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diff --git a/doc/developer/path-internals-daemon.rst b/doc/developer/path-internals-daemon.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..29f0172 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/developer/path-internals-daemon.rst @@ -0,0 +1,115 @@ +PATHD Internals +=============== + +Architecture +------------ + +Overview +........ + +The pathd deamon manages the segment routing policies, it owns the data +structures representing them and can load modules that manipulate them like the +PCEP module. Its responsibility is to select a candidate path for each +configured policy and to install it into Zebra. + +Zebra +..... + +Zebra manages policies that are active or pending to be activated due to the +next hop not being available yet. In zebra, policy data structures and APIs are +defined in `zebra_srte.[hc]`. + +The responsibilities of Zebra are: + + - Store the policies' segment list. + - Install the policies when their next-hop is available. + - Notify other daemons of the status of the policies. + +Adding and removing policies is done using the commands `ZEBRA_SR_POLICY_SET` +and `ZEBRA_SR_POLICY_DELETE` as parameter of the function `zebra_send_sr_policy` +all defined in `zclient.[hc]`. + +If the first segment of the policy is an unknown label, it is kept until +notified by the mpls hooks `zebra_mpls_label_created`, and then it is installed. + +To get notified when a policy status changes, a client can implement the +`sr_policy_notify_status` callback defined in `zclient.[hc]`. + +For encoding/decoding the various data structures used to comunicate with zebra, +the following functions are available from `zclient.[hc]`: +`zapi_sr_policy_encode`, `zapi_sr_policy_decode` and +`zapi_sr_policy_notify_status_decode`. + + +Pathd +..... + + +The pathd daemon manages all the possible candidate paths for the segment +routing policies and selects the best one following the +`segment routing policy draft <https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-spring-segment-routing-policy-06#section-2.9>`_. +It also supports loadable modules for handling dynamic candidate paths and the +creation of new policies and candidate paths at runtime. + +The responsibilities of the pathd base daemon, not including any optional +modules, are: + + - Store the policies and all the possible candidate paths for them. + - Select the best candidate path for each policy and send it to Zebra. + - Provide VTYSH configuration to set up policies and candidate paths. + - Provide a Northbound API to manipulate **configured** policies and candidate paths. + - Handle loadable modules for extending the functionality. + - Provide an API to the loadable module to manipulate policies and candidate paths. + + +Threading Model +--------------- + +The daemon runs completely inside the main thread using FRR event model, there +is no threading involved. + + +Source Code +----------- + +Internal Data Structures +........................ + +The main data structures for policies and candidate paths are defined in +`pathd.h` and implemented in `pathd.c`. + +When modifying these structures, either directly or through the functions +exported by `pathd.h`, nothing should be deleted/freed right away. The deletion +or modification flags must be set and when all the changes are done, the +function `srte_apply_changes` must be called. When called, a new candidate path +may be elected and sent to Zebra, and all the structures flagged as deleted +will be freed. In addition, a hook will be called so dynamic modules can perform +any required action when the elected candidate path changes. + + +Northbound API +.............. + +The northbound API is defined in `path_nb.[ch]` and implemented in +`path_nb_config.c` for configuration data and `path_nb_state.c` for operational +data. + + +Command Line Client +................... + +The command-line client (VTYSH) is implemented in `path_cli.c`. + + +Interface with Zebra +.................... + +All the functions interfacing with Zebra are defined and implemented in +`path_zebra.[hc]`. + + +Loadable Module API +................... + +For the time being, the API the loadable module uses is defined by `pathd.h`, +but in the future, it should be moved to a dedicated include file. |