Classification and mapping
Traffic classification includes functions that examine a packet to determine further actions according to defined rules. Classification involves identifying flows so that the router can modify the packet contents or Per-Hop Behavior (PHB), apply conditioning treatments to the packet, and determine how to forward the packet to the egress interface. Packet classification depends on the service type of the packet and the point in the traffic management process where the classification occurs.
The device classifies traffic as it enters the DiffServ network, and assigns appropriate PHB based on the classification. To differentiate between classes of service, the device marks the DiffServ (DS) parameter in the IP packet header, as defined in RFC2474 and RFC2475. The DSCP marking defines the forwarding treatment of the packet at each network hop. This marking (or classification) occurs at the edge of the DiffServ domain, and is based on the policy (or filter) associated with the particular microflow or aggregate flow.
You can configure the mapping of DSCP-to-forwarding behaviors and DSCP re-markings. Re-marking the DSCP resets the treatment of packets based on new network specifications or desired levels of service.
Layer 3 marking uses the DSCP parameter. Layer 2 (Ethernet) marking involves the 802.1p-bits parameter.
For Layer 2 packets, priority bits (or 802.1p bits) define the traffic priority of the Ethernet packet. You can configure an interface to map DSCP or 802.1p bits to internal QoS levels on ingress. You can configure an interface to map internal QoS levels to DSCP or 802.1p bits at egress. 802.1p bit mapping provides the Ethernet VLAN QoS requirements.
Within the network, a packet PHB associated with the DSCP determines how a device forwards the packet to the next hop—if at all. Consequently, nodes can allocate buffer and bandwidth resources to each competing traffic stream. The initial DSCP value is based on network policies for the type of service required. The objective of DSCP-to-Service Class mapping is to translate the QoS characteristics defined by the packet DSCP marker to a Service Class. The DSCP-to-Service Class mapping occurs at ingress. For each received packet, the mapping function assigns a Service Class.
The switch maintains four mapping tables. These tables translate the ingress 802.1p-bits or DSCP markings to an internal QoS level, and then retranslate the internal QoS level to an egress DSCP or 802.1p-bits marking as follows:
ingress 802.1p-bits to QoS level
ingress DSCP to QoS level
QoS level to egress 802.1p-bits
QoS level to egress DSCP
Service classes
Service classes define a standard architecture to provide end-to-end QoS on a broad range of Ethernet switching and voice products. They function as default QoS policies built into the product. They incorporate the various QoS technologies to provide a complete end-to-end QoS behavioral treatment. The switch includes a built-in QoS implementation for service classes.
The switch includes eight preconfigured queues (corresponding to the eight service classes) on each port of an interface module.
A service class domain classifies traffic as one of the following:
-
Network control traffic (Critical/Network)
-
Subscriber traffic (Premium, Metal, or Standard)
Queue 7 — Critical/Network Service Class (PHB of CS6/CS7)
The switch uses the Critical/Network Service Class for traffic within a single administrative network domain. If such traffic does not get through, the network cannot function.
Queue 6 — Premium Service Class (PHB of CS5/EF)
The switch uses the Premium Service Class for IP telephony services, and provides the low latency and low jitter required to support such services. IP telephony services include Voice over IP (VoIP), voice signaling, Fax over IP (FoIP), and voice-band data services over IP (for example, analog modem). The switch can also use the Premium Service Class for Circuit Emulation Services over IP (CESoIP).
Metal Service Classes
The Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Service Classes are collectively referred to as the metal classes. The metal Service Classes provide a minimum bandwidth guarantee and are for variable bit rate or bursty types of traffic. Applications that use the metal Service Class support mechanisms that dynamically adjust their transmit rate and burst size based on congestion (packet loss) detected in the network. The following list describes the individual metal classes:
-
Queue 5 — Platinum Service Class (PHB of CS4/AF41)
The switch uses the Platinum Service Class for applications that require low latency, for example, real-time services such as video conferencing and interactive gaming. Platinum Service Class traffic provides the low latency required for interhuman (interactive) communications. The Platinum Service Class provides a minimum bandwidth assurance for Assured Forwarding (AF) 41 and Class Selector (CS) 4-marked flows.
