| Internet Engineering Task Force | B. Zhuge |
| Internet-Draft | Zhejiang Gongshang University |
| Intended status: Standards Track | Y. Wang |
| Expires: November 5, 2016 | Simon Fraser University |
| H. Zhu | |
| W. Wang | |
| Zhejiang Gongshang University | |
| May 4, 2016 |
An SDN Framework with Software-Defined Pricing (SDP)
draft-zhuge-sdnrg-sdn-sdp-02
This document defines a notion called Software-Defined Pricing (SDP) and introduces it into a Software-Defined Networks (SDN) framework. The SDN system with SDP inside is expected to promote the efficiency on SDN resources usage and ease management for service providers.
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Software-Defined Networks(SDN) is in the research process. With the idea of SDN, networking resources like switches, routers and types of Network Elements (NEs)are managed as kinds of virtual resources, forming virtual networks so as to provide rather flexible services to network users. In this research process, we noticed that how to price the services and the use of virtual network resources in an SDN is as critical as how the SDN is defined. We consider that it seems a precious idea to treat a service pricing mechanism as part of the SDN framework and to manage it in a software-defined way.
Network service prices are traditionally determined by service providers in a rather rigid way, which lacks of flexibility and sometimes even fairness to resources users. By means of the idea of SDP, it is able to treat service pricing as a part of SDN, forming a service pricing model flexible to time, traffic and other network factors and status. In this way, it is expected to promote the efficiency of SDN resources usage and ease the management for service providers.
Software-Defined Pricing (SDP) is an idea specific to network management, whose core is that the service prices of network resources are determined by means of software-defined algorithms and/or mechanisms, which figure the prices according to various factors and status of the network resources. In contrast to SDP, service prices may be pre-determined rigidly by service providers.
An SDP Protocol is an instance of SDP implementation shown in a way of protocol, which specifically defines algorithms and/or mechanisms to price specific services and use of network resources. An SDP protocol may be a private protocol if it is defined by a service provider personally, or a public protocol if defined publicly by standardization organizations.
By use of the software-defined mechanism, SDP essentially supports automatic negotiations of prices in a pricing process. Automatic resource and price negotiation features a Guaranteed Service (GS). As a result, SDN with SDP essentially supports GS services.
Network users must accept and abide by the network SDP protocol when they use the network resources and the services.
An SDP protocol usually includes trading partners, trading content, obligations and other transaction costs. Service providers can make provisions for users in terms of workload and resource use.
As an example, we present a typical process for an SDP protocol. When users expect to use resources from a virtual network by a service provider, users first query prices of various resources and services by means of the SDP protocol. The service provider returns the resource prices to users. Then, users will start up a price negotiation process with the service provider by use of the SDP protocol. Both the user and the service provider will proceed the price negotiation process based on their specific price negotiation algorithms. The negotiation process will be ended only from the user with the SDP protocol. It will end with an agreement is either met or not. The SDP protocol process is shown in Figure 1. Usually, in a negotiation algorithm, the user or the service provider are able to take into consideration of current network status and other network factors, which make the price negotiation process much more efficient and flexible than traditional pricing methods.
+------+ + + +-----------+ | | | --------SDP protocol------->| -----------------+ | | | | | | search price | | | | | | <-------SDP protocol--------|<-----------------+ | | | | | --------SDP protocol------->|------------------+ | service | | user | | | price negotiation| | sprovider | | | | <-------SDP protocol--------|<-----------------+ | | | | | --------SDP protocol------->|------------------+ | | | | | | negotiation ends | | | | | | <-------SDP protocol--------|<-----------------+ | | +------+ + + +-----------+
Figure 1: Process of an SDP Protocol
To fulfill above process, an SDP protocol header may usually include fields like shown in Figure 2, where:
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ID | Level | Expression | TimeSpec | Price | ContractTime | State |
+------------|------------|----------|---------------------------------+
| |
| +----------------------+
V |
+------------------------+ |
| ID | Type | Properties | |
+-----------|------------+ V
| +-------------------------------------+
| | Y/M/D | Mon-Fri/Weekend | 8:00-0:00 |
V +-------------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------------+
| rate | delay | shake | etc. |
+-----------------------------------------+
Figure 2: An SDP Protocol Header
(TBD)
SDP can be applied to SDN architecture well because of its natural software-defined feature.
