One document matched: draft-ash-nsis-nslp-qos-sig-proof-of-concept-01.txt

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Network Working Group                                        Jerry Ash
Internet Draft                                            Chuck Dvorak
<draft-ash-nsis-nslp-qos-sig-proof-of-concept-01.txt>        Al Morton
Expiration Date: August 2004                            Percy Tarapore
                                                                  AT&T

                                                     Yacine El Mghazli
                                                    Sven Van den Bosch
                                                               Alcatel

                                                         February 2004


  NSIS Network Service Layer Protocol QoS Signaling Proof-of-Concept

       <draft-ash-nsis-nslp-qos-sig-proof-of-concept-01.txt>

Status of this Memo

   This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
   all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.

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ABSTRACT:

This draft describes a proof-of-concept example of NSIS Signaling Layer 
Protocol (NSLP) for signaling QoS reservations in the Internet.  The 
example is based on standardization work in the ITU-T of QoS signaling 
requirements. The QoS-NSLP is independent of the underlying QoS 
specification or architecture and provides support for different 
reservation models.  Together with the NSIS Transport Layer Protocol 
(NTLP), the NSLP provides functionality similar to RSVP and extends it. 
This draft provides a proof-of-concept example of the NSIS NSLP for QoS 
signaling.  The example is based on standardization work in the ITU-T on 
QoS signaling requirements [E.361, TRQ-QoS-SIG], and is specified in 
terms of the QoS-signaling model and Qspec template given in the 'NSLP 
for QoS Signaling' specification [QoS-SIG].

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. NSIS NSLP QoS Signaling Model
3. Qspec Template for Proof-of-Concept Example of NSIS NSLP 
   QoS-Signaling Model
4. Security Considerations                                 
5. Acknowledgments                                         
6. References                                              
7. Authors' Addresses
Appendix A. Summary of ITU-T Recommendation E.361 "QoS Routing Support 
   for Interworking of QoS Service Classes Across Routing Technologies"
Appendix B. Summary of ITU-T Recommendation TRQ-QoS-SIG "Signaling 
   Requirements for IP-QoS"
10. Full Copyright Statement                                     
	
1. Introduction

This draft describes a proof-of-concept example of NSIS Signaling Layer 
Protocol (NSLP) for signaling QoS reservations in the Internet.  The 
example is based on standardization work in the ITU-T of QoS signaling 
requirements. The QoS-NSLP is independent of the underlying QoS 
specification or architecture and provides support for different 
reservation models.  Together with the NSIS Transport Layer Protocol 
(NTLP), the NSLP provides functionality similar to RSVP and extends it. 
This draft provides a proof-of-concept example of the NSIS NSLP for QoS 
signaling.  The example is based on standardization work in the ITU-T on 
QoS signaling requirements [E.361, TRQ-QoS-SIG], and is specified in 
terms of the QoS-signaling model and Qspec template given in the 'NSLP 
for QoS Signaling' specification [QoS-SIG].

The QoS-signaling NSLP protocol establishes and maintains state at 
nodes along the path of a data flow for the purpose of providing some 
forwarding resources for that flow. It is intended to satisfy the 
QoS-related requirements of [NSIS-REQ]. This QoS-NSLP is part of a 
larger suite of signaling protocols, whose structure is outlined in 
[NSIS-FRAMEWORK]; this defines a common NTLP which QoS-NSLP uses to 
carry out many aspects of signaling message delivery. The design of 
QoS-signaling NSLP is conceptually similar to RSVP [RSVP], and uses 
soft-state peer-to-peer refresh messages as the primary state management 
mechanism.  The QoS-signaling NSLP extends the set of reservation 
mechanisms to meet the requirements of [NSIS-REQ], in particular, 
support of sender or receiver-initiated reservations, as well as a type 
of bi-directional reservation and support of reservations between 
arbitrary nodes, e.g. edge-to-edge, end-to-access, etc.

QoS-NSLP does not mandate any specific 'QoS Model', i.e. a particular 
QoS provisioning method or QoS architecture; this is similar to (but 
stronger than) the decoupling between RSVP and the IntServ architecture 
[INTSERV]. It should be able to carry information for various QoS 
models; the specification of Integrated Services for use with RSVP given 
in [RSVP-INTSERV] could form the basis of one QoS model. This draft 
provides another proof-of-concept example of NSIS NSLP for QoS 
signaling, and is based on standardization work in the ITU-T of QoS 
signaling requirements [E.361, TRQ-QoS-SIG].  The QoS-signaling model is 
described in Section 2, and is based on the Qspec template given in 
[QoS-SIG].

