MEDIUM: quic: define cubic-pacing congestion algorithm

Define a new QUIC congestion algorithm token 'cubic-pacing' for
quic-cc-algo bind keyword. This is identical to default cubic
implementation, except that pacing is used for STREAM frames emission.

This algorithm supports an extra argument to specify a burst size. This
is stored into a new bind_conf member named quic_pacing_burst which can
be reuse to initialize quic path.

Pacing support is still considered experimental. As such, 'cubic-pacing'
can only be used with expose-experimental-directives set.

Author: a-denoyelle

doc/configuration.txt

@@ -17035,25 +17035,37 @@ proto <name>
   instance, it is possible to force the http/2 on clear TCP by specifying "proto
   h2" on the bind line.
 
-quic-cc-algo { cubic | newreno | nocc }[(<args,...>)]
+quic-cc-algo { cubic[-pacing] | newreno | nocc }[(<args,...>)]
   This is a QUIC specific setting to select the congestion control algorithm
   for any connection attempts to the configured QUIC listeners. They are similar
   to those used by TCP.
 
   Default value: cubic
 
+  It is possible to active pacing if the algorithm is compatible. This is done
+  by using the suffix "-pacing" after the algorithm name. Pacing purpose is to
+  smooth emission of data without burst to reduce network loss. In some
+  scenario, it can significantly improve network throughput. However, it can
+  also increase CPU usage if haproxy is forced to wait too long between each
+  emission. Pacing support is still experimental, as such it requires
+  "expose-experimental-directives".
+
   For further customization, a list of parameters can be specified after the
   algorithm token. It must be written between parenthesis, separated by a comma
   operator. Each argument is optional and can be empty if needed. Here is the
   mandatory order of each parameters :
   - maximum window size in bytes. It must be greater than 10k and smaller than
     4g. By default "tune.quic.frontend.default-max-window-size" value is used.
+  - count of datagrams to emit in a burst if pacing is activated. It must be
+    between the default value of 1 and 1024.
 
   Example:
       # newreno congestion control algorithm
       quic-cc-algo newreno
       # cubic congestion control algorithm with one megabytes as window
       quic-cc-algo cubic(1m)
+      # cubic with pacing on top of it, with burst limited to 12 datagrams
+      quic-cc-algo cubic-pacing(,12)
 
   A special value "nocc" may be used to force a fixed congestion window always
   set at the maximum size. It is reserved for debugging scenarios to remove any

include/haproxy/listener-t.h

@@ -185,6 +185,7 @@ struct bind_conf {
 	struct quic_cc_algo *quic_cc_algo; /* QUIC control congestion algorithm */
 	size_t max_cwnd;                   /* QUIC maximumu congestion control window size (kB) */
 	enum quic_sock_mode quic_mode;     /* QUIC socket allocation strategy */
+	int quic_pacing_burst;             /* QUIC allowed pacing burst size */
 #endif
 	struct proxy *frontend;    /* the frontend all these listeners belong to, or NULL */
 	const struct mux_proto_list *mux_proto; /* the mux to use for all incoming connections (specified by the "proto" keyword) */

include/haproxy/quic_cc.h

@@ -82,7 +82,8 @@ static inline void *quic_cc_priv(const struct quic_cc *cc)
  * which is true for an IPv4 path, if not false for an IPv6 path.
  */
 static inline void quic_cc_path_init(struct quic_cc_path *path, int ipv4, unsigned long max_cwnd,
-                                     struct quic_cc_algo *algo, struct quic_conn *qc)
+                                     struct quic_cc_algo *algo, int burst,
+                                     struct quic_conn *qc)
 {
 	unsigned int max_dgram_sz;
 
@@ -96,6 +97,7 @@ static inline void quic_cc_path_init(struct quic_cc_path *path, int ipv4, unsign
 	path->prep_in_flight = 0;
 	path->in_flight = 0;
 	path->ifae_pkts = 0;
+	path->pacing_burst = burst;
 	quic_cc_init(&path->cc, algo, qc);
 }
 

src/cfgparse-quic.c

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 #include <haproxy/global.h>
 #include <haproxy/listener.h>
 #include <haproxy/proxy.h>
-#include <haproxy/quic_cc-t.h>
+#include <haproxy/quic_cc.h>
 #include <haproxy/quic_rules.h>
 #include <haproxy/tools.h>
 
