Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          G. AlmesRequest for Comments: 7680                                     Texas A&MSTD: 82                                                     S. KalidindiObsoletes: 2680                                                     IxiaCategory: Standards Track                                   M. ZekauskasISSN: 2070-1721                                                Internet2                                                          A. Morton, Ed.                                                               AT&T Labs                                                            January 2016        A One-Way Loss Metric for IP Performance Metrics (IPPM)Abstract   This memo defines a metric for one-way loss of packets across   Internet paths.  It builds on notions introduced and discussed in the   IP Performance Metrics (IPPM) Framework document, RFC 2330; the   reader is assumed to be familiar with that document.  This memo makes   RFC 2680 obsolete.Status of This Memo   This is an Internet Standards Track document.   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has   received public review and has been approved for publication by the   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7680.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 1]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016Copyright Notice   Copyright (c) 2016 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the   document authors.  All rights reserved.   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of   publication of this document.  Please review these documents   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as   described in the Simplified BSD License.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 2]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016Table of Contents   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4     1.1.  Motivation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5     1.2.  General Issues regarding Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6   2.  A Singleton Definition for One-Way Packet Loss  . . . . . . .   7     2.1.  Metric Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7     2.2.  Metric Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7     2.3.  Metric Units  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7     2.4.  Definition  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7     2.5.  Discussion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8     2.6.  Methodologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9     2.7.  Errors and Uncertainties  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10     2.8.  Reporting the Metric  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11       2.8.1.  Type-P  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11       2.8.2.  Loss Threshold  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11       2.8.3.  Calibration Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11       2.8.4.  Path  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12   3.  A Definition for Samples of One-Way Packet Loss . . . . . . .  12     3.1.  Metric Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12     3.2.  Metric Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13     3.3.  Metric Units  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13     3.4.  Definition  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13     3.5.  Discussion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13     3.6.  Methodologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14     3.7.  Errors and Uncertainties  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15     3.8.  Reporting the Metric  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15   4.  Some Statistics Definitions for One-Way Packet Loss . . . . .  15     4.1.  Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Ratio  . . . . . . . . . . . .  15   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16   6.  Changes from RFC 2680 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17   7.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19     7.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19     7.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 3]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 20161.  Introduction   This memo defines a metric for one-way packet loss across Internet   paths.  It builds on notions introduced and discussed in the IPPM   Framework document, [RFC2330]; the reader is assumed to be familiar   with that document and its recent update [RFC7312].   This memo is intended to be parallel in structure to a companion   document for One-way Delay ("A One-Way Delay Metric for IP   Performance Metrics (IPPM)") [RFC7679]; the reader is assumed to be   familiar with that document.   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].  Although   [RFC2119] was written with protocols in mind, the key words are used   in this document for similar reasons.  They are used to ensure the   results of measurements from two different implementations are   comparable and to note instances when an implementation could perturb   the network.   Whenever a technical term from the IPPM Framework document is first   used in this memo, it will be tagged with a trailing asterisk.  For   example, "term*" indicates that "term" is defined in the Framework   document.   