2. NSIS NSLP QoS Signaling Model

[QoS-SIG] defines message types and control information for the 
QoS-NSLP generic to all QoS models.  A QoS model is a defined mechanism 
for achieving QoS as a whole. The specification of a QoS model includes 
a description of its QoS parameter information, as well as how that 
information should be treated or interpreted in the network. In that 
sense, the QoS model goes beyond the QoS-NSLP protocol level in that it 
could also describe underlying assumptions, conditions and/or specific 
provisioning mechanisms appropriate for it.

Messages are normally passed from the NSLP to the NTLP via an API, 
which also specifies the signaling application (as QoS-NSLP), the 
flow/session identifier, and an indication of the intended direction - 
towards data sender or receiver. On reception, the NTLP provides the 
same information to the QoS-NSLP. 

The NSIS NSLP protocol specifies four message types (RESERVE, QUERY, 
RESPONSE and NOTIFY) and two objects (QSpec and Policy object).  Each 
protocol message includes header information that identifies the message 
type and determines which objects it may carry.  A protocol message also 
contains Control Information (CI), which is a group of objects that 
qualify and/or restrict the action that an NSIS entity may perform on 
the QoS message. Control Information is always associated to a QSpec, 
i.e. CI and QSpec always come in pairs.  The QSpec object contains the 
QoS parameters defined by the QoS model, and describes the QoS that is 
being reserved.  The Policy object authenticates and authorizes the 
requester of the QoS reservation.

A QoS model provides a specific set of parameters to be carried in the 
QSpec, or restricts the values these parameters can take. Integrated 
Services [INTSERV], Differentiated Services DIFFSERV] and RMD [RMD] are 
all examples of QoS models. There is no restriction on the number of QoS 
models. QoS models may be local, meaning that they are private to one 
network, implementation or vendor specific or global, meaning that they 
must be implementable by different networks and vendors. The QSpec 
contains a set of parameters and values describing the requested 
resources. It is opaque to the QoS-NSLP and similar in purpose to the 
TSpec, RSpec and AdSpec specified in [RSVP,RSVP-INTSERV]. At each NSIS 
entity which supports the QoS-signaling NSLP, its content is interpreted 
by the resource management function for the purposes of policy control 
and traffic control (including admission control and configuration of 
the packet classifier and scheduler).

Different QoS models may share a common set of QoS parameters.  A QSpec 
template is proposed in [QoS-SIG], which would allow for a consistent 
specification of common QoS parameters in different QoS models.  Flow 
identification information is also needed but is not part of the QSpec 
template, rather it is made available over the API between the 
QoS-signaling NSLP and the NTLP. It is not the intention that all QoS 
models support all fields and sub objects defined in [QoS-SIG]. The 
definition of a QoS model entails a selection of one or more of these 
fields and/or sub objects. For instance, one QoS model could only allow 
QSpec ID and DSCP to be specified.

3. Qspec Template for Proof-of-Concept Example of NSIS NSLP 
QoS-Signaling Model

The Qspec template [QoS-SIG] for the proof-of-concept example of the 
NSIS NSLP QoS-signaling model is given in this Section.  The individual 
parameters given in the template are based on the QoS signaling 
requirements specified in ITU-T Recommendations [E.361] and 
[TRQ-QoS-SIG].  Please refer to Appendices A and B for summaries of 
these two Recommendations.

The proof-of-concept example has the following Qspec template:

1. QSpec ID (allows IANA reservation of QSpec parameter combinations):

   IANA specified.

2. Traffic Envelope/Conformance:

The traffic envelope describes the traffic (conformance) 
characteristics of the data stream identified by the QoS NSLP Session 
ID. The traffic envelope is a set of Traffic Conformance Parameters, 
describing how the packet stream should look to get the guarantees 
indicated by the performance parameters (defined below).

The Traffic Conformance Parameters are the basic input for the Traffic 
Conformance Algorithm.  Traffic Conformance Testing is the combination 
of the Traffic Conformance Parameters and the Traffic Conformance 
Algorithm.  This will usually be done at a boundary node.  The algorithm 
and the conformance test can be binary-based or multi-level based.

The traffic conformance algorithm used for this model is token-bucket, 
with conformance parameters Token Bucket Rate (Br) and Token Bucket Size 
(Bp and Bs)

    TRAF-PAR (peak rate (Rp), peak bucket size (Bp), sustainable rate 
    (Rs), sustainable bucket size (Bs), token bucket rate (Br), maximum 
    allowed packet size (M)).  See Section A.3.

3. Excess Treatment:

This parameter describes how the network provider will process excess 
traffic, i.e. out-of-profile traffic (in case of binary conformance 
testing) or n-level traffic (in case of n-level conformance testing).  
The process takes place after Traffic Conformance Testing, described 
previously.  Excess traffic may be dropped, shaped and/or remarked.

