Guidelines for Application of OTN TCM

OIF-OTN-TCM-01.0 June 2013

www.oiforum.com1

 1 2 Introduction..........................................................................................................................................3 SummaryofITUTRecommendationsRegardingTCM........................................................................ 4 2.1 2.2 2.3 ITUTRecommendationG.805Genericfunctionalarchitectureoftransportnetworks ...........4 ITUTRecommendationG.872Architectureofopticaltransportnetworks.............................5 ITUTRecommendationG.709InterfacesfortheOpticalTransportNetwork(OTN)...............6

2.4 ITUTRecommendationG.798Characteristicsofopticaltransportnetworkhierarchy equipmentfunctionalblocks................................................................................................................... 7 2.5 2.6 ITUTRecommendationG.798.1TypesandcharacteristicsofOTNEquipment.......................7 ITUTRecommendationG.7710Commonequipmentmanagementfunctionrequirements..7

2.7 ITUTRecommendationG.7714.1ProtocolforautomaticdiscoveryinSDHandOTN networks..................................................................................................................................................8 2.8 ITUTRecommendationsG.873.1OTNLinearProtectionandG.873.2ODUkSharedRing Protection...............................................................................................................................................8 3 TerminologyandDefinitionsforOTNTCM........................................................................................... 8 3.1 3.2 4 ITUTRec.G.798TCMModes....................................................................................................... 8 TCMFunctionalBlocks.................................................................................................................. 8

TCMRoles...........................................................................................................................................11 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Introduction................................................................................................................................11 ApplicationofTCMstoLinks....................................................................................................... 14 ApplicationofTCMstoAdministrativeDomainConnections....................................................15 ApplicationofTCMstoEndtoEndServiceConnections...........................................................20 CustomerTCM............................................................................................................................ 22 MaintenanceOperations............................................................................................................ 22

5 6 7

ConfigurationsNotCoveredbyThisWhitepaper............................................................................... 25 ControlPlaneImpactsofTCM............................................................................................................ 26 Security...............................................................................................................................................26

www.oiforum.com2

1 Introduction
OpticalnetworkingequipmentbasedontheOpticalTransportNetwork(OTN)standardsdefinedbythe ITUsupports,aspartofitsfunctionality,anextensivesetofconnectionmonitoringfunctionality.Three distinctsetsofmonitoringoverheadareprovided:thesectionmonitoring(SM)overheadwhich supportsmonitoringofOTUlayersegments,analogoustoSDHregeneratorsectionmonitoring functions;thepathmonitoring(PM)overheadwhichsupportsmonitoringofODUlayerendtoend trails(paths),analogoustoSDHpathmonitoringfunctions;andtandemconnectionmonitoring(TCM) overheadwhichsupportsmonitoringofarbitrarysubnetworkconnections.Thesemonitoringfunctions maybeusedtomonitorsegmentsofanendtoendOTNtrail(path)andcanbeusedtosupport unprotectedorprotectedconnections. SixlevelsofTCM,eachwithvariousmodesofoperation,areprovidedtoallowforsimultaneoususefor differentmonitoringapplicationsalonganyeachandeveryindividualODUtrail.Theseapplications include:segmentprotection,administrativedomainmonitoring,servicemonitoring,faultlocalization, verificationofdeliveredqualityofservice,delay/latencymeasurementsandadjacencydiscovery.Itis importanttonotethatforanygivenhierarchyofODUtrails(takeforexampleaGbEservicecarriedover anODU0trailtunneledoveranODU2servertrailwhichisinturncarriedoveranODU4trailtraversinga DWDMsystemwith100Gwavelengthsupport),eachindependentODUtrailwithinthathierarchyis supportedbyanendtoendpathmonitorandalsobyallsixlevelsoftandemconnectionmonitors. TCMsforoneparticularODUlayertrailwithinthehierarchydonotinterferewithTCMsassignedfor anotherODUlayertrailwithinthehierarchy. TCMfunctionsmaybecascadedornestedalonganyparticularODUlayertrail,whichmaypassthrough multiplenodesandadministrativedomains(anadministrativedomainisanysubnetworkthatis operationallyadministeredindependentlyofothersubnetworksacrossthenetwork).Thenestedor cascadedstructureisgenerallyadirectresultofthewaytheadministrativedomainsarenestedor cascaded.Whencascaded,thesameTCMlevelmaybereusedbetweendifferentnodesalongthesame endtoendconnection,thatis,alongthesameODUtrail.TCMfunctionsnestedwithinthesameODU trailmustusedifferentTCMlevelsandthemorenestingthatoccurs,themoreTCMlevelsareutilized. Itispossible,thoughnothighlylikelyformostODUtrails,thatallTCMlevelsareutilized.Itisimportant toutilizetheOTUlayersectionmonitor(SM)andODUlayerpathmonitor(PM)wheneverpossibleto preserveTCMlevelsforotherfunctions. WhenTCMfunctionsarenestedwithinthesametrail,ifnotassignedandconfiguredcorrectly,the contentsofaparticularTCMmaybeoverwritten,causingmisinterpretationatthereceivingend.There arenomechanismsinthecurrentOTNstandardsthatautomaticallyensuresuchmisconfigurationdoes notoccur.TCMlevelsarenotautomaticallyassignedandconfigured.Thisraisesthefollowing questions: WhatTCMlevelandTCMmodeshouldbeusedforaparticularapplication?

www.oiforum.com3

 HowistheTCMlevelandmodeassigned? HowareTCMassignmentconflictsavoided?

AsaresultitiscriticalforTCMtobecarefullyadministeredwithinaparticularnetworkanditsuse acrossdifferentadministrativedomains(e.g.,differentcarriernetworks)mustcurrentlybenegotiated. Thisdocumentprovidesbackgroundinformationonthedefinitions,modes,andapplicationsofTCMand definesguidelinesforinterworkingofTCMinordertoreducetheadministrationassociatedwithTCM assignmentandconfiguration.TCMassignmentusingarolebasedapproachisproposedwithdefault assignmentofTCMlevelsandmodes.Thesedefaultswouldbefollowedunlessspecificrequirements withinaparticularnetworknecessitatedeviationsfromthedefaultvalues.Thisdocumentalsoconsiders theroleofthecontrolplaneinconfiguringandadministratingTCMlevels.

2 Summary of ITUT Recommendations Regarding TCM

AnumberofITUTRecommendationsprovideinformationregardingTCMdefinitionandoperations.The followingsectionssummarizetheinformationprovidedinthesevariousITUTRecommendations regardingTCMfunctions,operations,andapplications.