-
Queue 4 — Gold Service Class (PHB of CS3/AF31)
The switch uses the Gold Service Class for applications that require near-real-time service and are not as delay-sensitive as applications that use the Platinum service. Such applications include streaming audio and video, video on demand, and surveillance video.
The Gold Service Class assumes that traffic buffers at the source and destination and, therefore, the traffic is less sensitive to delay and jitter. By default, the Gold Service Class provides a minimum bandwidth assurance for AF31, AF32, AF33 and CS3-marked flows.
-
Queue 3— Silver Service Class (PHB of CS2/AF21)
The switch uses the Silver Service Class for responsive (typically client- and server-based) applications. Such applications include Systems Network Architecture (SNA) terminals (for example, a PC or Automatic Teller Machine) to mainframe (host) transactions that use Data Link Switching (SNA over IP), Telnet sessions, web-based ordering and credit card processing, financial wire transfers, and Enterprise Resource Planning applications.
Silver Service Class applications require a fast response and have asymmetrical bandwidth needs. The client sends a short message to the server and the server responds with a much larger data flow back to the client. For example, after a user clicks a hyperlink (that sends a few dozen bytes) on a webpage, a new webpage appears (that downloads kilobytes of data). The Silver Service Class provides a minimum bandwidth assurance for AF21 and CS2-marked flows.
The Silver Service Class favors short-lived, low-bandwidth TCP-based flows.
-
Queue 2 — Bronze Service Class (PHB of CS1/AF11)
The switch uses the Bronze Service Class for longer-lived TCP-based flows, such as file transfers, e-mail, or noncritical Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) traffic. The Bronze Service Class provides a minimum bandwidth assurance for AF11 and CS1-marked flows. As a best practice, use the Bronze Service Class for noncritical OAM traffic with the CS1 DSCP marking.
Queue 1 and 0 — Standard (PHB of CS0/DF) and Custom Service Classes
The switch uses the Standard and Custom Service Classes for best-effort services. Delays, loss, or jitter guarantees for these service classes are not specified. However, the Standard Service Class has more forwarding resources than the custom service classes.
Internal QoS level
The internal QoS level or effective QoS level is a key element in the switch QoS architecture. The internal QoS level specifies the kind of treatment a packet receives. The switch classifies every packet that enters and assigns it an internal QoS level.
Internal QoS levels map to the queues on a port. For example, for an access port the internal QoS level is derived from the port QoS level. For Layer 3 trusted (core) ports, the system honors incoming DSCP or type of service (TOS) bits. The system assigns the internal QoS level using the ingress DSCP to QoS level map.
Important
Remarking packets with an ACL filter does not change the internal QoS level of the packets. You must add the permit internal-qos [value] statement to the ACL filter. For more information, see Internal QoS Level and Remarking.
Ingress mappings
The system uses ingress maps to translate incoming packet QoS markings to the internal QoS level. The system uses the internal QoS level to classify packets.
Ingress mappings include
802.1p to (internal) QoS level
DSCP to (internal) QoS level
The following logical table shows how the system performs ingress mappings for data packets and for control packets not destined for the Control Processor (CP).
