Internet DRAFT - draft-wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer

draft-wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer







6TiSCH                                                      Q. Wang, Ed.
Internet-Draft                           Univ. of Sci. and Tech. Beijing
Intended status: Informational                             X. Vilajosana
Expires: May 6, 2016                     Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
                                                        November 3, 2015


                    6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top)
                   draft-wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer-04

Abstract

   This document defines the 6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top), which
   offers mechanisms for distributed scheduling in 6TiSCH networks.  The
   6top sublayer is the next higher layer of the IEEE802.15.4e TSCH
   medium access control layer.  The 6top Protocol (6P) defined in this
   document allows neighbor nodes to add/delete TSCH cells to one
   another.  To be able to match different application requirements, the
   6top Scheduling Function (SF) decides when to add/delete cells.  The
   SF is left out of scope, and will be specified in one or more
   companion documents.

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 RFC
   2119 [RFC2119].

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 http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   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 May 6, 2016.






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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.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   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
   2.  6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.1.  Hard/Soft Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.2.  Using 6top with the Minimal 6TiSCH Configuration  . . . .   5
   3.  6top Protocol (6P)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  Message Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       3.1.1.  6top Information Element  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       3.1.2.  General Message Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
       3.1.3.  6P Command Identifiers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
       3.1.4.  6P Return Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.1.5.  6P Cell Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.1.6.  6P ADD Request Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.1.7.  6P DELETE Request Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
       3.1.8.  6P COUNT Request Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
       3.1.9.  6P LIST Request Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
       3.1.10. 6P CLEAR Request Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
       3.1.11. 6P Response Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     3.2.  Protocol Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
       3.2.1.  Version Checking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
       3.2.2.  SFID Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
       3.2.3.  Concurrent 6P Transactions  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       3.2.4.  Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       3.2.5.  Adding cells  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       3.2.6.  Aborting a 6P Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
       3.2.7.  Deleting cells  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
       3.2.8.  Handling error responses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     3.3.  Security  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   4.  Guidelines for 6top Scheduling Functions (SF) . . . . . . . .  13
     4.1.  SF Identifier (SFID)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     4.2.  Requirements for an SF  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     4.3.  Recommended Structure of an SF Specification  . . . . . .  14



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   5.  Implementation Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   7.  IANA Consideration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
     8.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
     8.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
   Appendix A.  [TEMPORARY] IETF IE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
   Appendix B.  [TEMPORARY] IEEE Liaison Considerations  . . . . . .  17
   Appendix C.  [TEMPORARY] Terms for the Terminology Draft  . . . .  17
   Appendix D.  [TEMPORARY] Changelog  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18

1.  Introduction

   All communication in a 6TiSCH network is orchestrated by a schedule
   [RFC7554].  This specification defines the mechanisms offered by the
   6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top) sublayer.  These mechanisms allow a
   node to communicate with its neighbor node(s) to agree on a TSCH
   schedule in a distributed manner.

                                    (A)
                                    / \
                                   /   \
                                (B)-----(C)
                                 |       |
                                 |       |
                                (D)     (E)

                    Figure 1: A simple 6TiSCH network.

   For example, node C in Figure 1 monitors the communication cells to
   node A it has in its schedule.

   o  If node C determines the number of frames it is sending to A per
      unit of time is larger than the capacity offered by the TSCH cells
      it has scheduled to A, it communicates with node A to add one or
      more such cells.
   o  If the traffic is lower than the capacity, node C communicates
      with node A to delete one or more cells to A.
   o  Node C might also monitor statistics to determine whether
      collisions are happening on a particular cell to node A.  If this
      feature is enabled, node C communicates with node A to add a new
      cell and delete the cell which suffered from collisions.  This
      results, conceptually, in "relocating" the cell which suffered
      from collisions to a different slotOffset/channelOffset location
      in the TSCH schedule.  The mechanism handling cell relocation is
      out of the scope of this document.




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   This results in a distributed schedule management solution.

   The mechanisms needed to enable this interaction are defined by the
   6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top) sublayer, described in Section 2.
   The 6top Protocol (6P), specified in Section 3, defines the
   communication between neighbor nodes in this context.  The 6top
   sublayer includes a 6top Scheduling Function (SF) which defines the
   policy of when to add/delete a cell to a neighbor.  Different
   applications require different SFs, so the SF is left out of scope of
   this document.  One or more SFs will be defined in one or more
   companion documents.  Section 4 provides some guidelines on how to
   design an SF.

