One document matched: draft-ietf-pce-pcecp-interarea-reqs-00.txt



Network Working Group                             J.-L. Le Roux (Editor) 
Internet Draft                                            France Telecom 
                                                  
                                                 
                                                 
                                              
                                              
                                                                         
Category: Informational                                                  
Expires: May 2006                                                        
                                                           December 2005 
 
 
 PCE Communication Protocol (PCECP) specific requirements for Inter-Area 
                       (G)MPLS Traffic Engineering 
 
              
             draft-ietf-pce-pcecp-interarea-reqs-00.txt 
 
 
Status of this Memo 
 
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Abstract 
    
   For scalability purposes a network may comprise multiple IGP areas. 
   An inter-area TE-LSP is an LSP that transits through at least two IGP 
   areas. In a multi-area network, topology visibility remains local to 
   a given area, and a head-end LSR cannot compute alone an inter-area 
   shortest constrained path. One key application of the Path 
   Computation Element (PCE) architecture is the computation of inter-
   area TE-LSP paths. In this context, this document lists a detailed 
   set of PCE Communication Protocol (PCECP) specific requirements for 
   support of inter-area TE-LSP path computation. It complements generic 
   requirements for a PCE Communication Protocol. 
 
Conventions used in this document 
 
   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", 
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED",  "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this 
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC-2119. 
 
Table of Contents 
    
   1.      Contributors................................................3 
   2.      Terminology.................................................3 
   3.      Introduction................................................4 
   4.      Problem Statement...........................................5 
   5.      Various approaches for PCE-based inter-area path 
             computation...............................................6 
   5.1.    Single PCE Computation......................................6 
   5.2.    Multiple PCE path computation with inter-PCE 
             communication.............................................8 
   6.      Considerations on PCE location..............................9 
   7.      Detailed Requirements on PCECP.............................10 
   7.1.    Supported modes for PCE-based inter-area path 
             computation..............................................10 
   7.2.    Control of area crossing...................................10 
   7.3.    Objective functions........................................11 
   7.4.    TE metric / IGP metric.....................................11 
   7.5.    Recording path attributes..................................11 
   7.6.    Strict Explicit path and Loose Path........................12 
   7.7.    PCE-list enforcement and recording in Multiple PCE 
             Computation..............................................12 
   7.8.    Inclusion of Area IDs in request...........................13 
   7.9.    Load-Balancing.............................................13 
   7.10.   Diverse Path computation...................................13 
   7.11.   LSP failure handling.......................................14 
   7.11.1. LSP Rerouting..............................................14 
   7.11.2. Backup path computation....................................14 
   7.12.   Inter-Area policies........................................15 
   7.13.   Scalability................................................15 
   8.      Manageability consideration................................16 
   9.      Security Considerations....................................16 
   10.     Acknowledgments............................................16 
 
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   11.     Informative References.....................................16 
   12.     Editor Address:............................................17 
   13.     Contributors' Addresses....................................17 
   14.     Intellectual Property Statement............................18 
    
    
1. Contributors  
    
   The following are the authors that contributed to the present 
   document: 
 
   Jerry Ash (AT&T) 
   Dean Cheng (Cisco) 
   Kenji Kumaki (KDDI) 
   J.L. Le Roux (France Telecom) 
   Eiji Oki (NTT) 
   Nabil Bitar (Verizon) 
   Raymond Zhang (BT Infonet) 
 
2. Terminology 
    
      LSR: Label Switching Router 
    
      LSP: MPLS Label Switched Path 
    
      TE-LSP: Traffic Engineering Label Switched Path 
    
      IGP area: OSPF Area or IS-IS level 
    
      ABR: IGP Area Border Router, a router that is attached to more  
           than one IGP areas (ABR in OSPF or L1/L2 router in IS-IS) 
    
      Inter-Area TE LSP: TE LSP that traverses more than one IGP area 
    
      CSPF: Constraint Shortest Path First 
 
      SRLG: Shared Risk Link Group 
 
      PCE: Path Computation Element, an entity that can compute path  
           based on a network graph and applying computational  
           constraints 
 
      PCC: Path Computation Client, any application that request path  
           computation to be performed by a PCE 
 
      PCECP: PCE Communication Protocol, a protocol for communication  
             between PCCs and PCEs 
 
 
 
 

 
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3. Introduction 
 
   IGP hierarchy consists of separating an IGP domain into multiple IGP 
   areas, and limiting the topology visibility local to an area. This 
   mechanism significantly improves IGP scalability.  
    