2.1 ITUT Recommendation G.805 Generic functional architecture of transport networks

ITUTRec.G.805dealswithcommonarchitecturalconceptsoftransportnetworksincludingtandem connectionmonitoring.Itdefinesatandemconnectionasanarbitraryseriesofcontiguous"link connections"and/or"subnetworkconnections"whichrepresentsthepartofatrailthatrequires monitoringindependentlyfromthemonitoringofthecompletetrail.Italsodefinesthefunctions requiredfortandemconnectionmonitoring.Thesefunctionsinclude(butarenotlimitedto): Monitoringfunctionsforthetandemconnectionthatareindependentofdefectsanderrorsthat occurupstreamofthetandemconnection(outsidethetandemconnectionendpoints) Verificationoftandemconnectionconnectivityandcontinuity Faultmanagementofthetandemconnectionincludingdetectionandreportingofnearendand farendfailure/alarmconditions Performancemanagementofthetandemconnectionincludingdetectionandreportingof nearendandfarenderrorperformance

Rec.G.805alsodefinesseveralapplicationsfortandemconnectionmonitoringbasedontheconceptof amonitoringdomain.Threegeneraltandemconnectiondomainapplicationsareidentified: ProtecteddomainAdomainwheretandemconnectionmonitorsareusedtomonitorthe status(failurestateanderrorperformance)ofworkingandprotectionconnectionsforthe purposesofcontrollingprotectionswitchingoperations ServingoperatoradministrativedomainAdomainwhereatandemconnectionmonitorisused byaserviceprovider(e.g.,carrierorcarrierscarrier)tomonitorthestatus(failurestateand

www.oiforum.com4

 ance)ofacon nnectiondeliv veredtoacu stomer(e.g.,anendcusto omeroranoth her errorperforma arrier) ca Se ervicerequestingadminist trativedomai inAdomain nwhereatan ndemconnect tionmonitoris us sedbyacustomertomon nitorthestatu us(failurestat teanderrorperformance)ofaconnec ction re eceivedfromaservicepro ovider

2.2 ITU UT Recom mmendation G.872 Architect ture of opt tical transport ne etworks
ITUTRec.G.872extendsthearchite ecturalconce eptsprovided byRec.G.80 05thatareap pplicabletoop ptical transportnetworks.Itdiscussesarc chitecturalconceptsofopt ticalchanneldataunit(OD DU)connectio on monitorin ngincludingta andemconne ectionmonito oring. suptothem ITUTRec.G.872discussestheconc ceptofnested dconnections maximumnum mberoflevels s definedbytherequirementsofthespecifictechnology(e.g., ITUTRecom mmendationG G.709).Itnote es thatthenumber n ofcon nnectionmon nitoringlevels sthatcanbe usedbyeach hoperator/us serinvolvedinan opticalchanneldataun nit(ODU)con nnectionmus stbenegotiat tedbythepartiesinvolved d.Italsoprov vides ectionwithfi anexamp pleofatypicalopticalchan nneldataunit t(ODU)conne ivelevelsofn nestedconnection monitorin ng(seeFigure e1belowea achcolorrepresentsadiff ferentlevelof fnestedmon nitoring).

Fig gure1:TCMapplication a ex xample[Note e:Thisfigure isbasedonI ITURec.G.87 72Figure7] Thisexam mpleillustrate esanendtoend e trailthatcontains c ase rvicerequest tingadministr rativedomain n extending gfromacusto omerinterfac ceacrossaservingoperato oradministra ativedomainprovidingthe e leasedser rvicetoanoth hercustomer rinterface.Within W theleas sedservicese ervingoperat toradministra ative domainarethreesepa aratecascadedserviceope eratoradminiistrativedomains,oneofw whichcontain nsa ddomain.Thecustomermonitors m thequality q ofthe eleasedservic cewhilethel leasedservice e protected servingop peratormonit torsthequalityofserviceprovidedtot thecustomer r.Inaddition,eachserving g operatordomainismo onitoredindependentlyalo ongwiththe protecteddo omainwithinoneofthese erving e,thesameTC CMlevel(gre een)isreusedbyOperator rsA,BandCf for operatordomains.Inthisexample ndmonitoring goftheirspec cificdomains. endtoen orum.com 5 www.oifo

2.3 ITUT Recommendation G.709 Interfaces for the Optical Transport Network (OTN)
ITUTRec.G.709definestheoverheadrequiredtosupporttandemconnectionmonitoringfortheOTN. ThisincludesallTCMbitandbyteassignmentswithintheOTNframestructureandthedefinitionofthe functionsofthosebitsandbytes.G.709specifiesthatOTNprovidessixfieldsorlevelsofODUkTCM (referredtoasTCM1,TCM2,TCM6)andthenumberofactiveTCMlevelsalonganODUktrailmay varybetween0and6(seeFigure2below).Atdomaininterfaces,G.709specifiesthattheprovisioning ofthemaximumnumberoflevelswhichwillbepassedthroughthedomainispossible(defaultofthree levels).Thesetandemconnectionsshouldusethelowerlevels(i.e.TCM1,TCM2orTCM3).Levels beyondthemaximummay/willbeoverwritteninthedomain.

Column
1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Frame Alignment RES TCM3 GCC1 GCC2

PM& TCM TCM ACT

MFAS TCM6

SM TCM5 TCM1

GCC0 TCM4 PM RES

RES

RES

JC JC JC NJO

Row

2 3 4

FTFL RES EXP RES PSI

TCM2 APS/PCC

ACT APS BDI BEI BIAE BIP-8 DAPI DMp DMtn EXP FTFL GCC IAE JC MFAS NJO PCC PM PSI PT RES SAPI SM STAT TCM TTI

Activation/deactivation control channel Automatic Protection Switching channel Backward Defect Indication Backward Error Indication Backward Incoming Alignment Error Bit Interleaved Parity level 8 Destination Access Point Identifier Delay Measurement path level Delay Measurement tandem level n Experimental Fault Type and Fault Location channel General Communications Channel Incoming Alignment Error Justification Control Multi-frame Alignment Signal Negative Justification Opportunity Protection Communication Channel Path Monitor Payload Structure Identifier Payload Type Reserved Source Access Point Identifier Section Monitor Status Tandem Connection Monitor Trail Trace Identifier

