 specifications, which causes the same 
      confusion.

   o  some believe both RFCs are for SPs, while others ignore RFC 5127 
      and use RFC 4594 as if it were standards track or BCP.

   o  some believe RFC 5127 is for SPs only, and want RFC 4594 to 
      reduce the number of DSCPs within its guidelines to recommend 
      using only 3 or 4 DSCPs. This seems to stem from a manageability 
      and operational perspective.

   o  some know RFC 4594 is informational and do not follow its 
      guidelines specifically because it is informational.

   o  some use DSCP values that are not defined within RFC 4594, making
      mapping between different networks using similar or identical 
      application flows difficult.

   o  some believe enterprise networks should not use either RFC except
      at the edge of their networks, where they directly connect to SP 
      networks.

   o  some argue that the services classes guidance per class is too 
      broad and are therefore not sure in which service class a 
      particular application is to reside.

   This document is not intended to reach RFC status. Rather, it is to 
   stimulate discussion on both RFC 4594 and 5127 to lessen existing 
   confusion within the community. It should be noted that RFC 4594 has
   an offered update within TSVWG [ID-4594-UPDATE]. This draft has 
   created some heated discussions within that WG before and during the
   Paris IETF meeting.

   First, we'll discuss briefly RFCs 4594 and 5127 in Section 2. Then 
   we will discussion what the update to RFC 4594 proposes differently 
   and what we expect to happen to RFC 5127 in Section 3.


2.  Brief Overview of RFC 4594 and RFC 5127

2.1 Brief Overview of RFC 4594

   Essentially, RFC 4594 is a guideline for how to choose which DSCP to
   use based on the traffic characteristics an application flow needs 
   to experience within a network for optimal performance. RFC 4594 
   specifically points to several existing standards-track DiffServ 
   RFCs to augment the text in each of those RFCs, without violating 


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   any of the rules within each of those documents. RFC 4594:

   o painstakingly lays out definitions and guidelines for each service
     class. 

   o clearly indicates each service class's tolerance to delay, jitter 
     and packet loss.

   o details the conditioning treatments at the Differentiated Services
     (DS) edge.

   o categorizes traffic characteristics into 12 service classes 
     utilizing one or more DSCPs: 

     Network Control            Broadcast Video
     Telephony                  Low-Latency Data
     Signaling                  OAM
     Multimedia Conferencing    High-throughput Data
     Realtime Interactive       Standard
     Multimedia Streaming       Low-priority Data


2.2 Brief Overview of RFC 5127

   At its barest, RFC 5127 recommends that, of the many service classes
   described within RFC 4594, each having different traffic 
   characteristics, similar service classes be grouped or aggregated 
   into 3, 4, or 5 markings for SP traversal. This limitation of the 
   number of individual service classes is partly to reduce the number 
   of separate distinctions traversing over their network because SPs 
   have difficulty managing what is deemed 'too many' different 
   classes. Another part for this reduction is customer expectations of
   meeting contractual Service Level Agreements (SLAs). 

   To this end, and perhaps because of it, MPLS was designed with only 
   8 values of priority differentiation, i.e., the 3 EXP bits.  To be 
   fair, LAN based IEEE has only a 3-bit priority field as well within 
   its specifications, known as the Priority Code Point (PCP), as part 
   of the 802.1Q header spec. IEEE 802.1e, which defines QoS over 
   Wi-Fi, also only defines 8 levels (called User Priority or UP 
   codes).

   The result is to have the IETF within RFC 5127 recommend the 
   following (which is Figure 2 within that RFC):










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    ------------------------------------------------------------
   |Treatment |Treatment || DSCP                                |
   |Aggregate |Aggregate ||                                     |
   |          |Behavior  ||                                     |
   |==========+==========++=====================================|
   | Network  | CS       || CS6                                 |
   | Control  |(RFC 2474)||                                     |
   |==========+==========++=====================================|
   | Real-    | EF       || EF, CS5, AF41, AF42, AF43, CS4, CS3 |
   | Time     |(RFC 3246)||                                     |
   |==========+==========++=====================================|
   | Assured  | AF       || CS2, AF31, AF21, AF11               |
   | Elastic  |(RFC 2597)||-------------------------------------|
   |          |          || AF32, AF22, AF12                    |
   |          |          ||-------------------------------------|
   |          |          || AF33, AF23, AF13                    |
   |==========+==========++=====================================|
   | Elastic  | Default  || Default, (CS0)                      |
   |          |(RFC 2474)||-------------------------------------|
   |          |          || CS1                                 |
    ------------------------------------------------------------

                  Figure 1: Treatment Aggregate Behavior

   RFC 5127 goes on to recommend the marking and treatments on either 
   side of the provider edge remain the same. In other words, the DSCP 
   values remain the same and are used to determine which queue to 
   place the packets into within the aggregates, where the packets are 
   treated the same within that tunnel until the egress provider edge.

