IS-IS Working Group                                             Z. Li
Internet Draft                                                  L. Li
Intended status: BEST CURRENT PRACTICE                         X. Duan
Expires: January 11, 2010                                   China Mobile
                                                          July 12, 2009



     Recommendations for Processing Mechanism for Checksum Error LSP in
      interoperable Networks using Intermediate System to Intermediate
                              System (IS-IS)
                 draft-li-isis-error-lsp-processing-01.txt


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Abstract



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   RFC3719 discusses a number of differences between the IS-IS protocol
   as described in ISO 10589 and the protocol as it is deployed today.

   This document discusses some other differences found in the China
   Mobile's backbone network which is constructed with routers from
   several manufacturers. The differences include corrupt LSP processing,
   zero checksum LSP processing, zero remaining lifetime LSP processing,
   and LSP checksum calculation.


1. Introduction

   Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) Protocol [1] is
   one of the Interior Gateway Protocols. It is widely deployed in the
   carrier backbone networks.

   RFC3719 [2] discusses a number of differences between the IS-IS
   protocol as described in ISO 10589 and the protocol as it is deployed
   today.

   In the China Mobile's backbone network, which is constructed with a
   few hundreds of routers from several manufacturers, some other
   differences were found. These differences contributed to a severe
   network flapping across the whole network.

   The differences discussed in this document include corrupt LSP
   processing, zero checksum LSP processing, zero remaining lifetime LSP
   processing, and LSP checksum calculation.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [3].

2. Corrupt LSP Processing

   Section 7.3.14.2 e) of [1] states: An Intermediate system receiving a
   Link State PDU (LSP) with an incorrect LSP Checksum or with an
   invalid PDU syntax shall
          1) generate a corruptedLSPReceived circuit event,
          2) discard the PDU.

   In order to control the processing mechanism of Checksum error LSP,
   some equipment manufacturers provide an on-off configuration switch,
   such as Cisco's IGNORE-LSP-ERRORS switch and Huawei's IGNORE-LSP-
   CHECKSUM-ERROR switch. However, the default state of the switch is
   different, thus the processing mechanism of checksum error LSP is not
   the same.


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   From the carrier's perspective, such on-off configuration switch is
   welcome, because the carrier can determine the processing mechanism
   through the switch. But the behavior of the switch SHOULD be the same,
   as follows.

   When the on-off switch is on, the processing mechanism for the
   checksum error LSP SHOULD be accordant with what is stated in Section
   7.3.14.2 e) of [1]. When the on-off switch is off, the equipment
   SHOULD treat the received checksum error LSP in the same way as the
   LSP whose remaining lifetime equals 0. The processing mechanism is
   specified in Section 7.3.16.4 of [1].

   It is RECOMMENDED that the default state of the on-off switch be on.
   In this way, the default processing mechanism is in accordance with
   Section 7.3.14.2 e) of [1].

3. Zero Checksum LSP Processing

   RFC 3719 [2], section 7, suggests an implementation SHOULD treat all
   LSPs with a zero checksum and a non-zero remaining lifetime as if
   they had as checksum error.

   ISO 10589, section 7.3.16.4, note 36, states: A check of the checksum
   of a zero Remaining Lifetime LSP succeeds even though the data
   portion is not present. Therefore, the LSP with a zero checksum and a
   zero remaining lifetime SHOULD be treated as the LSP with correct
   checksum.

   Consider the above two conditions together, the implementation SHOULD
   check the remaining lifetime first, then check the checksum. In
   practice, some implementation does the check in the reverse way.

   Take the on-off switch into account, equipments with on-off switch
   SHOULD treat LSPs with a zero checksum and a non-zero remaining
   lifetime in accordance with the processing mechanism mentioned in the
   previous section 2. As for the LSPs with a zero checksum and a zero
   remaining lifetime, the processing mechanism SHOULD NOT be affected
   by the switch state.

4. Zero Remaining Lifetime LSP Processing

   ISO 10589, section 7.3.16.4, note 36, states: A check of the checksum
   of a zero Remaining Lifetime LSP succeeds even though the data
   portion is not present. Therefore, a zero Remaining Lifetime LSP
   SHOULD be treated as correct LSP, no matter whether its checksum is
   correct or not.



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   Some implementations, however, still check the checksum of a zero
   Remaining Lifetime LSP.

   The processing mechanism SHOULD NOT be affected by the on-off switch
   and the details can be seen in section 7.3.16.4.

5. Checksum calculation

   Note 36, section 7.3.16.4, ISO 10589 prescribes that examining the
   checksum of a zero Remaining Lifetime LSP is always successful. Thus,
   some implementations fill in the checksum field with zero in the zero
   Remaining Lifetime LSP.

   To insure the interoperability and maintain network stability, it is
   RECOMMENDED to calculate the checksum of all LSPs correctly,
   including zero Remaining Lifetime LSP. The calculation method is
   presented in Section 7.3.11, ISO 10589.

6. Security Considerations

   The suggestions and clarifications in this document will not cause
   extra new security concerns.

7. References

   [1]  ISO 10589 V2 Telecommunications and information exchange
         between systems-Intermediate System to Intermediate System

   [2]  J. Parker, Ed., "Recommendations for Interoperable Networks
         using           Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-
         IS)", RFC 3719, February 2004.

   [3]   Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
             Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

Author's Addresses

   Zhenqiang Li (editor)
   China Mobile Research Institute
   Gate 2 Dacheng Plaza
   No. 28 Xuanwumen West Street
   Xuanwu District, Beijing  100053
   China

   Phone: +86 1391 163 5816
   Email: lizhenqiang@chinamobile.com



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   Lianyuan Li
   China Mobile Research Institute
   Gate 2 Dacheng Plaza
   No. 28 Xuanwumen West Street
   Xuanwu District, Beijing  100053
   China

   Phone: +86 1391 178 9703
   Email: lilianyuan@chinamobile.com

   Xiaodong Duan
   China Mobile Research Institute
   Gate 2 Dacheng Plaza
   No. 28 Xuanwumen West Street
   Xuanwu District, Beijing  100053
   China

   Phone: +86 1391 019 1797
   Email: duanxiaodong@chinamobile.com





























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