Tandem Connection Monitor

1 TTI
0

2 BIP-8

SAPI (source)
15 16

SM DAPI (destination) TCMi

BEI/BIAE BEI/BIAE BEI

BDI BDI BDI

IAE

RES STAT STAT

31 32

Operator Specific
63

PM

Path & Tandem Connection Delay

PM& TCM DMt1 DMt2 DMt3 DMt4 DMt5 DMt6 DMp RES

Figure2:LocationoftheTCMoverhead(shownasdarkbluecolor)withintheOTUkframe[Note:This figureisbasedonITURec.G.709Figure153] G.709specifiesthattheTCMfunctionsformonitoredconnectionsmaybenested,cascadedorboth. OverlappingofTCMfunctionsisanadditionalconfigurationsupportedfortestingpurposesonlybut mustbeoperatedinanonintrusivemodewheremaintenancesignalsarenotgenerated. G.709alsodescribesthenetworkapplicationssupportedbytheODUkTCMfunctionsandreferences [ITUTG.805]and[ITUTG.872].Theapplicationsreferencedaretheservicerequestingadministrative domain(calledopticalUNItoUNItandemconnectionmonitoring),serviceoperatoradministrative domain(calledopticalNNItoNNItandemconnectionmonitoring),andprotecteddomain(linear www.oiforum.com6

 protection,sharedringprotection,andautomaticrestoration)applications.Inaddition,G.709identifies theuseofTCMfunctionstosupportfaultlocalizationandservicemaintenancefunctions.

2.4 ITUT Recommendation G.798 Characteristics of optical transport network hierarchy equipment functional blocks
ITUT Rec. G.798 provides the modelling of the OTN equipment functional blocks including the TCM functions. The definition of the TCM processing includes defect detection and generation, defect correlation, consequent actions (e.g., maintenance signal generation), and performance monitoring functions.G.798alsoprovidesanappendixwithexamplesofTCMapplications. G.798 models TCM functions through separate termination, adaptation, and control elements. The termination and adaptation elements are further subdivided into separate unidirectional components dedicated to TCM source and sink operations. The termination elements deal mainly with the generation and insertion of TCM overhead bits/bytes at the source end of a tandem connection, and extraction and processing of the TCM overhead bits/bytes at the sink end of a tandem connection. The adaptationelementsdealmainlywiththelayertolayerprocessingrequiredatthesourceandsinkends of a tandem connection (e.g., detection of incoming alignment errors or insertion of maintenance signals).

2.5 ITUT Recommendation G.798.1 Types and characteristics of OTN Equipment

ITUTRec.G.798.1providesanexampleofassignedTCMlevelswithinanetworkanddescribesthe maintenancesignalinteractions(e.g.,AISpropagation)betweentandemconnectionsthatare concatenatedinthesamesublayerandbetweentandemconnectionsthatareatdifferentsublayers. G.798.1alsoprovidesexamplesofINNI,ENNIandUNINportsinwhichthepresenceofTCM functionalityisillustrated.

2.6 ITUT Recommendation G.7710 Common equipment management function requirements

ITUTRec.G.7710providesinformationrelatedtomanagementofTCMfunctions(configuration,fault, performance,etc.)includingTCMactivation.OneoftheaspectsofactivationthatRec.G.7710coversis theactivationofaTCMfordifferentnestingscenarios.TheseincludeactivatingaTCMthatisnested withinoneormoreotherTCMlevels,activatingaTCMthathasoneormoreexistingTCMlevelsnested withinit,andactivatingaTCMthatisacombinationoftheprevioustwocases.Thisdocumentspecifies thattwoactivationbehaviorsarepossiblefromanNEperspective: TCMlevelscanbeallocatedflexibly,thatis,inanyorder TCMlevelscannotbeallocatedflexibly,thatis,theyrequireafixedordering

ThefirstcaserequiresonlythattheTCMbeactivatedatthecorrectlocationwithrespecttoanyexisting TCM levels. The second case may require that existing TCM levels be rearranged in order to support a newTCMlevel.

www.oiforum.com7

2.7 ITUT Recommendation G.7714.1 Protocol for automatic discovery in SDH and OTN networks
ITUTRec.G.7714.1describesthemethods,proceduresandtransportplanemechanismsfordiscovering layeradjacencyforautomaticallyswitchedopticalnetworks(ASON).Section6ofG.7714.1pointsoutthe useoftheTTIfieldofTCMlevel6asthedefaultmechanismforcarryinglayeradjacencydiscovery messages.

2.8 ITUT Recommendations G.873.1 OTN Linear Protection and G.873.2 ODUk Shared Ring Protection
ITUTRecs.G.873.1andG.873.2definetheautomaticprotectionswitching(APS)protocoland protectionswitchingoperationforOTNlinearandringprotectionschemesattheopticalchanneldata unit(ODUk)level.OneofthekeyschemesprovidedinG.873.1andG.873.2isODUksubnetwork connectionprotectionwithsublayermonitoring(SNC/S).Inthiscaseprotectionswitchingistriggeredby signalfailorsignaldegradedefectsdetectedattheODUkTsublayertrail(TCM).AnODUkTsublayertrail isestablishedforeachworkingandprotectionentity.Protectionswitchingistriggeredonlyondefectsof theprotecteddomain.TheRecommendationspointoutthatcarehastobetakentomakesurethat therearenooverlappingdomainsofuseofaTCMlevel(i.e.TCMlevelsshouldonlybeusedinnestedor concatenatedmodes). Rec.G.873.2alsosuggeststheuseofTCMlevel6formonitoringanODUkconnectionwhichis supportedbytwoormoreconcatenatedODUklinkconnections(supportedbybacktobackOTUk trails).G.873.2specifiesanODUSRP1protectionapplicationwhichusestheTCM6fieldtomonitorthe status/performanceoftheODUconnectionbetweentwoadjacentODUSRP1nodes.

3 Terminology and Definitions for OTN TCM

3.1 ITUT Rec. G.798 TCM Modes
ITUTRec.G.798definesthreemodesforTCM: Operationalmode InOperationalmode,theTCMinformationisextractedfromtheTCMfieldandusedto triggeractionssuchasalarmgeneration,switchingaction,etc. Transparentmode InTransparentmode,theTCMinformationispassedthroughwithoutchange(i.e., transparently)andnoprocessingisperformed. Monitoringmode InMonitoringmode,TCMinformationisprocessedtorecoverdefectsandstatus information,butisstillpassedthroughunchangedtosucceedingnodes.