   [RFC4105] lists a set of motivations and requirements for setting up 
   TE-LSPs across IGP area boundaries. These LSPs are called inter-area 
   TE-LSPs. These requirements include the computation of inter- 
   area shortest constrained paths with key guidelines being to respect 
   the IGP hierarchy concept, and particularly the containment of 
   topology information. The main challenge with inter-area MPLS-TE 
   relies actually on path computation. The head-end LSR cannot compute 
   an end-to-end shortest constrained path, as its topology visibility 
   is limited to one area. Path computation can rely on loose hops with 
   ERO expansion on each ABR, but this faces two issues: (1) it does not 
   guarantee the computation of a shortest path that satisfies the TE-
   LSP constraints, and (2) it may result in several signalling 
   crankback messages before it successfully sets up the path.  
    
   The Path Computation Element (PCE) Architecture, defined in [PCE-
   ARCH] can provide a suitable framework for computing an inter-area 
   shortest path for a TE-LSP. 
   [PCE-ARCH] defines PCEs as entities that can compute paths based on a 
   network graph and applying computational constraints. A PCE function 
   can be located on a LSR or a network server. It defines a Path 
   Computation Client (PCC) as an application requesting a path 
   computation to be performed by a PCE. Typically a PCC can be a head-
   end LSR, a transit LSR requesting a TE-LSP path computation, or a PCE 
   requesting a path computation of another PCE, in a collaborative 
   mode. 
    
   One of the key applications of the PCE architecture is inter-domain 
   path computation, where head-end LSRs have a limited topology view 
   beyond its own domain. This includes both inter-area and inter-AS 
   path computation.  
   Inter-area path computation requirements expressed in [RFC4105] may 
   be achieved using the services of one or more PCEs.  
   PCE-based inter-area path computation could rely for instance on a 
   single multi-area PCE that has the TE database of all the areas in 
   the IGP domain and can directly compute an end-to-end shortest 
   constrained path.   
   Alternatively, PCE-based inter-area path computation could rely on 
   the cooperation between PCEs whereby each PCE covers one or more IGP 
   areas and the full set of PCEs covers all areas. 
 
   The generic requirements for a PCE Communication Protocol (PCECP), 
   allowing a PCC to send path computation requests to a PCE and the PCE 
   to sent path computation response to a PCC are listed in [PCE-COM-
   REQ]. The use of a PCE-based approach, for inter-area path 
   computation implies specific requirements on a PCE Communication 

 
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   Protocol, in addition to the generic requirements already listed in 
   [PCE-COM-REQ].  
   This document complements these generic requirements by listing a 
   detailed set of PCECP requirements specific to the PCE-based 
   computation of inter-area TE-LSPs.  
 
   The problem statement is discussed in section 4. Various PCE-based 
   modes for inter-area path computation are described in section 5. 
   Considerations for PCE location are provided in section 6. Finally 
   detailed requirements are listed in section 7. 
 
   It is expected that a solution for a PCE Communication Protocol 
   (PCECP) satisfies these requirements.  
    
   Note that PCE-based inter-area path computation may require a 
   mechanism for an automatic PCE discovery across areas, which is out 
   of the scope of this document. Detailed requirements for such 
   mechanism are discussed in [PCE-DISCO-REQ]. 
 
4. Problem Statement 
    
   In intra-area MPLS-TE, a head-end LSR has complete topology 
   visibility of the area and can compute an end-to-end shortest 
   constrained path. IGP hierarchy allows improving IGP scalability, 
   particularly in large networks with hundreds of nodes and thousands 
   of links, by dividing the IGP domain into areas and limiting the 
   flooding scope of topology information to area boundaries. A router 
   in an area has full topology information for its own area but only 
   reachability to routes in other areas._ Thus, a head-end LSR cannot 
   compute an end-to-end constrained path that traverses more than one 
   IGP area.  
    
   A solution for computing inter-area TE-LSP path relies on a per 
   domain path computation ([PD-COMP]). It is based on loose hop routing 
   with an ERO expansion on each ABR. This can allow setting up a 
   constrained path, but faces two major limitations:  
        -This does not allow computing an optimal constrained path 
        -This may lead to several signalling crankback messages and  
         hence delay the LSP setup, and invoke routing activities. 
    
