Internet DRAFT - draft-hares-vnf-pool-use-case
draft-hares-vnf-pool-use-case
VNF BOF S. Hares
Internet-Draft Huawei
Intended status: Informational July 4, 2014
Expires: January 5, 2015
Use Cases for Resource Pools with Virtual Network Functions (VNFs)
draft-hares-vnf-pool-use-case-02
Abstract
This draft describes use cases the author has observed in
demonstrations or deployments for virtualized network functions
(VNFs) supported by VNF Pools. Several of these demonstrations
combined VNF Pools into VNFsets. The use cases were: cloud bursting,
parental controls, load balancer for multipath (L1-L7), WAN
optimization that runs either between access nodes and Data Centers,
WAN optimization between mobile phones and Data Centers (through
access nodes), application placement optimization, and optimized
placement of web applications utilizing minimal data transfer.
Status of This Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute
working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-
Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
This Internet-Draft will expire on January 5, 2015.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2014 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
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 1]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Use Case List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4. Cloud Bursting Use Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5. Stateful Parental Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6. Load balancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7. Android phone TCP WAN optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8. SOHO device optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
9. Application Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
10. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
11. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
12. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
12.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
12.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. Introduction
This draft focuses on providing one person's observations on the
deployment of Virtualized Network Functions which are supported by
VNF Pool where the VNF Pools may be grouped into VNF Sets. This
version of the draft no longer needs to explain the basic
architecture and problems since [I-D.zong-vnfpool-problem-statement]
provides an excellent description of the following:
o Terminology of VNF, VNF Pools, elements of VNF Pools, VNF Pool
Managers, and VNF Sets;
o Challenges to the reliability of VNFs (without Pools);
o Challenges to reliability within VNFs (redundancy and state
synchronization),
o Interactions with Service Control Entity managing the VNF
functions
o and the needs for reliable transport
This document simply introduces unique terms, and then describes
authors experience the VNF Pools and VNF Managers when the VNF Pools
contain only one type of function. The VNF Pools may operate in a
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 2]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
set of VNF Pools. This document no longer examines VNF Set
management because is out of the scope of the VNF Charter.
Virtual Network functions supported by Virtual Network Pools and
organized into Virtual Sets have been observed to be more reliable
and be able to expand (or contract horizontally). By being more
reliable, this author observed that individual failures of virtual
functions due to software or system constraints (load) were survived
by switching over to another NFV function within the VNF Pool. For
example, with compatible software functions running, the current and
previous software ran a network applications (E.g. open source NAT or
open source DPI), a failure on one VNF running the current software
could quickly be replaced by a "hot standby" in the Pool running the
previous version. Upon increased traffic, one VNF function (for
firewalls) could be expanded to multiple firewalls each handling a
portion of the traffic. In a sense, the VNF expands horizontally to
handle the increased traffic. In the same way, as traffic
diminished, this VNF can contract.
This document describes each use case by describing the application
and how the VNF function when operating within VNF Pools within the
VNF Set that makes up the application. While some of these use cases
had multiple VNF Sets, VNF Set management is outside of the scope of
the VNF Pool work. Therefore, the explanations have been simplified
to consider all the VNF Pools into one set.
One final note, the author knows she has only provided abstract
descriptions of these deployments, but out of respect for products
and companies the abstract description is best.
2. Terms
The VNF Problem statement [I-D.zong-vnfpool-problem-statement]
defines the terms reliability, VNF, VNF Pool, VNF Pool Element, VNF
Pool User, VNF Pool Manager, and VNF Set. This draft uses these
definitions. The following definitions are not defined within the
VNF problem statement: Cloud Bursting, Stateful parental controls,
WAN optimization, and application placement. These terms are defined
below.
Cloud Bursting: the ability for Virtual processing to burst through
the limits of one virtual environment and automatically transfers a
portion of the processing to another virtual environment.
Stateful parental controls: the ability for network access devices to
have content filters that react to traffic, location, and user.
These controls follow the user across multiple access points within a
home network, or in a carrier network.
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 3]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
WAN optimization: the ability to optimize traffic across a Wide-Area
network. WAN optimization often makes use of TCP FLOW optimizations
(with IETF TCP features) and TCP de-duplication of packets,
Application placement: ability for coordinating software to place
applications based a combination of compute resources, data storage,
network service, and security concerns. Application placement may
involve movement of some application data, movement of some
applications (data and compute), and movement of network resources to
service the applications. One type of network resource movement is
the movement of virtual network functions (VNFs) which are defined,
created, allocated with resources in a way to provide an integral
unit to the application placement control software.
OTT (Over the Top): This industry terms implies an overlay network
that is overlaid on existing networks as a virtual network.
