The Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)

- II part -

by JM Caballero

© Trend Communications
Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit

2Mbit/s C 2Mbit/s
SDH
D

PBX PBX
A B

Section
 Mapping of the 2 Mbit/s circuit

x64
2,5 Gbit/s STM-16
x16
622 Mbit/s STM-4
x4
x1 x1
155 Mbit/s STM-1 AUG AU-4 VC-4 C-4
x1 x3
x3 x1
(A
TUG-3 TU-3 VC-3
NS
I)

(ANSI)
51 Mbit/s STM-0 AU-3 VC-3 C-3
x7 x7
(AN
SI) x1
TUG-2 TU-2 VC-2 C-2
x3
ATM:2144kbit/s
TU-12 VC-12 C-12 E1:2048kbit/s
x4

(AN
SI)
TU-11 VC-11 C-11

Mapping for the insertion (transmission) of the 2 Mbit/s circuit. At the ind of the path, for
extracting the circuit (reception) the process is the inverse.

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 3/

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 Asynchronous mapping into a C-12 container (i)

136 bytes

I : Information bits of the 2 Mbit/s circuit

Public Network
(1)

I 125 s
: Bits with extra information
µ
(32 x 8 bits)
: bytes with information bits and S
extra information R
(2) 2Mbit/s
S : stuffing bits 50
I 0
µs
(32 x 8 bits )

S 500
(1) SSSSSSSS
µs C-12
(2) C 1C 2OOOOSS R
(3)
(3) C 1C 2O O O O S S
I
(4) C 1C 2S S S S S J 1
(32 x 8 bits)
(5) J 2 I I I I I I I
S
S: Stuffing R
Ci: Justification criteria
(4)
(5)
VC-12
O: Overhead
J1: Positive justification I
J2: Negative justification (31 x 8 bits)

The public network can be a RDSI circuit, Frame Relay, ATM, leased...

• mapping of the 2 Mbit/s signal into the C2 container witch is synchronous with the network
• The mapping is performed in four blocks of the same multicontainer of 500 µs
• justification bits are added

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 4/

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 Synchronous mapping in a C-12 container (ii)

client
F ixed mode network
34 b y t e s

2Mbit/s
CAS CCS
10RRRRRR
TS0 TS0
Channels Channels
32 bytes
1 to 15 1 to 15 I 1 2 5 ms C-12
31 bytes TS16 Channels 16
Channels Channels
(32 bytes )
16 to 30 17 to 31

VC-12

This mapping maintains the byte synchronism of the 2 Mbit/s circuit and makes the connection
of nx64k data/voice services easier because all 30 channels are directly located

• the container is sinchronous with the 2 Mbit/s signal

• The signal is framed in a 125 µs frame
• There isn’t justification for adjusting clock drifts because is synchronous
© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 5/
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 Creation of the VC12 virtual container (iii)

VC-12
140 bytes
client network
.

v5

35 bytes
I
2Mbit/s
32 bytes
R
J2 C-12
35 bytes I
125 µs
32 bytes
500 µs
500 µs R 50
N2 0
µs
I
35 bytes 32 bytes
VC-12
125 µ s
R
K4

35 bytes I
31 bytes

R TU-12
POH (Path Overhead )

: V5 J2 N2 K4

The path overhead (POH) is added to the multiframe resulting the VC-12

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 6/

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 Aligning and multiplexing (iv)

v1
TU-12
VC-12
1 4
35 bytes H4 = XXXXXX00

1 PTR
v2 50
0
µs
125 µs 35 bytes
35 bytes H4 = XXXXXX01
TU-12
9 125 µs
v3

PTR: V1, V2, V3 ó V4 H4 = XXXXXX10

x3
35 bytes

V1: 1st pointer byte v4 TUG-2

V2: 2nd pointer byte
H4 = XXXXXX11
V3: 3rd pointer byte 35 bytes
V4: reserved

• The TU have a pointer (V5) in a fixed location witch identifies the carried information (the
VC12)
• The pointer points to the LO-POH overhead
• A VC12 is a 4 element multiframe and need four TU14 frames for being transported

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 7/

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 Multiplexing and creation of TUG2 (v)