   Note that, here, by optimal constrained path we mean the shortest 
   constrained path across multiple areas, taking into account either 
   the IGP or TE metric [METRIC]. In other words, such a path is the 
   path that would have been computed by making use of some CSPF 
   algorithm in the absence of multiple IGP areas.  
    
   The PCE architecture is well suited to inter-area path computation, 
   as it allows overcoming the path computation limitations resulting 
   from the limited topology visibility, by introducing path computation 
   entities with more topology visibility, or by allowing cooperation 
   between path computation entities in each area. 
    
 
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   Several PCE-based path computation approaches can be used to compute 
   inter-area optimal constrained paths, they are discussed in next 
   section.  
    
   The use of a PCE-based approach, to perform inter-area path 
   computation requires specific functions in a PCECP, in addition to 
   the generic requirements listed in [PCE-COM-REQ]. Detailed 
   requirements are discussed in section 7. 
 
5. Various approaches for PCE-based inter-area path computation 
 
   There are various possible modes for PCE-Based inter-area path 
   computation. 
   The computation of an inter-area optimal path could be done by: 
         - a single PCE, that has enough topology visibility and can  
           alone compute an end-to-end optimal path,  
         - multiple PCEs, that have partial topology  
           visibility and collaborate with each other so as to arrive at       
           an end-to-end optimal path.  
    
   These two modes are referred as to "Single PCE computation" and 
   "Multiple PCE computation with inter-PCE communication" in [PCE-
   ARCH]. Note that these two modes may co-exist in a given multi-area 
   network. 
    
   Note that the per-area path computation mode relying on route 
   expansion performed directly by ABRs on the path (which function has 
   composite PCEs) , or on external PCEs contacted by the ABRs on the 
   path, consists in fact of a simple concatenation of intra area paths. 
   It actually only implies intra-area path computations and does not 
   allow computing inter-area optimal paths. Hence this mode is not 
   discussed in this document. 
    
5.1. Single PCE Computation 
 
   In this mode the inter-area path computation is directly performed by  
   a single PCE that has enough topology information to compute an end-
   to-end optimal path.  
   No inter-PCE communication is required in this mode. 
    
   This mode requires that the PCE have at least the TED of all the 
   crossed areas for a given LSP. The actual distribution of PCEs may 
   vary, i.e., a PCE may have TE database base from two, three or more 
   IGP areas. If the head-end and tail-end LSRs are located in two 
   peripheral areas, the PCE must have the TED of the source, backbone, 
   and destination areas. In the particular case where the head-
   end/tail-End LSR is located in the backbone area and the tail-
   end/head-end LSR is located in a peripheral area, the PCE only needs 
   the TED of the backbone area and the peripheral area to compute the 
   path. 
 

 
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   Figure 1 below illustrates an example of single PCE inter-area 
   computation.  
 
                       ------          
                      | PCE0 | 
                   /   ------   \   
                  /      |       \ 
                 /       |        \ 
                /        |         \   
               /         |          \   
     ------------------------------------------ 
    |            |               |             | 
    |           ABR2            ABR3           | 
   R1    area1   |    area0      |    area2    R2 
    |           ABR1            ABR4           | 
    |            |               |             |             
     ------------------------------------------ 
    
   Figure 1: Example of single PCE computation. 
 
   In this multi area network PCE0 has topology visibility in area1, 
   area0 and area2 and can compute and end-to-end path from area 1 to 
   area 2. To setup an inter-area LSP from R1 in area 1 to R2 in area 2, 
   R1 has to directly contact PCE0. 
    
   Note that this mode may rely on PCEs that have knowledge of topology 
   in all areas. Such a PCE is called an "all-areas" PCE. 
   Particular attention should be given on the potential limitations of 
   this "all-areas" PCE approach, in terms of scalability. Such all-area 
   PCEs may have to maintain a large topology and this raises 
   scalability issues both in terms of memory to maintain the TED and 
   processing to synchronize TED information.   
   Also such all-area PCEs would potentially serve a large number of 
   PCCs, and hence may face a huge path computation request overload 
   during a network event such as link or node failure (that may impact 
   a large number of TE-LSPs on a large number of head-end LSRs). This 
   may significantly delay the TE-LSP recovery, and thus may diminish 
   the benefits of such an approach. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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5.2. Multiple PCE path computation with inter-PCE communication 
    
   In this mode the computation of an optimal inter-area TE-LSP path is 
   distributed across multiple PCEs.  
   There is at least one PCE per area, and those PCEs do not have enough 
   topology visibility to compute and inter-area optimal path. 
   PCEs in each area compute path segments in their respective areas and 
   collaborate together to arrive at an end-to-end inter-area optimal 
   path. Such collaboration is ensured thanks to inter-PCE 
   communication. 
   The actual distribution of PCEs may vary, i.e. a PCE may have TE 
   database from one, two, or more IGP areas, and the important thing is 
   that the collection of topology and TE information maintained by a 
   set of PCEs collectively must cover all the IGP areas where all 
   inter-area LSPs traverse.  
    
