| Internet-Draft | STAMP for Reflecting Headers | May 2024 |
| Gandhi & Zhou | Expires 1 December 2024 | [Page] |
Simple Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (STAMP) and its optional extensions can be used for Edge-To-Edge (E2E) active measurement. In Situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (IOAM) data fields can be used for recording and collecting Hop-By-Hop (HBH) and E2E operational and telemetry information. This document extends STAMP to reflect IPv6 extension headers and MPLS Network Action Sub-Stacks, for example, for hop-by-hop and edge-to-edge active measurements, including using IOAM data fields.¶
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The Simple Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol (STAMP) provides capabilities for the measurement of various performance metrics in IP networks [RFC8762] without the use of a control channel to pre-signal session parameters. [RFC8972] defines optional extensions, in the form of TLVs for STAMP. The STAMP test packets are transmitted along a path between a Session-Sender and a Session-Reflector to measure Edge-To-Edge (E2E) performance delay and packet loss along that path.¶
In Situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (IOAM) is used for recording and collecting operational and telemetry information while the packet traverses a path between two points in the network. The IOAM data fields are defined in [RFC9197]. Currently, there is no adopted method defined to reflect the collected IOAM data fields back to the Sender where the Sender can use that information to support the hop-by-hop and edge-to-edge measurement use-cases.¶
IPv6 packets can carry IPv6 extension headers such as IPv6 options headers of Hop-By-Hop (HBH) and Destination Types as defined in [RFC8200]. [RFC9486] defines types for HBH and destination options headers to carry IOAM data fields [RFC9197] for IPv6 data plane.¶
MPLS packets can carry MPLS Network Action (MNA) Sub-Stack as defined in [I-D.ietf-mpls-mna-hdr] using the framework defined in [I-D.ietf-mpls-mna-fwk].¶
It may be desired to record and collect HBH and E2E operational and telemetry information using active measurement packets between two nodes in a network. This is achieved by augmenting STAMP [RFC8762] by using optional STAMP extensions defined in [RFC8972] to reflect IPv6 extension headers and MNA Sub-Stacks as specified in this document. The procedure defined in this document leverages the existing implementations on the midpoint nodes with IPv6 and MPLS data planes without any additional requirements.¶
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.¶
AMM: Alternate Marking Method¶
ECMP: Equal Cost Multi-Path¶
E2E: Edge-To-Edge¶
HBH: Hop-By-Hop¶
IOAM: In Situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance¶
MNA: Multiprotocol Label Switching Network Action¶
OAM: Operations, Administration, and Maintenance¶
STAMP: Simple Two-way Active Measurement Protocol¶
In the "STAMP Reference Topology" shown in Figure 1, the STAMP Session-Sender S1 initiates a Session-Sender test packet and the STAMP Session-Reflector R1 transmits a reply Session-Reflector test packet. Node M1 is a midpoint node that does not perform any STAMP processing.¶
The T1 is a transmit timestamp, and T4 is a receive timestamp added by node S1. The T2 is a receive timestamp, and T3 is a transmit timestamp added by node R1.¶
T1 T2
/ \
+-------+ Test Packet +-------+ +-------+
| | - - - - - - - - | | - - - - - - - - ->| |
| S1 |=================| M1 |===================| R1 |
| |<- - - - - - - - | | - - - - - - - - - | |
+-------+ +-------+ Reply Test Packet +-------+
\ /
T4 T3
STAMP Session-Sender STAMP Session-Reflector
[RFC8972] defines optional extensions for STAMP. The optional extensions are added in base STAMP test packet defined in [RFC8762] in the form of TLVs. As specified in [RFC8972], both Session-Sender and Session-Reflector test packets are symmetric in size when including all optional TLVs. Session-Reflector reflects all received STAMP TLVs from the Session-Sender test packets.¶
As specified in [RFC8762], STAMP test packets are transmitted with IP/UDP headers. As midpoint nodes do not process the UDP headers in the packets, midpoint nodes are agnostics to the STAMP test packets in the payload.¶
This document defines a new TLV option for STAMP, called "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" (value TBA1). When a STAMP Session-Sender adds an IPv6 extension header such as IPv6 Hop-By-Hop options header or a Destination options header in IPv6 header [RFC8200], it also adds "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" STAMP TLV in the Session-Sender test packet with length of the IPv6 extension header (including IPv6 extension header bytes and value field) in the TLV initialized to zeros, in order to receive the IPv6 extension header back. When adding multiple IPv6 extension headers in the Session-Sender test packet, multiple corresponding "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" TLVs are added, each one with matching length with the IPv6 extension header and in the same order.¶
