Internet DRAFT - draft-zhang-pce-stateful-time-based-scheduling

draft-zhang-pce-stateful-time-based-scheduling



Network Working Group                                     Xian Zhang 
Internet-Draft                                             Young Lee 
Intended status: Standards Track                              Huawei 
                                                      Ramon Casellas         
                                                                CTTC 
                                              Oscar Gonzalez de Dios 
                                                      Telefonica I+D
                                                                      
 

Expires: July 16, 2013                             February 17, 2013  

 
Stateful Path Computation Element (PCE) for Time-based Scheduling 

                                   
        draft-zhang-pce-stateful-time-based-scheduling-00.txt 


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This Internet-Draft will expire on July 16, 2013. 

 

Abstract 

This document presents the architecture and procedures for stateful 
PCE to support time-based scheduling application and also provides 
PCEP extensions needed.  
     
     
     
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Conventions used in this document 

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]. 

Table of Contents 

 
1. Introduction ................................................ 2 
2. Architecture ................................................ 3 
   2.1. Terms and Definitions................................... 3 
   2.2. Network Architecture.................................... 3 
3. PCEP Extensions ............................................. 5 
   3.1. New Object ............................................. 6 
   3.2. Procedure .............................................. 6 
4. IANA Considerations ......................................... 9 
5. Manageability Considerations................................ 10 
   5.1. Requirements on Other Protocols........................ 10 
6. Security Considerations..................................... 10 
7. Acknowledgement ............................................ 10 
8. References ................................................. 10 
   8.1. Normative References................................... 10 
   8.2. Informative References................................. 11 
9. Contributors' Address....................................... 11 
10. Authors' Addresses ........................................ 12 
 
 

1. Introduction 

As described in [stateful-app], stateful PCE are helpful in a 
variety of applications. One of the applications is time-based 
scheduling, which books network resources in advance. A simple 
utilization example of the time-based scheduling application is to 
support scheduled data transmission between data centers or servers.  

To support this without a PCE, network operators need to reserve 
resources in advance according to customers' requests with specified 
starting time and duration. This can be supported by NMS operation 
through path pre-establishment and activation on the agreed starting 
time. However, this does not provide efficient network usage since 
the established paths exclude the possibility of being used by other 
services even when they are not used for undertaking any service due 
to the lack of a time-based mechanism. It can also be accomplished 
through GMPLS protocol extensions by carrying the related request 
information (e.g., starting time and duration) across the network. 

     
     
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Nevertheless, this method inevitably increases the complexity of 
signaling and routing process. 

Since a stateful PCE collects LSP related information for the whole 
network, it can support this service with resource usage flexibility 
(i.e., only excluding the time slots reserved for time-based 
scheduling requests). Moreover, it can avoid the need to add 
complexity on network elements in this regard. 

The fundamental PCEP extensions are covered in [stateful-pcep], 
[stateful-pcep-mpls] and [stateful-pcep-gmpls]. This document 
complements these documents by elaborating issues related to the 
time-based scheduling application as well as providing the 
extensions needed. Note that the time synchronization required for 
time-based scheduling does not need a precise one and can be in a 
coarser scale as long as it does not impact its operation. 

2. Architecture 

2.1. Terms and Definitions 

Following the definitions provided in [PCE-Q&A], a stateful PCE is 
defined as a PCE with the ability to maintain LSP related 
information and take advantage of such information to facilitate 
computing better paths. It is also referred as a passive PCE. On the 
other hand, an active PCE is defined as a PCE with ability to 
provide "provisioning suggestions" to the network. The "provisioning 
suggestions" include both modification of existing LSPs and creation 
of new LSPs. In this document, a PCE is assumed to have the stateful 
ability. So, the aforementioned two categories can also be referred 
as an active PCE with LSP delegation and an active PCE with LSP 
initiation ability, respectively.  

2.2. Network Architecture 

The figure below shows the network architecture for deploying time-
based scheduling application. The network shown is an example.  

The NMS can issues resource scheduling requests to a stateful PCE. 
Alternatively, it can enquire a stateful PCE whether the network has 
the ability to undertaken any upcoming service requests. In this 
document, it is assumed that the PCE system will be a stateful one. 
It should have access to the database(s) including the following 
information: 

o network TE information: this can be obtained via IGP protocols or 
configuration; 

     
     
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o In-use LSPs information: this denotes the LSPs that are currently 
taking network resource. They are helpful for a PCE to better 
schedule network resource for resource booking requests with 
constraints related to existing LSPs;  

o Scheduled LSP information: this denotes the LSPs that are yet to 
be activated. A stateful PCE should take this information into 
consideration when allocating resources upon resource booking 
requests to avoid double-booking.  