   Figure 2 and 3 below illustrate two examples of multiple PCE inter-
   area computation 
     
        ------          ------        ------ 
       | PCE1 |<------>| PCE0 |<---->| PCE2 | 
        ------          ------        ------ 
          |               |              | 
          |               |              | 
     -------------------------------------------- 
    |            |                 |             | 
    |           ABR2              ABR3           | 
   R1    area1   |    area0        |    area2    R2 
    |           ABR1              ABR4           | 
    |            |                 |             |             
     -------------------------------------------- 
    
   Figure 2: Cooperation between single-area PCEs 
    
   Figure 2 above illustrates a multi-area network with 3 areas. PCE0, 
   PCE1 and PCE2 are PCEs responsible for path computation respectively 
   in area 0, 1 and 2. These PCEs have topology visibility limited to 
   one area and are called single-area PCEs.  
   To setup an inter-area LSP from R1 in area 1 to R2 in area 2, R1 has 
   to contact PCE1. PCE1 then collaborates with PCE0, and PCE0 with PCE2 
   so as to compute an end-to-end shortest constrained path. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
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             ------             ------ 
            | PCE1 |   <---->  | PCE2 | 
             ------             ------ 
            /      \            /    \        
           /        \          /      \         
     -------------------------------------------- 
    |            |                 |             | 
    |           ABR2              ABR3           | 
   R1    area1   |    area0        |    area2    R2 
    |           ABR1              ABR4           | 
    |            |                 |             |             
     -------------------------------------------- 
    
   Figure 3: Cooperation between multi-area PCEs 
    
   Figure 3 above illustrates a multi-area network with 3 areas. PCE1, 
   and PCE2 are PCEs responsible for path computation respectively in 
   area 0+1 and in area 0+2. This means that PCE1 and PCE2 have topology 
   visibility in area0+area1 and area0+area2 respectively. 
   To setup an inter-area LSP from R1 in area 1 to R2 in area 2, R1 has 
   to contact PCE1. PCE1 then collaborates with PCE2, so as to compute 
   an end-to-end shortest constrained path. 
 
6. Considerations on PCE location 
    
   As explained in [PCE-ARCH] a PCE can be a LSR or a network server.  
    
   But note that in the inter-area context, it may be quite efficient 
   for the ABRs to act as PCEs. Indeed, ABRs have topology information 
   of the backbone area and at least one peripheral area. An inter-area 
   TE-LSP optimal path computation could rely on a single ABR, if the 
   path crosses only two IGP areas, or on collaboration between two ABRs 
   in case the path crosses three IGP areas.  
   For instance, in figure 2 above, ABR1 or ABR2 can play PCE1 role, and 
   similarly ABR3 or ABR4 can play PCE2 role. Note that such ABRs are 
   not necessarily transit LSRs on the computed inter-area TE LSP. 
    
   With such PCE distribution on ABRs, the PCECP would run directly 
   between LSRs. Note that if N peripheral areas are connected to one 
   backbone area, with at least N ABRs, inter-area path computation 
   would potentially require a full mesh of N^2 PCE-PCE communications 
   between ABRs. This reinforces the requirement for communication 
   protocol overhead minimization, expressed in [PCE-COM-REQ]. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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7. Detailed Requirements on PCECP 
    
   This section lists a set of additional requirements for the PCE 
   Communication Protocol that complement requirements listed in [PCE-
   COM-REQ] and are specific to inter-area (G)MPLS TE path computation. 
 
7.1. Supported modes for PCE-based inter-area path computation 
    
   The PCECP MUST support the two PCE based inter-area path computation 
   modes set forth in section 5.  
 
   Multiple PCE inter-area path computation requires cooperation between  
   PCEs. Hence the PCECP MUST support cooperation between PCEs so as to  
   arrive at an inter-area optimal path. It MUST allow requests and  
   replies for cooperative inter-area path computation.  
 
