A PCE-Based Architecture for Application-Based Network Operations

Services such as content distribution, distributed databases, or inter-data center connectivity place a set of new requirements on the operation of networks. They need on-demand and application-specific reservation of network connectivity, reliability, and resources (such as bandwidth) in a variety of network applications (such as point-topoint connectivity, network virtualization, or mobile back-haul) and in a range of network technologies from packet (IP/MPLS) down to optical. An environment that operates to meet this type of requirement is said to have Application-Based Network Operations (ABNO). ABNO brings together many existing technologies for gathering information about the resources available in a network, for consideration of topologies and how those topologies map to underlying network resources, for requesting path computation, and for provisioning or reserving network resources. Thus, ABNO may be seen as the use of a toolbox of existing components enhanced with a few new elements. The key component within an ABNO is the Path Computation Element (PCE), which can be used for computing paths and is further extended to provide policy enforcement capabilities for ABNO. This document describes an architecture and framework for ABNO showing how these components fit together. It provides a cookbook of existing technologies to satisfy the architecture and meet the needs of the applications. King & Farrel [Page 1] draft-farrkingel-pce-abno-architecture-06.txt October 2013