Subject: draft-ietf-bmwg-fr-00.txt

From: Kevin Dubray <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 16:59:52 -0500

Network Working Group                                        J. H. Dunn
INTERNET-DRAFT                                             C. E. Martin
Expires: August, 1999                                          ANC, Inc.

                                                         February, 1999

                 Terminology for Frame Relay Benchmarking
                        <draft-ietf-bmwg-fr-00.txt>

Status of this Memo

   This  document  is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
all
   provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet  Engineering 
Task
   Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that other
groups
   may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts.

   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."

   The    list    of   current   Internet-Drafts   can   be   accessed  
at
   http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt

   The list  of  Internet-Draft  Shadow  Directories  can  be  accessed 
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   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.

Abstract

   This  memo  discusses  and  defines  terms  associated  with
performance
   benchmarking tests and the results of these  tests  in  the  context 
of
   frame  relay  switching devices.  The terms defined in this memo will
be
   used in addition to terms defined in RFCs 1242,  1944  and  2285.  
This
   memo  is  a product of the Benchmarking Methodology Working Group
(BMWG)
   of the Internet Engineering Task Force(IETF).

1. Introduction.

   This document provides terminology for Frame  Relay  switching 
devices.
   It   extends   terminology  already  defined  for  benchmarking 
network
   interconnect devices in RFCs 1242, 1944 and 2285 .  Although some of
the
   definitions in this memo may be applicable to a broader group of
network
   interconnect devices, the primary focus of the terminology in this 
memo
   is on Frame Relay Signaling.

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   This  memo  contains  two  major  sections:  Background and
Definitions.
   Within the definitions  section  is  a  formal  definitions 
subsection,
   provided as a courtesy to the reader, and a measurement definitions
sub-
   section, which contains performance metrics with inherent units.

   The  BMWG  produces  two  major  classes  of   documents:  
Benchmarking
   Terminology  documents  and  Benchmarking  Methodology  documents.  
The
   Terminology documents present the benchmarks and  other  related 
terms.
   The  Methodology documents define the procedures required to collect
the
   benchmarks cited in the corresponding Terminology documents.

2.  Existing Definitions

   RFC 1242 "Benchmarking Terminology  for  Network  Interconnect 
Devices"
   should be consulted before attempting to make use of this document. 
RFC
   1944  "Benchmarking  Methodology  for  Network   Interconnect  
Devices"
   contains  discussions  of a number of terms relevant to the
benchmarking
   of  switching  devices  and  should  also  be   consulted.    RFC  
2285
   "Benchmarking  Terminology  for LAN Switching Devices" contains a
number
   of terms pertaining to traffic distributions and datagram 
interarrival.
   For  the sake of clarity and continuity this RFC adopts the template
for
   definitions set out in Section 2 of RFC 1242.  Definitions  are 
indexed
   and  grouped  together in sections for ease of reference.  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 RFC 2119.

   II.  Definitions

   The definitions presented in this section have  been  divided  into 
two
   groups.   The  first  group is formal definitions, which are required
in
   the definitions of  the  performance  metrics  but  are  not 
themselves
   strictly  metrics.   These definitions are subsumed from other work
done
   in other working groups both inside and  outside  the  IETF.   They 
are
   provided as a courtesy to the reader.

   1.  Formal Definitions

   1.1.  Definition Format (from RFC1242)

   Term to be defined.

   Definition: The specific definition for the term.

   Discussion:  A  brief  discussion  of  the term, its application and
any
   restrictions on measurement procedures.

   Specification:  The working group and document  in  which  the  term 
is

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   specified.  Listed in the references.

   1.2.  Frame Relay Related Definitions

   1.2.1.  Backward Explicit Congestion Notification (BECN):

   Definition:  BECN is a bit in the frame relay header.  The bit is set
by
   a congested network node in any frame that is traveling in  the 
reverse
   direction of the congestion.

   Discussion:

   Specification: FRF

   1.2.2.  Committed Information Rate (CIR):

   Definition:  CIR  is  the  transport  speed the frame relay network
will
   maintain between service locations when data is presented.

   Discussion:

   Specification: FRF

   1.2.3.  Discard Eligible:

   Definition: This is a 1-bit field in a frame relay header that 
provides
   a two level priority indicator, used to bias discard frames in the
event
   of congestion toward lower priority frames.  Similar to the CLP  bit 
in
   ATM.

   Discussion:

   Specification: FRF

   1.2.4.  Forward Explicit Congestion Notification (FECN):

   Definition:  FECN is a bit in the frame relay header.  The bit is set
by
   a congested network node in any frame that  is  traveling  in  the 
same
   direction of the congestion.

   Discussion:

   Specification: FRF

   1.2.5.  Frame:

   Definition:  A logical grouping of information sent as a link-layer
unit
   over a transmission medium.

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   Discussion:

   Specification: FRF

   1.2.6.  Frame Relay:

   Definition:  A high-performance interface for packet-switching
networks;
   considered  more efficient that X.25.  Frame relay technology can
handle
   "bursty"   communications   that   have   rapidly   changing  
bandwidth
   requirements.

   Discussion:

   Specification: FRF

   2.  Performance Metrics

   2.1.  Definition Format (from RFC1242)

   Metric to be defined.

   Definition:  The specific definition for the metric.

   Discussion:   A  brief discussion of the metric, its application and
any
   restrictions on measurement procedures.

   Measurement units: Intrinsic units used to quantify this  metric.  
This
   includes  subsidiary  units,  e.g.  microseconds  are  acceptable if
the
   intrinsic unit is seconds.

   2.2 Definitions

   3. Security Considerations.  As this document is solely for the 
purpose
   of  providing  terminology  and  describes  neither  a  protocol  nor
an
   implementation, there are no  security  considerations  associated 
with
   this document.

   4. References

   5.  Editor's  Addresses  Jeffrey Dunn Advanced Network Consultants,
Inc.
   11241-B Skilift Court, Columbia, MD 21044 USA Phone: +1 (410) 
730-6300,
   E-mail: [email-masked]

   Cynthia  Martin  Advanced  Network  Consultants,  Inc.   11241-B
Skilift
   Court,  Columbia,  MD  21044  USA  Phone:  +1  (410)  730-6300, 
E-mail:
   [email-masked]

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