    Excess Treatment (EXTR)

4. Offered Guarantees:

The performance parameters describe the service guarantees the network 
offers to the customer for the packet stream described by the QoS NSLP 
Session ID and within the limits of the geographical/topological extent 
given by the scope.

   QoS-REQUEST-PAR (Y.1541 QoS class, DIFFSERV, service identity (SI),
   class type (CT), link capability (LC)) are qualitative guarantees.
   See Section A.3.

   QoS-ACCUM-PAR (transfer delay, delay variation, packet loss) are
   quantitative guarantees, which are used in the QUERY or RESPONSE 
   message to collect information along the path.  See Section A.3.

The QoS-ACCUM-PAR should only be used in the QUERY message to collect 
information along the path and determine if the numerical objectives of 
Y.1541 classes are met, and MUST NOT be part of the QoS-REQUEST-PAR.  
QoS-ACCUM-PAR MAY also be used in the RESPONSE message to indicate or 
convey the estimate of end-end achieved performance.

5. Service Schedule:

The service schedule indicates the start time and end time of the 
service, i.e. when is the service available.

   As specified in Appendix B/[TRQ-QoS-SIG].  See example in Section 
   B.5.

6. Priority and Reliability:

   CAC Priority (CAC-PRTY), Restoration Priority (RES-PRTY).  See
   Sections A.3 and B.4.

7. Monitoring requirements:

Information required about reservation, related to AdSpec functionality 
and may contain QUERY parameters.

   As specified in Appendix B/[TRQ-QoS-SIG].  See example in Section 
   B.5.

4. Security Considerations

There are no new security considerations based on proposals in this 
draft.

5. Acknowledgements

6. References

[DIFFSERV] Blake, S., et. al., "An Architecture for Differentiated 
Services", RFC 2475, December 1998.
[DS-TE] Le Faucheur, F., et. al., Requirements for Support of 
Differentiated Services-aware MPLS Traffic Engineering , RFC 3564, July 
2003
[KEY] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement 
Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997
[E.361] ITU-T Recommendation, "QoS Routing Support for Interworking of 
QoS Service Classes Across Routing Technologies," May 2003.
[INTSERV] Braden, B., et. al., "Integrated Services in the Internet 
Architecture: an Overview," RFC 1633, June 1994.
[NSIS-REQ] Brunner, M., et. al., "Requirements for QoS Signaling 
Protocols," work in progress.
[NSIS-FRAMEWORK] Hancock, R., et. al., "Next Steps in Signaling: 
Framework," work in progress.
[RMD] Westberg, L., "Resource Management in Diffserv (RMD) Framework," 
work in progress.
[RSVP] Braden, B., et. al., "Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) -- 
Version 1 Functional Specification," RFC 2205, September 1997.
[RSVP-INTSERV] Wroclawski, J., "The Use of RSVP with IETF Integrated 
Services," RFC 2210, September 1997.
[TRQ-QoS-SIG] ITU-T Recommendation, "Signaling Requirements for IP-QoS," 
January 2004.
[QoS-SIG] Van den Bosch, S., et. al., "NSLP for Quality-of-Service 
Signaling," work in progress.
[Y.1541] ITU-T Recommendation Y.1541, "Network Performance Objectives 
for IP-Based Services," May 2002.

7. Authors' Addresses

Jerry Ash
AT&T
Room MT D5-2A01
200 Laurel Avenue
Middletown, NJ 07748, USA
Phone: +1-(732)-420-4578
Fax:   +1-(732)-368-8659
Email: gash@att.com

Chuck Dvorak
AT&T
Room 2A37
180 Park Avenue, Building 2
Florham Park, NJ 07932
Phone: + 1 973-236-6700
Fax:+1 973-236-7453
E-mail: cdvorak@att.com

Yacine El Mghazli
Alcatel
Route de Nozay
91460 Marcoussis cedex - FRANCE
Phone: +33 1 69 63 41 87
Email: yacine.el_mghazli@alcatel.fr

Al Morton
AT&T
Room D3-3C06
200 S. Laurel Avenue
Middletown, NJ 07748
Phone: + 1 732 420-1571
Fax: +.1 732 368-1192
E-mail: acmorton@att.com

Percy Tarapore
AT&T
Room D1-3D33
200 S. Laurel Avenue
Middletown, NJ 07748
Phone: + 1 732 420-4172
E-mail: tarapore@.att.com

Sven Van den Bosch
Alcatel
Francis Wellesplein 1
B-2018 Antwerpen
Belgium
E-mail: sven.van_den_bosch@alcatel.be

Appendix A. Summary of ITU-T Recommendation E.361 "QoS Routing Support 
for Interworking of QoS Service Classes Across Routing Technologies"