2.  6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top)

   As depicted in Figure 2, the 6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top) sits
   directly above the IEEE802.15.4e TSCH medium access control layer
   [IEEE802154e].

                                   .
               |                   .                      |
               |            next higher layer             |
               +------------------------------------------+
               |                 6top                     |
               +------------------------------------------+
               |          IEEE802.15.4e TSCH              |
               |                   .                      |
                                   .

            Figure 2: The 6top sublayer in the protocol stack.

   The roles of the 6top sublayer are:

   o  Implement and terminate the 6top Protocol (6P), which allows
      neighbor nodes to communicate to add/delete cells to one another.
   o  Run a 6top Scheduling Function (SF) which defines the algorithm to
      decide when to add/delete cells.
   o  Offer a way for a neighbor node to discover which SF is being
      used.

2.1.  Hard/Soft Cells

   6top qualifies each cell in the schedule as either "hard" or "soft":

   o  a Soft Cell can be read, added, deleted or updated by 6top.
   o  a Hard Cell is read-only for 6top.





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   In the context of this specification, all the cells used by 6top are
   Soft Cells.  Hard cells can be used for example when "hard-coding" a
   cell (e.g. the 6TiSCH Configuration [I-D.ietf-6tisch-minimal]).

2.2.  Using 6top with the Minimal 6TiSCH Configuration

   6top MAY be used alongside the Minimal 6TiSCH Configuration
   [I-D.ietf-6tisch-minimal].  In this case, it is RECOMMENDED to use 2
   slotframes, as depicted in Figure 3:

   o  Slotframe 0 (SFR0) is used for traffic defined in the Minimal
      6TiSCH Configuration.  In Figure 3, this slotframe is 5 slots
      long, but it can be of any length.
   o  Slotframe 1 (SFR1) is used by 6top to allocate cells from.  In
      Figure 3, this slotframe is 10 slots long, but it can be of any
      length.

   .

   SFR0 SHOULD be of higher priority than SFR1.  6top MAY support
   further slotframes; how to use more slotframes is out of the scope
   for this document.

            | 0    1    2    3    4  | 0    1    2    3    4  |
            +------------------------+------------------------+
       SFR0 | EB |    |    |    |    | EB |    |    |    |    |
            |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
            +-------------------------------------------------+
       SFR1 |    |A->B|    |    |    |    |    |    |B->A|    |
            |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
            +-------------------------------------------------+
            | 0    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9  |

   Figure 3: 2-slotframe structure when using 6top alongside the Minimal
                           6TiSCH Configuration.

3.  6top Protocol (6P)

   The 6top Protocol (6P) allows two neighbor nodes to pass information
   to add/delete cells to their TSCH schedule.  This information is
   carried as IEEE802.15.4 Information Elements (IE) [IEEE802154e] and
   travels only a single hop.

   Conceptually, two neighbor nodes "negotiate" the location of the
   cells to add/delete.  We reuse the topology in Figure 1 to illustrate
   how the protocol works.

   When node A wants to add (resp. delete) 2 cells to node B:



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   1.  Node A sends a message to node B indicating it wants to add
       (resp. delete) 2 cells to node B to its schedule, and listing 2
       or more candidate cells.
   2.  Node B responds with a message indicating that the operation
       succeeded, and specifying which cells from the candidate list it
       added (resp. deleted).  This allows node A to add (resp. delete)
       the same cells to/from its schedule.

   Figure 4 is a sequence diagram which illustrates this exchange.
   Here, node A requests 2 cells to node B.  It sends a 6P ADD Request
   to node be indicatig it wishes to add 2 cells (the "NumCells" value),
   and specifying a list of 3 candidate cells from which node B can
   choose (the "CellList" value).  Each cell in the CellList is a tuple
   with the (slotOffset,channelOffset) coordinates of the candidate cell
   in the TSCH schedule.  Node B selects 2 of the 3 cells in the
   CellList of the 6P ADD Request, and sends a 6P Response back to node
   A specifying the cells it selected from the specified container (e.g
   Slotframe, Chunk, etc ...).  This allow nodes A and B to add those
   two cells to their schedule.