Shared risk group (SRG): Shared risk groups occur when different VNFs
in a VNF Pool all exist upon the same instance of a virtual form or
hypervisor. When a hypervisor fails, all the VNF instances on the
same hypervisor will fail,
3. Use Case List
The use cases described in this draft are:
o Cloud Bursting
o stateful parental controls implemented in access nodes and
firewalls (stateful and regular)
o load balancer doing multipath (supports L1-L7 optimization),
o WAN optimization between access nodes and Data Centers,
o WAN optimization between mobile phones through access nodes to/
from Data center (E.g Riverbed WAN),
o Application placement optimization using optimized DNS and DCHP
VNFs,
o Application placement optimization to minimize data transfer.
The uses cases are done in the order of VNF sets to VNF single
operations. The Cloud bursting obviously takes a set of VNF Pools to
lift up services in a cloud environment and move these to another
cloud environment.
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 4]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
Deployment of VNF functions into critical network functions requires
that multiple sources exist to reduce risk of software or hardware
issues, and to respond to economic pressure to continually improve
while reducing prices. Multi-vendor sources for these VNF, VNF
Pools, and VNR sets comes at the price of designing (or adopting an
existing) interoperability VNF Pool manager for VNF Pools.
4. Cloud Bursting Use Case
Description:
Three cases of cloud bursting exist. Public clouds adding more
resources upon demand. Private clouds adding more resources upon
demand from private cloud resources. Private clouds adding more
resources from the public cloud. In the public/private cloud, the
orchestration system looks within pools of additional resources to
fit the request for more resources for a particular time. Verizon
provided examples of cloud bursing at ONS 2012, and Terremark
utilizes cloud bursing to obtain more resources
(http://www.terremark.com/services/it-infrastructure/cloud-services/
enterprise-cloud/architecture/) operating over open-source
hypervisors (2012, 2013).
VNFs within the VNF Pools operate as management systems and networks
router/switches (virtual switches, routers, end systems) to spin up
additional transport process (TCP/STCP) and move work jobs via
standard interfaces (libvirt, CLI, REST, and JASON), and provide
standardized value-added functions. These value-added functions
include the following:
o VNFs in VNF Pools of system monitoring and orchestration
o VNF in VNF Pools for virtual firewall to protect the data
o VNF in VNF Pools for DPI or DDOS during
o VNF in VNF specialized DNS that controls private/public cloud move
o VNF in VNF WAN applications that create a large pipeline for for
movement of data and applications within Cloud (Private/Public) or
between clouds
o VNFs in VNF Pools for smart access to the could
Why VNF in VNF Pools for network router/switch or host system
functions
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 5]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
VNFs in VNF Pools allow cloud bursting to temporarily expand
horizontally to take the load as the processing groups move between
clouds. Each of the functions has a scaling within its own pool
which allows the bursts of effort to grab or release the amount of
functions. The VNFs doing system monitoring of the move and the
orchestration are also included in the features that grab or release
functions.
Why VNF Pools:
Bursty nature of action of Cloud Bursting requires being able utilize
VNFs within Pools to expand horizontally for the estimated cloud
bursting activities. However, if the cloud bursting expands beyond
the resources estimated by the orchestration software then the VNFs
within the pool can expand the service.
Why Multi-vendor interoperable VNF Pools?:
Cloud bursting is a critical business infrastructure which needs
highly reliable software that can be maintained by Cloud operations.
Critical infrastructure requires multi-sources. Either the Cloud
operations creates a team to maintain VNF Pool software from Open
Source code bases, or the equipment vendors provide interoperable VNF
Pool Managers and VNF Pools that run across multiple platforms.
5. Stateful Parental Controls
Description:
Parental content filters are targeted filters that are installed
based on an identification of a user. When the centralized
controller detects the User (via traffic pattern, role identification
(ABFAB, HTTP)), an orchestration manager installs the appropriate
software to guarantee filters. Two types of security exist:
authentication and authorization. In authentication, ACL and other
port based filtering is set per customer for the user. This
filtering may block, prioritize, or transfer to a black hole
recording device different traffic. In authorization, the systems
create a web of trust via an identity server (for HTTP 1.0 SAML
template defined by OASIS and IETF ABFAB information for non-http).
