Subject: [GSMP] Request for L2CP BOF

From: "Wojciech Dec \(wdec\)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 22:06:16 +0100

Hello Mark, Margaret,

The participants of the L2CP discussion list would like to request the
scheduling of a BOF session during the IETF's upcoming Dallas meeting to
discuss the formation of a new WG dealing with the Layer 2 Control
Protocol. Below please find the proposed BoF Agenda, and proposed draft
WG charter.

BOF DESCRIPTION

There is significant interest in the use of an IP based Layer 2 device
Control Protocol to manage and configure service provider access network
equipment. This BOF will present a summary of the problem areas and
requirements as identified by discussions in the DSL Forum. A set of
protocol solution proposals based on modifications and extensions to the
GSMPv3 protocol and items for future work will also be presented. Based
on the discussion, we will determine whether we should form an IETF WG
covering this topic.

The proposed agenda for a 1hr BOF is as follows:

1. Introduction/agenda tweaking (Chairs - 5 min)
2. Problem description (TBD - 15 min)
 - Topology discovery
 - Line configuration
 - OAM
3. Overview of proposed protocol solution (TBD - 15 min)
 - Currently proposed GSMP protocol extensions
 - Current status of implementation
 - Issues
 - Proposed work items
4. Discussion and Focus (25 min)
 - Interest in WG Formation 

READING LIST

Related Internet-Drafts:

GSMP extensions for layer2 control            
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-wadhwa-gsmp-l2control-configur
ation-00.txt

General Switch Management Protocol v3 - RFC3292
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3292.txt?number=3292

General Switch Management Protocol (GSMP) Packet Encapsulations for
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Ethernet and Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP) - RFC3293
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3293.txt?number=3293
 
Layer 2 Control Protocol use-cases (DSL Forum work in progress)
PD21 - Liaised to the IETF by the DSL Forum on December 8th, 2005.
dsl2005.052.doc.

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-------------------WG CHARTER (DRAFT)------------------------

Layer 2 Control (l2c)
=====================

Current Status: Non-existing Working Group

Chair(s):
TBD <tbd>
TBD <tbd>

Internet Area Director(s):
Mark Townsley <[email-masked]>
Margaret Wasserman

Technical Advisor(s):
TBD <tbd>

Secretary(ies):
TBD <tbd>

Area Specific Mailing List:
[email-masked]

Mailing Lists:
General Discussion: [email-masked]
To Subscribe: [email-masked]
In Body: subscribe your_email_address
Archive: http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/l2cp/index.html

Description of the charter for this WG:

The purpose of the L2CP WG is to standardize an IP based Layer 2 control
protocol for use in service provider access and aggregation type
networks. The protocol is to be inter-operable among a wide set of
multi-vendor devices, including but not limited to DSL Access Nodes and
Broadband Network Gateways. The rationale for introducing such a Layer 2
control protocol has been analyzed in DSL Forum Proposed Draft PD-021v2,
which was liaised to the IETF in December 2005, and sent to the IETF
GSMP discussion list in November 2004. A number of use cases have been
identified that are now progressing as an official DSL Forum working
text item. These use cases require thus specific protocol design and
extensions. 
The DSL Forum work recommends using General Switch Management Protocol
(GSMPv3) as a base protocol for Layer 2 control messages. This working
group will be responsible for investigating which subset of GSMPv3 is
required for l2c and which extensions are to be specified for the
selected use cases. It will also respond to protocol issues that arise
during implementation of the current specifications.

The goal of a Layer 2 control protocol message exchange is to convey
status and control information from access devices to one or more other
devices that require the information for executing local functions. An
example of this is the transmission of an access loop rate from the edge
access node to a Broadband Network gateway device tasked with shaping
traffic to that rate. Another goal of a Layer 2 control protocol message
exchange is to trigger a local action on access devices. An example of
this being the initiation of a local port testing mechanism.
The protocol will ensure the transmission of the information does not
need to go through distinct element managers but rather using the direct
device-device control protocol defined. This direct transmission method
is intended to offer the possibility of effecting quicker functional
changes in response to dynamic events.

Efforts of the WG will focus on addressing the following problem areas:
- Transmission of access line control and status information to network
elements tasked with coordinating policy decision and enforcement
- Reduction, through the use of the protocol, of multiple points of
access edge network element provisioning.
- Transmission of control RPCs and result messages for access node OAM
functions.

The protocol will address the information transmission requirements of
the following use-cases:

- Topology discovery
DSL Forum TR-059 identifies various queuing/scheduling mechanisms to
avoid congestion in the access network while dealing with multiple flows
with distinct QoS requirements. Such mechanisms require that the
Broadband Network gateway gains knowledge of the topology of the access
network, in particular the edge access-loop characteristics e.g. DSL
sync Rate. The l2 control protocol is intended to convey this
information. 

- Line Configuration
Following dynamic line identification (subscriber local loop) as
assisted by the mechanism described in the topology discovery case, the
Broadband Network Gateway could then query a subscriber OSS system (e.g.
RADIUS server to retrieve subscriber service profiles relating to the
subscriber line. Using an the L2 control protocol could simplify the OSS
infrastructure for service management, allowing to fully centralize
subscriber-related service data (e.g. RADIUS server back-end) and
avoiding complex cross-organization B2B interactions.

- OAM
Traditional DSL broadband access networks employ point-to-point ATM
circuits between a CPE and a BRAS. In such an environment,
troubleshooting can be achieved by means of end-to-end ATM loopbacks.
With Ethernet getting a more important role as layer 2 technology in the
aggregation network, operators require to keep ways to test and
troubleshoot connectivity in the case of a mixed Ethernet and ATM access
network (including the local loop). To reach consistency with ATM based
broadband access networks, a layer 2 control mechanism can be introduced
between a BNG and an Access Node, allowing to trigger a remote procedure
for the OAM mechanism used on the local loop.

The working group will set itself the goal for defining a light-weight
IP transport mechanism for GSMP based L2 control messages and result in
an appropriate RFC.

The L2CP WG is open to receiving new work items, whenever it is
considered appropriate to be homed in the L2CP WG. Such drafts will be
matured in conjunction with the L2CP base documents.

Goals and Milestones:

April 2006	 Document l2c Framework and Requirements (based on DSL
Forum work) 

May 2006	 First WG I-D on defining the GSMPv3 protocol and
extensions to achieve Topology Discovery, OAM and Line Configuration in
a DSL environment 

August 2006	 Submit the l2c Framework and Requirements to IESG for
publication as RFC 

September 2006	 Submit the GSMPv3 protocol and extensions to achieve
Topology Discovery, OAM and Line Configuration in a DSL environment to
IESG for publication as Proposed Standard 

December 2006	 First WG I-D on GSMPv3 protocol extensions for mapping
over a lightweight transport mechanism 

December 2006	 Submit the GSMPv3 protocol and extensions to achieve
Topology Discovery, OAM and Line Configuration in a DSL environment to
IESG for publication as Draft Standard 

March 2007	 Submit the GSMPv3 protocol extensions for mapping over
a lightweight transport mechanism to IESG for publication as Proposed
Standard 

June 2007	 Re-charter or conclude Working Group
Internet-Drafts:
GSMP extensions for layer2 control (L2C) - Topology Discovery and Line
Configuration <draft-wadhwa-gsmp-l2control-configuration-02.txt>

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