Internet DRAFT - draft-mizrahi-ippm-marking

draft-mizrahi-ippm-marking







Network Working Group                                         T. Mizrahi
Internet-Draft                                                    Huawei
Intended status: Informational                               G. Fioccola
Expires: April 28, 2022                              Huawei Technologies
                                                             M. Cociglio
                                                          Telecom Italia
                                                                 M. Chen
                                                     Huawei Technologies
                                                               G. Mirsky
                                                                Ericsson
                                                        October 25, 2021


              Marking Methods for Performance Measurement
                     draft-mizrahi-ippm-marking-00

Abstract

   This memo presents a summary of marking methods for performance
   measurements, and discusses the tradeoffs among them.  These marking
   methods enable to measure various performance metrics such as packet
   loss and delay, and require a low overhead in the header of data
   packets, as low as one or two bits per packet, or in some cases even
   zero bits per packet.  The target audience of this document is
   network protocol designers; this document is intended to help
   protocol designers choose the best marking method(s) based on the
   protocol's constraints and requirements.

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
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   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
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   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on April 28, 2022.







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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2021 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
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   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Background  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.2.  Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.1.  Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  Marking Abstractions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  Double Marking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Single-bit Marking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     5.1.  Single Marking Using the First Packet . . . . . . . . . .   7
     5.2.  Single Marking using the Mean Delay . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     5.3.  Single Marking using a Multiplexed Marking Bit  . . . . .   8
       5.3.1.  Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     5.4.  Pulse Marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   6.  Zero Marking: Hashed  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     6.1.  Hash-based Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
       6.1.1.  Hashed Pulse Marking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       6.1.2.  Hashed Step Marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   7.  Single Marking: Hashed  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   8.  Timing and Synchronization Aspects  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     8.1.  Synchronization Aspects in Multiplexed Marking  . . . . .  13
   9.  Multipoint Marking Methods  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   10. Summary of Marking Methods  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   11. Alternate Marking using Reserved Values . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   12. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   13. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   14. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
     14.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
     14.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   Appendix A.  Ongoing Marking Work in the IETF . . . . . . . . . .  23
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24




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1.  Introduction

1.1.  Background

   Performance measurement using packet marking, defined in [RFC8321],
   is a method for measuring performance metrics such as packet loss and
   packet delay.  Typical delay and loss measurement protocols require
   the two measurement points (MPs) to exchange timestamps and/or
   counters which are carried over test packets or embedded in the
   header of data packets.  In contrast, marking methods do not require
   timestamps or counters to be exchanged.  Instead, every data packet
   carries one or more marking bits used for triggering measurement
   events.  Note that the frequency of these measurement events is
   dependent on the users' application(s) and the node characteristics.

   One of the most notable marking methods is Alternate Marking
   [RFC8321], in which the marking bit is used as a color indication
   that is toggled periodically.  This approach is illustrated in
   Figure 1.


   A: packet with color 0
   B: packet with color 1

   Packets      AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
               |          |          |          |          |
               | Block 1  | Block 2  | Block 3  | Block 4  | Block 5 ...
               |          |          |          |          |
   Color        0000000000 1111111111 0000000000 1111111111 0000000000

     Figure 1: Alternate marking: packets are monitored on a per-color
                                  basis.

   Alternate marking is used between two MPs, the initiating MP and the
   monitoring MP.  The initiating MP incorporates the marking field into
   en-route packets, allowing the monitoring MP to use the marking field
   in order to bind each packet to the corresponding block.

   Alternate marking can be used for loss measurement and/or delay
   measurement.  For example, loss measurement can be performed by
   having each of the MPs maintains two counters, one per color.  At the
   end of each block, the counter values can be collected by a central
   management system and analyzed; the packet loss can be computed by
   comparing the counter values of the two MPs.

   Alternate marking, as described above, requires a single marking bit
   per packet.  Double marking is an approach that uses an additional



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   marking bit, thus simplifying the measurement method.  Double marking
   is further described in this document.

   Allocating one or two bits in the header of every packet is not
   necessarily possible in every encapsulation.  For example, if marking
   is implemented over IPv4, allocating two marking bits in the IPv4
   header is challenging, as every bit in the 20-octet header is costly;
   one of the possible approaches discussed in [RFC8321] is to use one
   or two bits from the DSCP field for marking.  In this case, every
   marking bit comes at the expense of reducing the DSCP range by a
   factor of two.  Thus, there is a high motivation to use marking
   methods that use a small number of bits: either a single marking bit
   or no marking bits at all.

   This memo presents an overview of double marking methods as well as
   more efficient methods that require a single marking bit, or zero
   marking bits.

   Several single-bit marking methods are described, and specifically
   multiplexed marking and pulse marking.  These two methods were
   introduced in [I-D.mizrahi-ippm-multiplexed-alternate-marking] and
   [IEEE-Network-PNPM].  In multiplexed marking, the color indicator and
   the timestamp indicator are multiplexed into a single bit, providing
   the advantages of the double marking method while using a single bit
   in the packet header.  In pulse marking, both delay and loss
   measurements are triggered by a 'pulse' value in a single marking
   field.

1.2.  Scope

   This document also discusses zero-bit marking methods that leverage
   well-known hash-based selection approaches ([RFC5474], [RFC5475]).

