Configure SRv6 Traffic Engineering

This module provides information about Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) Traffic Engineering, how to configure SRv6-TE, and how to steer traffic into an SRv6-TE policy.

Table 1. Feature History Table

Feature Name

Release Information

Feature Description

SRv6 Traffic Engineering

Release 7.10.1

You can now control the traffic flows within the network by defining the explicit and dynamic paths for traffic flows using the Segment Identifier (SID) within the IPv6 packet header.

Defining explicit and dynamic paths based on different attributes and constraints allow the router to optimize routing decisions and enhance resource utilization.

SRv6-TE policies supports the following functionalities:

  • SRv6-TE with SRv6 micro-SIDs (uSIDs)

  • Explicit SRv6 policies

  • Automated steering for Layer 3-based BGP services (IPv4 L3VPN, IPv6 L3VPN, IPv4 BGP global, IPv6 BGP global)

  • SRv6-aware Path Computation Element (PCE)

  • PCEPv4 and PCEPv6

  • Path computation optimization objectives (TE, IGP, latency)

  • Path computation constraints (affinity, disjointness)

This feature introduces the following changes:

CLI:

YANG Data Model:

  • Cisco-IOS-XR-segment-routing-ms-cfg

(see GitHub, YANG Data Models Navigator)

SRv6-TE Overview

Segment Routing over IPv6 Traffic Engineering (SRv6-TE ) allows you to steer traffic across a network based on specific policies and requirements and provides greater control over how traffic flows through the network.

SRv6-TE also allows you to create explicit paths through the network for specific traffic flows where a particular application or service requires a specific quality of service (QoS) level, such as low latency or high bandwidth.

SRv6-TE uses the concept of source routing, where the source calculates the path and encodes it in the packet header as a list of segments. This list of segments is added to an IPv6 routing header called the SRv6 Segment Routing Header (SRH) in the incoming packet. With SRv6-TE, the network does not need to maintain per-application and per-flow state on each node. Instead, only the head-end nodes on the edge of the network where the traffic enters the policy need to maintain a state.

The remaining nodes obey the forwarding instructions that are included in the packet. SRv6-TE can utilize network bandwidth more effectively than traditional MPLS RSVP-TE using ECMP within each segment. In addition, by using a single intelligent source it relieves remaining routers from the task of calculating the required path through the network.

Traffic engineering over SRv6 can be accomplished in the following ways:

  • End-to-End Flexible Algorithm: This is used for traffic engineering intents achieved with Flexible Algorithm, including low latency, multi-plane disjointness, affinity inclusion/exclusion, and SRLG exclusion. See SRv6 Flexible Algorithm.

  • SRv6-TE Policy: This is used for traffic engineering intents beyond Flex Algo capabilities, such as path disjointness that rely on path computation by a PCE. In addition, this is used for user-configured explicit paths. SRv6-TE Policy.

Usage Guidelines and Limitations

The following are the usage guidelines and limitations for SRv6 policy.

Supported Features

The following are the supported functionalities:

  • SRv6 policies with SRv6 uSID segments

  • SRv6 policies with PCE-delegated dynamic paths

  • SRv6 policies with explicit paths

  • SRv6 policies with single or multiple candidate paths (CP)

  • SRv6 policies with a single SID list per CP

  • SRv6 policies with multiple (weighted ECMP) SID lists per CP

  • Path delegation and reporting with PCEPv4

  • Path delegation and reporting with PCEPv6

  • PCEPv4 and PCEPv6 sessions with different PCEs

  • PCEs with PCEP state-sync sessions must be either PCEPv4 or PCEPv6.

  • PCEP path delegation with the following optimization objective (metric) types:

    • IGP metric

    • TE metric

    • Delay (latency)

    • Hop-count

  • PCEP path delegation with the following constraint types:

    • Affinity (include-any, include-all, exclude-any)

    • Path disjointness (link, node, SRLG, SRLG+node)

      • For path-computation on PCE, configuring both affinity and disjoint-path is not supported.

    • Segment protection-type:

      • Protected-only

      • Protected-preferred

      • Unprotected-only

      • Unprotected-preferred

  • SRv6 policy with TI-LFA (protection of the first segment in the segment list at the head-end)

  • Steering over SRv6 policies with Automated Steering for the following services:

    • L3 BGP-based services (IPv4 L3VPN, IPv6 L3VPN, IPv4 BGP global, IPv6 BGP global)

Unsupported Features

The following functionalities are not supported:

  • SRv6 policy counters

  • PCE-initiated SRv6 policies via PCEP

  • SRv6 policies with head-end computed dynamic paths

  • PCE path delegation with segment-type Flex Algo constraint

  • PCEPv4 and PCEPv6 sessions with same PCE

  • Steering over SRv6 policies based on incoming BSID (remote automated steering)

  • PCC with user-configured PCE groups

  • SR-PM delay-measurement over SRv6 policies

  • SR-PM liveness detection over SRv6 policies

  • L3 services with BGP PIC over SRv6 policies

  • SRv6 policy ping

  • L2 BGP-based service (EVPN VPWS)

By default, 1K polices are supported. If MPLS tunnels are not configured on the router, use the following commands to get higher SRv6-TE scale:

  • If the support for LDPoTE or SRoSR-TE MPLS features are not required, use the following command to configure higher RSVP-TE/SR-TE scale.

    hw-module profile cef te-tunnel highscale-no-ldp-over-te

  • If the support for LDPoTE is required but not SRoSR-TE MPLS features, use the following command to configure higher tunnel scale.

    hw-module profile cef te-tunnel highscale-ldp-over-te-no-sr-over-srte

SRv6-TE Policy

SRv6-TE uses a “policy” to steer traffic through the network. An SRv6-TE policy path is expressed as a list of micro-segments that specifies the path, called a micro-segment ID (uSID) list. Each segment list is an end-to-end path from the source to the destination, and instructs the routers in the network to follow the specified path instead of following the shortest path calculated by the IGP. If a packet is steered into an SRv6-TE policy, the uSID list is pushed on the packet by the head-end. The rest of the network executes the instructions embedded in the uSID list.

An SRv6-TE policy is identified as an ordered list (head-end, color, end-point):

  • Head-end – Where the SRv6-TE policy is instantiated

  • Color – A numerical value that distinguishes between two or more policies to the same node pairs (Head-end – End point)

  • End-point – The destination of the SRv6-TE policy

Every SRv6-TE policy has a color value. Every policy between the same node pairs requires a unique color value.

An SRv6-TE policy uses one or more candidate paths. A candidate path can be made up of a single SID-list or a set of weighted SID-lists (for weighted equal cost multi-path [WECMP]).

A SID list can be either the result of a dynamic path computation by a PCE or a user-configured explicit path. See SRv6-TE Policy Path Types for more information.

SRv6-TE Policy Path Types

The following SRv6-TE policy path types are supported:

Explicit Paths

An explicit path is a specified SID-list or set of SID-lists.

When configuring an explicit path using IP addresses of links along the path, the SRv6-TE process prefers the protected Adj-SID of the link, if one is available. In addition, when manual Adj-SIDs are configured, the SRv6-TE process prefers a manual-protected Adj-SID over a dynamic-protected Adj-SID.

You can configure the path to prefer the protected or unprotected Adj-SID, or to use only protected or unprotected Adj-SID. See Segment Protection-Type Constraint.

You can enable SRv6-TE explicit segment list SID validation to allow the head-end node to validate the SIDs in an explicit SRv6-TE segment list against the SR-TE topology database. See SRv6-TE Explicit Segment List SID Validation.

A segment list can use uSIDs or uSID carrier, or a combination of both.

Configure SRv6-TE Policy with Explicit Path

To configure an SRv6-TE policy with an explicit path, complete the following configurations:

  1. Create the segment lists with SRv6 segments.

  2. Create the SRv6-TE policy.

Create a segment list with SRv6 uSIDs:

Router(config)# segment-routing traffic-eng 
Router(config-sr-te)# segment-lists
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-global-srv6)# sid-format usid-f3216 
Router(config-sr-te-sl-global-srv6)# exit
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# segment-list p1_r8_1
Router(config-sr-te-sl)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 10 sid FCBB:BB00:10:feff::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 15 sid FCBB:BB00:100:fe00::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 20 sid FCBB:BB00:2::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 30 sid FCBB:BB00:3::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 40 sid FCBB:BB00:4::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 50 sid FCBB:BB00:5::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 60 sid FCBB:BB00:6::

Create the SRv6-TE policy:

Router(config-sr-te)# policy POLICY1
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# srv6 locator loc1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# color 10 end-point ipv6 FCBB:BB00:2::1
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# candidate-paths
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path)# preference 100
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# explicit segment-list p1_r8_1
Router(config-sr-te-pp-info)# exit
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# exit

Running Configuration
Router# show running-config  

. . .

segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  segment-lists
   srv6
    sid-format usid-f3216
   !
   segment-list p1_r8_1
    srv6
     index 10 sid FCBB:BB00:10:feff::
     index 15 sid FCBB:BB00:100:fe00::
     index 20 sid FCBB:BB00:2::
     index 30 sid FCBB:BB00:3:::
     index 40 sid FCBB:BB00:4::
     index 50 sid FCBB:BB00:5::
     index 60 sid FCBB:BB00:6::
    !
   !
  !
  policy POLICY1
   srv6
    locator loc1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
   !
   color 10 end-point ipv6 fcbb:bb00:2::1
   candidate-paths
    preference 100
     explicit segment-list p1_r8_1
     !
    !
   !
  !
 !
!