The structure of the memo is as follows:   o  A 'singleton*' analytic metric, called Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss,      is introduced to measure a single observation of packet      transmission or loss.   o  Using this singleton metric, a 'sample*' called Type-P-One-way-      Packet-Loss-Poisson-Stream is introduced to measure a sequence of      singleton transmissions and/or losses measured at times taken from      a Poisson process, as defined in Section 11.1.1 of [RFC2330].   o  Using this sample, several 'statistics*' of the sample will be      defined and discussed.   This progression from singleton to sample to statistics, with clear   separation among them, is important.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 4]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 20161.1.  Motivation   Understanding one-way packet loss of Type-P* packets from a source   host* to a destination host is useful for several reasons:   o  Some applications do not perform well (or at all) if end-to-end      loss between hosts is large relative to some threshold value.   o  Excessive packet loss may make it difficult to support certain      real-time applications (where the precise threshold of "excessive"      depends on the application).   o  The larger the value of packet loss, the more difficult it is for      transport-layer protocols to sustain high bandwidths.   o  The sensitivity of real-time applications and of transport-layer      protocols to loss become especially important when very large      delay-bandwidth products must be supported.   The measurement of one-way loss instead of round-trip loss is   motivated by the following factors:   o  In today's Internet, the path from a source to a destination may      be different than the path from the destination back to the source      ("asymmetric paths"), such that different sequences of routers are      used for the forward and reverse paths.  Therefore, round-trip      measurements actually measure the performance of two distinct      paths together.  Measuring each path independently highlights the      performance difference between the two paths that may traverse      different Internet service providers and even radically different      types of networks (for example, research versus commodity      networks, or networks with asymmetric link capacities, or wireless      versus wireline access).   o  Even when the two paths are symmetric, they may have radically      different performance characteristics due to asymmetric queuing.   o  Performance of an application may depend mostly on the performance      in one direction.  For example, a TCP-based communication will      experience reduced throughput if congestion occurs in one      direction of its communication.  Troubleshooting may be simplified      if the congested direction of TCP transmission can be identified.   o  In networks in which quality of service (QoS) is enabled,      provisioning in one direction may be radically different than      provisioning in the reverse direction and thus the QoS guarantees      differ.  Measuring the paths independently allows the verification      of both guarantees.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 5]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   It is outside the scope of this document to say precisely how loss   metrics would be applied to specific problems.1.2.  General Issues regarding Time   {Comment: The terminology below differs from that defined by ITU-T   documents (e.g., G.810, "Definitions and terminology for   synchronization networks" and I.356, "B-ISDN ATM layer cell transfer   performance") but is consistent with the IPPM Framework document.  In   general, these differences derive from the different backgrounds; the   ITU-T documents historically have a telephony origin, while the   authors of this document (and the Framework document) have a computer   systems background.  Although the terms defined below have no direct   equivalent in the ITU-T definitions, after our definitions we will   provide a rough mapping.  However, note one potential confusion: our   definition of "clock" is the computer operating systems definition   denoting a time-of-day clock, while the ITU-T definition of clock   denotes a frequency reference.}   Whenever a time (i.e., a moment in history) is mentioned here, it is   understood to be measured in seconds (and fractions) relative to UTC.   As described more fully in the Framework document, there are four   distinct, but related notions of clock uncertainty:   synchronization*   measures the extent to which two clocks agree on what time it is.   For example, the clock on one host might be 5.4 msec ahead of the   clock on a second host. {Comment: A rough ITU-T equivalent is "time   error".}   accuracy*   measures the extent to which a given clock agrees with UTC.  For   example, the clock on a host might be 27.1 msec behind UTC. {Comment:   A rough ITU-T equivalent is "time error from UTC".}   resolution*   is a specification of the smallest unit by which the clock's time is   updated.  It gives a lower bound on the clock's uncertainty.  For   example, the clock on an old Unix host might tick only once every 10   msec and thus have a resolution of only 10 msec. {Comment: A very   rough ITU-T equivalent is "sampling period".}Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 6]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   skew*   measures the change of accuracy, or of synchronization, with time.   For example, the clock on a given host might gain 1.3 msec per hour   and thus be 27.1 msec behind UTC at one time and only 25.8 msec an   hour later.  