   Marking methods are discussed in this memo as using a single bit or
   two bits.  However, these methods can similarly be applied to larger
   fields, such as an IPv6 Flow Label or an MPLS Label; single-bit
   marking can be applied using two reserved values, and two-bit marking
   can be applied using four reserved values.  Marking based on reserved
   values is further discussed in this document, including its
   application to MPLS and IPv6.

   This memo presents a summary of the various marking methods, and
   discusses the tradeoffs among them.  It is expected that different
   network protocols will have different constraints, and therefore may
   choose to use different alternate marking methods.  In some cases it
   may be preferable to support more than one marking method; in this
   case the particular marking method may be signaled through the
   control plane.



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   Note (to be removed before publication): this draft is partially
   based on [I-D.mizrahi-ippm-compact-alternate-marking] (expired).

2.  Terminology

2.1.  Abbreviations

   The following abbreviations are used in this document:

   DSCP          Differentiated Services Code Point

   DM            Delay Measurement

   LM            Loss Measurement

   LSP           Label Switched Path

   MP            Measurement Point

   MPLS          Multiprotocol Label Switching

   SFL           Synonymous Flow Label [RFC8957]

3.  Marking Abstractions

   The marking methods that are discussed in this document use two basic
   abstractions, pulse detection, and step detection.

   The common thread along the various marking methods is that one or
   two marking bits are used by the MPs to signal a measurement event.
   The value of the marking bit indicates when the event takes place, in
   one of two ways:

   Pulse         An event is detected when the value of the marking bit
                 is toggled in a single packet.

   Step          An event is detected when the value of the marking bit
                 is toggled and remains at the new value.

   Double marking (Section 4) uses pulse-based detection for DM and
   step-based detection for LM.

   Pulse-based detection affects the processing of a single packet; the
   packet that indicates the pulse is processed differently than the
   packets around it.  For example, in the double marking method, the
   marked packet is timestamped for DM, without affecting the packets
   before or after it.  Note that if the marked packet is lost, no pulse
   is detected, yielding a missing measurement (see Figure 2).



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   P: indicates a packet

   Packets      PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
   Marking bit  0000010000 0000010000 0000010000 0000010000 00000 0000
                     ^          ^          ^          ^          ^
     Pulse-based     |          |          |          |          |
     detection       |          |          |          |          |
                                                         Dropped packet:
                                                         no detection


                     Figure 2: Pulse-based Detection.

   In step-based detection, the event is detected by observing a value
   change in a stream of packets.  Specifically, when the step approach
   is used for LM (as in the double marking method), two counters are
   used per flow; each MP decides which counter to use based on the
   value of the marking bit.  Thus, the step-based approach allows
   accurate counting even when packets arrive out-of-order (see
   Figure 3).  When the step approach is used for DM (e.g., single
   marking using the first packet), out-of-order causes the delay
   measurement to be false, without any indication to the management
   system.


   P: indicates a packet

   Packets      PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
   Marking bit  0000000000 1111111111 000000000 10111111111 0000000000
                           ^          ^         ^          ^
     Step-based            |          |         |          |
     detection             |          |         |          |
                                           out-of-order


                      Figure 3: Step-based Detection.

4.  Double Marking

   The two-bit marking method of [RFC8321] uses two marking bits: a
   color indicator and a delay measurement indicator.  The color bit is
   used for step-based LM, while the delay bit is used as a pulse-based
   DM trigger.  This double marking approach is the most straightforward
   of the approaches discussed in this memo, as it allows accurate
   measurement, is resilient to out-of-order delivery and is relatively




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   simple to implement.  The main drawback is that it requires two bits,
   which are not always available.

   Figure 4 illustrates the double marking method: each block of packets
   includes a packet that is marked for timestamping, and therefore has
   its delay bit set.


   A: packet with color 0
   B: packet with color 1

   Packets      AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
               |          |          |          |          |
               | Block 1  | Block 2  | Block 3  | Block 4  | Block 5 ...
               |          |          |          |          |
   Color bit    0000000000 1111111111 0000000000 1111111111 0000000000
   Delay bit    0000100000 0000100000 0000100000 0000100000 0001000000
                    ^          ^          ^          ^         ^
     Packets        |          |          |          |         |
     marked for     |          |          |          |         |
     timestamping   |          |          |          |         |


                   Figure 4: The double marking method.

5.  Single-bit Marking

5.1.  Single Marking Using the First Packet

   This method uses a single marking bit that indicates the color, as
   described in [RFC8321].  Both LM and DM are implemented using a step-
   based approach; LM is implemented using two color-based counters per
   flow.  The first packet of every period is used by the two MPs as the
   reference for measuring the delay.  As denoted above, the delay
   computed in this method may be erroneous when packets are delivered
   out-of-order.














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   A: packet with color 0
   B: packet with color 1

   Packets      AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
               |          |          |          |          |
               | Block 1  | Block 2  | Block 3  | Block 4  | Block 5 ...
               |          |          |          |          |
   Color bit    0000000000 1111111111 0000000000 1111111111 0000000000
                ^          ^          ^          ^          ^
    Packets     |          |          |          |          |
    used for DM |          |          |          |          |


       Figure 5: Single marking using the first packet of the block.

