



PCE Working Group                                                  C. Li
Internet-Draft                                                   M. Chen
Intended status: Standards Track                     Huawei Technologies
Expires: 12 July 2026                                           W. Cheng
                                                            China Mobile
                                                               R. Gandhi
                                                     Cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                                Q. Xiong
                                                         ZTE Corporation
                                                          8 January 2026


 Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for
          Associated Bidirectional Segment Routing (SR) Paths
                    draft-ietf-pce-sr-bidir-path-20

Abstract

   The Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) provides
   mechanisms for Path Computation Elements (PCEs) to perform path
   computations in response to Path Computation Clients (PCCs) requests.
   Segment Routing (SR) can be used to steer packets through a network
   employing the source routing paradigm.  Stateful PCEP extensions for
   SR allow a PCE to maintain state and to control and initiate SR
   Traffic Engineering (TE) paths.

   PCEP supports grouping of two unidirectional MPLS-TE Label Switched
   Paths (LSPs), signaled via RSVP-TE, using association.  This document
   defines PCEP extensions for grouping two unidirectional SR paths (one
   in each direction in the network) into a single associated
   bidirectional SR path.  The mechanisms defined in this document are
   applicable to both stateless and stateful PCEs for PCE-initiated and
   PCC-initiated LSPs.


Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.







Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 1]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 12 July 2026.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2026 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 (https://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 Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.1.  Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  PCE-Initiated Associated Bidirectional SR Paths . . . . .   5
     3.2.  PCC-Initiated Associated Bidirectional SR Paths . . . . .   6
   4.  PCEP Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.1.  Double-Sided Bidirectional with Reverse LSP
           Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.2.  Bidirectional LSP Association Group TLV . . . . . . . . .  10
     4.3.  PATH-ATTRIB Object  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   5.  Additional PCEP Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.1.  Stateless PCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.2.  Bidirectional (B) Flag  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     5.3.  PLSP-ID Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     5.4.  Path Segment Identifier Applicability . . . . . . . . . .  11
     5.5.  Error Handling  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   6.  Implementation Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     6.1.  Huawei's Commercial Delivery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     6.2.  ZTE's Commercial Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   8.  Manageability Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     8.1.  Control of Function and Policy  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     8.2.  Information and Data Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     8.3.  Liveness Detection and Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . .  13



Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 2]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


     8.4.  Verify Correct Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     8.5.  Requirements On Other Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     8.6.  Impact On Network Operations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   9.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     9.1.  Association Type  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   10. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     10.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     10.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   Contributors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18

1.  Introduction

   Segment Routing (SR) [RFC8402] can be used to steer packets through a
   network employing the source routing paradigm.  SR supports steering
   packets onto an explicit forwarding path at the ingress node.  SR is
   specified for unidirectional paths.  However, some applications
   require bidirectional paths in SR networks, for example, in mobile
   backhaul transport networks.  The requirement for bidirectional SR
   paths is specified in [RFC9545] and
   [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-path-segment].

   [RFC5440] describes the Path Computation Element (PCE) Communication
   Protocol (PCEP).  PCEP enables the communication between a Path
   Computation Client (PCC) and a PCE, or between PCE and PCE, for the
   purpose of computation of Traffic Engineering (TE) Label Switched
   Paths (LSPs).  [RFC8231] specifies a set of extensions to PCEP to
   enable stateful control of TE LSPs within and across PCEP sessions.
   The mode of operation where LSPs are initiated from the PCE is
   described in [RFC8281].

   [RFC8664] specifies extensions to the PCEP for SR networks that allow
   a stateful PCE to compute and initiate SR TE paths, as well as a PCC
   to request, report or delegate them.  As specified in [RFC8664], an
   SR path corresponds to an MPLS Label Switching Path (LSP) in PCEP
   when using the SR-TE path setup type.  As specified in [RFC9603], the
   term "LSP" used in the PCEP specifications would be equivalent to an
   SRv6 path (represented as a list of SRv6 segments) in the context of
   supporting SRv6 in PCEP using SRv6 path setup type.

   [RFC8697] introduces a generic mechanism to create a grouping of
   LSPs.  This grouping can then be used to define associations between
   sets of LSPs or between a set of LSPs and a set of attributes, and it
   is equally applicable to the stateful PCE (active and passive modes)
   [RFC8231] and the stateless PCE [RFC5440].





Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 3]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   For bidirectional SR paths, there are use-cases such as directed BFD
   [RFC9612] and Performance Measurement (PM) [RFC9503] that require the
   ingress node (PCC) to be aware of the reverse direction SR path.  For
   such use-cases, the reverse SR paths need to be communicated to the
   ingress nodes (PCCs) using PCEP mechanisms.  This allows both
   endpoint ingress nodes to be aware of the SR paths in both
   directions.

   [RFC9059] defines PCEP extensions for grouping two unidirectional
   Resource Reservation Protocol - Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE) LSPs
   into an associated bidirectional LSP when using a stateful PCE for
   both PCE-initiated and PCC-initiated LSPs as well as when using a
   stateless PCE.  Specifically, it defines the procedure for 'Double-
   Sided Bidirectional LSP Association', where the PCE creates the
   association and provisions the forward LSPs at their ingress nodes.
   The forward LSPs to the egress nodes are signaled using RSVP-TE.
   Thus, both endpoints learn the corresponding reverse LSPs forming the
   bidirectional LSP association via RSVP signaling.

   An SR Policy contains one or more Candidate Paths (CPs) [RFC9256],
   which may be computed by a PCE.  A Candidate Path of an SR Policy can
   contain one or more Segment Lists (SLs) [RFC9256].  When a Candidate
   Path is computed by the PCE, the PCE computes one or more Segment
   Lists for that Candidate Path.  [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath] defines PCEP
   extensions for carrying multiple SLs in a Candidate Path.  In PCEP
   messages, an SR path SL is encoded as an Explicit Route Object (ERO)
   as described in Section 4.3 of [RFC8664].  In case of multiple SLs of
   a CP, multiple EROs are encoded in a PCEP message along with their
   path properties as specified in [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath].

   This document extends the bidirectional LSP association to SR paths
   by specifying PCEP extensions for grouping two unidirectional SR
   paths into an associated bidirectional SR path.
   [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath] defines PCEP extensions for carrying
   multiple SLs along with their opposite direction SLs for each CP of
   an SR Policy, as shown in an example in Section 6.4 (Opposite
   Direction Tunnels) in [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath].  The procedure
   defined in this document for associating the forward and reverse SR
   paths, works in conjunction with the procedure defined in
   [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath] that carries multiple EROs and the
   associated reverse path EROs for an LSP.

   Note that the procedure for using the association group defined in
   this document is specific to the associated bidirectional SR paths.
   Associating a unidirectional SR path with a reverse direction
   unidirectional RSVP-TE LSP to form a bidirectional LSP is outside the
   scope of this document.




Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 4]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


2.  Terminology

   This document makes use of the terms defined in [RFC8408].  The
   reader is assumed to be familiar with the terminology defined in
   [RFC5440], [RFC8231], [RFC8281], [RFC8697], [RFC9059], and
   [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath].

2.1.  Requirements Language

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
   14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

3.  Overview

   Associated bidirectional SR paths can be created and updated by a
   Stateful PCE or by a PCC using the procedures defined in [RFC8697]
   and [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath] as described in the sub-sections below.

3.1.  PCE-Initiated Associated Bidirectional SR Paths

   High-level steps for creating associated bidirectional SR paths by a
   Stateful PCE are shown in Figure 1.

   Step 1 - Stateful PCE Behaviour:


   *  Stateful PCE creates and updates both the SR path EROs and the
      associated reverse SR path EROs, for the 'Double-Sided
      Bidirectional with Reverse LSP Association' on a PCC via
      PCInitiate and PCUpd messages, respectively.

   Step 2 - PCC Behaviour:


   *  The PCC upon receiving the PCInitiate for the SR path and the
      associated reverse SR path EROs, locally assigns a PLSP-ID and
      reports it to the PCE via a PCRpt message.











Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 5]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


                               +-----+
                               | PCE |
                               +-----+
     PCInitiate:               /     \       PCInitiate:
     Tunnel 1 (0)             /       \      Tunnel 2 (0)
     LSP1 (F1, R2)           /         \     LSP2 (F2, R1)
     Association #1         /           \    Association #1
     (Single LSP)          /             \   (Single LSP)
                          v               v
                     +-----+    LSP1     +-----+
                     |  S  |------------>|  D  |
                     |     |<------------|     |
                     +-----+    LSP2     +-----+
                           <no signaling>

    Legends: F=Forward LSP EROs, R=Reverse LSP EROs, (0)=PLSP-ID

    Figure 1a: Step 1: PCE-Initiated Associated Bidirectional SR Path
                       with Forward and Reverse Direction SR Paths