A.1. Introduction

QoS routing is an indispensable network function which controls a 
network's response to traffic demands and other stimuli, such as network 
failures. To support the ability to carry all types of 
telecommunications traffic (voice, data, video, etc.) over a single 
network, networks are evolving beyond best effort capabilities to 
provide a variety of performance and reliability options. Transport 
backbones are incorporating new optical technologies enabling flexible 
and cost-effective solutions for carrying various grades of 
telecommunications traffic. It is important for service providers to 
satisfy customer expectations for end-to-end reliability and QoS, for 
all types of transactions and services. QoS requirements include 
performance parameters such as delay, jitter, packet loss, etc, and are 
related to the type of transaction (e.g., voice, data, video). 
Reliability on the other hand represents expectations on adequate 
service availability over a specified period for the desired transaction 
types.  Further, services may have different reliability expectations 
depending on the type of service. For example, a voice over IP (VoIP) 
packet stream for emergency services calls would require high priority 
reliability treatment. Other VoIP services may have lower reliability 
expectations and hence their network reliability treatment may be less 
stringent. To satisfy reliability and QoS considerations for all 
transaction and service types, a service provider needs to ensure that 
all network protocol layers are equipped to recognize and satisfy the 
QoS and reliability requirements for the service classes.

QoS Service Classes (QSCs) are defined as aggregations of individual 
service classes. Instead of having per-class parameters being configured 
and propagated on each network interface, classes are aggregated into 
QSCs having common per-QSC parameters (e.g., maximum bandwidth) to 
satisfy required performance levels. There is no maximum or minimum 
bandwidth requirement to be enforced at the level of individual class in 
the QSC. QSCs are known as class types (CTs) in IP/DiffServ-enabled MPLS 
Traffic Engineering (DS-TE) networks [DS-TE], virtual networks (VNETs) 
in TDM networks, and QoS classes in ATM networks.

Recommendation E.361 identifies QoS routing functions and associated 
parameters, and proposes means of signaling these QoS routing parameters 
across networks employing different routing technologies, including IP-, 
ATM-, and TDM-based routing technologies. It proposes extensions to 
signaling protocols such as SIP and RSVP-TE to support signaling of QoS 
routing parameters within and across networks.

A.2 QoS Routing Functions & Parameters

QoS routing functions and associated parameters include:

a. bandwidth allocation/protection (traffic and QoS parameters);
b. routing priority;
c. queuing priority; and
d. class-of-service identification (service, CT, and capability 
parameters).

Bandwidth allocation and protection includes connection admission and 
bandwidth reservation. Typically, the connection admission control for 
each link in the path is performed based on the status of the link.  CT 
bandwidth is managed to meet the overall bandwidth requirements of QSC 
service needs. Individual flows are allocated bandwidth within CTs 
accordingly, as bandwidth is available. Bandwidth reservation gives 
preference to the preferred traffic by allowing it to seize any idle 
bandwidth in a link, while allowing the non- preferred traffic to only 
seize bandwidth if there is a minimum level of idle bandwidth available, 
where the minimum-bandwidth threshold is called the reservation level.

Routing priority can give preference to admit and/or restore higher 
priority connections ahead of lower priority connections. A 
high-priority service can be admitted in preference over a 
normal-priority service.  Restoration priority can assign a priority to 
traffic streams for restoration. As in the case for connection 
admission, certain services may require higher restoration priority over 
others. Bandwidth allocation/protection and priority routing reflect 
reliability expectations/objectives such as loss probability, 
time-to-restore, and extent of restoration.

Priority queuing considers packet level objectives and performance 
expectations such as delay, loss, and delay variation. ITU-T 
Recommendation Y.1541 groups services into six QoS classes defined 
according to the desired QoS performance objectives (see Appendix B).  
[DIFFSERV] specifies several types of DiffServ PHBs, including EF, AF, 
and BE.

Class-of-service identification entails:

a. service identity (SI);
b. class type (CT);
c. link capability (LC).

The SI describes the actual service associated with the connection. The 
CT describes the bandwidth allocation and routing table parameters to be 
used by the connection. The LC describes the desired connection 
capabilities such as fiber, radio, satellite, and digital circuit 
multiplexing equipment, that the connection should require, prefer, or 
avoid.  LC is similar to the concept of 'color' in [RSVP-TE].

A.2 Signaling of QoS Routing Information

QoS control includes the following functions:

a) application or 'call' control (SIP/SDP, H.323, etc.);
b) vertical control (H.248/MEGACO, etc.); and
c) bearer control (MPLS, RSVP-TE, DiffServ, DS-TE, etc.).

While these functions are not all in the scope of NSIS, they are briefly 
discussed in this Section to show some complementary routing 
considerations for this proof-of-concept.