5.2.  Single Marking using the Mean Delay

   As in the first-packet approach, in the mean delay approach
   ([RFC8321]) a single marking bit is used to indicate the color,
   enabling step-based loss measurement.  Delay is measured in each
   period by averaging the measured delay over all the packets in the
   period.  As discussed above, this approach is not sensitive to out-
   of-order delivery, but may be heavy from a computational perspective.

5.3.  Single Marking using a Multiplexed Marking Bit

5.3.1.  Overview

   This section introduces a method that uses a single marking bit that
   serves two purposes: a color indicator and a timestamp indicator.
   The double marking method that was discussed in the previous section
   uses two 1-bit values: a color indicator C, and a timestamp indicator
   T.  The multiplexed marking bit, denoted by M, is an exclusive or
   between these two values: M = C XOR T.

   An example of the use of the multiplexed marking bit is depicted in
   Figure 6.  The example considers two routers, R1 and R2, that use the
   multiplexed bit method to measure traffic from R1 to R2.  In each
   block, R1 designates one of the packets for delay measurement.  In
   each of these designated packets, the value of the multiplexed bit is
   reversed compared to the other packets in the same block, allowing R2
   to distinguish the designated packets from the other packets.








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   A: packet with color 0
   B: packet with color 1

   Packets      AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
               |          |          |          |          |
               | Block 1  | Block 2  | Block 3  | Block 4  | Block 5 ...
               |          |          |          |          |
   Color        0000000000 1111111111 0000000000 1111111111 0000000000
                    ^          ^          ^           ^        ^
     Packets        |          |          |           |        |
     marked for     |          |          |           |        |
     timestamping   |          |          |           |        |
                    v          v          v           v        v
   Muxed bit    0000100000 1111011111 0000100000 1111101111 0001000000


            Figure 6: Alternate marking with a multiplexed bit.

5.4.  Pulse Marking

   Pulse marking uses a single marking bit that is used as a trigger for
   both LM and DM.  In this method, the two MPs maintain a single per-
   flow counter for LM, in contrast to the color-based methods, which
   require two counters per flow.  In each block, one of the packets is
   marked.  The marked packet triggers two actions in each of MPs:

   o  The timestamp is captured for DM.

   o  The value of the counter is captured for LM.

   In each period, each of the MPs exports the timestamp and counter-
   stamp to the management system, which can then compute the loss and
   delay in that period.  It should be noted that as in [RFC8321], if
   the length of the measurement period is L time units, then all
   network devices must be synchronized to the same clock reference with
   an accuracy of +/- L/2 time units.

   The pulse marking approach is illustrated in Figure 7.  Since both LM
   and DM use a pulse-based trigger, if the marked packet is lost, then
   no measurement is available in this period.  Moreover, the LM
   accuracy may be affected by out-of-order delivery.









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   P: packet - all packets have the same color

   Packets      PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPP  PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPP
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
               |          |          |          |          |
               | Block 1  | Block 2  | Block 3  | Block 4  | Block 5 ...
               |          |          |          |          |
                    ^          ^          ^           ^        ^
     Packets        |          |          |           |        |
     marked for     |          |          |           |        |
     DM and LM      |          |          |           |        |
                    v          v          v           v        v
   Marking bit  0000100000 0000100000 0000100000 0000010000 0001000000


                      Figure 7: Pulse marking method.

6.  Zero Marking: Hashed

6.1.  Hash-based Sampling

   Hash-based selection [RFC5475] is a well-known method for sampling a
   subset of packets.  As defined in [RFC5475]:

      A Hash Function h maps the Packet Content c, or some portion of
      it, onto a Hash Range R.  The packet is selected if h(c) is an
      element of S, which is a subset of R called the Hash Selection
      Range.

   Hash-based selection can be leveraged as a marking method, allowing a
   zero-bit marking approach.  Specifically, the pulse and step
   abstractions can be implemented using hashed selection:

   o  Hashed pulse-based trigger: in this approach, a packet is selected
      if h(c) is an element of S, which is a strict subset of the hash
      range R.  When |S|<<|R|, the average sampling period is long,
      reducing the probability of ambiguity between consecutive
      packets. |S| and |R| denote the number of elements in S and R,
      respectively.

   o  Hashed step-based trigger: the hash values of a given traffic flow
      are said to be monotonically increasing if for two packets p1 and
      p2, if p1 is sent before p2 then h(p1) <= h(p2).  If it is
      guaranteed that the hash values of a flow are monotonically
      increasing, then a step-based approach can be used on the range R.
      For example, in an IPv4 flow, the Identification field can be used
      as the hash value of each packet.  Since the Identification field
      is monotonically increasing, the step-based trigger can be



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      implemented using consecutive ranges of the Identification value.
      For example, the fourth bit of the Identification field is toggled
      every eight packets.  Thus, a possible hash function simply takes
      the fourth bit of the Identification field as the hash value.
      This hash value is toggled every eight packets, simulating the
      alternate marking behavior of Section 4.

   Note that as opposed to the double marking and single marking
   methods, hashed sampling is not based on fixed time intervals, as the
   duration between sampled packets depends only on the hash value.

