Congestion Control for SLA Creation
SreCko Krile, Davor BonaEid
University of Duhrovnik
Department of Engineering and Technology
Cira Carica 4,20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia
Tel: 385 20 445-739, Fax: 385 20 435-590
srecko.krile@unidu.hr, dado.honacic@unidu.hr
Abstract
The most of the research activities in network
resource management have been devoted to
providing bandwidth guarantees and preventing
network congestion. It is understandable because the
carriers wish to maximize the usage efficiency of
their network infrastructure. Also, the rapid growth
real-time network applications (e.g. VoIP) has made
it imperative to consider the impact of end-to-end
delay of traffic requirements on network resource
provisioning. Very important element for efficient
end-to-end QoS routing is good prediction of traffic
demands in the phase of the negotiation process -
SLA (Service Level Agreement) creation. In this
paper algorithm for end-to-end congestion control is
being developed. As explicit traffic engineering
technique it provides the opportunity to intelligently
tailor the route such that different parts of the
network remain equally loaded. Such an approach
avoids the creation of bottleneck links and maintains
high network resource utilization efficiency. The
problem is seen as an expansion problem of link
capacities in given limits from a common source for
given traffic demands.
Index Terms: SLA creation, aggregate traffic
engineering, quality of service in DiffServ networks.
end-to-end QoS routing, congestion control.
1. Introduction
Mnltiprotocol label switching (MPLS) has
gained popularity as a technology for managing
network resources and providing performance
guarantees. Based on philosophy: route at the edge
and switch in the core, MPLS allows aggregated
traffic to be switched through long-term traffic
tunnels, also known as label switched paths (LSP).
The classification of the aggregated flows (in
DiffServiMPLS cloud) is performed according to the
SLA signed between a customer and the network
operator (ISP). Each SLA contract specifies how
much traffic may be sent (service class, bandwidth,
delay etc.) and defines a time period for utilization of
that service hut that period sometimes may be very
long. To obtain quantitative end-to-end guarantees in -
DiffJerv architecture, based on traffic handling
0-7803-8556-x/o4/$20.000 2004 IEEE
mechanisms with aggregate flows, some kind of
congestion control in the phase of the negotiation
process (SLA creation) is necessary. Very important
element for efficient end-to-end QoS routing is good
prediction of traffic demands that is defined with
limited number of SLA agreements; see fig.2. The
main condition is that sufficient resources must be
available at any moment. In the worse case it must be
sufficient for first service class. So, in the process of
SLA creation the problem of new SLA acceptance
for network operator exists.
In section 2. The problems of new SLA creation
and correlation with optimal resource management
are investigating. Explanation of the mathematical
model and heuristic approach for traffic engineering
is given in section 3.
2. New SLA Creation Problem
If network operator (ISP) wants to accept new
SLA (between edge routers) it has to be checked
with congestion control algorithm related on limited
link resources and predicted traffic (caused with
former accepted SLAs). For each communication
link in the network given traffic demands (consist of
number of SLAs) can be satisfied on different QoS
levels (e.g. different bandwidth).
Traffic demand (given in relative value as
increment) on input of each edge router, represents
the sum of all ingress and egress SLAs; see fig. I.
Congestion control must be done for traffic
aggregated flows between edge routers (on each
link), specially for definite period of time. The
optimal constraint-based path selection eliminates the
possibility for traffic congestion in the moment of
service invocation. We need very effective tool to
check such congestion possibility in the network.
The optimal resource management problem can he
seen as the link capacity expansion problem from the
common source with expansion values in allowed
limits (capacity). If the optimal routing sequence has
any link expansion with value that exceeds allowed
limits (link capacity), it means that new SLA cannot
be accepted or must he redefined through negotiation
process.
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 Some important papers about that problem are
[I], [4] and [ 5 ] . In the paper [6] we can see influence
of delay to optimal traffic engineering routing. In the
paper [2] such algorithm is the part of service
management architecture.
