272-Advanced Traffic Steering v04

CONFIDENTIAL
Advanced Traffic Steering

& Optimization Technologies
Bart Salaets
Solutions Architect EMEA
Agenda
Recent Evolutions in Traffic Steering
Flow-based vs Transaction-based Traffic Steering
Service Chaining & IETF Activities
TCP Optimization
Summary
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
Recent Evolutions in Traffic Steering
Traditional Steering to VAS & Optimization platforms

A router steers all port 80 traffic to VAS platforms
STATIC STEERING
RTR
PGW/
WIFI-GW
DPI
L2/L3
L7
Firewall/CGNAT
Internet
L4
All port 80 traffic service chained

through all VAS platforms
Data Center
L4 LB/ADC
Video
Optimization
F5 Networks, Inc
Transparent
Caching
Parental
Controls
CONFIDENTIAL
L7+ - Application Services
WAP
Gateway
Intelligent traffic steering to VAS platforms
Offloading VAS services & Optimizing infrastructure utilization

INTELLIGENT STEERING
L4-L7 Steering
PCRF
DRA
Diameter Gx
PGW/
GGSN
RTR
Intelligent Steering
Platform
CONTEXT
SUBSCRIBER
DEVICE-TYPE
RAT-TYPE
CONTENT (VIDEO, URI, ... )
CONGESTION
F5 Networks, Inc
DPI
Firewall
CGNAT
Internet
Context-aware & policy-driven

steering & intelligent service chaining
Data Center
Video
Optimization
Transparent
Caching
Parental
Controls
CONFIDENTIAL
WAP
Gateway
Intelligent traffic steering to VAS platforms
Example : Subscriber and RAT-type based steering / service chaining

INTELLIGENT STEERING
DIAMETER Gx
(subscriber policy indicates
parental control)
RADIUS
(RAT-TYPE updates for subscriber
in interim accounting)
PGW/
GGSN
CONTEXT
RTR
F5 Networks, Inc
Platform
Steering leg
controlled
by Radius
SUBSCRIBER POLICY
DETERMINES STEERING TO
PARENTAL CONTROL
RAT-TYPE DETERMINES
STEERING TO VIDEO OPT.
PCRF
DPI
Steering leg
controlled
by PCRF
Firewall
CGNAT
Internet
Policy-controlled Service Chain

(per-flow steering/chaining)
Data Center
Video
Optimization
Transparent
Caching
Parental
Control
CONFIDENTIAL
WAP
Gateway
Flow-based vs Transaction-based
Traffic Steering
Need for Transaction-based Steering Video Optimization

The Service Provider Challenge
Video optimization technology is expensive and steering all port 80 traffic to it is not
considered economically viable going forward
Increasing desire to offload any HTTP traffic that is not carrying video
Increasing desire to offload ABR video traffic (as transrating/transcoding no longer needed)
The Technical Challenge
Accurate video detection requires checking both the HTTP request and the response headers
If the detection happens at the response level, how can we steer video to video optimizers
after-the-facts (connection to video server is already established) ?
The Technical Solution
HTTP request-based & response-based steering
Per-flow steering is not adequate for this use case (see next slide)
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
HTTP Messages Differ from IP Packets & TCP Flows

HTTP Header Split Across packets
Packet Header
TCP/IP Packet
Multiple Messages in one packet
HTTP Message Header
HTTP Message Body

GET / HTTP/1.1\r\n
Host: www.myhost.com\r\n
Transfer-Encoding: chunked\r\n
Cookie: userId=username,
userData=abdefa1839290\r\n
User-Agent: Mozilla\r\n
\r\n
<body data>
0\r\n
Body Terminator
for chunked mode
HTTP message can span multiple

packets
Packets may have multiple HTTP
messages
Delimiting HTTP messages may
require inspection of every byte
Message steering in some cases
may cause TCP stream to be split
may lead to chaos in client to end
point communication
Steering on HTTP Request & Response

Steering on request
Establish TCP connection with client (full handshake)
Accumulate HTTP request message(s) in that TCP connection
For each HTTP request message in the TCP connection from the client
Parse the HTTP request headers and select VAS based on steering policy
Establish new TCP connection with the VAS selected in the steering policy and forward the
accumulated HTTP message (in case of service chaining there will be several connections)
Steering on response
Establish TCP connection with client and establish another TCP connection with the server
forward HTTP messages between client and server
For each HTTP response message in the TCP connection from the server
Parse the HTTP response headers and select VAS based on steering policy
But how do we steer to the VAS ? The connection with the server is already established ...
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
10
Steering on Response Call flows