In SDN architecture, control plane and data plane are separated to achieve the segregation of the control and forwarding. A typical SDN architecture usually includes: application layer, control layer, and infrastructure (forwarding) layer. To adopt SDP in SDN, an SDP module is applied. An SDP module implements the SDP protocol and corresponding negotiation algorithms/mechanisms. An SDP module can be applied to any layer in the SDN, where resources need to be priced. In this way, theoretically, all kinds of network resources and services can be programmed in terms of use prices as well as resources functions. This makes SDN more complete regarding its software-defining characters.
In SDN application market, resource providers and resource consumers actually hardly know each other fully for the value of resources and services. Hence, the trade between them is an information asymmetry game. To take this into consideration, an SDP module with its protocol and associated negotiation mechanisms applied to an SDN system is usually of the following features:
As mentioned, a typical SDN framework usually includes Application Layer, Control Layer, and Infrastructure (forwarding) Layer. In SDN Application Layer, things like virtual servers and other SDN personalized services will be presented as individual SDN Applications. Based on the idea above on adopting SDP to SDN, a typical framework of an SDN system which adopts SDP module is as shown in Figure 3.In this framework, the SDP-App includes an SDP module inside and makes the module support software-defined pricing function.
SDP-App may exist in each layer of the SDN framework. Note that, SDN Application communicates with SDN controllers via the AD-SAL and Service Interface.Either should require that the AD-SAL and Service Interface must support SDP protocol to support the SDN with SDP. Also note that, SDN Control Layer includes the network service, SDP-App, and control abstraction Layer(CAL), it is defined to communicate with SDN forwarding layer by means of the resource abstraction layer(RAL) and the uniformly defined SDN southern interface protocols like ForCES ,OpenFlow, etc. To support SDN with SDP, SDP protocol must be designed supportable by these protocols for messaging purpose. This may become a key question for the design of an SDP protocol. The SDN Forwarding Layer includes the network element, and SDP-App. It is exposed via the Resource Abstraction Layer (RAL), which may be expressed by one or more abstraction models.
(TBD)
o--------------------------------o
| |
| +-------------+ +----------+ |
| | Application | | SDP-App | |
| +-------------+ +----------+ |
| Application Layer |
o---------------Y----------------o
|
*-----------------------------Y---------------------------------*
| Application-Driven Services Abstraction Layer (AD-SAL) |
*-----------------------------Y---------------------------------*
|
|Service
|Interface
|
o-----------------------------Y--------------------------------o
| Control | Layer |
| +----------Y--------+ +---------+ |
| | Network Service | | SDP-App | |
| +----------Y--------+ +----Y----+ |
| | | |
| *------------Y----------------Y------* |
| | Control Abstraction Layer (CAL) | |
| *------------Y-----------------------* |
| | |
o-----------------------------|--------------------------------o
|
| Southbound
| Interface
|
*-----------------------------Y---------------------------------*
| Resource Abstraction Layer (RAL) |
*-----------------------------Y---------------------------------*
| | |
| o--------Y-----------o +----------+ |
| | Network Element | | SDP-App | |
| o--------------------o +----------+ |
| Forwarding Layer |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Figure 3: An SDN Framework with SDP
As another example, we try to present an SDN application which uses SDP to access network resources so as to get optimal resources use price. We call the SDN application a 'Chat' App, which is to construct a social App platform to connect, communicate and share among people and things by means of Guaranteed-Service (GS) rather than Best-Efforts (BE) services to users. Hence, the App needs to hire network resources from cloud network service providers to provide virtual server and Guaranteed Service (GS) resources.
Fig 4 shown the process for 'Chat' to access the GS Resources by use of SDP. 'Chat' client and 'Chat' Server makes service agreement via SDP module. 'Chat' server may be implemented as a virtual server, whose pricing is also implemented by SDP module. Further more, resources to support the virtual server and the 'chat' message forwarding are used based on SDP negotiations. As shown inFigure 4 , in this case, SDN controller inside the virtual server of 'chat' may send requests to multiple cloud platforms by SDP module(such as Sina cloud, Baidu cloud and Ali cloud in the figure). All the cloud service providers return with resource prices, and SDN controller inside the 'chat' server select or negotiate with the cloud service providers. SDN controller finally may select or get a successful or failed negotiation results and returns to the 'chat' client via SDP protocols. As a result, a transaction for a GS service pricing ends.