   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

                               +-----+
                               | PCE |
                               +-----+
     PCRpt:                    ^     ^       PCRpt:
     Tunnel 1 (100)           /       \      Tunnel 2 (200)
     LSP1 (F1, R2==F2)       /         \     LSP2 (F2, R1==F1)
     Association #1         /           \    Association #1
     (Single LSP)          /             \   (Single LSP)
                          /               \
                     +-----+    LSP1     +-----+
                     |  S  |------------>|  D  |
                     |     |<------------|     |
                     +-----+    LSP2     +-----+
                           <no signaling>

    Legends: F=Forward LSP EROs, R=Reverse LSP EROs, (100,200)=PLSP-IDs

    Figure 1b: Step 2: PCC-Reported Bidirectional SR Path
                       with Forward and Reverse Direction SR Paths

3.2.  PCC-Initiated Associated Bidirectional SR Paths

   High-level steps for creating associated bidirectional SR paths by a
   PCC are shown in Figure 2.

   Step 1 - PCC Behaviour:



Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 6]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   *  PCC creates and updates an SR path for the 'Double-Sided
      Bidirectional with Reverse LSP Association' and reports the change
      in the association group of an SR path to PCE(s) via a PCRpt
      message.

   Step 2 - Stateful PCE Behaviour:


   *  Stateful PCE updates both the SR path EROs and the associated
      reverse SR path EROs, for the 'Double-Sided Bidirectional with
      Reverse LSP Association' on a PCC via a PCUpd message.








































Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 7]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


                              +-----+
                              | PCE |
                              +-----+
     Report/Delegate:         ^     ^        Report/Delegate:
     Tunnel 1 (100)          /       \       Tunnel 2 (200)
     LSP1 (F1)              /         \      LSP2 (F2)
     Association #2        /           \     Association #2
                          /             \
                         /               \
                    +-----+    LSP1     +-----+
                    |  S  |------------>|  D  |
                    |     |<------------|     |
                    +-----+    LSP2     +-----+
                          <no signaling>

    Legends: F=Forward LSP EROs, (100,200)=PLSP-IDs

    Figure 2a: Step 1: PCC-Initiated Associated Bidirectional SR
                       Path with Forward Direction SR Paths

   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

                              +-----+
                              | PCE |
                              +-----+
     PCUpd:                   /     \        PCUpd:
     Tunnel 1 (100)          /       \       Tunnel 2 (200)
     LSP1 (F1, R2==F2)      /         \      LSP2 (F2, R1==F1)
     Association #2        /           \     Association #2
     (Single LSP)         /             \    (Single LSP)
                         v               v
                    +-----+    LSP1     +-----+
                    |  S  |------------>|  D  |
                    |     |<------------|     |
                    +-----+    LSP2     +-----+
                          <no signaling>

    Legends: F=Forward LSP EROs, R=Reverse LSP EROs, (100,200)=PLSP-IDs

    Figure 2b: Step 2: PCE-Updated Associated Bidirectional SR
                       Path with Reverse Direction SR Paths










Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 8]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


4.  PCEP Extensions

   As per [RFC8697], TE LSPs are associated by adding them to a common
   association group by a PCEP peer.  [RFC9059] uses the association
   group object and the procedures as specified in [RFC8697] to group
   two unidirectional RSVP-TE LSPs.  Similarly, two SR paths can also be
   associated using a similar technique.  This document extends these
   association mechanisms for bidirectional SR paths.  Two
   unidirectional SR paths (one in each direction between two nodes in a
   network) can be associated together by using the association group
   defined in this document for PCEP messages.

4.1.  Double-Sided Bidirectional with Reverse LSP Association

   For associating two unidirectional SR paths, this document defines a
   new Association Type called 'Double-Sided Bidirectional with Reverse
   LSP Association' for the Association Group object (Class-Value 40) as
   follows:

   *  Association Type (value 8) = Double-Sided Bidirectional with
      Reverse LSP Association

   The bidirectional association can be either dynamic or operator-
   configured.  As per [RFC8697], the association group could be
   manually created by the operator on the PCEP peers, and the LSP
   belonging to this association is conveyed to the PCEP peer;
   alternatively, the association group could be created dynamically by
   the PCEP speaker, and both the association group information and the
   LSP belonging to the association group is conveyed to the PCEP peer.

