Implementation of Accurate Per-Flow Packet Loss Monitoring in Segment Routing over IPv6 Networks

Abstract: Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6 in short) is a networking solution for IP backbones and datacenters, which has been recently adopted in several of large scale network deployments. The SRv6 research, standardization and implementation activities are going on at a remarkable pace. In particular, a number of Internet Drafts have been submitted related to the Performance Monitoring (PM) of flows in an SRv6 network. In this paper we discuss the proposed PM approaches, considering both data plane and control plane aspects and focusing on loss monitoring. Then we describe the implementation of a per-flow packet loss measurement (PF-PLM) solution based on the "alternate marking" method. Our implementation is based on Linux kernel networking and it is open source. We describe a platform that can be used to validate the standardization proposals from a functional perspective and the implemented solution from the performance point of view. We analyze two different design choices for the implementation of PF-PLM and evaluate their impact on the maximum forwarding throughput of a software based (Linux) router.