Verification

Verify the SR-TE policy configuration using:

Router# show segment-routing traffic-eng policy name srte_c_10_ep_fcbb:bb00:2::1 d

SR-TE policy database
---------------------

Color: 10, End-point: fcbb:bb00:2::1
  Name: srte_c_10_ep_fcbb:bb00:2::1
  Status:
    Admin: up  Operational: down for 00:01:30 (since Oct 31 21:33:24.090)
  Candidate-paths:
    Preference: 100 (configuration) (inactive)
      Name: POLICY1
      Requested BSID: dynamic
      Constraints:
        Protection Type: protected-preferred
        Maximum SID Depth: 13 
      Explicit: segment-list p1_r8_1 (inactive)
        Weight: 1, Metric Type: TE
          SID[0]: FCBB:BB00:10:feff::
          SID[1]: FCBB:BB00:100:fe00::
          SID[2]: FCBB:BB00:1::
          SID[3]: FCBB:BB00:1:fe00::
          SID[4]: FCBB:BB00:fe00::
          SID[5]: FCBB:BB00:5::
          SID[6]: FCBB:BB00:6::
      SRv6 Information:
        Locator: loc1
        Binding SID requested: Dynamic
        Binding SID behavior: End.B6.Encaps.Red
  Attributes:
    Forward Class: 0
    Steering labeled-services disabled: no
    Steering BGP disabled: no
    IPv6 caps enable: yes
    Invalidation drop enabled: no
    Max Install Standby Candidate Paths: 0

Candidate Paths with Weighted SID Lists

If a candidate path is associated with a set of segment lists, each segment list is associated with weight for weighted load balancing. Valid values for weight are from 1 to 4294967295; the default weight is 1.

If a set of segment lists is associated with the active path of the policy, then the steering is per-flow and weighted-ECMP (W-ECMP) based according to the relative weight of each segment list.

The fraction of the flows associated with a given segment list is w/Sw, where w is the weight of the segment list and Sw is the sum of the weights of the segment lists of the selected path of the SR policy.

When a composite candidate path is active, the fraction of flows steered into each constituent SR policy is equal to the relative weight of each constituent SR policy. Further load balancing of flows steered into a constituent SR policy is performed based on the weights of the segment list of the active candidate path of that constituent SR policy.

Configuration Example

Router(config)# segment-routing traffic-eng 
Router(config-sr-te)# segment-lists
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-global-srv6)# sid-format usid-f3216 
Router(config-sr-te-sl-global-srv6)# exit
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# segment-list p1_r8_3
Router(config-sr-te-sl)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 10 sid FCBB:BB00:10:fe01::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 20 sid FCBB:BB00:1::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 30 sid FCBB:BB00:1:fe00::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 40 sid FCBB:BB00:fe00::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 50 sid FCBB:BB00:5::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 60 sid FCBB:BB00:6::
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# segment-list igp_ucmp1
Router(config-sr-te-sl)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 10 sid FCBB:BB00:1::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 20 sid FCBB:BB00:4::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# index 30 sid FCBB:BB00:5::
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# exit
Router(config-sr-te-sl)# exit
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# exit

Router(config-sr-te)# policy po_r8_1001
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# srv6 locator loc1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# color 1001 end-point ipv6 FCBB:BB00:2::1
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# candidate-paths
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path)# preference 1000
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# explicit segment-list p1_r8_3
Router(config-sr-te-pp-info)# weight 4
Router(config-sr-te-pp-info)# exit
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# explicit segment-list igp_ucmp1
Router(config-sr-te-pp-info)# weight 2
Router(config-sr-te-pp-info)# exit

Running Configuration
Router# show running-config  

. . .

segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  segment-lists
   srv6
    sid-format usid-f3216
   !
   segment-list p1_r8_3
    srv6
     index 10 sid FCBB:BB00:10:fe01::
     index 20 sid FCBB:BB00:1::
     index 30 sid FCBB:BB00:1:fe00::
     index 40 sid FCBB:BB00:fe00::
     index 50 sid FCBB:BB00:5::
     index 60 sid FCBB:BB00:6::
    !     
   !
   segment-list igp_ucmp1
    srv6
     index 10 sid FCBB:BB00:1::
     index 20 sid FCBB:BB00:4::
     index 30 sid FCBB:BB00:5::
    !
   !
  !
  policy po_r8_1001
   srv6
    locator loc1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
   !
   color 1001 end-point ipv6 fcbb:bb00:2::1
   candidate-paths
    preference 1000
     explicit segment-list p1_r8_3
      weight 4
     !
     explicit segment-list igp_ucmp1
      weight 2
     !
    !     
   !
  !
 !
!

SRv6-TE Explicit Segment List SID Validation

SRv6-TE explicit segment list SID validation evaluates whether the explicit segment list of an SR policy's candidate path is valid and therefore usable. The head-end node validates if the hops are in the SR-TE topology database.

When enabled, the segment list SID validation occurs before programming the SR policy and after an IGP topology change.

When the segment list validation fails, then the segment list is declared invalid. An SR policy candidate path is declared invalid when it has no valid segment lists. An SR policy is declared invalid when it has no valid candidate paths.

Usage Guidelines and Limitations
  • Segment list SID validation can be enabled globally for all SRv6 explicit segment lists or for a specific SRv6 segment list.

  • If SIDs in an explicit segment list are expected to not be found in the headend (for example, a multi-domain case), the topology check can be disabled for that segment list.

  • The SR-TE topology should distributed from IGP (for intra-domain paths) or from BGP-LS (for multi-domain paths).

  • The SRv6 segment list in an explicit candidate path of an SRv6 policy cannot be empty.

  • All segments in a segment list must be of same data plane type: SRv6 or SR-MPLS.

  • Top SID validation occurs by performing path resolution using the top SID.

  • All SIDs in segment list are validated against local SID block and SID format.

  • A segment list is validated against MSD.

Enable SID validation globally for all SRv6 explicit segment lists

Prior to enabling SRv6 explicit segment list SID validation, use the show segment-routing traffic-eng topology command to verify if the SR-TE topology is available on the headend PCC router.

To enable SID validation globally, use the segment-routing traffic-eng segment-lists srv6 topology-check command.

Router(config)# segment-routing traffic-eng
Router(config-sr-te)# segment-lists
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-global-srv6)# topology-check

To enable SID validation for a specific explicit SID list, use the segment-routing traffic-eng segment-lists segment-list name srv6 topology-check command.

Router(config)# segment-routing traffic-eng
Router(config-sr-te)# segment-lists
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# segment-list p1_r8_1
Router(config-sr-te-sl)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# topology-check

The following example shows how to enable SID validation globally and disable SID validation for a specific SRv6 explicit segment list:

Router(config)# segment-routing traffic-eng
Router(config-sr-te)# segment-lists
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-global-srv6)# topology-check
Router(config-sr-te-sl-global-srv6)# exit
Router(config-sr-te-segment-lists)# segment-list p1_r8_1
Router(config-sr-te-sl)# srv6
Router(config-sr-te-sl-srv6)# no topology-check

Running Configuration

segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  segment-lists
   srv6
    topology-check
   !
   segment-list p1_r8_1
    srv6
     no topology-check
    !
   !
  !
 !
!

