Management framework for BIER in-band traffic accounting and path monitoring

An apparatus comprising:

• multiple network input/output interfaces;
• and
• a processor of a router configured to perform Bit Index Explicit Replication (BIER) forwarding of multicast packets in a network, the processor coupled to the multiple network input/output interfaces and configured to perform:
• upon receiving a multicast packet of a multicast flow, accessing flow mappings in which multicast flows are mapped to fixed accounting values corresponding to the multicast flows;
• generating a BIER header for the multicast packet by encoding a multi-segment entropy field of the BIER header with (i) a first segment that includes a variable entropy value for equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) load balancing, and (ii) a second segment that includes a fixed accounting value among the fixed accounting values that is mapped to the multicast flow in the flow mappings;
• encoding a reserved field of the BIER header with an accounting flag configured to indicate that the multi-segment entropy field includes the fixed accounting value, and to trigger next hop BIER routers to perform flow accounting for the multicast flow and reporting accounting results along with the fixed accounting value;
• encapsulating the multicast packet with the BIER header to produce a BIER packet;
• and
• forwarding the BIER packet.

A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor of a router configured to perform Bit Index Explicit Replication (BIER) forwarding of multicast packets in a network, cause the processor to perform:

• upon receiving a multicast packet of a multicast flow, accessing flow mappings in which multicast flows are mapped to fixed accounting values corresponding to the multicast flows;
• generating a BIER header for the multicast packet by encoding a multi-segment entropy field of the BIER header with (i) a first segment that includes a variable entropy value for equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) load balancing, and (ii) a second segment that includes a fixed accounting value among the fixed accounting values that is mapped to the multicast flow in the flow mappings;
• encoding a reserved field of the BIER header with an accounting flag configured to indicate that the multi-segment entropy field includes the fixed accounting value, and to trigger next hop BIER routers to perform flow accounting for the multicast flow and reporting accounting results along with the fixed accounting value;
• encapsulating the multicast packet with the BIER header to produce a BIER packet;
• and
• forwarding the BIER packet.