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.
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
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.
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
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].
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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].
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
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].
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
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].
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
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 RFC2722, 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
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
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