      +----------+                           +----------+
      |  Node A  |                           |  Node B  |
      +----+-----+                           +-----+----+
           |                                       |
           | 6P ADD Request                        |
           |   NumCells     = 2                    |
           |   Container ID = 1                    |
           |   CellList     = [(1,2),(2,2),(3,5)]  |
           |-------------------------------------->|
           |                                       |
           |   6P Response                         |
           |    Return Code  = IANA_6TOP_RC_SUCCESS|
           |    CellList     = [(2,2),(3,5)]       |
           |<--------------------------------------|
           |                                       |

       Figure 4: Sequence diagram to illustrate the 6P negotiation.

   We call "6P Transaction" the action of two neighbor nodes exchanging
   a 6P Request Message and the corresponding 6P Reply message.

3.1.  Message Format

3.1.1.  6top Information Element

   The messages exchanges as part of the 6P protocol are carried in a
   6top Information Element.  The 6top Information Element is a IETF IE
   with Group ID IANA_IETF_IE_GROUP_ID.  The Sub-ID used by the



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   Information Element is IANA_6TOP_SUBIE_ID.  The length of the 6top
   Information Element is variable.  The content of the 6top Information
   Element is specified in Section 3.1.  TODO: IETF IE specified in
   Appendix A for now, but to be specified in separate draft in the
   future.

3.1.2.  General Message Format

   All 6P messages have the following format:

                          1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     | Ver   | Code  |     SFID      | Other Fields
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Ver (6P Version):  The version of the 6P protocol.  Only version
         IANA_6TOP_6P_VERSION is defined in this document.  Future
         specification might define further version of the 6P protocol.
   Code: Command to carry out, or response code.  The list of command
         identifiers and return codes is defined only for version
         IANA_6TOP_6P_VERSION in this document.
   SFID (6top Scheduling Function Identifier):  The identifier of the SF
         to use to handle this message.  The SFID is defined in
         Section 4.1.
   Other Fields:  The list of other fields depends on the value of the
         code field, as detailed below.

3.1.3.  6P Command Identifiers

   Figure 5 lists the 6P command identifiers.

    Value                   Command ID     Description
   +----------------------+--------------+---------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_CMD_ADD    | CMD_ADD      | add one or more cells     |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_CMD_DELETE | CMD_DELETE   | delete one or more cells  |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_CMD_COUNT  | CMD_COUNT    | count scheduled cells     |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_CMD_LIST   | CMD_LIST     | list the scheduled cells  |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_CMD_CLEAR  | CMD_CLEAR    | clear all cells           |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------------+
   | TODO-0xf             | reserved                                 |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------------+

                     Figure 5: 6P Command Identifiers



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3.1.4.  6P Return Codes

   Figure 6 lists the 6P Return Codes and their meaning.

    Value                    Return Code      Description
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_RC_SUCCESS  | RC_SUCCESS  | operation succeeded      |
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_RC_VER_ERR  | RC_VER_ERR  | unsupported 6P version   |
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_RC_SFID_ERR | RC_SFID_ERR | unsupported SFID         |
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_RC_BUSY     | RC_BUSY     | handling previous request|
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_RC_RESET    | RC_RESET    | abort 6P transaction     |
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+
   | IANA_6TOP_RC_ERR      | RC_ERR      | operation failed         |
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+
   | TODO-0xf              | reserved                               |
   +-----------------------+----------------------------------------+

                         Figure 6: 6P Return Codes

3.1.5.  6P Cell Format

   The 6P Cell is an element which is present in several messages.  It
   is a 4-byte field formatted as:

                          1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     |          slotOffset           |         channelOffset         |
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   slotOffset:  The slot offset of the cell.
   channelOffset:  The channel offset of the cell.

3.1.6.  6P ADD Request Format

                          1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     | Ver   |  Code |    SFID       | NumCells      | Container     |
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     | CellList ...
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-

   Ver:  Set to IANA_6TOP_6P_VERSION.



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   Code: Set to IANA_6TOP_CMD_ADD for a 6P ADD Request.
   SFID: Identifier of the SF to be used by the receiver to handle the
         message.
   NumCells:  The number of additional TX cells the sender wants to
         schedule to the receiver.
   Container:  An indication of where in the schedule to take the cells
         from (which slotframe, which chunk, etc.).  This value is an
         indication to the SF.  The meaning of this field depends on the
         SF, and is hence out of scope of this document.
   CellList:  A list of 0, 1 or multiple 6P Cells.  The format of a 6P
         Cell is defined in Section 3.1.5

3.1.7.  6P DELETE Request Format

   The 6P DELETE Request has the exact same format as the 6P ADD
   Request, except for the code which is set to IANA_6TOP_CMD_DELETE.