The last two types of information are LSPs related and they can be 
obtained via LSP state update/report messages as defined in 
[stateful-pcep]. Extensions are needed and are explained later in 
this document. 

 

+-------------------------+ 
|          NMS            | 
+-------------------------+ 
            | 
            | 
+----------------------+     +-----------------+  
|                      |     |  Databases:     |  
|     Stateful PCE     |-----|  TE info        | 
|                      |     |  In-use LSPs    | 
+----------------------+     |  Scheduled LSPs | 
            |                +-----------------+ 
            | 
            | 
+---------------------------------------------------------------+ 
|          +--+   +--+   +--+   +--+   +--+   +--+              | 
|          |N1+---+N2+---+N3+---+N7+---+N8+---+N9|              | 
|          +-++   +--+   +-++   +-++   +--+   +-++              | 
|            |             |      |             |               | 
|            |             |      |             |               | 
|          +-++   +--+   +-++   +-+-+        +--++              | 
|          |N4+---+N5+---+N6+---+N10+--------+N11|              | 
|          +--+   +--+   +--+   +---+        +---+              | 
+---------------------------------------------------------------+ 
Figure 1: Stateful PCE for Deploying Time-based Scheduling 

 

Depending on the ability of a stateful PCE, there are three 
available modes for deploying time-based scheduling application. 

o Passive stateful PCE and PCC cooperating mode 
     
     
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In this case, PCCs are responsible for the creation, activation and 
deletion of the scheduled LSPs. With the network level view of 
resource usage and booking, the stateful PCE can help efficiently 
allocate network resource upon receiving resource booking requests 
from PCCs.  

This mode requires the least amount of PCE involvement. 

o Active stateful PCE with LSP delegation mode 

In this mode, PCCs are responsible for the creation of the scheduled 
LSPs and they will delegate the LSP activation and deletion 
capability to a stateful PCE prior to the LSP activation time. For 
example, the delegation can happen at the same time when a PCC sends 
path computation requests to a PCE. Thus, a stateful PCE is 
responsible for the activation and/or deletion of LSPs. 

o Active stateful PCE with LSP initiation mode 

This requires the PCE has the ability to initiating LSPs. In this 
mode, a PCC does not necessarily be aware of any scheduled LSP ahead 
of time. The PCE is the entity that accepts such requirements 
externally, such as Network Management System (NMS). So, an active 
PCE will initiate the LSP creation/setup as well as its deletion. If 
returning LSP delegation is allowed, then a PCC also can have the 
ability to delete a LSP when its duration time ends up. 

3. PCEP Extensions 

The following lists a number of requirements for implementing time-
based scheduling using a stateful PCE.  

o A Mechanism to maintain the time synchronization in certain scale, 
such as in the order of minutes, are expected. In other words, 
strict time synchronization among requesting PCCs and PCEs is not 
required. It is assumed that the synchronization scale of the PCE is 
made known, e.g. through configuration, to all its related PCCs. How 
to achieve this is out of the scope of this document. 

o The ability to exchange time-related information between a 
stateful PCE and PCCs during path computation request/reply as well 
as LSP state updates; 

o Maintenance of a database storing the information related to the 
booking service requests, including the time and resource usage 
information;   


     
     
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Irrespective of the deployment mode, a database that stores all the 
reserved information with time reference should be maintained. This 
can be achieved either by maintaining a separate database or having 
all the reserved information with time reference incorporated into 
in-use LSP database (LSP-DB). The details of organizing time-based 
scheduling related information are subject to network provider's 
policy and administrative consideration and thus outside of the 
scope of this document. 

3.1. New Object 

A SERVICE-TIME object is presented as follows to provide the 
required information (i.e. service starting time and holding time). 

The Object-Class is TBD and the Object-Type is 1.  