Verification
Router# show segment-routing traffic-eng policy name srte_c_10_ep_fcbb:bb00:2::1 detail

SR-TE policy database
---------------------

Color: 10, End-point: fcbb:bb00:2::1
  Name: srte_c_10_ep_fcbb:bb00:2::1
  Status:
    Admin: up  Operational: down for 00:04:12 (since Nov  7 19:24:21.396)
  Candidate-paths:
    Preference: 100 (configuration) (inactive)
      Name: POLICY1
      Requested BSID: dynamic
      Constraints:
        Protection Type: protected-preferred
        Maximum SID Depth: 13 
      Explicit: segment-list p1_r8_1 (inactive)
        Weight: 1, Metric Type: TE
          SID[0]: fccc:0:10:feff::
          SID[1]: fccc:0:100:fe00::
          SID[2]: fccc:0:1::
          SID[3]: fccc:0:1:fe00::
          SID[4]: fccc:0:fe00::
          SID[5]: fccc:0:5::
          SID[6]: fccc:0:6::
      SRv6 Information:
        Locator: loc1
        Binding SID requested: Dynamic
        Binding SID behavior: End.B6.Encaps.Red
  Attributes:
    Forward Class: 0
    Steering labeled-services disabled: no
    Steering BGP disabled: no
    IPv6 caps enable: yes
    Invalidation drop enabled: no
    Max Install Standby Candidate Paths: 0

Dynamic Paths

A dynamic path is based on an optimization objective and a set of constraints. The head-end computes a solution, resulting in a SID-list or a set of SID-lists. When the topology changes, a new path is computed. If the head-end does not have enough information about the topology, the head-end might delegate the computation to a Segment Routing Path Computation Element (SR-PCE). For information on configuring SR-PCE, see Configure Segment Routing Path Computation Element chapter.

An SRv6-TE policy initiates a single (selected) path in RIB/FIB. This is the preferred valid candidate path.

A candidate path has the following characteristics:

  • It has a preference – If two policies have same {color, endpoint} but different preferences, the policy with the highest preference is selected.

  • It is associated with a single Binding SID (uB6) – A uB6 SID conflict occurs when there are different SRv6 policies with the same uB6 SID. In this case, the policy that is installed first gets the uB6 SID and is selected.

  • It is valid if it is usable.

A path is selected when the path is valid and its preference is the best among all candidate paths for that policy.


Note


The protocol of the source is not relevant in the path selection logic.

For a dynamic path that traverses a specific interface between nodes (segment), the algorithm may encode this segment using an Adjacency uSID (uA SID).

Optimization Objectives

Optimization objectives allow the head-end router to compute a uSID-list that expresses the shortest dynamic path according to the selected metric type:

  • Hopcount — Use the least number of hops for path computation.

  • IGP metric — Refer to the Implementing IS-IS and Implementing OSPF chapters in the Routing Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers

  • TE metric — See the Configure Interface TE Metrics section for information about configuring TE metrics.

  • Delay (latency) — See the Configure Performance Measurementchapter for information about measuring delay for links or SRv6 policies.

This example shows a dynamic path from head-end router 1 to end-point router 3 that minimizes IGP or TE metric:

  • The blue path uses the minimum IGP metric: Min-Metric (1 → 3, IGP) = uSID-list {cafe:0:3::}; cumulative IGP metric: 20

  • The green path uses the minimum TE metric: Min-Metric (1 → 3, TE) = uSID-list {cafe:0:5:4:3::}; cumulative TE metric: 23

Configure Interface TE Metrics

To configure the TE metric for interfaces, use the metric value command. The value range is from 0 to 2147483647.

Router# configure
Router(config)# segment-routing
Router(config-sr)# traffic-eng
Router(config-sr-te)# interface type interface-path-id
Router(config-sr-te-if)# metric value
Running Configuration

The following configuration example shows how to set the TE metric for various interfaces:

segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  interface TenGigE0/0/0/0
   metric 100
  !
  interface TenGigE0/0/0/1
   metric 1000
  !
  interface TenGigE0/0/2/0
   metric 50
  !
 !
end

Constraints

Constraints allow the head-end router to compute a dynamic path according to the selected metric type:


Note


For path-computation on PCE, configuring both affinity and disjoint-path is not supported.
  • Affinity — You can apply a color or name to links or interfaces by assigning affinity bit-maps to them. You can then specify an affinity (or relationship) between an SRv6 policy path and link colors. SRv6-TE computes a path that includes or excludes links that have specific colors,or combinations of colors. See the Named Interface Link Admin Groups and SRv6-TE Affinity Mapssection for information on named interface link admin groups and SRv6-TE Affinity Maps.

  • Disjoint — SRv6-TE computes a path that is disjoint from another path in the same disjoint-group. Disjoint paths do not share network resources. Path disjointness may be required for paths between the same pair of nodes, between different pairs of nodes, or a combination (only same head-end or only same end-point).

  • Segment protection-type behavior — You can control whether protected or unprotected segments are used when encoding the SID-list of an SRv6 policy candidate path. The types of segments that could be used when building a SID-list include uSIDs and adjacency SIDs (uA SID). See the Segment Protection-Type Constraint for details and usage guidelines.

Configure SRv6 Policy with Dynamic Path

To configure a SRv6-TE policy with a dynamic path, optimization objectives, and affinity constraints, complete the following configurations:

  • Create the SRv6-TE Policy and configure the SRv6-TE policy color and IPv6 end-point address.

  • (optional) Specify Customized Locator and Source Address


    Note


    • If you do not specify a customized per-policy locator and BSID behavior, the policy will use the global locator and BSID behavior.

    • If you do not specify a customized per-policy source address, the policy will use the local IPv6 source address.


  • Enable Dynamic Path Computed by the SR-PCE

  • Configure Dynamic Path Optimization Objectives

  • Configure Dynamic Path Constraints


    Note


    Disjoint-path and affinity constraints cannot be configured at the same time.
Configuration Example

The following example shows a configuration of an SRv6 policy at an SRv6-TE head-end router using the global locator and source address. The policy has a dynamic path with optimization objectives and affinity constraints computed by the SR-PCE.

Node1(config)# segment-routing
Node1(config-sr)# traffic-eng
Node1(config-sr-te)# srv6

/* Specify customized locator and source address */
Node1(config-sr-te-srv6)# locator Node1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
Node1(config-sr-te-srv6)# exit
Node1(config-sr-te)# candidate-paths
Node1(config-sr-te-candidate-path)# all

/* Specify the customized IPv6 source address for candidate paths */
Node1(config-sr-te-candidate-path-type)# source-address ipv6 cafe:0:1::1
Node1(config-sr-te-candidate-path-type)# exit
Node1(config-sr-te-candidate-path)# exit

/* Create the SRv6-TE policy */
Node1(config-sr-te)# policy pol_node1_node4_te
Node1(config-sr-te-policy)# color 20 end-point ipv6 cafe:0:4::4

/* Enable dynamic path computed by the SR-PCE */
Node1(config-sr-te-policy)# candidate-paths
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-path)# preference 100
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# dynamic
Node1(config-sr-te-pp-info)# pcep
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pcep)# exit

/* Configure dynamic Path optimization objectives */
Node1(config-sr-te-pp-info)# metric type te
Node1(config-sr-te-pp-info)# exit

/* Configure dynamic path constraints*/
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# constraints
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pref-const)# affinity
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pref-const-aff)# exclude-any
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pref-const-aff-rule)# name brown

Running Confiuration

segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  srv6
   locator Node1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
  !
  candidate-paths
   all
    source-address ipv6 cafe:0:1::1
   !
  !
  policy pol_node1_node4_te
   color 20 end-point ipv6 cafe:0:4::4
   candidate-paths
    preference 100
     dynamic
      pcep
      !
      metric
       type te
      !
     !
     constraints
      affinity
       exclude-any
        name brown
       !
      !
     !
    !
   !
  !
 !
!

The following example shows a configuration of a manual SRv6 policy at an SRv6-TE head-end router with customized locator and source address. The policy has a dynamic path with optimization objectives and affinity constraints computed by the SR-PCE.

Node1(config)# segment-routing
Node1(config-sr)# traffic-eng
Node1(config-sr-te)# policy pol_node1_node4_te
Node1(config-sr-te-policy)# source-address ipv6 cafe:0:1::1
Node1(config-sr-te-policy)# srv6
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-srv6)# locator Node1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-srv6)# exit
Node1(config-sr-te-policy)# color 20 end-point ipv6 cafe:0:4::4
Node1(config-sr-te-policy)# candidate-paths
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-path)# preference 100
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# dynamic
Node1(config-sr-te-pp-info)# pcep
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pcep)# exit
Node1(config-sr-te-pp-info)# metric type te
Node1(config-sr-te-pp-info)# exit
Node1(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# constraints
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pref-const)# affinity
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pref-const-aff)# exclude-any
Node1(config-sr-te-path-pref-const-aff-rule)# name brown

Running Config

segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  policy pol_node1_node4_te
   srv6
    locator Node1 binding-sid dynamic behavior ub6-encaps-reduced
   !
   source-address ipv6 cafe:0:1::1
   color 20 end-point ipv6 cafe:0:4::4
   candidate-paths
    preference 100
     dynamic
      pcep
      !
      metric
       type te
      !
     !
     constraints
      affinity
       exclude-any
        name brown
       !
      !
     !
    !
   !
  !
 !
!

