ippm R. Geib, Ed.
Internet-Draft Deutsche Telekom
Intended status: Standards Track January 2, 2020
Expires: July 5, 2020

A Connectivity Monitoring Metric for IPPM
draft-geib-ippm-connectivity-monitoring-02

Abstract

Within a Segment Routing domain, segment routed measurement packets can be sent along pre-determined paths. This enables new kinds of measurements. Connectivity monitoring allows to supervise the state and performance of a connection or a (sub)path from one or a few central monitoring systems. This document specifies a suitable type-P connectivity monitoring metric.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Within a Segment Routing domain, Segment Routing enables sending measurement packets along pre-determined segment routed paths [RFC8402]. A segment routed path may consist of pre-determined sub paths down to specific router-interfaces. It may also consist of sub paths spanning multiple routers, given that all segments to address a desired path are available and known at the SR domain edge interface.

A Path Monitoring System or PMS (see [RFC8403]) is a dedicated central Segment Routing domain monitoring device (as compared to a distributed monitoring approach based on router-data and -functions only). Monitoring individual sub-paths or point-to-point connections is executed for different purposes. IGP exchanges hello messages between neighbors to keep alive routing and switfly adapt routing to topology changes. Network Operators may be interested in monitoring connectivity and congestion of interfaces or sub-paths at a timescale of seconds, minutes or hours. In both cases, the periodicity is significantly smaller than commodity interface monitoring based on router counters, which may be collected on a minute timescale the processor- or monitoring data-load is to be kept low.

The IPPM architecture was a first step to that direction [RFC2330]. Commodity IPPM solutions require dedicated measurement systems, a large number of measurement agents and synchronised clocks. Monitoring a domain from edge to edge by commodity IPPM solutions increase scalability of the monitoring system. But localising the site of a detected change in network behaviour then may require network tomography methods.

The IPPM Metrics for Measuring Connectivity offer generic connectivity metrics [RFC2678]. These metrics allow to measure connectivity between end nodes without making any assumption on the paths between them. The metric and the type-p packet specified by this document follow a different approach: they are designed to monitor connectivity and performance of a specific single link or a path segment. The underlying definition of connectivity is partially the same: a packet not reaching a destination indicates a loss of connectivity. An IGP re-route may indicate a loss of a link, while it might not cause loss of connectivity beween end systems. The metric specified here is able to detect the loss of a link, if the change in end-to-end delay along a new route is differing from that of the original path.

A Segment Routing PMS which is part of an SR domain is IGP topology aware, covering the IP and (if present) the MPLS layer topology [RFC8402]. This allows to design a PMS which can steer packets along arbitrary pre-determined concatenated sub-paths, identified by suitable segments. Basically, a number of overlaid measurement paths is set up. The delays of packets sent along each on of these paths is measured. Single changes in topology cause correlated changes in the measurement packet delay or connectivity of different measurement paths. By a suitable set up, the number of measurement paths may be one per connection (or path) to be monitored, but identify the location of congestion (in addition to montoring information revealed by a comparable single commodity ICMP ping relation, which fails to identify the location of a congested interface). Combining the SR measurement path configuration with a priori network tomography assumptions and methods allows to localise detected changes. The latter requires setting up multiple measurement paths which share sub-paths following the constraints derived from network tomography, and a suitable evaluation of measurement results.

This document specifies a type-p metric determining properties of an SR path which allows to monitor connectivity and congestion of interfaces and further allows to locate the path or interface which caused a change in the reported type-p metric. This document is focussed on the MPLS layer, but the methodolgy may be applied within SR domains or MPLS domains in general.

1.1. Requirements Language

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.

2. A brief segment routing connectivity monitoring framework

The Segment Routing IGP topology information consists of the IP and (if present) the MPLS layer topology. The minimum SR topology information consists of Node-Segment-Identifiers (Node-SID), identifying an SR router. The IGP exchange of Adjacency-SIDs [I-D.draft-ietf-isis-segment-routing-extensions], which identify local interfaces to adjacent nodes, is optional. It is RECOMMENDED to distribute Adj-SIDs in a domain operating a PMS to monitor connectivity as specified below. If Adj-SIDs aren't availbale, [RFC8029] provides methods how to steer packets along desired paths by the proper choice of an MPLS Echo-request IP-destination address. A detailed description of [RFC8029] methods as a replacement of Adj-SIDs is out of scope of this document.

