Network Working Group                                       T. Moncaster
Request for Comments: 5696                                    B. Briscoe
Category: Standards Track                                             BT
                                                               M. Menth
                                                University of Wuerzburg
                                                          November 2009


    Baseline Encoding and Transport of Pre-Congestion Information

Abstract

  The objective of the Pre-Congestion Notification (PCN) architecture
  is to protect the quality of service (QoS) of inelastic flows within
  a Diffserv domain.  It achieves this by marking packets belonging to
  PCN-flows when the rate of traffic exceeds certain configured
  thresholds on links in the domain.  These marks can then be evaluated
  to determine how close the domain is to being congested.  This
  document specifies how such marks are encoded into the IP header by
  redefining the Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) codepoints
  within such domains.  The baseline encoding described here provides
  only two PCN encoding states: Not-marked and PCN-marked.  Future
  extensions to this encoding may be needed in order to provide more
  than one level of marking severity.

Status of This Memo

  This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
  Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
  improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
  Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
  and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

  Copyright (c) 2009 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
  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 BSD License.




Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 1]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF
  Contributions published or made publicly available before November
  10, 2008.  The person(s) controlling the copyright in some of this
  material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow
  modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process.
  Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling
  the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified
  outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may
  not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format
  it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other
  than English.

Table of Contents

  1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
  2.  Requirements Notation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
  3.  Terminology and Abbreviations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
    3.1.  Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
    3.2.  List of Abbreviations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
  4.  Encoding Two PCN States in IP  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
    4.1.  Marking Packets  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
    4.2.  Valid and Invalid Codepoint Transitions  . . . . . . . . .  6
    4.3.  Rationale for Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
    4.4.  PCN-Compatible Diffserv Codepoints . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
      4.4.1.  Co-Existence of PCN and Not-PCN Traffic  . . . . . . .  8
  5.  Rules for Experimental Encoding Schemes  . . . . . . . . . . .  8
  6.  Backward Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
  7.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
  8.  Conclusions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  9.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  10. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
    10.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
    10.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Appendix A.  PCN Deployment Considerations (Informative) . . . . . 11
    A.1.  Choice of Suitable DSCPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
    A.2.  Rationale for Using ECT(0) for Not-Marked  . . . . . . . . 12
  Appendix B.  Co-Existence of PCN and ECN (Informative) . . . . . . 13














Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 2]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


1.  Introduction

  The objective of the Pre-Congestion Notification (PCN) architecture
  [RFC5559] is to protect the quality of service (QoS) of inelastic
  flows within a Diffserv domain in a simple, scalable, and robust
  fashion.  The overall rate of PCN-traffic is metered on every link in
  the PCN-domain, and PCN-packets are appropriately marked when certain
  configured rates are exceeded.  These configured rates are below the
  rate of the link, thus providing notification before any congestion
  occurs (hence "Pre-Congestion Notification").  The level of marking
  allows the boundary nodes to make decisions about whether to admit or
  block a new flow request, and (in abnormal circumstances) whether to
  terminate some of the existing flows, thereby protecting the QoS of
  previously admitted flows.

  This document specifies how these PCN-marks are encoded into the IP
  header by reusing the bits of the Explicit Congestion Notification
  (ECN) field [RFC3168].  It also describes how packets are identified
  as belonging to a PCN-flow.  Some deployment models require two PCN
  encoding states, others require more.  The baseline encoding
  described here only provides for two PCN encoding states.  However,
  the encoding can be easily extended to provide more states.  Rules
  for such extensions are given in Section 5.

2.  Requirements Notation

  The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
  "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
  document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

3.  Terminology and Abbreviations

3.1.  Terminology

  The terms PCN-capable, PCN-domain, PCN-node, PCN-interior-node, PCN-
  ingress-node, PCN-egress-node, PCN-boundary-node, PCN-traffic, PCN-
  packets and PCN-marking are used as defined in [RFC5559].  The
  following additional terms are defined in this document:

  o  PCN-compatible Diffserv codepoint - a Diffserv codepoint
     indicating packets for which the ECN field is used to carry PCN-
     markings rather than [RFC3168] markings.

  o  PCN-marked codepoint - a codepoint that indicates packets that
     have been marked at a PCN-interior-node using some PCN-marking
     behaviour [RFC5670].  Abbreviated to PM.





Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 3]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  o  Not-marked codepoint - a codepoint that indicates packets that are
     PCN-capable but that are not PCN-marked.  Abbreviated to NM.

  o  not-PCN codepoint - a codepoint that indicates packets that are
     not PCN-capable.