Verification
Node1# show segment-routing traffic-eng policy color 20

SR-TE policy database
---------------------
Color: 20, End-point: cafe:0:4::4
  Name: srte_c_20_ep_cafe:0:4::4
  Status:
    Admin: up  Operational: down for 00:00:09 (since Nov  5 20:10:26.158)
  Candidate-paths:
    Preference: 100 (configuration)
      Name: pol_node1_node4_te
      Requested BSID: dynamic
      PCC info:
        Symbolic name: cfg_pol_node1_node4_te_discr_100
        PLSP-ID: 1
        Protection Type: unprotected-preferred
        Maximum SID Depth: 13
      Dynamic (pce cafe:0:2::2) (valid)
        Metric Type: NONE,   Path Accumulated Metric: 0
      SRv6 Information:
        Locator: Node1
        Binding SID requested: Dynamic
        Binding SID behavior: End.B6.encaps.Red 
  Attributes:
    Forward Class: 0
    Steering labeled-services disabled: no
    Steering BGP disabled: no
    IPv6 caps enable: yes
    Invalidation drop enabled: no

Named Interface Link Admin Groups and SRv6-TE Affinity Maps

Named Interface Link Admin Groups and SRv6-TE Affinity Maps provide a simplified and more flexible means of configuring link attributes and path affinities to compute paths for SRv6-TE policies.

In the traditional TE scheme, links are configured with attribute-flags that are flooded with TE link-state parameters using Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs), such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF).

Named Interface Link Admin Groups and SRv6-TE Affinity Maps let you assign, or map, up to 32 color names for affinity and attribute-flag attributes instead of 32-bit hexadecimal numbers. After mappings are defined, the attributes can be referred to by the corresponding color name in the CLI. Furthermore, you can define constraints using include-any, include-all, and exclude-any arguments, where each statement can contain up to 10 colors.


Note


You can configure affinity constraints using attribute flags or the Flexible Name Based Policy Constraints scheme; however, when configurations for both schemes exist, only the configuration pertaining to the new scheme is applied.
Configure Named Interface Link Admin Groups and SRv6-TE Affinity Maps

Configure affinity maps on the following routers:

  • Routers with interfaces that have an associated admin group attribute.

  • Routers that act as SRv6-TE head-ends for SR policies that include affinity constraints.

Perform the following to configure affinity maps :

  • Assign affinity to interfaces

    Define affinity maps

Configuration Example for Link Admin Group

The following example shows how to assign affinity to interfaces and to define affinity maps. This configuration is applicable to any router (SRv6-TE head-end or transit node) with colored interfaces.

To assign affinity to interfaces, use the segment-routing traffic-eng interface interface affinity name command .

Configure on routers with interfaces that have an associated admin group attribute.

Router(config)# segment-routing
Router(config-sr)# traffic-eng
Router(config-sr-te)# interface HundredGigE0/0/0/0 
Router(config-sr-if)# affinity
Router(config-sr-if-affinity)# name brown 
Router(config-sr-if-affinity)# exit
Router(config-sr-if)# exit

To define affinity maps, use the segment-routing traffic-eng affinity-map name bit-position bit-position command. The bit-position range is from 0 to 255.

Router(config-sr-te)# affinity-map 
Router(config-sr-te-affinity-map)# name brown bit-position 1
Running Configuration
segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  interface HundredGigE0/0/0/0
   affinity
    name brown
   !
  !
  affinity-map
   name brown bit-position 1
  !
end

Segment Protection-Type Constraint

This feature introduces the ability to control whether protected or unprotected segments are used when encoding the SID-list of an SRv6 policy candidate path. The types of segments that could be used when building a SID-list include uSIDs and adjacency SIDs (uA SID).

A prefix SID is a global segment representing a prefix that identifies a specific node. A prefix SID is programmed with a backup path computed by the IGP using TI-LFA.

An adjacency SID is a local segment representing an IGP adjacency. An adjacency SID can be programmed with or without protection. Protected adjacency SIDs are programmed with a link-protectant backup path computed by the IGP (TI-LFA) and are used if the link associated with the IGP adjacency fails.

Prefix SIDs and adjacency SIDs can be leveraged as segments in a SID-list in order to forward a packet along a path traversing specific nodes and/or over specific interfaces between nodes. The type of segment used when encoding the SID-list will determine whether failures along the path would be protected by TI-LFA. Depending on the offering, an operator may want to offer either unprotected or protected services over traffic engineered paths.

The following behaviors are available with the segment protection-type constraint:

  • protected-only — The SID-list must be encoded using protected segments.

  • protected-preferred — The SID-list should be encoded using protected segments if available; otherwise, the SID-list may be encoded using unprotected Adj-SIDs. This is the default behavior when no segment protection-type constraint is specified.

  • unprotected-only — The SID-list must be encoded using unprotected Adj-SID.

  • unprotected-preferred — The SID-list should be encoded using unprotected Adj-SID if available, otherwise SID-list may be encoded using protected segments.

Usage Guidelines and Limitations

Observe the following guidelines and limitations for the platform:

  • This constraint applies to candidate-paths of manual SR policies with dynamically computed paths.

  • PCEP has been augmented (vendor-specific object) to allow a PCC to indicate the segment protection-type constraint to the PCE.

  • When the segment protection type constraint is protected-only or unprotected-only, the path computation must adhere to the constraint. If the constraint is not satisfied, the SRv6 policy will not come up on such candidate path.

  • When the segment protection-type constraint is unprotected-only, the entire SID-list must be encoded with unprotected Adj-SIDs.

  • When the segment protection-type constraint is protected-only, the entire SID-list must be encoded with protected Adj-SIDs or Prefix SIDs.

Configuring Segment Protection-Type Constraint

To configure the segment protection-type behavior, use the constraints segments protection command.

The following example shows how to configure the policy with a SID-list that must be encoded using protected segments:

Router(config-sr-te)# policy POLICY1
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# color 10 end-point ipv6 2:2::22
Router(config-sr-te-policy)# candidate-paths
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path)# preference 100
Router(config-sr-te-policy-path-pref)# constraints
Router(config-sr-te-path-pref-const)# segments
Router(config-sr-te-path-pref-const-seg)# protection protected-only

The following example shows how to configure the SRv6 ODN policy that must be encoded using protected segments:

Router(config)# segment-routing traffic-eng
Router(config-sr-te)# on-demand color 20
Router(config-sr-te-color)# constraints 
Router(config-sr-te-color-const)# segments
Router(config-sr-te-color-const-seg)# protection protected-only

SRv6 Flexible Algorithm

SRv6 Flexible Algorithm allows operators to customize IGP shortest path computation according to their own needs. An operator can assign custom SRv6 locators to realize forwarding beyond link-cost-based shortest path. As a result, Flexible Algorithm provides a traffic-engineered path automatically computed by the IGP to any destination reachable by the IGP.

With SRv6 Flexible Algorithm, a PE can advertise BGP service routes (global, VPN) that include the SRv6 locator (Algo 0 or Flex Algo) of the intended transport SLA.

For information about configuring Flexible Algorithm, see Configuring SRv6 IS-IS Flexible Algorithm.

In the example below, the SR domain has 2 network slices. Each slice is assigned a /32 uSID Locator Block.

A slice can be realized with a user-defined Flex-Algo instances (for example, Flex Algo 128 = min-delay)

  • Min-Cost Slice — FCBB:BB00/32

  • Min-Delay Slice — FCBB:BB01/32

SR node2 gets a Shortest-Path Endpoint uSID (uN) from each slice:

  • uN min-cost of Node2 — FCBB:BB00:0002/48

  • uN min-delay of Node2 — FCBB:BB01:0002/48

Node2 announces locators via IS-IS:

  • FCBB:BB00:0002/48 Algo 0 (min-cost)

  • FCBB:BB01:0002/48 Algo 128 (min-delay)


IS-IS in Node1 computes shortest paths for each locator and programs them in the FIB:


Node1 and Node2 are PEs of a common VPN. PEs advertise VPN routes via BGP with different transport SLAs. For example, traffic to a set of prefixes is to be delivered over the min-cost slice, while for another set of prefixes is to be delivered over the min-delay slice. To achieve this, the egress PE’s service route advertisement includes the locator of the intended transport SLA type.

