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author | Thomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> | 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100 |
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committer | Thomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> | 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100 |
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tree | e3989f47a7994642eb325063d46e8f08ffa681dc /doc/rfc/rfc3272.txt | |
parent | ea76e11061bda059ae9f9ad130a9895cc85607db (diff) |
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diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc3272.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc3272.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3343a56 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc3272.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3979 @@ + + + + + + +Network Working Group D. Awduche +Request for Comments: 3272 Movaz Networks +Category: Informational A. Chiu + Celion Networks + A. Elwalid + I. Widjaja + Lucent Technologies + X. Xiao + Redback Networks + May 2002 + + + Overview and Principles of Internet Traffic Engineering + +Status of this Memo + + This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does + not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this + memo is unlimited. + +Copyright Notice + + Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2002). All Rights Reserved. + +Abstract + + This memo describes the principles of Traffic Engineering (TE) in the + Internet. The document is intended to promote better understanding + of the issues surrounding traffic engineering in IP networks, and to + provide a common basis for the development of traffic engineering + capabilities for the Internet. The principles, architectures, and + methodologies for performance evaluation and performance optimization + of operational IP networks are discussed throughout this document. + +Table of Contents + + 1.0 Introduction...................................................3 + 1.1 What is Internet Traffic Engineering?.......................4 + 1.2 Scope.......................................................7 + 1.3 Terminology.................................................8 + 2.0 Background....................................................11 + 2.1 Context of Internet Traffic Engineering....................12 + 2.2 Network Context............................................13 + 2.3 Problem Context............................................14 + 2.3.1 Congestion and its Ramifications......................16 + 2.4 Solution Context...........................................16 + 2.4.1 Combating the Congestion Problem......................18 + 2.5 Implementation and Operational Context.....................21 + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 1] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + 3.0 Traffic Engineering Process Model.............................21 + 3.1 Components of the Traffic Engineering Process Model........23 + 3.2 Measurement................................................23 + 3.3 Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation.........................24 + 3.4 Optimization...............................................25 + 4.0 Historical Review and Recent Developments.....................26 + 4.1 Traffic Engineering in Classical Telephone Networks........26 + 4.2 Evolution of Traffic Engineering in the Internet...........28 + 4.2.1 Adaptive Routing in ARPANET...........................28 + 4.2.2 Dynamic Routing in the Internet.......................29 + 4.2.3 ToS Routing...........................................30 + 4.2.4 Equal Cost Multi-Path.................................30 + 4.2.5 Nimrod................................................31 + 4.3 Overlay Model..............................................31 + 4.4 Constraint-Based Routing...................................32 + 4.5 Overview of Other IETF Projects Related to Traffic + Engineering................................................32 + 4.5.1 Integrated Services...................................32 + 4.5.2 RSVP..................................................33 + 4.5.3 Differentiated Services...............................34 + 4.5.4 MPLS..................................................35 + 4.5.5 IP Performance Metrics................................36 + 4.5.6 Flow Measurement......................................37 + 4.5.7 Endpoint Congestion Management........................37 + 4.6 Overview of ITU Activities Related to Traffic + Engineering................................................38 + 4.7 Content Distribution.......................................39 + 5.0 Taxonomy of Traffic Engineering Systems.......................40 + 5.1 Time-Dependent Versus State-Dependent......................40 + 5.2 Offline Versus Online......................................41 + 5.3 Centralized Versus Distributed.............................42 + 5.4 Local Versus Global........................................42 + 5.5 Prescriptive Versus Descriptive............................42 + 5.6 Open-Loop Versus Closed-Loop...............................43 + 5.7 Tactical vs Strategic......................................43 + 6.0 Recommendations for Internet Traffic Engineering..............43 + 6.1 Generic Non-functional Recommendations.....................44 + 6.2 Routing Recommendations....................................46 + 6.3 Traffic Mapping Recommendations............................48 + 6.4 Measurement Recommendations................................49 + 6.5 Network Survivability......................................50 + 6.5.1 Survivability in MPLS Based Networks..................52 + 6.5.2 Protection Option.....................................53 + 6.6 Traffic Engineering in Diffserv Environments...............54 + 6.7 Network Controllability....................................56 + 7.0 Inter-Domain Considerations...................................57 + 8.0 Overview of Contemporary TE Practices in Operational + IP Networks...................................................59 + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 2] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + 9.0 Conclusion....................................................63 + 10.0 Security Considerations......................................63 + 11.0 Acknowledgments..............................................63 + 12.0 References...................................................64 + 13.0 Authors' Addresses...........................................70 + 14.0 Full Copyright Statement.....................................71 + +1.0 Introduction + + This memo describes the principles of Internet traffic engineering. + The objective of the document is to articulate the general issues and + principles for Internet traffic engineering; and where appropriate to + provide recommendations, guidelines, and options for the development + of online and offline Internet traffic engineering capabilities and + support systems. + + This document can aid service providers in devising and implementing + traffic engineering solutions for their networks. Networking + hardware and software vendors will also find this document helpful in + the development of mechanisms and support systems for the Internet + environment that support the traffic engineering function. + + This document provides a terminology for describing and understanding + common Internet traffic engineering concepts. This document also + provides a taxonomy of known traffic engineering styles. In this + context, a traffic engineering style abstracts important aspects from + a traffic engineering methodology. Traffic engineering styles can be + viewed in different ways depending upon the specific context in which + they are used and the specific purpose which they serve. The + combination of styles and views results in a natural taxonomy of + traffic engineering systems. + + Even though Internet traffic engineering is most effective when + applied end-to-end, the initial focus of this document document is + intra-domain traffic engineering (that is, traffic engineering within + a given autonomous system). However, because a preponderance of + Internet traffic tends to be inter-domain (originating in one + autonomous system and terminating in another), this document provides + an overview of aspects pertaining to inter-domain traffic + engineering. + + 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. + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 3] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + +1.1. What is Internet Traffic Engineering? + + Internet traffic engineering is defined as that aspect of Internet + network engineering dealing with the issue of performance evaluation + and performance optimization of operational IP networks. Traffic + Engineering encompasses the application of technology and scientific + principles to the measurement, characterization, modeling, and + control of Internet traffic [RFC-2702, AWD2]. + + Enhancing the performance of an operational network, at both the + traffic and resource levels, are major objectives of Internet traffic + engineering. This is accomplished by addressing traffic oriented + performance requirements, while utilizing network resources + economically and reliably. Traffic oriented performance measures + include delay, delay variation, packet loss, and throughput. + + An important objective of Internet traffic engineering is to + facilitate reliable network operations [RFC-2702]. Reliable network + operations can be facilitated by providing mechanisms that enhance + network integrity and by embracing policies emphasizing network + survivability. This results in a minimization of the vulnerability + of the network to service outages arising from errors, faults, and + failures occurring within the infrastructure. + + The Internet exists in order to transfer information from source + nodes to destination nodes. Accordingly, one of the most significant + functions performed by the Internet is the routing of traffic from + ingress nodes to egress nodes. Therefore, one of the most + distinctive functions performed by Internet traffic engineering is + the control and optimization of the routing function, to steer + traffic through the network in the most effective way. + + Ultimately, it is the performance of the network as seen by end users + of network services that is truly paramount. This crucial point + should be considered throughout the development of traffic + engineering mechanisms and policies. The characteristics visible to + end users are the emergent properties of the network, which are the + characteristics of the network when viewed as a whole. A central + goal of the service provider, therefore, is to enhance the emergent + properties of the network while taking economic considerations into + account. + + The importance of the above observation regarding the emergent + properties of networks is that special care must be taken when + choosing network performance measures to optimize. Optimizing the + wrong measures may achieve certain local objectives, but may have + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 4] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + disastrous consequences on the emergent properties of the network and + thereby on the quality of service perceived by end-users of network + services. + + A subtle, but practical advantage of the systematic application of + traffic engineering concepts to operational networks is that it helps + to identify and structure goals and priorities in terms of enhancing + the quality of service delivered to end-users of network services. + The application of traffic engineering concepts also aids in the + measurement and analysis of the achievement of these goals. + + The optimization aspects of traffic engineering can be achieved + through capacity management and traffic management. As used in this + document, capacity management includes capacity planning, routing + control, and resource management. Network resources of particular + interest include link bandwidth, buffer space, and computational + resources. Likewise, as used in this document, traffic management + includes (1) nodal traffic control functions such as traffic + conditioning, queue management, scheduling, and (2) other functions + that regulate traffic flow through the network or that arbitrate + access to network resources between different packets or between + different traffic streams. + + The optimization objectives of Internet traffic engineering should be + viewed as a continual and iterative process of network performance + improvement and not simply as a one time goal. Traffic engineering + also demands continual development of new technologies and new + methodologies for network performance enhancement. + + The optimization objectives of Internet traffic engineering may + change over time as new requirements are imposed, as new technologies + emerge, or as new insights are brought to bear on the underlying + problems. Moreover, different networks may have different + optimization objectives, depending upon their business models, + capabilities, and operating constraints. The optimization aspects of + traffic engineering are ultimately concerned with network control + regardless of the specific optimization goals in any particular + environment. + + Thus, the optimization aspects of traffic engineering can be viewed + from a control perspective. The aspect of control within the + Internet traffic engineering arena can be pro-active and/or reactive. + In the pro-active case, the traffic engineering control system takes + preventive action to obviate predicted unfavorable future network + states. It may also take perfective action to induce a more + desirable state in the future. In the reactive case, the control + system responds correctively and perhaps adaptively to events that + have already transpired in the network. + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 5] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + The control dimension of Internet traffic engineering responds at + multiple levels of temporal resolution to network events. Certain + aspects of capacity management, such as capacity planning, respond at + very coarse temporal levels, ranging from days to possibly years. + The introduction of automatically switched optical transport networks + (e.g., based on the Multi-protocol Lambda Switching concepts) could + significantly reduce the lifecycle for capacity planning by + expediting provisioning of optical bandwidth. Routing control + functions operate at intermediate levels of temporal resolution, + ranging from milliseconds to days. Finally, the packet level + processing functions (e.g., rate shaping, queue management, and + scheduling) operate at very fine levels of temporal resolution, + ranging from picoseconds to milliseconds while responding to the + real-time statistical behavior of traffic. The subsystems of + Internet traffic engineering control include: capacity augmentation, + routing control, traffic control, and resource control (including + control of service policies at network elements). When capacity is + to be augmented for tactical purposes, it may be desirable to devise + a deployment plan that expedites bandwidth provisioning while + minimizing installation costs. + + Inputs into the traffic engineering control system include network + state variables, policy variables, and decision variables. + + One major challenge of Internet traffic engineering is the + realization of automated control capabilities that adapt quickly and + cost effectively to significant changes in a network's state, while + still maintaining stability. + + Another critical dimension of Internet traffic engineering is network + performance evaluation, which is important for assessing the + effectiveness of traffic engineering methods, and for monitoring and + verifying compliance with network performance goals. Results from + performance evaluation can be used to identify existing problems, + guide network re-optimization, and aid in the prediction of potential + future problems. + + Performance evaluation can be achieved in many different ways. The + most notable techniques include analytical methods, simulation, and + empirical methods based on measurements. When analytical methods or + simulation are used, network nodes and links can be modeled to + capture relevant operational features such as topology, bandwidth, + buffer space, and nodal service policies (link scheduling, packet + prioritization, buffer management, etc.). Analytical traffic models + can be used to depict dynamic and behavioral traffic characteristics, + such as burstiness, statistical distributions, and dependence. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 6] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Performance evaluation can be quite complicated in practical network + contexts. A number of techniques can be used to simplify the + analysis, such as abstraction, decomposition, and approximation. For + example, simplifying concepts such as effective bandwidth and + effective buffer [Elwalid] may be used to approximate nodal behaviors + at the packet level and simplify the analysis at the connection + level. Network analysis techniques using, for example, queuing + models and approximation schemes based on asymptotic and + decomposition techniques can render the analysis even more tractable. + In particular, an emerging set of concepts known as network calculus + [CRUZ] based on deterministic bounds may simplify network analysis + relative to classical stochastic techniques. When using analytical + techniques, care should be taken to ensure that the models faithfully + reflect the relevant operational characteristics of the modeled + network entities. + + Simulation can be used to evaluate network performance or to verify + and validate analytical approximations. Simulation can, however, be + computationally costly and may not always provide sufficient + insights. An appropriate approach to a given network performance + evaluation problem may involve a hybrid combination of analytical + techniques, simulation, and empirical methods. + + As a general rule, traffic engineering concepts and mechanisms must + be sufficiently specific and well defined to address known + requirements, but simultaneously flexible and extensible to + accommodate unforeseen future demands. + +1.2. Scope + + The scope of this document is intra-domain traffic engineering; that + is, traffic engineering within a given autonomous system in the + Internet. This document will discuss concepts pertaining to intra- + domain traffic control, including such issues as routing control, + micro and macro resource allocation, and the control coordination + problems that arise consequently. + + This document will describe and characterize techniques already in + use or in advanced development for Internet traffic engineering. The + way these techniques fit together will be discussed and scenarios in + which they are useful will be identified. + + While this document considers various intra-domain traffic + engineering approaches, it focuses more on traffic engineering with + MPLS. Traffic engineering based upon manipulation of IGP metrics is + not addressed in detail. This topic may be addressed by other + working group document(s). + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 7] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Although the emphasis is on intra-domain traffic engineering, in + Section 7.0, an overview of the high level considerations pertaining + to inter-domain traffic engineering will be provided. Inter-domain + Internet traffic engineering is crucial to the performance + enhancement of the global Internet infrastructure. + + Whenever possible, relevant requirements from existing IETF documents + and other sources will be incorporated by reference. + +1.3 Terminology + + This subsection provides terminology which is useful for Internet + traffic engineering. The definitions presented apply to this + document. These terms may have other meanings elsewhere. + + - Baseline analysis: + A study conducted to serve as a baseline for comparison to + the actual behavior of the network. + + - Busy hour: + A one hour period within a specified interval of time + (typically 24 hours) in which the traffic load in a network + or sub-network is greatest. + + - Bottleneck: + A network element whose input traffic rate tends to be + greater than its output rate. + + - Congestion: + A state of a network resource in which the traffic incident + on the resource exceeds its output capacity over an interval + of time. + + - Congestion avoidance: + An approach to congestion management that attempts to + obviate the occurrence of congestion. + + - Congestion control: + An approach to congestion management that attempts to remedy + congestion problems that have already occurred. + + - Constraint-based routing: + A class of routing protocols that take specified traffic + attributes, network constraints, and policy constraints into + account when making routing decisions. Constraint-based + routing is applicable to traffic aggregates as well as + flows. It is a generalization of QoS routing. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 8] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + - Demand side congestion management: + A congestion management scheme that addresses congestion + problems by regulating or conditioning offered load. + + - Effective bandwidth: + The minimum amount of bandwidth that can be assigned to a + flow or traffic aggregate in order to deliver 'acceptable + service quality' to the flow or traffic aggregate. + + - Egress traffic: + Traffic exiting a network or network element. + + - Hot-spot: + A network element or subsystem which is in a state of + congestion. + + - Ingress traffic: + Traffic entering a network or network element. + + - Inter-domain traffic: + Traffic that originates in one Autonomous system and + terminates in another. + + - Loss network: + A network that does not provide adequate buffering for + traffic, so that traffic entering a busy resource within the + network will be dropped rather than queued. + + - Metric: + A parameter defined in terms of standard units of + measurement. + + - Measurement Methodology: + A repeatable measurement technique used to derive one or + more metrics of interest. + + - Network Survivability: + The capability to provide a prescribed level of QoS for + existing services after a given number of failures occur + within the network. + + - Offline traffic engineering: + A traffic engineering system that exists outside of the + network. + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 9] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + - Online traffic engineering: + A traffic engineering system that exists within the network, + typically implemented on or as adjuncts to operational + network elements. + + - Performance measures: + Metrics that provide quantitative or qualitative measures of + the performance of systems or subsystems of interest. + + - Performance management: + A systematic approach to improving effectiveness in the + accomplishment of specific networking goals related to + performance improvement. + + - Performance Metric: + A performance parameter defined in terms of standard units + of measurement. + + - Provisioning: + The process of assigning or configuring network resources to + meet certain requests. + + - QoS routing: + Class of routing systems that selects paths to be used by a + flow based on the QoS requirements of the flow. + + - Service Level Agreement: + A contract between a provider and a customer that guarantees + specific levels of performance and reliability at a certain + cost. + + - Stability: + An operational state in which a network does not oscillate + in a disruptive manner from one mode to another mode. + + - Supply side congestion management: + A congestion management scheme that provisions additional + network resources to address existing and/or anticipated + congestion problems. + + - Transit traffic: + Traffic whose origin and destination are both outside of the + network under consideration. + + - Traffic characteristic: + A description of the temporal behavior or a description of + the attributes of a given traffic flow or traffic aggregate. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 10] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + - Traffic engineering system: + A collection of objects, mechanisms, and protocols that are + used conjunctively to accomplish traffic engineering + objectives. + + - Traffic flow: + A stream of packets between two end-points that can be + characterized in a certain way. A micro-flow has a more + specific definition: A micro-flow is a stream of packets + with the same source and destination addresses, source and + destination ports, and protocol ID. + + - Traffic intensity: + A measure of traffic loading with respect to a resource + capacity over a specified period of time. In classical + telephony systems, traffic intensity is measured in units of + Erlang. + + - Traffic matrix: + A representation of the traffic demand between a set of + origin and destination abstract nodes. An abstract node can + consist of one or more network elements. + + - Traffic monitoring: + The process of observing traffic characteristics at a given + point in a network and collecting the traffic information + for analysis and further action. + + - Traffic trunk: + An aggregation of traffic flows belonging to the same class + which are forwarded through a common path. A traffic trunk + may be characterized by an ingress and egress node, and a + set of attributes which determine its behavioral + characteristics and requirements from the network. + +2.0 Background + + The Internet has quickly evolved into a very critical communications + infrastructure, supporting significant economic, educational, and + social activities. Simultaneously, the delivery of Internet + communications services has become very competitive and end-users are + demanding very high quality service from their service providers. + Consequently, performance optimization of large scale IP networks, + especially public Internet backbones, have become an important + problem. Network performance requirements are multi-dimensional, + complex, and sometimes contradictory; making the traffic engineering + problem very challenging. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 11] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + The network must convey IP packets from ingress nodes to egress nodes + efficiently, expeditiously, and economically. Furthermore, in a + multiclass service environment (e.g., Diffserv capable networks), the + resource sharing parameters of the network must be appropriately + determined and configured according to prevailing policies and + service models to resolve resource contention issues arising from + mutual interference between packets traversing through the network. + Thus, consideration must be given to resolving competition for + network resources between traffic streams belonging to the same + service class (intra-class contention resolution) and traffic streams + belonging to different classes (inter-class contention resolution). + +2.1 Context of Internet Traffic Engineering + + The context of Internet traffic engineering pertains to the scenarios + where traffic engineering is used. A traffic engineering methodology + establishes appropriate rules to resolve traffic performance issues + occurring in a specific context. The context of Internet traffic + engineering includes: + + (1) A network context defining the universe of discourse, and in + particular the situations in which the traffic engineering + problems occur. The network context includes network + structure, network policies, network characteristics, + network constraints, network quality attributes, and network + optimization criteria. + + (2) A problem context defining the general and concrete issues + that traffic engineering addresses. The problem context + includes identification, abstraction of relevant features, + representation, formulation, specification of the + requirements on the solution space, and specification of the + desirable features of acceptable solutions. + + (3) A solution context suggesting how to address the issues + identified by the problem context. The solution context + includes analysis, evaluation of alternatives, prescription, + and resolution. + + (4) An implementation and operational context in which the + solutions are methodologically instantiated. The + implementation and operational context includes planning, + organization, and execution. + + The context of Internet traffic engineering and the different problem + scenarios are discussed in the following subsections. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 12] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + +2.2 Network Context + + IP networks range in size from small clusters of routers situated + within a given location, to thousands of interconnected routers, + switches, and other components distributed all over the world. + + Conceptually, at the most basic level of abstraction, an IP network + can be represented as a distributed dynamical system consisting of: + (1) a set of interconnected resources which provide transport + services for IP traffic subject to certain constraints, (2) a demand + system representing the offered load to be transported through the + network, and (3) a response system consisting of network processes, + protocols, and related mechanisms which facilitate the movement of + traffic through the network [see also AWD2]. + + The network elements and resources may have specific characteristics + restricting the manner in which the demand is handled. Additionally, + network resources may be equipped with traffic control mechanisms + superintending the way in which the demand is serviced. Traffic + control mechanisms may, for example, be used to control various + packet processing activities within a given resource, arbitrate + contention for access to the resource by different packets, and + regulate traffic behavior through the resource. A configuration + management and provisioning system may allow the settings of the + traffic control mechanisms to be manipulated by external or internal + entities in order to exercise control over the way in which the + network elements respond to internal and external stimuli. + + The details of how the network provides transport services for + packets are specified in the policies of the network administrators + and are installed through network configuration management and policy + based provisioning systems. Generally, the types of services + provided by the network also depends upon the technology and + characteristics of the network elements and protocols, the prevailing + service and utility models, and the ability of the network + administrators to translate policies into network configurations. + + Contemporary Internet networks have three significant + characteristics: (1) they provide real-time services, (2) they have + become mission critical, and (3) their operating environments are + very dynamic. The dynamic characteristics of IP networks can be + attributed in part to fluctuations in demand, to the interaction + between various network protocols and processes, to the rapid + evolution of the infrastructure which demands the constant inclusion + of new technologies and new network elements, and to transient and + persistent impairments which occur within the system. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 13] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Packets contend for the use of network resources as they are conveyed + through the network. A network resource is considered to be + congested if the arrival rate of packets exceed the output capacity + of the resource over an interval of time. Congestion may result in + some of the arrival packets being delayed or even dropped. + + Congestion increases transit delays, delay variation, packet loss, + and reduces the predictability of network services. Clearly, + congestion is a highly undesirable phenomenon. + + Combating congestion at a reasonable cost is a major objective of + Internet traffic engineering. + + Efficient sharing of network resources by multiple traffic streams is + a basic economic premise for packet switched networks in general and + for the Internet in particular. A fundamental challenge in network + operation, especially in a large scale public IP network, is to + increase the efficiency of resource utilization while minimizing the + possibility of congestion. + + Increasingly, the Internet will have to function in the presence of + different classes of traffic with different service requirements. + The advent of Differentiated Services [RFC-2475] makes this + requirement particularly acute. Thus, packets may be grouped into + behavior aggregates such that each behavior aggregate may have a + common set of behavioral characteristics or a common set of delivery + requirements. In practice, the delivery requirements of a specific + set of packets may be specified explicitly or implicitly. Two of the + most important traffic delivery requirements are capacity constraints + and QoS constraints. + + Capacity constraints can be expressed statistically as peak rates, + mean rates, burst sizes, or as some deterministic notion of effective + bandwidth. QoS requirements can be expressed in terms of (1) + integrity constraints such as packet loss and (2) in terms of + temporal constraints such as timing restrictions for the delivery of + each packet (delay) and timing restrictions for the delivery of + consecutive packets belonging to the same traffic stream (delay + variation). + +2.3 Problem Context + + Fundamental problems exist in association with the operation of a + network described by the simple model of the previous subsection. + This subsection reviews the problem context in relation to the + traffic engineering function. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 14] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + The identification, abstraction, representation, and measurement of + network features relevant to traffic engineering is a significant + issue. + + One particularly important class of problems concerns how to + explicitly formulate the problems that traffic engineering attempts + to solve, how to identify the requirements on the solution space, how + to specify the desirable features of good solutions, how to actually + solve the problems, and how to measure and characterize the + effectiveness of the solutions. + + Another class of problems concerns how to measure and estimate + relevant network state parameters. Effective traffic engineering + relies on a good estimate of the offered traffic load as well as a + view of the underlying topology and associated resource constraints. + A network-wide view of the topology is also a must for offline + planning. + + Still another class of problems concerns how to characterize the + state of the network and how to evaluate its performance under a + variety of scenarios. The performance evaluation problem is two- + fold. One aspect of this problem relates to the evaluation of the + system level performance of the network. The other aspect relates to + the evaluation of the resource level performance, which restricts + attention to the performance analysis of individual network + resources. In this memo, we refer to the system level + characteristics of the network as the "macro-states" and the resource + level characteristics as the "micro-states." The system level + characteristics are also known as the emergent properties of the + network as noted earlier. Correspondingly, we shall refer to the + traffic engineering schemes dealing with network performance + optimization at the systems level as "macro-TE" and the schemes that + optimize at the individual resource level as "micro-TE." Under + certain circumstances, the system level performance can be derived + from the resource level performance using appropriate rules of + composition, depending upon the particular performance measures of + interest. + + Another fundamental class of problems concerns how to effectively + optimize network performance. Performance optimization may entail + translating solutions to specific traffic engineering problems into + network configurations. Optimization may also entail some degree of + resource management control, routing control, and/or capacity + augmentation. + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 15] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + As noted previously, congestion is an undesirable phenomena in + operational networks. Therefore, the next subsection addresses the + issue of congestion and its ramifications within the problem context + of Internet traffic engineering. + +2.3.1 Congestion and its Ramifications + + Congestion is one of the most significant problems in an operational + IP context. A network element is said to be congested if it + experiences sustained overload over an interval of time. Congestion + almost always results in degradation of service quality to end users. + Congestion control schemes can include demand side policies and + supply side policies. Demand side policies may restrict access to + congested resources and/or dynamically regulate the demand to + alleviate the overload situation. Supply side policies may expand or + augment network capacity to better accommodate offered traffic. + Supply side policies may also re-allocate network resources by + redistributing traffic over the infrastructure. Traffic + redistribution and resource re-allocation serve to increase the + 'effective capacity' seen by the demand. + + The emphasis of this memo is primarily on congestion management + schemes falling within the scope of the network, rather than on + congestion management systems dependent upon sensitivity and + adaptivity from end-systems. That is, the aspects that are + considered in this memo with respect to congestion management are + those solutions that can be provided by control entities operating on + the network and by the actions of network administrators and network + operations systems. + +2.4 Solution Context + + The solution context for Internet traffic engineering involves + analysis, evaluation of alternatives, and choice between alternative + courses of action. Generally the solution context is predicated on + making reasonable inferences about the current or future state of the + network, and subsequently making appropriate decisions that may + involve a preference between alternative sets of action. More + specifically, the solution context demands reasonable estimates of + traffic workload, characterization of network state, deriving + solutions to traffic engineering problems which may be implicitly or + explicitly formulated, and possibly instantiating a set of control + actions. Control actions may involve the manipulation of parameters + associated with routing, control over tactical capacity acquisition, + and control over the traffic management functions. + + The following list of instruments may be applicable to the solution + context of Internet traffic engineering. + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 16] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + (1) A set of policies, objectives, and requirements (which may + be context dependent) for network performance evaluation and + performance optimization. + + (2) A collection of online and possibly offline tools and + mechanisms for measurement, characterization, modeling, and + control of Internet traffic and control over the placement + and allocation of network resources, as well as control over + the mapping or distribution of traffic onto the + infrastructure. + + (3) A set of constraints on the operating environment, the + network protocols, and the traffic engineering system + itself. + + (4) A set of quantitative and qualitative techniques and + methodologies for abstracting, formulating, and solving + traffic engineering problems. + + (5) A set of administrative control parameters which may be + manipulated through a Configuration Management (CM) system. + The CM system itself may include a configuration control + subsystem, a configuration repository, a configuration + accounting subsystem, and a configuration auditing + subsystem. + + (6) A set of guidelines for network performance evaluation, + performance optimization, and performance improvement. + + Derivation of traffic characteristics through measurement and/or + estimation is very useful within the realm of the solution space for + traffic engineering. Traffic estimates can be derived from customer + subscription information, traffic projections, traffic models, and + from actual empirical measurements. The empirical measurements may + be performed at the traffic aggregate level or at the flow level in + order to derive traffic statistics at various levels of detail. + Measurements at the flow level or on small traffic aggregates may be + performed at edge nodes, where traffic enters and leaves the network. + Measurements at large traffic aggregate levels may be performed + within the core of the network where potentially numerous traffic + flows may be in transit concurrently. + + To conduct performance studies and to support planning of existing + and future networks, a routing analysis may be performed to determine + the path(s) the routing protocols will choose for various traffic + demands, and to ascertain the utilization of network resources as + traffic is routed through the network. The routing analysis should + capture the selection of paths through the network, the assignment of + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 17] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + traffic across multiple feasible routes, and the multiplexing of IP + traffic over traffic trunks (if such constructs exists) and over the + underlying network infrastructure. A network topology model is a + necessity for routing analysis. A network topology model may be + extracted from network architecture documents, from network designs, + from information contained in router configuration files, from + routing databases, from routing tables, or from automated tools that + discover and depict network topology information. Topology + information may also be derived from servers that monitor network + state, and from servers that perform provisioning functions. + + Routing in operational IP networks can be administratively controlled + at various levels of abstraction including the manipulation of BGP + attributes and manipulation of IGP metrics. For path oriented + technologies such as MPLS, routing can be further controlled by the + manipulation of relevant traffic engineering parameters, resource + parameters, and administrative policy constraints. Within the + context of MPLS, the path of an explicit label switched path (LSP) + can be computed and established in various ways including: (1) + manually, (2) automatically online using constraint-based routing + processes implemented on label switching routers, and (3) + automatically offline using constraint-based routing entities + implemented on external traffic engineering support systems. + +2.4.1 Combating the Congestion Problem + + Minimizing congestion is a significant aspect of Internet traffic + engineering. This subsection gives an overview of the general + approaches that have been used or proposed to combat congestion + problems. + + Congestion management policies can be categorized based upon the + following criteria (see e.g., [YARE95] for a more detailed taxonomy + of congestion control schemes): (1) Response time scale which can be + characterized as long, medium, or short; (2) reactive versus + preventive which relates to congestion control and congestion + avoidance; and (3) supply side versus demand side congestion + management schemes. These aspects are discussed in the following + paragraphs. + + (1) Congestion Management based on Response Time Scales + + - Long (weeks to months): Capacity planning works over a relatively + long time scale to expand network capacity based on estimates or + forecasts of future traffic demand and traffic distribution. Since + router and link provisioning take time and are generally expensive, + these upgrades are typically carried out in the weeks-to-months or + even years time scale. + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 18] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + - Medium (minutes to days): Several control policies fall within the + medium time scale category. Examples include: (1) Adjusting IGP + and/or BGP parameters to route traffic away or towards certain + segments of the network; (2) Setting up and/or adjusting some + explicitly