PCEP Extension for Bounded Latency
draft-xiong-pce-detnet-bounded-latency-06
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| Document | Type | Active Internet-Draft (individual) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Quan Xiong , Peng Liu , Rakesh Gandhi | ||
| Last updated | 2025-10-19 | ||
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| Intended RFC status | (None) | ||
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| Stream | Stream state | (No stream defined) | |
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| On agenda | pce at IETF-124 | ||
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draft-xiong-pce-detnet-bounded-latency-06
idr Q. Xiong
Internet-Draft ZTE Corporation
Intended status: Standards Track P. Liu
Expires: 23 April 2026 China Mobile
R. Gandhi
Cisco Systems, Inc.
20 October 2025
PCEP Extension for Bounded Latency
draft-xiong-pce-detnet-bounded-latency-06
Abstract
In certain networks, such as Deterministic Networking (DetNet), it is
required to consider the bounded latency for path selection. This
document describes the extensions for Path Computation Element
Communication Protocol (PCEP) to carry the bounded latency
constraints and distribute deterministic paths for end-to-end path
computation in deterministic services.
Status of This Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute
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This Internet-Draft will expire on 23 April 2026.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2025 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 (https://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
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extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1. Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. PCEP Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. METRIC Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.1. End-to-End Minimum Latency Metric . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.2. End-to-End Maximum Latency Metric . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.3. End-to-End Latency Variation Metric . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2. LSP Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3. Deterministic Path ERO Subobject . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3.1. DLI Information for Right-bounded . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.3.2. DLI for Flow level Periodic Bounded . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3.3. DLI for Class Level Periodic Bounded . . . . . . . . 8
3.3.4. DLI for Flow Level Non-periodic Bounded . . . . . . . 8
3.3.5. DLI for Class Level Non-periodic Bounded . . . . . . 9
3.3.6. DLI for Flow Level Rate-based Unbounded . . . . . . . 10
3.3.7. DLI for Flow Level Rate-based Left-bounded . . . . . 10
3.4. Deterministic Path RRO Subobject . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.1. Calculation of End-to-end Bounded Latency . . . . . . . . 11
4.2. Metric types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3. ERO and RRO Subobjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.1. New Metric Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.2. New LSP-EXTENDED-FLAG Flag Registry . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.3. New ERO Subobject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1. Introduction
[RFC5440] describes the Path Computation Element Protocol (PCEP)
which is used between a Path Computation Element (PCE) and a Path
Computation Client (PCC) (or other PCE) to enable computation of
Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) for Traffic Engineering Label
Switched Path (TE LSP). PCEP Extensions for the Stateful PCE Model
[RFC8231] describes a set of extensions to PCEP to enable active
control of MPLS-TE and Generalized MPLS (GMPLS) tunnels.
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As depicted in [RFC4655], a PCE MUST be able to compute the path of a
TE LSP by operating on the TED and considering bandwidth and other
constraints applicable to the TE LSP service request. The constraint
parameters are provided such as metric, bandwidth, delay, affinity,
etc. However these parameters did not take into account the bounded
latency requirements.
According to [RFC8655]}, Deterministic Networking (DetNet) operates
at the IP layer and delivers service which provides extremely low
data loss rates and bounded latency within a network domain. The
bounded latency indicates the minimum and maximum end-to-end latency
from source to destination and bounded jitter (packet delay
variation). [I-D.ietf-detnet-scaling-requirements] has described the
enhanced requirements for DetNet data plane including the information
used by functions ensuring deterministic latency should be supported.
And queuing mechanisms and solutions require different information to
help the functions of ensuring deterministic latency, including
regulation, queue management. [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy]
has defined the classification criteria and the suitable categories
for this solutions.
The computing method of end-to-end delay bounds is defined in
[RFC9320]. It is the sum of the 6 delays in DetNet bounded latency
model. And these delays should be measured and collected by IGP, but
the related mechanisms are out of this document. The end-to-end
delay bounds can also be computed as the sum of non queuing delay
bound and queuing delay bound along the path. The upper bounds of
non queuing delay are constant and depend on the specific network and
the value of queuing delay bound depends on the queuing mechanisms
deployed along the path. The queuing delay may differ notably in
their specific queuing solutions, which should be selected and
calculated by the controller (or PCE). The deterministic latency
information related to each queuing mechanism should also be
distributed.