In this case, we say that the clock of the given host   has a skew of 1.3 msec per hour relative to UTC, which threatens   accuracy.  We might also speak of the skew of one clock relative to   another clock, which threatens synchronization. {Comment: A rough   ITU-T equivalent is "time drift".}2.  A Singleton Definition for One-Way Packet Loss2.1.  Metric Name   Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss2.2.  Metric Parameters   o  Src, the IP address of a host   o  Dst, the IP address of a host   o  T, a time   o  Tmax, a loss threshold waiting time2.3.  Metric Units   The value of a Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss is either a zero   (signifying successful transmission of the packet) or a one   (signifying loss).2.4.  Definition   >>The *Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss* from Src to Dst at T is 0<< means   that Src sent the first bit of a Type-P packet to Dst at wire time* T   and that Dst received that packet.   >>The *Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss* from Src to Dst at T is 1<< means   that Src sent the first bit of a Type-P packet to Dst at wire time T   and that Dst did not receive that packet (within the loss threshold   waiting time, Tmax).Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 7]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 20162.5.  Discussion   Thus, Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss is 0 exactly when Type-P-One-way-   Delay is a finite value, and it is 1 exactly when Type-P-One-way-   Delay is undefined.   The following issues are likely to come up in practice:   o  A given methodology will have to include a way to distinguish      between a packet loss and a very large (but finite) delay.  As      noted by Mahdavi and Paxson [RFC2678], simple upper bounds (such      as the 255-second theoretical upper bound on the lifetimes of IP      packets [RFC791]) could be used, but good engineering, including      an understanding of packet lifetimes, will be needed in practice.      {Comment: Note that, for many applications of these metrics, there      may be no harm in treating a large delay as packet loss.  An audio      playback packet, for example, that arrives only after the playback      point may as well have been lost.  See Section 4.1.1 of [RFC6703]      for examination of unusual packet delays and application      performance estimation.}   o  If the packet arrives but is corrupted, then it is counted as      lost. {Comment: One is tempted to count the packet as received      since corruption and packet loss are related but distinct      phenomena.  If the IP header is corrupted, however, one cannot be      sure about the source or destination IP addresses and is thus on      shaky grounds about knowing that the corrupted received packet      corresponds to a given sent test packet.  Similarly, if other      parts of the packet needed by the methodology to know that the      corrupted received packet corresponds to a given sent test packet,      then such a packet would have to be counted as lost.  It would be      inconsistent to count packets with corrupted methodology-specific      fields as lost, and not to count packets with other corrupted      aspects in the same category.} Section 15 of [RFC2330] defines the      "standard-formed" packet that is applicable to all metrics.  Note      that at this time the definition of standard-formed packets only      applies to IPv4 (see also [IPPM-UPDATES]).   o  If the packet is duplicated along the path (or paths) so that      multiple non-corrupt copies arrive at the destination, then the      packet is counted as received.   o  If the packet is fragmented and if, for whatever reason,      reassembly does not occur, then the packet will be deemed lost.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 8]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 20162.6.  Methodologies   As with other Type-P-* metrics, the detailed methodology will depend   on the Type-P (e.g., protocol number, UDP/TCP port number, size,   Differentiated Services (DS) Field [RFC2780]).   Generally, for a given Type-P, one possible methodology would proceed   as follows:   o  Arrange that Src and Dst have clocks that are synchronized with      each other.  The degree of synchronization is a parameter of the      methodology and depends on the threshold used to determine loss      (see below).   o  At the Src host, select Src and Dst IP addresses and form a test      packet of Type-P with these addresses.   o  At the Dst host, arrange to receive the packet.   o  At the Src host, place a timestamp in the prepared Type-P packet,      and send it towards Dst (ideally minimizing time before sending).   o  If the packet arrives within a reasonable period of time, the one-      way packet loss is taken to be zero (and take a timestamp as soon      as possible upon the receipt of the packet).   o  If the packet fails to arrive within a reasonable period of time,      Tmax, the one-way packet loss is taken to be one.  Note that the      threshold of "reasonable" here is a parameter of the metric.   {Comment: The definition of reasonable is intentionally vague and is   intended to indicate a value "Th" so large that any value in the   closed interval [Th-delta, Th+delta] is an equivalent threshold for   loss.  Here, delta encompasses all error in clock synchronization and   timestamp acquisition and assignment along the measured path.  If   there is a single value, Tmax, after which the packet must be counted   as lost, then we reintroduce the need for a degree of clock   synchronization similar to that needed for one-way delay, and   virtually all practical measurement systems combine methods for delay   and loss.  