   It is also important to note that all methods that use hash-based
   marking require the hash function and the set S to be configured
   consistently across the MPs.

6.1.1.  Hashed Pulse Marking

   In this approach, a hash is computed over the packet content, and
   both LM and DM are triggered based on the pulse-based trigger
   (Section 6.1).  A pulse is detected when the hash value h(c) is equal
   to one of the values in S.  The hash function h and the set S
   determine the probability (or frequency) of the pulse event.

6.1.2.  Hashed Step Marking

   As in the previous approach, hashed step marking also uses a hash
   that is computed over the packet content.  In this approach, DM is
   performed using a pulse-based trigger, whereas the LM trigger is
   step-based (Section 6.1).  The main drawback of this method is that
   the step-based trigger is possible only under the assumption that the
   hash function is monotonically increasing, which is not necessarily
   possible in all cases.  Specifically, a measured flow is not
   necessarily an IPv4 5-tuple.  For example, a measured flow may
   include multiple IPv4 5-tuple flows, and in this case, the
   Identification field is not monotonically increasing.

7.  Single Marking: Hashed

   Mixed hashed marking combines the single marking approach with hash-
   based sampling.  A single marking bit is used in the packet header as
   a color indicator, while a hash-based pulse is used to trigger DM.
   Although this method requires a single bit, it is described in this
   section as it is closely related to the other hash-based methods that
   require zero marking bits.

   The hash-based selection for DM can be applied in one of two possible
   approaches: the basic approach and the dynamic approach.  In the
   basic approach, packets forwarded between two MPs, MP1 and MP2, are



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   selected using a hash function, as described above.  One of the
   challenges is that the frequency of the sampled packets may vary
   considerably, making it difficult for the management system to
   correlate samples from the two MPs.  Thus, the dynamic approach can
   be used.

   In the dynamic hash-based sampling, alternate marking is used to
   create divide time into periods, so that hash-based samples are
   divided into batches, allowing to anchor the selected samples to
   their period.  Moreover, by dynamically adapting the length of the
   hash value, the number of samples is bounded in each marking period.
   This can be realized by choosing first the maximum number of samples
   (NMAX) to be used with the initial hash length.  The algorithm starts
   with only a few hash bits, which permit the selection of a greater
   percentage of packets (e.g., with 1 bit of hash, half of the packets
   are sampled).  When the number of selected packets reaches NMAX, a
   hashing bit is added.  Consequently, the sampling proceeds at half of
   the original rate, and the packets already selected that do not match
   the new hash are discarded.  This step can be repeated iteratively.
   It is assumed that each sample includes the timestamp (used for DM)
   and the hash value, allowing the management system to match the
   samples received from the two MPs.

   The dynamic process statistically converges at the end of a marking
   period, and the number of selected samples beyond the initial NMAX
   samples mentioned above is between NMAX/2 and NMAX.  Therefore, the
   dynamic approach paces the sampling rate, allowing to bound the
   number of sampled packets per sampling period.

8.  Timing and Synchronization Aspects

   As pointed out in [RFC8321], it is assumed that all MPs are
   synchronized to a common reference time with an accuracy of +/- L/2,
   where L is the periodic measurement interval.  Thus, the difference
   between the clock values of any two MPs is bounded by L.  Note that
   this is a relatively relaxed synchronization requirement that does
   not require complex means of synchronization.  Clocks can be
   synchronized, for example, using NTP [RFC5905], PTP [IEEE1588], or by
   other means.

   In the step-based approaches, the common reference time is used for
   dividing the time domain into equal-sized measurement periods, such
   that all packets forwarded during a measurement period have the same
   color, and consecutive periods have alternating colors.  In the
   pulse-based approaches the synchronization helps the management
   system to correlate measurements from multiple measurement points
   without ambiguity.




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8.1.  Synchronization Aspects in Multiplexed Marking

   The single marking bit incorporates two multiplexed values.  From the
   monitoring MP's perspective, the two values are Time-Division
   Multiplexed (TDM), as depicted in Figure 8.  It is assumed that the
   start time of every measurement period is known to both the
   initiating MP and the monitoring MP.  If the measurement period is L,
   then during the first and the last L/4 time units of each block the
   marking bit is interpreted by the monitoring MP as a color indicator.
   During the middle part of the block, the marking bit is interpreted
   as a timestamp indicator; if the value of this bit is different than
   the color value, the corresponding packet is used as a reference for
   delay measurement.


                 +--- Beginning of measurement period
                 |
                 v

    ...BBBBBBBBB | AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA | BBBBBBBBB...
                 |<======================================>|
                 |                   L                    |
       <========>|<========><==================><========>|<========>
           L/4       L/4            L/2             L/4       L/4

       <===================><==================><===================>
           Detect color     Detect timestamping      Detect color
             change              indication            change

    Figure 8: Multiplexed marking field interpretation at the receiving
                            measurement point.

   In order to prevent ambiguity in the receiver's interpretation of the
   marking field, the initiating MP is permitted to set the timestamp
   indication only during a specific interval, as depicted in Figure 9.
   Since the receiver is willing to receive the timestamp indication
   during the middle L/2 time units of the block, the sender refrains
   from sending the timestamp indication during a guardband interval of
   d time units at the beginning and end of the L/2-period.