3.1.8.  6P COUNT Request Format

                          1                   2
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     | Ver   |  Code |    SFID       | Container     |
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Ver:  Set to IANA_6TOP_6P_VERSION.
   Code: Set to IANA_6TOP_CMD_COUNT for a 6P COUNT Request.
   SFID: Identifier of the SF to be used by the receiver to handle the
         message.
   Container:  An indication of where in the schedule to take the cells
         from (which slotframe, which chunk, etc.).  This value is an
         indication to the SF.  The meaning of this field depends on the
         SF, and is hence out of scope of this document.

3.1.9.  6P LIST Request Format

   The 6P LIST Request has the exact same format as the 6P COUNT
   Request, except for the code which is set to IANA_6TOP_CMD_LIST.

3.1.10.  6P CLEAR Request Format

   The 6P CLEAR Request has the exact same format as the 6P COUNT
   Request, except for the code which is set to IANA_6TOP_CMD_CLEAR.








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3.1.11.  6P Response Format

                          1                   2                   3
      0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
     | Ver   |  Code |    SFID       | Other Fields ...
     +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

   Ver:  Set to IANA_6TOP_6P_VERSION.
   SFID:  Identifier of the SF to be used by the receiver to handle the
      message.
   Code:  One of the 6P Return Codes listed in Section 3.1.4.
   Other Fields:  The fields depends on what command the request is for:

      Response to an ADD, DELETE or LIST command:  A list of 0, 1 or
         multiple 6P Cells.  The format of a 6P Cell is defined in
         Section 3.1.5.
      Response to COUNT command:  The number of cells scheduled from the
         requestor to the receiver by the 6P protocol, encoded as a
         2-octet unsigned integer.
      Response to CLEAR command:  No other fields are present in the
         response.

3.2.  Protocol Behavior

   For illustration, we assume we use the topology in Figure 1, and that
   node A negotiates to add/delete cells to node B.

3.2.1.  Version Checking

   All messages contain a Version field.  If multiple Versions of the 6P
   protocol have been defined (in future specifications for Version
   values different than IANA_6TOP_6P_VERSION), a node MAY implement
   multiple protocol versions at the same time.  When receiving a 6P
   message with a Version number it does not implement, a node MUST
   reply with a 6P Response and a return code of IANA_6TOP_RC_VER_ERR.
   The Version field in the 6P Response MUST be the same as the Version
   field in the corresponding 6P Request.

3.2.2.  SFID Checking

   All messages contain a SFID field.  If multiple SFs has been defined,
   a node MAY support multiple SFs at the same time.  When receiving a
   6P message with an unsupported SFID, a node MUST reply with a 6P
   Response and a return code of IANA_6TOP_RC_SFID_ERR.  The Version
   field in the 6P Response MUST be the same as the Version field in the
   corresponding 6P Request.




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3.2.3.  Concurrent 6P Transactions

   Only a single 6P Transaction between two neighbors, in a given
   direction, can take place at the same time.  That is, a node MUST NOT
   issue a new 6P Request to a given neighbor before having received the
   6P Response for a previous request to that neighbor.  The only
   exception to this rule is when the previous 6P Transaction has timed
   out.  If a node receives a 6P Request from a given neighbor before
   having sent the 6P Response to the previous 6P Request from that
   neighbor, it MUST send back a 6P Response with a return code of
   IANA_6TOP_RC_ERR.

   A node MAY support concurrent 6P Transactions from different
   neighbors.  In this case, in Figure 1, node C can have a different
   ongoing 6P Transaction with nodes B and E.  In case a node does not
   have enough resources to handle concurrent 6P Transactions from
   different neighbors, when it receives a 6P Request from a neighbor
   while already handling a different request from a different neighbor,
   it MUST reply to that second request with a 6P Response with return
   code IANA_6TOP_RC_BUSY.

3.2.4.  Timeout

   A timeout happens when the node sending the 6P Request has not
   received the 6P Response.  The value of the timeout is coupled with
   how the cells between the nodes are scheduled.  The SF determines the
   value of the timeout.  The value of the timeout is out of scope of
   this document.

3.2.5.  Adding cells

   We assume the topology in Figure 1 where the SF on node C decides to
   add NumCell cells to node A.