Use-case: VPN over Min-Cost Slice (Control Plane Behavior)

  • Intuitive uSID program for routes advertised by Node2:

    • Within the Min-Cost Slice (FCBB:BB00)

    • Follow the shortest-path to Node2 (0002)

    • Execute VPN9 decapsulation function at Node2 (F009)

  • Hardware Efficiency

    • Egress PE Node2 processes multiple uSIDs with a single /64 lookup

    • FCBB:BB00:0002:F009/64

Use-case: VPN over Min-Delay Slice (Control Plane Behavior)

  • Intuitive uSID program for routes advertised by Node2:

    • Within the Min-Delay Slice (FCBB:BB01)

    • Follow the shortest-path to Node2 (0002)

    • Execute VPN9 decapsulation at Node2 (F009)

  • Hardware Efficiency

    • Egress PE 2 processes multiple uSIDs with a single /64 lookup

    • FCBB:BB01:0002:F009/64

Use-case: VPN over Min-Cost Slice (Data Plane Behavior)

  1. Ingress PE (Node 1) learns via BGP that prefix 10.2.0.0/24 in VPN9 is reachable via SID FCBB:BB00:0002:F009

  2. Node 1 programs the prefix with “VPN Encaps” behavior

  3. When receiving traffic with DA IP matching the prefix 10.2.0.0/24 FIB entry, Node 1 encapsulates the incoming packet into IPv6 with DA of FCBB:BB00:0002:F009

    
    
  4. SRv6 allows for seamless deployment where any transit node (SRv6-capable or not) simply routes based on a /48 longest prefix match lookup.

    For example, transit node (Node 3) forwards traffic along the Algo 0 (min-cost) shortest path for the remote prefix FCBB:BB00:0002::/48.

    
    
  5. Egress PE (Node 2) matches local SID FCBB:BB00:0002:F009/64. Node 2 applies “VPN Decaps” behavior into VRF9 by removing the IPv6 encapsulation and looking up the payload’s DA on the corresponding VPN table.


Use-case: VPN over Min-Delay Slice (Data Plane Behavior)

  1. Ingress PE (Node 1) learns via BGP that prefix 20.2.0.0/24 in VPN9 is reachable via SID FCBB:BB01:0002:F009

  2. Node 1 programs the prefix with “VPN Encaps” behavior

  3. When receiving traffic with DA IP matching the prefix 20.2.0.0/24 FIB entry, Node 1 encapsulates the incoming packet into IPv6 with DA of FCBB:BB01:0002:F009

  4. Transit node (Node 3) forwards traffic along the Algo 128 (min-delay) shortest path for the remote prefix FCBB:BB01:0002::/48.

  5. Egress PE (Node 2) matches local SID FCBB:BB01:0002:F009/64. Node 2 applies “VPN Decaps” behavior into VRF9 by removing the IPv6 encapsulation and looking up the payload’s DA on the corresponding VPN table.

Automated Steering

Automated steering (AS) allows service traffic to be automatically steered onto the required transport SLA path programmed by an SRv6 policy.

With AS, BGP automatically steers traffic onto an SRv6 policy based on the next-hop and color of a BGP service route. The color of a BGP service route is specified by a color extended community attribute. This color is used as a transport SLA indicator, such as min-delay or min-cost.

When the next-hop and color of a BGP service route matches the end-point and color of an SRv6 policy, BGP automatically installs the route resolving onto the BSID of the matching SRv6 policy. Recall that an SRv6 policy on a head-end is uniquely identified by an end-point and color.

When a BGP route has multiple extended-color communities, each with a valid SRv6 policy, the BGP process installs the route on the SRv6 policy giving preference to the color with the highest numerical value.

The granularity of AS behaviors can be applied at multiple levels, for example:

  • At a service level—When traffic destined to all prefixes in a given service is associated to the same transport path type. All prefixes share the same color.

  • At a destination/prefix level—When traffic destined to a prefix in a given service is associated to a specific transport path type. Each prefix could be assigned a different color.

  • At a flow level—When flows destined to the same prefix are associated with different transport path types.

Protocols

A segment routing path can be derived from various mechanisms. This section specifies extensions to the Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) that allow a stateful PCE to compute Traffic Engineering (TE) paths as well as a PCC to request a path subject to certain constraints and optimization criteria in SR networks.

Path Computation Element Protocol

The path computation element protocol (PCEP) describes a set of procedures by which a path computation client (PCC) can report and delegate control of head-end label switched paths (LSPs) sourced from the PCC to a PCE peer. The PCE can request the PCC to update and modify parameters of LSPs it controls. The stateful model also enables a PCC to allow the PCE to initiate computations allowing the PCE to perform network-wide orchestration.

A PCEP channel is established over TCP and has its own light-weight Keep-Alive (KA) mechanism

Upon configuring a PCE peer, a PCC opens a PCEP session to the PCE, and the PCE accepts the PCEP sessions if the following conditions are satisfied:

  • The total number of PCEP sessions does not exceed the limit on the total number of PCEP sessions on the PCE.

  • The KA interval indicated by PCC is acceptable to the PCE.

Sample Workflow with Stateful PCEP

  1. The PCC is configured to instantiate an SRv6-TE policy.

  2. The PCC sends a PCEP Path Computation Request (PCReq) to the PCE, requesting a path by specifying path attributes, optimization objectives, and constraints.

  3. The PCE stores the request, computes a TE metric shortest-path, and returns the computed SID list in a PCEP Path Computation Reply (PCRepl).

  4. The PCC allocates a BSID and activates the SR Policy using the SID list computed by the PCE. The PCC sends a Path Computation Report (PCRpt) to the PCE, delegating the SR Policy to the PCE and including BSID.

  5. The PCE updates the paths when required (for example, following a multi-domain topology change that impacts connectivity).

Configure the Head-End Router as PCEP PCC

Configure the head-end router as PCEP Path Computation Client (PCC) to establish a connection to the PCE. The PCC and PCE addresses must be routable so that TCP connection (to exchange PCEP messages) can be established between PCC and PCE.

Perform the following to configure the Head-End Router as PCEP PCC:

  • Configure the PCC to establish a Connection to the PCE

  • Enable SR-TE related syslogs.

  • Set the Maximum SID Depth (MSD) signaled during PCEP session establishment to 5.

  • Enable PCEP reporting for all policies in the node.

Configuration Example

The following example shows how to configure an SR-TE head-end router with the following functionality:


/* Enable the SR-TE head-end router as a PCEP client (PCC) with 2 PCEP servers (PCE) with different precedence values.*/
Node1(config-sr)# traffic-eng
Node1(config-sr-te)# pcc
Node1(config-sr-te-pcc)# source-address ipv6 cafe:0:1::1
Node1(config-sr-te-pcc)# pce address ipv6 cafe:0:2::2
Node1(config-pcc-pce)# precedence 10
Node1(config-pcc-pce)# exit
Node1(config-sr-te-pcc)# pce address ipv6 cafe:0:3::3
Node1(config-pcc-pce)# precedence 20
Node1(config-pcc-pce)# exit

/* Enable PCEP reporting for all policies in the node.*/
Node1(config-sr-te-pcc)# report-all
Node1(config-sr-te-pcc)# exit

/* Set the maximum SID Depth (MSD) */
Node1(config-sr-te)# srv6
Node1(config-sr-te-srv6)# maximum-sid-depth 5
Node1(config-sr-te-srv6)# exit

/* Enable SR-TE related syslogs */
Node1(config-sr-te)# logging
Node1(config-sr-te-log)# policy status
Node1(config-sr-te-log)# exit
Node1(config-sr-te)#

Show Running Configuration

segment-routing
 traffic-eng
  srv6
   maximum-sid-depth 5
  !
  logging
   policy status
  !
  pcc
   source-address ipv6 cafe:0:1::1
   pce address ipv6 cafe:0:2::2
    precedence 10
   !
   pce address ipv6 cafe:0:3::3
    precedence 20
   !
   report-all
  !
 !
!

Verification

Node1# show segment-routing traffic-eng pcc ipv6 peer brief

             Address   Precedence        State    Learned From
-------------------- ------------ ------------ ---------------
         cafe:0:2::2           10           up          config
         cafe:0:3::3           20           up          config


Node1# show segment-routing traffic-eng pcc ipv6 peer detail

PCC's peer database:
--------------------

Peer address: cafe:0:2::2
  Precedence: 10, (best PCE)
  State up
  Capabilities: Stateful, Update, Segment-Routing, Instantiation
  PCEP has been up for: 01:22:23
  Local keepalive timer is 30 seconds
  Remote keepalive timer is 30 seconds
  Local dead timer is 120 seconds
  Remote dead timer is 120 seconds
  Authentication: None
  Statistics:
    Open messages:      rx 1        |  tx 1      
    Close messages:     rx 0        |  tx 0      
    Keepalive messages: rx 164      |  tx 163    
    Error messages:     rx 0        |  tx 0      
    Report messages:    rx 0        |  tx 110    
    Update messages:    rx 36       |  tx 0      

Peer address: cafe:0:3::3
  Precedence: 20
  State up
  Capabilities: Stateful, Update, Segment-Routing, Instantiation
  PCEP has been up for: 01:21:48
  Local keepalive timer is 30 seconds
  Remote keepalive timer is 30 seconds
  Local dead timer is 120 seconds
  Remote dead timer is 120 seconds
  Authentication: None
  Statistics:
    Open messages:      rx 1        |  tx 1      
    Close messages:     rx 0        |  tx 0      
    Keepalive messages: rx 164      |  tx 162    
    Error messages:     rx 0        |  tx 0      
    Report messages:    rx 0        |  tx 82     
    Update messages:    rx 0        |  tx 0 

You can customize the Maximum SID Depth (MSD) signaled by PCC during PCEP session establishment.