A.2.1. Application/Call Control

End-to-end QoS control is negotiated/communicated end-to-end at the call 
control level. The idea is that call control protocols are enhanced with 
a generic end-to-end QoS service control mechanism to negotiate the 
associated QoS routing parameters (bandwidth/CT, Y.1541 QoS class, 
etc.). Such an end-to-end QoS control mechanism is defined independent 
of the underlying technology (IP, ATM, etc.) and operates across network 
domains. These QoS routing parameters need to be mapped to specific IP, 
TDM, and ATM QSCs (CT, VNET, and QoS class, respectively) and these 
mappings should be made available to the appropriate control elements. 
Such enhancements are applicable to call-control protocols like SIP/SDP, 
H.323, etc.

A.2.2. Vertical Control

QoS routing control is also negotiated/communicated at the vertical 
control level. The proposed signaling requirements include the vertical 
interface. The idea is that vertical control protocols are enhanced to 
negotiate/communicate the QoS parameters (bandwidth, Y.1541 QoS class, 
etc.) in the bearer network based on H.248/MEGACO extensions. These QoS 
parameters are defined independent of the underlying technology (IP, 
ATM, etc.) of the bearer network. The vertical interface then maps the 
application QoS routing parameters into the bearer QoS routing 
parameters.

A.2.3. Bearer Control

Bearer network QoS is negotiated/communicated at the bearer control 
level. IP bearer control protocols are enhanced with a mechanism to 
negotiate the network QoS by using QoS routing parameters and transfer 
capabilities. Bearer network QoS is negotiated/communicated at the 
bearer level, i.e., as part of the protocols associated with the bearers 
in the core network. QoS routing and transfer capabilities are used to 
enhance existing IP mechanisms like MPLS, RSVP-TE, DiffServ, DS-TE, etc.

A.3.	Proposed Signaling Protocol Extensions

Table 1 summarizes the required signaling and information exchange 
parameters supported within each routing technology which are required 
to be supported across network types. Table 1 identifies the required 
information-exchange parameters to support the QoS routing functions and 
parameters.

Table 1. Required Signaling & Information-Exchange Parameters to Support
         QoS Routing Functions & Parameters

QoS Routing Function               Supported Signaling & Information 
                                   Exchange Parameters
BW Allocation and Protection       Y.1541 QoS Class, DS-TE class type, 
                                   QoS-PAR, TRAF-PAR
Priority Routing                   CAC-PRTY, REST-PRTY
Priority Queuing                   DIFFSERV
Class-of-Service Identification	   SI, CT, LC

These QoS routing information-exchange parameters are required:

1. QoS parameters (QoS-PAR): The QoS-PAR includes the DS-TE class type 
[DS-TE], and QoS thresholds such as transfer delay, delay variation, and 
packet loss. Preferably, the Y.1541 QoS class is specified requiring the 
QoS performance objectives specified for the selected class. 
Alternatively, the QoS-PAR performance thresholds are individually 
specified. The QoS-PAR parameters are used by each node to compare the 
link QoS performance to the requested QoS threshold to determine if the 
connection/bandwidth-allocation request is admitted or blocked on that 
link.  The QoS parameters could also specify tail distribution values 
(percentiles). This may allow combining QoS values from different 
domains.
2. Traffic parameters (TRAF-PAR): The TRAF-PAR include DS-TE class type, 
and traffic parameters such as peak rate (Rp), peak bucket size (Bp), 
sustainable rate (Rs), sustainable bucket size (Bs), token bucket rate 
(Br), and maximum allowed packet size (M).  The TRAF-PAR parameters are 
used by each node to compare the link traffic characteristics to the 
requested TRAF-PAR thresholds to determine if the 
connection/bandwidth-allocation request is admitted or blocked on that 
link.
3. Connection admission control priority (CAC-PRTY) parameter: The 
CAC-PRTY parameter is used by each node to determine the priority of the 
connection/bandwidth-allocation request being admitted on that link.
4. Restoration priority (REST-PRTY) parameter: The REST-PRTY parameter 
is used by each node to determine the priority of the 
connection/bandwidth-allocation request being restored on a given VP/LSP 
and/or transport link.
5. Differentiated services (DIFFSERV) parameter: The DIFFSERV parameter 
is used in ATM-based and IP-based networks to support priority queuing. 
The DIFFSERV parameter is used at the queues associated with each link 
to designate the relative priority and management policy for each queue.
6. Service Identity (SI) parameter: The SI parameter describes the 
actual service associated with the call.
7. Class Type (CT) parameter: The CT parameter describes the bandwidth 
allocation and routing table parameters to be used by the call.
8. Link Capability (LC) parameter: The LC parameter describes the link 
hardware capabilities such as fiber, radio, satellite, and digital 
circuit multiplexing equipment (DCME), that the call should require, 
prefer, or avoid.