3.2.  List of Abbreviations

  The following abbreviations are used in this document:

  o  AF = Assured Forwarding [RFC2597]

  o  CE = Congestion Experienced [RFC3168]

  o  CS = Class Selector [RFC2474]

  o  DSCP = Diffserv codepoint

  o  ECN = Explicit Congestion Notification [RFC3168]

  o  ECT = ECN Capable Transport [RFC3168]

  o  EF = Expedited Forwarding [RFC3246]

  o  EXP = Experimental

  o  NM = Not-marked

  o  PCN = Pre-Congestion Notification

  o  PM = PCN-marked

4.  Encoding Two PCN States in IP

  The PCN encoding states are defined using a combination of the DSCP
  and ECN fields within the IP header.  The baseline PCN encoding
  closely follows the semantics of ECN [RFC3168].  It allows the
  encoding of two PCN states: Not-marked and PCN-marked.  It also
  allows for traffic that is not PCN-capable to be marked as such (not-
  PCN).  Given the scarcity of codepoints within the IP header, the
  baseline encoding leaves one codepoint free for experimental use.
  The following table defines how to encode these states in IP:









Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 4]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  +---------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------+
  | ECN codepoint |   Not-ECT   | ECT(0) (10) | ECT(1) (01) | CE (11) |
  |               |     (00)    |             |             |         |
  +---------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------+
  |     DSCP n    |   not-PCN   |      NM     |     EXP     |    PM   |
  +---------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------+

                       Table 1: Encoding PCN in IP

  In the table above, DSCP n is a PCN-compatible Diffserv codepoint
  (see Section 4.4) and EXP means available for Experimental use.  N.B.
  we deliberately reserve this codepoint for experimental use only (and
  not local use) to prevent future compatibility issues.

  The following rules apply to all PCN-traffic:

  o  PCN-traffic MUST be marked with a PCN-compatible Diffserv
     codepoint.  To conserve DSCPs, Diffserv codepoints SHOULD be
     chosen that are already defined for use with admission-controlled
     traffic.  Appendix A.1 gives guidance to implementors on suitable
     DSCPs.  Guidelines for mixing traffic types within a PCN-domain
     are given in [RFC5670].

  o  Any packet arriving at the PCN-ingress-node that shares a PCN-
     compatible DSCP and is not a PCN-packet MUST be marked as not-PCN
     within the PCN-domain.

  o  If a packet arrives at the PCN-ingress-node with its ECN field
     already set to a value other than not-ECT, then appropriate action
     MUST be taken to meet the requirements of [RFC3168].  The simplest
     appropriate action is to just drop such packets.  However, this is
     a drastic action that an operator may feel is undesirable.
     Appendix B provides more information and summarises other
     alternative actions that might be taken.

4.1.  Marking Packets

  [RFC5670] states that any encoding scheme document must specify the
  required action to take if one of the marking algorithms indicates
  that a packet needs to be marked.  For the baseline encoding scheme,
  the required action is simply as follows:

  o  If a marking algorithm indicates the need to mark a PCN-packet,
     then that packet MUST have its PCN codepoint set to 11, PCN-
     marked.






Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 5]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


4.2.  Valid and Invalid Codepoint Transitions

  A PCN-ingress-node MUST set the Not-marked (10) codepoint on any
  arriving packet that belongs to a PCN-flow.  It MUST set the not-PCN
  (00) codepoint on all other packets sharing a PCN-compatible Diffserv
  codepoint.

  The only valid codepoint transitions within a PCN-interior-node are
  from NM to PM (which should occur if either meter indicates a need to
  PCN-mark a packet [RFC5670]) and from EXP to PM.  PCN-nodes that only
  implement the baseline encoding MUST be able to PCN-mark packets that
  arrive with the EXP codepoint.  This should ease the design of
  experimental schemes that want to allow partial deployment of
  experimental nodes alongside nodes that only implement the baseline
  encoding.  The following table gives the full set of valid and
  invalid codepoint transitions.

                   +-------------------------------------------------+
                   |                  Codepoint Out                  |
    +--------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    | Codepoint in | not-PCN(00) |   NM(10)  |  EXP(01)  |   PM(11)  |
    +--------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    |  not-PCN(00) |    Valid    | Not valid | Not valid | Not valid |
    +--------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    |       NM(10) |  Not valid  |   Valid   | Not valid |   Valid   |
    +--------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    |     EXP(01)* |  Not valid  | Not valid |   Valid   |   Valid   |
    +--------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
    |       PM(11) |  Not valid  | Not valid | Not valid |   Valid   |
    +--------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
       * This MAY cause an alarm to be raised at a management layer.
         See paragraph above for an explanation of this transition.