The following is a list of some of the VNF functions found in VNF
Pools in the Stateful Parental Control Model
o VNF Pool for the specialized Access filters
o VNF Pool for open source DPIs (snort, etc.) to find
"inappropriate" material,
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 6]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
o VNF Pool for specialized DPI inspection,
o VNF Pool probes on hyper-visors,
o VNF POol for management functions depositing configuration in Open
Flow switches, Ethernet Switches, Virtual switches, routers,
firewalls, and access nodes.
o VNF Pool for access firewall
o VNF Pool for spam filters for mail
o VNF Pool for DDOS software,
o VNF Pool for DNS/DHCP servers that allow the linking of the the
Public services to a instantly created VNFs for specialized access
o VNF Pool to move filters within Cloud (Private/Public) or between
clouds in anticipation of the persons movement (If in central
London, spread to other access nodes along public transportation
(Tube) lines or to hotels.).
o VNF Pool to do additional user identification of the systems
Why VNF Pools
The bursty nature of user access is dependent on the detection of the
movement of the user. At the moment the public software identifies
the user, this VNF Pool set operates to expand horizontally to
provide the necessary service to provide these parental features.
The VNF Pools allow groups of these parental ' families to be
instantiated.
Why inter-operable VNF Pool Managers
The VNF functions may go between the mobile devices the user moves
with (E.g. Android Pad or Android Phone) and the local network
systems supported by the Carrier, the hotel, or the airport systems.
Inter-operable VNF Pool Managers means that some NVF functions may
move from Android Pad /Android Phone to carrier's equipment.
6. Load balancer
Description:
Load balancers (such as Riverbed or Cisco) look to balance traffic in
different layers of the stack (L1-L7). SDN meta controllers
(OpenDaylight, Vyatta) monitor work with the time-critical OTT
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 7]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
control process (which creates and manages the OTT VPNs (L2/L3/MPLS))
to determine where the load is at any specific time, and to track it
over time. The SDN orchestration devices work with the SDN OTT
control process to adjust to readjust the load at L1-L7.
The VNF functions that use VNF Pools in the load balancing service
are:
o VNFs for network probes in all devices (mobile phone, ipad, access
devices, vswitch, vrouter, tcp optimizer, DPI, hypervisors, VMs
dumming storage, VMs creating the network;
o VNFs for depositing configuration in Ethernet switches (open-flow
or IEEE 802.1), routers, firewalls, access nodes;
o VNFs for firewall;
o VNFs to do Traffic capacity/load balance calculation;
o VNFs running orchestrator monitor/change algorithms; and
o VNFs to users or specific traffic to aid in load balancing.
Why VNF Pools:
True end-to-end Load balancing requires load balancing across
multiple layers with VNF pools to support different functions.
Multi-vendors solutions will allow meta controllers to balance
traffic to reduce costs in networks. Current Enterprise customers
find the load balancing operates with TCP WAN optimization to utilize
all network bandwidth effectively.
Why inter-operable VNF Pool Managers
Network probes, network traffic capacity calculation, and
configuration of changes operate either when traffic thresholds are
exceeded or upon period timers. Each of these functions has bursty
needs needing the ability to expand horizontally.
Firewalls are traffic based which may be bursty or steady state
depending on the application profiles. VNF Pools allow for the
horizontal expansion during bursts.
Long lived traffic flows may be identified by looking for users or
application traffic patterns. This type of processing function has a
"DPI-Like" processing quality that make require quick examination of
some data. VNF support in VNF Pools allows the assurance of this
type of support
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 8]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
7. Android phone TCP WAN optimization
Description:
Android phones and Android tablets often communicate across the LTE/
WiFi connections. Optimization of the link for the low-bandwidth of
LTE or Wifi connections, and the switch between LTE and WiFi requires
monitoring of traffic, choosing link, optimizing TCP (Window and
removing duplicates).
The VNFs that are aided by VPN Pools in this application includes:
o VNFs for probes in all devices (mobile phone, mobile pads, Wifi
enabled nodes, LTE IP RAN notes)
o VNFs for depositing configuration in SDN access nodes (Wifi or
LTE)
o VNFs for to handle remote phone parameter adjustments;
o VNFs to do firewalls (E.g traffic not allowed over LTE due to
customer policy);
o VNFs for TCP data de-duplication process;
o VNFs for Traffic capacity/load balance calculation (see Football
stadium problem below);
o VNFs for best processing of Video traffic or best network to pull
Video traffic from;
o VNFs to identify user or user traffic and
o VNFs to interface to secure data processes.
One scenario to consider is the football stadium scenario. A person
takes the IPAD to watch the close up replays or send email. During
fourth quarter, the person receive an urgent call to go home and
walks with the IPAD down the street to the metro-system to return
home. On the way, the person is utilizing the IPAD to send mail,
watch the football game, and do Skype calls.
This scenario is similar in needs to the parental controls. The
differences are TCP data de-duplication to improve WAN traffic and
specialized Video traffic handling, plus the mobile phone management
and security.