TU-12 #1 TU-12 #2 TU-12 #3

1 4 1 4 1 4

1 PTR
A
1 PTR
B
1 PTR
C TU-12
35 bytes 35 bytes 35 bytes

9 9 9

x3
1 12
1 PTR PTR PTR
A B C TUG-2
125 µs
9 bytes of tu-12#1

9 bytes of tu-12#1
9 bytes of tu-12#1
9 bytes of tu-12#1

TUG-2 TUG-3

• Three TU-12 are multiplexed in a byte oriented way in a new structure

• The pointers are always in the firsts locations
• The result is a Group of TU-12 known as TUG-2

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 8/

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 A new multiplexing forms a TUG3 (vi)

TUG-2 #1 TUG-2 #7
1 12 1 12
1 1

TUG-2
9
9
x7
1 2 86

1 N #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #1

P TUG-3
3 I 125 µs

x3
S S

9 VC-4
T U G -3
• Seven TUG-12 are multiplexed in a byte oriented way and they form a new structure named
TUG-3
• Size 7x12=84 columns, plus 2 stuffing columns gives 86 columns
• The pointers that identifies the information are always in fixed positions

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 9/

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 Creation of the VC-4 virtual container (vi)

TUG-3 #1 TUG-3 #2 TUG-3 #3

1 86 1 86 1 86

1 1 1

9 9 9 TUG-3

x3
10 11 12 13 14 270

J1
B3
C2 VC-4
G1
F2 S S

H4
F3
K3
9 N1
AU-4
VC4-POH

• A new multiplexing of three TUG-3 is executed to create a VC-4

• Size 3x86=258 columns, plus 2 stuffing columns gives 260 columns
• Then the POH overhead and the stuffing S bytes are added and the VC-4 is completed
© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 10 /
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 Creation of the STM-1 frame (vii)

1 9 10
STM-1 270 VC-4

RSOH 10 11
VC-4 270

J1
B3
C2
AU-4
G1
MSOH F2
H4
F3
POH
K3
N1 STM-1

• A AU4 pointer that points to the first byte of the VC-4 is included
• The AU4 is in a fixed position of the frame. This fact allows its location
• This operation is known as alingment

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 11 /

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 A VC12 multiframe request four STM-1 frames

S T M -1
500ms S T M -1
1 2 5 ms S T M -1 S T M -1
9
1 J1
B3
C 2
G1
F2
H4
R R 9 V C -4
F3
K3
9 N1

V1

H 4 = 00
TUG-3 TUG-3 TUG-3 VC-12
x3 12

V2

H 4 = 01
x7 VC-12
5 0 0 ms
V3
1

1 1 PTR

H4= 10
VC-12
TUG-2 TUG-2 TUG-2
9 9

V4

H 4 = 11
VC-12

x3
A VC12 formed by four need a time interval of 500µs in order to put all four components into

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 12 /

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 Overheads
* * * * * * *J 0 * *
A1 A1 A1 A2 A2 A2 C1

B1 E1 F1

D1 D2 D3

AU Pointer

B2 B2 B2 K1 K2

D4 D5 D6

D7 D8 D9

D10 D11 D12

S1 M1 E2

Section
 SDH Overheads

NNI NNI
Add Drop Multiplexer Add Drop Multiplexer

Assembling of Assembling of
C-11, C-12 C-11, C-12
VC-11 , VC-12 VC-11 , VC-12

Assembling of Assembling of
VC-3 , VC-4 VC-3 , VC-4

MUX MUX
C-3, C-4 C-3, C-4
STM-N STM-N

·
·
·

RSOH RSOH RSOH

MSOH

STM-N SOH

VC-3, VC-4 POH

VC-11, VC-12 POH

Each overhead is intended to do specific task related with the transmission management at
different layers: regeneration, multiplexing and path

As the classical protocol tower an overhead is controlled just by one layer but is transparent for
the rest of the SDH layers

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 14 /

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 Path overheads

140 Mbit/s 140 Mbit/s

high order path

P
O+ C4
H
back up link
PLL
VC4 active link

POH

LTMUX STM-1 STM-1 LTMUX

RSOH
P
pointer
Payload O C4
H
MSOH

Each container (C-n) has associated an overhead, named Path Overhead (POH) with
information enough to manage the transmission through the SDH network.

