Subject: [ANCP] About draft-ietf-ancp-mc-extensions

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 11:07:35 +0800

Hi Authors,

I have got some suggestion about ANCP multicast accounting feature. Hope 
that I could get your response.
According to RFC 5851(Framework and Requirements for an Access Node 
Control Mechanism in Broadband Multi-Service Networks),   it may be 
desirable to perform time- and/or volume-based accounting for certain 
multicast flows sent on particular Access Ports.  In case the AN is 
performing the traffic replication process, it knows when replication of a 
multicast flow to a particular Access Port or user starts and stops. 

My suggestions of implementing multicast accounting feature by using ANCP 
protocol:

1. Currently, there's already an accounting field in multicast replication 
control message in draft-ietf-ancp-mc-extensions 
(http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-ancp-mc-extensions-04#section-4.3). 
 Meaningful only when the Command Code is "Add" (0x01).  In that case, 
0x00 indicates no flow accounting, 0x01 indicates that octet accounting 
for the flow is to commence. I think we need a 0x02 to indicates the time 
accounting for the flow.

2. Do we need also some corresponding TLV in the Generic Response message 
to indicates that if the Access Node could support octet accounting/time 
accounting (depends on the multicast replication control message) or not? 
It could be an extension to Generic Response Message  in NAS Initiated 
Multicast Replication Control Use Case
(http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-ancp-mc-extensions-04#section-3.1.2
), or a dedicated Generic Response Message in Conditional Access and 
Admission Control Use Case (
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-ancp-mc-extensions-04#section-3.2.2 
).

3. Based on this multicast accounting feature, we need also some extension 
to multicast flow reporting, for both use case and messages/TLVs.
1) Use case extension: The access node should be able to automatically (or 
we could say "triggered" by multicast replication control message of ) 
send reports to the NAS, including Multicast Replication Starts/Ends time, 
or Multicast Replication Volume (could be periodically or  just twice 
(when the multicast replication starting/terminating)), or both of them. 
And now the Access Node will just send multicast flow reports message 
(Multicast Flow Query Response) to the NAS when receiving the Multicast 
Flow Request.

2)Messages/TLVs extension: 
Meesages: There could be a new Multicast Accounting Reports Message or 
some TLV extension to current Multicast Flow Query Response Message for 
reporting accounting results of specific multicast flows. Which one do you 
think is better? For my part,  the latter is better, since it could be a 
kind of "generic reponse" for both Multicast Replication control Message 
and on demand Multicast Flow Query Request Message. 

TLVs: There could be Replication Start Time TLV, Replication Ends Time TLV 
and Replication Volume TLV to indicates the the replicating starts/ends 
time and the replicating volume.

Waiting for your feedback.

Best regards
Fan Liang

--------------------------------------------------------
ZTE Information Security Notice: The information contained in this mail is solely property of the sender's organization. This mail communication is confidential. Recipients named above are obligated to maintain secrecy and are not permitted to disclose the contents of this communication to others.
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the originator of the message. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender.
This message has been scanned for viruses and Spam by ZTE Anti-Spam system.