   A simple cooperation may consists in exchanging intra or inter-area  
   path Segments, and combine them to build an end-to-end optimal path. 
   This is a basic cooperation level that allows building an inter-area  
   optimal path in a recursive manner.  
   The path segment combination could be done in the backward  
   direction, in which case an inter-PCE response message includes a set  
   of computed intra or inter-area path segments from a set of  
   downstream ABRs to the destination, along with their respective cost.  
   These path segments have to be completed by upstream PCEs in a  
   recursive manner so as to build an end-to-end optimal path across  
   areas. To support this collaboration mode, a response message MUST  
   allow the inclusion of multiple intra-area or inter-area path  
   segments from a set of downstream ABRs, to the destination, along  
   with their respective cost (see also 8.4). 
    
   Note that path segment combination in the forward direction is for  
   further Study. 
 
7.2. Control of area crossing 
    
   In addition to the path constraints specified in section 6.1.16 of 
   [PCE-COM-REQ] the request message MUST allow indicating whether area 
   crossing is allowed or not.  
   Indeed, for inter-area TE LSPs whose head-end and tail-end LSRs 
   reside in the same IGP area, there may be intra-area and inter-area 
   feasible paths, and, as set forth in [RFC4105], if the shortest path 
   is an inter-area path, an operator either may want to avoid, as far 
   as possible, crossing area and thus may prefer selecting a sub-
   optimal intra-area path or, conversely, may prefer to use a shortest 
   path, even if it crosses areas.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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7.3. Objective functions  
    
   *Editorial note: This section will be moved to the generic 
   requirement draft [PCE-COM-REQ] as this requirement applies to 
   various PCE applications* 
 
   As specified in [PCE-COM-REQ] an objective function corresponds to 
   the optimization criteria used for the computation of one path, or 
   the synchronized computation of a set of paths.  In case of 
   unsynchronized path computation, this can be, for example, the path 
   cost or the residual bandwidth on the most loaded path link.  In case 
   of synchronized path computation, this can be, for example, the 
   global bandwidth consumption or the residual bandwidth on the most 
   loaded network link. 
 
   For the purpose of inter-area path computation the PCECP MUST support 
   the following "unsynchronized" objective functions: 
        -Minimum cost path (shortest path)  
        -Least loaded path (widest path) 
        -To be completed 
    
   Also the PCECP SHOULD support the following "synchronized" objective 
   functions: 
        -Minimize aggregate bandwidth consumption on all links 
        -Maximize the residual bandwidth on the most loaded link. 
        -Minimize the cumulative cost of a set of diverse paths. 
 
   Note that the absence of an objective function in this list does not 
   mean that it must not be supported.  As per the extensibility 
   requirement expressed in [PCE-COM-REQ], note that new objective 
   functions can be added to this list without impacting the protocol. 
 
7.4. TE metric / IGP metric 
    
   The shortest path selection may rely either on the TE metric or on 
   the IGP metric (see [METRIC]). Hence the PCECP request message MUST 
   allow indicating the metric type (IGP or TE) to be used for shortest 
   path selection. 
    
7.5. Recording path attributes 
 
   There are at least three aggregate path attributes defined in 
   (G)MPLS-TE: the hop-count, the cumulated TE-metric, and the cumulated 
   IGP-metric. The operator can actually give any semantic to the TE 
   metric and IGP metric. As suggested in [METRIC], if the TE-metric 
   encodes the link cost and the IGP metric the link delay, the 
   cumulated TE-metric indicates the total cost of the LSP and the 
   cumulated IGP metric the end-to-end propagation delay (provided that 
   the LSR transit delay is neglected in a first approximation). 
    
   A PCC may need to know the aggregate path attributes of an LSR, for 
   instance to select a preferred path among a set of computed paths.  
 
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   In an inter-area context, a PCC may not be able to deduce this 
   information from the supplied path.  
   Therefore the PCECP request message MUST allow indicating the set of 
   aggregate path attributes (hop-count, cumulated TE-metric, cumulated 
   IGP-Metric) that are required in the reply and the PCECP response 
   message MUST support the inclusion of a set of aggregate path 
   attributes. 
    
   Note that if new TE link attributes are defined in the future to 
   encode specific link parameters, and allowing to define specific 
   aggregate path constraints, such as, e.g. delay, distance or power 
   loss, the PCEPC will have to be extended to support them.  
    