   The handling of the Association ID, Association Source, optional
   Global Association Source and optional Extended Association ID in
   this association are set as defined in [RFC8697].

   [RFC8697] specifies the mechanism for the capability advertisement of
   the Association Types supported by a PCEP speaker by defining an
   ASSOC-Type-List TLV (value 35) to be carried within an OPEN object.
   This capability exchange for the Bidirectional Association MUST be
   done before using the Bidirectional Association Type.  Thus, the PCEP
   speaker MUST include the bidirectional Association Type in the ASSOC-
   Type-List TLV and MUST receive the same from the PCEP peer before
   using the Bidirectional Association in PCEP messages.

   *  An SR path (forward or reverse direction) MUST NOT be part of more
      than one "Double-Sided Bidirectional with Reverse LSP Association"
      on a PCE.  A PCE, upon detecting this condition, MUST NOT send the
      associated reverse SR path EROs to the ingress node PCC.  This
      error condition MUST be logged and an alarm MUST be generated.



Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                  [Page 9]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   *  The endpoint nodes of the SR paths (forward and reverse direction)
      in "Double-Sided Bidirectional with Reverse LSP Association" MUST
      match in the reverse directions.  Upon detecting a mismatch, the
      PCE speaker MUST return a PCErr message with Error-Type = 26
      (Association Error) and Error-value = "19: Endpoint mismatch in
      the association group" [RFC9059].

4.2.  Bidirectional LSP Association Group TLV

   The 'Bidirectional LSP Association Group TLV' defined in Section 4.2
   of [RFC9059] is also applicable to the 'Double-Sided Bidirectional
   with Reverse LSP Association' defined in this document.  A PCEP
   message for an associated bidirectional SR path MAY include the
   'Bidirectional LSP Association Group TLV' to indicate the co-routed
   path property using the C flag defined in Section 4.2 of [RFC9059].
   The Reverse LSP (R flag) MUST NOT be set for the associated
   bidirectional SR path and MUST be ignored for this association group.
   The processing rules for this association group TLV are followed as
   described in Section 4.2 of [RFC9059].

4.3.  PATH-ATTRIB Object

   When a PCE informs an ingress node PCC about the associated reverse
   SR path EROs computed for an SR path with the 'Double-Sided
   Bidirectional with Reverse LSP Association', it MUST include the
   'PATH-ATTRIB' object to indicate the reverse direction for each ERO,
   and it MAY optionally include the 'MULTIPATH-OPPDIR-PATH TLV' to
   indicate the co-routed path properties for the ERO using the
   procedure defined in Section 3 of [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath].

5.  Additional PCEP Considerations

   The PCEP extensions defined in this document for an associated
   bidirectional SR path are applicable to the three scenarios described
   in Section 5 of [RFC9059].

   Additional considerations for associating bidirectional SR paths are
   summarized in the sub-sections below.

5.1.  Stateless PCE

   As defined in Section 5.3 of [RFC9059], for a stateless PCE, it might
   be useful to associate a path computation request to an association
   group, thus enabling it to associate a common set of configuration
   parameters or behaviors with the request [RFC8697].  A PCC can
   request co-routed or non-co-routed forward and reverse direction SR
   paths from a stateless PCE for an associated bidirectional SR path
   using the 'Bidirectional Association Group TLV' as described in



Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 10]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   Section 4.2 of [RFC9059].

5.2.  Bidirectional (B) Flag

   The Bidirectional (B) flag in the Request Parameters (RP) object
   [RFC5440] and Stateful PCE Request Parameter (SRP) object [RFC9504]
   follows the procedure defined in Section 5.4 of [RFC9059].

5.3.  PLSP-ID Usage

   For an SR Policy, the ingress PCC node reports a unique PLSP-ID
   [RFC8231] for each CP of the SR Policy.

   For an associated bidirectional SR path, the PCE will maintain two
   PLSP-IDs, one from the ingress node PCC and one from the egress node
   PCC.  In the examples shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2, the ingress
   node PCC S reports the Tunnel 1, LSP1 to the PCE with PLSP-ID 100
   whereas the egress node PCC D reports the Tunnel 2, LSP2 to the PCE
   with PLSP-ID 200.