         Table 2: Valid and Invalid Codepoint Transitions for
                      PCN-Packets at PCN-Interior-Nodes

  The codepoint transition constraints given here apply only to the
  baseline encoding scheme.  Constraints on codepoint transitions for
  future experimental schemes are discussed in Section 5.

  A PCN-egress-node SHOULD set the not-PCN (00) codepoint on all
  packets it forwards out of the PCN-domain.  The only exception to
  this is if the PCN-egress-node is certain that revealing other
  codepoints outside the PCN-domain won't contravene the guidance given
  in [RFC4774].  For instance, if the PCN-ingress-node has explicitly
  informed the PCN-egress-node that this flow is ECN-capable, then it
  might be safe to expose other codepoints.




Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 6]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


4.3.  Rationale for Encoding

  The exact choice of encoding was dictated by the constraints imposed
  by existing IETF RFCs, in particular [RFC3168], [RFC4301], and
  [RFC4774].  One of the tightest constraints was the need for any PCN
  encoding to survive being tunnelled through either an IP-in-IP tunnel
  or an IPsec Tunnel.  [ECN-TUN] explains this in more detail.  The
  main effect of this constraint is that any PCN-marking has to carry
  the 11 codepoint in the ECN field since this is the only codepoint
  that is guaranteed to be copied down into the forwarded header upon
  decapsulation.  An additional constraint is the need to minimise the
  use of Diffserv codepoints because there is a limited supply of
  Standards Track codepoints remaining.  Section 4.4 explains how we
  have minimised this still further by reusing pre-existing Diffserv
  codepoint(s) such that non-PCN-traffic can still be distinguished
  from PCN-traffic.

  There are a number of factors that were considered before choosing to
  set 10 as the NM state instead of 01.  These included similarity to
  ECN, presence of tunnels within the domain, leakage into and out of
  the PCN-domain, and incremental deployment (see Appendix A.2).

  The encoding scheme above seems to meet all these constraints and
  ends up looking very similar to ECN.  This is perhaps not surprising
  given the similarity in architectural intent between PCN and ECN.

4.4.  PCN-Compatible Diffserv Codepoints

  Equipment complying with the baseline PCN encoding MUST allow PCN to
  be enabled for certain Diffserv codepoints.  This document defines
  the term "PCN-compatible Diffserv codepoint" for such a DSCP.  To be
  clear, any packets with such a DSCP will be PCN-enabled only if they
  are within a PCN-domain and have their ECN field set to indicate a
  codepoint other than not-PCN.

  Enabling PCN-marking behaviour for a specific DSCP disables any other
  marking behaviour (e.g., enabling PCN replaces the default ECN
  marking behaviour introduced in [RFC3168]) with the PCN-metering and
  -marking behaviours described in [RFC5670]).  This ensures compliance
  with the Best Current Practice (BCP) guidance set out in [RFC4774].

  The PCN working group has chosen not to define a single DSCP for use
  with PCN for several reasons.  Firstly, the PCN mechanism is
  applicable to a variety of different traffic classes.  Secondly,
  Standards Track DSCPs are in increasingly short supply.  Thirdly, PCN
  is not a scheduling behaviour -- rather, it should be seen as being





Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 7]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  essentially a marking behaviour similar to ECN but intended for
  inelastic traffic.  More details are given in the informational
  Appendix A.1.

4.4.1.  Co-Existence of PCN and Not-PCN Traffic

  The scarcity of pool 1 DSCPs, coupled with the fact that PCN is
  envisaged as a marking behaviour that could be applied to a number of
  different DSCPs, makes it essential that we provide a not-PCN state.
  As stated above (and expanded in Appendix A.1), the aim is for PCN to
  re-use existing DSCPs.  Because PCN redefines the meaning of the ECN
  field for such DSCPs, it is important to allow an operator to still
  use the DSCP for non-PCN-traffic.  This is achieved by providing a
  not-PCN state within the encoding scheme.  Section 3.5 of [RFC5559]
  discusses how competing-non-PCN-traffic should be handled.