3. The Mathematical Model and
Heuristic Approach of CEP
Let C (A, E ) denote a network topology, where A
is the set of nodes and E the set of links. The source
and destination nodes (edge routers in domain) are
denoted by s and d , respectively. Between them there
are M interior routers on the path; see fig 1. The
number of QoS measures (e.g. bandwidth, delay) is
denoted by z. QoS measures can he roughly
classified into additive (e.g. delay) and nonadditive
(e.g. available bandwidth). In case of an additive
measure, the QoS value of the path is equal to the
sum of the corresponding weights of the link along
that path. For a nonadditive measure, the QoS value
of the path is the minimum (or maximum) link
weight along the path. In algorithm approach it is
assumed that the network state information (e.g.
traffic demands, link capacities, delay) is temporary
static.
Consider a network G (A, E ) where each link is
characterized by z-dimensional link weight vector,
consisting of z nonnegative QoS weights { wi (k,f),i =
1, ..., z, (k,r) E E } as components. For M interior
routers on the path we have and M+I links between
edge routers. Given z constraints for links on the path
are denoted by L,,, i = 1, ._.,z, e = I , ... , M+l.
Definition of the multi-constrained (MCP) problem
is to find a path P from s to d such that:
SLA.1 ingress
sLA.1
sLA.4
Fig. 1. An example of number of SLAs in definite period of time. The optimal routing sequence for new
SLA need not to be the shortest path solution.
F o r i = l , ... z , m = l , . . _ ,M
In this paper we dealt about two dimensional link
weight vectors for M+1 links, with constraints
denoted with L,,, Given constraints are limited
bandwidths L,, and delay LZmfor each link on the
path. The link weight (cost) is the function of used
capacity and delay: lower used capacity (smaller
bandwidth) and delay in acceptable bounds gives
lower weight (cost). The main condition is that given
traffic demands must be satisfied. Nonlinear cost
function is necessary if link weights are not
positively correlated. The problem of the optimal
QoS routing can he seen as the minimum cost
network flow problem in the multi-commodity single
(common) source multiple destination network. Such
problem can be solved as the capacity expansion
problem (CEP) without shortages. Partially
expansions for each link are made from common
source in given limits (link capacity).
Transmission link capacities on the path between
routers are capable to serve traffic demands for N
different QoS levels (service class) for i = 1,2, _.., N.
Facility i is used primarily to serve demands for QoS
level i, hut it can be used to satisfy traffic demands
for QoS level j (j > i). Rerouting of traffic demands
towards higher QoS level is the same thing as facility
conversion toward lower QoS level. In this model
conversion of traffic demand is permitted only in the
direction toward higher QoS level.
The objective is to find optimal routing-policy
that minimizes the total cost incurred over the whole
path between edge routers (M interior routers and M
+ 1 transmission links) and to satisfy given traffic
demands. The flow theory enables separation of
these extreme flows which can be a part of an
optimal expansion solution from those which cannot
be, With such heuristic approach we can obtain the
sLA.new egress
sLA.2 egress
SLA.3 ingress
sLA.4 egress
egleSS
Ingress
147
optimal result with significant computational savings.
In the mathematical model of CEP the following
notation is used:
i , j and k = QoS level. The Nlevels are ranked from
1,2,..., N , and quality decreases with higher k .
m = the order number of link on the path,
connecting two successive routers. Path consists of
A4 + I links ( m = I , _,., M+1) between A4 interior
routers.
u,v = the order number of capacity points in the
sub-problem, 1 5 U, ... , v S M+l.
rim, = traffic demand increment for additional
capacity of facility i (appropriate QoS level) on link
m. For convenience, the r, are assumed to he
integer.
I,, = the relative amount of idle capacity of facility
i on the link m, related on the link before. Initially
there is no capacity shortage between edge router
and the interior router, LI = 0, I~,M+I = 0.
xi, = the amount of used capacity for facility i on
the transmission link m.
yv, = the amount of capacity of facility i on the
link m, redirected to satisfy the traffic of lower level.