A round trip measurement between two adjacent nodes is a simple method to monitor connectivity of a connecting link. If multiple links are operational between two adjacent nodes and only a single one fails, a single plain round trip measurement may fail to identify which link has failed. A round trip measurement also fails to identify which inteface is congested, even if only a single link connects two adjacent nodes.

Segment Routing enables the set-up of extended measurement loops. Several different measurement loops can be set up. If these form a partial overlay, any change in the network properties impacts more than a single loops round trip time (or causes drops of packets of more than one loop). Randomly chosen loop paths including the interfaces or paths to be monitored may fail to produce unique result patterns. The approach picked here uses specified measurement loop and path overlay design. A centralised monitoring approach benefits from keeping the number of required measurement loops low. This improves scalability by minimising the number of measurement loops. This also keeps the number of required packets and results to be evaluated and correlated low.

An additional property of the measurement path set-up specified below is that it allows to estimate the packet round trip and the one way delay of a monitored link (or path). The delay along a single link is not perfectly symmetric. Packet processing causes small delay differences per interface and direction. These cause an error, which can't be quantified or removed by the specified method. Quantifying this error requires a different measurement set-up. As this will introduce additional measurements loops, packets and evaluations, the cost in terms of reduced scalability is not felt to be worth the benefit in measurement accuracy. IPPM however honors precision more than accuracy and the mentioned processing differences are relatively stable, resulting in relatively precise delay estimates.

An example SR domain is shown below. The PMS shown should monitor the connectivity of all 6 links between nodes L100 and L200 one one side and the connected nodes L050, L060 and L070 on the other side. The round trip times per measurement loop are assumed to exhibit unique delays.

 
   +---+   +----+     +----+
   |PMS|   |L100|-----|L050|
   +---+   +----+\   /+----+
     |    /    \  \_/_____
     |   /      \  /      \+----+
  +----+/        \/_  +----|L060|
  |L300|         /  |/     +----+
  +----+\       /   /\_    
         \     /   /   \
          \+----+ /   +----+
           |L200|-----|L070|
           +----+     +----+ 
       

Connectivity verification with a PMS

Figure 1

The SID values are picked for convenient reading only. Node-SID: 100 identifies L100, Node-SID: 300 identifies L300 and so on. Adj-SID 10050: Adjacency L100 to L050, Adj-SID 10060: Adjacency L100 to L060, Adj-SID 60200: Adjacency L60 to L200

Monitoring the 6 links between Ln00 and L0m0 nodes requires 6 measurement loops, each of which has the following properties:

Note that any 6 links between two to six nodes can be monitored that way too (if multiple parallel links between two nodes are monitored, the differences in delay may require a sufficiently high clock resulotion, if applicable).

This results in 6 measurement loops for the given example (the start and end of each measurement loop is PMS to L300 to L100 or L200 and a similar sub-path on the return leg. It is ommitted here for brevity):

  1. M1 is the delay along L100 -> L050 -> L100 -> L060 -> L200
  2. M2 is the delay along L100 -> L060 -> L100 -> L070 -> L200
  3. M3 is the delay along L100 -> L070 -> L100 -> L050 -> L200
  4. M4 is the delay along L200 -> L050 -> L200 -> L060 -> L100
  5. M5 is the delay along L200 -> L060 -> L200 -> L070 -> L100
  6. M6 is the delay along L200 -> L070 -> L200 -> L050 -> L100

An example for a stack of a loop consisting of Node-SID segments allowing to caprture M1 is (top to bottom): 100 | 050 | 100 | 060 | 200 | PMS.

An example for a stack of Adj-SID segments the loop resulting in M1 is (top to bottom): 100 | 10050 | 50100 | 10060 | 60200 | PMS. As can be seen, the Node-SIDs 100 and PMS are present at top and bottom of the segment stack. Their purpose is to transport the packet from the PMS to the start of the measurement loop at L100 and return it to the PMS from its end.

The measurement loops set up as shown have the following properties:

A closer look reveals that each single event of interest for the proposed metric, which are a loss of connectivity or a case of congestion, uniquely only impacts a single a-priori determinable set of measurement loops. If, e.g., connectivity is lost between L200 and L050, measurement loops (3), (4) and (6) indicate a change in the measured delay.