5.  Rules for Experimental Encoding Schemes

  Any experimental encoding scheme MUST follow these rules to ensure
  backward compatibility with this baseline scheme:

  o  All PCN-interior-nodes within a PCN-domain MUST interpret the 00
     codepoint in the ECN field as not-PCN and MUST NOT change it to
     another value.  Therefore, a PCN-ingress-node wishing to disable
     PCN-marking for a packet with a PCN-compatible Diffserv codepoint
     MUST set the ECN field to 00.

  o  The 11 codepoint in the ECN field MUST indicate that the packet
     has been PCN-marked as the result of one or both of the meters
     indicating a need to PCN-mark a packet [RFC5670].  The
     experimental scheme MUST define which meter(s) trigger this
     marking.

  o  The 01 Experimental codepoint in the ECN field MAY mean PCN-marked
     or it MAY carry some other meaning.  However, any experimental
     scheme MUST define its meaning in the context of that experiment.

  o  If both the 01 and 11 codepoints are being used to indicate PCN-
     marked, then the 11 codepoint MUST be taken to be the more severe
     marking and the choice of which meter sets which mark MUST be
     defined.

  o  Once set, the 11 codepoint in the ECN field MUST NOT be changed to
     any other codepoint.

  o  Any experimental scheme MUST include details of all valid and
     invalid codepoint transitions at any PCN-nodes.




Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 8]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


6.  Backward Compatibility

  BCP 124 [RFC4774] gives guidelines for specifying alternative
  semantics for the ECN field.  It sets out a number of factors to be
  taken into consideration.  It also suggests various techniques to
  allow the co-existence of default ECN and alternative ECN semantics.
  The baseline encoding specified in this document defines PCN-
  compatible Diffserv codepoints as no longer supporting the default
  ECN semantics.  As such, this document is compatible with BCP 124.

  On its own, this baseline encoding cannot support both ECN marking
  end-to-end (e2e) and PCN-marking within a PCN-domain.  It is possible
  to do this by carrying e2e ECN across a PCN-domain within the inner
  header of an IP-in-IP tunnel, or by using a richer encoding such as
  the proposed experimental scheme in [PCN-ENC].

  In any PCN deployment, traffic can only enter the PCN-domain through
  PCN-ingress-nodes and leave through PCN-egress-nodes.  PCN-ingress-
  nodes ensure that any packets entering the PCN-domain have the ECN
  field in their outermost IP header set to the appropriate PCN
  codepoint.  PCN-egress-nodes then guarantee that the ECN field of any
  packet leaving the PCN-domain has the correct ECN semantics.  This
  prevents unintended leakage of ECN marks into or out of the PCN-
  domain, and thus reduces backward-compatibility issues.

7.  Security Considerations

  PCN-marking only carries a meaning within the confines of a PCN-
  domain.  This encoding document is intended to stand independently of
  the architecture used to determine how specific packets are
  authorised to be PCN-marked, which will be described in separate
  documents on PCN-boundary-node behaviour.

  This document assumes the PCN-domain to be entirely under the control
  of a single operator, or a set of operators who trust each other.
  However, future extensions to PCN might include inter-domain versions
  where trust cannot be assumed between domains.  If such schemes are
  proposed, they must ensure that they can operate securely despite the
  lack of trust.  However, such considerations are beyond the scope of
  this document.

  One potential security concern is the injection of spurious PCN-marks
  into the PCN-domain.  However, these can only enter the domain if a
  PCN-ingress-node is misconfigured.  The precise impact of any such
  misconfiguration will depend on which of the proposed PCN-boundary-
  node behaviour schemes is used, but in general spurious marks will
  lead to admitting fewer flows into the domain or potentially
  terminating too many flows.  In either case, good management should



Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                     [Page 9]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  be able to quickly spot the problem since the overall utilisation of
  the domain will rapidly fall.

8.  Conclusions

  This document defines the baseline PCN encoding, utilising a
  combination of a PCN-compatible DSCP and the ECN field in the IP
  header.  This baseline encoding allows the existence of two PCN
  encoding states: Not-marked and PCN-marked.  It also allows for the
  co-existence of competing traffic within the same DSCP, so long as
  that traffic does not require ECN support within the PCN-domain.  The
  encoding scheme is conformant with [RFC4774].  The working group has
  chosen not to define a single DSCP for use with PCN.  The rationale
  for this decision along with advice relating to the choice of
  suitable DSCPs can be found in Appendix A.1.

