Dear Prasad,

Speaking as an operator who has IPFIX NAT event logging as per RFC 8158, IPFIX 
Flow Aggregation as per RFC 7015/7011 and BMP as per RFC 7854/9069 on the same 
network nodes operational, we export both, NAT events, flow account information 
and BGP RIB state information and correlate BMP with NAT events and BMP with 
flow accounting in real-time at the data collection and making it as a data 
product available in the data mesh. Since BMP establishes the correlation to 
the connectivity service, both NAT events and flows can be attributed to the 
connectivity service. Giving network operation the ability to monitor the 
following use cases:


  *   How many NAT translations are being established/terminated for a given 
connectivity service at which time -> Capacity Management
  *   How much traffic has been forwarded or dropped for a given connectivity 
service at which time -> Connectivity SLI/SLO
  *   Which customer data plane L3/L4 dimensions have been translated to which 
for a given connectivity service at which time -> Troubleshooting

NAT events and flows are in my opinion not aggregate able since the time 
stamps, the lifecycle, isn't equal. Since in flow account starting with the 
first packet, flows are being accounted by the flow metering process and in 
intervals exported until last packet has been observed (active/inactive 
timeout). Where in NAT events the start and the end of the translation is being 
accounted as event vs. duration.

Best wishes
Thomas

From: Prasad Yadati <yprasad=40juniper....@dmarc.ietf.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 6:41 PM
To: mohamed.boucad...@orange.com; opsawg@ietf.org; Dan Wing (danw...@gmail.com) 
<danw...@gmail.com>
Cc: repe...@cisco.com; ssent...@cisco.com
Subject: [OPSAWG]Re: Proposal to Enhance IPFIX NAT Logging with pps/bps Metrics 
for Improved Flow Monitoring


Be aware: This is an external email.



Dear Med and OPSAWG Members,



Sorry for the delay in response. Thank you for your feedback and for bringing 
historical context into the discussion. I appreciate you involving Dan to 
provide additional insights.



Why Internal Realm Metrics Are Not Sufficient:



While internal realm metrics can offer a broad view of traffic, they lack the 
granularity and context provided by NAT flow-level metrics. Specifically:

       1.     NAT-Specific Context: Flow-level metrics directly identify which 
NAT pools or services are impacted by FAT flows. Internal realm metrics 
aggregate data across flows, obscuring this visibility.

       2.     Flow Identification: Operators need flow-level granularity to 
pinpoint specific high-bandwidth flows. Aggregated internal realm metrics do 
not provide this.

       3.     Correlation With NAT Events: Flow-level metrics allow direct 
correlation with session creation and deletion events, enabling more actionable 
insights for network operations.



Importance of Flow-Level Throughput Metrics:



Including pps and bps metrics at the flow level allows:

    •          Quick identification of impacted NAT resources (e.g., pools, 
services).

    •          Targeted traffic management for FAT flows.

    •          Operational efficiency by offloading computations from 
collectors to NAT devices.


Please revert to me if any further queries.

Regards
yp



Juniper Business Use Only
From: mohamed.boucad...@orange.com<mailto:mohamed.boucad...@orange.com> 
<mohamed.boucad...@orange.com<mailto:mohamed.boucad...@orange.com>>
Date: Friday, November 22, 2024 at 3:02 AM
To: Prasad Yadati <ypra...@juniper.net<mailto:ypra...@juniper.net>>, 
opsawg@ietf.org<mailto:opsawg@ietf.org> 
<opsawg@ietf.org<mailto:opsawg@ietf.org>>, Dan Wing 
(danw...@gmail.com<mailto:danw...@gmail.com>) 
<danw...@gmail.com<mailto:danw...@gmail.com>>
Cc: repe...@cisco.com<mailto:repe...@cisco.com> 
<repe...@cisco.com<mailto:repe...@cisco.com>>, 
ssent...@cisco.com<mailto:ssent...@cisco.com> 
<ssent...@cisco.com<mailto:ssent...@cisco.com>>
Subject: RE: Proposal to Enhance IPFIX NAT Logging with pps/bps Metrics for 
Improved Flow Monitoring
[External Email. Be cautious of content]

Hi Prasad,

I lost the context whether this specific point was discussed in behave where 
8158 started. However, I don’t see any similar tracking in relevant specs that 
were developed at the time (RFC8512 (here in OPSAWG), CGN Requirements 
(RFC6888, in behave), NAT-MIB (RFC7659, behave), RFC8513 (in softwire)). All 
the policies are related to NAT-specific resources, not throughput/rate for 
specific BIB/Mapping.

I add Dan (co-chair of behave) in case he still has the context.

If the throughput IEs are needed, what prevents you from exporting based on the 
internal realm?