3.2 TCM Functional Blocks

TheRec.G.798TCMfunctionalblocksandtheirbasicfunctionalityareasfollows: ODUkT/ODUk_A_So:ODUkT/ODUkAdaptationSourceFunction

www.oiforum.com8

 StartsaselectedTC CMlevelandcaninitiatem maintenances signals(LCK)ifOPERATION NAL desaccesstoODUk O PM Provid InsertAPSOverhea adifOPERATIO ONAL O _A_Sk:TheODUkT/ODUkAdaptationS SinkFunction ODUkT/ODUk_ EndsaselectedTCM Mlevelandcaninitiatema aintenancesi ignals(AIS,LC CK)if OPERA ATIONAL Provid deaccesstoODUk O PM Access sAPSOverheadifOPERAT TIONAL ODUkT_TT_So O nSourceFunc ction :ODUkTTrailTermination utestheBIP8 8,addstandem mconnection nmonitoringoverhead(TC CMOH)if Compu OPERA ATIONAL Inserts sBDI/BEIifOPERATIONALORMONITO R :ODUkTTrail ODUkT_TT_Sk O lTermination nSinkFunctio on utesBIP8,col llectsdefectsforPM,and extractsTCM MOHifOPERA ATIONALor Compu MONIT TOR ODUkT_TCMC O olFunction :TCMContro tivationanddeactivation d o ofaTCMtrail, ,setsTCMlev vel,andsets Responsibleforact sforterminat tionandadap ptationfunctiionalblocks modes Thesefun nctionsareshowninthefig gurebelow:

Fig gure3:G.798 8TCMFunctio onalBlocks Thefollow wingtablesum mmarizesthe edifferentcombinationso ofTCMmodeandwhereth heyareused. . Table1:Co ombinationsof o TCMmode esfromITUTG.798 Source/ / Sink Use ODUk kT_TT Mo ode ODUkT/ODUk O k_A Mode Funct tions

orum.com 9 www.oifo

Source

TCM assigned

Operational

Operational

Originate TCM Trail Insert TTI, BIP8 Insert BDI, BEI/BIAE, LCK Insert IAE Insert APS Insert and Process DM Transparent Pass Through of TCMOH Terminate TCM Trail, Reset TCMOH Process BIP8 Extract TTI Extract BDI, BEI/BIAE Extract STAT Return DM to Remote Point Return BDI, BEI/BIAE to Remote Point Extract APS Insert ODUk LCK Insert ODUk AIS/SSF Consequent Action Transparent Pass Through of TCMOH Process BIP8 Extract TTI Extract BDI, BEI/BIAE Extract STAT Return DM to Remote Point Return BDI, BEI/BIAE to Remote Point Terminate TCM Trail, Reset TCMOH Process BIP8 Extract TTI Extract BDI, BEI/BIAE Extract STAT Return BDI, BEI/BIAE to Remote Point Extract APS Insert ODUk LCK Insert ODUk AIS/SSF Consequent Action Transparent Pass Through of TCMOH Process BIP8 Extract TTI Extract BDI, BEI/BIAE Extract STAT Return BDI, BEI/BIAE to Remote Point

Source Sink

TCM not assigned TCM assigned

Transparent Operational

Transparent Operational

Sink

Shadow TCM assigned

Operational

Transparent

Sink

Test Purposes

Monitor

Operational

Sink

Test Purposes

Monitor

Monitor (or Transparent)

Sink

Transparent

Operational

For further study

www.oiforum.com 10

Sink Sink

TCM not assigned SNC/Ns Protection

Transparent Non-Intrusive Monitor

Transparent

Transparent Pass Through of TCMOH Process BIP8 Extract TTI Extract BDI, BEI/BIAE Extract STAT Extract APS

Note:AccesstotheAPSbytesisrequiredforbidirectionalprotectionswitching.

4 TCM Roles
4.1 Introduction
ManyoftheITUTRecommendationsaddressvariousTCMapplications.Recs.G.805,G.872,andG.709 provideinformationrelatedtothreebasicapplicationsbasedonpartitioningofthenetworkintospecific domains:protecteddomains(linear,ring,etc.);servingoperatoradministrativedomains(whichcanbe nestedorcascaded);andservicerequestingadministrativedomains(associatedwiththecustomer leasingtheservicefromtheserviceoperators).TheprotectionstandardsdefinetheuseofTCMforlink monitoringforlinear(Rec.G.873.1)andring(Rec.G.873.2)applications.Rec.G.709includestheuseof TCMforfaultsectionalizationandisolation,i.e.,maintenancefunctions.Rec.G.7714.1includestheuse ofTCMforlayeradjacencydiscoveryoperations. Inadditiontorolesbasedapplications,Rec.G.709includesTCMallocationfromabroadperspectiveby specifyingwhichsetofTCMlevelsshouldbeassignedtopassthroughadomain(thelowerTCMlevels) andwhichTCMsshouldbeassignedwithinthedomain(thehigherTCMlevels).Infact,example multidomainconfigurationssuggest,butdonotrequire,specificlevelsforspecificapplications.In general,TCMassignmentmusttobenegotiatedwithintheserviceprovidercommunity.Rec.G.873.2, recommendsaspecificTCMlevel(TCM6)forlinkmonitoringinsupportofringprotection,andRec. G.7714.1recommendsTCM6forlayeradjacencydiscoveryfunctions.Sosomeprecedenthasbeenset fortheutilizationofspecificTCMlevelsforspecificapplications,althoughthishasnotbeenbroadly appliedandnegotiationofTCMlevelsbetweenserviceprovidersisstillnecessaryingeneral. TheinformationprovidedbytheITUTRecommendationscanbeextendedtoformthebasisof rolesbasedTCMassignment.Figure4belowillustratesageneralnetworkdiagramwithdomain partitioningthatincludesvariouskeytopologicalelements.