9.  Acknowledgements

  This document builds extensively on work done in the PCN working
  group by Kwok Ho Chan, Georgios Karagiannis, Philip Eardley, Anna
  Charny, Joe Babiarz, and others.  Thanks to Ruediger Geib and Gorry
  Fairhurst for providing detailed comments on this document.

10.  References

10.1.  Normative References

  [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
             Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

  [RFC3168]  Ramakrishnan, K., Floyd, S., and D. Black, "The Addition
             of Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) to IP",
             RFC 3168, September 2001.

  [RFC4774]  Floyd, S., "Specifying Alternate Semantics for the
             Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) Field", BCP 124,
             RFC 4774, November 2006.

  [RFC5670]  Eardley, P., Ed., "Metering and Marking Behaviour of PCN-
             Nodes", RFC 5670, November 2009.











Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                    [Page 10]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


10.2.  Informative References

  [ECN-TUN]  Briscoe, B., "Tunnelling of Explicit Congestion
             Notification", Work in Progress, July 2009.

  [PCN-ENC]  Moncaster, T., Briscoe, B., and M. Menth, "A PCN encoding
             using 2 DSCPs to provide 3 or more states", Work
             in Progress, April 2009.

  [RFC2474]  Nichols, K., Blake, S., Baker, F., and D. Black,
             "Definition of the Differentiated Services Field (DS
             Field) in the IPv4 and IPv6 Headers", RFC 2474,
             December 1998.

  [RFC2597]  Heinanen, J., Baker, F., Weiss, W., and J. Wroclawski,
             "Assured Forwarding PHB Group", RFC 2597, June 1999.

  [RFC3246]  Davie, B., Charny, A., Bennet, J., Benson, K., Le Boudec,
             J., Courtney, W., Davari, S., Firoiu, V., and D.
             Stiliadis, "An Expedited Forwarding PHB (Per-Hop
             Behavior)", RFC 3246, March 2002.

  [RFC3540]  Spring, N., Wetherall, D., and D. Ely, "Robust Explicit
             Congestion Notification (ECN) Signaling with Nonces",
             RFC 3540, June 2003.

  [RFC4301]  Kent, S. and K. Seo, "Security Architecture for the
             Internet Protocol", RFC 4301, December 2005.

  [RFC4594]  Babiarz, J., Chan, K., and F. Baker, "Configuration
             Guidelines for DiffServ Service Classes", RFC 4594,
             August 2006.

  [RFC5127]  Chan, K., Babiarz, J., and F. Baker, "Aggregation of
             DiffServ Service Classes", RFC 5127, February 2008.

  [RFC5559]  Eardley, P., "Pre-Congestion Notification (PCN)
             Architecture", RFC 5559, June 2009.













Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                    [Page 11]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


Appendix A.  PCN Deployment Considerations (Informative)

A.1.  Choice of Suitable DSCPs

  The PCN working group chose not to define a single DSCP for use with
  PCN for several reasons.  Firstly, the PCN mechanism is applicable to
  a variety of different traffic classes.  Secondly, Standards Track
  DSCPs are in increasingly short supply.  Thirdly, PCN is not a
  scheduling behaviour -- rather, it should be seen as being a marking
  behaviour similar to ECN but intended for inelastic traffic.  The
  choice of which DSCP is most suitable for a given PCN-domain is
  dependent on the nature of the traffic entering that domain and the
  link rates of all the links making up that domain.  In PCN-domains
  with sufficient aggregation, the appropriate DSCPs would currently be
  those for the Real-Time Treatment Aggregate [RFC5127].  The PCN
  working group suggests using admission control for the following
  service classes (defined in [RFC4594]):

  o  Telephony (EF)

  o  Real-time interactive (CS4)

  o  Broadcast Video (CS3)

  o  Multimedia Conferencing (AF4)

  CS5 is excluded from this list since PCN is not expected to be
  applied to signalling traffic.

  PCN-marking is intended to provide a scalable admission-control
  mechanism for traffic with a high degree of statistical multiplexing.
  PCN-marking would therefore be appropriate to apply to traffic in the
  above classes, but only within a PCN-domain containing sufficiently
  aggregated traffic.  In such cases, the above service classes may
  well all be subject to a single forwarding treatment (treatment
  aggregate [RFC5127]).  However, this does not imply all such IP
  traffic would necessarily be identified by one DSCP -- each service
  class might keep a distinct DSCP within the highly aggregated region
  [RFC5127].

