Flow Lineage Example (Cisco RTT/Inside)

Purpose#

Demonstrate how RTT‑Inside reconstructs causal lineage for a flow traversing Cisco‑class systems. This example uses the base Cisco operator grammar and shows how telemetry, management actions, and forwarding behavior combine into a single RTT causal object.

Scenario#

A flow enters a Cisco fabric, triggers a policy‑driven management action, is forwarded across multiple devices, and emits telemetry at each hop. RTT‑Inside stitches these signals into a coherent lineage chain.

Operator Chain#

intent      = INTENT_CISCO(device_policy)
signal      = TIF_CISCO(telemetry)
mgmt        = MAN_CISCO(controller_action)
flow        = FFF_CISCO(flow_record)

resolved    = CRE_CISCO(intent, signal, mgmt)
lineage     = CSL_CISCO([resolved])
time        = CET_CISCO(lineage)

output      = RTT_CISCO(time)

Interpretation (Student‑Readable)#

• INTENT_CISCO captures the declared network intent (policy, routing objective).
• TIF_CISCO interprets telemetry emitted by the device during flow handling.
• MAN_CISCO records any management‑plane actions (controller updates, config pushes).
• FFF_CISCO extracts flow‑level causality (forwarding decisions, path selection).
• CRE_CISCO resolves these into a unified causal event.
• CSL_CISCO stitches events into a lineage chain.
• CET_CISCO applies antitime ordering for temporal clarity.
• RTT_CISCO produces the final causal object.

Result#

RTT reconstructs a clear causal narrative:

• why the flow was forwarded
• which policies influenced it
• what telemetry was emitted
• what management actions occurred
• how the final state emerged

This is the foundation for higher‑level reasoning in grid‑scale, DSRSP‑aware, and Internet3‑class substrates.