Configuring Ethernet OAM (IEEE 802.3 ah)

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34
C H A P T E R
Configuring Ethernet OAM (IEEE 802.3ah), CFM
(IEEE 802.1ag), and E-LMI on the ML-MR-10 Card
Ethernet Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) is a protocol for installing, monitoring,
and troubleshooting Ethernet networks to increase management capability within the context of the
overall Ethernet infrastructure. The ML-MR-10 card supports IEEE 802.1ag Connectivity Fault
Management (CFM), Ethernet Local Management Interface (E-LMI), and IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet OAM
discovery, link monitoring, remote fault detection, and remote loopback. Ethernet OAM manager
controls the interworking between any two of the protocols (CFM, E-LMI, and OAM).
This chapter provides information about configuring CFM, E-LMI, and the Ethernet OAM protocol on
the ML-MR-10 card.
This chapter contains these sections:
• Ethernet Connectivity Fault Management, page34-1
(cid:129) Understanding Ethernet CFM, page34-2
(cid:129) Configuring Ethernet CFM, page34-13
(cid:129) Configuring Examples for CFM, page34-16
(cid:129) Displaying Ethernet CFM Information, page34-19
(cid:129) Understanding the Ethernet OAM (IEEE 802.3ah) Protocol, page34-19
(cid:129) Setting Up and Configuring Ethernet OAM (IEEE 802.3ah), page34-22
(cid:129) Displaying Ethernet OAM (IEEE 802.3ah) Protocol Information, page34-33
(cid:129) Ethernet Local Management Interface (E-LMI), page34-33
(cid:129) Configuring E-LMI, page34-36
(cid:129) Displaying E-LMI and OAM Manager Information, page34-42
(cid:129) Ethernet CFM and Ethernet OAM Interaction, page34-42
Ethernet Connectivity Fault Management
Ethernet CFM is an end-to-end per-service-instance EOAM protocol. It includes proactive connectivity
monitoring, fault verification, and fault isolation for large Ethernet metropolitan-area networks (MANs)
and WANs.
The advent of Ethernet as a MAN and WAN technology imposes a new set of OAM requirements on
Ethernet’s traditional operations, which were centered on enterprise networks only. The expansion of
Ethernet technology into the domain of service providers, where networks are substantially larger and
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

more complex than enterprise networks and the user base is wider, makes operational management of
link uptime crucial. More importantly, the timeliness in isolating and responding to a failure becomes
mandatory for normal day-to-day operations, and OAM translates directly to the competitiveness of the
service provider.
Troubleshooting carrier networks offering Ethernet Layer 2 services is challenging. Customers contract
with service providers for end-to-end Ethernet service and service providers may subcontract with
operators to provide equipment and networks. Compared to enterprise networks, where Ethernet
traditionally has been implemented, these constituent networks belong to distinct organizations or
departments, are substantially larger and more complex, and have a wider user base. Ethernet CFM
provides a competitive advantage to service providers for which the operational management of link
uptime and timeliness in isolating and responding to failures is crucial to daily operations.
Unlike CFM, other metro-Ethernet OAM protocols are not end-to-end technologies.
For example, IEEE 802.3ah OAM is a single-hop and per-physical-wire protocol and is not end-to-end
or service aware. E-LMI is confined between the user provider-edge (UPE) and the customer-edge (CE)
device and relies on CFM for reporting status of the metro-Ethernet network to the customer-edge
device.
Understanding Ethernet CFM
Before you set up Ethernet CFM, you should understand the following concepts:
(cid:129) Ethernet CFM Support on the ML-MR-10 Card, page34-2
(cid:129) View of CFM Interaction on different Networks with ML-MR-10 Card, page34-10
(cid:129) Customer Service Instance, page34-4
(cid:129) Maintenance Domain, page34-5
(cid:129) Maintenance Point, page34-6
(cid:129) CFM Messages, page34-8
(cid:129) View of CFM Interaction on different Networks with ML-MR-10 Card, page34-10
Ethernet CFM Support on the ML-MR-10 Card
Ethernet CFM on the ML-MR-10 card provides the following support:
(cid:129) End-to-end service-level OAM technology
(cid:129) Reduced operating expense for service provider Ethernet networks
(cid:129) Competitive advantage for service providers
(cid:129) Support for both distribution and access network environments with the outward facing MEPs
enhancement.
Note The outward facing MEPs are not supported on the ML-MR-10 card.
(cid:129) Support for interoperability with CPP. Ethernet CFM will work on CPP active ports.
(cid:129) Support for QoS on CFM packets.
– 802.1p bits can be configured for the locally generated CFM packets
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