Therefore, if a measure of packet loss parameterized by a   specific non-huge "reasonable" time-out value is needed, one can   always measure one-way delay and see what percentage of packets from   a given stream exceed a given time-out value.  This point is examined   in detail in [RFC6703], including analysis preferences to assign   undefined delay to packets that fail to arrive with the difficulties   emerging from the informal "infinite delay" assignment, and an   estimation of an upper bound on waiting time for packets in transit.   Further, enforcing a specific constant waiting time on storedAlmes, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 9]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   singletons of one-way delay is compliant with this specification and   may allow the results to serve more than one reporting audience.}   Issues such as the packet format, the means by which Dst knows when   to expect the test packet, and the means by which Src and Dst are   synchronized are outside the scope of this document. {Comment: We   plan to document the implementation techniques of our work in much   more detail elsewhere; we encourage others to do so as well.}2.7.  Errors and Uncertainties   The description of any specific measurement method should include an   accounting and analysis of various sources of error or uncertainty.   The Framework document provides general guidance on this point.   For loss, there are three sources of error:   o  synchronization between clocks on Src and Dst.   o  the packet-loss threshold (which is related to the synchronization      between clocks).   o  resource limits in the network interface or software on the      receiving instrument.   The first two sources are interrelated and could result in a test   packet with finite delay being reported as lost.  Type-P-One-way-   Packet-Loss is 1 if the test packet does not arrive, or if it does   arrive and the difference between the Src timestamp and the Dst   timestamp is greater than the "reasonable period of time" or loss   threshold.  If the clocks are not sufficiently synchronized, the loss   threshold may not be "reasonable" - the packet may take much less   time to arrive than its Src timestamp indicates.  Similarly, if the   loss threshold is set too low, then many packets may be counted as   lost.  The loss threshold must be high enough and the clocks   synchronized well enough so that a packet that arrives is rarely   counted as lost.  (See the discussions in the previous two sections.)   Since the sensitivity of packet-loss measurement alone to lack of   clock synchronization is less than for delay, we refer the reader to   the treatment of synchronization errors in the "One-way Delay Metric   for IPPM" [RFC2330] for more details.   The last source of error, resource limits, cause the packet to be   dropped by the measurement instrument and counted as lost when in   fact the network delivered the packet in reasonable time.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 10]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   The measurement instruments should be calibrated such that the loss   threshold is reasonable for application of the metrics and the clocks   are synchronized enough so the loss threshold remains reasonable.   In addition, the instruments should be checked to ensure that the   possibility a packet arrives at the network interface but is lost due   to congestion on the interface or to other resource exhaustion (e.g.,   buffers) on the instrument is low.2.8.  Reporting the Metric   The calibration and context in which the metric is measured MUST be   carefully considered and SHOULD always be reported along with metric   results.  We now present four items to consider: Type-P of the test   packets, the loss threshold, instrument calibration, and the path   traversed by the test packets.  This list is not exhaustive; any   additional information that could be useful in interpreting   applications of the metrics should also be reported (see [RFC6703]   for extensive discussion of reporting considerations for different   audiences).2.8.1.  Type-P   As noted in Section 13 of the Framework document [RFC2330], the value   of the metric may depend on the type of IP packets used to make the   measurement, or "Type-P".  The value of Type-P-One-way-Delay could   change if the protocol (UDP or TCP), port number, size, or   arrangement for special treatment (e.g., IP DS Field [RFC2780],   Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) [RFC3168], or RSVP) changes.   Additional packet distinctions identified in future extensions of the   Type-P definition will apply.  The exact Type-P used to make the   measurements MUST be accurately reported.2.8.2.  Loss Threshold   The threshold, Tmax, between a large finite delay and loss (or other   methodology to distinguish between finite delay and loss) MUST be   reported.2.8.3.  Calibration Results   The degree of synchronization between the Src and Dst clocks MUST be   reported.  If possible, a test packet that arrives at the Dst network   interface and is reported as lost due to resource exhaustion on Dst   SHOULD be reported.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 11]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 20162.8.4.  Path   Finally, the path traversed by the packet SHOULD be reported, if   possible.  In general, it is impractical to know the precise path a   given packet takes through the network.  