An example STAMP test packet for IPv6 data plane carrying IPv6 extension headers in IPv6 header and reflected IPv6 header data in STAMP TLVs is shown in Figure 2.¶
Examples of IPv6 extension header can be: IOAM data fields IPv6 options header defined in [RFC9486], Performance and Diagnostic Metrics (PDM) IPv6 options header defined in [RFC8250], Maximum Path MTU IPv6 options header defined in [RFC9268], Alternate Marking Method (AMM) IPv6 options header defined in [RFC9343], Segment Routing Header defined in [RFC8754], and any new IPv6 extension header defined in future.¶
As the procedure defined in this document leverages the existing implementations on the midpoint nodes for the IPv6 extension headers, no additional requirements are specified when carrying these IPv6 extension headers in STAMP. The IPv6 extension header is processed by the nodes using the same procedures specified in the document that defined the IPv6 extension header.¶
+----------------------------------------------+
| IPv6 Header |
+----------------------------------------------+
| IPv6 Extension Header1 RFC 8200 |
+----------------------------------------------+
~ ... ~
+----------------------------------------------+
| IPv6 Extension HeaderN RFC 8200 |
+----------------------------------------------+
| UDP Header |
+----------------------------------------------+
| STAMP Packet RFC 8972 |
+----------------------------------------------+
| Reflected IPv6 Header1 Data STAMP TLV (TBA1) |
+----------------------------------------------+
~ ... ~
+----------------------------------------------+
| Reflected IPv6 HeaderN Data STAMP TLV (TBA1) |
+----------------------------------------------+
When Session-Reflector receives STAMP test packet with IPv6 extension header and STAMP TLV of "Reflected IPv6 Header Data", the Session-Reflector that supports this STAMP TLV, MUST copy the entire IPv6 extension header including the option type header into the STAMP "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" TLV in Session-Reflector payload. When there are multiple IPv6 extension headers in the received Session-Sender test packet, all IPv6 extension headers MUST be copied in the STAMP "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" TLVs in the reply Session-Reflector test packet in the same order.¶
For two-way measurement, the Session-Reflector adds the matching IPv6 option in the IPv6 header of the Session-Reflector test packets for the reverse direction.¶
When Session-Reflector receives STAMP test packet with IPv6 extension header but without "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" STAMP TLV, the Session-Reflector does not copy the IPv6 extension header into the reply Session-Reflector test packet.¶
When Session-Sender test packets carry an IPv6 extension header with option-type that it does not require Session-Reflector to reflect in the Session-Reflector test packet, it does not add the matching "Reflected IPv6 option Data" TLV in the Session-Sender test packet.¶
Note that the use-case where IPv6 extension header length changes in the Session-Sender test packets along the path is outside the scope of this document.¶
Note that the use-case where IPv6 extension headers are added or removed in the Session-Sender test packets along the path is outside the scope of this document.¶
This document also defines a new TLV option for STAMP, called "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data" (value TBA2). When a STAMP Session-Sender adds an MNA Sub-Stack in the test packet, it also adds "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data" STAMP TLV in the Session-Sender test packet with length of the MNA Sub-Stack length (NASL) (including In-Stack Ancillary Data (ISD) and Post-Stack Ancillary Data (PSD) and MNA label LSE) and the value field in the TLV initialized to zeros. When adding multiple MNA Sub-Stacks in the Session-Sender test packet, multiple "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data" TLVs MUST be added, each one with matching length with the MNA Sub-Stack and Ancillary Data and in the same order.¶
As the procedure defined in this document leverages the existing implementations on the midpoint nodes for the MNA Sub-Stacks, no additional requirements are specified when carrying MNA Sub-Stacks in STAMP. The MNA Sub-Stack is processed by the nodes using the same procedures specified in the document that defined the MNA Sub-Stack.¶
An example STAMP test packet for MPLS data plane carrying MNA Sub-Stacks in MPLS header and reflected MNA Sub-Stacks data in STAMP TLVs is shown in Figure 3.¶