routed label switched paths (ER-LSPs) in MPLS networks to + route some traffic trunks away from possibly congested resources or + towards possibly more favorable routes; (3) re-configuring the + logical topology of the network to make it correlate more closely + with the spatial traffic distribution using for example some + underlying path-oriented technology such as MPLS LSPs, ATM PVCs, or + optical channel trails. Many of these adaptive medium time scale + response schemes rely on a measurement system that monitors changes + in traffic distribution, traffic shifts, and network resource + utilization and subsequently provides feedback to the online and/or + offline traffic engineering mechanisms and tools which employ this + feedback information to trigger certain control actions to occur + within the network. The traffic engineering mechanisms and tools can + be implemented in a distributed fashion or in a centralized fashion, + and may have a hierarchical structure or a flat structure. The + comparative merits of distributed and centralized control structures + for networks are well known. A centralized scheme may have global + visibility into the network state and may produce potentially more + optimal solutions. However, centralized schemes are prone to single + points of failure and may not scale as well as distributed schemes. + Moreover, the information utilized by a centralized scheme may be + stale and may not reflect the actual state of the network. It is not + an objective of this memo to make a recommendation between + distributed and centralized schemes. This is a choice that network + administrators must make based on their specific needs. + + - Short (picoseconds to minutes): This category includes packet level + processing functions and events on the order of several round trip + times. It includes router mechanisms such as passive and active + buffer management. These mechanisms are used to control congestion + and/or signal congestion to end systems so that they can adaptively + regulate the rate at which traffic is injected into the network. One + of the most popular active queue management schemes, especially for + TCP traffic, is Random Early Detection (RED) [FLJA93], which supports + congestion avoidance by controlling the average queue size. During + congestion (but before the queue is filled), the RED scheme chooses + arriving packets to "mark" according to a probabilistic algorithm + which takes into account the average queue size. For a router that + does not utilize explicit congestion notification (ECN) see e.g., + [FLOY94], the marked packets can simply be dropped to signal the + inception of congestion to end systems. On the other hand, if the + router supports ECN, then it can set the ECN field in the packet + header. Several variations of RED have been proposed to support + different drop precedence levels in multi-class environments [RFC- + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 19] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + 2597], e.g., RED with In and Out (RIO) and Weighted RED. There is + general consensus that RED provides congestion avoidance performance + which is not worse than traditional Tail-Drop (TD) queue management + (drop arriving packets only when the queue is full). Importantly, + however, RED reduces the possibility of global synchronization and + improves fairness among different TCP sessions. However, RED by + itself can not prevent congestion and unfairness caused by sources + unresponsive to RED, e.g., UDP traffic and some misbehaved greedy + connections. Other schemes have been proposed to improve the + performance and fairness in the presence of unresponsive traffic. + Some of these schemes were proposed as theoretical frameworks and are + typically not available in existing commercial products. Two such + schemes are Longest Queue Drop (LQD) and Dynamic Soft Partitioning + with Random Drop (RND) [SLDC98]. + + (2) Congestion Management: Reactive versus Preventive Schemes + + - Reactive: reactive (recovery) congestion management policies react + to existing congestion problems to improve it. All the policies + described in the long and medium time scales above can be categorized + as being reactive especially if the policies are based on monitoring + and identifying existing congestion problems, and on the initiation + of relevant actions to ease a situation. + + - Preventive: preventive (predictive/avoidance) policies take + proactive action to prevent congestion based on estimates and + predictions of future potential congestion problems. Some of the + policies described in the long and medium time scales fall into this + category. They do not necessarily respond immediately to existing + congestion problems. Instead forecasts of traffic demand and + workload distribution are considered and action may be taken to + prevent potential congestion problems in the future. The schemes + described in the short time scale (e.g., RED and its variations, ECN, + LQD, and RND) are also used for congestion avoidance since dropping + or marking packets before queues actually overflow would trigger + corresponding TCP sources to slow down. + + (3) Congestion Management: Supply Side versus Demand Side Schemes + + - Supply side: supply side congestion management policies increase + the effective capacity available to traffic in order to control or + obviate congestion. This can be accomplished by augmenting capacity. + Another way to accomplish this is to minimize congestion by having a + relatively balanced distribution of traffic over the network. For + example, capacity planning should aim to provide a physical topology + and associated link bandwidths that match estimated traffic workload + and traffic distribution based on forecasting (subject to budgetary + and other constraints). However, if actual traffic distribution does + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 20] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + not match the topology derived from capacity panning (due to + forecasting errors or facility constraints for example), then the + traffic can be mapped onto the existing topology using routing + control mechanisms, using path oriented technologies (e.g., MPLS LSPs + and optical channel trails) to modify the logical topology, or by + using some other load redistribution mechanisms. + + - Demand side: demand side congestion management policies control or + regulate the offered traffic to alleviate congestion problems. For + example, some of the short time scale mechanisms described earlier + (such as RED and its variations, ECN, LQD, and RND) as well as + policing and rate shaping mechanisms attempt to regulate the offered + load in various ways. Tariffs may also be applied as a demand side + instrument. To date, however, tariffs have not been used as a means + of demand side congestion management within the Internet. + + In summary, a variety of mechanisms can be used to address congestion + problems in IP networks. These mechanisms may operate at multiple + time-scales. + +2.5 Implementation and Operational Context + + The operational context of Internet traffic engineering is + characterized by constant change which occur at multiple levels of + abstraction. The implementation context demands effective planning, + organization, and execution. The planning aspects may involve + determining prior sets of actions to achieve desired objectives. + Organizing involves arranging and assigning responsibility to the + various components of the traffic engineering system and coordinating + the activities to accomplish the desired TE objectives. Execution + involves measuring and applying corrective or perfective actions to + attain and maintain desired TE goals. + +3.0 Traffic Engineering Process Model(s) + + This section describes a generic process model that captures the high + level practical aspects of Internet traffic engineering in an + operational context. The process model is described as a sequence of + actions that a traffic engineer, or more generally a traffic + engineering system, must perform to optimize the performance of an + operational network (see also [RFC-2702, AWD2]). The process model + described here represents the broad activities common to most traffic + engineering methodologies although the details regarding how traffic + engineering is executed may differ from network to network. This + process model may be enacted explicitly or implicitly, by an + automaton and/or by a human. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 21] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + The traffic engineering process model is iterative [AWD2]. The four + phases of the process model described below are repeated continually. + + The first phase of the TE process model is to define the relevant + control policies that govern the operation of the network. These + policies may depend upon many factors including the prevailing + business model, the network cost structure, the operating + constraints, the utility model, and optimization criteria. + + The second phase of the process model is a feedback mechanism + involving the acquisition of measurement data from the operational + network. If empirical data is not readily available from the + network, then synthetic workloads may be used instead which reflect + either the prevailing or the expected workload of the network. + Synthetic workloads may be derived by estimation or extrapolation + using prior empirical data. Their derivation may also be obtained + using mathematical models of traffic characteristics or other means. + + The third phase of the process model is to analyze the network state + and to characterize traffic workload. Performance analysis may be + proactive and/or reactive. Proactive performance analysis identifies + potential problems that do not exist, but could manifest in the + future. Reactive performance analysis identifies existing problems, + determines their cause through diagnosis, and evaluates alternative + approaches to remedy the problem, if necessary. A number of + quantitative and qualitative techniques may be used in the analysis + process, including modeling based analysis and simulation. The + analysis phase of the process model may involve investigating the + concentration and distribution of traffic across the network or + relevant subsets of the network, identifying the characteristics of + the offered traffic workload, identifying existing or potential + bottlenecks, and identifying network pathologies such as ineffective + link placement, single points of failures, etc. Network pathologies + may result from many factors including inferior network architecture, + inferior network design, and configuration problems. A traffic + matrix may be constructed as part of the analysis process. Network + analysis may also be descriptive or prescriptive. + + The fourth phase of the TE process model is the performance + optimization of the network. The performance optimization phase + involves a decision process which selects and implements a set of + actions from a set of alternatives. Optimization actions may include + the use of appropriate techniques to either control the offered + traffic or to control the distribution of traffic across the network. + Optimization actions may also involve adding additional links or + increasing link capacity, deploying additional hardware such as + routers and switches, systematically adjusting parameters associated + with routing such as IGP metrics and BGP attributes, and adjusting + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 22] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + traffic management parameters. Network performance optimization may + also involve starting a network planning process to improve the + network architecture, network design, network capacity, network + technology, and the configuration of network elements to accommodate + current and future growth. + +3.1 Components of the Traffic Engineering Process Model + + The key components of the traffic engineering process model include a + measurement subsystem, a modeling and analysis subsystem, and an + optimization subsystem. The following subsections examine these + components as they apply to the traffic engineering process model. + +3.2 Measurement + + Measurement is crucial to the traffic engineering function. The + operational state of a network can be conclusively determined only + through measurement. Measurement is also critical to the + optimization function because it provides feedback data which is used + by traffic engineering control subsystems. This data is used to + adaptively optimize network performance in response to events and + stimuli originating within and outside the network. Measurement is + also needed to determine the quality of network services and to + evaluate the effectiveness of traffic engineering policies. + Experience suggests that measurement is most effective when acquired + and applied systematically. + + When developing a measurement system to support the traffic + engineering function in IP networks, the following questions should + be carefully considered: Why is measurement needed in this particular + context? What parameters are to be measured? How should the + measurement be accomplished? Where should the measurement be + performed? When should the measurement be performed? How frequently + should the monitored variables be measured? What level of + measurement accuracy and reliability is desirable? What level of + measurement accuracy and reliability is realistically attainable? To + what extent can the measurement system permissibly interfere with the + monitored network components and variables? What is the acceptable + cost of measurement? The answers to these questions will determine + the measurement tools and methodologies appropriate in any given + traffic engineering context. + + It should also be noted that there is a distinction between + measurement and evaluation. Measurement provides raw data concerning + state parameters and variables of monitored network elements. + Evaluation utilizes the raw data to make inferences regarding the + monitored system. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 23] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Measurement in support of the TE function can occur at different + levels of abstraction. For example, measurement can be used to + derive packet level characteristics, flow level characteristics, user + or customer level characteristics, traffic aggregate characteristics, + component level characteristics, and network wide characteristics. + +3.3 Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation + + Modeling and analysis are important aspects of Internet traffic + engineering. Modeling involves constructing an abstract or physical + representation which depicts relevant traffic characteristics and + network attributes. + + A network model is an abstract representation of the network which + captures relevant network features, attributes, and characteristics, + such as link and nodal attributes and constraints. A network model + may facilitate analysis and/or simulation which can be used to + predict network performance under various conditions as well as to + guide network expansion plans. + + In general, Internet traffic engineering models can be classified as + either structural or behavioral. Structural models focus on the + organization of the network and its components. Behavioral models + focus on the dynamics of the network and the traffic workload. + Modeling for Internet traffic engineering may also be formal or + informal. + + Accurate behavioral models for traffic sources are particularly + useful for analysis. Development of behavioral traffic source models + that are consistent with empirical data obtained from operational + networks is a major research topic in Internet traffic engineering. + These source models should also be tractable and amenable to + analysis. The topic of source models for IP traffic is a research + topic and is therefore outside the scope of this document. Its + importance, however, must be emphasized. + + Network simulation tools are extremely useful for traffic + engineering. Because of the complexity of realistic quantitative + analysis of network behavior, certain aspects of network performance + studies can only be conducted effectively using simulation. A good + network simulator can be used to mimic and visualize network + characteristics under various conditions in a safe and non-disruptive + manner. For example, a network simulator may be used to depict + congested resources and hot spots, and to provide hints regarding + possible solutions to network performance problems. A good simulator + may also be used to validate the effectiveness of planned solutions + to network issues without the need to tamper with the operational + network, or to commence an expensive network upgrade which may not + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 24] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + achieve the desired objectives. Furthermore, during the process of + network planning, a network simulator may reveal pathologies such as + single points of failure which may require additional redundancy, and + potential bottlenecks and hot spots which may require additional + capacity. + + Routing simulators are especially useful in large networks. A + routing simulator may identify planned links which may not actually + be used to route traffic by the existing routing protocols. + Simulators can also be used to conduct scenario based and + perturbation based analysis, as well as sensitivity studies. + Simulation results can be used to initiate appropriate actions in + various ways. For example, an important application of network + simulation tools is to investigate and identify how best to make the + network evolve and grow, in order to accommodate projected future + demands. + +3.4 Optimization + + Network performance optimization involves resolving network issues by + transforming such issues into concepts that enable a solution, + identification of a solution, and implementation of the solution. + Network performance optimization can be corrective or perfective. In + corrective optimization, the goal is to remedy a problem that has + occurred or that is incipient. In perfective optimization, the goal + is to improve network performance even when explicit problems do not + exist and are not anticipated. + + Network performance optimization is a continual process, as noted + previously. Performance optimization iterations may consist of + real-time optimization sub-processes and non-real-time network + planning sub-processes. The difference between real-time + optimization and network planning is primarily in the relative time- + scale in which they operate and in the granularity of actions. One + of the objectives of a real-time optimization sub-process is to + control the mapping and distribution of traffic over the existing + network infrastructure to avoid and/or relieve congestion, to assure + satisfactory service delivery, and to optimize resource utilization. + Real-time optimization is needed because random incidents such as + fiber cuts or shifts in traffic demand will occur irrespective of how + well a network is designed. These incidents can cause congestion and + other problems to manifest in an operational network. Real-time + optimization must solve such problems in small to medium time-scales + ranging from micro-seconds to minutes or hours. Examples of real- + time optimization include queue management, IGP/BGP metric tuning, + and using technologies such as MPLS explicit LSPs to change the paths + of some traffic trunks [XIAO]. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 25] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + One of the functions of the network planning sub-process is to + initiate actions to systematically evolve the architecture, + technology, topology, and capacity of a network. When a problem + exists in the network, real-time optimization should provide an + immediate remedy. Because a prompt response is necessary, the real- + time solution may not be the best possible solution. Network + planning may subsequently be needed to refine the solution and + improve the situation. Network planning is also required to expand + the network to support traffic growth and changes in traffic + distribution over time. As previously noted, a change in the + topology and/or capacity of the network may be the outcome of network + planning. + + Clearly, network planning and real-time performance optimization are + mutually complementary activities. A well-planned and designed + network makes real-time optimization easier, while a systematic + approach to real-time network performance optimization allows network + planning to focus on long term issues rather than tactical + considerations. Systematic real-time network performance + optimization also provides valuable inputs and insights toward + network planning. + + Stability is an important consideration in real-time network + performance optimization. This aspect will be repeatedly addressed + throughout this memo. + +4.0 Historical Review and Recent Developments + + This section briefly reviews different traffic engineering approaches + proposed and implemented in telecommunications and computer networks. + The discussion is not intended to be comprehensive. It is primarily + intended to illuminate pre-existing perspectives and prior art + concerning traffic engineering in the Internet and in legacy + telecommunications networks. + +4.1 Traffic Engineering in Classical Telephone Networks + + This subsection presents a brief overview of traffic engineering in + telephone networks which often relates to the way user traffic is + steered from an originating node to the terminating node. This + subsection presents a brief overview of this topic. A detailed + description of the various routing strategies applied in telephone + networks is included in the book by G. Ash [ASH2]. + + The early telephone network relied on static hierarchical routing, + whereby routing patterns remained fixed independent of the state of + the network or time of day. The hierarchy was intended to + accommodate overflow traffic, improve network reliability via + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 26] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + alternate routes, and prevent call looping by employing strict + hierarchical rules. The network was typically over-provisioned since + a given fixed route had to be dimensioned so that it could carry user + traffic during a busy hour of any busy day. Hierarchical routing in + the telephony network was found to be too rigid upon the advent of + digital switches and stored program control which were able to manage + more complicated traffic engineering rules. + + Dynamic routing was introduced to alleviate the routing inflexibility + in the static hierarchical routing so that the network would operate + more efficiently. This resulted in significant economic gains + [HUSS87]. Dynamic routing typically reduces the overall loss + probability by 10 to 20 percent (compared to static hierarchical + routing). Dynamic routing can also improve network resilience by + recalculating routes on a per-call basis and periodically updating + routes. + + There are three main types of dynamic routing in the telephone + network. They are time-dependent routing, state-dependent routing + (SDR), and event dependent routing (EDR). + + In time-dependent routing, regular variations in traffic loads (such + as time of day or day of week) are exploited in pre-planned routing + tables. In state-dependent routing, routing tables are updated + online according to the current state of the network (e.g., traffic + demand, utilization, etc.). In event dependent routing, routing + changes are incepted by events (such as call setups encountering + congested or blocked links) whereupon new paths are searched out + using learning models. EDR methods are real-time adaptive, but they + do not require global state information as does SDR. Examples of EDR + schemes include the dynamic alternate routing (DAR) from BT, the + state-and-time dependent routing (STR) from NTT, and the success-to- + the-top (STT) routing from AT&T. + + Dynamic non-hierarchical routing (DNHR) is an example of dynamic + routing that was introduced in the AT&T toll network in the 1980's to + respond to time-dependent information such as regular load variations + as a function of time. Time-dependent information in terms of load + may be divided into three time scales: hourly, weekly, and yearly. + Correspondingly, three algorithms are defined to pre-plan the routing + tables. The network design algorithm operates over a year-long + interval while the demand servicing algorithm operates on a weekly + basis to fine tune link sizes and routing tables to correct forecast + errors on the yearly basis. At the smallest time scale, the routing + algorithm is used to make limited adjustments based on daily traffic + variations. Network design and demand servicing are computed using + offline calculations. Typically, the calculations require extensive + searches on possible routes. On the other hand, routing may need + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 27] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + online calculations to handle crankback. DNHR adopts a "two-link" + approach whereby a path can consist of two links at most. The + routing algorithm presents an ordered list of route choices between + an originating switch and a terminating switch. If a call overflows, + a via switch (a tandem exchange between the originating switch and + the terminating switch) would send a crankback signal to the + originating switch. This switch would then select the next route, + and so on, until there are no alternative routes available in which + the call is blocked. + +4.2 Evolution of Traffic Engineering in Packet Networks + + This subsection reviews related prior work that was intended to + improve the performance of data networks. Indeed, optimization of + the performance of data networks started in the early days of the + ARPANET. Other early commercial networks such as SNA also recognized + the importance of performance optimization and service + differentiation. + + In terms of traffic management, the Internet has been a best effort + service environment until recently. In particular, very limited + traffic management capabilities existed in IP networks to provide + differentiated queue management and scheduling services to packets + belonging to different classes. + + In terms of routing control, the Internet has employed distributed + protocols for intra-domain routing. These protocols are highly + scalable and resilient. However, they are based on simple algorithms + for path selection which have very limited functionality to allow + flexible control of the path selection process. + + In the following subsections, the evolution of practical traffic + engineering mechanisms in IP networks and its predecessors are + reviewed. + +4.2.1 Adaptive Routing in the ARPANET + + The early ARPANET recognized the importance of adaptive routing where + routing decisions were based on the current state of the network + [MCQ80]. Early minimum delay routing approaches forwarded each + packet to its destination along a path for which the total estimated + transit time was the smallest. Each node maintained a table of + network delays, representing the estimated delay that a packet would + experience along a given path toward its destination. The minimum + delay table was periodically transmitted by a node to its neighbors. + The shortest path, in terms of hop count, was also propagated to give + the connectivity information. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 28] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + One drawback to this approach is that dynamic link metrics tend to + create "traffic magnets" causing congestion to be shifted from one + location of a network to another location, resulting in oscillation + and network instability. + +4.2.2 Dynamic Routing in the Internet + + The Internet evolved from the APARNET and adopted dynamic routing + algorithms with distributed control to determine the paths that + packets should take en-route to their destinations. The routing + algorithms are adaptations of shortest path algorithms where costs + are based on link metrics. The link metric can be based on static or + dynamic quantities. The link metric based on static quantities may + be assigned administratively according to local criteria. The link + metric based on dynamic quantities may be a function of a network + congestion measure such as delay or packet loss. + + It was apparent early that static link metric assignment was + inadequate because it can easily lead to unfavorable scenarios in + which some links become congested while others remain lightly loaded. + One of the many reasons for the inadequacy of static link metrics is + that link metric assignment was often done without considering the + traffic matrix in the network. Also, the routing protocols did not + take traffic attributes and capacity constraints into account when + making routing decisions. This results in traffic concentration + being localized in subsets of the network infrastructure and + potentially causing congestion. Even if link metrics are assigned in + accordance with the traffic matrix, unbalanced loads in the network + can still occur due to a number factors including: + + - Resources may not be deployed in the most optimal locations + from a routing perspective. + + - Forecasting errors in traffic volume and/or traffic + distribution. + + - Dynamics in traffic matrix due to the temporal nature of + traffic patterns, BGP policy change from peers, etc. + + The inadequacy of the legacy Internet interior gateway routing system + is one of the factors motivating the interest in path oriented + technology with explicit routing and constraint-based routing + capability such as MPLS. + + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 29] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + +4.2.3 ToS Routing + + Type-of-Service (ToS) routing involves different routes going to the + same destination with selection dependent upon the ToS field of an IP + packet [RFC-2474]. The ToS classes may be classified as low delay + and high throughput. Each link is associated with multiple link + costs and each link cost is used to compute routes for a particular + ToS. A separate shortest path tree is computed for each ToS. The + shortest path algorithm must be run for each ToS resulting in very + expensive computation. Classical ToS-based routing is now outdated + as the IP header field has been replaced by a Diffserv field. + Effective traffic engineering is difficult to perform in classical + ToS-based routing because each class still relies exclusively on + shortest path routing which results in localization of traffic + concentration within the network. + +4.2.4 Equal Cost Multi-Path + + Equal Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) is another technique that attempts to + address the deficiency in the Shortest Path First (SPF) interior + gateway routing systems [RFC-2328]. In the classical SPF algorithm, + if two or more shortest paths exist to a given destination, the + algorithm will choose one of them. The algorithm is modified + slightly in ECMP so that if two or more equal cost shortest paths + exist between two nodes, the traffic between the nodes is distributed + among the multiple equal-cost paths. Traffic distribution across the + equal-cost paths is usually performed in one of two ways: (1) + packet-based in a round-robin fashion, or (2) flow-based using + hashing on source and destination IP addresses and possibly other + fields of the IP header. The first approach can easily cause out- + of-order packets while the second approach is dependent upon the + number and distribution of flows. Flow-based load sharing may be + unpredictable in an enterprise network where the number of flows is + relatively small and less heterogeneous (for example, hashing may not + be uniform), but it is generally effective in core public networks + where the number of flows is large and heterogeneous. + + In ECMP, link costs are static and bandwidth constraints are not + considered, so ECMP attempts to distribute the traffic as equally as + possible among the equal-cost paths independent of the congestion + status of each path. As a result, given two equal-cost paths, it is + possible that one of the paths will be more congested than the other. + Another drawback of ECMP is that load sharing cannot be achieved on + multiple paths which have non-identical costs. + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 30] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + +4.2.5 Nimrod + + Nimrod is a routing system developed to provide heterogeneous service + specific routing in the Internet, while taking multiple constraints + into account [RFC-1992]. Essentially, Nimrod is a link state routing + protocol which supports path oriented packet forwarding. It uses the + concept of maps to represent network connectivity and services at + multiple levels of abstraction. Mechanisms are provided to allow + restriction of the distribution of routing information. + + Even though Nimrod did not enjoy deployment in the public Internet, a + number of key concepts incorporated into the Nimrod architecture, + such as explicit routing which allows selection of paths at + originating nodes, are beginning to find applications in some recent + constraint-based routing initiatives. + +4.3 Overlay Model + + In the overlay model, a virtual-circuit network, such as ATM, frame + relay, or WDM, provides virtual-circuit connectivity between routers + that are located at the edges of a virtual-circuit cloud. In this + mode, two routers that are connected through a virtual circuit see a + direct adjacency between themselves independent of the physical route + taken by the virtual circuit through the ATM, frame relay, or WDM + network. Thus, the overlay model essentially decouples the logical + topology that routers see from the physical topology that the ATM, + frame relay, or WDM network manages. The overlay model based on ATM + or frame relay enables a network administrator or an automaton to + employ traffic engineering concepts to perform path optimization by + re-configuring or rearranging the virtual circuits so that a virtual + circuit on a congested or sub-optimal physical link can be re-routed + to a less congested or more optimal one. In the overlay model, + traffic engineering is also employed to establish relationships + between the traffic management parameters (e.g., PCR, SCR, and MBS + for ATM) of the virtual-circuit technology and the actual traffic + that traverses each circuit. These relationships can be established + based upon known or projected traffic profiles, and some other + factors. + + The overlay model using IP over ATM requires the management of two + separate networks with different technologies (IP and ATM) resulting + in increased operational complexity and cost. In the fully-meshed + overlay model, each router would peer to every other router in the + network, so that the total number of adjacencies is a quadratic + function of the number of routers. Some of the issues with the + overlay model are discussed in [AWD2]. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 31] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + +4.4 Constrained-Based Routing + + Constraint-based routing refers to a class of routing systems that + compute routes through a network subject to the satisfaction of a set + of constraints and requirements. In the most general setting, + constraint-based routing may also seek to optimize overall network + performance while minimizing costs. + + The constraints and requirements may be imposed by the network itself + or by administrative policies. Constraints may include bandwidth, + hop count, delay, and policy instruments such as resource class + attributes. Constraints may also include domain specific attributes + of certain network technologies and contexts which impose + restrictions on the solution space of the routing function. Path + oriented technologies such as MPLS have made constraint-based routing + feasible and attractive in public IP networks. + + The concept of constraint-based routing within the context of MPLS + traffic engineering requirements in IP networks was first defined in + [RFC-2702]. + + Unlike QoS routing (for example, see [RFC-2386] and [MA]) which + generally addresses the issue of routing individual traffic flows to + satisfy prescribed flow based QoS requirements subject to network + resource availability, constraint-based routing is applicable to + traffic aggregates as well as flows and may be subject to a wide + variety of constraints which may include policy restrictions. + +4.5 Overview of Other IETF Projects Related to Traffic Engineering + + This subsection reviews a number of IETF activities pertinent to + Internet traffic engineering. These activities are primarily + intended to evolve the IP architecture to support new service + definitions which allow preferential or differentiated treatment to + be accorded to certain types of traffic. + +4.5.1 Integrated Services + + The IETF Integrated Services working group developed the integrated + services (Intserv) model. This model requires resources, such as + bandwidth and buffers, to be reserved a priori for a given traffic + flow to ensure that the quality of service requested by the traffic + flow is satisfied. The integrated services model includes additional + components beyond those used in the best-effort model such as packet + classifiers, packet schedulers, and admission control. A packet + classifier is used to identify flows that are to receive a certain + level of service. A packet scheduler handles the scheduling of + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 32] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + service to different packet flows to ensure that QoS commitments are + met. Admission control is used to determine whether a router has the + necessary resources to accept a new flow. + + Two services have been defined under the Integrated Services model: + guaranteed service [RFC-2212] and controlled-load service [RFC-2211]. + + The guaranteed service can be used for applications requiring bounded + packet delivery time. For this type of application, data that is + delivered to the application after a pre-defined amount of time has + elapsed is usually considered worthless. Therefore, guaranteed + service was intended to provide a firm quantitative bound on the + end-to-end packet delay for a flow. This is accomplished by + controlling the queuing delay on network elements along the data flow + path. The guaranteed service model does not, however, provide + bounds on jitter (inter-arrival times between consecutive packets). + + The controlled-load service can be used for adaptive applications + that can tolerate some delay but are sensitive to traffic overload + conditions. This type of application typically functions + satisfactorily when the network is lightly loaded but its performance + degrades significantly when the network is heavily loaded. + Controlled-load service, therefore, has been designed to provide + approximately the same service as best-effort service in a lightly + loaded network regardless of actual network conditions. Controlled- + load service is described qualitatively in that no target values of + delay or loss are specified. + + The main issue with the Integrated Services model has been + scalability [RFC-2998], especially in large public IP networks which + may potentially have millions of active micro-flows in transit + concurrently. + + A notable feature of the Integrated Services model is that it + requires explicit signaling of QoS requirements from end systems to + routers [RFC-2753]. The Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) + performs this signaling function and is a critical component of the + Integrated Services model. The RSVP protocol is described next. + +4.5.2 RSVP + + RSVP is a soft state signaling protocol [RFC-2205]. It supports + receiver initiated establishment of resource reservations for both + multicast and unicast flows. RSVP was originally developed as a + signaling protocol within the integrated services framework for + applications to communicate QoS requirements to the network and for + the network to reserve relevant resources to satisfy the QoS + requirements [RFC-2205]. + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 33] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Under RSVP, the sender or source node sends a PATH message to the + receiver with the same source and destination addresses as the + traffic which the sender will generate. The PATH message contains: + (1) a sender Tspec specifying the characteristics of the traffic, (2) + a sender Template specifying the format of the traffic, and (3) an + optional Adspec which is used to support the concept of one pass with + advertising" (OPWA) [RFC-2205]. Every intermediate router along the + path forwards the PATH Message to the next hop determined by the + routing protocol. Upon receiving a PATH Message, the receiver + responds with a RESV message which includes a flow descriptor used to + request resource reservations. The RESV message travels to the + sender or source node in the opposite direction along the path that + the PATH message traversed. Every intermediate router along the path + can reject or accept the reservation request of the RESV message. If + the request is rejected, the rejecting router will send an error + message to the receiver and the signaling process will terminate. If + the request is accepted, link bandwidth and buffer space are + allocated for the flow and the related flow state information is + installed in the router. + + One of the issues with the original RSVP specification was + Scalability. This is because reservations were required for micro- + flows, so that the amount of state maintained by network elements + tends to increase linearly with the number of micro-flows. These + issues are described in [RFC-2961]. + + Recently, RSVP has been modified and extended in several ways to + mitigate the scaling problems. As a result, it is becoming a + versatile signaling protocol for the Internet. For example, RSVP has + been extended to reserve resources for aggregation of flows, to set + up MPLS explicit label switched paths, and to perform other signaling + functions within the Internet. There are also a number of proposals + to reduce the amount of refresh messages required to maintain + established RSVP sessions [RFC-2961]. + + A number of IETF working groups have been engaged in activities + related to the RSVP protocol. These include the original RSVP + working group, the MPLS working group, the Resource Allocation + Protocol working group, and the Policy Framework working group. + +4.5.3 Differentiated Services + + The goal of the Differentiated Services (Diffserv) effort within the + IETF is to devise scalable mechanisms for categorization of traffic + into behavior aggregates, which ultimately allows each behavior + aggregate to be treated differently, especially when there is a + shortage of resources such as link bandwidth and buffer space [RFC- + 2475]. One of the primary motivations for the Diffserv effort was to + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 34] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + devise alternative mechanisms for service differentiation in the + Internet that mitigate the scalability issues encountered with the + Intserv model. + + The IETF Diffserv working group has defined a Differentiated Services + field in the IP header (DS field). The DS field consists of six bits + of the part of the IP header formerly known as TOS octet. The DS + field is used to indicate the forwarding treatment that a packet + should receive at a node [RFC-2474]. The Diffserv working group has + also standardized a number of Per-Hop Behavior (PHB) groups. Using + the PHBs, several classes of services can be defined using different + classification, policing, shaping, and scheduling rules. + + For an end-user of network services to receive Differentiated + Services from its Internet Service Provider (ISP), it may be + necessary for the user to have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with + the ISP. An SLA may explicitly or implicitly specify a Traffic + Conditioning Agreement (TCA) which defines classifier rules as well + as metering, marking, discarding, and shaping rules. + + Packets are classified, and possibly policed and shaped at the + ingress to a Diffserv network. When a packet traverses