The union of C-n and POH is renamed as Virtual Container (VC-n) and is the interchange unit
between origin and destination multiplexers.

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 15 /

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 Higher order path overhead (HO-POH)

Path trace, message of 16 or 64 bytes with CRC7

J1 > alarm HP-TIM High Order Path Trace Identifier Mismatch
B3 BIP8 parity control > HO-EBER (Excessive Bit Error Rate) or SD (Signal Degraded) error
C2 Path label > HP_SLM (Signal Label Mismatch) error
G1 Path status (far signaling, alarm return or far error indication)
F2 Path channel (64 kbit/s for voice or data)
H4 TU12 multiframe indicator
F3 Path channel (64 kbit/s for voice or data)
K3 APS path protection > Mismatch K3 alarm
N1 Byte for tandem connection monitoring purposes

RFI
G1: REI (FEBE) FERF
RDI
Unused

FEBE (Far End Block Errors) > HO-FEBE or HP-REI (Remote Error Indicator) error or LP-REI if it is a VC3
If 0<FEBE<9 shows the remote BIP-8 violation count as a binary number
FERF (Far End Reveive Failure) > HO/HP FERF o HP-RDI (Remote Defect Indication) alarm shows a remote AIS alarm
detected, or a LP-REI if it is a VC3
RFI/RDI (Remote Failure Indication) > RFI alarm indication

C2: 00 unequiped > HP/LP-UNEQ defect, unequiped H4: > TU-LOM alarm Loss of Multiframe
01 unspecified 12: 140 Mbit/s xxxxxx00 - pointer points V1
02 TUG structure 13: ATM xxxxxx01 - pointer points V2
03 blocked TU 14: DQDB xxxxxx10 - pointer points V3
04 34 or 45 Mbit/s 15: FDDI xxxxxx11 - pointer points V4

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 16 /

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 Lower order path overhead (HO-POH) C2, C12, C11

V5 Path Overhead

J2 Low Order Path Trace

N2 Reserved for its use by the operator. It can be used for tandem connection monitoring
Tandem connection monitoring (TCM)
K4 Trace protection
bits 1-4 APS
bits 5-7RDI

BIP-2 REI RFI L1 L2 L3 RDI

V5: (FEBE)
BIP-2 bit 1: odd bit parity of de previous VC.
bit 2: even bit parity
REI (Receive Error Indication) > LP - REI error shows the detection of a far error
RFI (Remote Failure Indication) > LP - RFI alarm, path protection indicator

L1-L3 VC path label > P - SLM alarm Signal Label Mismatch

000 - Unequipped > LP-UNEQ alarm

001 - Unspecified status
010 - Asynchronous floating
011 - Synchronous floating bit oriented
100 - Synchronous floating byte oriented

RDI (Remote Defect Indication) > LP - RDI defect

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 17 /

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 Section overhead (SOH)

* * * * * * *J 0 * * D1..D3: 192 kbit data communications channel

A1 A1 A1 A2 A2 A2 C 1
RSOH

D4..D12: 576 kbit/s data communications channel

B1 E1 F1
E1: 64 Kbit/s voice service channel between regenerators
D1 D2 D3
E2: 64 Kbit/s voice service channel between multiplexers
AU Pointer F1: 64 Kbit/s voice or data service channel between regenerators
B2 B2 B2 K1 K2 K1, K2: APS protection channel > wrong K1, K2 alarm
D4 D5 D6 K1: Request of a channel
bits 1-4 : kind of request (manual, signal failure(SF), degradation(SD)...)
MSOH

