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RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions in Support of Flexi-Grid Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Networks
RFC 7792

Document Type RFC - Proposed Standard (March 2016)
Authors Fatai Zhang , Xian Zhang , Adrian Farrel , Oscar Gonzalez de Dios , Daniele Ceccarelli
Last updated 2016-03-11
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
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IESG Responsible AD Deborah Brungard
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RFC 7792
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          F. Zhang
Request for Comments: 7792                                      X. Zhang
Category: Standards Track                                         Huawei
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                A. Farrel
                                                      Old Dog Consulting
                                                     O. Gonzalez de Dios
                                                              Telefonica
                                                           D. Ceccarelli
                                                                Ericsson
                                                              March 2016

         RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions in Support of Flexi-Grid
         Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Networks

Abstract

   This memo describes the extensions to the Resource Reservation
   Protocol - Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE) signaling protocol to
   support Label Switched Paths (LSPs) in a GMPLS-controlled network
   that includes devices using the flexible optical grid.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7792.

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2016 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
   2. Terminology .....................................................3
      2.1. Conventions Used in This Document ..........................3
   3. Requirements for Flexible-Grid Signaling ........................4
      3.1. Slot Width .................................................4
      3.2. Frequency Slot .............................................5
   4. Protocol Extensions .............................................6
      4.1. Traffic Parameters .........................................6
           4.1.1. Applicability to Fixed-Grid Networks ................7
      4.2. Generalized Label ..........................................7
      4.3. Signaling Procedures .......................................7
   5. IANA Considerations .............................................8
      5.1. Class Types for RSVP Objects ...............................8
   6. Manageability Considerations ....................................8
   7. Security Considerations .........................................8
   8. References ......................................................9
      8.1. Normative References .......................................9
      8.2. Informative References .....................................9
   Acknowledgments ...................................................11
   Contributors ......................................................11
   Authors' Addresses ................................................12

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

1.  Introduction

   [G.694.1] defines the Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
   frequency grids for Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
   applications.  A frequency grid is a reference set of frequencies
   used to denote allowed nominal central frequencies that may be used
   for defining applications that utilize WDM transmission.  The channel
   spacing is the frequency spacing between two allowed nominal central
   frequencies.  All of the wavelengths on a fiber use different central
   frequencies and occupy a designated range of frequencies.

   Fixed-grid channel spacing is selected from 12.5 GHz, 25 GHz, 50 GHz,
   100 GHz, and integer multiples of 100 GHz.  Additionally, [G.694.1]
   defines "flexible grids", also known as "flexi-grid".  The terms
   "frequency slot" (i.e., the frequency range allocated to a specific
   channel and unavailable to other channels within a flexible grid) and
   "slot width" (i.e., the full width of a frequency slot in a flexible
   grid) are introduced in [G.694.1] to define a flexible grid.

   [RFC7698] defines a framework and the associated control-plane
   requirements for the GMPLS-based [RFC3945] control of flexi-grid DWDM
   networks.

   [RFC6163] provides a framework for GMPLS and Path Computation Element
   (PCE) control of Wavelength Switched Optical Networks (WSONs), and
   [RFC7689] describes the requirements and protocol extensions for
   signaling to set up Label Switched Paths (LSPs) in WSONs.

   This document describes the additional requirements and protocol
   extensions to Resource Reservation Protocol - Traffic Engineering
   (RSVP-TE) [RFC3473] to set up LSPs in networks that support the
   flexi-grid.

2.  Terminology

   For terminology related to flexi-grid, please refer to [RFC7698] and
   [G.694.1].

2.1.  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 [RFC2119].

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

3.  Requirements for Flexible-Grid Signaling

   The architecture for establishing LSPs in a flexi-grid network is
   described in [RFC7698].

   An optical-spectrum LSP occupies a specific frequency slot, i.e., a
   range of frequencies.  The process of computing a route and the
   allocation of a frequency slot is referred to as "Routing and
   Spectrum Assignment" (RSA).  [RFC7698] describes three architectural
   approaches to RSA: combined RSA, separated RSA, and distributed SA.
   The first two approaches are referred to as "centralized SA", because
   routing (i.e., path determination) and spectrum assignment (i.e.,
   selection of frequency slots) are both performed by a centralized
   entity prior to the signaling procedure.

   In the case of centralized SA, the assigned frequency slot is
   specified in the RSVP-TE Path message during LSP setup.  In the case
   of distributed SA, the slot width of the flexi-grid LSP is specified
   in the Path message, allowing the network elements to select the
   frequency slot to be used when they process the RSVP-TE messages.

   If the capability to switch or convert the whole optical spectrum
   allocated to an optical-spectrum LSP is not available at some nodes
   along the path of the LSP, the LSP is subject to the Optical
   "spectrum continuity constraint" as described in [RFC7698].

   The remainder of this section states the additional requirements for
   signaling in a flexi-grid network.

3.1.  Slot Width

   The slot width is an end-to-end parameter representing how much
   frequency resource is requested for a flexi-grid LSP.  It is the
   equivalent of optical bandwidth, although the amount of bandwidth
   associated with a slot width will depend on the signal encoding.