For cases with path computation at PCE, a PCC can signal its MSD to the PCE in the following ways:

  • During PCEP session establishment – The signaled MSD is treated as a node-wide property.

    MSD is configured under segment-routing traffic-eng maximum-sid-depth command.

    The MSD is expressed as a number uSIDs. The number of uSID is expressed as a number of carriers and the number of uSID per carrier.

  • During PCEP LSP path request – The signaled MSD is treated as an LSP property.

    • Local SR Policy: MSD is configured using the segment-routing traffic-eng policy command.


    Note


    If the configured MSD values are different, the per-LSP MSD takes precedence over the per-node MSD.

After path computation, the resulting uSID stack size is verified against the MSD requirement.

  • If the uSID stack size is larger than the MSD and path computation is performed by PCE, then the PCE returns a "no path" response to the PCC.

  • If the uSID stack size is larger than the MSD and path computation is performed by PCC, then the PCC will not install the path.


Note


A sub-optimal path (if one exists) that satisfies the MSD constraint could be computed in the following cases:

  • For a dynamic path with TE metric, when the PCE is configured with the pce segment-routing te-latency command or the PCC is configured with the segment-routing traffic-eng te-latency command.

  • For a dynamic path with LATENCY metric

  • For a dynamic path with affinity constraints

For example, if the PCC MSD is 4 and the optimal path (with an accumulated metric of 100) requires 5 uSIDs, but a sub-optimal path exists (with accumulated metric of 110) requiring 4 uSIDs, then the sub-optimal path is installed.


Customize the SR-TE Path Calculation

To enable ECMP-aware path computation for TE metric, use the te-latency command.


Note


ECMP-aware path computation is enabled by default for IGP and LATENCY metrics.
Router(config-sr-te)# te-latency

Configure PCEP Authentication

With PCEP authentication, you can establish a secure PCEP session with a PCE with one of the following methods:

  • TCP Message Digest 5 (MD5) authentication: TCP Message Digest 5 (MD5) authentication is used for authenticating PCEP (TCP) sessions by using a clear text or encrypted password. This feature introduces support for TCP Authentication Option (TCP-AO), which replaces the TCP MD5 option.

    Any TCP segment coming from the PCC that does not contain a MAC matching the configured password will be rejected. Specify if the password is encrypted or clear text.

    Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# pce address ipv6 ipv6-PCE-address[password {clear | encrypted} LINE]
    
  • TCP-AO: TCP-AO uses Message Authentication Codes (MACs), which provides the following:

    • Protection against replays for long-lived TCP connections

    • More details on the security association with TCP connections than TCP MD5

    • A larger set of MACs with minimal system and operational changes

    TCP-AO is compatible with Master Key Tuple (MKT) configuration. TCP-AO also protects connections when using the same MKT across repeated instances of a connection. TCP-AO protects the connections by using traffic key that are derived from the MKT, and then coordinates changes between the endpoints.

    Any TCP segment coming from the PCC that does not contain a MAC matching the configured key chain will be rejected. Use the include-tcp-options keyword to include other TCP options in the header for MAC calculation.

    Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# pce address ipv6 ipv6-PCE-address tcp-ao key-chain [include-tcp-options]
    

Note


TCP-AO and TCP MD5 are never permitted to be used simultaneously. TCP-AO supports IPv6, and is fully compatible with the proposed requirements for the replacement of TCP MD5.

Configure PCEP-Related Timers

To better understand how the PCE-initiated SR policy timers operate, consider the following example:

  • PCE A instantiates SR policy P at head-end N.

  • Head-end N delegates SR policy P to PCE A and programs it in forwarding.

  • If head-end N detects that PCE A is no longer reachable, then head-end N starts the PCE-initiated orphan and state timers for SR policy P.

  • If PCE A reconnects before the orphan timer expires, then SR policy P is automatically delegated back to its original PCE (PCE A).

  • After the orphan timer expires, SR policy P will be eligible for delegation to any other surviving PCE(s).

  • If SR policy P is not delegated to another PCE before the state timer expires, then head-end N will remove SR policy P from its forwarding.

You can use the following PCEP-Related Timers:

  • To specify how often keepalive messages are sent from PCC to its peers, use the timers keepalive command. The range is from 0 to 255 seconds; the default value is 30.

    Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# timers keepalive seconds 
  • To specify how long the remote peers wait before bringing down the PCEP session if no PCEP messages are received from this PCC, use the timers deadtimer command. The range is from 1 to 255 seconds; the default value is 120.

    Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# timers deadtimer seconds 
    
  • To specify how long a delegated SR policy can remain up without an active connection to a PCE, use the timers delegation-timeout command. The range is from 0 to 3600 seconds; the default value is 60.

    Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# timers delegation-timeout seconds
    
  • To specify the amount of time that a PCE-initiated SR policy will remain delegated to a PCE peer that is no longer reachable by the PCC, use the timers initiated orphans command. The range is from 10 to 180 seconds; the default value is 180.

    Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# timers initiated orphans seconds
    
  • To specify the amount of time that a PCE-initiated SR policy will remain programmed while not being delegated to any PCE, use the timers initiated state command . The range is from 15 to 14440 seconds (24 hours); the default value is 600.

    Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# timers initiated state seconds
    

Configure PCEP Redundancy Type

To enable PCC-centric high-availability model, use the redundancy pcc-centric command. The PCC-centric model changes the default PCC delegation behavior to the following:

  • After LSP creation, LSP is automatically delegated to the PCE that computed it.

  • If this PCE is disconnected, then the LSP is redelegated to another PCE.

  • If the original PCE is reconnected, then the delegation fallback timer is started. When the timer expires, the LSP is redelegated back to the original PCE, even if it has worse preference than the current PCE.

Router(config-sr-te-pcc)# redundancy pcc-centric

SR-TE Application Programming Interface (API)

Table 2. Feature History Table

Feature Name

Release Information

Feature Description

SR-TE Application Programming Interface (API)

Release 7.11.1

This feature introduces an API solution that simplifies the task of building SR-TE controllers and managing SRTE policies. It does so by defining gRPC API services that allow applications to request SR policy operations.

The solution leverages the gRPC Service API and GPB Data models, providing a unified, scalable, and secure method for network programming.

This feature introduces these changes:

New CLI

  • grpc segment-routing traffic-eng policy-service

YANG Data Models:

EMSD Yang model is updated to have this config under "segment-routing" container.

  • Native model: Cisco-IOS-XR-man-ems-cfg.yang

  • UM model: Cisco-IOS-XR-um-grpc-cfg.yang

(see GitHub, YANG Data Models Navigator)

SDN controllers and applications with SR traffic-engineering capabilities require a mechanism to create, monitor, and control SRv6-TE (IPv6) policies with different properties, such as optimization objectives, constraints, and segment-lists.

This feature introduces an API solution that simplifies building SR-TE controllers by defining gRPC API services to request SR policy operations. These services allow for SR policy operations, potentially including the creation, modification, or deletion of such policies. It's a more efficient and modernized approach to managing and controlling SR-TE policies.

Google-defined remote procedure call (gRPC) is an open-source RPC framework. It is based on Protocol Buffers (Protobuf), which is an open-source binary serialization protocol. gRPC provides a flexible, efficient, automated mechanism for serializing structured data, like XML, but is smaller and simpler to use. You can define the structure using protocol buffer message types in .proto files. Each protocol buffer message is a small logical record of information, containing a series of name-value pairs.

The client applications use this protocol to request information from the router and make configuration changes to the router. The process for using data models involves:

  • Obtaining the data models.

  • Establishing a connection between the router and the client using gRPC communication protocol.

  • Managing the configuration of the router from the client using data models.


Note


Refer to Use gRPC Protocol to Define Network Operations with Data Models in the Programmability Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers.

Usage Guidelines and Limitations

  • The API is supported for SRv6-TE policies.

  • The API is not supported on the SR PCE.

SR-TE gRPC API

The SR-TE gRPC API uses the protocol buffers definition interface language (IDL) to manage the lifecycle (creation, modification, deletion) of SR-TE policies signaled by a controller/PCE and programmed at a headend.