   Note that in case the computed path includes loose hops the PCE may 
   not be able to give an accurate aggregate path attribute. Hence the 
   response message MUST allow indicating that an aggregate path 
   attribute is unknown. 
    
7.6. Strict Explicit path and Loose Path 
    
   A Strict Explicit Path is defined as a set of strict hops. 
   A Loose Path is defined as a set of strict and loose hops. 
   An inter-area path may be strictly explicit or loose (e.g. a list of 
   ABRs as loose hops) 
   It may be useful to indicate to the PCE if a Strict Explicit path is 
   required or not.  
   Hence the PCECP request message MUST allow indicating if a Strict 
   Explicit Path is required/desired. 
 
7.7. PCE-list enforcement and recording in Multiple PCE Computation 
 
   In case of multiple-PCE path computation, a PCC may want to indicate 
   a preferred list of PCEs to be used.  
   Hence the PCECP request message MUST support the inclusion of a list 
   of preferred PCEs. 
   Note that this requires that a PCC in one area have knowledge of PCEs 
   in other areas. This could rely on configuration or on a PCE 
   discovery mechanism, allowing discovery across area boundaries (see 
   [PCE-DISCO-REQ]). 
    
   Also it would be useful to know the list of PCEs which effectively 
   participated in the computation.  
   Hence the request message MUST support requesting for PCE recording 
   and the response message MUST support the recording of the set of one 
   or more PCEs that took part into the computation. 
   It may also be useful to know the path segments computed by each PCE. 
   Hence the request message SHOULD allow requesting for the 
   identification of path segment computed by a PCE, and the response 
   message SHOULD allow identifying the path segments computed by each 
   PCE. 
 

 
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7.8. Inclusion of Area IDs in request 
    
   The knowledge of the area in which the source and destination lie 
   would allow selection of appropriate cooperating PCEs. 
   A PCE may not be able to determine the location of the source and 
   destination LSRs. Hence it would be useful that a PCC indicates the 
   source area ID and destination area IDs.  
    
   For that purpose the request message MUST support the inclusion of 
   source and destination area IDs. 
   Note that this information could be learned on the PCC by 
   configuration. 
 
7.9. Load-Balancing 
    
   *Editorial note: This section will be moved to the generic 
   requirement draft [PCE-COM-REQ] as this requirement applies to 
   various PCE applications* 
 
   In some cases a single inter-area path may not fit a TE-LSP bandwidth 
   constraint. In this case it may be useful to setup a set of paths 
   whose cumulated residual bandwidth fit the TE-LSP bandwidth request. 
   This is what we call load balancing.  
   So as to avoid ending up with a huge number of paths for a given 
   request, and/or with low bandwidth paths, it is required to control 
   the number of computed paths and the minimum path bandwidth. 
    
   The request message MUST allow indicating if load-balancing is 
   allowed or not. It MUST also include the number of paths in a load-
   balancing path group, and the minimum path bandwidth in a load-
   balancing path group. The response MUST support the inclusion of the 
   set of computed paths of a load-balancing path group, as well as 
   their respective bandwidth. 
 
7.10. Diverse Path computation 
    
   For various reasons including protection and load balancing, the 
   computation of diverse inter-area paths may be required.  
   There are various levels of diversity in an inter-area context:  
        -Per area diversity (intra-area path segments are link, node or  
         SRLG disjoint) 
        -Inter-Area diversity (end-to-end inter-area paths are link,  
         node or SRLG disjoint) 
    
   Note that two paths may be disjoint in the backbone area but shared 
   in peripheral areas. Also two paths may be node disjoints within 
   areas but may share ABRs. 
 
   The request message MUST allow requesting the computation of a set of 
   diverse paths between a same couple of nodes or distinct couples of 
   nodes. It MUST allow indicating the required level of intra-area 

 
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   diversity (link, node, SRLG) on a per area basis, as well as the 
   level of inter-area diversity (shared ABRs or ABR disjointness). 
    
   The response message MUST allow indicating the level of diversity of 
   a set of computed loose paths. 
 
   Note that specific objective function may be requested for diverse 
   path computation, such as to minimize the cumulated cost of a set of 
   diverse paths (see also 7.3). 
 
7.11. LSP failure handling 
      
7.11.1. LSP Rerouting 
    
   *Editorial note: This section will be moved to the generic 
   requirement draft [PCE-COM-REQ] as this requirement applies to 
   various PCE applications* 
 
   Upon LSP failure, due to link, node or SRLG failure, a head-end LSR 
   may send a request to the PCE so as to reroute the LSP over an 
   alternate path. So as to ease the computation such request should 
   include the previous path and the failed element (if it can be 
   identified). 
    