   Many within enterprise networks do not pay attention to what RFC 
   5127 says because they are sufficiently removed from dealing with 
   the constraints of very few DSCP values or the need to aggregate 
   DSCP values into groups. 


3.  Brief Discussion of the RFC 4594 Update Draft

   The RFC 4594 update draft [ID-4594-UPDATE] proposes to update what 
   has occurred since RFC 4594 was written (i.e., 2006), in which more 
   granular service classes can be differentiated by application 
   requirements. For example, Figure 2 within RFC 4594 identifies 
   "Telephony" as having 'Fixed-size small packets'. That is not true 
   for today's video flow, therefore it needs to be modified. The 
   update draft currently breaks out audio and video separately to 
   reflect this different, as well as the ability to treat each traffic
   type differently within a network. Another example is gaming and 
   TCP. The two were believed by most, and it is still believed by many
   that gaming requires a UDP delivery due to the requirements for 
   timely delivery of packets and that retransmissions would cause 
   delays and bad things to happen to gaming applications. This was 
   proved false within [ID-TCMTF], in which the author of that document


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   had a presentation showing TCP was used and viable. 

   [RFC5865] created a new Expedited Forwarding (EF) DSCP value called 
   VOICE-ADMIT, the second time an application is identified within the
   DiffServ realm. The first was the service class Broadcast Video, 
   which is poorly used within RFC 4594 because other types of flows 
   can be 'broadcast' other than video, such as audio. From this, 
   [ID-4594-UPDATE] moved in two directions:

   o it called out two service classes (audio and video), even though 
     audio and video packets are not the only types of packets within 
     each traffic characteristic.

   o it removed "Video" from the Broadcast service class name.

   From the resistance to this proposal within [ID-4594-UPDATE], 
   perhaps other service class label names should be used.

   The draft also recognizes the differences in video traffic, even 
   though it is always carried over RTP [RFC3550]. Aside from silence 
   suppression, video traffic varies far more than audio traffic. For 
   example, video is 

   o far more variable in bandwidth utilization within the same flow.

   o far more variable in packet size. 

   o at different business priorities in some networks based on a 
     configuration. For example, desktop video often is of less 
     important than Telepresence video on the same network. Lacking 
     congestion, the two are treated the same. When congestion exists, 
     one is given priority over the other.

   Consequently any service class that contains video needs to account 
   for larger packet size variation than audio, which was equally true 
   in 2006, but not contained in RFC 4594.

   Further, with the publication of RFC 5865, the concept of 'capacity 
   admitted' traffic flows have been defined within DiffServ, and are 
   being expanded with the proposal within this new draft 
   [ID-NEW-DSCPS]. There are differing opinions as to whether the 
   realtime Treatment Aggregate in Figure 1 above should also contain 
   these capacity admitted flows, or if 'capacity admitted' traffic 
   flows should have their own Treatment Aggregate containing all 
   realtime capacity admitted traffic. Mixing capacity admitted traffic
   with unbounded realtime traffic seems to be trouble from a 
   predictability point of view within routers believing they 
   individually understand exactly how much traffic will be traversing 
   each interface and at what rate.

   All this said, there is a valid argument to constrain or prevent any
   DSCP value from being assigned to a single application, mostly due 


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   to the limitation of the overall number of DSCP values available for
   use. [ID-4594-UPDATE] provides at least several applications per 
   service class (or DSCP); a fact many have overlooked to date.

   [ID-4594-UPDATE] is not only about or because of realtime traffic. 
   It is also an overall update to the ideas and guidelines within RFC 
   4594, with the intent to make that document a standards track 
   document for interoperability purposes.