+------------------------------------------------+
| MPLS Header |
+------------------------------------------------+
| MNA Sub-Stack1 I-D.ietf-mpls-mna-hdr |
+------------------------------------------------+
~ ... ~
+------------------------------------------------+
| MNA Sub-StackN I-D.ietf-mpls-mna-hdr |
+------------------------------------------------+
| IP Header |
+------------------------------------------------+
| UDP Header |
+------------------------------------------------+
| STAMP Packet RFC 8972 |
+------------------------------------------------+
| Reflected MNA Sub-Stack1 Data STAMP TLV (TBA2) |
+------------------------------------------------+
~ ... ~
+------------------------------------------------+
| Reflected MNA Sub-StackN Data STAMP TLV (TBA2) |
+------------------------------------------------+
When Session-Reflector receives STAMP test packet with MNA and STAMP TLV of "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data", the Session-Reflector that supports this STAMP TLV, MUST copy the entire MNA Sub-Stack, Ancillary Data including the header into the "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data" TLV in Session-Reflector payload. When there are multiple MNA Sub-Stacks in the Session-Sender test packet, all MNA Sub-Stacks including Ancillary Data MUST be copied in the STAMP TLVs and MUST add all MNA Sub-Stacks including Ancillary Data in the Session-Reflector test packet and in the same order.¶
For two-way measurement, the Session-Reflector adds the matching MNA Sub-Stacks and Ancillary Data in the MPLS header of the Session-Reflector test packet for the reverse direction.¶
When Session-Reflector receives STAMP test packet with MNA Sub-Stack but without "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data" STAMP TLV, the Session-Reflector does not copy the MNA Sub-Stack into the Session-Reflector test packet.¶
When Session-Sender test packets carry an MNA Sub-Stack that it does not require Session-Reflector to reflect in the Session-Reflector test packet, it does not add the matching Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data TLV in the Session-Sender test packet.¶
Note that the use-case where MNA Sub-Stack length changes in the Session-Sender test packets along the path is outside the scope of this document.¶
Note that the use-case where MNA Sub-Stacks are added or removed in the Session-Sender test packets along the path is outside the scope of this document.¶
In Situ Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (IOAM) is used for recording and collecting operational and telemetry information while the packet traverses a path between two points in the network. The IOAM data fields are defined in [RFC9197]. Examples of data recorded by IOAM Trace Options includes per-hop information, e.g., node ID, timestamp, queue depth, interface ID, interface load, etc. The information collected can be used, for example, monitoring ECMP paths, proof-of-transit (POT) and troubleshooting failures in the network. The procedure and STAMP extensions defined in this document can be used to reflect the collected IOAM data fields back to the Sender where the Sender can use that information to support the hop-by-hop and edge-to-edge measurement use-cases.¶
[RFC9486] defines types for HBH and destination options headers and are used to carry the IOAM option-types defined in [RFC9197] for IPv6 data plane. The STAMP Session-Sender and Session-Reflector test packets carry the IPv6 options headers with IOAM option-types for recording and collecting HBH and E2E operational and telemetry information for active measurement as shown in Figure 4. The Session-Sender, midpoints, and Session-Reflector nodes process the IOAM data fields as defined in [RFC9486]. Note that using IOAM option-type "Incremental Trace Option-Type" is not supported by [RFC9486].¶
+-----------------------------------------------+
| IPv6 Header |
+-----------------------------------------------+
| HBH IOAM IPv6 Options Header RFC 9486 |
+-----------------------------------------------+
| UDP Header |
+-----------------------------------------------+
| STAMP Packet RFC 8972 |
+-----------------------------------------------+
| Reflected IPv6 Header Data STAMP TLV (TBA1) |
+-----------------------------------------------+
[I-D.ietf-mpls-mna-hdr] defines MNA Sub-Stack to carry various Network Actions with Ancillary data. [I-D.gandhi-mpls-ioam] defines extensions using MNA to carry various IOAM data fields as Post-Stack Data (PSD) for MPLS data plane. The STAMP Session-Sender and Session-Reflector test packets carry the MNA Sub-Stack for recording and collecting HBH and E2E operational and telemetry information for active measurement as shown in Figure 5.¶
+-------------------------------------------------+