   Hence the request message MUST allow indicating if the computation is 
   for an LSP restoration, and MUST support the inclusion of the 
   previously computed path as well as the failed element. 
   Note that the old path is actually useful only if the old LSP is not 
   torn down yet. This is up to the PCC to decide if it includes the old 
   path or not. 
    
   Note that a network failure may impact a large number of LSPs. A 
   potentially large number of PCCs, are going to simultaneously send a 
   request to the PCE. Some jittering may be used on PCCs so as to delay 
   a request to the PCE, under network failure condition. 
    
   The PCECP MAY support  the inclusion, in a response message to a PCC, 
   of an upper bound of the jitter to be used for further requests to 
   the PCE (e.g. the PCC will wait for a random value between 0 and the 
   upper bound before sending another request). This upper bound would 
   depend on the level of congestion of the PCE. 
      
7.11.2. Backup path computation 
    
   ABRs can be protected using Fast Reroute (FRR) node protection [MPLS-
   FRR]. This requires setting up inter-area FRR backup LSPs (bypass or 
   detour). 
   The PCECP SHOULD support the computation of inter-area FRR backup 
   LSPs (detour or bypass). Note that the objective function may be to 
   minimize overhaul backup bandwidth consumption, by maximizing 
   bandwidth sharing among backup LSPs protecting independent elements. 

 
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   Detailed requirements for intra and inter-area PCE-based backup path 
   computation are for further study and will be addressed in a separate 
   document.  
 
7.12. Inter-Area policies 
    
   As already defined in Section 8.2 a request message MUST allow  
   indicating whether area crossing is allowed or not. 
    
   A PCE may want to apply policies based on the initiating PCC. 
   In a multiple-PCE computation the address of the initiating PCC may    
   no longer be part of the request messages sent between PCEs. 
   Hence, the request message MUST support the inclusion of the address  
   of the originator PCC. 
    
   Note that in some case this is important to contain an inter-area  
   path within a single AS. Hence the request message MUST allow  
   indicating that AS crossing is not authorized.  
 
7.13. Scalability 
    
   As already pointed out in [PCE-COM-REQ] the PCECP MUST scale well, at 
   least as good as linearly, with an increase of any of the following 
   parameters:  
      - number of PCCs communicating with a single PCE  
      - number of PCEs communicated to by a single PCC 
      - number of PCEs communicated to by another PCE 
      - number of request per PCE per second in steady state 
      - number of requests per PCE per second under emergency condition 
                   
   Note that these numbers will depend on the level of PCE distribution 
   and on the PCE approach used (Single PCE computation, Multiple PCEs 
   computation…) 
    
   For instance in a network that comprises I IGP areas, with P PCCs    
   per area and A ABRs per area boundary then 
        -For single PCE computation with an all-areas PCE Server: 
                -Number of PCCs communicating with a single PCE=I*P 
                -Number of PCEs communicated to by a single PCC=1 
                -Number of PCEs communicated to by another PCE=0 
                 
        -For multiple PCE computation with ABRs acting as PCEs: 
                -Number of PCCs communicating with a single PCE=P 
                -Number of PCE communicated to by a single PCC=I*A 
                -Number of PCEs communicated to by another PCE=I*A 
 
   Typical values for a large inter-area network can be: I=50, P=100,  
   and A=2. 
 
   Note also that the memory and CPU consumed to maintain and 
   synchronize the TED on a PCE will directly depend on the number of 

 
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   areas under control of the PCE. This may diminish the benefits of 
   "all area" PCEs, but this is beyond the scope of this document. 
 
8. Manageability consideration 
 
    Manageability of inter-area PCEs must address the following    
    consideration for section 7: 
 
    - need for a MIB module for control plane and monitoring  
    - need for built-in diagnostic tools 
    - configuration implications for the protocol 
 
9. Security Considerations 
    
   IGP areas are administrated by the same entity. Hence the inter-area 
   application does not imply new trust model, or new security issues 
   beyond those already defined in [PCE-COM-REQ]. 
    
10. Acknowledgments 
 
   We would also like to thank Adrian Farrel, Jean-Philippe Vasseur, 
   Bruno Decraene and Yannick Le Louedec for their useful comments and  
   suggestions. 
 