PGW/
GGSN
RTR
RAN
Platform
INTERNET
Mobile
Client
HTTP Request from client
Forward Request
Response to Client with 302 redirect to

same URI extended with
classification and policy results
HTTP Response
Origin
Server
POLICY EXECUTION
Video
Optimization
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
IF
CONTENT-TYPE STARTS WITH VIDEO/
CONTENT-LENGHT > 1024KB
THEN
REDIRECT TO VIDEO OPTIMIZATION
11
Steering on Response After the HTTP redirect

PGW/
GGSN
RTR
Platform
RAN
INTERNET
New HTTP request with extended URI
Mobile
Client
Optimized Response
Origin
Server
Steer Request to
Video Optimizers
Optimized
Response
POLICY EXECUTION
IF
URI CONTAINS VIDEO CLASSIFICATION INFO
THEN
STEER TO VIDEO OPTIMIZATION
& DELETE CLASSIFICATION INFO FROM URI
F5 Networks, Inc
New connection
Video
Optimization
CONFIDENTIAL
12
Service Chaining & IETF Activities
IETF Service Chaining Working Group

IP networks rely more and more on the combination of advanced functions
Besides basic routing and forwarding functions
Goal : Enforce service-inferred forwarding for traffic traversing a given domain

Differentiated by the set of Service Functions to be invoked
Service-inferred forwarding is policy-based. Policies may be:
Subscriber-aware
Based on flow characteristics
TE-oriented (e.g., optimize network resource usage)
Combination of the above
Several Service Function Chaining (SFC) IETF drafts available
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
14
IETF Service Function Chaining Examples

SFC ingress : Policy classification will determine service chain SFC-ID
pointing to a sequence of service functions (SFs)
All Service Functions may be policy controlled via a control plane
Meta-data can be added to the packets (to convey the SFC-ID to the SFs)
Service Functions can be physical or virtual (NFV)
Packet forwarding between SFs can be plain IP, SDN, overlay networks, ...
SFC-ID=1
LOAD
BALANCER
(SF1)
WEB
PROXY
(SF2)
FIREWALL
(SF3)
SFC-ID=2
DPI
(SF5)
HEADER
ENRICHM.
(SF6)
FIREWALL
(SF3)
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
NAT44
(SF4)
16
Static & Dynamic Service Chaining Today

INTELLIGENT SERVICE CHAINING
PCRF
RTR
PGW/
GGSN
Intelligent
Steering Platform
DPI
Firewall
CGNAT
Internet
VAS
Video
Transparent
Optimization
Caching
Parental
Control
WAP
Gateway
STATIC SERVICE CHAINING
DYNAMIC SERVICE CHAINING
INTELLIGENT STEERING POLICY DEFINES A

FIXED SFC (E.G. VAS1-VAS4)
INTELLIGENT STEERING POLICY PER VAS LEG TO

FULLY CONTROL THE SERVICE CHAIN ORDER BASED
ON STATIC OR DYNAMIC PARAMETERS
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
17
Static Service Chaining

Platform
DIAMETER Gx
SERVICE CHAIN POLICY A
(subscriber policy points to

service chain A)
PCRF
SERVICE CHAIN
SVC2 {
FROM VAS1
TO VAS2
}
POLICY A
SVC1
SVC3
Mobile
Client
VAS1
F5 Networks, Inc
Origin
Server
SVC2
SVC1 {
FROM SUBSCRIBER
TO VAS1
}
VAS2
CONFIDENTIAL
SVC3 {
FROM VAS2
TO INTERNET
}
18
Dynamic Service Chaining

Platform

SVC1 {
FROM SUBSCRIBER
TO VAS1
}
DIAMETER Gx
(subscriber policy for subscriber

X indicates service chain A)
VAS1 DID
NOT INSERT
X-TO-VAS
PCRF
SERVICE CHAIN
POLICY A
SVC1
SVC3
Mobile
Client X
Origin
Server
SVC2
SVC2 {
FROM VAS1
TO VAS2
STEERING POLICY P1
}
SVC3 {
FROM VAS2
TO INTERNET
}
STEERING POLICY P1
VAS1
F5 Networks, Inc
RULE R1 {
IF (HDR $X-TO-VAS == INTERNET) {
STEER INTERNET
}
}
VAS2
CONFIDENTIAL
19
Dynamic Service Chaining