| MPLS Header |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| HBH IOAM MNA Sub-Stack RFC 9197 |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| IP Header |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| UDP Header |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| STAMP Packet RFC 8972 |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data STAMP TLV (TBA2) |
+-------------------------------------------------+
The "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" STAMP TLV is carried by Session-Sender and Session-Reflector test packets. STAMP test packets may carry multiple TLVs of this type. The same Reflected IPv6 Header Data STAMP TLV is used for reflecting IPv6 extension headers including HBH and Destination IPv6 options headers. The format of the Reflected IPv6 Header Data TLV is shown in Figure 6.¶
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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |STAMP TLV Flags| Type=TBA1 | Length | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Reflected IPv6 Header Data | ~ ~ | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The TLV fields are defined as follows:¶
Type : Type (value TBA1)¶
STAMP TLV Flags : The STAMP TLV Flags follow the procedures described in [RFC8972].¶
Length : A two-octet field equal to the length of the Data in octets.¶
The Session-Reflector MUST return an error in STAMP TLV Flags when it determines that the length of the TLV does not match the length of the corresponding IPv6 extension header in the IPv6 header.¶
The "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data" STAMP TLV is carried by Session-Sender and Session-Reflector test packets. STAMP test packets may carry multiple TLVs of this type. The format of the Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data TLV is shown in Figure 7.¶
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 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |STAMP TLV Flags| Type=TBA2 | Length | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data | ~ ~ | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The TLV fields are defined as follows:¶
Type : Type (value TBA2)¶
STAMP TLV Flags : The STAMP TLV Flags follow the procedures described in [RFC8972].¶
Length : A two-octet field equal to the length of the Data in octets.¶
The Session-Reflector MUST return an error in STAMP TLV Flags when it determines that the length of the TLV does not match the length of the corresponding MNA Sub-Stack when processing in the same order as MNA Sub-Stacks in the MPLS header.¶
In case of one-way measurement, Session-Reflector does not need to add IPv6 extension headers and MNA Sub-Stacks in the reply Session-Reflector test packets for HBH and E2E measurements. The IPv6 extension headers and MNA Sub-Stacks received in the Session-Sender test packets still need to be reflected to the Session-Sender.¶
In this document, new Sub-TLV "Extension Header Control" (Type TBA3) is defined for the STAMP TLV Type "Reflected Test Packet Control TLV" (Type TBA4) defined in [I-D.ietf-ippm-asymmetrical-pkts].¶
When Session-Sender test packet is received with "Extension Header Control" Sub-TLV, Session-Reflector does not add the received IPv6 extension headers in the IPv6 header and MNA Sub-Stacks in the MPLS header of the reply Session-Reflector STAMP test packet.¶
Session-Reflector copies the IPv6 extension headers and MNA Sub-Stacks from the received Session-Sender test packet into the corresponding Reflected Data STAMP TLVs (Type TBA1 and TBA2) in the Session-Reflector test packet. In this case, symmetric STAMP test packet payload size is maintained in both directions, however, the symmetric header size of the STAMP test packets is not maintained.¶
The security considerations specified in [RFC8762], [RFC8972], [RFC8200], and [I-D.ietf-mpls-mna-hdr] apply to the procedure and extensions defined in this document. In addition, the security considerations specified in [RFC9197] also apply when using the IPv6 options headers defined in that document.¶
IANA has created the "STAMP TLV Types" registry for [RFC8972]. IANA is requested to allocate a value for the "Reflected IPv6 Header Data" TLV Type and a value for the "Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data" TLV Type from the IETF Review TLV range of the same registry.¶
| Value | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| TBA1 | Reflected IPv6 Header Data | This document |
| TBA2 | Reflected MNA Sub-Stack Data | This document |
IANA is requested to allocate a value for Sub-TLV Type "Extension Header Control" (Type TBA3) for STAMP TLV Type "Reflected Test Packet Control TLV" (Type TBA4) defined in [I-D.ietf-ippm-asymmetrical-pkts].¶
The authors would like to thank Greg Mirsky, Xiao Min, Tal Mizrahi, Cheng Li, and Jie Dong for reviewing this document and providing useful comments and suggestions.¶