11. Informative References 
    
   [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate 
   Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997. 
    
   [RFC3667] Bradner, S., "IETF Rights in Contributions", BCP 78, RFC 
   3667, February 2004. 
 
   [BCP79] Bradner, S., "Intellectual Property Rights in IETF 
   Technology", RFC 3979, March 2005. 
    
   [RFC4105] Le Roux J.L., Vasseur J.P., Boyle, J., et al. "Requirements 
   for inter-area MPLS-TE" RFC 4105, June 2005. 
    
   [PCE-ARCH] A. Farrel, JP. Vasseur and J. Ash, “Path Computation 
   Element (PCE) Architecture”, draft-ietf-pce-architecture (work in 
   progress). 
    
   [PCE-COM-REQ] J. Ash, J.L Le Roux et al., “PCE Communication Protocol 
   Generic Requirements”, draft-ietf-pce-comm-protocol-gen-reqs (work in 
   progress). 
    
   [PCE-DISC-REQ] J.L. Le Roux et al., “Requirements for Path 
   Computation Element (PCE) Discovery”, draft-ietf-pce-discovery-reqs 
   (work in progress). 
 

 
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   [PD-COMP] Vasseur, J.P., Ayyangar, A., Zhang, R., " A Per-domain path 
   computation method for computing Inter-domain Traffic Engineering 
   (TE) Label Switched Path (LSP)", draft-ietf-ccamp-inter-domain-pd-
   path-comp, work in progress 
                                 
   [METRIC] Le Faucheur, F., Uppili, R., Vedrenne, A., Merckx, P., 
   and T. Telkamp, "Use of Interior Gateway Protocol(IGP) Metric as a 
   second MPLS Traffic Engineering (TE) Metric", BCP 87, RFC 3785, May 
   2004. 
 
   [ID-RSVP] Ayyangar, A., Vasseur, J.P., "Inter domain GMPLS Traffic 
   Engineering - RSVP-TE extensions", draft-ietf-ccamp-inter-domain-
   rsvp-te, work in progress. 
    
 
12. Editor Address:  
     
   Jean-Louis Le Roux  
   France Telecom  
   2, avenue Pierre-Marzin  
   22307 Lannion Cedex  
   FRANCE 
   Email: jeanlouis.leroux@francetelecom.com 
  
13. Contributors' Addresses 
 
   Jerry Ash 
   AT&T 
   Room MT D5-2A01 
   200 Laurel Avenue 
   Middletown, NJ 07748, USA 
   Phone: +1-(732)-420-4578 
   Email: gash@att.com 
 
   Nabil Bitar 
   Verizon 
   40 Sylvan Road 
   Waltham, MA 02145 
   Email: nabil.bitar@verizon.com 
 
   Dean Cheng 
   Cisco Systems Inc. 
   3700 Cisco Way 
   San Jose CA 95134 USA 
   Phone: +1 408 527 0677 
   Email: dcheng@cisco.com 
 
   Kenji Kumaki 
   KDDI Corporation 
   Garden Air Tower 
   Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, 
   Tokyo 102-8460, JAPAN 
 
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   Phone: +81-3-6678-3103 
   Email: ke-kumaki@kddi.com 
 
   Eiji Oki 
   NTT 
   Midori-cho 3-9-11 
   Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8585, JAPAN 
   Email: oki.eiji@lab.ntt.co.jp 
    
   Raymond Zhang 
   BT INFONET Services Corporation 
   2160 E. Grand Ave. 
   El Segundo, CA 90245 USA 
   Email: Raymond_zhang@bt.infonet.com 
    
    
14. Intellectual Property Statement 
 
   The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any 
   Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to 
   pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in 
   this document or the extent to which any license under such rights 
   might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has 
   made any independent effort to identify any such rights.  Information 
   on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be 
   found in BCP 78 and BCP 79. 
    
   Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any 
   assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an 
   attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of 
   such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this 
   specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at 
   http://www.ietf.org/ipr. 
    
   The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any 
   copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary 
   rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement 
   this standard.  Please address the information to the IETF at  
   ietf-ipr@ietf.org. 
    
   Disclaimer of Validity 
    
   This document and the information contained herein are provided on an 
   "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS 
   OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET 
   ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, 
   INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE 
   INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED 
   WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 
    
   Copyright Statement 
    
 
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   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).  This document is subject 
   to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and 
   except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights. 
 
 
 
    













































 
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