   Node C's SF selects NumCandidate>=NumCell cells from its schedule as
   candidate transmit cells to node A.  NumCandidate MUST be larger or
   equal to NumCell.  How many cells it selects (NumCandidate) and how
   that selection is done is specified in the SF and out of scope of
   this document.  Node C sends a 6P ADD Request to node A which
   contains the value of NumCells and the NumCandidate cells in the
   CellList.

   Upon receiving the request, node A's SF verifies which of the cells
   in the CellList it can add as receive cells from node C in its own
   schedule.  How that selection is done is specified in the SF and out
   of scope of this document.  That verification can succeed (NumCell
   cells from the CellList can be used), fail (none of the cells from
   the CellList can be used) or partially succeed (less than NumCell



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   cells from the CellList can be used).  In all cases, node A MUST send
   a 6P Response with return code set to IANA_6TOP_RC_SUCCESS, and which
   specifies the list of cells that were scheduled as receive cells from
   C.  That can contain 0 elements (when the verification failed),
   NumCell elements (succeeded) or between 0 and NumCell elements
   (partially succeeded).

   Upon receiving the response, node C adds the cells specified in the
   CellList as transmit cells to node A.

3.2.6.  Aborting a 6P Transaction

   In case the receiver of a 6top request fails during a 6P Transaction
   and is unable to complete it, it SHOULD reply to that request with a
   6P Response with return code IANA_6TOP_RC_RESET.  Upon receiving this
   6top reply, the initiator of the 6P Transaction MUST consider the 6P
   Transaction as failed.

3.2.7.  Deleting cells

   The behavior for deleting cells is equivalent to that of adding cells
   except that:

   o  The nodes delete the cells they agree upon rather than adding
      them.
   o  All cells in the CellList MUST be already scheduled between the
      two nodes.
   o  If the CellList in the 6P Request is empty, the SF on the
      receiving node is free to delete any cell from the sender.
   o  The CellList MUST either be equal, contain exactly NumCell cells,
      or more than NumCell cells.  The case where the CellList is not
      empty but contains less than NumCell cells is not supported.

3.2.8.  Handling error responses

   A return code with a name starting with "RC_ERR" as in Figure 6
   indicates an error.  When a node receives a 6P Response with such an
   error, it MUST consider the 6P Transaction failed.  In particular, if
   this was a response to a 6P ADD/DELETE Request, the node MUST NOT
   add/delete any of the cells involved in this 6P Transaction.
   Similarly, a node sending a 6P Response with an "RC_ERR" return code
   MUST NOT add/delete any cells as part of that 6P Transaction.  The SF
   defines what to do after an error has occurred.  Defining what to do
   after an error has occurred is out of scope of this document.







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3.3.  Security

   6P messages are secured through link-layer security.  When link-layer
   security is enabled, the 6P messages MUST be secured.  This is
   possible because 6P messages are carried as Payload IE.

4.  Guidelines for 6top Scheduling Functions (SF)

4.1.  SF Identifier (SFID)

   Each SF has an identifier.  The identifier is encoded as a 1-byte
   field.  The identifier space is divided in the following ranges.

                          Range      Meaning
                        +-----------+-------------+
                        | 0x00      | reserved    |
                        +-----------+--------------
                        | 0x01-0xef | managed     |
                        +-----------+--------------
                        | 0xf0-0xfe | unmanaged   |
                        +-----------+-------------+
                        | 0xff      | reserved    |
                        +-----------+-------------+

                           Figure 7: SFID range.

   SF identifiers in the managed space MUST be managed by IANA.

4.2.  Requirements for an SF

   The specification for an SF

   o  MUST specify an identifier for that SF.
   o  SHOULD clearly state the application domain the SF is created for.
   o  MUST specify the rule for a node to decide when to add/delete one
      or more cells to a neighbor.
   o  MUST specify the rule for a Transaction source to select cells to
      add to the CellList field in the 6P ADD Request.
   o  MUST specify the rule for a Transaction destination to select
      cells from CellList to add to its schedule.
   o  MUST specify a value for the 6P Timeout, or a rule to calculate
      it.
   o  MUST specify a meaning for the "Container" field in the 6P ADD
      Request.
   o  MUST specify the behavior of a node when it boots.
   o  MUST specify what to do after an error has occurred (either the
      node sent a 6P Response with an error code, or received one).