Note The 802.1p bit support for the CFM packets is not supported on the ML-MR-10 card.
– Locally generated CFM packets with other control packets can be queued appropriately
– Multicast packets that are forwarded by the CPU can be queued appropriately
(cid:129) Support for interoperability with other Cisco routeres, such as Catalyst 3750 Metro router and
Catalyst 6K.
CFM Domain
A CFM maintenance domain is a management space on a network that is owned and operated by a single
entity and defined by a set of ports internal to it, but at its boundary. You assign a unique maintenance
level (from 0 to 7) to define the hierarchical relationship between domains. The larger the domain, the
higher the level. For example, as shown in Figure34-1 on page34-3, a service-provider domain would
be larger than an operator domain and might have a maintenance level of 6, while the operator domain
maintenance level is 3 or 4.
As shown in Figure34-2 on page34-4, domains cannot intersect or overlap because that would require
management by more than one entity, which is not allowed. Domains can touch or nest (if the outer
domain has a higher maintenance level than the nested domain). Nesting domains is useful when a
service provider contract with one or more operators to provide Ethernet service. Each operator has its
own maintenance domain and the service provider domain is a superset of the operator domains.
Maintenance levels of nesting domains should be communicated among the administrating
organizations. CFM exchanges messages and performs operations on a per-domain basis.
Figure34-1 CFM Maintenance Domains
Operator 1 Operator 2
E 1 PE 1 PE 2 PE 3 PE 4 CE 2
MEP MIP MIP MEP
Level 6 Level 6
MEP MIP MIP MEP
Level 4
MEP MIP MIP MEP
1
8
2
Level 3 57
1
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

Figure34-2 Allowed Domain Relationships
Scenario A: Scenario B: Scenario C:
2
Touching Domains OK Nested Domains OK Intersecting Domains 28
7
Not Allowed 15
Customer Service Instance
A customer service instance is an Ethernet virtual connection (EVC), which is identified by an S-VLAN
within an Ethernet island, and is identified by a globally unique service ID. A customer service instance
can be point-to-point or multipoint-to-multipoint. Figure34-3 on page34-4 shows two customer service
instances. Service Instance Green is point-to-point; Service Instance Blue is multipoint-to- multipoint.
Figure34-3 Customer Service Instances
Service Green EVC
Customer A
CPE U-PE
CPE
U-PE
Service Green EVC
Customer B
U-PE
CPE
U-PE
6
4
0
CPE CPE 55
1
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

Maintenance Domain
A maintenance domain is a management space for the purpose of managing and administering a network.
A domain is owned and operated by a single entity and defined by the set of ports internal to it and at its
boundary. Figure34-4 on page34-5 illustrates a typical maintenance domain.
Figure34-4 Ethernet CFM Maintenance Domain
Maintenance
domain
Port interior to domain 84
3
5
Port at edge of domain 15
A unique maintenance level in the range of 0 to 7 is assigned to each domain by a network administrator.
Levels and domain names are useful for defining the hierarchical relationship that exists among domains.
The hierarchical relationship of domains parallels the structure of customer, service provider, and
operator. The larger the domain, the higher the level value. For example, a customer domain would be
larger than an operator domain. The customer domain may have a maintenance level of 7 and the
operator domain may have a maintenance level of 0. Typically, operators would have the smallest
domains and customers the largest domains, with service provider domains between them in size. All
levels of the hierarchy must operate together.
Domains should not intersect because intersecting would mean management by more than one entity,
which is not allowed. Domains may nest or touch but when two domains nest, the outer domain must
have a higher maintenance level than the domain nested within it. Nesting maintenance domains is useful
in the business model where a service provider contracts with one or more operators to provide Ethernet
service to a customer. Each operator would have its own maintenance domain and the service provider
would define its domain—a superset of the operator domains. Furthermore, the customer has its own
end-to-end domain which is in turn a superset of the service provider domain. Maintenance levels of
various nesting domains should be communicated among the administering organizations. For example,
one approach would be to have the service provider assign maintenance levels to operators.
CFM exchanges messages and performs operations on a per-domain basis. For example, running CFM
at the operator level does not allow discovery of the network by the higher provider and customer levels.
Network designers decide on domains and configurations. Figure34-5 on page34-6 illustrates a
hierarchy of operator, service provider, and customer domains and also illustrates touching, intersecting,
and nested domains.
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