The gRPC requests are encoded and sent to the SR-TE headend router (gRPC server) using JSON. The router can invoke the RPC calls defined in the IDL to program the SR-TE policies.

The gRPC service specifications for SR-TE, including the definitions of messages and the data model, are housed in a proto file. This SR-TE gRPC API proto file and a sample client are available in the following Github repository: https://github.com/ios-xr/SR-TE

SR-TE gRPC API proto file provides the following RPCs:

gRPC Operation Description
SRTEPolicyAdd Create and modify an SR-TE policy and its identifiers and attributes (for ex: color, endpoint, head-end, candidate paths).
SRTEPolicyDelete Delete an SR-TE policy or any of its candidate paths.

Enabling the SR-TE gRPC API on the Headend Router

Use the following commands to enable the SR-TE gRPC API:


RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# grpc
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-grpc)# segment-routing 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-grpc-sr)# traffic-eng 
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-grpc-sr-te)# policy-service
RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config-grpc-sr-te)# commit

Note


Refer to Use gRPC Protocol to Define Network Operations with Data Models in the Programmability Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers for other gRPC parameters.

Verify

Use the show segment-routing traffic-eng service-api clients command to display the SR-TE gRPC API client and its status:

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ios# show segment-routing traffic-eng service-api clients
. . .

Client name: emsd (Protocol type: gRPC)
  Role: Active
  ID: 960268627
  State: Up
  Throttled: No
  Statistics:
    Client ever connected: Yes
    Connected: 00:00:12 (since Wed Nov 15 15:02:14 PST 2023)
    Number of add requests: 0
    Number of delete requests: 0
. . .

Examples

In the following examples, R1 is the SR-TE headend and the gRPC server. The headend router implements the server-side of the gRPC communication, handling requests from gRPC clients.

In these examples, an SR-TE gRPC client written in Python is used to emulate the controller node. These clients send commands to create, modify, or delete SRTE policies, and the headend router executes these commands and returns the responses.

Example 1: Programming an SRv6-TE Policy with Explicit Path via gRPC API

  1. Configure the SRv6-TE policy.

    In this example, the SRv6-TE policy uses explicit paths with a segment list. The following JSON file is passed as an input to the SR-TE gRPC client to program an SRv6-TE policy with an explicit path at the head-end router.

    controller:grpc$ more sample_srv6_explicit_path_req.json
    {
     "policies": [
      {
       "key": {
        "color": 6,
        "endpoint": "2001:0:108::1",
        "headend": "2001:0:101::1"
       },
       "CPs": [
        {
         "explicit": [
          {
           "segmentList": {
            "name": "test-srv6",
            "segments": {
             "typeB": [
              "fcbb:bb00:104::",
              "fcbb:bb00:108::"
             ]
            }
           }
          }
         ],
         "preference": 10,
         "dataplane": 1,
         "key": {
          "originatorID": {
           "ASN": 64000,
           "nodeID": "1.1.1.101"
          },
          "discriminator": 100,
          "originatorProtocol": 40
         }
        }
       ],
       "bindingSIDAllocation": 1,
       "srv6BindingSID": {
        "locatorName": "LOC_BEST_EFFORT",
        "behavior": 71
       }
      }
     ]
    }
    
    

    Execute the command/JSON file on the SR-TE gRPC client:

    controller-grpc$ srte_client -u <user> -p <password> --policy-add 
    -j sample_srv6_explicit_path_req.json -a <sr-te-headend-ip-addr>:57400
    Response: ['{"ReturnCode": 0, "Key": {"Color": 6, "Headend": "2001:0:101::1", 
    "Endpoint": "2001:0:108::1"}}']
    

    Note


    Observe the console message indicating the policy state is “UP”:
    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:Nov 15 15:11:23.784 PST: xtc_agent[1304]: %OS-XTC-5-SR_POLICY_UPDOWN : 
    SR policy 'srte_c_6_ep_2001:0:108::1' (color 6, end-point 2001:0:108::1) state changed to UP
    

  2. Verify the configuration.

    Use the following show commands to verify the configuration.

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:R1# show segment-routing traffic-eng policy color 6
    
    SR-TE policy database
    ---------------------
    
    Color: 6 End-point: 2001:0:108::1
      Name: srte_c_6_ep_2001:0:108::1
      Status:
        Admin: up  Operational: up for 00:01:00 (since Nov 15 15:11:23.784)
      Candidate-paths:
        Preference: 10 (gRPC) (active)
          Requested BSID: dynamic
          PCC info:
            Symbolic name: gRPC_srte_c_6_ep_2001:0:108::1_c_6_ep_2001:0:108::1_discr_100
            PLSP-ID: 1
          Constraints:
            Protection Type: protected-preferred
            Maximum SID Depth: 7 
          Explicit: segment-list grpc_sl_1 (valid)
            Weight: 1, Metric Type: TE
              SID[0]: fcbb:bb00:104::/48
                      Format: f3216
                      LBL:32 LNL:16 FL:0 AL:80
              SID[1]: fcbb:bb00:108::/48
                      Format: f3216
                      LBL:32 LNL:16 FL:0 AL:80
          SRv6 Information:
            Locator: LOC_BEST_EFFORT
            Binding SID requested: Dynamic
            Binding SID behavior: uB6 (Insert.Red)
      Attributes:
        Binding SID: fcbb:bb00:101:e005::
        Forward Class: Not Configured
        Steering labeled-services disabled: no
        Steering BGP disabled: no
        IPv6 caps enable: yes
        Invalidation drop enabled: no
        Max Install Standby Candidate Paths: 0
    
    
    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:R1# show cef ipv6 fcbb:bb00:101:e005::/64
    
    fcbb:bb00:101:e005::/64, version 927, SRv6 Endpoint uB6 (Insert.Red), internal 0x1000001 0x200 (ptr 0x8b1495e8) [1], 0x400 (0x8a460958), 0x0 (0xa0e205e8)
     Updated Nov 15 15:11:23.786 
     local adjacency to TenGigE0/0/0/0
    
     Prefix Len 64, traffic index 0, precedence n/a, priority 0
      gateway array (0x8a2f3708) reference count 1, flags 0x400000, source rib (7), 0 backups
                    [2 type 3 flags 0x8401 (0x8a396cf8) ext 0x0 (0x0)]
      LW-LDI[type=3, refc=1, ptr=0x8a460958, sh-ldi=0x8a396cf8]
      gateway array update type-time 1 Nov 15 15:11:23.786
     LDI Update time Nov 15 15:11:23.787
     LW-LDI-TS Nov 15 15:11:23.787
     Accounting: Disabled
       via fe80::28a:96ff:feaa:ac00/128, TenGigE0/0/0/0, 8 dependencies, weight 1, class 0, protected, ECMP-backup (Local-LFA) [flags 0x600]
        path-idx 0 bkup-idx 1 NHID 0x0 [0xa0ffa0a0 0x0]
        next hop fe80::28a:96ff:feaa:ac00/128
        SRv6 H.Insert.Red SID-list {fcbb:bb00:104::}
       via fe80::d66a:35ff:fef3:2000/128, TenGigE0/0/0/1, 8 dependencies, weight 1, class 0, protected, ECMP-backup (Local-LFA) [flags 0x600]
        path-idx 1 bkup-idx 0 NHID 0x0 [0xa0ffa190 0x0]
        next hop fe80::d66a:35ff:fef3:2000/128
        SRv6 H.Insert.Red SID-list {fcbb:bb00:104::}
    
        Weight distribution:
        slot 0, weight 1, normalized_weight 1, class 0
        slot 1, weight 1, normalized_weight 1, class 0
        Load distribution: 0 1 (refcount 2)
    
        Hash  OK  Interface                 Address
        0     Y   TenGigE0/0/0/0            fe80::28a:96ff:feaa:ac00
        1     Y   TenGigE0/0/0/1            fe80::d66a:35ff:fef3:2000
    
    

Example 2: Programming an SRv6-TE Policy with Dynamic Path (Delegated to PCE) via gRPC API

  1. Configure the SRv6-TE policy.

    In this example, the SRv6-TE policy uses dynamic paths delegated to the PCE.