It is required that these parameters be included (as appropriate) in the 
signaling messages within TDM-, ATM-, and IP-based networks.  These 
parameters are used to control the routing, bandwidth allocation, and 
routing/queuing priorities.

Appendix B. Summary of ITU-T Recommendation TRQ-QoS-SIG "Signaling 
            Requirements for IP-QoS"

B.1. Introduction

Recommendation TRQ-QoS-SIG provides the requirements for signaling 
information regarding IP-based QoS at the interface between the user and 
the network (UNI) and across interfaces between different networks 
(NNI). These requirements and the signaling information elements 
identified will enable the development of a signaling protocol(s) 
capable of the request, negotiation and ultimately delivery of known IP 
QoS classes from UNI to UNI, spanning NNIs as required.  The signaling 
requirements also address signal information related to traffic priority 
and admission control, as these are also central to truly comprehensive 
QoS.

To meet specific network performance requirements such as those 
specified for the QoS classes of Y.1541, a network needs to provide 
specific user plane functionality at UNI, NNI, and INI interfaces.  A 
network may be provisioned to meet the performance requirements of 
Y.1541 either statically or dynamically on a per flow basis using a 
protocol that meets the requirements specified in the Recommendation.  
Static network provisioning is typically performed by a network 
engineering team using a network management system. Static provisioning 
typically takes into account both overall network performance 
requirements and performance requirements for individual customers based 
on traffic contracts between the customer and the network provider.
Dynamic network provisioning at a UNI and/or NNI node allows the ability 
to dynamically request a traffic contract for an IP flow from a specific 
source node to one or more destination nodes. In response to the 
request, the network determines if resources are available to satisfy 
the request and provision the network.

True QoS goes beyond just the delay and loss that can occur in the 
transport of IP packets. The requirements include the bandwidth/capacity 
needed by the application, and the priority with which such bandwidth 
will be maintained during congestion and restored after various failure 
events.  As these aspects of QoS can be related to routing, they go 
beyond the resource management of the packet transport.  Requirements on 
priority and admission controls are also considered. 

B.2. QoS Signaling Requirements

The call/session control signaling includes an indication of the QoS 
requirements for each session. The QoS requirements are realized using 
various mechanisms, e.g. packet fragmentation, over-provisioning, 
resource reservation (RSVP) or DiffServ.  Different QoS mechanisms may 
be used on different sections of a session packet-forwarding path. There 
may be communicated between call/session control nodes and 
packet-forwarding devices using a 'gate' control protocol to control the 
QoS mechanism.

QoS signaling requirements are expressed in terms of attributes related 
to User-Network Signaling as well as Network-Network signaling. Major 
attributes include the following:

a. network QoS Class (i.e., Y.1541/Table 1);
b. network capacity required;
c. reliability/priority with which the service is to be sustained.

Obtaining user-to-user QoS on IP Networks, and on combinations of 
various network technologies, will require standard signaling protocols 
for communicating the requirements among the major entities.  These 
entities include users and their end terminal equipment, and network 
service providers and their equipment, especially equipment implementing 
the inter-working and signaling function between networks, and between 
users and networks.

It shall be possible to derive the following service level parameters as 
part of the process of requesting service:

a. QoS class from Y.1541, which includes IP Loss Ratio, IP Transfer 
Delay, and IP Delay Variation (see Section B.3 below),
b. peak rate (Rp)
c. peak bucket size (Bp)
d. sustainable rate (Rs)
e. sustainable bucket size (Bs)
f. token bucket rate (Br)
g. maximum allowed packet size (M)
h. DiffServ field as specified in RFC 2474
i. reliability/priority of the service (see Section B.4 below)
j. optional attributes include user application type & quality 
categories.

B.3 Y.1541 QoS Class Performance Objectives

[Y.1541] proposes grouping services into six QoS classes defined 
according to the desired QoS performance objectives. These QoS classes 
support a wide range of user applications.  The classes group objectives 
for one-way IP packet delay, IP packet delay variation, IP packet loss 
ratio, etc.  Classes 0 and 1, which generally correspond to the DiffServ 
EF PHB, support interactive real-time applications.  Classes 2, 3, and 
4, which generally correspond to the DiffServ AFxy PHB Group, support 
non-interactive applications.  Class 5, which generally corresponds to 
the DiffServ best-effort PHB, has all the QoS parameters unspecified.  
These classes serve as a basis for agreements between end-users and 
service providers, and between service providers. They support a wide 
range of traffic applications including point-to-point telephony, data 
transfer, multimedia conferencing, and others.  The limited number of 
classes supports the requirement for feasible implementation, 
particularly with respect to scale in global networks.

