Session Date/Time: 25 Jul 2024 22:00

panrg

Summary

The Path Aware Networking Research Group (panrg) meeting at IETF focused on updates and discussions related to the SCION architecture, open research questions in path-aware networking, early adopter experiences with SCION, and academic research on path verification protocols. The meeting included updates on IETF drafts related to SCION, presentations on open research questions and deployment experiences, and a presentation analyzing the performance impact of various path verification mechanisms.

Key Discussion Points

SCION Draft Updates: Discussions centered on progress of the core SCION specification drafts under IETF review, including clarifications on time synchronization, security considerations, and scalability aspects. Concerns were raised about potential attacks and defense mechanisms within the SCION architecture.
Open Research Questions in Path-Aware Networking: A presentation highlighted open questions critical for the internet-scale adoption of path-aware networking, including challenges in communicating preferences and preserving privacy during path discovery, and managing expiring paths.
SCION Deployment Experiences: Early adopter experiences with SCION deployments in finance were shared, covering practical operational aspects, governance models, and the challenges of scaling and connecting isolated SCION networks.
Path Energy Traffic Ratio API: Updates were presented on a draft defining a REST API and a YANG module for providing visibility into energy consumption related to network paths, including new attributes for carbon intensity and renewable energy usage. The discussion covered traffic proportionality, data sources, and potential use cases.
Academic Research on Path Verification Protocols: Research comparing the performance of various academic proof-of-transit schemes was presented, analyzing header overhead and cryptographic operation costs. The findings suggested that practical proof-of-transit mechanisms can be implemented with controlled overhead.

Decisions and Action Items

Action Item: Encourage the community to review the SCION specification drafts and provide feedback.
Action Item: Further develop the "SCION Deployment Experiences" draft to address logistic matters and map between RFC 9217 and SCION solutions. Brian Sipos will be helping.
Action Item: Incorporate feedback and suggestions into the Path Energy Traffic Ratio API draft, including exploring options for adding certificates or labels related to greenness.

Next Steps

Continue progressing the core SCION specification drafts through the IETF review process.
Collaborate with the panrg community to address open research questions in path-aware networking.
Present updated drafts at the next IETF meeting in Dublin, incorporating feedback from the research group.
Explore potential collaboration between SCION and other related efforts like Nesser.
Connect with operational communities like RIPE to gather more practical feedback on SCION deployment experiences.