   As a result, the 12 service classes of unique traffic 
   characteristics from RFC 4594 have been changed and increased to 14,
   as shown below

     Network Control            Multimedia Streaming
     Realtime Interactive       Low-Latency Data
     Audio                      Conversational Signaling
     Video                      High-throughput Data
     Hi-Res A/V                 OAM
     Multimedia Conferencing    Standard
     Broadcast                  Low-priority Data


4.  Conclusion and What's Next

   Without attempting to fundamentally change the guidelines within RFC
   5127, this effort should not be as controversial as it has been to 
   date. If we understand that enterprise networks, or any networks for
   that matter, that need more granular traffic treatments can be 
   configured in a consistent way with more granularity while not 
   violating the needs of other networks, mostly SP networks, that do 
   not wish to be made aware of the increased treatment differences. 

   Everyone involved in this discussion needs to have a clear 
   understanding of the difference points of view within the RFC 4594 
   effort (i.e., the RFC and the update draft) as well as within RFC 
   5127. One focuses on defining each service class specific to the 
   differences in traffic characteristics necessary for an application 
   and the other focuses on determining which of the currently 
   configured service classes go into which treatment aggregate.

   Once the community re-understands the difference between RFC 4594 
   (to define separable traffic treatments and mark each differently) 
   and RFC5127 (to aggregate these many separate markings where 
   necessary, and in a fairly uniform manner), the authors will forge 
   ahead with proposing the increase in the number of discrete traffic 
   characteristics requiring different markings, which is the subject 
   of the RFC4594-update effort. The discussion about whether or not 
   'audio' and 'video' should be named service classes should occur 
   once there is a clearly understood difference between the two RFC's 
   goals.

   We hope to form a BoF on this subject that will explicitly *not* 


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   form a working group or produce any documents, or even drafts, but 
   will gather the community from several (if not all) areas, and not 
   just within the transport area. That is the purpose of this draft: 
   to stimulate discussion towards the goal of discussion within the 
   community on DiffServ. If the community does not believe a BoF is 
   necessary, the work will proceed, or not, in TSVWG. Knowing how many
   within the community have attended TSVWG in each meeting for the 
   last 9 or so years, it is felt that a much wider audience is 
   necessary, given how much impact [ID-4594-UPDATE] can potentially 
   have.


5.  Acknowledgements

   The author would like to thank Gorry Fairhurst and David Black for 
   their positive discussions towards the formation of a BoF in 
   Vancouver IETF. The author would also like to thank Paul Jones for 
   doing a valuable proof read to catch points I didn't make clear, as 
   well as identify simple nits I should have caught the nth time I 
   reread this. Thank you to Brian Carpenter for clarifying a few 
   points made in the original version of this document.


6.  IANA Considerations

   There are no IANA considerations as a result of this document.

7.  Security Considerations

   There are no security considerations within this document because it
   will not be progressed beyond this individual contributor stage, and
   all the specifying will be done in other drafts that will wholly 
   contain all the security considerations for this goal/idea.


8.  References

8.1   Normative References  

   There are no normative references within this document.

8.2.  Informative References

 [RFC2474] K. Nichols, S. Blake, F. Baker, D. Black, "Definition of the
           Differentiated Services Field (DS Field) in the IPv4 and 
           IPv6 Headers ", RFC 2474, December 1998

 [RFC3550] Schulzrinne, H., Casner, S., Frederick, R., and V.
           Jacobson, "RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time
           Applications", STD 64, RFC 3550, July 2003.

 [RFC4594] J. Babiarz, K. Chan, F Baker, "Configuration Guidelines for 


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           Diffserv Service Classes", RFC 4594, August 2006

 [RFC5127] Chan, K., Babiarz, J., and F. Baker, "Aggregation of 
           DiffServ Service Classes", RFC 5127, February 2008.

 [RFC5865] F. Baker, J. Polk, M. Dolly, "A Differentiated Services Code
           Point (DSCP) for Capacity-Admitted Traffic", RFC 5865, 
           May 2010

 [ID-4594-UPDATE] J. Polk, "Standard Configuration of DiffServ Service 
           Classes", "work in progress", March 2012

 [ID-NEW-DSCPS] J. Polk, "New Differentiated Services Code Point 
           Assignments for Rich Media Traffic", "work in progress", 
           March 2012

 [ID-TCMTF] J. Saldana, D. Wing, J. Fernandez Navajas, Muthu A M. 
           Perumal, J. Ruiz Mas, "Tunneling Compressed Multiplexed 
           Traffic Flows (TCMTF)", "work in progress", March 2012

Authors' Address

James Polk
3913 Treemont Circle
Colleyville, Texas  76034

Phone: +1.817.271.3552
Email: jmpolk@cisco.com


























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