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   o  SHOULD contain examples which highlight normal and error
      scenarios.
   o  SHOULD contain a list of current implementations, at least during
      the I-D state of the document, per [RFC6982].
   o  SHOULD contain a performance evaluation of the scheme, possibly
      through references to external documents.

4.3.  Recommended Structure of an SF Specification

   The following section structure for a SF document is RECOMMENDED:

   o  Introduction
   o  Scheduling Function Identifier
   o  Rules for Adding/Deleting Cells
   o  Rules for CellList
   o  6P Timeout Value
   o  Meaning of Container Field
   o  Node Behavior at Boot
   o  6P Error Handling
   o  Examples
   o  Implementation Status
   o  Security Considerations
   o  IANA Considerations

5.  Implementation Status

   This section records the status of known implementations of the
   protocol defined by this specification at the time of posting of this
   Internet-Draft, and is based on a proposal described in [RFC6982].
   The description of implementations in this section is intended to
   assist the IETF in its decision processes in progressing drafts to
   RFCs.  Please note that the listing of any individual implementation
   here does not imply endorsement by the IETF.  Furthermore, no effort
   has been spent to verify the information presented here that was
   supplied by IETF contributors.  This is not intended as, and must not
   be construed to be, a catalog of available implementations or their
   features.  Readers are advised to note that other implementations may
   exist.

   According to [RFC6982], "this will allow reviewers and working groups
   to assign due consideration to documents that have the benefit of
   running code, which may serve as evidence of valuable experimentation
   and feedback that have made the implemented protocols more mature.
   It is up to the individual working groups to use this information as
   they see fit".

   OpenWSN:  This specification is implemented in the OpenWSN project
      [OpenWSN].  The authors of this document are collaborating with



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      the OpenWSN community to gather feedback about the status and
      performance of the protocols described in this document.  Results
      from that discussion will appear in this section in future
      revision of this specification.

6.  Security Considerations

   TODO: analyze risks

   6P messages are carried inside IEEE802.15.4 Payload Information
   Elements (IEs).  Those Payload IEs are encrypted and authenticated at
   the link layer through CCM*.  6P benefits from the same level of
   security as any other Payload IE.  The 6P protocol does not define
   its own security mechanisms.  A key management solution is out of
   scope for this document.  The 6P protocol will benefit for the key
   management solution used in the network.

7.  IANA Consideration

   o  TODO: IANA_IETF_IE_GROUP_ID
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_SUBIE_ID
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_6P_VERSION
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_CMD_ADD
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_CMD_DELETE
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_CMD_LIST
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_CMD_COUNT
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_CMD_CLEAR
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_RC_SUCCESS
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_RC_VER_ERR
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_RC_SFID_ERR
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_RC_BUSY
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_RC_RESET
   o  TODO: IANA_6TOP_RC_ERR

8.  References

8.1.  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>.

   [IEEE802154e]
              IEEE standard for Information Technology, "IEEE std.
              802.15.4e, Part. 15.4: Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area
              Networks (LR-WPANs) Amendment 1: MAC sublayer", April
              2012.



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8.2.  Informative References

   [RFC7554]  Watteyne, T., Ed., Palattella, M., and L. Grieco, "Using
              IEEE 802.15.4e Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) in the
              Internet of Things (IoT): Problem Statement", RFC 7554,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7554, May 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7554>.

   [RFC6982]  Sheffer, Y. and A. Farrel, "Improving Awareness of Running
              Code: The Implementation Status Section", RFC 6982,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6982, July 2013,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6982>.

   [I-D.ietf-6tisch-minimal]
              Vilajosana, X. and K. Pister, "Minimal 6TiSCH
              Configuration", draft-ietf-6tisch-minimal-12 (work in
              progress), September 2015.

   [I-D.ietf-6tisch-terminology]
              Palattella, M., Thubert, P., Watteyne, T., and Q. Wang,
              "Terminology in IPv6 over the TSCH mode of IEEE
              802.15.4e", draft-ietf-6tisch-terminology-06 (work in
              progress), November 2015.

   [OpenWSN]  Watteyne, T., Vilajosana, X., Kerkez, B., Chraim, F.,
              Weekly, K., Wang, Q., Glaser, S., and K. Pister, "OpenWSN:
              a Standards-Based Low-Power Wireless Development
              Environment", Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications
              Technologies , August 2012.