   Different LSPs may request different amounts of frequency resource in
   flexible-grid networks, so the slot width MUST be carried in the
   signaling message during LSP establishment.  This enables the nodes
   along the LSP to know how much frequency resource has been requested
   (in a Path message) and how much has been allocated (by a
   Resv message) for the LSP.

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

3.2.  Frequency Slot

   The frequency slot information identifies which part of the frequency
   spectrum is allocated on each link for an LSP in a flexi-grid
   network.

   This information MUST be present in a Resv message to indicate,
   hop by hop, the central frequency of the allocated resource.  In
   combination with the slot width indicated in a Resv message (see
   Section 3.1), the central frequency carried in a Resv message
   identifies the resources reserved for the LSP (known as the
   frequency slot).

   The frequency slot can be represented by two parameters, as follows:

      Frequency slot = [(central frequency) - (slot width)/2] ~
                       [(central frequency) + (slot width)/2]

   As is common with other resource identifiers (i.e., labels) in GMPLS
   signaling, it must be possible for the head-end node, when sending a
   Path message, to suggest or require the central frequency to be used
   for the LSP.  Furthermore, for bidirectional LSPs, the Path message
   MUST be able to specify the central frequency to be used for
   reverse-direction traffic.

   As described in [G.694.1], the allowed frequency slots for the
   flexible DWDM grid have a nominal central frequency (in THz),
   defined by:

      193.1 + n * 0.00625

      where n is zero or a positive or negative integer.

   The slot width (in GHz) is defined as:

      12.5 * m

      where m is a positive integer.

   It is possible that an implementation supports only a subset of the
   possible slot widths and central frequencies.  For example, an
   implementation can be built that is

   1. limited to have a nominal central frequency granularity of
      12.5 GHz, by only allowing values of n that are even, and

   2. further limited to only support slot widths of 25 GHz, by only
      allowing values of m that are even.

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

   Further details can be found in [RFC7698].

4.  Protocol Extensions

   This section defines the extensions to RSVP-TE signaling for GMPLS
   [RFC3473] to support flexible-grid networks.

4.1.  Traffic Parameters

   In RSVP-TE, the SENDER_TSPEC object in the Path message indicates the
   requested resource reservation.  The FLOWSPEC object in the Resv
   message indicates the actual resource reservation.  As described in
   Section 3.1, the slot width represents how much frequency resource is
   requested for a flexi-grid LSP.  That is, it describes the end-to-end
   traffic profile of the LSP.  Therefore, the traffic parameters for a
   flexi-grid LSP encode the slot width.

   This document defines new Class Types (C-Types) for the SENDER_TSPEC
   and FLOWSPEC objects to carry Spectrum-Switched Optical Network
   (SSON) traffic parameters:

      SSON SENDER_TSPEC: Class = 12, C-Type = 8.

      SSON FLOWSPEC: Class = 9, C-Type = 8.

   The SSON traffic parameters carried in both objects MUST have the
   format shown in Figure 1.

    0                   1                   2                   3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |              m                |            Reserved           |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

                   Figure 1: The SSON Traffic Parameters

      m (16 bits): a positive integer; the slot width is specified by
                   m * 12.5 GHz.

   The Reserved bits MUST be set to zero and ignored upon receipt.

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

4.1.1.  Applicability to Fixed-Grid Networks

   Note that the slot width (i.e., traffic parameters) of a fixed grid
   defined in [G.694.1] can also be specified by using the SSON traffic
   parameters.  The fixed-grid channel spacings (12.5 GHz, 25 GHz,
   50 GHz, 100 GHz, and integer multiples of 100 GHz) are also the
   multiples of 12.5 GHz, so the m parameter can be used to represent
   these slot widths.

   Therefore, it is possible to consider using the new traffic parameter
   object types in common signaling messages for flexi-grid and legacy
   DWDM networks.

4.2.  Generalized Label

   In the case of a flexible-grid network, the labels that have been
   requested or allocated as signaled in the RSVP-TE objects are encoded
   as described in [RFC7699].  This new label encoding can appear in any
   RSVP-TE object or sub-object that can carry a label.

   As noted in Section 4.2 of [RFC7699], the m parameter forms part of
   the label as well as part of the traffic parameters.

   As described in Section 4.3 of [RFC7699], a "compound label",
   constructed from a concatenation of the flexi-grid labels, is used
   when signaling an LSP that uses multiple flexi-grid slots.

4.3.  Signaling Procedures

   There are no differences between the signaling procedures described
   for LSP control in [RFC7698] and those required for use in a
   fixed-grid network [RFC7689].  Obviously, the TSpec, FlowSpec, and
   label formats described in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 are used.  The
   signaling procedures for distributed SA and centralized SA can be
   applied.

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

5.  IANA Considerations

5.1.  Class Types for RSVP Objects

   This document introduces two new Class Types for existing RSVP
   objects.  IANA has made the following allocations from the "Resource
   Reservation Protocol (RSVP) Parameters" registry using the "Class
   Names, Class Numbers, and Class Types" sub-registry.