The QoS classes apply to a packet flow, where [Y.1541] defines a packet 
flow as the traffic associated with a given connection or connectionless 
stream having the same source host, destination host, class of service, 
and session identification.  The characteristics of each class are 
summarized here:

Class 0: Real-time, highly interactive applications, sensitive to 
jitter. Mean delay upper bound is 100 ms, delay variance is less than 50 
ms, and loss ratio is less than 10-3. Application examples include VoIP, 
Video Teleconference.

Class 1: Real-time, interactive applications, sensitive to jitter. Mean 
delay upper bound is 400 ms, delay variance is less than 50 ms, and loss 
ratio is less than 10-3. Application examples include VoIP, Video 
Teleconference.

Class 2: Highly interactive transaction data. Mean delay upper bound is 
100 ms, delay variance is unspecified, and loss ratio is less than 10-3. 
Application examples include signaling.

Class 3: Interactive transaction data. Mean delay upper bound is 400 ms, 
delay variance is unspecified, and loss ratio is less than 10-3. 
Application examples include signaling.

Class 4: Low Loss Only applications. Mean delay upper bound is 1s, delay 
variance is unspecified, and loss ratio is less than 10-3. Application 
examples include Short Transactions, Bulk Data, Video Streaming

Class 5: Unspecified applications with unspecified mean delay, delay 
variance, and loss ratio. Application examples include traditional 
applications of Default IP Networks

These six classes enable SLAs to be defined between customers and 
network service providers with respect to QoS requirements. The service 
provider then needs to ensure that the requirements are recognized and 
receive appropriate treatment across network layers.

B.4 Support of Priority & Reliability Attributes

Priority and reliability attributes are the same for User-Network and 
Network-Network signaling requirements.  No standards exist with respect 
to the qualitative (e.g., number of priority classes) or quantitative 
(e.g., time-to-restore) aspects of reliability. To that extent, the 
following assumptions are made in determining reliability attributes:

a. Reliability can be requested in the form of a Priority Class for a 
specific network function, such as CAC priority.
b. There are a limited number of Priority Classes to ensure scalability 
(e.g., 3 classes).

Two types of Priority Class attributes are defined:

a. CAC Priority Class: The urgency with which a service connection is 
desired (e.g., High, Normal, Best Effort).
b. Restoration Priority Class: The urgency with which a service requires 
successful restoration under failure conditions (e.g., High, Normal, 
Best Effort).  We suggest a mechanism consistent with setup and holding 
priority similar to what exists in DiffServ TE [DS-TE].  Perhaps this 
could be specified as a priority object in [QoS-SIG].

B.4.1 CAC Priority Class

Admission control policies give preference to traffic streams deemed to 
be more critical by a service provider under conditions of congestion. 
CAC priority class is a way of giving preference to admit higher 
priority flows ahead of lower priority flows.  A high-priority service 
flow can be admitted in preference over a normal-priority service flow, 
and in Table 2 three CAC priorities are given - high, normal, and best 
effort - along with example service applications:

                Table 2. CAC Priority Class

High CAC Priority:         Critical services such as emergency 
                           communications services, key business 
                           services, control traffic
Normal CAC Priority:       Non-critical services such as normal VoIP 
                           consumer services, normal email data 
                           traffic
Best Effort CAC Priority:  Lower priority services such as WWW/HTTP 
                           transactions

B.4.2. Restoration Priority Class

Table 3 defines restoration priority class as either high, normal, or 
best-effort. 

                Table 3. Restoration Priority Class

High Restoration Priority:        Critical Services such as emergency 
                                  communications services, key business 
                                  services, control traffic
Normal Restoration Priority:      Non-critical services such as normal 
                                  VoIP consumer services, normal email 
                                  data traffic
Best Effort Restoration Priority: Lower priority services such as 
                                  WWW/HTTP transactions

Restoration priority is achieved by provisioning sufficient backup 
capacity, as necessary, and allowing relative priority for access to 
available bandwidth when there is contention for restoration bandwidth. 
Optical transport networks, wavelength division multiplexing, and 
automatic switched optical networks (ASON) promise fast provisioning of 
a wide range of bandwidths (OC-3, OC-12, OC-48, OC-192). A network 
operator may flexibly choose to provide different protection/restoration 
options at various multiple transport levels (e.g. OTN, SONET section 
level, SONET path level), for different physical areas within the 
network.  Restoration is broadly defined here as the response from a 
network under conditions of failure. Potential methods for failure 
recovery include automatic protection switching for line/path 
protections and shared mesh restoration methods.