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                 +--- Beginning of measurement period
                 |
                 v

    ...BBBBBBBBB | AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA | BBBBBBBBB...
                 |<======================================>|
                 |                   L                    |
       <========>|<========>|<================>|<========>|
           L/4       L/4    |       L/2        |    L/4
                         <=>|<=>            <=>|<=>
                          d   d              d   d
                                <==========>
                                permissible
                                timestamping
                                indication
                                interval

                       Figure 9: A time domain view.

   The guardband d is given by d = A + D_max - D_min, where A is the
   clock accuracy, D_max is an upper bound on the network delay between
   the MPs, and D_min is a lower bound on the delay.  It is
   straightforward from Figure 9 that d < L/4 must be satisfied.  The
   latter implies a minimal requirement on the synchronization accuracy.

   All MPs must be synchronized to the same reference time with an
   accuracy of +/- L/8.  Depending on the system topology, in some
   systems, the accuracy requirement will be even more stringent,
   subject to d < L/4.  Note that the accuracy requirement of the
   conventional alternate marking method [RFC8321] is +/- L/2, while the
   multiplexed marking method requires an accuracy of +/- L/8.

   Note that we assume that the middle L/2-period is designated as the
   timestamp indication period, allowing a sufficiently long guardband
   between the transitions.  However, a system may be configured to use
   a longer timestamp indication period or a shorter one, if it is
   guaranteed that the synchronization accuracy meets the guardband
   requirements (i.e., the constraints on d).

9.  Multipoint Marking Methods

   It should be noted that most of the marking methods that were
   presented in this memo are intended for point-to-point measurements,
   e.g., from MP1 to MP2 in Figure 10.  In point-to-multipoint
   measurements, the mean delay method can be used to measure the loss
   and delay of the entire point-to-multipoint flow (which includes all
   the traffic from MP3 to either MP4 or MP5), while other methods such
   as double marking can be used to measure the point-to-point



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   performance, for example, from MP3 to MP5.  Alternate marking in
   multipoint scenarios is discussed in detail in
   [I-D.ietf-ippm-multipoint-alt-mark].


       MP1            MP2               MP3                 MP4
      +--+           +--+              +--+      +--+      +--+
      |  |---------->|  |              |  |----->|  |----->|  |
      +--+           +--+              +--+      +--+      +--+
                                                   |
                                                   |        MP5
                                                   |       +--+
                                                   +------>|  |
                                                           +--+

   Point-to-point measurement        Point-to-multipoint measurement


      Figure 10: Point-to-point and point-to-multipoint measurements.

10.  Summary of Marking Methods

   This section summarizes the marking methods described in this memo.
   Each row in the table of Figure 11 represents a marking method.  For
   each method, the table specifies the number of bits required in the
   header, the number of counters per flow for LM, the methods used for
   LM and DM (pulse or step), and also the resilience to disturbances.
























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   +--------------+----+----+------+------+-------------+-------------+
   | Method       |# of|# of|LM    |DM    |Resilience to|Resilience to|
   |              |bits|coun|Method|Method|Reordering   |Packet drops |
   |              |    |ters|      |      +------+------+------+------+
   |              |    |    |      |      |  LM  |  DM  |  LM  |  DM  |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+
   |Single marking| 1  | 2  |Step  |Step  |  +   |  --  |  +   |  --  |
   |- 1st packet  |    |    |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+
   |Single marking| 1  | 2  |Step  |Mean  |  +   |  +   |  +   |  -   |
   |- mean delay  |    |    |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+
   |Double marking| 2  | 2  |Step  |Pulse |  +   |  +   |  +   |  =   |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+
   |Single marking| 1  | 2  |Step  |Pulse |  +   |  +   |  +   |  =   |
   |multiplexed   |    |    |      |      |      |      |      |      |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+
   |Pulse marking | 1  | 1  |Pulse |Pulse |  --  |  +   |  -   |  =   |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+
   |Zero marking  | 0  | 1  |Hashed|Hashed|  --  |  +   |  -   |  +   |
   |- hashed      |    |(2) |pulse |pulse | (-)  |      |      |      |
   |              |    |    |(step)|      |      |      |      |      |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+
   |Single marking| 1  | 2  |Step  |Hashed|  +   |  +   |  +   |  +   |
   |- hashed      |    |    |      |pulse |      |      |      |      |
   +--------------+----+----+------+------+------+------+------+------+

   +  Accurate measurement.
   =  Invalidate only if a measured packet is lost (detectable)
   -  No measurement in case of disturbance (detectable).
   -- False measurement in case of disturbance (not detectable).

              Figure 11: Detailed Summary of Marking Methods

   In the context of this comparison, two possible disturbances are
   considered: out-of-order delivery and packet drops.  Generally
   speaking, pulse-based methods are sensitive to packet drops since if
   the marked packet is dropped, no measurement is recorded in the
   current period.  Notably, a missing measurement is detectable by the
   management system, and is not as severe as a false measurement.
   Step-based triggers are generally resilient to out-of-order delivery
   for LM, but are not resilient to out-of-order delivery for DM.
   Notably, a step-based trigger may yield a false delay measurement
   when packets are delivered out-of-order, and this inaccuracy is not
   detectable.