DSCP |
Layer 2 trusted |
Layer 3 trusted (DiffServ enabled and Access-diffserv disabled) |
IP packet |
Routed packet |
Ingress tagged |
Internal QoS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x |
No |
x |
No |
x |
x |
Use port QoS |
x |
Yes |
x |
No |
x |
No |
Use port QoS |
x |
Yes |
x |
No |
x |
Yes |
Use ingress p-bits mapping |
0x1B |
x |
x |
Yes |
x |
x |
4 |
0x23 |
x |
x |
Yes |
x |
x |
5 |
0x29 |
x |
x |
Yes |
x |
x |
5 |
0x2F |
x |
x |
Yes |
x |
x |
6 |
x |
No |
No |
x |
x |
x |
Use port QoS |
x |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
x |
x |
Use ingress DSCP mapping |
x |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
x |
No |
Use port QoS |
x |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
x |
Yes |
Use ingress p-bits mapping |
x |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Use ingress DSCP mapping |
x |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Use ingress p-bits mapping |
x |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Use ingress DSCP mapping |
Important
On a tagged port that is Layer-2 trusted, Layer-3 trusted and DiffServ enabled, all multicast packets honor the ingress DSCP value.
The QoS level for control packets destined for the CPU is assigned internally to ensure timely packet processing and scaling numbers. You cannot configure the QoS level for these control packets. The system assigns the highest QoS-level to time-critical protocols.
The following table shows ingress IEEE 802.1p to QoS level mappings.
Ingress IEEE 802.1p |
PHB |
QoS Level |
Network Service Class (NSC) |
---|---|---|---|
0 |
CS0/DF |
1 |
Standard |
1 |
Custom |
0 |
Custom |
2 |
CS1/AF11 |
2 |
Bronze |
3 |
CS2/AF21 |
3 |
Silver |
4 |
CS3/AF31 |
4 |
Gold |
5 |
CS4/AF41 |
5 |
Platinum |
6 |
CS5/EF |
6 |
Premium/EF |
7 |
CS6/CS7 |
7 |
Network/Critical |
The following table shows DSCP to internal QoS level mappings.
Ingress |
Internal QoS level |
PHB level |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DSCP (decimal) |
DSCP (binary) |
DSCP (hexadecimal) |
TOS (hexadecimal) |
||
00 |
000000 |
00 |
00 |
1 |
CS0/DF |
00 |
000000 |
00 |
00 |
1 |
DF |
01 |
000001 |
01 |
04 |
1 |
CS0 |
02 |
000010 |
02 |
08 |
1 |
CS0 |
03 |
000011 |
03 |
0C |
1 |
CS0 |
04 |
000100 |
04 |
10 |
1 |
CS0 |
05 |
000101 |
05 |
14 |
1 |
CS0 |
06 |
000110 |
06 |
18 |
1 |
CS0 |
07 |
000111 |
07 |
1C |
1 |
CS0 |
08 |
001000 |
08 |
20 |
2 |
CS1 |
09 |
001001 |
09 |
24 |
1 |
CS0 |
10 |
001010 |
0A |
28 |
2 |
AF11 |
11 |
001011 |
0B |
2C |
1 |
CS0 |
12 |
001100 |
0C |
30 |
2 |
CS1 |
13 |
001101 |
0D |
34 |
1 |
CS0 |
14 |
001110 |
0E |
38 |
2 |
CS1 |
15 |
001111 |
0F |
3C |
1 |
CS0 |
16 |
010000 |
10 |
40 |
3 |
CS2 |
17 |
010001 |
11 |
44 |
1 |
CS0 |
18 |
010010 |