The precise path may be   known for certain Type-P on short or stable paths.  If Type-P   includes the record route (or loose-source route) option in the IP   header, and the path is short enough, and all routers* on the path   support record (or loose-source) route, then the path will be   precisely recorded.  This is impractical because the route must be   short enough, many routers do not support (or are not configured for)   record route, and use of this feature would often artificially worsen   the performance observed by removing the packet from common-case   processing.  However, partial information is still valuable context.   For example, if a host can choose between two links* (and hence, two   separate routes from Src to Dst), then the initial link used is   valuable context. {Comment: Backbone path selection services come and   go.  A historical example was Merit's NetNow setup, where a Src on   one Network Access Point (NAP) can reach a Dst on another NAP by   either of several different backbone networks.}3.  A Definition for Samples of One-Way Packet Loss   Given the singleton metric Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss, we now define   one particular sample of such singletons.  The idea of the sample is   to select a particular binding of the parameters Src, Dst, and Type-   P, then define a sample of values of parameter T.  The means for   defining the values of T is to select a beginning time T0, a final   time Tf, and an average rate lambda, then define a pseudorandom   Poisson process of rate lambda, whose values fall between T0 and Tf.   The time interval between successive values of T will then average 1/   lambda.   Note that Poisson sampling is only one way of defining a sample.   Poisson has the advantage of limiting bias, but other methods of   sampling will be appropriate for different situations.  For example,   a truncated Poisson distribution may be needed to avoid reactive   network state changes during intervals of inactivity, see Section 4.6   of [RFC7312].  Sometimes the goal is sampling with a known bias, and   [RFC3432] describes a method for periodic sampling with random start   times.3.1.  Metric Name   Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Poisson-StreamAlmes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 12]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 20163.2.  Metric Parameters   o  Src, the IP address of a host   o  Dst, the IP address of a host   o  T0, a time   o  Tf, a time   o  Tmax, a loss threshold waiting time   o  lambda, a rate in reciprocal seconds3.3.  Metric Units   A sequence of pairs; the elements of each pair are:   o  T, a time, and   o  L, either a zero or a one.   The values of T in the sequence are monotonic increasing.  Note that   T would be a valid parameter to Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss and that L   would be a valid value of Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss.3.4.  Definition   Given T0, Tf, and lambda, we compute a pseudorandom Poisson process   beginning at or before T0, with average arrival rate lambda, and   ending at or after Tf.  Those time values greater than or equal to T0   and less than or equal to Tf are then selected.  At each of the   selected times in this process, we obtain one value of Type-P-One-   way-Delay.  The value of the sample is the sequence made up of the   resulting <time, loss> pairs.  If there are no such pairs, the   sequence is of length zero and the sample is said to be empty.3.5.  Discussion   The reader should be familiar with the in-depth discussion of Poisson   sampling in the Framework document [RFC2330], which includes methods   to compute and verify the pseudorandom Poisson process.   We specifically do not constrain the value of lambda except to note   the extremes.  If the rate is too large, then the measurement traffic   will perturb the network and itself cause congestion.  If the rate is   too small, then you might not capture interesting network behavior.   {Comment: We expect to document our experiences with, and suggestionsAlmes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 13]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   for, lambda elsewhere, culminating in a "Best Current Practice"   document.}   Since a pseudorandom number sequence is employed, the sequence of   times, and hence the value of the sample, is not fully specified.   Pseudorandom number generators of good quality will be needed to   achieve the desired qualities.   The sample is defined in terms of a Poisson process both to avoid the   effects of self-synchronization and also capture a sample that is   statistically as unbiased as possible.  The Poisson process is used   to schedule the loss measurements.  The test packets will generally   not arrive at Dst according to a Poisson distribution, since they are   influenced by the network.  Time-slotted links described in   Section 3.4 [RFC7312] can greatly modify the sample characteristics.   The main concern is that unbiased packet streams with randomized   inter-packet time intervals will be converted to some new   distribution after encountering a time-slotted link, possibly with   strong periodic characteristics instead.   {Comment: there is, of course, no claim that real Internet traffic   arrives according to a Poisson arrival process.   It is important to note that, in contrast to this metric, loss ratios   observed by transport connections do not reflect unbiased samples.   