As per [I-D.ietf-detnet-controller-plane-framework], explicit path
should be calculated and established in control plane to guarantee
the deterministic transmission. The corresponding IS-IS and OSPF
extensions are specified in
[I-D.peng-lsr-deterministic-traffic-engineering]. When the PCE is
deployed, the path computation should be applicable for deterministic
networks. It is required that bounded latency including minimum and
maximum end-to-end latency and bounded delay variation are considered
during the deterministic path selection for PCE. The bounded latency
constraints should be extended for PCEP. Moreover, the queuing-based
parameters along the deterministic path should be provided to the PCC
after the path computation such as deterministic latency information.
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This document describes the extensions for PCEP to carry bounded
latency constraints and distribute deterministic paths for end-to-end
path computation in deterministic services.
1.1. Requirements Language
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
capitals, as shown here.
2. Terminology
The terminology is defined as [RFC8655] and [RFC5440].
3. PCEP Extensions
3.1. METRIC Object
The METRIC object is defined in Section 7.8 of [RFC5440], comprising
metric-value and metric-type (T field), and a flags field, comprising
a number of bit flags (B bit and C bit). This document defines three
types for the METRIC object to represent the end-to-end bounded
latency.
3.1.1. End-to-End Minimum Latency Metric
This document proposes the end-to-end minimum latency metric in PCEP
to represent the lower bound of the end-to-end delay. The extensions
for End-to-End Minimum Latency Metric are as following shown:
*T=TBD1: End-to-End Minimum Latency Metric.
*The value of End-to-End Minimum Latency Metric is the encoding in
units of microseconds with 32 bits.
*The B bit MUST be set to suggest a minimum bound for the end-to-end
delay of deterministic path. The end-to-end delay must be no less
than or equal to the value.
3.1.2. End-to-End Maximum Latency Metric
This document proposes the end-to-end maximum latency metric in PCEP
to represent the upper bound of the end-to-end delay. The extensions
for End-to-End Maximum Latency Metric are as following shown:
*T=TBD2: End-to-End Maximum Latency Metric.
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*The value of End-to-End Maximum Latency Metric is the encoding in
units of microseconds with 32 bits.
*The B bit MUST be set to suggest a maximum bound for the end-to-end
delay of deterministic path. The end-to-end delay must be less than
or equal to the value.
3.1.3. End-to-End Latency Variation Metric
This document proposes the end-to-end latency variation metric in
PCEP to represent the difference between the end-to-end upper latency
and the end-to-end lower latency along a deterministic path. The
extensions for End-to-End Latency Variation Metric are as following
shown:
*T=TBD3: End-to-End Latency Variation Metric.
*The value of End-to-End Latency Variation Metric is the encoding in
units of microseconds with 32 bits.
*The B bit MUST be set to suggest a maximum bound for the end-to-end
latency variation of deterministic path. The end-to-end latency
variation must be less than or equal to the value.
3.2. LSP Object
The LSP Object is defined in Section 7.3 of [RFC8231]. This document
defines a new flag (D-flag) to present the deterministic path for the
LSP-EXTENDED-FLAG TLV carried in LSP Object as defined in [RFC9357].
D (Request for Deterministic Path) : If the bit is set to 1, it
indicates that the PCC requests PCE to compute the deterministic
path. A PCE would also set this bit to 1 to indicate that the
deterministic path is included by PCE and encoded in the PCRep, PCUpd
or PCInitiate message.
3.3. Deterministic Path ERO Subobject
The ERO (Explicit Route Object) specified in [RFC3209] and [RFC5440]
can be used to carry a set of computed paths. In order to carry
deterministic latency information, this document defines a new
optional ERO subobject referred to as the Deterministic Path ERO
subobject (DP-ERO). An ERO carrying a deterministic path consists of
one or more ERO subobjects, and it MUST carry DP-ERO subobjects.