   As mentioned above, the double marking method is the most
   straightforward approach and is resilient to most of the disturbances



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   that were analyzed.  Its obvious drawback is that it requires two
   marking bits.

   Several single marking methods are discussed in this memo.  In this
   case, there is no clear verdict on which method is the optimal one.
   The first packet method may be simple to implement, but may present
   erroneous delay measurements in case of dropped or reordered packets.
   Arguably, the mean delay approach and the multiplexed approach may be
   more difficult to implement (depending on the underlying platform),
   but are more resilient to the disturbances that were considered here.
   Note that the computational complexity of the mean delay approach can
   be reduced by combining it with a hashed approach, i.e., by computing
   the mean delay over a hash-based subset of the packets.  The pulse
   marking method requires only a single counter per flow, while the
   other methods require two counters per flow.

   The hash-based sampling approaches reduce the overhead to zero bits,
   which is a significant advantage.  However, the sampling period in
   these approaches is not associated with a fixed time interval.
   Therefore, in some cases, adjacent packets may be selected for the
   sampling, potentially causing measurement errors.  Furthermore, when
   the traffic rate is low, measurements may become significantly
   infrequent.

   It is clear from the previous table that packet loss measurement can
   be considered resilient to both reordering and packet drops if at
   least one bit is used with a step-based approach.  Thus, since the
   packet loss can be considered obvious, the previous table can be
   simplified into Figure 12, where only the characteristics of delay
   measurements are highlighted.  This more compact table allows room
   for an additional column referring to multipoint-to-multipoint
   (Section 9) delay measurement compatibility.



















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   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   | Marking      |# of|LM      |DM          |DM          |DM         |
   | Method       |bits|on      |Resilience  |Resilience  |Multipoint |
   |              |    |All     |to          |to          |compatible |
   |              |    |Packets |Reordering  |Packet drops|           |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   |Single marking| 1  | Yes    |     --     |     -      | No        |
   |- 1st packet  |    |        |            |            |           |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   |Single marking| 1  | Yes    |     +      |     -      | Yes       |
   |- mean delay  |    |        |            |            |           |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   |Double marking| 2  | Yes    |     +      |     =      | No        |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   |Single marking| 1  | Yes    |     +      |     =      | No        |
   |multiplexed   |    |        |            |            |           |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   |Pulse marking | 1  | No     |     +      |     =      | No        |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   |Zero marking  | 0  | No     |     +      |     +      | Yes       |
   |- hashed      |    |        |            |            |           |
   |              |    |        |            |            |           |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+
   |Single marking| 1  | Yes    |     +      |     +      | Yes       |
   |- hashed      |    |        |            |            |           |
   +--------------+----+--------+------------+------------+-----------+

   +  Accurate measurement.
   =  Invalidate only if a measured packet is lost (detectable)
   -  No measurement in case of disturbance (detectable).
   -- False measurement in case of disturbance (not detectable).

     Figure 12: Summary of Marking Methods: focus on Delay Measurement

   In the context of delay measurement, both zero marking hashed and
   single marking hashed are resilient to packet drops.  Using double
   marking it could also be possible to perform an accurate measurement
   in the case of packet drops, as long as the packet that is marked for
   DM is not dropped.

   The single marking hashed method seems the most complete approach,
   especially because it is also compatible with multipoint-to-
   multipoint measurements.








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11.  Alternate Marking using Reserved Values

   As mentioned in Section 1, a marking bit is not necessarily a single
   bit, but may be implemented by using two well-known values in one of
   the header fields.  Similarly, two-bit marking can be implemented
   using four reserved values.

   A notable example is MPLS Synonymous Flow Labels (SFL), as defined in
   [I-D.ietf-mpls-rfc6374-sfl].  Two MPLS Label values can be used to
   indicate the two colors of a given LSP: the original Label value, and
   an SFL value.  A similar approach can be applied to IPv6 using the
   Flow Label field.

   The following example illustrates how alternate marking can be
   implemented using reserved values.  The bit multiplexing approach of
   Section 5.3 is applicable not only to single-bit color indicators,
   but also to two-value indicators; instead of using a single bit that
   is toggled between '0' and '1', two values of the indicator field, U
   and W, can be used in the same manner, allowing both loss and delay
   measurement to be performed using only two reserved values.  Thus,
   the multiplexing approach of Figure 6 can be illustrated more
   generally with two values, U and W, as depicted in Figure 13.


   A: packet with color 0
   B: packet with color 1

   Packets      AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA BBBBBBBBBB AAAAAAAAAA
      Time   ---------------------------------------------------------->
               |          |          |          |          |
               | Block 1  | Block 2  | Block 3  | Block 4  | Block 5 ...
               |          |          |          |          |
   Color        0000000000 1111111111 0000000000 1111111111 0000000000
                    ^          ^          ^           ^        ^
     Packets        |          |          |           |        |
     marked for     |          |          |           |        |
     timestamping   |          |          |           |        |
                    v          v          v           v        v
   Muxed        UUUUWUUUUU WWWWUWWWWW UUUUWUUUUU WWWWWUWWWW UUUWUUUUUU
   marking
   values

    Figure 13: Alternate marking with two multiplexed marking values, U
                                  and W.