For example, TCP transmissions both (1) occur in bursts, which can   induce loss due to the burst volume that would not otherwise have   been observed, and (2) adapt their transmission rate in an attempt to   minimize the loss ratio observed by the connection.}   All the singleton Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss metrics in the sequence   will have the same values of Src, Dst, and Type-P.   Note also that, given one sample that runs from T0 to Tf, and given   new time values T0' and Tf' such that T0 <= T0' <= Tf' <= Tf, the   subsequence of the given sample whose time values fall between T0'   and Tf' are also a valid Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Poisson-Stream   sample.3.6.  Methodologies   The methodologies follow directly from:   o  the selection of specific times using the specified Poisson      arrival process, and   o  the methodologies discussion already given for the singleton Type-      P-One-way-Packet-Loss metric.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 14]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   Care must be given to correctly handle out-of-order arrival of test   packets; it is possible that the Src could send one test packet at   TS[i], then send a second one (later) at TS[i+1] while the Dst could   receive the second test packet at TR[i+1], and then receive the first   one (later) at TR[i].  Metrics for reordering may be found in   [RFC4737].3.7.  Errors and Uncertainties   In addition to sources of errors and uncertainties associated with   methods employed to measure the singleton values that make up the   sample, care must be given to analyze the accuracy of the Poisson   arrival process of the wire times of the sending of the test packets.   Problems with this process could be caused by several things,   including problems with the pseudorandom number techniques used to   generate the Poisson arrival process.  The Framework document shows   how to use the Anderson-Darling test to verify the accuracy of the   Poisson process over small time frames. {Comment: The goal is to   ensure that the test packets are sent "close enough" to a Poisson   schedule and avoid periodic behavior.}3.8.  Reporting the Metric   The calibration and context for the underlying singletons MUST be   reported along with the stream (see "Reporting the Metric"   (Section 2.8) for Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss).4.  Some Statistics Definitions for One-Way Packet Loss   Given the sample metric Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Poisson-Stream, we   now offer several statistics of that sample.  These statistics are   offered mostly to be illustrative of what could be done.  See   [RFC6703] for additional discussion of statistics that are relevant   to different audiences.4.1.  Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Ratio   Given a Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Poisson-Stream, the average of all   the L values in the stream is the ratio of losses to total packets in   the stream.  In addition, the Type-P-One-way-Packet-Loss-Ratio is   undefined if the sample is empty.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 15]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   For example, suppose we take a sample and the results are as follows:   Stream1 = <   <T1, 0>   <T2, 0>   <T3, 1>   <T4, 0>   <T5, 0>   >   Then, the average of loss results would be 0.2, the loss ratio.   Note that, since healthy Internet paths should be operating at loss   ratios below 1% (particularly if high delay-bandwidth products are to   be sustained), the sample sizes needed might be larger than one would   like.  Thus, for example, if one wants to discriminate between   various fractions of 1% over one-minute periods, then several hundred   samples per minute might be needed.  This would result in larger   values of lambda than one would ordinarily want.   Note that although the loss threshold should be set such that any   errors in loss are not significant, if the possibility that a packet   that arrived is counted as lost due to resource exhaustion is   significant compared to the loss ratio of interest, Type-P-One-way-   Packet-Loss-Ratio will be meaningless.5.  Security Considerations   Conducting Internet measurements raises both security and privacy   concerns.  This memo does not specify an implementation of the   metrics, so it does not directly affect the security of the Internet   nor of applications that run on the Internet.  However,   implementations of these metrics must be mindful of security and   privacy concerns.   There are two types of security concerns: potential harm caused by   the measurements and potential harm to the measurements.  The   measurements could cause harm because they are active and inject   packets into the network.  The measurement parameters MUST be   carefully selected so that the measurements inject trivial amounts of   additional traffic into the networks they measure.  If they injectAlmes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 16]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   "too much" traffic, they can skew the results of the measurement and   in extreme cases cause congestion and denial of service.   The measurements themselves could be harmed by routers giving   measurement traffic a different priority than "normal" traffic or by   an attacker injecting artificial measurement traffic.  If routers can   recognize measurement traffic and treat it separately, the   measurements will not reflect actual user traffic.  If an attacker   injects artificial traffic that is accepted as legitimate, the loss   ratio will be artificially lowered.  