    0                   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  
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+  
   |       Start-Year              |    Month      |     Day       |   
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+  
   |     Hour      |    Minute     |    Second     |   Reserved    |  
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 
   |                       Duration (in seconds)                   | 
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 
 

     field      Length       range 

      -----      ------     --------  

     Start-Year  16 bit     0..65536 

     Month       8 bit     1..12 

     Day         8 bit     1..31 

     Hour        8 bit     0..23  

     Minute    8 bit     0..59 

     Second      8 bit     0..59 

3.2. Procedure 

There are three fundamental actions required for deploying a time-
based scheduling application. They are resource allocation for a 
scheduled service request, activation of the scheduled service and 
     
     
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deletion of the scheduled service, respectively. For the three modes 
explained in Section 2, the responsible components may differ. The 
following elaborates them separately, together with PCEP extensions 
required.  

4.1.1 Passive stateful PCE and PCC cooperating mode 

Step 1: Resource Allocation 

When a PCC requests to a stateful PCE for booking resource in 
advance, the SERVICE-TIME object MUST be included in a PCEP request 
as specified in the following manner: 

<PCReq Message>::=<Common Header> 

                  [<SVEC-list>] 

              <request-list> 

Where: 

   [<svec-list>]::= <SVEC> [<svec-list>] 

  <request-list>::=<request>[<request-list>] 

  <request >::=<RP> 

            <END-POINTS> 

            [<LSPA>] 

              [<BANDWIDTH>]                        

           [<SERVICE-TIME>]                      

           [<metric-list>] 

           [<RRO>[<BANDWIDTH>]] 

           [<IRO>] 

           [<LOAD-BALANCING>] 

  WHERE: 

  <metric-list>::=<METRIC>[<metric-list>] 


     
     
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Upon receiving a path computation request with the <SERVICE-TIME> 
object included, the stateful PCE should compute the path, 
considering the constraints of the TED, LSP-DB as well as other 
already scheduled service information. Then, it should return the 
computed route back to the requesting PCC and add such information 
into the scheduled LSP database. If no path can be found due to 
insufficient resource, the stateful PCE should return an error 
message specifying the reason "no resource available for this 
scheduling request".  

If there is any change/update with regard to a particular scheduled 
LSP, LSP report message should be used to inform the stateful PCE of 
the change, such as cancelation of the scheduled LSP, assignment of 
LSP identifiers etc. If attributes such as bandwidth, starting time 
or duration needs to be updated, a path computation request MAY need 
to be issued and it is similar to the process of bandwidth 
modification of an ordinary LSP.  

[Editor's note: further extensions are needed, such as adding a 
"cancellation" status bit etc.] 

Step 2: Activation of a scheduled LSP 

The PCC will keep track of the time and start the signaling process 
when it is time to set up the scheduled LSP. The stateful PCE should 
be informed of the status of the scheduled LSP. For a successful 
setup of a scheduled LSP, the relevant information should be moved 
from the scheduled database to the in-use database or the LSP record 
should be marked in its correct state. If there is a setup error, 
the PCC should inform the stateful PCE of this failure specifying 
the reason. The resource may be released instantly to allow 
acceptance of other requests. 

Step 3: Deletion of a scheduled LSP 

After a PCC tears a scheduled LSP down, the information related to 
this LSP should be deleted or marked as in a deleted state. If there 
is any issue with tearing down a scheduled LSP, the failure reason 
may be reported to the stateful PCE.  

[Editor's note: Error codes to be added.] 

4.1.2 Active stateful PCE with LSP delegation mode 

In this mode, the resource allocation procedure is similar to that 
of the first mode. The difference is that the PCC will report this 
LSP state and set the "delegate" bit in the LSP report message into 
1 [Stateful-pcep]. Thus, the stateful PCE obtains the control of 
     
     
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this potential LSP. This mode gives the flexibility of a stateful 
PCE to change the attributes of a potential LSP proactively. The PCC 
needs to get informed of the change prior to the time when this LSP 
needs to be activated. This can be done via LSP state update 
messages sent by a stateful PCE to PCCs.  

The activation and deletion of the scheduling LSP is the same as the 
one described previously.  

4.1.3 Active stateful PCE with LSP initiation mode 

Step 1: Resource Allocation  

The request may not come from a network element in the network, but 
from other entities instead, such as an NMS.  

Step 2 & 3: Activation and Deletion of a scheduled LSP 

This mode allows the statful PCE to maintain the information in a 
centralized way and initiates the activation and deletion of the 
scheduled LSP. Thus, it does not necessarily need the coarse time 
synchronization between PCCs and PCE.  