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12.  IANA Considerations

   This memo includes no requests from IANA.

13.  Security Considerations

   The security considerations of the alternate marking method are
   discussed in [RFC8321].  The analysis of Section 10 emphasizes the
   sensitivity of some of the alternate marking methods to packet drops
   and to packet reordering.  Thus, a malicious attacker may attempt to
   tamper with the measurements by either selectively dropping packets,
   or by selectively reordering specific packets.  The multiplexed
   marking method Section 5.3 that is defined in this document requires
   slightly more stringent synchronization than the conventional marking
   method, potentially making the method more vulnerable to attacks on
   the time synchronization protocol.  A detailed discussion about the
   threats against time synchronization protocols and how to mitigate
   them is presented in [RFC7384].

14.  References

14.1.  Normative References

   [RFC8321]  Fioccola, G., Ed., Capello, A., Cociglio, M., Castaldelli,
              L., Chen, M., Zheng, L., Mirsky, G., and T. Mizrahi,
              "Alternate-Marking Method for Passive and Hybrid
              Performance Monitoring", RFC 8321, DOI 10.17487/RFC8321,
              January 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8321>.

14.2.  Informative References

   [I-D.cnbf-ippm-user-devices-explicit-monitoring]
              Cociglio, M., Nilo, M., Bulgarella, F., and G. Fioccola,
              "User Devices Explicit Monitoring", draft-cnbf-ippm-user-
              devices-explicit-monitoring-02 (work in progress), July
              2021.

   [I-D.fz-spring-srv6-alt-mark]
              Fioccola, G., Zhou, T., and M. Cociglio, "Segment Routing
              Header encapsulation for Alternate Marking Method", draft-
              fz-spring-srv6-alt-mark-01 (work in progress), July 2021.

   [I-D.ietf-6man-ipv6-alt-mark]
              Fioccola, G., Zhou, T., Cociglio, M., Qin, F., and R.
              Pang, "IPv6 Application of the Alternate Marking Method",
              draft-ietf-6man-ipv6-alt-mark-12 (work in progress),
              October 2021.




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   [I-D.ietf-bier-pmmm-oam]
              Mirsky, G., Zheng, L., Chen, M., and G. Fioccola,
              "Performance Measurement (PM) with Marking Method in Bit
              Index Explicit Replication (BIER) Layer", draft-ietf-bier-
              pmmm-oam-11 (work in progress), October 2021.

   [I-D.ietf-ippm-multipoint-alt-mark]
              Fioccola, G., Cociglio, M., Sapio, A., and R. Sisto,
              "Multipoint Alternate-Marking Method for Passive and
              Hybrid Performance Monitoring", draft-ietf-ippm-
              multipoint-alt-mark-09 (work in progress), March 2020.

   [I-D.ietf-mpls-rfc6374-sfl]
              Bryant, S., Swallow, G., Chen, M., Fioccola, G., and G.
              Mirsky, "RFC6374 Synonymous Flow Labels", draft-ietf-mpls-
              rfc6374-sfl-10 (work in progress), March 2021.

   [I-D.mdt-ippm-explicit-flow-measurements]
              Cociglio, M., Ferrieux, A., Fioccola, G., Lubashev, I.,
              Bulgarella, F., Hamchaoui, I., Nilo, M., Sisto, R., and D.
              Tikhonov, "Explicit Flow Measurements Techniques", draft-
              mdt-ippm-explicit-flow-measurements-02 (work in progress),
              July 2021.

   [I-D.mirsky-sfc-pmamm]
              Mirsky, G., Fioccola, G., and T. Mizrahi, "Performance
              Measurement (PM) with Alternate Marking Method in Service
              Function Chaining (SFC) Domain", draft-mirsky-sfc-pmamm-14
              (work in progress), September 2021.

   [I-D.mizrahi-ippm-compact-alternate-marking]
              Mizrahi, T., Arad, C., Fioccola, G., Cociglio, M., Chen,
              M., Zheng, L., and G. Mirsky, "Compact Alternate Marking
              Methods for Passive and Hybrid Performance Monitoring",
              draft-mizrahi-ippm-compact-alternate-marking-05 (work in
              progress), July 2019.

   [I-D.mizrahi-ippm-multiplexed-alternate-marking]
              Mizrahi, T., Arad, C., Fioccola, G., Cociglio, M., Chen,
              M., Zheng, L., and G. Mirsky, "Compact Alternate Marking
              Methods for Passive Performance Monitoring", draft-
              mizrahi-ippm-multiplexed-alternate-marking-02 (work in
              progress), June 2017.








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   [I-D.zhou-ippm-enhanced-alternate-marking]
              Zhou, T., Fioccola, G., Liu, Y., Lee, S., Cociglio, M.,
              and W. Li, "Enhanced Alternate Marking Method", draft-
              zhou-ippm-enhanced-alternate-marking-07 (work in
              progress), July 2021.

   [IEEE-Network-PNPM]
              Mizrahi, T., Navon, G., Fioccola, G., Cociglio, M., Chen,
              M., and G. Mirsky, "AM-PM: Efficient Network Telemetry
              using Alternate Marking", IEEE Network vol. 33, no. 4,
              pp. 155-161, DOI 10.1109/MNET.2019.1800152, July 2019.