An DP-ERO subobject is formatted as shown in the following figure:
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0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|L| Type=TBD4 | Length | Class | DLI Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
// Deterministic Latency Information(variable, optional) //
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 1 DP-ERO subobject
where:
*L (1bit): The L bit is an attribute of the subobject. The L bit is
set if the subobject represents a loose hop in the explicit route.
If the bit is not set, the subobject represents a strict hop in the
explicit route.
*Type (8bits): Set to TBD4.
*Length (8bits): Contains the total length of the subobject in
octets.
The Length MUST be at least 8 and MUST be a multiple of 4.
*Class (8bits): indicates the deterministic forwarding class.
*Deterministic Latency Information(DLI) Type (8bits): indicates the
type of deterministic latency information with related queuing and
scheduling metadata and it aglined with the suitable categories as
defined in [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy] and shown in
Figure 2.
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+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Value | DLI Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0000 | Unassigned |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0001 | Right-bounded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0002 | Flow level periodic bounded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0003 | Class level periodic bounded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0004 | Flow level non-periodic bounded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0005 | Class level non-periodic bounded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0006 | Flow level rate based unbounded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0x0007 | Flow level rate based left-bounded |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 2 DLI Type
*Deterministic Latency Information(DLI) (variable): indicates the
corresponding deterministic latency parameters. The format depends
on the value in the DLI type and the following sections shows the
examples of the information.
3.3.1. DLI Information for Right-bounded
As per [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy], for solutions in the
right-bounded category, a packet has only a maximum time bound.
When the type is set to 0x0001, it should carry DLI for right-bounded
category in the DP-ERO subobject with the following format:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Maximum time bound |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 3 DLI for Right-bounded
*Maximum time bound: 32bits, indicates the required maximum time
bound of a packet.
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3.3.2. DLI for Flow level Periodic Bounded
As per [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy], the flow Level periodic
bounded solutions define a set of time slots, which will be scheduled
for flows or flow aggregates.
When the type is set to 0x0002, it should carry DLI for flow level
periodic bounded in the DP-ERO subobject with the following format:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Timeslot ID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 4 DLI for Flow Level Periodic Bounded
*Timeslot ID: indicates the identifier of the timeslot scheduled for
a flow.
3.3.3. DLI for Class Level Periodic Bounded
As per [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy], the periodic bounded
solutions can be further categorized by the traffic granularity with
class level subcategory. The class Level periodic bounded solutions
define a set of cycles and each cycle will be scheduled for flows or
flow aggregates within a class level.
When the type is set to 0x0003, it should carry DLI for class level
periodic bounded in the DP-ERO subobject with the following format:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Cycle ID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 5 DLI for Class Level Periodic Bounded
*Cycle ID (32bits): indicates the identifer which the queue applied
for a node to forward DetNet flows within a class level.
3.3.4. DLI for Flow Level Non-periodic Bounded
As per [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy], flow level non-periodic
bounded solutions guarantee the minimum and maximum bounds of a
packet in a flow or flow aggregate.
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When the type is set to 0x0004, it should carry DLI for flow level
non-periodic bounded in the DP-ERO subobject with the following
format:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Maximum time bound |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Minimum time bound |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 6 DLI for Flow Level Non-periodic Bounded
*Maximum time bound: 32bits, indicates the maximum time bound of a
packet in a flow or flow aggregates.
*Minimum time bound: 32bits, indicates the minimum time bound of a
packet in a flow or flow aggregates.
3.3.5. DLI for Class Level Non-periodic Bounded
As per [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy], class level non-periodic
bounded solutions guarantee the minimum and maximum bounds of a
packet within a class level.
When the type is set to 0x0005, it should carry DLI for class level
non-periodic bounded in the DP-ERO subobject with the following
format:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Maximum time bound |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Minimum time bound |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 7 DLI for Class Level Non-periodic Bounded
*Maximum time bound: 32bits, indicates the maximum time bound of a
packet within a class level.