www.oiforum.com 11

Fig gure4:GenericNetworkDiagram D with hDomainIde entification Thisdiagr ramisusedto oidentifyase etofroleseac chofwhichca anbeassigne edaspecificT TCMlevel.By y assigningaspecificleveltoaspecifi icrolethepo ossibilityofau utomaticassig gnmentandc configurationof TCMwithoutcarrierne egotiationofTCMlevelus sageforthem majorityofen ndtoendserv viceconnections maybesu upported.On nlyinspecialcase c situation nswouldTCM Mnegotiation nberequired. . Figure4showsanetworkmadeupofOTNnode es(networke lements)inte erconnectedb bynodetono ode sdiagramissimilar s toFigu ure1whichwas w basedon informationf fromRec.G.8 872lessthe links.This customer networkpor rtion,sinceth hispaperisint tendedtoma ainlyaddressserviceprovi ideraspects. rences.Anod deinthecont textofthisw whitepaperre epresentsanO OTN However,therearesomekeydiffer networkelement e thatsourcesandterminates t atandemconn nectionmonitoringlevel,n notnecessari ily anyOTNnetwork n elem ment,sinceth hiswhitepape erisdealingw withtheappli icationofTCM Mfunctions. Nodesinthis t contextwill w typicallyprovide p ODUswitchingfun nctionality,bu utmaynotin nallcases.OT TN networkelements e that tarenotcapa ableofOTNswitching s func ctionality,suc chasOTUkre egeneratorso or multiplexers,orOTNcapableDWDM Mequipment t,oftenexist betweenthe eswitchingno odeswherein n estheconnec ctionsbetwee enthoseelem mentsmaybe emanagedthroughtheuse eofOTUsect tion mostcase monitoror o insomecas sesODUkpat thmonitoring gfunctionsth huspreserving gTCMlevelsforotheruse es. Suchnetw workelement tswouldnotbe b considered dnodesinth econtextoft thiswhitepaper.Alinkin nthis contextge enerallyrepre esentsanOD DUklinkconne ectionbetwe enOTNnode esthatutilizes saTCMfor connectio onmonitoring g,notanOTU Uklayerlinkco onnection(no otethattheO ODUklinkcon nnectionmay ybe eitherahigherorderor o lowerorderODUkasdefinedbyITUs standards). Linksbetw weennodescontained c wit thinaparticularadministra ativedomain(e.g.,service eprovider network), ,orservingop peratoradministrativedom mainfromRe ec.G.805,are ereferredtoa asintradoma ain

w www.oiforum m.com 12

 links(IaDL),whilelinksthatinterconnectnodesindifferentadministrativedomainsaretermed interdomainlinks(IrDL).Linksbetweennodes,eitherIaDLorIrDLlinks,maybeunprotectedor protected.Protectedlinksexistwithinaprotectiondomain. Anendtoendnetworkthatprovidesservicetoanendcustomerismadeupofoneormore administrativedomains1.Eachadministrativedomaincanprovideconnectivityacrossitsnodesandlinks toallowservicestobeestablishedacrossitsdomain.Theseadministrativedomainconnectionsmaybe protectedonasegmentbysegmentbasiswhereasegmentcouldtraverseoneormorelinks,orthey couldbeprotectedonanendtoendbasis.Aprotectiondomainwouldexistforeachprotected segmentorfortheentireconnectionacrosstheadministrativedomain. Anendtoendcustomerserviceissupportedacrossthenetworkofoneormoreadministrative domains.ThisisreferredtoastheservicedomaininFigure3andisequivalenttotheleasedservice servingoperatoradministrativedomainfromG.872.Thatconnectionmayalsobeunprotectedor protected,andifprotectedhasanassociatedprotectiondomain. Thereareseveralcomponentsofthisnetworkthatrequiremonitoring.Theseincludethelinks,either intraorinterdomainlinks,thedomainconnectionsthattraverseanadministrativedomain,andthe serviceconnectionsthattraversetheservicedomain.Alsoanylinksorconnectionsthatareprotected mustbemonitoredtocontrolprotectionswitchingoperations.AllofthesecomponentswithinanOTN networkcouldutilizeTCMfunctionsandarecandidatesforautomaticTCMassignmentand configuration. WithrespecttoOTNprotectionmechanisms,manyformsofOTNprotectioncurrentlyexist.These include SNC/IwhereanOTUkSMthatinherentlyterminatesanOTUktrailisusedtocontrol protectionoperationsfortheunderlyingODUkconnection CLSNCG/IwhereanODUkPMthatinherentlyterminatesahigherorderODUktrailisusedto controlprotectionoperationsfortheunderlyinggroupofmultiplexedODUjconnections SNC/SwhereaODUkTCMthatterminatesanODUktandemconnectionisusedtocontrol protectionofallunderlyingODUconnections SNC/NswhereaTCMisusedtononintrusivelymonitoredanassociatedODUconnectionand controlprotectionoperations SNC/NewhereaPMisusedtononintrusivelymonitoredanassociatedODUconnectionand controlprotectionoperations

ThiswhitepaperwilladdressonlytheSNC/SandSNC/Nsprotectionmechanismsastheyaretheonly onesapplicabletoTCMassignment.Theothermechanisms,SNC/I,CLSNCG/I,andSNC/Necanbe utilizedwhereapplicableandmaypreserveTCMlevelsforotherapplications.

1

Aparticularserviceprovidernetworkmayitselfconsistofmultipleadministrativedomains.

www.oiforum.com 13

 Itisimportanttonotethatthiswhitepaperattemptstopresentsguidelinesfortheautomatic assignmentofTCMlevelstospecificroles.Thisisintendedtocoverthemajorityofapplications commonlyfoundinOTNtransportandswitchingnetwork.Itisnotintendedtobeallinclusive,thatis, tocoverallpossibleconfigurations.Networktopologiesthatcannotbesupportedbytherecommended assignmentsmayalwayshaveTCMsassignedinamannersupportingtheparticularapplication.Itis alsoimportanttorecognizethatinthecontextofthiswhitepaperlinksmayrunatanyapplicablerate, dependingontheunderlyingphysicaltransportmechanismsupportingthelink,whilethedomainand serviceconnectionsaregenerallyintendedtorepresentconnectionsattherequiredratetosupportthe endtoendservice,forexample,aGbEservicecarriedonanODU0endtoendthroughmultiple domains.Itisnotrequired,however,thatalldomainsoperateattheservicerate.Forexample,a carriermayleaseahighcapacityconnectionODU2connectionacrossanothercarrierdomainforthe purposeoftransportingmanyODU0servicecontainers.Inthecontextofthiswhitepaperthehigh capacityODU2connectionwouldrepresentandendtoendservicefromthecarrierscarrierperspective andwouldbesubjecttotheTCMassignmentsdescribedbutfortheODU2connection.Whereasthe ODU0connectionwouldbetreatedasanendtoendconnectionfromtheperspectiveofthecarrier providingtheGbEservicetransportandalsobesubjecttotheTCMassignmentdefinedinthiswhite paperbutnowfortheODU0connection.