   [IEEE1588]
              IEEE, "IEEE 1588 Standard for a Precision Clock
              Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement and
              Control Systems Version 2", 2008.

   [RFC5474]  Duffield, N., Ed., Chiou, D., Claise, B., Greenberg, A.,
              Grossglauser, M., and J. Rexford, "A Framework for Packet
              Selection and Reporting", RFC 5474, DOI 10.17487/RFC5474,
              March 2009, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5474>.

   [RFC5475]  Zseby, T., Molina, M., Duffield, N., Niccolini, S., and F.
              Raspall, "Sampling and Filtering Techniques for IP Packet
              Selection", RFC 5475, DOI 10.17487/RFC5475, March 2009,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5475>.

   [RFC5905]  Mills, D., Martin, J., Ed., Burbank, J., and W. Kasch,
              "Network Time Protocol Version 4: Protocol and Algorithms
              Specification", RFC 5905, DOI 10.17487/RFC5905, June 2010,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5905>.

   [RFC7384]  Mizrahi, T., "Security Requirements of Time Protocols in
              Packet Switched Networks", RFC 7384, DOI 10.17487/RFC7384,
              October 2014, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7384>.

   [RFC8957]  Bryant, S., Chen, M., Swallow, G., Sivabalan, S., and G.
              Mirsky, "Synonymous Flow Label Framework", RFC 8957,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8957, January 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8957>.

   [RFC9000]  Iyengar, J., Ed. and M. Thomson, Ed., "QUIC: A UDP-Based
              Multiplexed and Secure Transport", RFC 9000,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9000, May 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9000>.






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Appendix A.  Ongoing Marking Work in the IETF

   The marking methods that are described in this document are used in
   several proposed solutions that are currently under discussion in the
   IETF.

   IPv6 packet marking is defined in [I-D.ietf-6man-ipv6-alt-mark] using
   a new option called the AltMark option, which can be incorporated
   either into a Hop-by-Hop or into a Destination Extension Header.  A
   proposed enhancement of the AltMark option is presented in
   [I-D.zhou-ippm-enhanced-alternate-marking].

   A similar option was proposed for SRv6 [I-D.fz-spring-srv6-alt-mark],
   defined as a Type-Length-Value (TLV) field for the Segment Routing
   Header (SRH).

   As described in the previous section, MPLS Synonymous Flow Labels
   (SFLs) can be used for marking in MPLS [I-D.ietf-mpls-rfc6374-sfl].
   This draft discusses both single and double marking, where instead of
   using one or two bits, SFLs are used to represent the different
   marking values.

   Double marking has also been defined in the BIER header in
   [I-D.ietf-bier-pmmm-oam].

   In the context of Service Function Chains (SFC), the proposal in
   [I-D.mirsky-sfc-pmamm] defines a single-bit marking in the Network
   Service Header (NSH), with a few different options of how to use the
   single marking bit.

   It should be noted that the current draft is focused on marking
   methods that are unidirectional and connectionless by nature.  Other
   marking methods that are connection-oriented by nature are used in
   the Transport Layer, such as the spin bit in QUIC [RFC9000].  A
   generalization of this approach is discussed in
   [I-D.cnbf-ippm-user-devices-explicit-monitoring] and
   [I-D.mdt-ippm-explicit-flow-measurements].  These Transport Layer
   marking methods are not within the scope of the current document.

   The following table summarizes the proposed marking solutions that
   are currently under discussion, and for each solution the table
   specifies whether the solution uses double marking or single marking.
   Note that solutions that use double marking can implicitly support
   the ability to use single marking as well.  In cases where the
   solution explicitly includes two separate options, one for single
   marking and one for double marking, both columns are marked in the
   table.




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   +--------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+
   |  Proposed Solution                               |Double |Single |
   |                                                  |Marking|Marking|
   +--------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+
   | [I-D.ietf-6man-ipv6-alt-mark]                    |   +   |       |
   | [I-D.zhou-ippm-enhanced-alternate-marking]       |       |       |
   +--------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+
   | [I-D.fz-spring-srv6-alt-mark]                    |   +   |       |
   +--------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+
   | [I-D.ietf-mpls-rfc6374-sfl]                      |   +   |   +   |
   +--------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+
   | [I-D.ietf-bier-pmmm-oam]                         |   +   |       |
   +--------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+
   | [I-D.mirsky-sfc-pmamm]                           |       |   +   |
   +--------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+


    Figure 14: Summary of Ongoing Work on Marking Solutions in the IETF

Authors' Addresses

   Tal Mizrahi
   Huawei
   Israel

   Email: tal.mizrahi.phd@gmail.com


   Giuseppe Fioccola
   Huawei Technologies

   Email: giuseppe.fioccola@huawei.com


   Mauro Cociglio
   Telecom Italia
   Via Reiss Romoli, 274
   Torino 10148
   Italy

   Email: mauro.cociglio@telecomitalia.it


   Mach(Guoyi) Chen
   Huawei Technologies

   Email: mach.chen@huawei.com




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   Greg Mirsky
   Ericsson

   Email: gregimirsky@gmail.com















































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