*Minimum time bound: 32bits, indicates the minimum time bound of a
packet within a class level.
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3.3.6. DLI for Flow Level Rate-based Unbounded
In flow level rate based unbounded category, the latency bound is
primarily influenced by the ratio of a flow's maximum packet size,
its allocated service rate and completion time.
When the type is set to 0x0006, it should carry DLI for flow level
rate based unbounded in the DP-ERO subobject with the following
format:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Maximum packet size |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Service rate |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Finish time |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 8 DLI for Flow Level Rate-based Unbounded
*Maximum packet size: 32 bits, indicates the maximum packet size of a
flow.
*Service rate: 32 bits, indicates the allocated service rate of a
flow.
*Finish time: 32 bits, indicates the required service completion time
of a flow.
3.3.7. DLI for Flow Level Rate-based Left-bounded
In flow level rate based left-bounded category, the latency bound is
primarily influenced by the ratio of a flow's maximum packet size,
its allocated service rate, start time and completion time.
When the type is set to 0x0007, it should carry DLI for flow level
rate based left-bounded in the DP-ERO subobject with the following
format:
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0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Maximum packet size |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Service rate |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Finish time |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Eligible time |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 9 DLI for Flow Level Rate-based Left-bounded
*Maximum packet size: 32 bits, indicates the maximum packet size of a
flow.
*Service rate: 32 bits, indicates the allocated service rate of a
flow.
*Finish time: 32 bits, indicates the required service completion time
of a flow.
*Eligible time: 32bits, indicates the required service start time of
a flow.
3.4. Deterministic Path RRO Subobject
The Deterministic Path RECORD_ROUTE Object (DP-RRO) subobject is
OPTIONAL. If used, it is carried in the RECORD_ROUTE Object (RRO).
The subobject uses the standard format of an RRO subobject. The
format of the DP-RRO subobject is the same as that of the DP-ERO
subobject, but without the L flag.
4. Operations
4.1. Calculation of End-to-end Bounded Latency
As per [RFC9320], the end-to-end delay bound can be computed as the
sum of Output delay, Link delay, Frame preemption delay, Processing
delay, Regulation delay and Queuing delay along a deterministic path
like following:
*per-hop_delay_bound = sum{Output delay + Link delay + Frame
preemption delay + Processing delay + Regulation delay + Queuing
delay}.
*end_to_end_delay_bound = sum{per-hop_delay_bound(h),(h=1,2,...H)}.
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As per [RFC9320], it also can be encoded as the sum of non queuing
delay bound and queuing delay bound along the deterministic path.
Per-hop non queuing delay bound is the sum of the bounds over delays
including Output delay, Link delay, Frame preemption delay and
Processing delay and per-hop queuing delay bound is the sum of
Regulation delay and Queuing delay like following:
*end_to_end_delay_bound = non_queuing_delay_bound +
queuing_delay_bound.
As per [RFC9320], the end-to-end delay variation can be encoded as
the sum of non queuing delay variation and queuing delay variation
along the deterministic path like following:
*end_to_end_delay_variation = non_queuing_delay_variation +
queuing_delay_variation.
Moreover, as discussed in [I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy], the
end-to-end bounded latency calculation includes the bounded delay and
variation. The calculation of end-to-end bounded delay and variation
will differ in each queuing solution. For example, the end-to-end
delay variation is 2 times of the cycle ID when selecting cyclic-
based queuing mechanism.
4.2. Metric types
The PCE needs to collect the value of the delays as per [RFC9320] and
related parameters by IGP, calculate the bounded latency, select a
deterministic path with a specific queuing mechanism which meet the
requirements and configure the related parameters to a PCC. The PCC
MAY use the end-to-end bounded latency metrics in a Path Computation
Request (PCReq) message to request a deterministic path meeting the
end-to-end bounded latency requirements. A PCE MAY use the metrics
in a Path Computation Reply (PCRep) message along with a NO-PATH
object in the case where the PCE cannot compute a path meeting this
constraints. A PCE can also use the metrics to send the computed
end-to-end bounded latency to the PCC.