D7 D8 D9 bits 5-8 : requested channel number

D10 D11 D12

K2: far answer
bits 1-4: connected channel number (0=null channel)
S1 M1 E2 bit 5: architecture type (0 for 1+1, and1 for 1:n)
* Non scrambled bytes bit 6-9: > MS AIS alarm if 1111, > error indication if 110
X Bytes reserved for national use
^ Media dependent bytes. S1: clock source
10101010 - valid 01010101 - invalid
0000 - unknown
A1= 11110110 A2= 00101000: frame alingment 0010 - G.811 primary clock
bits 5-8 0100 - G.812 transit clock
B1: Bit interleaved parity, regenerator section (BIP-8) 1000 - G.812 local clock
B2: Bit interleaved parity, multiplexer section (BIP-24) 1011 - G.813 synchronous equipment
1111 - non synchronized
J0/C1: STM-1 identifier in STM-n
M1: re-sending of B2 errors, coded over 8 bits implies REI (FEBE)

Path overheads can detect transmission errors from the receiver side but it can’t identify where
those errors rose. This is one of the missions of the section overhead: RSOH (Regenerator
Section Overhead) and MSOH (Multiplexer Section Overhead)

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 18 /

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 Overhead management (i)

SDH
ADM
LO-PTE HO-PTE MUX REG DXC REG REG HO-PTE LO-PTE
M >N
M >N

2M 2M

STM-1 STM-1
STM-N STM-M STM-M
STM-M STM-M STM-N
STM-M HO-PTE LO-PTE

34M 34M

140M 140M

STM-N
P
PDDH
H

REGENERATOR REGENERATOR REGENERATOR REGENERATOR REGENERATOR REGENERATOR

SECTION SECTION SECTION SECTION SECTION SECTION

MULTIPLEXING MULTIPLEXING MULTIPLEXING

SECTION SECTION SECTION

HIGH ORDER
PATH

LOW ORDER
PATH

LO-POH LO-POH

HO-POH RSOH/MSOH RSOH RSOH/MSOH RSOH RSOH/MSOH RSOH RSOH/MSOH HO-POH

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 19 /

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 Overhead management (ii)

Lower order path

Higher order path
Multiplexer section
Regenerator section Regenerator section

LO HO HO LO
POH POH POH POH
MSOH RSOH RSOH RSOH MSOH
VC11 VC3 VC3 VC11
VC12 VC4 VC4 VC12

B1 B1
B2

B3
V5

V5 B3-G1 B2-M1 B1 B1 B1 B1 B2-M1 B3-G1 V5

J2 J1 J0 J0 J0 J0 J0 J0 J1 J2
- C2-H4 - - - - - - C2-H4 -
K4 K3 K1-K2 - - - - K1-K2 K3 K4
- F2-F3 E2 E1-F1 E1-F1 E1-F1 E1-F1 E2 F2-F3 -
- - D4-D12 D1-D3 D1-D3 D1-D3 D1-D3 D4-D12 - -
N2 N1 - - - - - - N1 N2
multiplexer regenerator multiplexer

Cada tara es gestionada exclusivamente por dos nivel correspondientes pareja contiguas de
elementos de red contiguos. Ningún otro nivel pude manipularlos lícitamente.

© Trend Communications Transportation of a 2 Mbit/s circuit 20 /

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Pointers

Section
 The pointer mechanism

10 11
VC-4 270

+ J1
B3
C2
G1
F2
H4
F3
POH
K3
N1

H1 Y Y H2 1 1 H3 H3 H3

All the elements inside the SDH network must be synchronized with only one master clock but:

• is very difficult avoid little deviations in clock signals

• networks of different operators and with different master clocks must be connected
• Long filter buffers bring delays to the received signal
A solution is to use moving pointers. These buffers don’t avoid using input buffers but the their
size is smaller an so the delay

A pointer points to the POH control information of the VC traffic channel

© Trend Communications Pointers 22 /

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 AU-4 and TU-3 pointers

10 11
VC-4 270 TU-3 86
2 3
+ J1
H1 1 J1
B3
H2 B3
C2 +
H3 C2
G1
G1
F2
F2
H4 H1 H2 H3 H4
F3
POH N N N N 1 0 I D I D I D I D I D F3
K3 K3
negative justification positive justification
N1 N1
NDF pointer value 9

(10 bits)
VC-3
N : new data flag (NDF) N D F enabled: 1 0 0 1

I : increase bit
N D F disabled : 0 1 1 0
H1 Y Y H2 1 1 H3 H3 H3 D : decrease bit