Why VNF Pools:
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 9]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
The football user case illustrates how the network functions are used
in bursts. The VNF Pools allow these functions to expand out to fit
the users needs. The football example also shows how events can
cause massive numbers of these bursty users to occur at the same
time. Again, the expansion out for these events without reducing
service is key to the quality of user experience for mobile phone or
mobile pad users.
Why Inter-operable VPN Pools handled by VPN Pool Managers:
Phones systems do not want a single vendor for all features.
Multiple interoperable access nodes and Android pad/tablet
implementations require these VNF pools. The football stadium may
require that several mobile operators or mobile or cable operators
work together to provide this service.
8. SOHO device optimization
Description:
SOHO devices using SDN VM technology must balance traffic movement
between small cells (WiFi or femtocells). Access policies must be
configured for restriction on this policy.
The VNFs that VNF Pools in this application are:
o VNFs for probes in all devices (mobile phone, mobile pads, WiFi
enabled nodes, LTE or femtocells)
o VNFs for VPN to user identification and security.
o VNFs for depositing configuration in access nodes (Wifi, L),
o VNFs for handling remote phone parameter adjustments;
o VNFs for firewall (traffic not allowed over LTE);
o VNFs for TCP data de-duplication process;
o VNFs for Traffic capacity/load balancing over single/multiple soho
links;
o VNFs to allow applications load balance across internal soho links
based on traffic needs and use policy; and
o VNFs for VPN to user identification and security.
Why VNF Pools:
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 10]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
SOHO devices will have limited resources for handling probes to find
local devices, change configurations in access devices, adjust remote
phone parameters, firewall traffic, and perform WAN optimization (TCP
de-duplication, prioritizing of traffic (like phones) or load
balancing). However, SOHOs may only need the probes, configurations
changes, and phone adjustments when users arrive into the home. The
data related VNF functions will occur as the SOHO office begins to
transfer data. The VNF pools allow the VNF function to scale up/down
via horizontal expansion.
VPN Pool Growth/Shrinking:
The VPN Pool Manager can handle increasing or decreasing the VNF Pool
size. Cooperating VNF Pool Managers can be seen to be useful in this
use case, but the cooperating VNF pool managers are outside the scope
of the VNF within a VNF Pool.
9. Application Scaling
Description:
Applications may be placed in a variety of hypervisors. The rapid
deployment of applications on services may allow millions of
applications to be available within the cloud. Creating a effective
lookup for the applications or redirecting applications takes an
Network Virtual environment that controls DCHP, DNS, and http access
rapidly. 2 Million URI references for each access node is possible
given the current growth.
VNF within the cloud must scale up to handle the VNF services
required by the network infrastructure. This includes the network
information functions of DNS, DCHP, URL processing, AAA (Diameter/
Radius). Fast enactment of these network functions allows an on-
demand creation of a multi-tenancy overlay (IETF NV03).
The VNFs operate in VNF Pools in this application are:
o VNFs for AAA functions (Diameter, Radius);
o VNFs for DNS functions;
o VNFs for DCHP functions
o VNFs for specialized URL/URI processing;
o VNFs for handling remote probes on these virtual information
functions;
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 11]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
o VNFs for handling remote configuration of these virtual
information functions;
o VNFs for Traffic capacity/load balance calculation;
o VNFs for determine optimum placement of application (and
application's backup services) to optimize CPU compute, storage or
data
o VNFs for VPN to user identification and permissions to use data;
and
Wny VNF in VNF Pools
User load patterns or access patterns will impact how much load the
network information VNF functions (DNS, DHCP, URL processing, AAA
(Diameter/Radius) encounter. The VNF Pools with a good VNF Pool
manager can spread the load locally or between different systems.
The applications and the application usage will also determine how
loaded the VNF Function is that monitors CPU utilization, storage,
and network resources. Again, the VNF supported by VNF Pools can
expand or shrink horizontally.
The rest of the VNF functions needs for VNF Pools have been described
above.
10. IANA Considerations
This document includes no request to IANA.
11. Security Considerations
This document has no security issues as just contains use cases.
12. References
12.1. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
12.2. Informative References
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 12]
Internet-Draft vnf-pool-use-case July 2014
[I-D.zong-vnfpool-problem-statement]
Zong, N., Dunbar, L., Shore, M., Lopez, D., and G.
Karagiannis, "Virtualized Network Function (VNF) Pool
Problem Statement", draft-zong-vnfpool-problem-
statement-06 (work in progress), July 2014.
Author's Address
Susan Hares
Huawei
7453 Hickory Hill
Saline, CA 48176
USA
Email: shares@ndzh.com
Hares Expires January 5, 2015 [Page 13]