5.4.  Path Segment Identifier Applicability

   [I-D.ietf-pce-sr-path-segment] defines a mechanism for communicating
   Path Segment Identifier (PSID) in PCEP for SR.  The SR-MPLS PSID is
   defined in [RFC9545] and SRv6 PSID is defined in
   [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-path-segment].  The PSID can be used to
   identify and correlate the traffic for the two unidirectional SR
   paths at both ends of an associated bidirectional SR path.

5.5.  Error Handling

   The error handling as described in Section 5.7 of [RFC9059] continues
   to apply for the "Double-Sided Bidirectional with Reverse LSP
   Association".

   The PST for SR path is either "1: Traffic-engineering path is set up
   using Segment Routing" [RFC8664] or "3: Traffic engineering path is
   set up using SRv6" [RFC9603].  If a PCEP speaker receives a non-SR
   PST value for the "Double-Sided Bidirectional with Reverse LSP
   Association", the PCE speaker MUST return a PCErr message with Error-
   Type = 26 (Association Error) and Error-value = "16: Path Setup Type
   not supported" [RFC9059].

6.  Implementation Status

   [Note to the RFC Editor - remove this section before publication, as
   well as remove the reference to [RFC7942].




Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 11]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   This section records the status of known implementations of the
   protocol defined by this specification at the time of posting of this
   Internet-Draft, and is based on a proposal described in [RFC7942].
   The description of implementations in this section is intended to
   assist the IETF in its decision processes in progressing drafts to
   RFCs.  Please note that the listing of any individual implementation
   here does not imply endorsement by the IETF.  Furthermore, no effort
   has been spent to verify the information presented here that was
   supplied by IETF contributors.  This is not intended as, and must not
   be construed to be, a catalog of available implementations or their
   features.  Readers are advised to note that other implementations may
   exist.

   According to [RFC7942], "this will allow reviewers and working groups
   to assign due consideration to documents that have the benefit of
   running code, which may serve as evidence of valuable experimentation
   and feedback that have made the implemented protocols more mature.
   It is up to the individual working groups to use this information as
   they see fit".


6.1.  Huawei's Commercial Delivery

   The feature is developing based on Huawei VRP8.

   *  Organization: Huawei

   *  Implementation: Huawei's Commercial Delivery implementation based
      on VRP8.

   *  Description: The implementation is under development.

   *  Maturity Level: Product

   *  Contact: tanren@huawei.com


6.2.  ZTE's Commercial Delivery

   *  Organization: ZTE

   *  Implementation: ZTE's Commercial Delivery implementation based on
      Rosng v8.

   *  Description: The implementation is under development.

   *  Maturity Level: Product




Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 12]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   *  Contact: zhan.shuangping@zte.com.cn

7.  Security Considerations

   The security considerations described in [RFC5440], [RFC8231],
   [RFC8281], [RFC8408], and [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath] apply to the
   extensions defined in this document as well.

   A new Association Type for the Association object, 'Double-Sided
   Bidirectional with Reverse LSP Association' is introduced in this
   document.  Additional security considerations related to LSP
   associations due to a malicious PCEP speaker are described in
   [RFC8697] and apply to this Association Type.  Hence, securing the
   PCEP session using Transport Layer Security (TLS) [RFC8253] as per
   the recommendations and best current practices in [RFC9325].

8.  Manageability Considerations

   The manageability requirements and considerations listed in
   [RFC5440], [RFC8231], [RFC8281], [RFC8697], and
   [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath] apply to the PCEP protocol extensions
   defined in this document.  In addition, the requirements and
   considerations listed in this section apply.

8.1.  Control of Function and Policy

   The mechanisms defined in this document do not imply any new control
   or policy requirements.

8.2.  Information and Data Models

   [RFC7420] describes the PCEP MIB; there are no new MIB Objects
   defined for LSP associations.

   The PCEP YANG module [RFC9826] defines a data model for LSP
   associations.  However, it does not include associated bidirectional
   SR path information.

8.3.  Liveness Detection and Monitoring

   Mechanisms defined in this document do not imply any new liveness
   detection and monitoring requirements.

8.4.  Verify Correct Operations

   Mechanisms defined in this document do not imply any new operation
   verification requirements.




Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 13]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


8.5.  Requirements On Other Protocols

   Mechanisms defined in this document do not imply any new requirements
   on other protocols.

8.6.  Impact On Network Operations

   Associating forward and reverse SR paths to form a bidirectional SR
   path requires an operator to ensure that the correct LSP associations
   are employed on both sides of the SR paths.  New tools such as
   directed BFD [RFC9612] and Performance Measurement (PM) [RFC9503] can
   be used to verify the correct operation of a bidirectional SR path.