4.2 Application of TCMs to Links

4.2.1 Link Monitoring Inthisrole,TCMsupportsthefollowingfunctions: Linkfailure/degradedetection(withorwithoutOTUkregenerators) Faultsectionalization LinklevelAPS(lineswitchingequivalent) Linklayeradjacencydiscovery

RecommendedTCMmodeandlevelassignment:OperationalmodeTCM6 ThisTCMlevelcouldbeautomaticallyassignedandconfiguredatlinkinterfaceprovisioningtime.Both unprotectedandprotectedconfigurationscanbesupported.NotethatitispossibleforanOTUk regeneratortobepresentwithinthemonitoredlinkshowninFigure5. UnprotectedLinkMonitoringPoints:

www.oiforum.com 14

Figure5:GenericDiagramofanUnprotectedLinkMonitoredusingTCM6. 4.2.2 Link Level APS ForlinkmonitoringonlySNC/Sprotectionshouldbeimplemented.ThoughSNC/Nslinkprotectioncould beimplemented,itisnotrecommended.SNC/Nsconfigurationscannotsupportlayeradjacency discoveryofworkingandprotectlinkssinceonlyanonintrusivemonitorispresentonthelinksideof theswitch(thenonintrusivemonitorhasnoabilitytoinsertdiscoveryinformation). SNC/SProtectedLinkMonitoringPoints:

Figure6:GenericDiagramofanSNC/SProtectedLinkusingTCM6. 4.2.3 Layer Adjacency Discovery ITUTRec.G.7714.1specifiesaspecificdiscoverymessageformatutilizingtheSAPIfieldoftheTTIbyte ofTCM6forthisfunction.

4.3 Application of TCMs to Administrative Domain Connections

4.3.1 EndtoEnd Domain Connection Monitoring Inthisrole,TCMsupportsthefollowingfunctions: Domainfailure/degradedetection

www.oiforum.com 15

 Faultsectionalization Domainsignalqualitymonitoring

RecommendedTCMmodeandlevelassignment:OperationalmodeTCM4 UnprotectedEndtoEndDomainConnectionMonitoringPoints: Inthisconfiguration,theTCMisterminatedatthedomainboundary.Thisterminationisalways requiredregardlessofhowprotectionisconfiguredwithinoracrossthedomaininordertoprovidethe properendtoenddomainmonitoring.NotethatprotectiondomainsusingTCM5andlinkmonitoring usingTCM6maybenestedwithinthedomainboundaries.

Domain Boundary

Domain Boundary

End-to-End Domain SNC

Figure7:GenericDiagramofEndtoEndDomainConnectionMonitoringusingTCM4. 4.3.2 SNC Protection for Administrative Domain Connections Protectionmayberequiredonsubnetworkconnectionswithinanadministrativedomain.These subnetworkconnectionsmaytraverseaportionofthedomainortraversethedomainendtoend. Protectedsubnetworkconnectionsthattraverseonlyaportionofthedomainmaybecascaded.Each subnetworkconnectionmaybeindependentlyprotected. Inthisrole,TCMsupportsthefollowingprotectionconfigurations: SNC/Sprotection:supportsboundedprotectiondomainswithoutsympathetic2switching (protectiondomainisboundedbytheTCM)

Sympatheticswitchingisthetermusedheretoidentifyprotectionswitchingactivitycausedbyfailure propagationintotheintendedprotectiondomainfromoutsidetheintendedprotectiondomain.Thismayoccur forprotectionconfigurationsutilizingnonintrusivemonitoringwhenthemonitoringterminationislocatedina networkelementotherthantheonesupportingthenonintrusivemonitoringandtheprotectionswitching functions.ThisconfigurationisillustratedinFigure1110ofITURecommendationG.808.1.

www.oiforum.com 16

TCM4

TCM4

 SNC/Nsprotection:supportsunboundedprotectiondomainsthatmayexhibitsympathetic switching(protectiondomainboundariesarenotboundedbytheTCMbutbynonintrusive monitors)

RecommendedTCMmodeandlevelassignment:OperationalmodeTCM5andTCM4nonintrusive monitorforendtoenddomainconnectionprotectionusingSNC/Ns SNC/SProtectedDomainConnectionMonitoringPoints: InthisconfigurationtheTCMsareterminatedonthenetworksideoftheswitchfunction.Notethat nestedlinkmonitorsmayexistonanynodetonodelinks(asdefinedintheLinkMonitoringsection). TheprotectionswitchingdomainisboundedbytheTCMterminationssofailuresoutsidetheprotection domainhavenoeffectonprotectionswitchingoperation.

Figure8:GenericDiagramofanSNC/SProtectedDomainConnectionusingTCM5. ThisisthepreferredschemeforallintradomainSNCPconfigurations(subnetworkconnectionswithina domainthatdonottraversethedomainendtoend)andmayalsobeusedforendtoenddomain connections. SNC/NsProtectedDomainConnectionMonitoringPointsforDomainConnections: InthisconfigurationtheTCMsareterminatedoutsidetheprotectiondomainandnonintrusive monitorsareprovidedtocontroltheswitchfunction.Notethatnestedlinkmonitorsmayexistonany nodetonodelinks(asdefinedintheLinkMonitoringsection).Theprotectionswitchingdomainisnot boundedbytheterminatedTCMbutbythenonintrusivemonitors,thereforeitispossibleforupstream defectstocausefaultpropagationintobothworkingandprotectsubnetworkconnections,whichmay resultinsympatheticswitchingoperation(switchingduetofaultsoutsidetheprotectiondomain).For

www.oiforum.com 17

 thisreasons,useoftheSNC/NsprotectionmechanismisonlyrecommendedwhentheTCMtermination occurswithinthesameequipmentasthenonintrusivemonitoringfunction3.Thislimitsthepossibility ofupstreamfaultpropagationintotheprotectiondomain.

Figure9:GenericDiagramofanSNC/NsProtectedDomainConnectionusingTCM5. WhenSNC/NsprotectedintradomainSNCsarecascaded,itmaybepossibleforTCMstooverlapas illustratedinFigure10.ThepresenceofoverlapisdependentontheprotectionandTCM implementation.BecauseG.709definesoverlappingTCMoperationfortestpurposesonly,itisnot recommendedtousecascadedSNC/NsinoperationalnetworkswhenthisresultsinoverlappedTCMs.