This is not the case when a PCC is granted to be in charge of the 
LSP deletion action. Furthermore, the active PCE may need to inform 
any changes related to a scheduled LSP. This MAY requires including 
carrying the time-related information in <attribute-list > of the 
PCRpt message. 

<attribute-list> ::= [<LSPA>] 

                     [<BANDWIDTH>] 

                     [<GENERALIZED-BANDWIDTH>] 

                     [<SERVICE-TIME>] 

                     [<metric-list>] 

      <metric-list>::= <METRIC>[<metric-list>] 

4. IANA Considerations 

IANA is requested to allocate new Types for the TLV/Object defined 
in this document. 



     
     
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5. Manageability Considerations 

The manageability requirements listed in [RFC5440] and [stateful-
pcep] apply in this document. Additional considerations are 
explained below: 

5.1. Requirements on Other Protocols 

It is expected that the time synchronization should be realized 
using other protocols, such as Network Time Protocol to ensure the 
correct operation of the application specified in this document.  

[Editor's note: the loss of time synchronization between PCCs and 
PCEs will impact the performance of the application specified in 
this document and needs to be investigated further.] 

6. Security Considerations 

This document defines extensions to PCEP to enable time-based 
scheduling application to deployed using stateful PCE. The security 
issues and solutions provided in [RFC5440] and [stateful-pcep] 
remain applicable to this document. The following issues should also 
be considered in the context of this document. The following lists 
other security issues incurred in the context of this document. 

A malicious PCC may drain the resource usage of the network by 
sending large bulks of resource booking requests. This can be 
avoided by setting a limit to the number of booking requests a PCC 
can issue or a policy configured on the PCE to reject some or all of 
the booking requests by monitoring the frequency and amount of 
resource required.  

7. Acknowledgement 

We would like to thank Robert Varga and Adrian Farrel for their 
useful comments and discussions. 

8. References 

8.1. Normative References 

[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to indicate 
          requirements levels", RFC 2119, March 1997.  

[Stateful-pcep]Crabbe, E., Medved, J., Varga, R., Minei, I., "PCEP 
          Extensions for Stateful PCE", draft-ietf-pce-stateful-pce, 
          work in progress. 

     
     
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[stateful-pcep-mpls] Crabbe, E., Medved, J., Varga, R., Minei, I., 
          "Stateful PCE extensions for MPLS-TE LSPs", draft-crabbe-
          pce-stateful-pce-mpls-te-00, work in progress. 

[stateful-pcep-gmpls] Zhang, X., Lee, Y., Casellas, R., Gonzalez de 
          Dios, O., " Path Computation Element (PCE) Protocol 
          Extension for Stateful PCE Usage in GMPLS Networks", 
          draft-zhang-pce-pcep-stateful-pce-gmpls, work in progress 

8.2. Informative References 

[Stateful-app] Zhang, F., Zhang, X., Lee, Y., Casellas, R., Gonzalez 
          de Dios, O., "Applicability of Stateful Path Computation 
          Element (PCE) ", draft-zhang-pce-stateful-pce-app, work in 
          progress. 

[PCE-Q&A] Farrel, A., King, D., "Unanswered Questions in the Path 
          Computation Element Architecture", draft-farrkingel-pce-
          questions-00, working in progress; 

9. Contributors' Address 

Dhruv Dhody 
Huawei Technology 
Leela Palace 
Bangalore, Karnataka 560008 
INDIA 
 
EMail: dhruvd@huawei.com
 

















     
     
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10. Authors' Addresses 

Xian Zhang 
Huawei Technologies 
F3-5-B R&D Center, Huawei Base 
Bantian, Longgang District 
Shenzhen 518129 P.R.China 
 
Phone: +86-755-28972913 
Email: zhang.xian@huawei.com
 
 
Young Lee 
Huawei 
1700 Alma Drive, Suite 100 
Plano, TX  75075 
US 
 
Phone: +1 972 509 5599 x2240 
Fax:   +1 469 229 5397 
EMail: ylee@huawei.com
 
 
Ramon Casellas 
CTTC - Centre Tecnologic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya 
Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss n7 
Castelldefels, Barcelona 08860 
Spain 
 
Phone: 
Email: ramon.casellas@cttc.es
 
 
Oscar Gonzalez de Dios  
Telefonica Investigacion y Desarrollo 
Emilio Vargas 6 
Madrid,   28045 
Spain 
 
Phone: +34 913374013 
Email: ogondio@tid.es
 
 
Intellectual Property 

 


     
     
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