Y: 1011SS11 (unspecified SS bits) 1: 11111111

• Bits 1 0 of the H1 byte shows that it is an AU-4 or TU-3

• Range of AU-4: from 0 to 782
• Range of TU-3: from 0 to754
• H3 is formed by 3 bytes if it is an AU-4 or 1 byte if it is a TU-3
• Invert five D bits for negative justification and five I bits for positive justification
• Concatenation indication (CI): H1=1001RR11, H2=11111111
• Null pointer indication (NPI) (only TU-3): H1=1001RR11, H2=11100000

© Trend Communications Pointers 23 /

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 TU-2 and TU-12 pointers

TU-12 v1
TU-2
v1

35 bytes H4 = X X X X X X00 107 bytes H4 = X X X X X X 00

1 4 1 12
1 PTR 1 PTR
v2 v2

1 2 5 ms 35 bytes
35 bytes H4 = X X X X X X01 1 2 5 ms 107 bytes 107 bytes H4 = X X X X X X 01

9
v3 5 0 0 ms 9 5 0 0 ms
v3

P T R : V1, V2, V3 ó V4
35 bytes H4 = X X X X X X 10 PTR: V1, V2, V3 ó V4
107 bytes H4 = X X X X X X 1 0

V1: 1 st pointer byte v4 v4

V1 V2 V3
V2: 2 n d pointer byte
V3: 3 rd byte (action) 35 bytes H4 = X X X X X X 1 1 N N N N S S I D I D I D I D I D
107 bytes H4 = X X X X X X 1 1

V4: reserved negative justification positive justification

NDF pointer value
(10 bits)

S S size
N : New data flag (NDF)
0 0 TU-2
N D F enabled : 1 0 0 1
1 0 TU-12
N D F disabled : 0 1 1 0
I : increase bit D : decrease bit

• Range of TU-2: from 0 to 427

• Range of TU-12: form 0 to 139
• For negative justification invert five D bits, for positive invert five I bits
• Concatenation indication (CI) V1 = 1001RR11, V2 = 11111111

© Trend Communications Pointers 24 /

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 Pointer Regeneration

© Trend Communications Pointers 25 /

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 Pointer reading

AU Pointer 0 0 0 1 1 1

J1 125µs J1

Drop the VC-4

781781781782782782
AU Pointer 0 0 0 1 1 1

J1 125µs

781781781782782782

© Trend Communications Pointers 26 /

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 Pointer adjustment

© Trend Communications Pointers 27 /

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 Justification mechanism

© Trend Communications Pointers 28 /

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 Case 1: clock transparency (i)

C
2

R2 R1

D 1
3
2Mbit/s
STM-1 STM-1

B 5
A
6

R3
4
E

1 - B doesn’t see pointer movement because the 2 Mbit/s frame and the STM-1 are created in
A with the same clock. B send the STM-1 with R2 and the pointer moves like a function f (R1
-R2)

2 - Nothing happens because C multiplexer uses the same clock like B

3 - The VC4 will be extracted like R1 altough the STM-1 has arrived with R2 frecuency. At B
the STM is sent at R3 and the pointer moves like a function f (R1-R3)
© Trend Communications Pointers 29 /
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 Case 1: clock transparency (ii)

C
2

c y!!! R2 R1

a r e n
r a n sp 1

ck t
D 3

clo STM-1
2Mbit/s
STM-1

B A
5 6

R3
4
E

4 - E multiplexer doesn’t generate pointer movement because it uses the same clock like D

5 - At B the VC4 is extracted like R1 altough it has arrived in the STM-1 at a R3 frequency. At
B the STM-1 is sent at R3 and the pointer moves like f(R1-R2).

6 - A multiplexer receive the STM-1 like R2 but the VC12 arrives at the first rate R1!!

© Trend Communications Pointers 30 /

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 Case 2

C
2

R2 R1

D 3 1
2Mbit/s
STM-1 STM-1

B 5 6 A

R3
4
E

If the R1 clock synchronizes R2 then the STM-1 frame won’t have pointer movements
beacuse:

• R1 = R2 then f(R1-R2) = f(0) = Cte.

