Applicability of the Path Computation Element (PCE) to the Abstraction and Control of TE Networks (ACTN)
RFC 8637

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          D. Dhody
Request for Comments: 8637                           Huawei Technologies
Category: Informational                                           Y. Lee
ISSN: 2070-1721                                   Futurewei Technologies
                                                           D. Ceccarelli
                                                                Ericsson
                                                               July 2019

          Applicability of the Path Computation Element (PCE)
          to the Abstraction and Control of TE Networks (ACTN)

Abstract

   Abstraction and Control of TE Networks (ACTN) refers to the set of
   virtual network (VN) operations needed to orchestrate, control, and
   manage large-scale multidomain TE networks so as to facilitate
   network programmability, automation, efficient resource sharing, and
   end-to-end virtual service-aware connectivity and network function
   virtualization services.

   The Path Computation Element (PCE) is a component, application, or
   network node that is capable of computing a network path or route
   based on a network graph and applying computational constraints.  The
   PCE serves requests from Path Computation Clients (PCCs) that
   communicate with it over a local API or using the Path Computation
   Element Communication Protocol (PCEP).

   This document examines the applicability of PCE to the ACTN
   framework.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for informational purposes.

   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).  Not all documents
   approved by the IESG are candidates for any level of Internet
   Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 7841.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8637.

Dhody, et al.                 Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 8637                        PCE-ACTN                       July 2019

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Background Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.1.  Path Computation Element (PCE)  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
       2.1.1.  Role of PCE in SDN  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
       2.1.2.  PCE in Multidomain and Multilayer Deployments . . . .   4
       2.1.3.  Relationship to PCE-Based Central Control . . . . . .   5
     2.2.  Abstraction and Control of TE Networks (ACTN) . . . . . .   5
   3.  Architectural Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     3.1.  Multidomain Coordination via Hierarchy  . . . . . . . . .   7
     3.2.  Abstraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     3.3.  Customer Mapping  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     3.4.  Virtual Service Coordination  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   4.  Interface Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   5.  Realizing ACTN with PCE (and PCEP)  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     8.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     8.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
   Appendix A.  Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22

1.  Introduction

   Abstraction and Control of TE Networks (ACTN) [RFC8453] refers to the
   set of virtual network (VN) operations needed to orchestrate,
   control, and manage large-scale multidomain TE networks so as to
   facilitate network programmability, automation, efficient resource
   sharing, and end-to-end virtual service-aware connectivity and