InthecasethenonintrusivemonitorisnotlocatedinthesameNEastheTermination(givingasimilar architectureasinSDHimplementations)thesympatheticswitchingcanbeavoidedbyanappropriateholdoff timer.

www.oiforum.com 18

Figure10:OverlappingTCMswithBacktoBackSNC/NsProtection SNC/NsProtectedDomainConnectionMonitoringPointsusingTCM4forEndtoEndDomain Connections: Inthisconfiguration,TCM4maybeusedtosupportendtoenddomainconnectionprotectionaswellas theendtoenddomainconnectionmonitoring.SNC/Nsprotectionisappropriateinthisapplication sincethedomainterminationandthenonintrusivemonitorswouldbelocatedwithinthesamenode.

www.oiforum.com 19

 Figure11:GenericDiagramofanSNC/NsProtectedEndtoEndDomainConnectionusingTCM4

4.4 Application of TCMs to EndtoEnd Service Connections

4.4.1 EndtoEnd Service Connection Monitoring Inthisrole,TCMsupportsthefollowingfunctions: Servicefailure/degradedetection Servicesignalqualitymonitoring SLAverification(mayfunctionastheDomainMonitorforasingledomainserviceconnection)

RecommendedTCMmodeandlevelassignment:OperationalmodeTCM2 UnprotectedEndtoEndServiceConnectionMonitoringPoints: Inthisconfiguration,theTCMisterminatedattheserviceboundary.Thisterminationisalwaysrequired regardlessofhowprotectionisconfiguredinordertoprovidetheproperservicemonitoring.Notethat administrativedomainsusingTCM4,protectiondomainsusingTCM5andlinkmonitoringusingTCM6 maybenestedwithintheserviceboundaries.Itshouldbenotedthattherearecaseswhereaservice connectiontraversesonlyasingleadministrativedomain.Inthesecasesthereisnorealneedtosetup separateendtoenddomainconnectionmonitoringandendtoendserviceconnectionmonitoring functions.Inthesecasesitisrecommendedtoutilizetheendtoendserviceconnectionmonitorfor bothfunctionsthuspreservingtheintermediateTCMlevelsforotherapplications.

End-to-End Service SNC

Figure12:GenericDiagramofEndtoEndServiceConnectionMonitoringusingTCM2.

4.4.2 SNC Protection for EndtoEnd Service Connections Protectionmayberequiredonendtoendservicesubnetworkconnections.Eachendtoend subnetworkconnectionmaybeindependentlyprotected. www.oiforum.com 20

 Inthisrole,TCMsupportsthefollowingprotectionconfigurations: SNC/Sprotection:supportsboundedprotectiondomainswithoutsympatheticswitching (protectiondomainisboundedbytheTCM) SNC/Nsprotection:supportsunboundedprotectiondomainsthatmayexhibitsympathetic switching(protectiondomainboundariesarenotboundedbytheTCMbutbynonintrusive monitors)

RecommendedTCMmodeandlevelassignment:OperationalmodeTCM3forSNC/SandTCM2for SNC/Ns SNC/SProtectedEndtoEndServiceConnectionMonitoringPoints: InthisconfigurationtheTCMsareterminatedonthenetworksideoftheswitchfunction.The protectionswitchingdomainisboundedbytheTCMterminationssofailuresoutsidetheprotection domainhavenoeffectonprotectionswitchingoperation.

Figure13:GenericDiagramofanSNC/SProtectedServiceConnectionusingTCM3. SNC/NsProtectedEndtoEndServiceConnectionMonitoringPointsusingTCM2: Inthisconfiguration,TCM2isreusedtosupportendtoendserviceprotection.Thisisthepreferred configurationforSNC/NsprotectedserviceconnectionsasitpreservesTCM3forotheruses.SNC/Ns protectionisappropriateinthisapplicationsincetheserviceterminationandthenonintrusivemonitors wouldbelocatedwithinthesamenode.

www.oiforum.com 21

Protection Domain

Service Boundary

Work
TCM2 TCM2

Service Boundary

Prot
Non-intrusive Monitors

Service Domain SNC

TCM2

TCM2 TCM2

Figure14:GenericDiagramofanSNC/NsProtectedEndtoEndServiceConnectionusingTCM2

4.5 Customer TCM

Inthisrole,TCMsupportsthefollowingfunctions: Serviceproviderservicequalityverification

RecommendedTCMmodeandlevelassignment:OperationalmodeTCM1 Inthisrole,aTCMisreservedforendtoendcustomeruse.Thiscorrespondstotheservicerequesting administrativedomainfromRec.G.872.AserviceprovidermayutilizethisTCMlevelwhenthemapping oftheclientsignal(e.g.,Ethernetclient,SONET/SDHclient,etc.)intoanODUkisprovidedbytheservice providerequipment.

4.6 Maintenance Operations

TheTCMassignmentsfortherolesdescribedintheprevioussectionsprovidethemeansformonitoring variousconnectionlevelstodetermineconnectionquality,todetectconnectionfailure,andtodrive protectionswitchingoperations.Thesemonitorsalsosupporttheprocessofdefectandfault sectionalization/localizationbybeingabletodeterminethedomainorlinkinwhichthedefectorfailure hasoccurred.Bythemselvestheymaynotbesufficientforisolatingadefectorfailuretoaspecific facility(e.g.,fiberopticspan)orequipment(i.e.,specificnetworkelement).Additionalmonitoringmay berequiredtoperformtheseoperations.Insomecases,useoftheOTUlayersectionmonitormaybe sufficient,butthatmaynotaddressallcases.Whenrequiredadditionaltandemconnectionmonitors maybeassignedonanasneededbasistosupportdefectandfaultisolationofanyarbitraryconnection withinadomainorlink.