CEP problem can be formulated as follows:
min( g & A X j m ) +
So that we have:
I , = ri,M+I
=0
For m = 1 , 2 ,..., M, i = 1 , 2 ,._.,N; j = i + l ,
The total cost on the path from edge to edge
router includes some costs: the cost for capacity
expansion, the idle capacity cost as penalty cost to
force the usage of the minimum link capacity
(prevention of idle capacity) and preferable minimal
delay. For expansion of link in allowed limits we can
set the cost to zero. Costs are often represented by
the fix-charge cost or with constant value. We
t s t A-4
SLA-2
SLA-1
Fig. 2. An example of number of SLAs in definite period of time.
assume that all cost functions are concave and non-
decreasing, reflecting economies of scale, and they
can change for appropriate link. With costs
parameters we can influence on the optimization
process, looking for the most appropriate routing
solution.
Sub-problem (CES)
Generalizing the concept of the capacity state
for transmission link in in which the capacity state of
each link is known within defined limits we define as
a capaci@ point - a,. Idle capacities or capacity
shortages are not allowed on the link between edge
and interior router. Let C, be the number of capacity
point values at router position m (link between core
routers), C, = C,,, = 1, and the total number of
capacity points is:
m=1
Associated value between two capacity points,
that represents minimum cost cl,,(&, a,.+,) we
denoted as CES (Capaciq Expansion Sub-problem).
The total number of connections between capacity
points is:
(2)
N,=,fC,.
/=I [31
IC,
In CEP we have to find many cost values &(&,
(6)
that emanate two capacity points, from each
node ( U , G) to node (vtl, a,+,)for v 2 U. The
approach described in [3] requires solving repeatedly
a certain single location expansion problem (SLEP).
(4) Most of the computational effort is spent on
computing the sub-problem values. Any of them, if it
...,N. cannot be a part of the optimal sequence, is set to
infinity.
Suppose that all links are known, the optimal
solution for CEP can be found by searching for the
optimal sequence of capacity points and their
associated link state values of interior routers. As
shown in figure 3. problem on that level can be
formulated as a shortest path problem for an acyclic
network in which the nodes represents all possible
~
l
j
SLA-5
j
SLAG? I
i
! SLA-new
.i
critical time
period
148
 Fig. 3. On this level routing problem can be solved as a shortest path problem for an acyclic network in
which the nodes represents all possible values of capacity points (states).
values of capacity points (states). Than Dijkstras
algorithm or any similar algorithm can he applied. It
has to be noted that the optimal routing sequence for
traffic flow (new SLA) between edge routers need
not to be the shortest path solution.
It is very important to reduce that number of
capacity points and that can be done through
imposing of appropriate capacity hounds or by
introduction of adding constraints. On this level of
algorithm calculating it is very easy to introduce
delay limitations.
Conclusions
Earlier research efforts at traffic. engineering have
primarily addressed either bandwidth guarantees or
congestion management. With increasing number of
network applications that generate time-sensitive
network traffic, the delay dimension of QoS
requirements is having an increasing impact on
traffic engineering decisions. In the process of new
SLA creation possible congestion can be checked
with proposed heuristic algorithm. Algorithm is
based on mathematical model for the capacity
expansion problem (CEP). The first aspect of
algorithm is that load balancing leads to higher
resource usage efficiency. It can prevent critical
network resources, not to be exhausted early and
becoming a bottleneck for the network in the
moment of service invocation. The second unique
aspect of this algorithm is that it incorporates the
impact of end-to-end delay partitioning in network-
level route selection decisions.
It means that such heuristic approach can be
successfully applied for congestion control in the
SLA creation process, that is in firm correlation with
resource reservation mechanisms and admission
control process. The heuristic algorithm in all test-
examples can achieve the best possible result (near-
optimal expansion sequence). The number of all
possible d,,, values depends on the total number of
capacity points. If there are no limitations on
capacity point values the complexity of such
heuristic approach is pretty large.
References
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Provisioning in IP Networks: The European Premium
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Service: A Mechanism for explicit activation of IP
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Engineering, Vol. 54, No. 910, Bratislava, 2003,
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Provisioning in Diff-Sen, Networks, Proc. 71h
ISSSTA (Int. Symp. On Spread-Spectrum Tech. &
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