Therefore, the measurement   methodologies SHOULD include appropriate techniques to reduce the   probability that measurement traffic can be distinguished from   "normal" traffic.  Authentication techniques, such as digital   signatures, may be used where appropriate to guard against injected   traffic attacks.   When considering privacy of those involved in measurement or those   whose traffic is measured, the sensitive information available to   potential observers is greatly reduced when using active techniques   that are within this scope of work.  Passive observations of user   traffic for measurement purposes raise many privacy issues.  We refer   the reader to the privacy considerations described in the Large Scale   Measurement of Broadband Performance (LMAP) Framework [RFC7594],   which covers active and passive techniques.   Collecting measurements or using measurement results for   reconnaissance to assist in subsequent system attacks is quite   common.  Access to measurement results or control of the measurement   systems to perform reconnaissance should be guarded against.  See   Section 7 of [RFC7594] (the Security Considerations section of the   LMAP Framework) for system requirements that help to avoid   measurement system compromise.6.  Changes from RFC 2680   The text above constitutes a revision to RFC 2680, which is now an   Internet Standard.   [RFC7290] provides the test plan and results supporting [RFC2680]   advancement along the Standards Track, according to the process in   [RFC6576].  The conclusions of [RFC7290] list four minor   modifications for inclusion:   1.  Section 6.2.3 of [RFC7290] asserts that the assumption of post-       processing to enforce a constant waiting time threshold is       compliant and that the text of the RFC should be revised slightly       to include this point.  The applicability of post-processing was       added in the last list item of Section 2.6, above.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 17]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   2.  Section 6.5 of [RFC7290] indicates that the Type-P-One-way-       Packet-Loss-Average statistic is more commonly called a Packet       Loss Ratio, so it is renamed in this document (this small       discrepancy does not affect candidacy for advancement).  The       renaming was implemented in Section 4.1, above.   3.  The IETF has reached consensus on guidance for reporting metrics       in [RFC6703], and the memo is referenced this document to       incorporate recent experience where appropriate.  This reference       was added in the last list item of Section 2.6, in Section 2.8,       and in Section 4 above.   4.  There are currently two errata with status "Verified" (EID 1528)       and "Held for Document Update" (EID 3186) for [RFC2680], and       these minor revisions were incorporated in Sections 1 and 2.7.   A number of updates to the [RFC2680] text have been implemented in   the text to reference key IPPM RFCs that were approved after   [RFC2680] (see Sections 3 and 3.6, above) and to address comments on   the IPPM mailing list describing current conditions and experience.   1.   Near the end of Section 1.1, there is an update of a network        example using ATM, a clarification of TCP's affect on queue        occupation, and discussion of the importance of one-way delay        measurement.   2.   Clarification of the definition of "resolution" in Section 1.2.   3.   Explicit inclusion of the maximum waiting time input parameter        in Sections 2.2, 2.4, and 3.2, reflecting recognition of this        parameter in more recent RFCs and ITU-T Recommendation Y.1540.   4.   Addition of a reference to RFC 6703 in the discussion of packet        lifetime and application timeouts in Section 2.5.   5.   Replaced "precedence" with updated terminology (DS Field) in        Sections 2.6 and 2.8.1 (with reference).   6.   Added parenthetical guidance on minimizing the interval between        timestamp placement to send time or reception time in        Section 2.6.  Also, the text now recognizes the timestamp        acquisition process and that practical systems measure both        delay and loss (thus requiring the max waiting time parameter).   7.   Added a reference to RFC 3432 regarding periodic sampling        alongside Poisson sampling in Section 3 and also noted that a        truncated Poisson distribution may be needed with modern        networks as described in the IPPM Framework update [RFC7312].Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 18]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   8.   Recognition that time-slotted links described in [RFC7312] can        greatly modify the sample characteristics, in Section 3.5.   9.   Added a reference to RFC 4737 regarding reordering metrics in        the related discussion of Section 3.6, "Methodologies".   10.  Expanded and updated the material on privacy and added cautions        on use of measurements for reconnaissance in Section 5,        "Security Considerations".   Section 5.4.4 of [RFC6390] suggests a common template for performance   metrics partially derived from previous IPPM and Benchmarking   Methodology Working Group (BMWG) RFCs, but it also contains some new   items.  All of the normative parts of [RFC6390] are covered, but not   quite in the same section names or orientation.  Several of the   informative parts are covered.  Maintaining the familiar outline of   IPPM literature has value and minimizes unnecessary differences   between this revised RFC and current/future IPPM RFCs.7.  