Platform

SVC1 {
FROM SUBSCRIBER
TO VAS1
}
DIAMETER Gx
(subscriber policy for subscriber

X indicates service chain A)
VAS1 HAS
INSERTED
X-TO-VAS
INTERNET
PCRF
SERVICE CHAIN
POLICY A
SVC1
Mobile
Client X
Origin
Server
SVC2
SVC2 {
FROM VAS1
TO VAS2
STEERING POLICY P1
}
SVC3 {
FROM VAS2
TO INTERNET
}
STEERING POLICY P1
VAS1
F5 Networks, Inc
RULE R1 {
IF (HDR $X-TO-VAS == INTERNET) {
STEER INTERNET
}
}
VAS2
CONFIDENTIAL
20
Service Chaining Packet Forwarding

CONNECTION TABLE
IN
Platform
OUT
SMAC
DMAC
SIP
DIP
VLAN
SMAC
DMAC
SIP
DIP
VLAN
MAC_X
M100
IP_X
IP_Y
100
M91
MVAS1
IP_X
IP_Y
91
MVAS1
M19
IP_X
IP_Y
19
M92
MVAS2
IP_X
IP_Y
92
MVAS2
M29
IP_X
IP_Y
29
M200
MAC_Y
IP_X
IP_Y
200
SERVICE CHAIN
VLAN 100
Mobile
Client
(IP_X)
VLAN
91
POLICY A
VLAN
92
VLAN
19
VLAN 200
VLAN
29
Origin
Server
(IP_Y)
CONNECTION-ORIENTED FORWARDING
VAS1
F5 Networks, Inc
VAS2
Intelligent steering platform tracks the source MAC address and

VLAN of incoming connections in the connection table
Return traffic from endpoints and/or pools is sent back to the
MAC address (on the VLAN) that transmitted the request
CONFIDENTIAL
21
Service Chaining Today and Future

SFC Ingress Classification
SFC Ingress Classification
TRAFFIC
STEERING
TRAFFIC
STEERING
SFC Forwarding
VAS
1
VAS
2
VAS
3
VAS
4
SFC Forwarding
VAS
1
VAS
5
VAS
2
VAS
3
VAS
4
VAS
5
Available today TCP & HTTP proxy technology
Discussed in several IETF drafts
Flexible use of steering headers towards VAS

platforms (HTTP headers, DSCP, ... )
Requires all vendors to agree on same

standard (packet header for metadata)
Works with ICAP as well (control plane steer)
How to leverage SDN/NFV and overlay

networking (VXLAN, NVGRE) technology
Practical model for few VAS services

F5 Networks, Inc
Scales to many VAS services

CONFIDENTIAL
22
TCP Optimization
TCP Proxy Optimizing both sides of the TCP connection

Platform
RAN
INTERNET
PGW/
GGSN
RTR
Cell-optimized TCP stack
TCP
PROXY
Mobile
Client
WAN-optimized TCP stack

Origin
Server
TCP proxy approach allows for adequate TCP options & window scaling parameters to be
negotiated separately with the client and the server, optimized for the access technology
Window scaling
Selective ACK
Congestion control mechanisms, Nagle algorithm, etc.
Patent pending optimizations to deal with packet loss & delay specific to cellular networks
Remove the effect of the first few percent of packet loss on congestion control typical for 2G/3G
Avoiding the buffer bloat problems in LTE networks
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
24
Ideal TCP stacks would result in
High Goodput
Minimal Buffer
Bloat
Flow Fairness
HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS IN 2G, 3G AND 4G NETWORKS ?