As a second example, if the interface L070 to L100 is congested, measurement loops (3) and (5) indicate a change in the measured delay. Without listing all events, all cases of single losses of connectivity or single events of congestion influence only delay measurements of a unique set of measurement loops.

A congestion event adding latency to two specific measurement loops allows calculation of the delay added by the queue at the congested interface. Thus, the resulting RTD increase can be assigned to a single interface.

3. Singleton Definition for Type-P-SR-Path-Connectivity-and-Congestion

3.1. Metric Name

Type-P-SR-Path-Connectivity-and-Congestion

3.2. Metric Parameters

3.3. Metric Units

A sequence of consecutive time values.

3.4. Definition

A moving average of AV time values per measurement path is compared by a change point detection algorithm. The temporal packet spacing value DS represents the smallest period within which a change in connectivity or congestion may be detected.

A single loss of connectivity of a sub-path between two nodes affects three different measurement paths. Depending on the value chosen for DS, packet loss might occur (note that the moving average evaluation needs to span a longer period than convergence time; alternatively, packet-loss visible along the three measurement paths may serve as an evaluation criterium). After routing convergence the type-p packets along the three measurement paths show a change in delay.

A congestion of a single interface of a sub-path connecting two nodes affects two different measurement paths. The the type-p packets along the two congested measurement paths show an additional change in delay.

3.5. Discussion

Detection of a multiple losses of monitored sub-path connectivity or congestion of a multiple monitored sub-paths may be possible. These cases have not been investigated, but may occur in the case of Shared Risk Link Groups. Monitoring Shared Risk LinkGroups and sub-paths with multiple failures abd congestion is not within scope of this document.

3.6. Methodologies

For the given type-p, the methodology is as follows:

Note that monitoring 6 sub paths requires setting up 6 monitoring paths as shown in the figure above.

3.7. Errors and Uncertainties

Sources of error are:

3.8. Reporting the Metric

The metric reports loss of connectivity of monitored sub-path or congestion of an interface and identifies the sub-path and the direction of traffic in the case of congestion.

4. Singleton Definition for Type-P-SR-Path-Round-Trip-Delay-Estimate

This section will be added in a later version, if there's interest in picking up this work.

5. IANA Considerations

If standardised, the metric will require an entry in the IPPM metric registry.

6. Security Considerations

This draft specifies how to use methods specified or described within [RFC8402] and [RFC8403]. It does not introduce new or additional SR features. The security considerations of both references apply here too.

7. References

7.1. Normative References

[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997.
[RFC2678] Mahdavi, J. and V. Paxson, "IPPM Metrics for Measuring Connectivity", RFC 2678, DOI 10.17487/RFC2678, September 1999.
[RFC7679] Almes, G., Kalidindi, S., Zekauskas, M. and A. Morton, "A One-Way Delay Metric for IP Performance Metrics (IPPM)", STD 81, RFC 7679, DOI 10.17487/RFC7679, January 2016.
[RFC7680] Almes, G., Kalidindi, S., Zekauskas, M. and A. Morton, "A One-Way Loss Metric for IP Performance Metrics (IPPM)", STD 82, RFC 7680, DOI 10.17487/RFC7680, January 2016.
[RFC8029] Kompella, K., Swallow, G., Pignataro, C., Kumar, N., Aldrin, S. and M. Chen, "Detecting Multiprotocol Label Switched (MPLS) Data-Plane Failures", RFC 8029, DOI 10.17487/RFC8029, March 2017.
[RFC8402] Filsfils, C., Previdi, S., Ginsberg, L., Decraene, B., Litkowski, S. and R. Shakir, "Segment Routing Architecture", RFC 8402, DOI 10.17487/RFC8402, July 2018.

7.2. Informative References

[RFC2330] Paxson, V., Almes, G., Mahdavi, J. and M. Mathis, "Framework for IP Performance Metrics", RFC 2330, DOI 10.17487/RFC2330, May 1998.
[RFC8403] Geib, R., Filsfils, C., Pignataro, C. and N. Kumar, "A Scalable and Topology-Aware MPLS Data-Plane Monitoring System", RFC 8403, DOI 10.17487/RFC8403, July 2018.

Author's Address

Ruediger Geib (editor) Deutsche Telekom Heinrich Hertz Str. 3-7 Darmstadt, 64295 Germany Phone: +49 6151 5812747 EMail: Ruediger.Geib@telekom.de