TCM2

www.oiforum.com 22

 OneoftheissueswiththeuseofTCMforarbitraryconnectionmonitoringtosupportadditional maintenanceoperationsisthedeterminationoftheTCMleveltobeusedforthesefunctions.Ascanbe seenfromtherolesbasedTCMassignmentsdescribedintheprevioussections,manyorevenallofthe TCMlevelsmayalreadybeinuseforspecificroles.InsertionofamaintenanceTCMlevelatanimproper pointcouldcauseconflictwithotherTCMsalreadyassigned.EvenifaTCMlevelisavailable, maintenancepersonnelwouldberequiredtodeterminewhichTCMlevelsarealreadyinuse,including thoseoutsidethedomainofinterest,inordertomaketheproperlevelselection.Inmultidomain environmentsthismayoftenbedifficultandtimeconsuming. AsecondissuethatmayariseistheactualabilitytoactivatethechosenTCMlevelatthedesiredpoint withinthenetwork.Aswasdescribedinsection2.6,ITURecommendationG.7710definestwopossible implementationsforTCMassignment:assignmentofTCMlevelsinanyorder,orstrictorderingofTCM levelswithinanetworkelement(e.g.,level6nestedwithinlevel5,level5nestedwithinlevel4,etc.). ThismeansthatifaTCMlevelisavailableforuse,dependingonthepointofinsertionandthenetwork elementcapability,itmaynotbepossibletoactuallyutilizedthelevelwhereintended. AnalternativetotheassignmentofaTCMlevelformaintenancefunctionsisthereuseoftheexisting TCMlevels,definedfortherolesdescribedintheprevioussection,toprovideadditionalmaintenance support,particularlywithregardtodefectorfaultsectionalization/localization.Asdescribedinsection 3,tandemconnectionmonitorssupportseveralmodesofoperation.OneofthosemodesistheMonitor Modewhichisapplicabletotrailterminationsinkandadaptationsinkfunctions.Atrailterminationsink function,whenoperatedinMonitorMode,providesthesamebehaviorasatrailterminationsinkin OperationalMode.However,anadaptationsinkoperatinginMonitorMode,unlikeoneinOperational Mode,passesTCMoverheadtransparentlyanddoesnottakeanyconsequentactionsupondetectionof terminationdefects.ThismeansthataTCMsinkfunction(bothtrailterminationandadaptation) operatinginMonitorModeandatthesamelevelastheTCMlevelalreadybeingutilizedforaparticular endtoendconnectionmonitoringrole,coupledwithatTransparentTCMsourcefunction(bothtrail terminationandadaptation),maybeinsertedatanypointalongtheendtoendconnectiontomonitor theconnectionuptotheinsertionpoint.ByinsertingtheMonitorModeTCMatsuccessivedownstream monitoringpoints,itispossibletolocatethesourceofadefectorfaultalongtheconnection.This processdoesnotutilizeanyadditionalTCMlevels,thereforeneversuffersfromTCMlevelconflicts,and onlyrequiresthatmaintenancepersonnelunderstandwhichTCMlevelisbeingusedfortheparticular connectiontheyintendtomonitor. TheprocessdescribedabovewouldgenerallyrequirethatMonitorModeTCMsbeinsertedinboth directionsofaconnection(toaddressunidirectionaldefectsandfaultsineitherdirection),andrequires thatdataprovidedbytheMonitorModeTCMsinkfunction(BIPerrors,faultdetection,etc.)bedirectly accessibleinordertodeterminethelocationofthedefectorfault.Insomecasesitmaybedesirableto monitorbothdirectionsofaconnectionsimultaneously.Inthiscase,couplingaMonitorModeTCM sinkwithanOperationalModeTCMsource,andinsertingthatatintermediatepointsalongthe connection,notonlyallowsbothdirectionsuptotheinsertionpointtobeindependentlymonitored,

www.oiforum.com 23

 butallowsthemonitoringdataforbothdirectionstobeaccessibleattheoriginalTCMendpointusing thesingleendedmaintenancefunctions(BDI/BEI)providedbytheTCMs. Figure15belowillustratestheprocessofsuccessiveinsertionofabidirectionalMonitorModeTCMfor sectionalization/localizationofdefects/failuresalonganinterdomainorintradomainlinkconnection. Figure16illustratestheprocessofsuccessiveinsertionofabidirectionalMonitorModeTCMfor sectionalization/localizationofdefects/failuresalonganadministrativedomainconnection.

Figure15:BidirectionalFaultLocalizationProcessofaLinkUsingMonitorModeTCMs

www.oiforum.com 24

Figure16:BidirectionalFaultLocalizationProcessofanAdministrativeDomainConnectionUsing MonitorModeTCMs

5 Configurations Not Covered by This Whitepaper

TheintentionsofthiswhitepaperaretopresentarecommendedsetofguidelinesforTCMutilization andtheassignmentofdefaultTCMlevelstocoverthemajorityofapplicationconfigurationsrequiredby networkproviders.ItisexpectedthatforamajorityofconfigurationsthedefaultusageofTCMlevels willbesufficientandprovideserviceprovidersandequipmentvendorswithacommonunderstanding whensettingdefaultTCMlevels.However,notallpossiblenetworkconfigurationsmaybeaddressedin thisdocument.Configurationsthatarenotaddressedarecandidatesforfuturestudy. ThefollowingaresomeexampleswherethedefaultTCMmodesdefinedabovemaynotbeapplicable (notethatthislistisnotintendedtobeexhaustiveandmaybeexpandedinthefuture): (1) ShadowTCMassignedmodeasdescribedinSection3.2Table1:InthismodetheTCM terminationdoesnotresettheTCMoverheadbytesatthedestinationendoftheTCM(i.e.

www.oiforum.com 25

 theTCMshadowdatacontinuestopropagateandismonitoredfurtherdownstream).Thisis useful,inthecasewhereanendtoendserviceproviderneedsaccesstoalltheTCMdataat thevariousmonitoringpointswithinthenetwork,e.g.,inanunderseanetwork configuration.Ingeneralthisisnotadesirablemodeofoperationbecauseitendsupusing uptheTCMlevelsquickly(i.e.theTCMlevelscannolongerbeconcatenated),butfor specificsystemsthismaybenecessary. (2) Twoormorenestedoperatordomainswithinaserviceprovidersnetwork:SinceTCMlevel 4isthesuggestedendtoenddomainoperation,TCM4ofanesteddomaincouldbe overwritten. Forthese,andothersimilarcases,manualTCMconfigurationisrequiredbymeansofnegotiationof TCMusagebetweenthemultiplecarriersandvendors.

6 Control Plane Impacts of TCM

TheapplicationofcontrolplanetothecontrolofTCMconfigurationandmodificationisforfurther study.

7 Security
AsTCMintroducesnewcapabilitiesintothetransportnetwork,itisappropriatetoconsiderwhether anynewsecurityrisksareintroduced.TCMisapartoftheOTNheaderinformation.Itshouldbenoted thatTCMisnotusedasacontrolchannelforexchangeofsignalingmessages,asisprovidedbytheGCC fieldsinOTN.AsshowninFigure2,TCMconsistsofasetofsubfieldswithspecificpurposes,similarto otherheaderfieldssuchasframealignment,APS,etc. InterferencewithTCMrequiresdirectaccesstothebitstreamoraccesstoTCMcontrolviathe managementinterfaceintothenetworkelement.Thepotentialimpactsoftamperingor misconfigurationofTCMinclude: Inadvertentorimproperfailingofaconnection(ormaskingoffailure) Inadvertentorimproperfailureactionsuchasprotectionswitching(orpreventionofsuch action) Incorrectfaultlocalizationorattribution

ItshouldbenotedthattamperingwithTCMwouldnotbyitselfintroducethepotentialformisroutingof datatoadifferentdestinationthanintended.TCMdoesnotintroducenewvulnerabilitytothreats,as accesstothebitstreamandmanagementinterfaceareexistingthreats.Securingofthemanagement interfaceisageneralproblemthatisaddressedbyOIFImplementationAgreements[OIFSMI03.0].

www.oiforum.com 26