F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
25
Impact of Latency : Web Page Load Times
Slide courtesy of Ilya Grigorik @ Google:

http://www.igvita.com/slides/2012/webperf-crash-course.pdf
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
26
Impact of Packet Loss : Throughput Degradation

TCP is designed to probe the network to figure out available capacity
TCP slow start is a feature, not a bug
In mobile networks packet

loss does not necessarily
imply congestion
Avg HTTP
response size
16kB
(so 3 round trips)
F5 Networks, Inc
Slide courtesy of Ilya Grigorik @ Google:

http://www.igvita.com/slides/2012/webperf-crash-course.pdf
CONFIDENTIAL
27
TCP Congestion Control Algorithms in 3G and LTE

TCP Woodside
F5 created algorithm.
Hybrid loss and latency based algorithm.
Minimizes buffer bloat by constantly monitoring
network buffering.
TCP Vegas
Emphasizes packet delay rather than packet loss

Detects congestion based on increasing RTT values of
packets.
TCP Illinois
Targeted at high speed long distance networks

Loss-delay based algorithm.
Primary congestion of packet loss determines
direction of window size change.
Secondary congestion of queuing delay determines
the pace of window size changes.
H-TCP
Targeted for high speed networks with high latency.

Loss-based algorithm.
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
28
Reducing Web Page Load Times with TCP Optimization

Real life test results MNO in APAC
Case 2 1 * 10MB image
Case 1 100 * 64KB images

Business
center
Business
center
Shopping
Mall
Shopping
Mall
Residential
Area
Residential
Area
Case 3 Regular website 1
Case 4 Regular website 2
Business
center
Business
center
Shopping
Mall
Shopping
Mall
Residential
Area
Residential
Area
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
29
Summary
Traffic Optimization with TCP & HTTP Proxy

Allows for Policy-based Intelligent Traffic Steering
Offloading & cost optimizing the VAS infrastructure
Allows for Static and Dynamic Service Chaining Today

Avoiding to pipe all traffic through all VAS platforms in sequence
Allows for Enhancing the Mobile Subscribers Quality of Experience

Advanced TCP optimization techiques increases the goodput and user experience
over the 2G, 3G and LTE radio infrastructure
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
31
F5 Networks, Inc
CONFIDENTIAL
32

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CONFIDENTIAL

Advanced Traffic Steering

Recent Evolutions in Traffic Steering

Traditional Steering to VAS & Optimization platforms

All port 80 traffic service chained

L7+ - Application Services

Intelligent traffic steering to VAS platforms

Offloading VAS services & Optimizing infrastructure utilization

Context-aware & policy-driven

Intelligent traffic steering to VAS platforms

Example : Subscriber and RAT-type based steering / service chaining

Policy-controlled Service Chain

Need for Transaction-based Steering Video Optimization

HTTP Messages Differ from IP Packets & TCP Flows

HTTP Message Body

HTTP message can span multiple

Steering on HTTP Request & Response

Steering on Response Call flows

HTTP Request from client

Response to Client with 302 redirect to

Steering on Response After the HTTP redirect

New HTTP request with extended URI

Service Chaining & IETF Activities

IETF Service Chaining Working Group

Goal : Enforce service-inferred forwarding for traffic traversing a given domain

Several Service Function Chaining (SFC) IETF drafts available

IETF Service Function Chaining Examples

Static & Dynamic Service Chaining Today

STATIC SERVICE CHAINING

DYNAMIC SERVICE CHAINING

INTELLIGENT STEERING POLICY DEFINES A

INTELLIGENT STEERING POLICY PER VAS LEG TO

Static Service Chaining

SERVICE CHAIN POLICY A

(subscriber policy points to

Dynamic Service Chaining

SERVICE CHAIN POLICY A

(subscriber policy for subscriber

Dynamic Service Chaining

SERVICE CHAIN POLICY A

(subscriber policy for subscriber

Service Chaining Packet Forwarding

Intelligent steering platform tracks the source MAC address and

Service Chaining Today and Future

SFC Ingress Classification

Available today TCP & HTTP proxy technology

Discussed in several IETF drafts

Flexible use of steering headers towards VAS

Requires all vendors to agree on same

Works with ICAP as well (control plane steer)

How to leverage SDN/NFV and overlay

Practical model for few VAS services

Scales to many VAS services

TCP Proxy Optimizing both sides of the TCP connection

Cell-optimized TCP stack

WAN-optimized TCP stack

Ideal TCP stacks would result in

HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS IN 2G, 3G AND 4G NETWORKS ?

Impact of Latency : Web Page Load Times

Slide courtesy of Ilya Grigorik @ Google:

Impact of Packet Loss : Throughput Degradation

In mobile networks packet

Slide courtesy of Ilya Grigorik @ Google:

TCP Congestion Control Algorithms in 3G and LTE