+---------------------+
| 'Chat' client |
| ( With SDP ) |
+---------------------+
A
|
V
+---------------------+
| 'Chat' server |
| ( With SDP ) |
+---------------------+
A
|
V
+---------------------+
| virtual server |
| ( With SDP ) |
+---------------------+
A
|
V
+---------------------+
| SDN controller |
| ( With SDP ) |
+---------------------+
A
|
+----------------------------------------------+
| | |
V V V
+----------------+ +---------------+ +-------------+
| Sina cloud | | Baidu cloud | | Ali cloud |
| (With SDP) | | (With SDP ) | | (With SDP |
+----------------+ +---------------+ +-------------+
Figure 4: The Process for 'Chat' Accessing Resources by Use of SDP
As shown in Figure 5A complete SDN environment is made up of application layer, control layer, data forwarding plane, if regard SDN environment as an economy market ,Then corresponding to the three layers structure of SDN environment, the economy market can be divided into: user layer, trading platform and provider layer. But each layer is embedded with the pricing model and consumption pattern which is apply to this layer , the communication between each other is accomplished by special protocol, each of them is independent but closely linked.In application layer, there are many users, the users were independent of each other, and they belonged to different platforms.In control layer there are multiple platforms, on the two ends of platform respectively connected to different users and providers, the existence of multiple platforms can solve the monopoly of a single platform and the problem that users and providers'choice unicity.In fowarding layer,there are many providers, they can offer different types of resources for each platform.
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
|Application +--------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+ |
| Layer | Application 1| | Application 2 | ... | Application n | |
| +--------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+ |
*--------------Y-Y-Y---------------Y-Y--Y--------------------Y--Y--Y-----*
| | | +-------------+ | | +---------------+ | |
| | | | +-----------|--|----|------------------+ |
| | +-|---|-----------|--|----|----------------+ |
| +---|---|-------+ | +----|-----------+ | |
| | | | | | | | |
*--------------V-----V---V-------V---V-------V-----------V----V----V-----*
| Control +--------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+ |
| Layer |Control Plane1| |Control Plane2 | ... |Control Plane n| |
| +--------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+ |
*--------------Y-Y-Y---------------Y-Y--Y--------------------Y--Y--Y-----*
| | | +-------------+ | | +---------------+ | |
| | | | +-----------|--|----|------------------+ |
| | +-|---|-----------|--|----|----------------+ |
| +---|---|-------+ | +----|-----------+ | |
| | | | | | | | |
*--------------V-----V---V-------V---V-------V-----------V----V----V---------*
|Forwarding +-----------------+ +-----------------+ +------------------+ |
| Layer |Forwarding Plane1| |Forwarding Plane2| ... |Forwarding Plane n| |
| +-----------------+ +-----------------+ +------------------+ |
*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*
Figure 5: Multi-Ownership Combinatorial Double Auction Model
We summarize the differences of three kinds of trading pattern and the position of SDN architecture which applied them , as shown in Figure 6:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trading | Product | Trading| Trading Risk | Trading price | Location
Pattern | Pattern | market | | | of SDN
-----------|------------|--------|---------------|-----------------|---------------
spot | Retail | No |Greater risk | Negotiation | Application
trading | Commodity| | |non-standard | layer
-----------|------------|--------|---------------|-----------------|---------------
Futures | A kind of | Future | Has margin, |Settlement based |
trading | products as| | less risk |on the price |Data forwarding
| a unit | | |of the exchange |layer
-----------|------------|--------|---------------|-----------------|---------------
Planned |Goods in any| Overall|PlannedSpending| Control price, | Entire
trading | combination| market |almost no risk |according to |architecture
| | | |supply and demand|
-----------|------------|--------|---------------|-----------------|---------------
Figure 6: the Differences among Three Trading Patterns
The commodities mode, trading market and other factors of planned trading decides it apply to the entire SDN market; the commodities mode of spot trading determines which is suitable for small number of resources trading, and it has some risks, therefore it works in the application layer of SDN architecture; the commodities mode of futures trading trade in a kind of resource as a unit, and the risk is small, possess the futures market, so it works in data forwarding layer of SDN architecture.
TBD
This document has no actions for IANA.
| [China-Communications] | Zhuge, B., Deng, L., Dai, G., Wan, L., Wang, W. and J. Lan, "Resource Scheduling Algorithm and Ecnomic Model in ForCES Networks.China Communications", 2014. |
| [ONF-White-Paper] | Fundation O N., "Software-defined networking: The new norm for networks", 2012. |
| [RFC7426] | Haleplidis, E., Pentikousis, K., Denazis, S., Hadi Salim, J., Meyer, D. and O. Koufopavlou, "Software-Defined Networking (SDN): Layers and Architecture Terminology", RFC 7426, DOI 10.17487/RFC7426, January 2015. |
| [Telecommunications-Science] | Zhuge, B., Wang, B. and Y. Wang, "Architecture of SDN applications based on Software-Defined price", 2015. |