12 |
48 |
3 |
AF21 |
19 |
010011 |
13 |
4C |
1 |
CS0 |
20 |
010100 |
14 |
50 |
3 |
CS2 |
21 |
010101 |
15 |
54 |
1 |
CS0 |
22 |
010110 |
16 |
58 |
3 |
CS2 |
23 |
010111 |
17 |
5C |
1 |
CS0 |
24 |
011000 |
18 |
60 |
4 |
CS3 |
25 |
011001 |
19 |
64 |
1 |
CS0 |
26 |
011010 |
1A |
68 |
4 |
AF31 |
27 |
011011 |
1B |
6C |
4 |
CS3 |
28 |
011100 |
1C |
70 |
4 |
CS3 |
29 |
011101 |
1D |
74 |
1 |
CS0 |
30 |
011110 |
1E |
78 |
4 |
CS3 |
31 |
011111 |
1F |
7C |
1 |
CS0 |
32 |
100000 |
20 |
80 |
5 |
CS4 |
33 |
100001 |
21 |
84 |
1 |
CS0 |
34 |
100010 |
22 |
88 |
5 |
AF41 |
35 |
100011 |
23 |
8C |
5 |
CS4 |
36 |
100100 |
24 |
90 |
5 |
CS4 |
37 |
100101 |
25 |
94 |
1 |
CS0 |
38 |
100110 |
26 |
98 |
5 |
CS4 |
39 |
100111 |
27 |
9C |
1 |
CS0 |
40 |
101000 |
28 |
A0 |
6 |
CS5 |
41 |
101001 |
29 |
A4 |
5 |
CS4 |
42 |
101010 |
2A |
A8 |
1 |
CS0 |
43 |
101011 |
2B |
AC |
1 |
CS0 |
44 |
101100 |
2C |
B0 |
1 |
CS0 |
45 |
101101 |
2D |
B4 |
1 |
CS0 |
46 |
101110 |
2E |
B8 |
6 |
EF |
47 |
101111 |
2F |
BC |
6 |
CS5 |
48 |
110000 |
30 |
C0 |
7 |
CS6 |
49 |
110001 |
31 |
C4 |
1 |
CS0 |
50 |
110010 |
32 |
C8 |
1 |
CS0 |
51 |
110011 |
33 |
CC |
1 |
CS0 |
52 |
110100 |
34 |
D0 |
1 |
CS0 |
53 |
110101 |
35 |
D4 |
1 |
CS0 |
54 |
110110 |
36 |
D8 |
1 |
CS0 |
55 |
110111 |
37 |
DC |
1 |
CS0 |
56 |
111000 |
38 |
E0 |
7 |
CS7 |
57 |
111001 |
39 |
E4 |
1 |
CS0 |
58 |
111010 |
3A |
E8 |
1 |
CS0 |
59 |
111011 |
3B |
EC |
1 |
CS0 |
60 |
111100 |
3C |
F0 |
1 |
CS0 |
61 |
111101 |
3D |
F4 |
1 |
CS0 |
62 |
111110 |
3E |
F8 |
1 |
CS0 |
63 |
111111 |
3F |
FC |
1 |
CS0 |
Egress mappings
Egress mappings include:
QoS level to IEEE 802.1p mappings
QoS level to DSCP mappings
When a packet is forwarded by the switch, the software does the following:
Always performs 802.1p remarking before the packet egresses.
If the ingress port has enable-diffserv and access-diffserv enabled, then the IP packet is DSCP remarked before the packet egresses.
If the ingress port is not configured this way, the packets are not DSCP remarked.
The following table shows egress QoS level to IEEE 802.1p mappings.
QoS level |
PHB |
Default 1p remarking on egress |
Network Service Class (NSC) |
---|---|---|---|
0 |
Custom |
1 |
Custom |
1 |
CS0/DF |
0 |
Standard |
2 |
CS1/AF11 |
2 |
Bronze |
3 |
CS2/AF21 |
3 |
Silver |
4 |
CS3/AF31 |
4 |
Gold |
5 |
CS4/AF41 |
5 |
Platinum |
6 |
CS5/EF |
6 |
Premium/EF |
7 |
CS6/CS7 |
7 |
Network/Critical |
The following table shows QoS level to DSCP mappings.
Egress |
|||
---|---|---|---|
QoS level |
DSCP (binary) |
DSCP (hexadecimal) |
DSCP |
0 |
000000 |
00 |
0 |
1 |
000000 |
00 |
0 |
2 |
001010 |
0A |
10 |
3 |
010010 |
12 |
18 |
4 |
011010 |
1A |
26 |
5 |
100010 |
22 |
34 |
6 |
101110 |
2E |
46 |
7 |
101110 |
2E |
46 |