@@ -69,11 +69,38 @@ static unsigned long parse_window_size(const char *kw, char *value,
 	return 0;
 }
 
+/* Parse <value> as a number of datagrams allowed for burst.
+ *
+ * Returns the parsed value or 0 on error.
+ */
+static uint parse_burst(const char *kw, char *value, char **end_opt, char **err)
+{
+	uint burst;
+
+	errno = 0;
+	burst = strtoul(value, end_opt, 0);
+	if (*end_opt == value || errno != 0) {
+		memprintf(err, "'%s' : could not parse burst value", kw);
+		goto fail;
+	}
+
+	if (!burst || burst > 1024) {
+		memprintf(err, "'%s' : pacing burst value must be between 1 and 1024", kw);
+		goto fail;
+	}
+
+	return burst;
+
+ fail:
+	return 0;
+}
+
 /* parse "quic-cc-algo" bind keyword */
 static int bind_parse_quic_cc_algo(char **args, int cur_arg, struct proxy *px,
                                    struct bind_conf *conf, char **err)
 {
 	struct quic_cc_algo *cc_algo = NULL;
+	const char *str_pacing = "-pacing";
 	const char *algo = NULL;
 	char *arg;
 
@@ -100,6 +127,19 @@ static int bind_parse_quic_cc_algo(char **args, int cur_arg, struct proxy *px,
 		algo = QUIC_CC_CUBIC_STR;
 		*cc_algo = quic_cc_algo_cubic;
 		arg += strlen(QUIC_CC_CUBIC_STR);
+
+		if (strncmp(arg, str_pacing, strlen(str_pacing)) == 0) {
+			if (!experimental_directives_allowed) {
+				memprintf(err, "'%s' : support for pacing is experimental, must be allowed via a global "
+				          "'expose-experimental-directives'\n", args[cur_arg]);
+				goto fail;
+			}
+
+			cc_algo->pacing_rate = quic_cc_default_pacing_rate;
+			cc_algo->pacing_burst = quic_cc_default_pacing_burst;
+			conf->quic_pacing_burst = 1;
+			arg += strlen(str_pacing);
+		}
 	}
 	else if (strncmp(arg, QUIC_CC_NO_CC_STR, strlen(QUIC_CC_NO_CC_STR)) == 0) {
 		/* nocc */
@@ -141,6 +181,26 @@ static int bind_parse_quic_cc_algo(char **args, int cur_arg, struct proxy *px,
 			arg = end_opt;
 		}
 
+		if (*++arg == ')')
+			goto out;
+
+		if (*arg != ',') {
+			uint burst = parse_burst(args[cur_arg], arg, &end_opt, err);
+			if (!burst)
+				goto fail;
+
+			conf->quic_pacing_burst = burst;
+
+			if (*end_opt == ')') {
+				goto out;
+			}
+			else if (*end_opt != ',') {
+				memprintf(err, "'%s' : cannot parse burst argument for '%s' algorithm", args[cur_arg], algo);
+				goto fail;
+			}
+			arg = end_opt;
+		}
+
 		if (*++arg != ')') {
 			memprintf(err, "'%s' : too many argument for '%s' algorithm", args[cur_arg], algo);
 			goto fail;

src/listener.c

@@ -2040,6 +2040,7 @@ struct bind_conf *bind_conf_alloc(struct proxy *fe, const char *file,
 	/* Use connection socket for QUIC by default. */
 	bind_conf->quic_mode = QUIC_SOCK_MODE_CONN;
 	bind_conf->max_cwnd = global.tune.quic_frontend_max_window_size;
+	bind_conf->quic_pacing_burst = 0;
 #endif
 	LIST_INIT(&bind_conf->listeners);
 

src/quic_conn.c

@@ -1224,7 +1224,8 @@ struct quic_conn *qc_new_conn(const struct quic_version *qv, int ipv4,
 	/* Only one path at this time (multipath not supported) */
 	qc->path = &qc->paths[0];
 	quic_cc_path_init(qc->path, ipv4, server ? l->bind_conf->max_cwnd : 0,
-	                  cc_algo ? cc_algo : default_quic_cc_algo, qc);
+	                  cc_algo ? cc_algo : default_quic_cc_algo,
+	                  l->bind_conf->quic_pacing_burst, qc);
 
 	memcpy(&qc->local_addr, local_addr, sizeof(qc->local_addr));
 	memcpy(&qc->peer_addr, peer_addr, sizeof qc->peer_addr);