       Class Number  Class Name                            Reference
       ------------  -----------------------               ---------
       9             FLOWSPEC                              [RFC2205]

                     Class Type (C-Type):

                     (8) SSON FLOWSPEC                     RFC 7792

       Class Number  Class Name                            Reference
       ------------  -----------------------               ---------
       12            SENDER_TSPEC                          [RFC2205]

                     Class Type (C-Type):

                     (8) SSON SENDER_TSPEC                 RFC 7792

6.  Manageability Considerations

   This document makes minor modifications to GMPLS signaling but does
   not change the manageability considerations for such networks.
   Clearly, protocol analysis tools and other diagnostic aids (including
   logging systems and MIB modules) will need to be enhanced to support
   the new traffic parameters and label formats.

7.  Security Considerations

   This document introduces no new security considerations to [RFC3473].

   See also [RFC5920] for a discussion of security considerations for
   GMPLS signaling.

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8.  References

8.1.  Normative References

   [G.694.1]  International Telecommunication Union, "Spectral grids for
              WDM applications: DWDM frequency grid", ITU-T
              Recommendation G.694.1, February 2012,
              <https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-G.694.1/en>.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC3473]  Berger, L., Ed., "Generalized Multi-Protocol Label
              Switching (GMPLS) Signaling Resource ReserVation
              Protocol-Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE) Extensions",
              RFC 3473, DOI 10.17487/RFC3473, January 2003,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3473>.

   [RFC7699]  Farrel, A., King, D., Li, Y., and F. Zhang, "Generalized
              Labels for the Flexi-Grid in Lambda Switch Capable (LSC)
              Label Switching Routers", RFC 7699, DOI 10.17487/RFC7699,
              November 2015, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7699>.

8.2.  Informative References

   [RFC2205]  Braden, R., Ed., Zhang, L., Berson, S., Herzog, S., and S.
              Jamin, "Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) -- Version 1
              Functional Specification", RFC 2205, DOI 10.17487/RFC2205,
              September 1997, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2205>.

   [RFC3945]  Mannie, E., Ed., "Generalized Multi-Protocol Label
              Switching (GMPLS) Architecture", RFC 3945,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC3945, October 2004,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3945>.

   [RFC5920]  Fang, L., Ed., "Security Framework for MPLS and GMPLS
              Networks", RFC 5920, DOI 10.17487/RFC5920, July 2010,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5920>.

   [RFC6163]  Lee, Y., Ed., Bernstein, G., Ed., and W. Imajuku,
              "Framework for GMPLS and Path Computation Element (PCE)
              Control of Wavelength Switched Optical Networks (WSONs)",
              RFC 6163, DOI 10.17487/RFC6163, April 2011,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6163>.

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

   [RFC7689]  Bernstein, G., Ed., Xu, S., Lee, Y., Ed., Martinelli, G.,
              and H. Harai, "Signaling Extensions for Wavelength
              Switched Optical Networks", RFC 7689,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7689, November 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7689>.

   [RFC7698]  Gonzalez de Dios, O., Ed., Casellas, R., Ed., Zhang, F.,
              Fu, X., Ceccarelli, D., and I. Hussain, "Framework and
              Requirements for GMPLS-Based Control of Flexi-Grid Dense
              Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Networks",
              RFC 7698, DOI 10.17487/RFC7698, November 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7698>.

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

Acknowledgments

   This work was supported in part by the FP-7 IDEALIST project under
   grant agreement number 317999.

Contributors

   Ramon Casellas
   CTTC
   Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss n7
   Castelldefels, Barcelona  08860
   Spain

   Email: ramon.casellas@cttc.es

   Felipe Jimenez Arribas
   Telefonica Investigacion y Desarrollo
   Emilio Vargas 6
   Madrid  28045
   Spain

   Email: felipej@tid.es

   Yi Lin
   Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
   F3-5-B R&D Center, Huawei Base
   Bantian, Longgang District
   Shenzhen  518129
   China

   Phone: +86 755-28972914
   Email: yi.lin@huawei.com

   Qilei Wang
   ZTE

   Email: wang.qilei@zte.com.cn

   Haomian Zheng
   Huawei Technologies

   Email: zhenghaomian@huawei.com

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RFC 7792         Flexi-Grid RSVP-TE Signaling Extensions      March 2016

Authors' Addresses

   Fatai Zhang
   Huawei Technologies

   Email: zhangfatai@huawei.com

   Xian Zhang
   Huawei Technologies

   Email: zhang.xian@huawei.com

   Adrian Farrel
   Old Dog Consulting

   Email: adrian@olddog.co.uk

   Oscar Gonzalez de Dios
   Telefonica Investigacion y Desarrollo
   Ronda de la Comunicacion S/N
   Madrid  28050
   Spain

   Phone: +34 913129647
   Email: oscar.gonzalezdedios@telefonica.com

   Daniele Ceccarelli
   Ericsson
   Via A. Negrone 1/A
   Genova - Sestri Ponente
   Italy

   Email: daniele.ceccarelli@ericsson.com

Zhang, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 12]