  Additional service classes may be defined for which admission control
  is appropriate, whether through some future standards action or
  through local use by certain operators, e.g., the Multimedia
  Streaming service class (AF3).  This document does not preclude the
  use of PCN in more cases than those listed above.

  Note: The above discussion is informative not normative, as operators
  are ultimately free to decide whether to use admission control for



Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                    [Page 12]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  certain service classes and whether to use PCN as their mechanism of
  choice.

A.2.  Rationale for Using ECT(0) for Not-Marked

  The choice of which ECT codepoint to use for the Not-marked state was
  based on the following considerations:

  o  [RFC3168] full-functionality tunnel within the PCN-domain: Either
     ECT is safe.

  o  Leakage of traffic into PCN-domain: Because of the lack of take-up
     of the ECN nonce [RFC3540], leakage of ECT(1) is less likely to
     occur and so might be considered safer.





































Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                    [Page 13]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  o  Leakage of traffic out of PCN-domain: Either ECT is equally unsafe
     (since this would incorrectly indicate the traffic was ECN-capable
     outside the controlled PCN-domain).

  o  Incremental deployment: Either codepoint is suitable, providing
     that the codepoints are used consistently.

  o  Conceptual consistency with other schemes: ECT(0) is conceptually
     consistent with [RFC3168].

  Overall, this seemed to suggest that ECT(0) was most appropriate to
  use.

Appendix B.  Co-Existence of PCN and ECN (Informative)

  This baseline encoding scheme redefines the ECN codepoints within the
  PCN-domain.  As packets with a PCN-compatible DSCP leave the PCN-
  domain, their ECN field is reset to not-ECT (00).  This is a problem
  for the operator if packets with a PCN-compatible DSCP arrive at the
  PCN-domain with any ECN codepoint other than not-ECN.  If the ECN-
  codepoint is ECT(0) (10) or ECT(1) (01), resetting the ECN field to
  00 effectively turns off end-to-end ECN.  This is undesirable as it
  removes the benefits of ECN, but [RFC3168] states that it is no worse
  than dropping the packet.  However, if a packet was marked with CE
  (11), resetting the ECN field to 00 at the PCN egress node violates
  the rule that CE-marks must never be lost except as a result of
  packet drop [RFC3168].

  A number of options exist to overcome this issue.  The most
  appropriate option will depend on the circumstances and has to be a
  decision for the operator.  The definition of the action is beyond
  the scope of this document, but we briefly explain the four broad
  categories of solution below: tunnelling the packets, using an
  extended encoding scheme, signalling to the end systems to stop using
  ECN, or re-marking packets to a different DSCP.

  o  Tunnelling the packets across the PCN-domain (for instance, in an
     IP-in-IP tunnel from the PCN-ingress-node to the PCN-egress-node)
     preserves the original ECN marking on the inner header.

  o  An extended encoding scheme can be designed that preserves the
     original ECN codepoints.  For instance, if the PCN-egress-node can
     determine from the PCN codepoint what the original ECN codepoint
     was, then it can reset the packet to that codepoint.  [PCN-ENC]
     partially achieves this but is unable to recover ECN markings if
     the packet is PCN-marked in the PCN-domain.





Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                    [Page 14]

RFC 5696                 Baseline PCN Encoding             November 2009


  o  Explicit signalling to the end systems can indicate to the source
     that ECN cannot be used on this path (because it does not support
     ECN and PCN at the same time).  Dropping the packet can be thought
     of as a form of silent signal to the source, as it will see any
     ECT-marked packets it sends being dropped.

  o  Packets that are not part of a PCN-flow but which share a PCN-
     compatible DSCP can be re-marked to a different local-use DSCP at
     the PCN-ingress-node with the original DSCP restored at the PCN-
     egress.  This preserves the ECN codepoint on these packets but
     relies on there being spare local-use DSCPs within the PCN-domain.

Authors' Addresses

  Toby Moncaster
  BT
  B54/70, Adastral Park
  Martlesham Heath
  Ipswich  IP5 3RE
  UK

  Phone: +44 7918 901170
  EMail: [email protected]


  Bob Briscoe
  BT
  B54/77, Adastral Park
  Martlesham Heath
  Ipswich  IP5 3RE
  UK

  Phone: +44 1473 645196
  EMail: [email protected]


  Michael Menth
  University of Wuerzburg
  Institute of Computer Science
  Am Hubland
  Wuerzburg  D-97074
  Germany

  Phone: +49 931 318 6644
  EMail: [email protected]






Moncaster, et al.           Standards Track                    [Page 15]