Ethernet Services Assurance and Monitoring

TrackTrack 1 (Auditorium 1)
DescriptionCarrier Ethernet is quickly becoming the de-facto standard in research and education networks, and is used to provide dedicated network connections to end users. Indeed, not only do most NRENs provide their end users with Ethernet interfaces, but also many of the GÉANT transport connections and their extensions through NRENs are comprised of Ethernet segments. An extensive set of Ethernet Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) functions (Ethernet Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) 1 and Y.1731 2 being the most well-known) is one of the strongest features of Carrier Ethernet. Ethernet OAM functions provide a standard way for verifying (service assurance), monitoring and troubleshooting connections in the next upgrade of the GÉANT network. Service assurance checks if connections perform to their specs, e.g. of CIR (Committed Information Rate) and EIR (Excess Information Rate), after service configuration and activation. Monitoring is required for periodic checks of connectivity (sometimes called continuity) and performance of connections. Connectivity measurements verify if destinations can be reached, and if they are not, allow detection of the locations and cause of the fault. The presentation gives a detailed overview of standards in the areas of service assurance, monitoring, and troubleshooting and reports the results of the trials that had been carried out in these areas by GEANT3 JRA 1 Task 1 and JRA 2 Task 3 teams.

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