Cheers,
Med



Juniper Business Use Only
De : Prasad Yadati 
<yprasad=40juniper....@dmarc.ietf.org<mailto:yprasad=40juniper....@dmarc.ietf.org>>
Envoyé : vendredi 1 novembre 2024 21:14
À : opsawg@ietf.org<mailto:opsawg@ietf.org>
Cc : repe...@cisco.com<mailto:repe...@cisco.com>; 
ssent...@cisco.com<mailto:ssent...@cisco.com>
Objet : [OPSAWG]Proposal to Enhance IPFIX NAT Logging with pps/bps Metrics for 
Improved Flow Monitoring

Dear OPSAWG Members and RFC 8158 Authors,

I hope this message finds you well. I would like to start by acknowledging the 
excellent work done on RFC 8158, which has standardized IPFIX Information 
Elements (IEs) for NAT Event Logging. This document provides essential logging 
capabilities for Network Address Translation (NAT) events and has been 
invaluable for ensuring consistency in NAT event tracking across network 
devices.
As a potential enhancement to this RFC, I propose the inclusion of packets per 
second (pps) and bits per second (bps) metrics for each NAT flow. The goal is 
to provide more detailed insights into NAT flow behavior, particularly to 
identify FAT flows that consume excessive bandwidth or hijack available 
throughput.
Motivation: While RFC 8158 efficiently logs critical NAT session events (e.g., 
creation and deletion), it lacks specific metrics related to throughput that 
would allow operators to understand real-time bandwidth consumption of 
individual NAT flows. Adding pps and bps to the existing template would enable 
operators to:

  *   Detect and manage FAT flows that consume excessive bandwidth.
  *   Monitor throughput per NAT flow to identify potential bottlenecks or 
misbehaving flows.
  *   Improve operational efficiency by reducing the overhead on collectors, 
allowing NAT devices or IPFIX exporters to compute and export throughput values 
directly.
  *   Enhance network management by correlating throughput metrics with NAT 
events like session creation and deletion.
Proposed Additions to the IPFIX Template: To extend the current template, I 
propose adding the following new IEs:

  1.  PacketsPerSecond (pps): The number of packets transmitted per second for 
a given NAT flow.

     *   Type: Float or Integer
     *   Formula: Calculated from packetDeltaCount divided by flow duration 
(flowEndSysUpTime - flowStartSysUpTime).

  1.  BitsPerSecond (bps): The number of bits transmitted per second for a 
given NAT flow.

     *   Type: Float or Integer
     *   Formula: Calculated by converting octetTotalCount to bits (octets * 8) 
and dividing by flow duration (flowEndSysUpTime - flowStartSysUpTime).
These metrics would add visibility into real-time performance of NAT flows, 
allowing operators to better manage high-bandwidth flows and mitigate 
congestion before it becomes an issue.
Integration with Existing IEs: The new IEs would integrate seamlessly with RFC 
8158’s current elements:

  *   Session Creation (natEvent): Remains unchanged but now includes 
throughput metrics for each session.
  *   Session Deletion (natEvent): Could include throughput values at the end 
of the session, giving a complete view of flow behavior.
  *   octetTotalCount and packetDeltaCount: Existing IEs can serve to calculate 
the new pps and bps values.
This extended logging provides both an event-based and performance-based view 
of NAT flows, enabling network operators to optimize traffic, apply QoS 
measures, and prevent bandwidth hogging.
Rationale: While pps and bps can technically be derived from octetTotalCount, 
packetDeltaCount, and flow timestamps, separate IEs offer several advantages:

  1.  Pre-processed Data for Real-Time Monitoring: Exporting pre-calculated pps 
and bps values reduces processing overhead on collectors, especially in 
high-flow environments.
  2.  Reduced Overhead on Collectors: By offloading computations to NAT 
devices, collectors can focus on aggregation and analysis, improving 
scalability in high-traffic environments.
  3.  Timely, Accurate Data from NAT Devices: Devices exporting real-time pps 
and bps provide accurate, up-to-date data, reducing error risk in 
post-collection calculations.
  4.  Standardization and Uniformity: Standardizing pps and bps in IPFIX 
templates ensures consistency across NAT devices and exporters, preventing 
discrepancies.
  5.  Simplified Analysis: Including pps and bps in exports makes key 
throughput metrics immediately available, facilitating troubleshooting.
Conclusion: Adding pps and bps metrics to IPFIX NAT logging would enhance 
network operators' capabilities in managing networks, providing granular 
visibility into NAT flows and enabling effective traffic shaping. These 
enhancements would also reduce the processing load on collectors, improving 
scalability and performance.
Thank you for considering this proposal. I welcome any feedback from the 
working group and the authors of RFC 8158 and am open to collaboration on 
refining these enhancements.

Regards
yp



Juniper Business Use Only

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