In points 3 and 5 will be yet exist pointer movements. In order to finish with all movements R1
must be synchronized with R3 too.
© Trend Communications Pointers 31 /
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 Pointer actions

1 VC-4 frame = 261 x9 x 8 bits = 18792 bits

18792 bits
VC-4 transmission rate = = 150336000 bit/s
125 s
µ
P actions 24 bits
∆f 1 s
= . . = P x 1.6E-7: clock adjustement got with P pointer movements
f0 s 1 action 150336000 bits

P
∆f = P x 1.6E-7
f0
2000
P MAX : maximum pointer activity
only one pointer movement is 200
possible in four frames
20
Forbidden
1 acción 1 trama 2
PMAX = . = 2000 acciones/s
4 tramas 125
µs 0.2

∆f m a x = 2 0 0 0 x 1 , 6 E - 7 = 3 , 2 x 1 0 E - 4 0.02
f0

that is the maximum frequency correction

f
∆
f0

P shows how many pointer movements are made in one second while the horizontal axis
shows de frequency correction met

© Trend Communications Pointers 32 /

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 STM-N frame creation

270 270 270

1 261 1 261 1 261

1 9 1 9 1 9

C a r g a# ú
1 til de 9 C a r g a# ú
2 til de 9 C a r g a# ú
Nt i l d e 9

TUG TUG TUG

1 123...N123...N
RSOH
3
4 123...N123...N
5 9

MSOH

N x 9 N x 261

STM-N

Multiplexing process in STM-N, N=4,16, 64

STM-1 at 155Mbit/s, STM-4 at 622Mbit/s, STM-16 at 2,5Mbit/s, STM-64 at 10Gbit/s

© Trend Communications Pointers 33 /

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 Concatenation and multiplexing

STM-0 H1 H2 H3 pointer increments in a byte oriented way

(SONET STS-1)
3 bytes
x 3 frames

STM-1 H1 Y Y H2 1 1 H3 H3 H3 1 increment = 3 bytes

(SONET STS-3c)
3 bytes 3 bytes 3 bytes

x 4 frames

STM-4 H1 Y ....... Y H2 1 ....... 1 H3 H3 ....... H3 1 increment = 12 bytes

(SONET OC-12) 12 bytes 12 bytes 12 bytes

In a STM-N frame that is the result of STM-1 frame multiplexion there are 4 pointers of lower
order STM-M (N=4M) and the useful load is divided for each component.

One concatenated STM-N groups all the useful load for only one client. For example, an ATM
network, that is, there are only one pointer for the load.

© Trend Communications Pointers 34 /

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Maintenance

Section
 Anomalies, Defects, Errors, Alarms and Failures

• Anomaly: Is the least disagreement that can be observed between the measured and the
expected characteristics of a network element without service interruption (for example a
parity error)
• Defect: A defect level is reached when de anomaly density is high enough to interrupt a re-
quested function (for example a loss of signal).
• Damage: A damage is is produced when a function can’t finish a requested action. This sit-
uation doesn’t comprise incapacities caused by preventive maintenance.
• Fault: The cause of a damage without interruption for a time long enough that makes pos-
sible to consider that a network element can’t achieve a recuested function
• Alarm: An obserbable indication that points to a fault (revealed damage) that usually shows
an indication of the damage depth, for example a LED or a siren
Errors reflect anomalies and alarms show defects and ofen those words are used to speak
about the formers.

All are grouped under the common term of events.

© Trend Communications Maintenance 36 /

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 Causes for the disfunctions

Nowadays, high capacity transmission systems are robust but they are yet vulnerable to some
effects like:

• Termal noise, always present in regeneration systems. It is produced by electron activity

due to temperature. This noise is matematically well modelled and it follows a gaussian dis-
tribution
• Degraded lasers, often lasers lose capabilities due to the use and their power decreases. In
this situation de signal/noise ratio may be poor
• Rayleigh scattering, in radio systems
• Rain and humidity atenuations
• Electrostatic discharges, lightnings and human discharges when equipment is touched with-
out preventions
• Satellites and radiotransmitters are often affected by sun radiations
• Degradation of electric connections, most of the systems are optoelectric and metalic parts
are exposed to oxidation and erosion processes
• Bad synchronization of network elements is one of the most important error causes. Jitter
and wander effects are intications of potential problems
• Design errors in equipment or infrastuctures