Figure34-5 Ethernet CFM Maintenance Domain Hierarchy
Scenario A: Scenario B: Scenario C: 48
0
Touching Domains OK Intersecting Domains Not Nested Domains OK 55
1
Allowed
Maintenance Point
A maintenance point is a demarcation point on an interface that participates in CFM within a
maintenance domain. Maintenance points on device ports act as filters that confine CFM frames within
the bounds of a domain by dropping frames that do not belong to the correct level. Maintenance points
must be explicitly configured on Cisco devices. Maintenance points drop all lower-level frames and
forward all higher-level frames. There are two types of maintenance points:
A maintenance point is a demarcation point on an interface that participates in CFM within a
maintenance domain. Maintenance points on device ports act as filters that confine CFM frames within
the bounds of a domain by dropping frames that do not belong to the correct level. Maintenance points
must be explicitly configured on Cisco devices. Maintenance points drop all lower-level frames and
forward all higher-level frames. There are two types of maintenance points:
(cid:129) Maintenance end points (MEPs) are inward-facing points at the edge of the domain that define the
boundary and confine CFM messages within these boundaries. Inward facing means that they
communicate through the relay function side, not the wire side (connected to the port). A MEP sends
and receives CFM frames through the relay function. It drops all CFM frames of its level or lower
that come from the wire side. For CFM frames from the relay side, it processes the frames at its level
and drops frames at a lower level. The MEP transparently forwards all CFM frames at a higher level,
regardless of whether they are received from the relay or wire side. CFM runs at the provider
maintenance level (UPE-to-UPE), specifically with inward-facing MEPs at the user network
interface (UNI).
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

(cid:129) Maintenance intermediate points (MIPs) are internal to a domain, not at the boundary, and respond
to CFM only when triggered by traceroute and loopback messages. They forward CFM frames
received from MEPs and other MIPs, drop all CFM frames at a lower level, and forward all CFM
frames at a higher level, regardless of whether they are received from the relay or wire side.
On the ML-MR-10 card MIP is supported on the GigabitEthernet, POS, Port Channels, and 802.17
RPR interfaces.
Note For the current Cisco IOS implementation, a MEP of level L (where L is less than 7) requires a MIP of
level M > L on the same port; hence, CFM frames at levels M to L+1 will be catalogued by this MIP.
Maintenance Intermediate Points
MIPs have the following characteristics:
(cid:129) Per maintenance domain (level) and for all S-VLANs enabled or allowed on a port.
(cid:129) Internal to a domain, not at the boundary.
(cid:129) CFM frames received from MEPs and other MIPs are cataloged and forwarded, using both the wire
and the relay function.
(cid:129) All CFM frames at a lower level are stopped and dropped, independent of whether they originate
from the wire or relay function.
(cid:129) All CFM frames at a higher level are forwarded, independent of whether they arrive from the wire
or relay function.
(cid:129) Passive points, respond only when triggered by CFM traceroute and loopback messages.
(cid:129) Bridge-Brain MAC addresses are used.
A MIP has only one level associated with it and the command-line interface (CLI) does not allow you to
configure a MIP for a domain that does not exist.
Figure34-6 illustrates MEPs and MIPs at the operator, service provider, and customer levels.
Figure34-6 CFM MEPs and MIPs on Customer and Service Provider Equipment, Operator Devices
Equipment Operator A Bridges Operator B Bridges Equipment
Outward
facing
Inward
facing
5
MEP Operator Operator Provider Customer 38
5
MIP level level level level 15
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