the boundary + between different Diffserv domains, the DS field of the packet may be + re-marked according to existing agreements between the domains. + + Differentiated Services allows only a finite number of service + classes to be indicated by the DS field. The main advantage of the + Diffserv approach relative to the Intserv model is scalability. + Resources are allocated on a per-class basis and the amount of state + information is proportional to the number of classes rather than to + the number of application flows. + + It should be obvious from the previous discussion that the Diffserv + model essentially deals with traffic management issues on a per hop + basis. The Diffserv control model consists of a collection of + micro-TE control mechanisms. Other traffic engineering capabilities, + such as capacity management (including routing control), are also + required in order to deliver acceptable service quality in Diffserv + networks. The concept of Per Domain Behaviors has been introduced to + better capture the notion of differentiated services across a + complete domain [RFC-3086]. + +4.5.4 MPLS + + MPLS is an advanced forwarding scheme which also includes extensions + to conventional IP control plane protocols. MPLS extends the + Internet routing model and enhances packet forwarding and path + control [RFC-3031]. + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 35] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + At the ingress to an MPLS domain, label switching routers (LSRs) + classify IP packets into forwarding equivalence classes (FECs) based + on a variety of factors, including, e.g., a combination of the + information carried in the IP header of the packets and the local + routing information maintained by the LSRs. An MPLS label is then + prepended to each packet according to their forwarding equivalence + classes. In a non-ATM/FR environment, the label is 32 bits long and + contains a 20-bit label field, a 3-bit experimental field (formerly + known as Class-of-Service or CoS field), a 1-bit label stack + indicator and an 8-bit TTL field. In an ATM (FR) environment, the + label consists of information encoded in the VCI/VPI (DLCI) field. + An MPLS capable router (an LSR) examines the label and possibly the + experimental field and uses this information to make packet + forwarding decisions. + + An LSR makes forwarding decisions by using the label prepended to + packets as the index into a local next hop label forwarding entry + (NHLFE). The packet is then processed as specified in the NHLFE. + The incoming label may be replaced by an outgoing label, and the + packet may be switched to the next LSR. This label-switching process + is very similar to the label (VCI/VPI) swapping process in ATM + networks. Before a packet leaves an MPLS domain, its MPLS label may + be removed. A Label Switched Path (LSP) is the path between an + ingress LSRs and an egress LSRs through which a labeled packet + traverses. The path of an explicit LSP is defined at the originating + (ingress) node of the LSP. MPLS can use a signaling protocol such as + RSVP or LDP to set up LSPs. + + MPLS is a very powerful technology for Internet traffic engineering + because it supports explicit LSPs which allow constraint-based + routing to be implemented efficiently in IP networks [AWD2]. The + requirements for traffic engineering over MPLS are described in + [RFC-2702]. Extensions to RSVP to support instantiation of explicit + LSP are discussed in [RFC-3209]. Extensions to LDP, known as CR-LDP, + to support explicit LSPs are presented in [JAM]. + +4.5.5 IP Performance Metrics + + The IETF IP Performance Metrics (IPPM) working group has been + developing a set of standard metrics that can be used to monitor the + quality, performance, and reliability of Internet services. These + metrics can be applied by network operators, end-users, and + independent testing groups to provide users and service providers + with a common understanding of the performance and reliability of the + Internet component 'clouds' they use/provide [RFC-2330]. The + criteria for performance metrics developed by the IPPM WG are + described in [RFC-2330]. Examples of performance metrics include + one-way packet + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 36] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + loss [RFC-2680], one-way delay [RFC-2679], and connectivity measures + between two nodes [RFC-2678]. Other metrics include second-order + measures of packet loss and delay. + + Some of the performance metrics specified by the IPPM WG are useful + for specifying Service Level Agreements (SLAs). SLAs are sets of + service level objectives negotiated between users and service + providers, wherein each objective is a combination of one or more + performance metrics, possibly subject to certain constraints. + +4.5.6 Flow Measurement + + The IETF Real Time Flow Measurement (RTFM) working group has produced + an architecture document defining a method to specify traffic flows + as well as a number of components for flow measurement (meters, meter + readers, manager) [RFC-2722]. A flow measurement system enables + network traffic flows to be measured and analyzed at the flow level + for a variety of purposes. As noted in RFC 2722, a flow measurement + system can be very useful in the following contexts: (1) + understanding the behavior of existing networks, (2) planning for + network development and expansion, (3) quantification of network + performance, (4) verifying the quality of network service, and (5) + attribution of network usage to users. + + A flow measurement system consists of meters, meter readers, and + managers. A meter observes packets passing through a measurement + point, classifies them into certain groups, accumulates certain usage + data (such as the number of packets and bytes for each group), and + stores the usage data in a flow table. A group may represent a user + application, a host, a network, a group of networks, etc. A meter + reader gathers usage data from various meters so it can be made + available for analysis. A manager is responsible for configuring and + controlling meters and meter readers. The instructions received by a + meter from a manager include flow specification, meter control + parameters, and sampling techniques. The instructions received by a + meter reader from a manager include the address of the meter whose + date is to be collected, the frequency of data collection, and the + types of flows to be collected. + +4.5.7 Endpoint Congestion Management + + [RFC-3124] is intended to provide a set of congestion control + mechanisms that transport protocols can use. It is also intended to + develop mechanisms for unifying congestion control across a subset of + an endpoint's active unicast connections (called a congestion group). + A congestion manager continuously monitors the state of the path for + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 37] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + each congestion group under its control. The manager uses that + information to instruct a scheduler on how to partition bandwidth + among the connections of that congestion group. + +4.6 Overview of ITU Activities Related to Traffic Engineering + + This section provides an overview of prior work within the ITU-T + pertaining to traffic engineering in traditional telecommunications + networks. + + ITU-T Recommendations E.600 [ITU-E600], E.701 [ITU-E701], and E.801 + [ITU-E801] address traffic engineering issues in traditional + telecommunications networks. Recommendation E.600 provides a + vocabulary for describing traffic engineering concepts, while E.701 + defines reference connections, Grade of Service (GOS), and traffic + parameters for ISDN. Recommendation E.701 uses the concept of a + reference connection to identify representative cases of different + types of connections without describing the specifics of their actual + realizations by different physical means. As defined in + Recommendation E.600, "a connection is an association of resources + providing means for communication between two or more devices in, or + attached to, a telecommunication network." Also, E.600 defines "a + resource as any set of physically or conceptually identifiable + entities within a telecommunication network, the use of which can be + unambiguously determined" [ITU-E600]. There can be different types + of connections as the number and types of resources in a connection + may vary. + + Typically, different network segments are involved in the path of a + connection. For example, a connection may be local, national, or + international. The purposes of reference connections are to clarify + and specify traffic performance issues at various interfaces between + different network domains. Each domain may consist of one or more + service provider networks. + + Reference connections provide a basis to define grade of service + (GoS) parameters related to traffic engineering within the ITU-T + framework. As defined in E.600, "GoS refers to a number of traffic + engineering variables which are used to provide a measure of the + adequacy of a group of resources under specified conditions." These + GoS variables may be probability of loss, dial tone, delay, etc. + They are essential for network internal design and operation as well + as for component performance specification. + + GoS is different from quality of service (QoS) in the ITU framework. + QoS is the performance perceivable by a telecommunication service + user and expresses the user's degree of satisfaction of the service. + QoS parameters focus on performance aspects observable at the service + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 38] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + access points and network interfaces, rather than their causes within + the network. GoS, on the other hand, is a set of network oriented + measures which characterize the adequacy of a group of resources + under specified conditions. For a network to be effective in serving + its users, the values of both GoS and QoS parameters must be related, + with GoS parameters typically making a major contribution to the QoS. + + Recommendation E.600 stipulates that a set of GoS parameters must be + selected and defined on an end-to-end basis for each major service + category provided by a network to assist the network provider with + improving efficiency and effectiveness of the network. Based on a + selected set of reference connections, suitable target values are + assigned to the selected GoS parameters under normal and high load + conditions. These end-to-end GoS target values are then apportioned + to individual resource components of the reference connections for + dimensioning purposes. + +4.7 Content Distribution + + The Internet is dominated by client-server interactions, especially + Web traffic (in the future, more sophisticated media servers may + become dominant). The location and performance of major information + servers has a significant impact on the traffic patterns within the + Internet as well as on the perception of service quality by end + users. + + A number of dynamic load balancing techniques have been devised to + improve the performance of replicated information servers. These + techniques can cause spatial traffic characteristics to become more + dynamic in the Internet because information servers can be + dynamically picked based upon the location of the clients, the + location of the servers, the relative utilization of the servers, the + relative performance of different networks, and the relative + performance of different parts of a network. This process of + assignment of distributed servers to clients is called Traffic + Directing. It functions at the application layer. + + Traffic Directing schemes that allocate servers in multiple + geographically dispersed locations to clients may require empirical + network performance statistics to make more effective decisions. In + the future, network measurement systems may need to provide this type + of information. The exact parameters needed are not yet defined. + + When congestion exists in the network, Traffic Directing and Traffic + Engineering systems should act in a coordinated manner. This topic + is for further study. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 39] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + The issues related to location and replication of information + servers, particularly web servers, are important for Internet traffic + engineering because these servers contribute a substantial proportion + of Internet traffic. + +5.0 Taxonomy of Traffic Engineering Systems + + This section presents a short taxonomy of traffic engineering + systems. A taxonomy of traffic engineering systems can be + constructed based on traffic engineering styles and views as listed + below: + + - Time-dependent vs State-dependent vs Event-dependent + - Offline vs Online + - Centralized vs Distributed + - Local vs Global Information + - Prescriptive vs Descriptive + - Open Loop vs Closed Loop + - Tactical vs Strategic + + These classification systems are described in greater detail in the + following subsections of this document. + +5.1 Time-Dependent Versus State-Dependent Versus Event Dependent + + Traffic engineering methodologies can be classified as time- + dependent, or state-dependent, or event-dependent. All TE schemes + are considered to be dynamic in this document. Static TE implies + that no traffic engineering methodology or algorithm is being + applied. + + In the time-dependent TE, historical information based on periodic + variations in traffic, (such as time of day), is used to pre-program + routing plans and other TE control mechanisms. Additionally, + customer subscription or traffic projection may be used. Pre- + programmed routing plans typically change on a relatively long time + scale (e.g., diurnal). Time-dependent algorithms do not attempt to + adapt to random variations in traffic or changing network conditions. + An example of a time-dependent algorithm is a global centralized + optimizer where the input to the system is a traffic matrix and + multi-class QoS requirements as described [MR99]. + + State-dependent TE adapts the routing plans for packets based on the + current state of the network. The current state of the network + provides additional information on variations in actual traffic + (i.e., perturbations from regular variations) that could not be + predicted using historical information. Constraint-based routing is + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 40] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + an example of state-dependent TE operating in a relatively long time + scale. An example operating in a relatively short time scale is a + load-balancing algorithm described in [MATE]. + + The state of the network can be based on parameters such as + utilization, packet delay, packet loss, etc. These parameters can be + obtained in several ways. For example, each router may flood these + parameters periodically or by means of some kind of trigger to other + routers. Another approach is for a particular router performing + adaptive TE to send probe packets along a path to gather the state of + that path. Still another approach is for a management system to + gather relevant information from network elements. + + Expeditious and accurate gathering and distribution of state + information is critical for adaptive TE due to the dynamic nature of + network conditions. State-dependent algorithms may be applied to + increase network efficiency and resilience. Time-dependent + algorithms are more suitable for predictable traffic variations. On + the other hand, state-dependent algorithms are more suitable for + adapting to the prevailing network state. + + Event-dependent TE methods can also be used for TE path selection. + Event-dependent TE methods are distinct from time-dependent and + state-dependent TE methods in the manner in which paths are selected. + These algorithms are adaptive and distributed in nature and typically + use learning models to find good paths for TE in a network. While + state-dependent TE models typically use available-link-bandwidth + (ALB) flooding for TE path selection, event-dependent TE methods do + not require ALB flooding. Rather, event-dependent TE methods + typically search out capacity by learning models, as in the success- + to-the-top (STT) method. ALB flooding can be resource intensive, + since it requires link bandwidth to carry LSAs, processor capacity to + process LSAs, and the overhead can limit area/autonomous system (AS) + size. Modeling results suggest that event-dependent TE methods could + lead to a reduction in ALB flooding overhead without loss of network + throughput performance [ASH3]. + +5.2 Offline Versus Online + + Traffic engineering requires the computation of routing plans. The + computation may be performed offline or online. The computation can + be done offline for scenarios where routing plans need not be + executed in real-time. For example, routing plans computed from + forecast information may be computed offline. Typically, offline + computation is also used to perform extensive searches on multi- + dimensional solution spaces. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 41] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Online computation is required when the routing plans must adapt to + changing network conditions as in state-dependent algorithms. Unlike + offline computation (which can be computationally demanding), online + computation is geared toward relative simple and fast calculations to + select routes, fine-tune the allocations of resources, and perform + load balancing. + +5.3 Centralized Versus Distributed + + Centralized control has a central authority which determines routing + plans and perhaps other TE control parameters on behalf of each + router. The central authority collects the network-state information + from all routers periodically and returns the routing information to + the routers. The routing update cycle is a critical parameter + directly impacting the performance of the network being controlled. + Centralized control may need high processing power and high bandwidth + control channels. + + Distributed control determines route selection by each router + autonomously based on the routers view of the state of the network. + The network state information may be obtained by the router using a + probing method or distributed by other routers on a periodic basis + using link state advertisements. Network state information may also + be disseminated under exceptional conditions. + +5.4 Local Versus Global + + Traffic engineering algorithms may require local or global network- + state information. + + Local information pertains to the state of a portion of the domain. + Examples include the bandwidth and packet loss rate of a particular + path. Local state information may be sufficient for certain + instances of distributed-controlled TEs. + + Global information pertains to the state of the entire domain + undergoing traffic engineering. Examples include a global traffic + matrix and loading information on each link throughout the domain of + interest. Global state information is typically required with + centralized control. Distributed TE systems may also need global + information in some cases. + +5.5 Prescriptive Versus Descriptive + + TE systems may also be classified as prescriptive or descriptive. + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 42] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Prescriptive traffic engineering evaluates alternatives and + recommends a course of action. Prescriptive traffic engineering can + be further categorized as either corrective or perfective. + Corrective TE prescribes a course of action to address an existing or + predicted anomaly. Perfective TE prescribes a course of action to + evolve and improve network performance even when no anomalies are + evident. + + Descriptive traffic engineering, on the other hand, characterizes the + state of the network and assesses the impact of various policies + without recommending any particular course of action. + +5.6 Open-Loop Versus Closed-Loop + + Open-loop traffic engineering control is where control action does + not use feedback information from the current network state. The + control action may use its own local information for accounting + purposes, however. + + Closed-loop traffic engineering control is where control action + utilizes feedback information from the network state. The feedback + information may be in the form of historical information or current + measurement. + +5.7 Tactical vs Strategic + + Tactical traffic engineering aims to address specific performance + problems (such as hot-spots) that occur in the network from a + tactical perspective, without consideration of overall strategic + imperatives. Without proper planning and insights, tactical TE tends + to be ad hoc in nature. + + Strategic traffic engineering approaches the TE problem from a more + organized and systematic perspective, taking into consideration the + immediate and longer term consequences of specific policies and + actions. + +6.0 Recommendations for Internet Traffic Engineering + + This section describes high level recommendations for traffic + engineering in the Internet. These recommendations are presented in + general terms. + + The recommendations describe the capabilities needed to solve a + traffic engineering problem or to achieve a traffic engineering + objective. Broadly speaking, these recommendations can be + categorized as either functional and non-functional recommendations. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 43] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Functional recommendations for Internet traffic engineering describe + the functions that a traffic engineering system should perform. + These functions are needed to realize traffic engineering objectives + by addressing traffic engineering problems. + + Non-functional recommendations for Internet traffic engineering + relate to the quality attributes or state characteristics of a + traffic engineering system. These recommendations may contain + conflicting assertions and may sometimes be difficult to quantify + precisely. + +6.1 Generic Non-functional Recommendations + + The generic non-functional recommendations for Internet traffic + engineering include: usability, automation, scalability, stability, + visibility, simplicity, efficiency, reliability, correctness, + maintainability, extensibility, interoperability, and security. In a + given context, some of these recommendations may be critical while + others may be optional. Therefore, prioritization may be required + during the development phase of a traffic engineering system (or + components thereof) to tailor it to a specific operational context. + + In the following paragraphs, some of the aspects of the non- + functional recommendations for Internet traffic engineering are + summarized. + + Usability: Usability is a human factor aspect of traffic engineering + systems. Usability refers to the ease with which a traffic + engineering system can be deployed and operated. In general, it is + desirable to have a TE system that can be readily deployed in an + existing network. It is also desirable to have a TE system that is + easy to operate and maintain. + + Automation: Whenever feasible, a traffic engineering system should + automate as many traffic engineering functions as possible to + minimize the amount of human effort needed to control and analyze + operational networks. Automation is particularly imperative in large + scale public networks because of the high cost of the human aspects + of network operations and the high risk of network problems caused by + human errors. Automation may entail the incorporation of automatic + feedback and intelligence into some components of the traffic + engineering system. + + Scalability: Contemporary public networks are growing very fast with + respect to network size and traffic volume. Therefore, a TE system + should be scalable to remain applicable as the network evolves. In + particular, a TE system should remain functional as the network + expands with regard to the number of routers and links, and with + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 44] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + respect to the traffic volume. A TE system should have a scalable + architecture, should not adversely impair other functions and + processes in a network element, and should not consume too much + network resources when collecting and distributing state information + or when exerting control. + + Stability: Stability is a very important consideration in traffic + engineering systems that respond to changes in the state of the + network. State-dependent traffic engineering methodologies typically + mandate a tradeoff between responsiveness and stability. It is + strongly recommended that when tradeoffs are warranted between + responsiveness and stability, that the tradeoff should be made in + favor of stability (especially in public IP backbone networks). + + Flexibility: A TE system should be flexible to allow for changes in + optimization policy. In particular, a TE system should provide + sufficient configuration options so that a network administrator can + tailor the TE system to a particular environment. It may also be + desirable to have both online and offline TE subsystems which can be + independently enabled and disabled. TE systems that are used in + multi-class networks should also have options to support class based + performance evaluation and optimization. + + Visibility: As part of the TE system, mechanisms should exist to + collect statistics from the network and to analyze these statistics + to determine how well the network is functioning. Derived statistics + such as traffic matrices, link utilization, latency, packet loss, and + other performance measures of interest which are determined from + network measurements can be used as indicators of prevailing network + conditions. Other examples of status information which should be + observed include existing functional routing information + (additionally, in the context of MPLS existing LSP routes), etc. + + Simplicity: Generally, a TE system should be as simple as possible. + More importantly, the TE system should be relatively easy to use + (i.e., clean, convenient, and intuitive user interfaces). Simplicity + in user interface does not necessarily imply that the TE system will + use naive algorithms. When complex algorithms and internal + structures are used, such complexities should be hidden as much as + possible from the network administrator through the user interface. + + Interoperability: Whenever feasible, traffic engineering systems and + their components should be developed with open standards based + interfaces to allow interoperation with other systems and components. + + Security: Security is a critical consideration in traffic engineering + systems. Such traffic engineering systems typically exert control + over certain functional aspects of the network to achieve the desired + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 45] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + performance objectives. Therefore, adequate measures must be taken + to safeguard the integrity of the traffic engineering system. + Adequate measures must also be taken to protect the network from + vulnerabilities that originate from security breaches and other + impairments within the traffic engineering system. + + The remainder of this section will focus on some of the high level + functional recommendations for traffic engineering. + +6.2 Routing Recommendations + + Routing control is a significant aspect of Internet traffic + engineering. Routing impacts many of the key performance measures + associated with networks, such as throughput, delay, and utilization. + Generally, it is very difficult to provide good service quality in a + wide area network without effective routing control. A desirable + routing system is one that takes traffic characteristics and network + constraints into account during route selection while maintaining + stability. + + Traditional shortest path first (SPF) interior gateway protocols are + based on shortest path algorithms and have limited control + capabilities for traffic engineering [RFC-2702, AWD2]. These + limitations include : + + 1. The well known issues with pure SPF protocols, which do not take + network constraints and traffic characteristics into account + during route selection. For example, since IGPs always use the + shortest paths (based on administratively assigned link metrics) + to forward traffic, load sharing cannot be accomplished among + paths of different costs. Using shortest paths to forward traffic + conserves network resources, but may cause the following problems: + 1) If traffic from a source to a destination exceeds the capacity + of a link along the shortest path, the link (hence the shortest + path) becomes congested while a longer path between these two + nodes may be under-utilized; 2) the shortest paths from different + sources can overlap at some links. If the total traffic from the + sources exceeds the capacity of any of these links, congestion + will occur. Problems can also occur because traffic demand + changes over time but network topology and routing configuration + cannot be changed as rapidly. This causes the network topology + and routing configuration to become sub-optimal over time, which + may result in persistent congestion problems. + + 2. The Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) capability of SPF IGPs supports + sharing of traffic among equal cost paths between two nodes. + However, ECMP attempts to divide the traffic as equally as + possible among the equal cost shortest paths. Generally, ECMP + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 46] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + does not support configurable load sharing ratios among equal cost + paths. The result is that one of the paths may carry + significantly more traffic than other paths because it may also + carry traffic from other sources. This situation can result in + congestion along the path that carries more traffic. + + 3. Modifying IGP metrics to control traffic routing tends to have + network-wide effect. Consequently, undesirable and unanticipated + traffic shifts can be triggered as a result. Recent work + described in Section 8.0 may be capable of better control [FT00, + FT01]. + + Because of these limitations, new capabilities are needed to enhance + the routing function in IP networks. Some of these capabilities have + been described elsewhere and are summarized below. + + Constraint-based routing is desirable to evolve the routing + architecture of IP networks, especially public IP backbones with + complex topologies [RFC-2702]. Constraint-based routing computes + routes to fulfill requirements subject to constraints. Constraints + may include bandwidth, hop count, delay, and administrative policy + instruments such as resource class attributes [RFC-2702, RFC-2386]. + This makes it possible to select routes that satisfy a given set of + requirements subject to network and administrative policy + constraints. Routes computed through constraint-based routing are + not necessarily the shortest paths. Constraint-based routing works + best with path oriented technologies that support explicit routing, + such as MPLS. + + Constraint-based routing can also be used as a way to redistribute + traffic onto the infrastructure (even for best effort traffic). For + example, if the bandwidth requirements for path selection and + reservable bandwidth attributes of network links are appropriately + defined and configured, then congestion problems caused by uneven + traffic distribution may be avoided or reduced. In this way, the + performance and efficiency of the network can be improved. + + A number of enhancements are needed to conventional link state IGPs, + such as OSPF and IS-IS, to allow them to distribute additional state + information required for constraint-based routing. These extensions + to OSPF were described in [KATZ] and to IS-IS in [SMIT]. + Essentially, these enhancements require the propagation of additional + information in link state advertisements. Specifically, in addition + to normal link-state information, an enhanced IGP is required to + propagate topology state information needed for constraint-based + routing. Some of the additional topology state information include + link attributes such as reservable bandwidth and link resource class + attribute (an administratively specified property of the link). The + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 47] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + resource class attribute concept was defined in [RFC-2702]. The + additional topology state information is carried in new TLVs and + sub-TLVs in IS-IS, or in the Opaque LSA in OSPF [SMIT, KATZ]. + + An enhanced link-state IGP may flood information more frequently than + a normal IGP. This is because even without changes in topology, + changes in reservable bandwidth or link affinity can trigger the + enhanced IGP to initiate flooding. A tradeoff is typically required + between the timeliness of the information flooded and the flooding + frequency to avoid excessive consumption of link bandwidth and + computational resources, and more importantly, to avoid instability. + + In a TE system, it is also desirable for the routing subsystem to + make the load splitting ratio among multiple paths (with equal cost + or different cost) configurable. This capability gives network + administrators more flexibility in the control of traffic + distribution across the network. It can be very useful for + avoiding/relieving congestion in certain situations. Examples can be + found in [XIAO]. + + The routing system should also have the capability to control the + routes of subsets of traffic without affecting the routes of other + traffic if sufficient resources exist for this purpose. This + capability allows a more refined control over the distribution of + traffic across the network. For example, the ability to move traffic + from a source to a destination away from its original path to another + path (without affecting other traffic paths) allows traffic to be + moved from resource-poor network segments to resource-rich segments. + Path oriented technologies such as MPLS inherently support this + capability as discussed in [AWD2]. + + Additionally, the routing subsystem should be able to select + different paths for different classes of traffic (or for different + traffic behavior aggregates) if the network supports multiple classes + of service (different behavior aggregates). + +6.3 Traffic Mapping Recommendations + + Traffic mapping pertains to the assignment of traffic workload onto + pre-established paths to meet certain requirements. Thus, while + constraint-based routing deals with path selection, traffic mapping + deals with the assignment of traffic to established paths which may + have been selected by constraint-based routing or by some other + means. Traffic mapping can be performed by time-dependent or state- + dependent mechanisms, as described in Section 5.1. + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 48] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + An important aspect of the traffic mapping function is the ability to + establish multiple paths between an originating node and a + destination node, and the capability to distribute the traffic + between the two nodes across the paths according to some policies. A + pre-condition for this scheme is the existence of flexible mechanisms + to partition traffic and then assign the traffic partitions onto the + parallel paths. This requirement was noted in [RFC-2702]. When + traffic is assigned to multiple parallel paths, it is recommended + that special care should be taken to ensure proper ordering of + packets belonging to the same application (or micro-flow) at the + destination node of the parallel paths. + + As a general rule, mechanisms that perform the traffic mapping + functions should aim to map the traffic onto the network + infrastructure to minimize congestion. If the total traffic load + cannot be accommodated, or if the routing and mapping functions + cannot react fast enough to changing traffic conditions, then a + traffic mapping system may rely on short time scale congestion + control mechanisms (such as queue management, scheduling, etc.) to + mitigate congestion. Thus, mechanisms that perform the traffic + mapping functions should complement existing congestion control + mechanisms. In an operational network, it is generally desirable to + map the traffic onto the infrastructure such that intra-class and + inter-class resource contention are minimized. + + When traffic mapping techniques that depend on dynamic state feedback + (e.g., MATE and such like) are used, special care must be taken to + guarantee network stability. + +6.4 Measurement Recommendations + + The importance of measurement in traffic engineering has been + discussed throughout this document. Mechanisms should be provided to + measure and collect statistics from the network to support the + traffic engineering function. Additional capabilities may be needed + to help in the analysis of the statistics. The actions of these + mechanisms should not adversely affect the accuracy and integrity of + the statistics collected. The mechanisms for statistical data + acquisition should also be able to scale as the network evolves. + + Traffic statistics may be classified according to long-term or + short-term time scales. Long-term time scale traffic statistics are + very useful for traffic engineering. Long-term time scale traffic + statistics may capture or reflect periodicity in network workload + (such as hourly, daily, and weekly variations in traffic profiles) as + well as traffic trends. Aspects of the monitored traffic statistics + may also depict class of service characteristics for a network + supporting multiple classes of service. Analysis of the long-term + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 49] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + traffic statistics MAY yield secondary statistics such as busy hour + characteristics, traffic growth patterns, persistent congestion + problems, hot-spot, and imbalances in link utilization caused by + routing anomalies. + + A mechanism for constructing traffic matrices for both long-term and + short-term traffic statistics should be in place. In multi-service + IP networks, the traffic matrices may be constructed for different + service classes. Each element of a traffic matrix represents a + statistic of traffic flow between a pair of abstract nodes. An + abstract node may represent a router, a collection of routers, or a + site in a VPN. + + Measured traffic statistics should provide reasonable and reliable + indicators of the current state of the network on the short-term + scale. Some short term traffic statistics may reflect link + utilization and link congestion status. Examples of congestion + indicators include excessive packet delay, packet loss, and high + resource utilization. Examples of mechanisms for distributing this + kind of information include SNMP, probing techniques, FTP, IGP link + state advertisements, etc. + +6.5 Network Survivability + + Network survivability refers to the capability of a network to + maintain service continuity in the presence of faults. This can be + accomplished by promptly recovering from network impairments and + maintaining the required QoS for existing services after recovery. + Survivability has become an issue of great concern within the + Internet community due to the increasing demands to carry mission + critical traffic, real-time traffic, and other high priority traffic + over the Internet. Survivability can be addressed at the device + level by developing network elements that are more reliable; and at + the network level by incorporating redundancy into the architecture, + design, and operation of networks. It is recommended that a + philosophy of robustness and survivability should be adopted in the + architecture, design, and operation of traffic engineering that + control IP networks (especially public IP networks). Because + different contexts may demand different levels of survivability, the + mechanisms developed to support network survivability should be + flexible so that they can be tailored to different needs. + + Failure protection and restoration capabilities have become available + from multiple layers as network technologies have continued to + improve. At the bottom of the layered stack, optical networks are + now capable of providing dynamic ring and mesh restoration + functionality at the wavelength level as well as traditional + protection functionality. At the SONET/SDH layer survivability + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 50] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + capability is provided with Automatic Protection Switching (APS) as + well as self-healing ring and mesh architectures. Similar + functionality is provided by layer 2 technologies such as ATM + (generally with slower mean restoration times). Rerouting is + traditionally used at the IP layer to restore service following link + and node outages. Rerouting at the IP layer occurs after a period of + routing convergence which may require seconds to minutes to complete. + Some new developments in the MPLS context make it possible to achieve + recovery at the IP layer prior to convergence [SHAR]. + + To support advanced survivability requirements, path-oriented + technologies such a MPLS can be used to enhance the survivability of + IP networks in a potentially cost effective manner. The advantages + of path oriented technologies such as MPLS for IP restoration becomes + even more evident when class based protection and restoration + capabilities are required. + + Recently, a common suite of control plane protocols has been proposed + for both MPLS and optical transport networks under the acronym + Multi-protocol Lambda Switching [AWD1]. This new paradigm of Multi- + protocol Lambda Switching will support even more sophisticated mesh + restoration capabilities at the optical layer for the emerging IP + over WDM network architectures. + + Another important aspect regarding multi-layer survivability is that + technologies at different layers provide protection and restoration + capabilities at different temporal granularities (in terms of time + scales) and at different bandwidth granularity (from packet-level to + wavelength level). Protection and restoration capabilities can also + be sensitive to different service classes and different network + utility models. + + The impact of service outages varies significantly for different + service classes depending upon the effective duration of the outage. + The duration of an outage can vary from milliseconds (with minor + service impact) to seconds (with possible call drops for IP telephony + and session time-outs for connection oriented transactions) to + minutes and hours (with potentially considerable social and business + impact). + + Coordinating different protection and restoration capabilities across + multiple layers in a cohesive manner to ensure network survivability + is maintained at reasonable cost is a challenging task. Protection + and restoration coordination across layers may not always be + feasible, because networks at different layers may belong to + different administrative domains. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 51] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + The following paragraphs present some of the general recommendations + for protection and restoration coordination. + + - Protection and restoration capabilities from different layers + should be coordinated whenever feasible and appropriate to provide + network survivability in a flexible and cost effective manner. + Minimization of function duplication across layers is one way to + achieve the coordination. Escalation of alarms and other fault + indicators from lower to higher layers may also be performed in a + coordinated manner. A temporal order of restoration trigger timing + at different layers is another way to coordinate multi-layer + protection/restoration. + + - Spare capacity at higher layers is often regarded as working + traffic at lower layers. Placing protection/restoration functions in + many layers may increase redundancy and robustness, but it should not + result in significant and avoidable inefficiencies in network + resource utilization. + + - It is generally desirable to have protection and restoration + schemes that are bandwidth efficient. + + - Failure notification throughout the network should be timely and + reliable. + + - Alarms and other fault monitoring and reporting capabilities + should be provided at appropriate layers. + +6.5.1 Survivability in MPLS Based Networks + + MPLS is an important emerging technology that enhances IP networks in + terms of features, capabilities, and services. Because MPLS is + path-oriented, it can potentially provide faster and more predictable + protection and restoration capabilities than conventional hop by hop + routed IP systems. This subsection describes some of the basic + aspects and recommendations for MPLS networks regarding protection + and restoration. See [SHAR] for a more comprehensive discussion on + MPLS based recovery. + + Protection types for MPLS networks can be categorized as link + protection, node protection, path protection, and segment protection. + + - Link Protection: The objective for link protection is to protect + an LSP from a given link failure. Under link protection, the path + of the protection or backup LSP (the secondary LSP) is disjoint + from the path of the working or operational LSP at the particular + link over which protection is required. When the protected link + fails, traffic on the working LSP is switched over to the + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 52] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + protection LSP at the head-end of the failed link. This is a + local repair method which can be fast. It might be more + appropriate in situations where some network elements along a + given path are less reliable than others. + + - Node Protection: The objective of LSP node protection is to + protect an LSP from a given node failure. Under node protection, + the path of the protection LSP is disjoint from the path of the + working LSP at the particular node to be protected. The secondary + path is also disjoint from the primary path at all links + associated with the node to be protected. When the node fails, + traffic on the working LSP is switched over to the protection LSP + at the upstream LSR directly connected to the failed node. + + - Path Protection: The goal of LSP path protection is to protect an + LSP from failure at any point along its routed path. Under path + protection, the path of the protection LSP is completely disjoint + from the path of the working LSP. The advantage of path + protection is that the backup LSP protects the working LSP from + all possible link and node failures along the path, except for + failures that might occur at the ingress and egress LSRs, or for + correlated failures that might impact both working and backup + paths simultaneously. Additionally, since the path selection is + end-to-end, path protection might be more efficient in terms of + resource usage than link or node protection. However, path + protection may be slower than link and node protection in general. + + - Segment Protection: An MPLS domain may be partitioned into + multiple protection domains whereby a failure in a protection + domain is rectified within that domain. In cases where an LSP + traverses multiple protection domains, a protection mechanism + within a domain only needs to protect the segment of the LSP that + lies within the domain. Segment protection will generally be + faster than path protection because recovery generally occurs + closer to the fault. + +6.5.2 Protection Option + + Another issue to consider is the concept of protection options. The + protection option uses the notation m:n protection, where m is the + number of protection LSPs used to protect n working LSPs. Feasible + protection options follow. + + - 1:1: one working LSP is protected/restored by one protection LSP. + + - 1:n: one protection LSP is used to protect/restore n working LSPs. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 53] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + - n:1: one working LSP is protected/restored by n protection LSPs, + possibly with configurable load splitting ratio. When more than + one protection LSP is used, it may be desirable to share the + traffic across the protection LSPs when the working LSP fails to + satisfy the bandwidth requirement of the traffic trunk associated + with the working LSP. This may be especially useful when it is + not feasible to find one path that can satisfy the bandwidth + requirement of the primary LSP. + + - 1+1: traffic is sent concurrently on both the working LSP and the + protection LSP. In this case, the egress LSR selects one of the + two LSPs based on a local traffic integrity decision process, + which compares the traffic received from both the working and the + protection LSP and identifies discrepancies. It is unlikely that + this option would be used extensively in IP networks due to its + resource utilization inefficiency. However, if bandwidth becomes + plentiful and cheap, then this option might become quite viable + and attractive in IP networks. + +6.6 Traffic Engineering in Diffserv Environments + + This section provides an overview of the traffic engineering features + and recommendations that are specifically pertinent to Differentiated + Services (Diffserv) [RFC-2475] capable IP networks. + + Increasing requirements to support multiple classes of traffic, such + as best effort and mission critical data, in the Internet calls for + IP networks to differentiate traffic according to some criteria, and + to accord preferential treatment to certain types of traffic. Large + numbers of flows can be aggregated into a few behavior aggregates + based on some criteria in terms of common performance requirements in + terms of packet loss ratio, delay, and jitter; or in terms of common + fields within the IP packet headers. + + As Diffserv evolves and becomes deployed in operational networks, + traffic engineering will be critical to ensuring that SLAs defined + within a given Diffserv service model are met. Classes of service + (CoS) can be supported in a Diffserv environment by concatenating + per-hop behaviors (PHBs) along the routing path, using service + provisioning mechanisms, and by appropriately configuring edge + functionality such as traffic classification, marking, policing, and + shaping. PHB is the forwarding behavior that a packet receives at a + DS node (a Diffserv-compliant node). This is accomplished by means + of buffer management and packet scheduling mechanisms. In this + context, packets belonging to a class are those that are members of a + corresponding ordering aggregate. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 54] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Traffic engineering can be used as a compliment to Diffserv + mechanisms to improve utilization of network resources, but not as a + necessary element in general. When traffic engineering is used, it + can be operated on an aggregated basis across all service classes + [RFC-3270] or on a per service class basis. The former is used to + provide better distribution of the aggregate traffic load over the + network resources. (See [RFC-3270] for detailed mechanisms to + support aggregate traffic engineering.) The latter case is discussed + below since it is specific to the Diffserv environment, with so + called Diffserv-aware traffic engineering [DIFF_TE]. + + For some Diffserv networks, it may be desirable to control the + performance of some service classes by enforcing certain + relationships between the traffic workload contributed by each + service class and the amount of network resources allocated or + provisioned for that service class. Such relationships between + demand and resource allocation can be enforced using a combination + of, for example: (1) traffic engineering mechanisms on a per service + class basis that enforce the desired relationship between the amount + of traffic contributed by a given service class and the resources + allocated to that class, and (2) mechanisms that dynamically adjust + the resources allocated to a given service class to relate to the + amount of traffic contributed by that service class. + + It may also be desirable to limit the performance impact of high + priority traffic on relatively low priority traffic. This can be + achieved by, for example, controlling the percentage of high priority + traffic that is routed through a given link. Another way to + accomplish this is to increase link capacities appropriately so that + lower priority traffic can still enjoy adequate service quality. + When the ratio of traffic workload contributed by different service + classes vary significantly from router to router, it may not suffice + to rely exclusively on conventional IGP routing protocols or on + traffic engineering mechanisms that are insensitive to different + service classes. Instead, it may be desirable to perform traffic + engineering, especially routing control and mapping functions, on a + per service class basis. One way to accomplish this in a domain that + supports both MPLS and Diffserv is to define class specific LSPs and + to map traffic from each class onto one or more LSPs that correspond + to that service class. An LSP corresponding to a given service class + can then be routed and protected/restored in a class dependent + manner, according to specific policies. + + Performing traffic engineering on a per class basis may require + certain per-class parameters to be distributed. Note that it is + common to have some classes share some aggregate constraint (e.g., + maximum bandwidth requirement) without enforcing the constraint on + each individual class. These classes then can be grouped into a + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 55] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + class-type and per-class-type parameters can be distributed instead + to improve scalability. It also allows better bandwidth sharing + between classes in the same class-type. A class-type is a set of + classes that satisfy the following two conditions: + + 1) Classes in the same class-type have common aggregate requirements + to satisfy required performance levels. + + 2) There is no requirement to be enforced at the level of individual + class in the class-type. Note that it is still possible, + nevertheless, to implement some priority policies for classes in the + same class-type to permit preferential access to the class-type + bandwidth through the use of preemption priorities. + + An example of the class-type can be a low-loss class-type that + includes both AF1-based and AF2-based Ordering Aggregates. With such + a class-type, one may implement some priority policy which assigns + higher preemption priority to AF1-based traffic trunks over AF2-based + ones, vice versa, or the same priority. + + See [DIFF-TE] for detailed requirements on Diffserv-aware traffic + engineering. + +6.7 Network Controllability + + Off-line (and on-line) traffic engineering considerations would be of + limited utility if the network could not be controlled effectively to + implement the results of TE decisions and to achieve desired network + performance objectives. Capacity augmentation is a coarse grained + solution to traffic engineering issues. However, it is simple and + may be advantageous if bandwidth is abundant and cheap or if the + current or expected network workload demands it. However, bandwidth + is not always abundant and cheap, and the workload may not always + demand additional capacity. Adjustments of administrative weights + and other parameters associated with routing protocols provide finer + grained control, but is difficult to use and imprecise because of the + routing interactions that occur across the network. In certain + network contexts, more flexible, finer grained approaches which + provide more precise control over the mapping of traffic to routes + and over the selection and placement of routes may be appropriate and + useful. + + Control mechanisms can be manual (e.g., administrative + configuration), partially-automated (e.g., scripts) or fully- + automated (e.g., policy based management systems). Automated + mechanisms are particularly required in large scale networks. + Multi-vendor interoperability can be facilitated by developing and + deploying standardized management + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 56] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + systems (e.g., standard MIBs) and policies (PIBs) to support the + control functions required to address traffic engineering objectives + such as load distribution and protection/restoration. + + Network control functions should be secure, reliable, and stable as + these are often needed to operate correctly in times of network + impairments (e.g., during network congestion or security attacks). + +7.0 Inter-Domain Considerations + + Inter-domain traffic engineering is concerned with the performance + optimization for traffic that originates in one administrative domain + and terminates in a different one. + + Traffic exchange between autonomous systems in the Internet occurs + through exterior gateway protocols. Currently, BGP [BGP4] is the + standard exterior gateway protocol for the Internet. BGP provides a + number of attributes and capabilities (e.g., route filtering) that + can be used for inter-domain traffic engineering. More specifically, + BGP permits the control of routing information and traffic exchange + between Autonomous Systems (AS's) in the Internet. BGP incorporates + a sequential decision process which calculates the degree of + preference for various routes to a given destination network. There + are two fundamental aspects to inter-domain traffic engineering using + BGP: + + - Route Redistribution: controlling the import and export of routes + between AS's, and controlling the redistribution of routes between + BGP and other protocols within an AS. + + - Best path selection: selecting the best path when there are + multiple candidate paths to a given destination network. Best + path selection is performed by the BGP decision process based on a + sequential procedure, taking a number of different considerations + into account. Ultimately, best path selection under BGP boils + down to selecting preferred exit points out of an AS towards + specific destination networks. The BGP path selection process can + be influenced by manipulating the attributes associated with the + BGP decision process. These attributes include: NEXT-HOP, WEIGHT + (Cisco proprietary which is also implemented by some other + vendors), LOCAL-PREFERENCE, AS-PATH, ROUTE-ORIGIN, MULTI-EXIT- + DESCRIMINATOR (MED), IGP METRIC, etc. + + Route-maps provide the flexibility to implement complex BGP policies + based on pre-configured logical conditions. In particular, Route- + maps can be used to control import and export policies for incoming + and outgoing routes, control the redistribution of routes between BGP + and other protocols, and influence the selection of best paths by + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 57] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + manipulating the attributes associated with the BGP decision process. + Very complex logical expressions that implement various types of + policies can be implemented using a combination of Route-maps, BGP- + attributes, Access-lists, and Community attributes. + + When looking at possible strategies for inter-domain TE with BGP, it + must be noted that the outbound traffic exit point is controllable, + whereas the interconnection point where inbound traffic is received + from an EBGP peer typically is not, unless a special arrangement is + made with the peer sending the traffic. Therefore, it is up to each + individual network to implement sound TE strategies that deal with + the efficient delivery of outbound traffic from one's customers to + one's peering points. The vast majority of TE policy is based upon a + "closest exit" strategy, which offloads interdomain traffic at the + nearest outbound peer point towards the destination autonomous + system. Most methods of manipulating the point at which inbound + traffic enters a network from an EBGP peer (inconsistent route + announcements between peering points, AS pre-pending, and sending + MEDs) are either ineffective, or not accepted in the peering + community. + + Inter-domain TE with BGP is generally effective, but it is usually + applied in a trial-and-error fashion. A systematic approach for + inter-domain traffic engineering is yet to be devised. + + Inter-domain TE is inherently more difficult than intra-domain TE + under the current Internet architecture. The reasons for this are + both technical and administrative. Technically, while topology and + link state information are helpful for mapping traffic more + effectively, BGP does not propagate such information across domain + boundaries for stability and scalability reasons. Administratively, + there are differences in operating costs and network capacities + between domains. Generally, what may be considered a good solution + in one domain may not necessarily be a good solution in another + domain. Moreover, it would generally be considered inadvisable for + one domain to permit another domain to influence the routing and + management of traffic in its network. + + MPLS TE-tunnels (explicit LSPs) can potentially add a degree of + flexibility in the selection of exit points for inter-domain routing. + The concept of relative and absolute metrics can be applied to this + purpose. The idea is that if BGP attributes are defined such that + the BGP decision process depends on IGP metrics to select exit points + for inter-domain traffic, then some inter-domain traffic destined to + a given peer network can be made to prefer a specific exit point by + establishing a TE-tunnel between the router making the selection to + the peering point via a TE-tunnel and assigning the TE-tunnel a + metric which is smaller than the IGP cost to all other peering + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 58] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + points. If a peer accepts and processes MEDs, then a similar MPLS + TE-tunnel based scheme can be applied to cause certain entrance + points to be preferred by setting MED to be an IGP cost, which has + been modified by the tunnel metric. + + Similar to intra-domain TE, inter-domain TE is best accomplished when + a traffic matrix can be derived to depict the volume of traffic from + one autonomous system to another. + + Generally, redistribution of inter-domain traffic requires + coordination between peering partners. An export policy in one + domain that results in load redistribution across peer points with + another domain can significantly affect the local traffic matrix + inside the domain of the peering partner. This, in turn, will affect + the intra-domain TE due to changes in the spatial distribution of + traffic. Therefore, it is mutually beneficial for peering partners + to coordinate with each other before attempting any policy changes + that may result in significant shifts in inter-domain traffic. In + certain contexts, this coordination can be quite challenging due to + technical and non- technical reasons. + + It is a matter of speculation as to whether MPLS, or similar + technologies, can be extended to allow selection of constrained paths + across domain boundaries. + +8.0 Overview of Contemporary TE Practices in Operational IP Networks + + This section provides an overview of some contemporary traffic + engineering practices in IP networks. The focus is primarily on the + aspects that pertain to the control of the routing function in + operational contexts. The intent here is to provide an overview of + the commonly used practices. The discussion is not intended to be + exhaustive. + + Currently, service providers apply many of the traffic engineering + mechanisms discussed in this document to optimize the performance of + their IP networks. These techniques include capacity planning for + long time scales, routing control using IGP metrics and MPLS for + medium time scales, the overlay model also for medium time scales, + and traffic management mechanisms for short time scale. + + When a service provider plans to build an IP network, or expand the + capacity of an existing network, effective capacity planning should + be an important component of the process. Such plans may take the + following aspects into account: location of new nodes if any, + existing and predicted traffic patterns, costs, link capacity, + topology, routing design, and survivability. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 59] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + Performance optimization of operational networks is usually an + ongoing process in which traffic statistics, performance parameters, + and fault indicators are continually collected from the network. + This empirical data is then analyzed and used to trigger various + traffic engineering mechanisms. Tools that perform what-if analysis + can also be used to assist the TE process by allowing various + scenarios to be reviewed before a new set of configurations are + implemented in the operational network. + + Traditionally, intra-domain real-time TE with IGP is done by + increasing the OSPF or IS-IS metric of a congested link until enough + traffic has been diverted from that link. This approach has some + limitations as discussed in Section 6.2. Recently, some new intra- + domain TE approaches/tools have been proposed + [RR94][FT00][FT01][WANG]. Such approaches/tools take traffic matrix, + network topology, and network performance objective(s) as input, and + produce some link metrics and possibly some unequal load-sharing + ratios to be set at the head-end routers of some ECMPs as output. + These new progresses open new possibility for intra-domain TE with + IGP to be done in a more systematic way. + + The overlay model (IP over ATM or IP over Frame relay) is another + approach which is commonly used in practice [AWD2]. The IP over ATM + technique is no longer viewed favorably due to recent advances in + MPLS and router hardware technology. + + Deployment of MPLS for traffic engineering applications has commenced + in some service provider networks. One operational scenario is to + deploy MPLS in conjunction with an IGP (IS-IS-TE or OSPF-TE) that + supports the traffic engineering extensions, in conjunction with + constraint-based routing for explicit route computations, and a + signaling protocol (e.g., RSVP-TE or CRLDP) for LSP instantiation. + + In contemporary MPLS traffic engineering contexts, network + administrators specify and configure link attributes and resource + constraints such as maximum reservable bandwidth and resource class + attributes for links (interfaces) within the MPLS domain. A link + state protocol that supports TE extensions (IS-IS-TE or OSPF-TE) is + used to propagate information about network topology and link + attribute to all routers in the routing area. Network administrators + also specify all the LSPs that are to originate each router. For + each LSP, the network administrator specifies the destination node + and the attributes of the LSP which indicate the requirements that to + be satisfied during the path selection process. Each router then + uses a local constraint-based routing process to compute explicit + paths for all LSPs originating from it. Subsequently, a signaling + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 60] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + protocol is used to instantiate the LSPs. By assigning proper + bandwidth values to links and LSPs, congestion caused by uneven + traffic distribution can generally be avoided or mitigated. + + The bandwidth attributes of LSPs used for traffic engineering can be + updated periodically. The basic concept is that the bandwidth + assigned to an LSP should relate in some manner to the bandwidth + requirements of traffic that actually flows through the LSP. The + traffic attribute of an LSP can be modified to accommodate traffic + growth and persistent traffic shifts. If network congestion occurs + due to some unexpected events, existing LSPs can be rerouted to + alleviate the situation or network administrator can configure new + LSPs to divert some traffic to alternative paths. The reservable + bandwidth of the congested links can also be reduced to force some + LSPs to be rerouted to other paths. + + In an MPLS domain, a traffic matrix can also be estimated by + monitoring the traffic on LSPs. Such traffic statistics can be used + for a variety of purposes including network planning and network + optimization. Current practice suggests that deploying an MPLS + network consisting of hundreds of routers and thousands of LSPs is + feasible. In summary, recent deployment experience suggests that + MPLS approach is very effective for traffic engineering in IP + networks [XIAO]. + + As mentioned previously in Section 7.0, one usually has no direct + control over the distribution of inbound traffic. Therefore, the + main goal of contemporary inter-domain TE is to optimize the + distribution of outbound traffic between multiple inter-domain links. + When operating a global network, maintaining the ability to operate + the network in a regional fashion where desired, while continuing to + take advantage of the benefits of a global network, also becomes an + important objective. + + Inter-domain TE with BGP usually begins with the placement of + multiple peering interconnection points in locations that have high + peer density, are in close proximity to originating/terminating + traffic locations on one's own network, and are lowest in cost. + There are generally several locations in each region of the world + where the vast majority of major networks congregate and + interconnect. Some location-decision problems that arise in + association with inter-domain routing are discussed in [AWD5]. + + Once the locations of the interconnects are determined, and circuits + are implemented, one decides how best to handle the routes heard from + the peer, as well as how to propagate the peers' routes within one's + own network. One way to engineer outbound traffic flows on a network + with many EBGP peers is to create a hierarchy of peers. Generally, + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 61] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + the Local Preferences of all peers are set to the same value so that + the shortest AS paths will be chosen to forward traffic. Then, by + over-writing the inbound MED metric (Multi-exit-discriminator metric, + also referred to as "BGP metric". Both terms are used + interchangeably in this document) with BGP metrics to routes received + at different peers, the hierarchy can be formed. For example, all + Local Preferences can be set to 200, preferred private peers can be + assigned a BGP metric of 50, the rest of the private peers can be + assigned a BGP metric of 100, and public peers can be assigned a BGP + metric of 600. "Preferred" peers might be defined as those peers + with whom the most available capacity exists, whose customer base is + larger in comparison to other peers, whose interconnection costs are + the lowest, and with whom upgrading existing capacity is the easiest. + In a network with low utilization at the edge, this works well. The + same concept could be applied to a network with higher edge + utilization by creating more levels of BGP metrics between peers, + allowing for more granularity in selecting the exit points for + traffic bound for a dual homed customer on a peer's network. + + By only replacing inbound MED metrics with BGP metrics, only equal + AS-Path length routes' exit points are being changed. (The BGP + decision considers Local Preference first, then AS-Path length, and + then BGP metric). For example, assume a network has two possible + egress points, peer A and peer B. Each peer has 40% of the + Internet's routes exclusively on its network, while the remaining 20% + of the Internet's routes are from customers who dual home between A + and B. Assume that both peers have a Local Preference of 200 and a + BGP metric of 100. If the link to peer A is congested, increasing + its BGP metric while leaving the Local Preference at 200 will ensure + that the 20% of total routes belonging to dual homed customers will + prefer peer B as the exit point. The previous example would be used + in a situation where all exit points to a given peer were close to + congestion levels, and traffic needed to be shifted away from that + peer entirely. + + When there are multiple exit points to a given peer, and only one of + them is congested, it is not necessary to shift traffic away from the + peer entirely, but only from the one congested circuit. This can be + achieved by using passive IGP-metrics, AS-path filtering, or prefix + filtering. + + Occasionally, more drastic changes are needed, for example, in + dealing with a "problem peer" who is difficult to work with on + upgrades or is charging high prices for connectivity to their + network. In that case, the Local Preference to that peer can be + reduced below the level of other peers. This effectively reduces the + amount of traffic sent to that peer to only originating traffic + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 62] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + (assuming no transit providers are involved). This type of change + can affect a large amount of traffic, and is only used after other + methods have failed to provide the desired results. + + Although it is not much of an issue in regional networks, the + propagation of a peer's routes back through the network must be + considered when a network is peering on a global scale. Sometimes, + business considerations can influence the choice of BGP policies in a + given context. For example, it may be imprudent, from a business + perspective, to operate a global network and provide full access to + the global customer base to a small network in a particular country. + However, for the purpose of providing one's own customers with + quality service in a particular region, good connectivity to that + in-country network may still be necessary. This can be achieved by + assigning a set of communities at the edge of the network, which have + a known behavior when routes tagged with those communities are + propagating back through the core. Routes heard from local peers + will be prevented from propagating back to the global network, + whereas routes learned from larger peers may be allowed to propagate + freely throughout the entire global network. By implementing a + flexible community strategy, the benefits of using a single global AS + Number (ASN) can be realized, while the benefits of operating + regional networks can also be taken advantage of. An alternative to + doing this is to use different ASNs in different regions, with the + consequence that the AS path length for routes announced by that + service provider will increase. + +9.0 Conclusion + + This document described principles for traffic engineering in the + Internet. It presented an overview of some of the basic issues + surrounding traffic engineering in IP networks. The context of TE + was described, a TE process models and a taxonomy of TE styles were + presented. A brief historical review of pertinent developments + related to traffic engineering was provided. A survey of + contemporary TE techniques in operational networks was presented. + Additionally, the document specified a set of generic requirements, + recommendations, and options for Internet traffic engineering. + +10.0 Security Considerations + + This document does not introduce new security issues. + +11.0 Acknowledgments + + The authors would like to thank Jim Boyle for inputs on the + recommendations section, Francois Le Faucheur for inputs on Diffserv + aspects, Blaine Christian for inputs on measurement, Gerald Ash for + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 63] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + inputs on routing in telephone networks and for text on event- + dependent TE methods, Steven Wright for inputs on network + controllability, and Jonathan Aufderheide for inputs on inter-domain + TE with BGP. Special thanks to Randy Bush for proposing the TE + taxonomy based on "tactical vs strategic" methods. The subsection + describing an "Overview of ITU Activities Related to Traffic + Engineering" was adapted from a contribution by Waisum Lai. Useful + feedback and pointers to relevant materials were provided by J. Noel + Chiappa. Additional comments were provided by Glenn Grotefeld during + the working last call process. Finally, the authors would like to + thank Ed Kern, the TEWG co-chair, for his comments and support. + +12.0 References + + [ASH2] J. Ash, Dynamic Routing in Telecommunications Networks, + McGraw Hill, 1998. + + [ASH3] Ash, J., "TE & QoS Methods for IP-, ATM-, & TDM-Based + Networks", Work in Progress, March 2001. + + [AWD1] D. Awduche and Y. Rekhter, "Multiprocotol Lambda + Switching: Combining MPLS Traffic Engineering Control + with Optical Crossconnects", IEEE Communications + Magazine, March 2001. + + [AWD2] D. Awduche, "MPLS and Traffic Engineering in IP + Networks", IEEE Communications Magazine, Dec. 1999. + + [AWD5] D. Awduche et al, "An Approach to Optimal Peering Between + Autonomous Systems in the Internet", International + Conference on Computer Communications and Networks + (ICCCN'98), Oct. 1998. + + [CRUZ] R. L. Cruz, "A Calculus for Network Delay, Part II: + Network Analysis", IEEE Transactions on Information + Theory, vol. 37, pp. 132-141, 1991. + + [DIFF-TE] Le Faucheur, F., Nadeau, T., Tatham, M., Telkamp, T., + Cooper, D., Boyle, J., Lai, W., Fang, L., Ash, J., Hicks, + P., Chui, A., Townsend, W. and D. Skalecki, "Requirements + for support of Diff-Serv-aware MPLS Traffic Engineering", + Work in Progress, May 2001. + + [ELW95] A. Elwalid, D. Mitra and R.H. Wentworth, "A New Approach + for Allocating Buffers and Bandwidth to Heterogeneous, + Regulated Traffic in an ATM Node", IEEE IEEE Journal on + Selected Areas in Communications, 13:6, pp. 1115-1127, + Aug. 1995. + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 64] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + [FGLR] A. Feldmann, A. Greenberg, C. Lund, N. Reingold, and J. + Rexford, "NetScope: Traffic Engineering for IP Networks", + IEEE Network Magazine, 2000. + + [FLJA93] S. Floyd and V. Jacobson, "Random Early Detection + Gateways for Congestion Avoidance", IEEE/ACM Transactions + on Networking, Vol. 1 Nov. 4., p. 387-413, Aug. 1993. + + [FLOY94] S. Floyd, "TCP and Explicit Congestion Notification", ACM + Computer Communication Review, V. 24, No. 5, p. 10-23, + Oct. 1994. + + [FT00] B. Fortz and M. Thorup, "Internet Traffic Engineering by + Optimizing OSPF Weights", IEEE INFOCOM 2000, Mar. 2000. + + [FT01] B. Fortz and M. Thorup, "Optimizing OSPF/IS-IS Weights in + a Changing World", + www.research.att.com/~mthorup/PAPERS/papers.html. + + [HUSS87] B.R. Hurley, C.J.R. Seidl and W.F. Sewel, "A Survey of + Dynamic Routing Methods for Circuit-Switched Traffic", + IEEE Communication Magazine, Sep. 1987. + + [ITU-E600] ITU-T Recommendation E.600, "Terms and Definitions of + Traffic Engineering", Mar. 1993. + + [ITU-E701] ITU-T Recommendation E.701, "Reference Connections for + Traffic Engineering", Oct. 1993. + + [ITU-E801] ITU-T Recommendation E.801, "Framework for Service + Quality Agreement", Oct. 1996. + + [JAM] Jamoussi, B., Editior, Andersson, L., Collon, R. and R. + Dantu, "Constraint-Based LSP Setup using LDP", RFC 3212, + January 2002. + + [KATZ] Katz, D., Yeung, D. and K. Kompella, "Traffic Engineering + Extensions to OSPF", Work in Progress, February 2001. + + [LNO96] T. Lakshman, A. Neidhardt, and T. Ott, "The Drop from + Front Strategy in TCP over ATM and its Interworking with + other Control Features", Proc. INFOCOM'96, p. 1242-1250, + 1996. + + [MA] Q. Ma, "Quality of Service Routing in Integrated Services + Networks", PhD Dissertation, CMU-CS-98-138, CMU, 1998. + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 65] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + [MATE] A. Elwalid, C. Jin, S. Low, and I. Widjaja, "MATE: MPLS + Adaptive Traffic Engineering", Proc. INFOCOM'01, Apr. + 2001. + + [MCQ80] J.M. McQuillan, I. Richer, and E.C. Rosen, "The New + Routing Algorithm for the ARPANET", IEEE. Trans. on + Communications, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 711-719, May 1980. + + [MR99] D. Mitra and K.G. Ramakrishnan, "A Case Study of + Multiservice, Multipriority Traffic Engineering Design + for Data Networks", Proc. Globecom'99, Dec 1999. + + [RFC-1458] Braudes, R. and S. Zabele, "Requirements for Multicast + Protocols", RFC 1458, May 1993. + + [RFC-1771] Rekhter, Y. and T. Li, "A Border Gateway Protocol 4 + (BGP-4)", RFC 1771, March 1995. + + [RFC-1812] Baker, F., "Requirements for IP Version 4 Routers", STD + 4, RFC 1812, June 1995. + + [RFC-1992] Castineyra, I., Chiappa, N. and M. Steenstrup, "The + Nimrod Routing Architecture", RFC 1992, August 1996. + + [RFC-1997] Chandra, R., Traina, P. and T. Li, "BGP Community + Attributes", RFC 1997, August 1996. + + [RFC-1998] Chen, E. and T. Bates, "An Application of the BGP + Community Attribute in Multi-home Routing", RFC 1998, + August 1996. + + [RFC-2205] Braden, R., Zhang, L., Berson, S., Herzog, S. and S. + Jamin, "Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) - Version 1 + Functional Specification", RFC 2205, September 1997. + + [RFC-2211] Wroclawski, J., "Specification of the Controlled-Load + Network Element Service", RFC 2211, September 1997. + + [RFC-2212] Shenker, S., Partridge, C. and R. Guerin, "Specification + of Guaranteed Quality of Service", RFC 2212, September + 1997. + + + + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 66] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + [RFC-2215] Shenker, S. and J. Wroclawski, "General Characterization + Parameters for Integrated Service Network Elements", RFC + 2215, September 1997. + + [RFC-2216] Shenker, S. and J. Wroclawski, "Network Element Service + Specification Template", RFC 2216, September 1997. + + [RFC-2328] Moy, J., "OSPF Version 2", STD 54, RFC 2328, July 1997. + + [RFC-2330] Paxson, V., Almes, G., Mahdavi, J. and M. Mathis, + "Framework for IP Performance Metrics", RFC 2330, May + 1998. + + [RFC-2386] Crawley, E., Nair, R., Rajagopalan, B. and H. Sandick, "A + Framework for QoS-based Routing in the Internet", RFC + 2386, August 1998. + + [RFC-2474] Nichols, K., Blake, S., Baker, F. and D. Black, + "Definition of the Differentiated Services Field (DS + Field) in the IPv4 and IPv6 Headers", RFC 2474, December + 1998. + + [RFC-2475] Blake, S., Black, D., Carlson, M., Davies, E., Wang, Z. + and W. Weiss, "An Architecture for Differentiated + Services", RFC 2475, December 1998. + + [RFC-2597] Heinanen, J., Baker, F., Weiss, W. and J. Wroclawski, + "Assured Forwarding PHB Group", RFC 2597, June 1999. + + [RFC-2678] Mahdavi, J. and V. Paxson, "IPPM Metrics for Measuring + Connectivity", RFC 2678, September 1999. + + [RFC-2679] Almes, G., Kalidindi, S. and M. Zekauskas, "A One-way + Delay Metric for IPPM", RFC 2679, September 1999. + + [RFC-2680] Almes, G., Kalidindi, S. and M. Zekauskas, "A One-way + Packet Loss Metric for IPPM", RFC 2680, September 1999. + + [RFC-2702] Awduche, D., Malcolm, J., Agogbua, J., O'Dell, M. and J. + McManus, "Requirements for Traffic Engineering over + MPLS", RFC 2702, September 1999. + + [RFC-2722] Brownlee, N., Mills, C. and G. Ruth, "Traffic Flow + Measurement: Architecture", RFC 2722, October 1999. + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 67] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + [RFC-2753] Yavatkar, R., Pendarakis, D. and R. Guerin, "A Framework + for Policy-based Admission Control", RFC 2753, January + 2000. + + [RFC-2961] Berger, L., Gan, D., Swallow, G., Pan, P., Tommasi, F. + and S. Molendini, "RSVP Refresh Overhead Reduction + Extensions", RFC 2961, April 2000. + + [RFC-2998] Bernet, Y., Ford, P., Yavatkar, R., Baker, F., Zhang, L., + Speer, M., Braden, R., Davie, B., Wroclawski, J. and E. + Felstaine, "A Framework for Integrated Services Operation + over Diffserv Networks", RFC 2998, November 2000. + + [RFC-3031] Rosen, E., Viswanathan, A. and R. Callon, "Multiprotocol + Label Switching Architecture", RFC 3031, January 2001. + + [RFC-3086] Nichols, K. and B. Carpenter, "Definition of + Differentiated Services Per Domain Behaviors and Rules + for their Specification", RFC 3086, April 2001. + + [RFC-3124] Balakrishnan, H. and S. Seshan, "The Congestion Manager", + RFC 3124, June 2001. + + [RFC-3209] Awduche, D., Berger, L., Gan, D., Li, T., Srinivasan, V. + and G. Swallow, "RSVP-TE: Extensions to RSVP for LSP + Tunnels", RFC 3209, December 2001. + + [RFC-3210] Awduche, D., Hannan, A. and X. Xiao, "Applicability + Statement for Extensions to RSVP for LSP-Tunnels", RFC + 3210, December 2001. + + [RFC-3213] Ash, J., Girish, M., Gray, E., Jamoussi, B. and G. + Wright, "Applicability Statement for CR-LDP", RFC 3213, + January 2002. + + [RFC-3270] Le Faucheur, F., Wu, L., Davie, B., Davari, S., Vaahanen, + P., Krishnan, R., Cheval, P. and J. Heinanen, "Multi- + Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Support of Differentiated + Services", RFC 3270, April 2002. + + [RR94] M.A. Rodrigues and K.G. Ramakrishnan, "Optimal Routing in + Shortest Path Networks", ITS'94, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. + + [SHAR] Sharma, V., Crane, B., Owens, K., Huang, C., Hellstrand, + F., Weil, J., Anderson, L., Jamoussi, B., Cain, B., + Civanlar, S. and A. Chui, "Framework for MPLS Based + Recovery", Work in Progress. + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 68] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + + [SLDC98] B. Suter, T. Lakshman, D. Stiliadis, and A. Choudhury, + "Design Considerations for Supporting TCP with Per-flow + Queueing", Proc. INFOCOM'98, p. 299-306, 1998. + + [SMIT] Smit, H. and T. Li, "IS-IS extensions for Traffic + Engineering", Work in Progress. + + [WANG] Y. Wang, Z. Wang, L. Zhang, "Internet traffic engineering + without full mesh overlaying", Proceedings of + INFOCOM'2001, April 2001. + + [XIAO] X. Xiao, A. Hannan, B. Bailey, L. Ni, "Traffic + Engineering with MPLS in the Internet", IEEE Network + magazine, Mar. 2000. + + [YARE95] C. Yang and A. Reddy, "A Taxonomy for Congestion Control + Algorithms in Packet Switching Networks", IEEE Network + Magazine, p. 34-45, 1995. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 69] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + +13.0 Authors' Addresses + + Daniel O. Awduche + Movaz Networks + 7926 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 615 + McLean, VA 22102 + + Phone: 703-298-5291 + EMail: awduche@movaz.com + + + Angela Chiu + Celion Networks + 1 Sheila Dr., Suite 2 + Tinton Falls, NJ 07724 + + Phone: 732-747-9987 + EMail: angela.chiu@celion.com + + + Anwar Elwalid + Lucent Technologies + Murray Hill, NJ 07974 + + Phone: 908 582-7589 + EMail: anwar@lucent.com + + + Indra Widjaja + Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies + 600 Mountain Avenue + Murray Hill, NJ 07974 + + Phone: 908 582-0435 + EMail: iwidjaja@research.bell-labs.com + + + XiPeng Xiao + Redback Networks + 300 Holger Way + San Jose, CA 95134 + + Phone: 408-750-5217 + EMail: xipeng@redback.com + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 70] + +RFC 3272 Overview and Principles of Internet TE May 2002 + + +14.0 Full Copyright Statement + + Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2002). All Rights Reserved. + + This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to + others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it + or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published + and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any + kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are + included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this + document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing + the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other + Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of + developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for + copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be + followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than + English. + + The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be + revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. + + This document and the information contained herein is provided on an + "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING + TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING + BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION + HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF + MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Acknowledgement + + Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the + Internet Society. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Awduche, et. al. Informational [Page 71] + |