A service provider can assign a priority to traffic streams for 
restoration.  Each restoration class has two parameters:

a. Time-to-Restore: Total amount of time to restore traffic streams 
belonging to a given restoration class impacted by the failure. This 
time period depends on the technology deployed for restoration. A fast 
recovery period of < 200 ms is based on current experience with SONET 
rings and a slower recovery period of 2 seconds is suggested in order to 
enable a voice call to recover without being dropped. Accordingly, 
candidate restoration objectives are:

High Restoration Priority: Time-to-Restore <= 200 ms
Normal Restoration Priority: Time-to-Restore <= 2 s.
Best Effort Restoration Priority: Time-to-Restore == Unspecified

b. Extent of Restoration: Percentage of traffic belonging to the 
restoration class that can be restored. This percentage depends on the 
amount of spare capacity engineered. All high priority restoration 
priority traffic, for example, may be "guaranteed" at 100% by the 
service provider. Other classes may offer lesser chances for successful 
restoration. The restoration extent for these lower priority classes 
depend on SLA agreements developed between the service provider and the 
customer.

B.5. Examples of QoS Signaling Requirements Based on Y.1541 QoS Classes

B.5.1. User-Network Signaling

An example of the network response for 'QoS Class acceptance and 
parameter level indication' is a case where the network provider commits 
to the requested Class and indicates the achieved performance for Delay 
and Delay Variation supporting the Class 0 objectives.  The values 
indicated are simply estimates of performance, and the only binding 
commitment is to the QoS Class.  In the following tables, acceptance of 
the QoS Class indicates commitment to its objectives.

           Table 4. Example of QoS Class Acceptance
             with Specified Parameter Indications

Field Name                         Value     MandatoryField?
QoS Class Requested                Class 0   Yes
QoS Class Response                 Accept    Yes
Mean Transfer Delay (IPTD)         80 ms     No
99.9% - min Delay Var. (IPDV)      20 ms     No
Loss (IPLR)                                  No
Errored Packets (IPER)                       No

An example of the network response for 'QoS Class rejection and 
alternate class commitment and indications' is a case where the network 
provider rejects the requested Class and offers another Class with a 
specified parameter indication for Delay.

            Table 5. Example of QoS Class rejection
             with alternative offer and indications

Field Name                         Value     MandatoryField?
QoS Class Requested                Class 0   Yes
QoS Class Response                 Reject    Yes
QoS Class Offered                  Class 1   No
Mean Transfer Delay (IPTD)         180 ms    No
99.9% - min Delay Var. (IPDV)                No
Loss (IPLR)                                  No
Errored Packets (IPER)                       No

B.5.2. Network-Network Signaling

Signaling must communicate the consumption of the network (source-UNI to 
destination-UNI) QoS objectives. The fields used in signaling may take 
several forms:

Table 6. Example of Accumulating & Signaling Current Performance

                                 Requested      Currently Achieved
QoS Class                        Class 0        Class 0
Mean Transfer Delay (IPTD)       100 ms	        20 ms
99.9% - min Delay Var. (IPDV)    50 ms          10 ms
Loss (IPLR)                      10^-3          <10^-3
Errored Packets (IPER)           10^-4	        <10^-4
Status of Parameter Indications                 Allowed

Note that the requested parameter values are fully specified by the QoS 
Class, but are included in this table for simple comparison.  Only the 
achieved values and the requested/achieved Class number require 
signaling fields.

The network receiving this message determines its performance from 
entrance node to the destination, or to the most likely exit node to the 
best-next network.  The network would add its contribution to the 
Currently Achieved fields (according to a specified set of summation 
rules for each parameter), and send these fields on to the next network 
or back toward the requesting user.  Participating networks can indicate 
their willingness to indicate specific parameter values (where a single 
negative preference overrides others).  In case the requested QoS Class 
is not achieved, the response can contain the committed performance in 
excess of the offered Class, using the Currently Achieved values.

The ability for each network to enter and communicate its contribution 
to the achieved performance level is a network option, an example is 
shown below:

   Table 7. Example of Accumulating & Signaling Current Performance

                        Requested  Network 1    Network 2  Currently
                                                           Achieved
QoS Class               Class 0    Class 0	Class 0    Class 0
Mean Transfer Delay     100 ms     20 ms        10 ms      30 ms
(IPTD)
99.9% - min Delay Var.  50 ms      10 ms        10 ms      15 ms
(IPDV)
Loss (IPLR)             10^-3      <10^-3       <10^-3     <10^-3
Errored Packets (IPER)  10^-4      <10^-4       <10^-4     <10^-4
Status of Parameters               Allowed      Allowed    Allowed
Indications

A complete tabulation of the accumulated performance would allow 
corrective network actions if the Requested Class were not achieved.  
Summation rules are simple for transfer delay.  Average values for each 
network are added to the currently achieved value. More study is needed 
to determine the summation rules for delay variation and other 
parameters.

10. Full Copyright Statement

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