9.  IANA Considerations


9.1.  Association Type

   This document defines a new Association Type, originally described in
   [RFC8697].  IANA is requested to update the value it has assigned
   through the early allocation process in the "ASSOCIATION Type Field"
   registry [RFC8697] within the "Path Computation Element Protocol
   (PCEP) Numbers" registry group, making it permanent:


   Type            Name                                 Reference
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
   8               Double-Sided Bidirectional           [This document]
                   with Reverse LSP Association

10.  References

10.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC5440]  Vasseur, JP., Ed. and JL. Le Roux, Ed., "Path Computation
              Element (PCE) Communication Protocol (PCEP)", RFC 5440,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5440, March 2009,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5440>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.




Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 14]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   [RFC8231]  Crabbe, E., Minei, I., Medved, J., and R. Varga, "Path
              Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP)
              Extensions for Stateful PCE", RFC 8231,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8231, September 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8231>.

   [RFC8253]  Lopez, D., Gonzalez de Dios, O., Wu, Q., and D. Dhody,
              "PCEPS: Usage of TLS to Provide a Secure Transport for the
              Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP)",
              RFC 8253, DOI 10.17487/RFC8253, October 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8253>.

   [RFC8281]  Crabbe, E., Minei, I., Sivabalan, S., and R. Varga, "Path
              Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP)
              Extensions for PCE-Initiated LSP Setup in a Stateful PCE
              Model", RFC 8281, DOI 10.17487/RFC8281, December 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8281>.

   [RFC8697]  Minei, I., Crabbe, E., Sivabalan, S., Ananthakrishnan, H.,
              Dhody, D., and Y. Tanaka, "Path Computation Element
              Communication Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for Establishing
              Relationships between Sets of Label Switched Paths
              (LSPs)", RFC 8697, DOI 10.17487/RFC8697, January 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8697>.

   [RFC9059]  Gandhi, R., Ed., Barth, C., and B. Wen, "Path Computation
              Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for
              Associated Bidirectional Label Switched Paths (LSPs)",
              RFC 9059, DOI 10.17487/RFC9059, June 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9059>.

   [RFC9325]  Sheffer, Y., Saint-Andre, P., and T. Fossati,
              "Recommendations for Secure Use of Transport Layer
              Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security
              (DTLS)", BCP 195, RFC 9325, DOI 10.17487/RFC9325, November
              2022, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9325>.

   [I-D.ietf-pce-multipath]
              Koldychev, M., Sivabalan, S., Saad, T., Beeram, V. P.,
              Bidgoli, H., Yadav, B., Peng, S., Mishra, G. S., and S.
              Sidor, "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol
              (PCEP) Extensions for Signaling Multipath Information",
              Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-pce-
              multipath-17, 17 December 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-pce-
              multipath-17>.

10.2.  Informative References



Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 15]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   [RFC7420]  Koushik, A., Stephan, E., Zhao, Q., King, D., and J.
              Hardwick, "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol
              (PCEP) Management Information Base (MIB) Module",
              RFC 7420, DOI 10.17487/RFC7420, December 2014,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7420>.

   [RFC7942]  Sheffer, Y. and A. Farrel, "Improving Awareness of Running
              Code: The Implementation Status Section", BCP 205,
              RFC 7942, DOI 10.17487/RFC7942, July 2016,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7942>.

   [RFC8402]  Filsfils, C., Ed., Previdi, S., Ed., Ginsberg, L.,
              Decraene, B., Litkowski, S., and R. Shakir, "Segment
              Routing Architecture", RFC 8402, DOI 10.17487/RFC8402,
              July 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8402>.

   [RFC8408]  Sivabalan, S., Tantsura, J., Minei, I., Varga, R., and J.
              Hardwick, "Conveying Path Setup Type in PCE Communication
              Protocol (PCEP) Messages", RFC 8408, DOI 10.17487/RFC8408,
              July 2018, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8408>.

   [RFC8664]  Sivabalan, S., Filsfils, C., Tantsura, J., Henderickx, W.,
              and J. Hardwick, "Path Computation Element Communication
              Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for Segment Routing", RFC 8664,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8664, December 2019,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8664>.

   [RFC9256]  Filsfils, C., Talaulikar, K., Ed., Voyer, D., Bogdanov,
              A., and P. Mattes, "Segment Routing Policy Architecture",
              RFC 9256, DOI 10.17487/RFC9256, July 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9256>.