References7.1.  Normative References   [RFC791]   Postel, J., "Internet Protocol", STD 5, RFC 791,              DOI 10.17487/RFC0791, September 1981,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc791>.   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.   [RFC2330]  Paxson, V., Almes, G., Mahdavi, J., and M. Mathis,              "Framework for IP Performance Metrics", RFC 2330,              DOI 10.17487/RFC2330, May 1998,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2330>.   [RFC2678]  Mahdavi, J. and V. Paxson, "IPPM Metrics for Measuring              Connectivity", RFC 2678, DOI 10.17487/RFC2678, September              1999, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2678>.   [RFC2680]  Almes, G., Kalidindi, S., and M. Zekauskas, "A One-way              Packet Loss Metric for IPPM", RFC 2680,              DOI 10.17487/RFC2680, September 1999,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2680>.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 19]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   [RFC2780]  Bradner, S. and V. Paxson, "IANA Allocation Guidelines For              Values In the Internet Protocol and Related Headers",              BCP 37, RFC 2780, DOI 10.17487/RFC2780, March 2000,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2780>.   [RFC3432]  Raisanen, V., Grotefeld, G., and A. Morton, "Network              performance measurement with periodic streams", RFC 3432,              DOI 10.17487/RFC3432, November 2002,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3432>.   [RFC6576]  Geib, R., Ed., Morton, A., Fardid, R., and A. Steinmitz,              "IP Performance Metrics (IPPM) Standard Advancement              Testing", BCP 176, RFC 6576, DOI 10.17487/RFC6576, March              2012, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6576>.   [RFC7312]  Fabini, J. and A. Morton, "Advanced Stream and Sampling              Framework for IP Performance Metrics (IPPM)", RFC 7312,              DOI 10.17487/RFC7312, August 2014,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7312>.   [RFC7679]  Almes, G., Kalidindi, S., Zekauskas, M., and A. Morton,              Ed., "A One-Way Delay Metric for IP Performance Metrics              (IPPM)", STD 81, RFC 7679, DOI 10.17487/RFC7679, January              2016, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7679>.7.2.  Informative References   [IPPM-UPDATES]              Morton, A., Fabini, J., Elkins, N., Ackermann, M., and V.              Hegde, "Updates for IPPM's Active Metric Framework:              Packets of Type-P and Standard-Formed Packets", Work in              Progress, draft-morton-ippm-2330-stdform-typep-02,              December 2015.   [RFC3168]  Ramakrishnan, K., Floyd, S., and D. Black, "The Addition              of Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) to IP",              RFC 3168, DOI 10.17487/RFC3168, September 2001,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3168>.   [RFC4737]  Morton, A., Ciavattone, L., Ramachandran, G., Shalunov,              S., and J. Perser, "Packet Reordering Metrics", RFC 4737,              DOI 10.17487/RFC4737, November 2006,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4737>.   [RFC6390]  Clark, A. and B. Claise, "Guidelines for Considering New              Performance Metric Development", BCP 170, RFC 6390,              DOI 10.17487/RFC6390, October 2011,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6390>.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 20]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016   [RFC6703]  Morton, A., Ramachandran, G., and G. Maguluri, "Reporting              IP Network Performance Metrics: Different Points of View",              RFC 6703, DOI 10.17487/RFC6703, August 2012,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6703>.   [RFC7290]  Ciavattone, L., Geib, R., Morton, A., and M. Wieser, "Test              Plan and Results for Advancing RFC 2680 on the Standards              Track", RFC 7290, DOI 10.17487/RFC7290, July 2014,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7290>.   [RFC7594]  Eardley, P., Morton, A., Bagnulo, M., Burbridge, T.,              Aitken, P., and A. Akhter, "A Framework for Large-Scale              Measurement of Broadband Performance (LMAP)", RFC 7594,              DOI 10.17487/RFC7594, September 2015,              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7594>.Acknowledgements   For [RFC2680], thanks are due to Matt Mathis for encouraging this   work and for calling attention on so many occasions to the   significance of packet loss.  Thanks are due also to Vern Paxson for   his valuable comments on early drafts and to Garry Couch and Will   Leland for several useful suggestions.   For this document, thanks to Joachim Fabini, Ruediger Geib, Nalini   Elkins, and Barry Constantine for sharing their measurement   experience as part of their careful reviews.  Brian Carpenter and   Scott Bradner provided useful feedback at IETF Last Call.Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 21]RFC 7680             A One-Way Loss Metric for IPPM         January 2016Authors' Addresses   Guy Almes   Texas A&M   Email: almes@acm.org   Sunil Kalidindi   Ixia   Email: skalidindi@ixiacom.com   Matt Zekauskas   Internet2   Email: matt@internet2.edu   Al Morton (editor)   AT&T Labs   200 Laurel Avenue South   Middletown, NJ  07748   United States   Phone: +1 732 420 1571   Fax:   +1 732 368 1192   Email: acmorton@att.com   URI:   http://home.comcast.net/~acmacm/Almes, et al.                Standards Track                   [Page 22]