CFM Messages
CFM uses standard Ethernet frames. CFM frames are distinguishable by SNAP type and reserved
multicast MAC address. CFM frames are sourced, terminated, processed, and relayed by bridges.
Routers can support only limited CFM functions.
Bridges that cannot interpret CFM messages forward them as normal data frames. All CFM messages
(except loopback) are confined to a maintenance domain and to an EVC. Three types of messages are
supported:
(cid:129) Continuity Check
(cid:129) Loopback
(cid:129) Traceroute
Continuity Check Messages
CFM continuity check messages (CCMs) are multicast heartbeat messages exchanged periodically
among MEPs. They allow MEPs to discover other MEPs within a domain and allow MIPs to discover
MEPs. CCMs are confined to a domain and EVC.CFM CCMs have the following characteristics:
(cid:129) Transmitted at a configurable periodic interval by MEPs. The interval can be from 10 seconds to
65535 seconds, the default is 30.
(cid:129) Contain a configurable hold-time value to indicate to the receiver the validity of the message. The
default is 2.5 times the transmit interval.
(cid:129) Catalogued by MIPs at the same or higher maintenance level.
(cid:129) Terminated by remote MEPs at the same maintenance level.
(cid:129) Unidirectional and do not solicit a response.
(cid:129) Carry the status of the port on which the MEP is configured.
Loopback Messages
CFM loopback messages are unicast frames that a MEP transmits, at the request of an administrator, to
verify connectivity to a particular maintenance point. A reply to a loopback message indicates whether
a destination is reachable but does not allow hop-by-hop discovery of the path. A loopback message is
similar in concept to an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo (ping) message.
A CFM loopback message can be generated on demand using the CLI. The source of a loopback message
must be a MEP; the destination may be a MEP or a MIP. CFM loopback messages are unicast; replies to
loopback messages also are unicast. CFM loopback messages specify the destination MAC address,
VLAN, and maintenance domain.
Traceroute Messages
CFM traceroute messages are multicast frames that a MEP transmits, at the request of an administrator,
to track the path (hop-by-hop) to a destination MEP. They allow the transmitting node to discover vital
connectivity data about the path, and allow the discovery of all MIPs along the path that belong to the
same maintenance domain. For each visible MIP, traceroute messages indicate ingress action, relay
action, and egress action. Traceroute messages are similar in concept to User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
traceroute messages.
Traceroute messages include the destination MAC address, EVC, and maintenance domain and they have
Time To Live (TTL) to limit propagation within the network. They can be generated on demand using
the CLI. Traceroute messages are multicast; reply messages are unicast.
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

Cross-Check Function
The cross-check function is a timer-driven post-provisioning service verification between dynamically
discovered MEPs (via CCMs) and expected MEPs (via configuration) for a service. The cross-check
function verifies that all endpoints of a multipoint or point-to-point service are operational. The function
supports notifications when the service is operational; otherwise it provides alarms and notifications for
unexpected endpoints or missing endpoints.
The cross-check function is performed one time. You must initiate the cross-check function from the CLI
every time you want a service verification.
IOS Error Messages
The following IOS Error Messages are supported on the ML-MR-10 card:
Continuity Check Error Messages
(cid:129) MEP up—Receives CCM but logged only for a state transition.
(cid:129) MEP down—The entry in CCDB corresponding to this entry has timed out.
(cid:129) Cross-connect—Receives CCM with unmatched CSI ID.
(cid:129) Configuration Error—Receives CCM with own MPID but different Source MAC.
(cid:129) Forwarding Loop—Receives CCM with own MPID and Source MAC.
Crosscheck Error Messages
(cid:129) MEP missing—The configured remote MEP does not come up during the cross-check start timeout
interval.
(cid:129) Unknown MEP—A CCM is received from an unexpected MEP.
(cid:129) Service UP—All expected remote MEPs are up in time.
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Understanding Ethernet CFM

View of CFM Interaction on different Networks with ML-MR-10 Card
Customer view of CFM Network
Figure34-7 displays the customer view of the CFM network.
Figure34-7 Customer View of the Network
DSLAM DSLAM
ONS 15454 ONS 15454 MEP
MEP
Aggregation Ring Aggregation Ring
P P
Catalyst MI CO/POP CO/POP MI Catalyst
3750 3750
IP/
MPLS
MEP
P cloud P MEP
MI MI
Enterprise Enterprise
GE access GE access
users users
MEP MEP
1
6
6
0
8
2
MIPs are configured on the ML-MR-10 card customer facing Gigabit Ethernet ports,
Fast Ethernet ports (or) port channels.
Provider View of the Network with IP/MPLS Core
Figure34-8 displays the provider view of the network with an IP/MPLS core.
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