Appendix A.  [TEMPORARY] IETF IE

   This section contains a proposal for the specification of an IETF IE.
   If this proposal is supported by the 6TiSCH WG, the authors of this
   draft recommend for the specification of the IETF IE to be its own
   draft, possibly developed in the 6TiSCH WG.  The reason for having it
   a separated document is that the scope of the IETF IE is wider that
   the 6P protocol defined in this document.

   The IETF IE is a IEEE802.15.4 Payload Information Element with the
   Group ID set to IANA_IETF_IE_GROUP_ID.  The value of
   IANA_IETF_IE_GROUP_ID is defined by the IEEE, communicated to the
   IETF, and noted by IANA.  The format of the IETF IE is exactly the
   same as the format of an MLME Information Element, as specified in
   [IEEE802154e], Section 5.2.4.5.  The difference is that the space of
   Sub-IDs is managed by the IETF/IANA.  The Sub-ID used by 6top
   commands is IANA_6TOP_SUBIE_ID with value 0x00.




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Appendix B.  [TEMPORARY] IEEE Liaison Considerations

   If the specification described in this document is supported by the
   6TiSCH WG, the authors of this document ask the 6TiSCH WG chairs to
   liaise with the IEEE to request a Payload Information Element Group
   ID to be assigned to the IETF (Group ID IANA_IETF_IE_GROUP_ID
   described in Appendix A).

Appendix C.  [TEMPORARY] Terms for the Terminology Draft

   Terms introduced by this document, and which needs to be added to
   [I-D.ietf-6tisch-terminology]:

   6top:       The "6TiSCH Operation Sublayer" (6top) is the next
               highest layer of the IEEE802.15.4e TSCH medium access
               control layer.  It implements and terminates the "6top
               Protocol" (6P), and contains a "6top Scheduling Function"
               (SF).  It is defined in TODO_LINK_draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
               sublayer.
   SF:         The "6top Scheduling Function" (SF) is the policy inside
               the "6TiSCH Operation Sublayer" (6top) which decides when
               to add/remove cells.  It is defined in TODO_LINK_draft-
               wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer.
   SFID:       The "6top Scheduling Function Identifier" (SFID) is a
               4-bit field identifying a SF.  It is defined in
               TODO_LINK_draft-wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer.
   6P:         The "6top Protocol" (6P) allows neighbor nodes to
               communicate to add/delete cells to one another in their
               TSCH schedule.  It is defined in TODO_LINK_draft-wang-
               6tisch-6top-sublayer.
   6P Transaction:  Part of the "6top Protocol" (6P), the action of two
               neighbors exchanging a 6P request message and the
               corresponding 6P response message.  It is defined in
               TODO_LINK_draft-wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer.

Appendix D.  [TEMPORARY] Changelog

   o  -04

      *  Renames IANA_6TOP_IE_GROUP_ID to IANA_IETF_IE_GROUP_ID.
      *  Renames IANA_CMD and IANA_RC to IANA_6TOP_CMD and IANA_6TOP_RC.
      *  Proposes IANA_6TOP_SUBIE_ID with value 0x00 for the 6top sub-
         IE.
   o  -03

      *
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/32/missing-command-list



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      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/31/missing-command-count
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/30/missing-command-clear
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer/
         issues/37/6top-atomic-transaction-6p-transaction
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/35/separate-opcode-from-rc
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/36/add-length-field-in-ie
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/27/differentiate-rc_err_busy-and
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/29/missing-rc-rc_reset
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/28/the-sf-must-specify-the-behavior-of-a-mote
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/26/remove-including-their-number
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-sublayer/
         issues/34/6of-sf
      *  https://bitbucket.org/6tisch/draft-wang-6tisch-6top-
         sublayer/issues/33/add-a-figure-showing-the-negociation
   o  -02

      *  introduces the 6P protocol and the notion of 6top Transaction.
      *  introduces the concept of 6OF and its 6OFID.

Authors' Addresses

   Qin Wang (editor)
   Univ. of Sci. and Tech. Beijing
   30 Xueyuan Road
   Beijing, Hebei  100083
   China

   Phone: +86 (10) 6233 4781
   Email: wangqin@ies.ustb.edu.cn


   Xavier Vilajosana
   Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
   156 Rambla Poblenou
   Barcelona, Catalonia  08018
   Spain

   Phone: +34 (646) 633 681
   Email: xvilajosana@uoc.edu




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