    The following JSON file is passed as an input to the SR-TE gRPC client to program an SRv6-TE policy with a dynamic path.

    controller:grpc$ more sample_srv6_dynamic_path_req.json
    {
     "policies": [
      {
       "key": {
        "color": 7,
        "endpoint": "2001:0:108::1",
        "headend": "2001:0:101::1"
       },
       "CPs": [
        {
         "dynamic": {
          "delegate": true,
          "ometric": 0
         },
         "preference": 10,
         "dataplane": 1,
         "key": {
          "originatorID": {
           "ASN": 64000,
           "nodeID": "1.1.1.101"
          },
          "discriminator": 100,
          "originatorProtocol": 40
         }
        }
       ],
       "bindingSIDAllocation": 1,
       "srv6BindingSID": {
        "locatorName": "LOC_BEST_EFFORT",
        "behavior": 71
       }
      }
     ]
    }
    

    Execute the command/JSON file on the SR-TE gRPC client:

    controller-grpc$ srte_client -u <user> -p <password> --policy-add 
    -j sample_srv6_dynamic_path_req.json -a <sr-te-headend-ip-addr>:57400 
    Response: ['{"ReturnCode": 0, "Key": {"Color": 7, "Headend": "2001:0:101::1", 
    "Endpoint": "2001:0:108::1"}}']
    

    Note


    Observe the console message indicating the policy state is “UP”:
    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:Nov 15 15:25:23.671 PST: xtc_agent[1304]: %OS-XTC-5-SR_POLICY_UPDOWN : 
    SR policy 'srte_c_7_ep_2001:0:108::1' (color 7, end-point 2001:0:108::1) state changed to UP
    

  2. Verify the configuration.

    Use the following show commands to verify the configuration.

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:R1# show segment-routing traffic-eng pol color 7
    
    SR-TE policy database
    ---------------------
    
    Color: 7, End-point: 2001:0:108::1
      Name: srte_c_7_ep_2001:0:108::1
      Status:
        Admin: up  Operational: up for 00:01:06 (since Nov 15 15:25:23.671)
      Candidate-paths:
        Preference: 10 (gRPC) (active)
          Requested BSID: dynamic
          PCC info:
            Symbolic name: gRPC_srte_c_7_ep_2001:0:108::1_c_7_ep_2001:0:108::1_discr_100
            PLSP-ID: 3
          Constraints:
            Protection Type: protected-preferred
            Maximum SID Depth: 7 
          Dynamic (pce 2001:0:109::1) (valid)
            Metric Type: TE,   Path Accumulated Metric: 44 
              SID[0]: fcbb:bb00:103::/48 Behavior: uN (PSP/USD) (48)
                      Format: f3216
                      LBL:32 LNL:16 FL:0 AL:80
                      Address: 2001:0:103::1
              SID[1]: fcbb:bb00:104::/48 Behavior: uN (PSP/USD) (48)
                      Format: f3216
                      LBL:32 LNL:16 FL:0 AL:80
                      Address: 2001:0:104::1
              SID[2]: fcbb:bb00:107::/48 Behavior: uN (PSP/USD) (48)
                      Format: f3216
                      LBL:32 LNL:16 FL:0 AL:80
                      Address: 2001:0:107::1
              SID[3]: fcbb:bb00:108::/48 Behavior: uN (PSP/USD) (48)
                      Format: f3216
                      LBL:32 LNL:16 FL:0 AL:80
                      Address: 2001:0:108::1
          SRv6 Information:
            Locator: LOC_BEST_EFFORT
            Binding SID requested: Dynamic
            Binding SID behavior: uB6 (Insert.Red)
      Attributes:
        Binding SID: fcbb:bb00:101:e006::
        Forward Class: Not Configured
        Steering labeled-services disabled: no
        Steering BGP disabled: no
        IPv6 caps enable: yes
        Invalidation drop enabled: no
        Max Install Standby Candidate Paths: 0
    
    
    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:R1# show cef ipv6 fcbb:bb00:101:e006::/64
    
    fcbb:bb00:101:e006::/64, version 936, SRv6 Endpoint uB6 (Insert.Red), internal 0x1000001 0x200 (ptr 0x8b149100) [1], 0x400 (0x8a460918), 0x0 (0xa0e20598)
     Updated Nov 15 15:25:23.672 
     local adjacency to TenGigE0/0/0/1
    
     Prefix Len 64, traffic index 0, precedence n/a, priority 0
      gateway array (0x8a2f3618) reference count 1, flags 0x500000, source rib (7), 0 backups
                    [2 type 3 flags 0x8401 (0x8a396e58) ext 0x0 (0x0)]
      LW-LDI[type=3, refc=1, ptr=0x8a460918, sh-ldi=0x8a396e58]
      gateway array update type-time 1 Nov 15 15:25:23.672
     LDI Update time Nov 15 15:25:23.672
     LW-LDI-TS Nov 15 15:25:23.672
     Accounting: Disabled
       via fe80::28a:96ff:feaa:ac00/128, TenGigE0/0/0/0, 10 dependencies, weight 1, class 0, backup (Local-LFA) [flags 0x300]
        path-idx 0 NHID 0x0 [0x8a0c5a00 0x0]
        next hop fe80::28a:96ff:feaa:ac00/128
        local adjacency
        SRv6 H.Insert.Red SID-list {fcbb:bb00:103:104:107::}
       via fe80::d66a:35ff:fef3:2000/128, TenGigE0/0/0/1, 10 dependencies, weight 1, class 0, protected [flags 0x400]
        path-idx 1 bkup-idx 0 NHID 0x0 [0xa0ffa190 0x0]
        next hop fe80::d66a:35ff:fef3:2000/128
        SRv6 H.Insert.Red SID-list {fcbb:bb00:103:104:107::}
    
        Weight distribution:
        slot 0, weight 1, normalized_weight 1, class 0
        Load distribution: 0 (refcount 2)
    
        Hash  OK  Interface                 Address
        0     Y   TenGigE0/0/0/1            fe80::d66a:35ff:fef3:2000
    
    
    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:R1# show segment-routing traffic-eng forwarding pol color 7
    
    SR-TE Policy Forwarding database
    --------------------------------
    
    Color: 7, End-point: 2001:0:108::1
      Name: srte_c_7_ep_2001:0:108::1
      Binding SID: fcbb:bb00:101:e006::
      Active LSP:
        Candidate path:
          Preference: 10 (gRPC)
        Segment lists:
          SL[0]:
            Name: dynamic
            SL ID: 0xa000002
            Switched Packets/Bytes: ?/?
            Paths:
              Path[0]:
                Outgoing Interfaces: TenGigE0/0/0/0
                Next Hop: fe80::28a:96ff:feaa:ac00
                FRR Pure Backup: Yes
                ECMP/LFA Backup: Yes
                SID stack (Top -> Bottom): {fcbb:bb00:103::/48, fcbb:bb00:104::/48, fcbb:bb00:107::/48}
              Path[1]:
                Outgoing Interfaces: TenGigE0/0/0/1
                Next Hop: fe80::d66a:35ff:fef3:2000
                FRR Pure Backup: No
                ECMP/LFA Backup: No
                SID stack (Top -> Bottom): {fcbb:bb00:103::/48, fcbb:bb00:104::/48, fcbb:bb00:107::/48}
    
      Policy Packets/Bytes Switched: ?/?
    

Example 3: Delete the Policy

  1. On the cRPC client, run the following command to delete the policy configuration:

    controller-grpc$ srte_client -u <user> -p <password> --policy-delete 
    -j sample_srv6_explicit_path_req.json -a <sr-te-headend-ip-addr>:57400
    Response: ['{"ReturnCode": 0, "Key": {"Color": 6, "Headend": "2001:0:101::1", 
    "Endpoint": "2001:0:108::1"}}']
    
    controller-grpc$ srte_client -u <user> -p <password> --policy-delete 
    -j sample_srv6_explicit_path_req.json -a <sr-te-headend-ip-addr>:57400
    Response: ['{"ReturnCode": 0, "Key": {"Color": 7, "Headend": "2001:0:101::1", 
    "Endpoint": "2001:0:108::1"}}']
    

    Note


    Observe the console message indicating the policy state is “DOWN”:
    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:Nov 15 15:30:14.180 PST: xtc_agent[1304]: %OS-XTC-5-SR_POLICY_UPDOWN : 
    SR policy 'srte_c_6_ep_2001:0:108::1' (color 6, end-point 2001:0:108::1) state changed to DOWN (path invalidated)
    
    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:Nov 15 15:30:27.181 PST: xtc_agent[1304]: %OS-XTC-5-SR_POLICY_UPDOWN : 
    SR policy 'srte_c_7_ep_2001:0:108::1' (color 7, end-point 2001:0:108::1) state changed to DOWN (path invalidated) 
    

  2. Verify the delete operation.

    RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ios# show segment-routing traffic-eng service-api clients
    
    Client name: emsd (Protocol type: gRPC)
      Role: Active
      ID: 440080357
      State: Up
      Throttled: No
      Statistics:
        Client ever connected: Yes
        Connected: 00:28:00 (since Wed Nov 15 15:02:14 PST 2023)
        Number of add requests: 2
        Number of delete requests: 2