4.3. ERO and RRO Subobjects
A PCC can request the computation of deterministic path and a PCE may
respond with PCRep message. And the deterministic path can also be
initiated by PCE with PCInitiate or PCUpd message in stateful PCE
mode. When the D bit in LSP object is set to 1 within the message,
it indicates to request the calculation of deterministic path. When
the bit is set in Metric object to indicate the end-to-end bounded
latnecy metric, the PCE should calculate the end-to-end latency bound
to select the optimal deterministic path to meet the requirements.
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The DP-ERO subobject can be carried along the path to indicate the
deterministic path and related information. The deterministic path
being received by PCC encoded in DP-ERO, which carry the
deterministic latency information. And the PCC may insert the
deterministic latency information as the DetNet-specific metadata
into the packet headers to achieve the deterministic forwarding.
The set of computed paths can be specified by means of ERO [RFC3209],
SR-RRO [RFC8664] and SRv6-ERO [RFC9603] subobjects. When the D bit
in LSP object is set to 1, a DP-ERO subobject which carrying the
deterministic path information MAY be inserted directly after the
existing identifying subobjects such as ERO [RFC3209] , SR-ERO
[RFC8664] and SRv6-ERO [RFC9603]. A DP-ERO subobject corresponds to
be a preceding subobject which can not be the first subobject. For
example, the path result is from node A, node B to node C and the
encoding exmple of the deterministic path will be like following:
*ERO(A) subobject->DP-ERO(A) subobject->ERO(B) subobject->DP-ERO(B)
subobject->ERO(C) subobject->DP-ERO(C)subobject
The DP-RRO subobject can be also carried directly after the existing
identifying RRO subobjects such as RRO [RFC3209] , SR-RRO [RFC8664]
and SRv6-RRO [RFC9603].
5. Security Considerations
Security considerations for DetNet are covered in the DetNet
architecture [RFC8655], DetNet security considerations [RFC9055] and
DetNet control plane [I-D.ietf-detnet-controller-plane-framework].
This document defines a new D bit and DP-ERO subobject for
deterministic path in PCEP, which do not introduce any new security
considerations beyond those already listed in [RFC5440],[RFC8231] and
[RFC9357].
6. IANA Considerations
6.1. New Metric Types
This document defines two new metric type for the PCEP. IANA is
requested to allocate the following codepoint in the PCEP "METRIC
Object T Field" registry:
Value Description Reference
------ --------------------------------- -------------
TBD1 End-to-End Minimum Latency Metric This document
TBD2 End-to-End Maximum Latency Metric This document
TBD3 End-to-End Latency Variation Metric This document
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6.2. New LSP-EXTENDED-FLAG Flag Registry
[RFC9357] defines the LSP-EXTENDED-FLAG TLV. IANA is requested to
make allocations from the Flag field registry, as follows:
Bit Description Reference
------ ------------------------------ -------------
D flag Request for Deterministic Path This document
6.3. New ERO Subobject
This document defines a new subobject type for the PCEP explicit
route object (ERO). The code points for subobject types of these
objects is maintained in the RSVP parameters registry, under the
EXPLICIT_ROUTE and RECORD_ROUTE objects. IANA is requested to
confirm the following allocations in the RSVP Parameters registry for
each of the new subobject types defined in this document.
Object Subobject Subobject Type
-------------- --------------------- ---------------
EXPLICIT_ROUTE DP-ERO (PCEP-specific) TBD4
RECORD_ROUTE DP-RRO (PCEP-specific) TBD4
7. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dhruv Dhody, Andrew Stone, Lou
Berger, Janos Farkas for their review, suggestions and comments to
this document.
8. References
8.1. Normative References
[I-D.ietf-detnet-controller-plane-framework]
Malis, A. G., Geng, X., Chen, M., Varga, B., and C. J.
Bernardos, "A Framework for Deterministic Networking
(DetNet) Controller Plane", Work in Progress, Internet-
Draft, draft-ietf-detnet-controller-plane-framework-15, 24
September 2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/
draft-ietf-detnet-controller-plane-framework-15>.