© Trend Communications Maintenance 37 /

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 SDH events associated with sections

Level Event Type How Cause

LOS Alarm Total signal absence
LOF Alarm Loss of frame
OOF Alarm A1-A2 Out of frame
RSOH LSS Alarm Loss of signal synchronization
EFAS Alarm A1-A2 Frame alignment sequence error
Error B1 Error B1 Verification of BIP-8 parity error
MS-AIS Alarm K2=xxxxx111 Alarm indication signal, multiplexer section
MS-RDI Indication K2=xxxxx110 Remote defect indication, multiplexer section
MSOH
Error B2 Error B2 Verification of BIP-24 parity error
MS-REI Indication M1=nnnnnnnn Remote error indication, multiplexer section

* * * * * * *J 0 * *
A1 A1 A1 A2 A2 A2 C1
RSOH B1 E1 F1

D1 D2 D3
Are events associated with the SOH overheads and
Puntero AU the network elements that manage them. That is, they
B2 B2 B2 K1 K2 are the Regeneration and Multiplexing Sections
D4 D5 D6

MSOH D7 D8 D9

D10 D11 D12

S1 M1 E 2

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 SDH events associaded with paths

HP-RDI Indication G1=xxxx1xxx Remote defect indication, higher order path

HP-TIM Alarm J1 Trace identifier mismatch, higher order path
HP-UNEQ Indication C2=00000000 Unequiped higher order path
HO Path
HP-PLM Error C2 Payload mismatch, higher order path
HP-REI Indication G1=nnnnxxxx Remote error indication, higher order path
HP-B3 Error B3 B3 parity error, higher order path
LP-RDI Indication V5=xxxxxxx1 Remote defect indication, lower order path
LP-TIM Alarm J2 Trace identifier mismatch, lower order path
LP-UNEQ Indication V5=xxxx000x Unequiped lower order path
LP-PLM Alarm V5=xxxxnnnx Payload mismatch, lower order path
LO Path
LP-RFI Indication V5=xxx1xxxx Remote failure indication, lower order path
LP-REI Indication V5=xx1xxxxx Remote error indication, lower order path
LP-B3 Error B3 B3 parity error, lower order path
BIP-2 Error V5=nnxxxxxx BIP-2 Parity error

J1 HO-POH V5
HO-POH B3
J2
C2 They are events identified by the pair of multiplexers
N2
G1 defining a path. There are two kinds of paths, higher
F2 K4
H4
order paths (HOP) lower order paths (LOP) there are
F3 two different groups of events.
K3
N1

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 SDH events associated with pointers

AU-AIS Alarm all “1s” Alarm indication signal, administrative unit

AU-LOP Alarm H1-H2 Loss of pointer, administrative unit
AU-PJE Pointer H1-H2 AU pointer justification event
AU ptr AU Incr Pointer H1-H2 AU pointer increased
AU Decr Pointer H1-H2 AU pointer decreased
AU NDF Pointer H1-H2 New data flag in AU pointer
AU Inv Pointer H1-H2 AU pointer inversion
TU-LOM Alarm H4 Loss of multiframe of tributary unit
TU-AIS Alarm “all 1s” Alarm indication signal, tributary unit
TU-LOP Alarm V1-V2 Loss of TU pointer
TU ptr TU-PJE Pointer V1-V2 TU pointer justification event
TU Incr Pointer V1-V2 TU pointer increased
TU Decr Pointer V1-V2 TU pointer decreased
TU NDF Pointer V1-V2 New data flag in TU pointer

H1 H2 H3
V3
They are events identified
V1 V2

with pointers. The AU

N N N N 1 0 I D I D
D I D
D I D I D
N N N N S S I D I D I D I D I D

negative justification positive justification negative j u s t i f i c a t i o n positive justification

NDF pointer value
NDF pointer value

N : new data flag (NDF)

(10 bits)

NDF enabled: 1 0 0 1
(10 bits)

