Metering in Software Tables HP 2920

[EnasAhmad]

Hi,

I am using HP2920, WB.16.02.0012. I wanted to create a meter entry in table 200 and was surprised that it does not support metering, is that correct ? Is table 100 the only table that supports metering ?? 

Becuase that would actually create great limitations since table 100 have very narrow number of match fields.

So my question is: is there a way to have a table with the full flow match fields supported by tables 200-203 and the metering instruction capability of table 100 ?

Thanks,

Enas

[EnasAhmad]

I should note that I am specifically interested in matching on the IPv6 flow label with a meter.

[Abhay_B]

Hello Enas,

HPE Aruba switches including the 2920 do not support metering action on software tables (200-203).

This is because packets destined to table 200 from table 100 are automatically rate-limited to "software-rate" limit configured for the OpenFlow instance. The software rate-limit can be anything between 100pps to 10000pps.

Regarding the need to match on IPv6 Flow-Label. Yes, table 100 does not support match on this field on the 2920.

I would like to point you to the 2930F which supports a new pipeline-model "custom" which allows the SDN controller to create tables dynamically with varying match and action capabilities. All these tables would be installed in hardware. This pipeline-model supports match on IPv6 Flow-Label and Meter instruction.

You can refer to Chapter 7 of OpenFlow Admin Guide for 16.02 release for more details. The list of match and actions supported in custom pipeline is also listed in Appendix A of the same document under the title 'Flow table capabilities'.

Thanks!

Abhay

[EnasAhmad]

Thanks Abhay for the clarification,

I see that there is an option to create a custom pipeline in my switch (2920) of multiple hardware tables (of course with a limited match list), is that correct?

I tried to create a custom pipeline however I get this error:

Custom pipeline model cannot be set on v1/v2 modules

Even though the OF version of my inst is 1.3 only:

sh openflow inst agg

Configured OF Version : 1.3 only
Negotiated OF Version : NA
Instance Name : aggregate
Data-path Description : aggregate
Administrator Status : Disabled
Member List : VLAN 2
Pipeline Model : IP Control Table
Listen Port : None
Operational Status : Down
Operational Status Reason : Disabled
Datapath ID : 0000000000000000
Mode : Active
Flow Location : Hardware and Software
No. of Hardware Flows : 0
No. of Software Flows : 0
Hardware Rate Limit : 0 kbps
Software Rate Limit : 100 pps
Conn. Interrupt Mode : Fail-Secure
Maximum Backoff Interval : 60 seconds
Probe Interval : 10 seconds
Hardware Table Miss Count : NA
No. of Software Flow Tables : 4
Egress Only Ports : None
Table Model : NA
Source MAC Group Table : Disabled

Or is it the fact that the 2920 does not support a custom pipeline at all ? My goal is to have more than one table in the pipeline that support metering.

Thanks,

Enas

[Abhay_B]

Hello Enas,

No, the 2920 does not support the custom pipeline-model. It is only available on v3 based products.

If you need support for more than one table in the pipeline with metering action, then you need to move to a v3 based device and use pipeline-model custom where all the tables in the pipeline sit in hardware.

Thanks!

Abhay

[EnasAhmad]

Thanks Abhay again for the clarification,

I am now considering moving to 2930F model as you suggested, however, I have some specific queries regarding the 2930F that I would like to make sure of before purchasing the switch. I am not sure if this is the right forum to post these questions, if that is the case please guide me to the correct forum/person to contact. 

0. Is there any way to upgrade/replace the memory of 2920 to add more hardware tables?

1. Does the 2930F support a custom pipeline that would contain multiple hardware tables which support matching with wildcards and the metering action? (I think you have already answered this one, just double checking)

2. Does the 2930F support custom experimenter match field? If yes, can it be implemented in a hardware table to be used with the metering action?

3. Does the 2930F queue config support Strict-Priority and Simple-RED options?

4. Doesthe 2930F queue config allow buffer memory configuration of each queue?

5. Does the 2930F support set-queue action ? (less important)

If the 2930F switch does not support all of these requirements I would really appreciate if you can inform me with any other switch model that does.

Thank you,

Enas

[Abhay_B]

Hello Enas,

Let me try answering the questions for which I have the answers.

Is there any way to upgrade/replace the memory of 2920 to add more hardware tables?

No, this isn't possible.

Does the 2930F support a custom pipeline that would contain multiple hardware tables which support matching with wildcards and the metering action?

Yes, the 2930F does support the custom pipeline-model which supports multiple hardaware tables in the OpenFlow pipeline with wildcards and metering action. The default pipeline in this mode has 4 tables (3 with no wildcard support + 1 with wildcard support). But the good thing is that the controller can send the OFPMP_TABLE_FEATURES request message to modify the pipeline to add/delete tables with varying match and action capabilities. You can create up to 12 tables in hardware. Please refer the custom pipeline section in the Admin Guide for more in depth details.

Does the 2930F support custom experimenter match field? If yes, can it be implemented in a hardware table to be used with the metering action?

Yes, the 2930F does support custom experimenter match field in hardware (custom pipeline-model only). And yes, you can associate metering instruction for flows with match on custom experimenter match fields.

Does the 2930F support set-queue action ?

No, the 2930F does not support the set-queue action. Actually, none of the HPE Aruba switches support the set-queue actions.

Sadly, I don't have answers for questions 3 and 4. I hope someone else in the forum can answer that for you.

Let me know if you any follow up questions.

Thanks!

Abhay

[EnasAhmad]

Hi Abhay,

Thank you very much for the insightful answers, they are very useful.

Yes, I hope I get answers for questions 3 and 4 regarding queues of 2930F. I reopened the discussion in hopes to get answers.

Best,

Enas