[I-D.ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy]
Joung, J., Geng, X., Peng, S., and T. T. Eckert,
"Dataplane Enhancement Taxonomy", Work in Progress,
Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy-04, 7
July 2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-
ietf-detnet-dataplane-taxonomy-04>.
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[I-D.ietf-detnet-scaling-requirements]
Liu, P., Li, Y., Eckert, T. T., Xiong, Q., Ryoo, J.,
zhushiyin, and X. Geng, "Requirements for Scaling
Deterministic Networks", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
draft-ietf-detnet-scaling-requirements-09, 7 September
2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-
detnet-scaling-requirements-09>.
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.
[RFC3209] Awduche, D., Berger, L., Gan, D., Li, T., Srinivasan, V.,
and G. Swallow, "RSVP-TE: Extensions to RSVP for LSP
Tunnels", RFC 3209, DOI 10.17487/RFC3209, December 2001,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3209>.
[RFC4655] Farrel, A., Vasseur, J.-P., and J. Ash, "A Path
Computation Element (PCE)-Based Architecture", RFC 4655,
DOI 10.17487/RFC4655, August 2006,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4655>.
[RFC5440] Vasseur, JP., Ed. and JL. Le Roux, Ed., "Path Computation
Element (PCE) Communication Protocol (PCEP)", RFC 5440,
DOI 10.17487/RFC5440, March 2009,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5440>.
[RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.
[RFC8231] Crabbe, E., Minei, I., Medved, J., and R. Varga, "Path
Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP)
Extensions for Stateful PCE", RFC 8231,
DOI 10.17487/RFC8231, September 2017,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8231>.
[RFC8233] Dhody, D., Wu, Q., Manral, V., Ali, Z., and K. Kumaki,
"Extensions to the Path Computation Element Communication
Protocol (PCEP) to Compute Service-Aware Label Switched
Paths (LSPs)", RFC 8233, DOI 10.17487/RFC8233, September
2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8233>.
[RFC8655] Finn, N., Thubert, P., Varga, B., and J. Farkas,
"Deterministic Networking Architecture", RFC 8655,
DOI 10.17487/RFC8655, October 2019,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8655>.
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[RFC8664] Sivabalan, S., Filsfils, C., Tantsura, J., Henderickx, W.,
and J. Hardwick, "Path Computation Element Communication
Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for Segment Routing", RFC 8664,
DOI 10.17487/RFC8664, December 2019,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8664>.
[RFC9320] Finn, N., Le Boudec, J.-Y., Mohammadpour, E., Zhang, J.,
and B. Varga, "Deterministic Networking (DetNet) Bounded
Latency", RFC 9320, DOI 10.17487/RFC9320, November 2022,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9320>.
[RFC9357] Xiong, Q., "Label Switched Path (LSP) Object Flag
Extension for Stateful PCE", RFC 9357,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9357, February 2023,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9357>.
[RFC9603] Li, C., Ed., Kaladharan, P., Sivabalan, S., Koldychev, M.,
and Y. Zhu, "Path Computation Element Communication
Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for IPv6 Segment Routing",
RFC 9603, DOI 10.17487/RFC9603, July 2024,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9603>.
8.2. Informative References
[I-D.peng-lsr-deterministic-traffic-engineering]
Peng, S., "IGP Extensions for Deterministic Traffic
Engineering", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-
peng-lsr-deterministic-traffic-engineering-03, 23 December
2024, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-peng-
lsr-deterministic-traffic-engineering-03>.
[RFC9055] Grossman, E., Ed., Mizrahi, T., and A. Hacker,
"Deterministic Networking (DetNet) Security
Considerations", RFC 9055, DOI 10.17487/RFC9055, June
2021, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9055>.
Authors' Addresses
Quan Xiong
ZTE Corporation
Email: xiong.quan@zte.com.cn
Peng Liu
China Mobile
Email: liupengyjy@chinamobile.com
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Rakesh Gandhi
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Email: rgandhi@cisco.com
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