   [RFC9503]  Gandhi, R., Ed., Filsfils, C., Chen, M., Janssens, B., and
              R. Foote, "Simple Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol
              (STAMP) Extensions for Segment Routing Networks",
              RFC 9503, DOI 10.17487/RFC9503, October 2023,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9503>.

   [RFC9504]  Lee, Y., Zheng, H., Gonzalez de Dios, O., Lopez, V., and
              Z. Ali, "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol
              (PCEP) Extensions for Stateful PCE Usage in GMPLS-
              Controlled Networks", RFC 9504, DOI 10.17487/RFC9504,
              December 2023, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9504>.

   [RFC9545]  Cheng, W., Ed., Li, H., Li, C., Ed., Gandhi, R., and R.
              Zigler, "Path Segment Identifier in MPLS-Based Segment
              Routing Networks", RFC 9545, DOI 10.17487/RFC9545,
              February 2024, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9545>.



Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 16]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   [RFC9603]  Li, C., Ed., Kaladharan, P., Sivabalan, S., Koldychev, M.,
              and Y. Zhu, "Path Computation Element Communication
              Protocol (PCEP) Extensions for IPv6 Segment Routing",
              RFC 9603, DOI 10.17487/RFC9603, July 2024,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9603>.

   [RFC9612]  Mirsky, G., Tantsura, J., Varlashkin, I., and M. Chen,
              "Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) Reverse Path for
              MPLS Label Switched Paths (LSPs)", RFC 9612,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9612, July 2024,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9612>.

   [RFC9826]  Dhody, D., Ed., Beeram, V., Hardwick, J., and J. Tantsura,
              "A YANG Data Model for the Path Computation Element
              Communication Protocol (PCEP)", RFC 9826,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9826, September 2025,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9826>.

   [I-D.ietf-pce-sr-path-segment]
              Li, C., Chen, M., Cheng, W., Gandhi, R., and Q. Xiong,
              "Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP)
              Extension for Path Segment in Segment Routing (SR)", Work
              in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-pce-sr-path-
              segment-14, 13 October 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-pce-sr-
              path-segment-14>.

   [I-D.ietf-spring-srv6-path-segment]
              Li, C., Cheng, W., Zeng, G., Dhody, D., and Y. Zhu, "Path
              Segment Identifier (PSID) in SRv6 (Segment Routing in
              IPv6)", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-
              spring-srv6-path-segment-14, 30 November 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-spring-
              srv6-path-segment-14>.

Acknowledgments

   Many thanks to Marina Fizgeer, Adrian Farrel, Andrew Stone, Tarek
   Saad, Samuel Sidor, and Mike Koldychev for the detailed review of
   this document and for providing many useful comments.  Also, thank
   you, John Scudder, for the RtgDir Early review, and Carlos Pignataro
   for the OpsDir review, Dhruv Dhody for the Shepherd review, which
   helped improve this document.

Contributors

   The following people have substantially contributed to this document:




Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 17]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


    Dhruv Dhody
    Huawei Technologies
    Divyashree Techno Park, Whitefield
    Bangalore, Karnataka  560066
    India

    Email: dhruv.ietf@gmail.com


    Zhenbin Li
    Huawei Technologies
    Huawei Campus, No. 156 Beiqing Rd.
    Beijing  100095
    China

    Email: lizhenbin@huawei.com


    Jie Dong
    Huawei Technologies
    Huawei Campus, No. 156 Beiqing Rd.
    Beijing  100095
    China

    Email: jie.dong@huawei.com

Authors' Addresses

   Cheng Li
   Huawei Technologies
   Huawei Campus, No. 156 Beiqing Rd.
   Beijing
   100095
   China
   Email: c.l@huawei.com


   Mach(Guoyi) Chen
   Huawei Technologies
   Huawei Campus, No. 156 Beiqing Rd.
   Beijing
   100095
   China
   Email: Mach.chen@huawei.com







Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 18]

Internet-Draft    PCEP for Associated Bidirectional SR      January 2026


   Weiqiang Cheng
   China Mobile
   China
   Email: chengweiqiang@chinamobile.com


   Rakesh Gandhi
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   Canada
   Email: rgandhi@cisco.com


   Quan Xiong
   ZTE Corporation
   China
   Email: xiong.quan@zte.com.cn



































Li, et al.                Expires 12 July 2026                 [Page 19]
