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diff --git a/src/plugins/srmpls/sr_doc.rst b/src/plugins/srmpls/sr_doc.rst new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..ed847fa0d42 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/plugins/srmpls/sr_doc.rst @@ -0,0 +1,215 @@ +.. _srmpls_doc: + +SR-MPLS: Segment Routing for MPLS +================================= + +This is a memo intended to contain documentation of the VPP SR-MPLS +implementation. Everything that is not directly obvious should come +here. For any feedback on content that should be explained please +mailto:pcamaril@cisco.com + +Segment Routing +--------------- + +Segment routing is a network technology focused on addressing the +limitations of existing IP and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) +networks in terms of simplicity, scale, and ease of operation. It is a +foundation for application engineered routing as it prepares the +networks for new business models where applications can control the +network behavior. + +Segment routing seeks the right balance between distributed intelligence +and centralized optimization and programming. It was built for the +software-defined networking (SDN) era. + +Segment routing enhances packet forwarding behavior by enabling a +network to transport unicast packets through a specific forwarding path, +different from the normal path that a packet usually takes (IGP shortest +path or BGP best path). This capability benefits many use cases, and one +can build those specific paths based on application requirements. + +Segment routing uses the source routing paradigm. A node, usually a +router but also a switch, a trusted server, or a virtual forwarder +running on a hypervisor, steers a packet through an ordered list of +instructions, called segments. A segment can represent any instruction, +topological or service-based. A segment can have a local semantic to a +segment-routing node or global within a segment-routing network. Segment +routing allows an operator to enforce a flow through any topological +path and service chain while maintaining per-flow state only at the +ingress node to the segment-routing network. Segment routing also +supports equal-cost multipath (ECMP) by design. + +Segment routing can operate with either an MPLS or an IPv6 data plane. +All the currently available MPLS services, such as Layer 3 VPN (L3VPN), +L2VPN (Virtual Private Wire Service [VPWS], Virtual Private LAN Services +[VPLS], Ethernet VPN [E-VPN], and Provider Backbone Bridging Ethernet +VPN [PBB-EVPN]), can run on top of a segment-routing transport network. + +**The implementation of Segment Routing in VPP covers both the IPv6 data +plane (SRv6) as well as the MPLS data plane (SR-MPLS). This page +contains the SR-MPLS documentation.** + +Segment Routing terminology +--------------------------- + +- SegmentID (SID): is an MPLS label. +- Segment List (SL) (SID List): is the sequence of SIDs that the packet + will traverse. +- SR Policy: is a set of candidate paths (SID list+weight). An SR + policy is uniquely identified by its Binding SID and associated with + a weighted set of Segment Lists. In case several SID lists are + defined, traffic steered into the policy is unevenly load-balanced + among them according to their respective weights. +- BindingSID: a BindingSID is a SID (only one) associated one-one with + an SR Policy. If a packet arrives with MPLS label corresponding to a + BindingSID, then the SR policy will be applied to such packet. + (BindingSID is popped first.) + +SR-MPLS features in VPP +----------------------- + +The SR-MPLS implementation is focused on the SR policies, as well on its +steering. Others SR-MPLS features, such as for example AdjSIDs, can be +achieved using the regular VPP MPLS implementation. + +The Segment Routing Policy +(*draft-filsfils-spring-segment-routing-policy*) defines SR Policies. + +Creating a SR Policy +-------------------- + +An SR Policy is defined by a Binding SID and a weighted set of Segment +Lists. + +A new SR policy is created with a first SID list using: + +:: + + sr mpls policy add bsid 40001 next 16001 next 16002 next 16003 (weight 5) + +- The weight parameter is only used if more than one SID list is + associated with the policy. + +An SR policy is deleted with: + +:: + + sr mpls policy del bsid 40001 + +The existing SR policies are listed with: + +:: + + show sr mpls policies + +Adding/Removing SID Lists from an SR policy +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +An additional SID list is associated with an existing SR policy with: + +:: + + sr mpls policy mod bsid 40001 add sl next 16001 next 16002 next 16003 (weight 3) + +Conversely, a SID list can be removed from an SR policy with: + +:: + + sr mpls policy mod bsid 4001 del sl index 1 + +Note that this CLI cannot be used to remove the last SID list of a +policy. Instead the SR policy delete CLI must be used. + +The weight of a SID list can also be modified with: + +:: + + sr mpls policy mod bsid 40001 mod sl index 1 weight 4 + +SR Policies: Spray policies +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Spray policies are a specific type of SR policies where the packet is +replicated on all the SID lists, rather than load-balanced among them. + +SID list weights are ignored with this type of policies. + +A Spray policy is instantiated by appending the keyword **spray** to a +regular SR-MPLS policy command, as in: + +:: + + sr mpls policy add bsid 40002 next 16001 next 16002 next 16003 spray + +Spray policies are used for removing multicast state from a network core +domain, and instead send a linear unicast copy to every access node. The +last SID in each list accesses the multicast tree within the access +node. + +Steering packets into a SR Policy +--------------------------------- + +Segment Routing supports three methods of steering traffic into an SR +policy. + +Local steering +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +In this variant incoming packets match a routing policy which directs +them on a local SR policy. + +In order to achieve this behavior the user needs to create an ‘sr +steering policy via sr policy bsid’. + +:: + + sr mpls steer l3 2001::/64 via sr policy bsid 40001 + sr mpls steer l3 2001::/64 via sr policy bsid 40001 fib-table 3 + sr mpls steer l3 10.0.0.0/16 via sr policy bsid 40001 + sr mpls steer l3 10.0.0.0/16 via sr policy bsid 40001 vpn-label 500 + +Remote steering +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +In this variant incoming packets have an active SID matching a local +BSID at the head-end. + +In order to achieve this behavior the packets should simply arrive with +an active SID equal to the Binding SID of a locally instantiated SR +policy. + +Automated steering +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +In this variant incoming packets match a BGP/Service route which +recurses on the BSID of a local policy. + +In order to achieve this behavior the user first needs to color the SR +policies. He can do so by using the CLI: + +:: + + sr mpls policy te bsid xxxxx endpoint x.x.x.x color 12341234 + +Notice that an SR policy can have a single endpoint and a single color. +Notice that the *endpoint* value is an IP46 address and the color a u32. + +Then, for any BGP/Service route the user has to use the API to steer +prefixes: + +:: + + sr steer l3 2001::/64 via next-hop 2001::1 color 1234 co 2 + sr steer l3 2001::/64 via next-hop 2001::1 color 1234 co 2 vpn-label 500 + +Notice that *co* refers to the CO-bits (values [0|1|2|3]). + +Notice also that a given prefix might be steered over several colors +(same next-hop and same co-bit value). In order to add new colors just +execute the API several times (or with the del parameter to delete the +color). + +This variant is meant to be used in conjunction with a control plane +agent that uses the underlying binary API bindings of +*sr_mpls_steering_policy_add*/*sr_mpls_steering_policy_del* for any BGP +service route received. |