Reference Guide

802.1ag

802.1ag is available only on the S4820T platforms.

Ethernet operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) are a set of tools used to install, monitor, troubleshoot, and

manage Ethernet infrastructure deployments. Ethernet OAM consists of three main areas:

• Service layer OAM — IEEE 802.1ag connectivity fault management (CFM)

• Link layer OAM — IEEE 802.3ah OAM

• Ethernet local management Interface — (MEF-16 E-LMI)

Ethernet CFM

Ethernet CFM is an end-to-end per-service-instance Ethernet OAM scheme which enables: proactive connectivity

monitoring, fault verification, and fault isolation.

The service-instance with regard to OAM for Metro/Carrier Ethernet is a virtual local area network (VLAN). This service

is sold to an end-customer by a network service provider. Typically the service provider contracts with multiple network

operators to provide end-to-end service between customers. For end-to-end service between customer switches,

connectivity must be present across the service provider through multiple network operators.

Layer 2 Ethernet networks usually cannot be managed with IP tools such as internet control message protocol (ICMP)

Ping and IP Traceroute. Traditional IP tools often fail because:

• there are complex interactions between various Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols such as spanning tree protocol

(STP), link aggregation group (LAG), virtual router redundancy protocol (VRRP), and electronic commerce

messaging protocol (ECMP) configurations.

• ping and traceroute are not designed to verify data connectivity in the network and within each node in the

network (such as in the switching fabric and hardware forwarding tables).

• when networks are built from different operational domains, access controls impose restrictions that cannot be

overcome at the IP level, resulting in poor fault visibility. There is a need for hierarchical domains that can be

monitored and maintained independently by each provider or operator.

• routing protocols choose a subset of the total network topology for forwarding, making it hard to detect faults in

links and nodes that are not included in the active routing topology. This is made more complex when using

some form of traffic engineering (TE) based routing.

• network and element discovery and cataloging is not clearly defined using IP troubleshooting tools.

There is a need for Layer 2 equivalents to manage and troubleshoot native Layer 2 Ethernet networks. With these tools,

you can identify, isolate, and repair faults quickly and easily, which reduces operational cost of running the network.

OAM also increases availability and reduces mean time to recovery, which allows for tighter service level agreements,

resulting in increased revenue for the service provider.

In addition to providing end-to-end OAM in native Layer 2 Ethernet Service Provider/Metro networks, you can also use

CFM to manage and troubleshoot any Layer 2 network including enterprise, datacenter, and cluster networks.