S S size
pointer in STM-1 basic
N : New data flag (NDF)
I

D
: increase bit
: decrease bit
NDF disabled : 0 1 1 0
N D F enabled: 1 0 0 1
0 0
1 0
TU-2
TU-12 frame an the TU pointer in
N D F disabled : 0 1 1 0
: increase bit

low rate tributaries

I D : decrease bit
Y: 1011SS11 (unspecified SS bits) 1: 11111111

transported
AU ptr TU ptr

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 Summary of SDH events
Level ID Type How Meaning
LOS Alarm Loss of Signal
LOF Alarm Loss Of Frame
OOF Alarm A1-A2 Out Of Frame
RSOH LSS Alarm Loss of Sequence Synchronization
EFAS Alarm A1-A2 Error in Frame Alignment Signal
Error B1 Error B1 Error B1
MS-AIS Alarm K2=xxxxx111 Multiplexion Section - Alarm Indication Signal
MS-RDI Indication K2=xxxxx110 Multiplexion Section - Remote Defect Indication
MSOH
Error B2 Error B2 Error B2
MS-REI Indication M1=nnnnnnnn Multiplexion Section - Remote Error Indication
HP-RDI Indication G1=xxxx1xxx Higher order Path - Remote Defect Indication
HP-TIM Alarma J1 Higher order Path - Trace Identifier Mismatch
HP-UNEQ Indication C2=00000000 Higher order Path - Unequipped
HP
HP-PLM Error C2 Higher order Path - Payload Label Mismatch
HP-REI Indication G1=nnnnxxxx Higher order Path - Remote Error Indication
HP-B3 Error B3 Higher order Path - B3 error
LP-RDI Indication V5=xxxxxxx1 Lower order Path - Remote Defect Indication
LP-TIM Alarma J2 Lower order Path - Trace Identifier Mismatch
LP-UNEQ Indication V5=xxxx000x Lower order Path - Unequipped
LP-PLM Alarma V5=xxxxnnnx Lower order Path - Payload Label Mismatch
LP
LP-RFI Indication V5=xxx1xxxx Lower order Path - Remote Failure Indication
LP-REI Indication V5=xx1xxxxx Lower order Path - Remote Error Indication
LP-B3 Error B3 Lower order Path - B3 error
BIP-2 Error V5=nnxxxxxx Bit Interleave Parity - 2
AU-AIS Alarm todo “1s” Administrative Unit - Alarm Indication Signal
AU-LOP Alarm H1-H2 Adminastrative Unit - Loss Of Pointer
AU-PJE Pointer H1-H2 Administrative Unit - Pointer Justification Events
AU AU Incr Pointer H1-H2 Administrative Unit pointer - Increment
AU Decr Pointer H1-H2 Administrative Unit pointer - Decrement
AU NDF Pointer H1-H2 Administrative Unit pointer - New Data Flag
AU Inv Pointer H1-H2 Administrative Unit pointer - Inversion
TU-LOM Alarm H4 Tributary Unit - Loss Of Multiframe
TU-AIS Alarm “todo 1s” Tributary Unit - Alarm Indication Signal
TU-LOP Alarm V1-V2 Tributary Unit - Loss Of Pointer
TU-PJE Pointer V1-V2 Tributary Unit - Pointer Justification Events
TU
TU Incr Pointer V1-V2 Tributary Unit pointer- Increment
TU Decr Pointer V1-V2 Tributary Unit pointer - Decrement
TU NDF Pointer V1-V2 Tributary Unit pointer - New Data Flag
TU Inv Pointer V1-V2 Tributary Unit pointer - Inversion

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 Alarms

They happen at different levels:

• in the section level: regeneration y multiplexion,

• in higher order path and lower order path
An alarm signal (AIS) is activated under standarized criteria and is sent forward to notify the
event to the next network element. As an answer to a received AIS a remote defect indication
is sent backwards

An RDI is indicated in a specific byte while an AIS is a secuence of “1” in the space deticated
to the load because de affected element can’t access to the information.

Una AIS es una secuancia de bytes todos a “1” en el espacio dedicado a carga puesto que el
elemento afectado por la alarma no puede acceder a la información. Mientras que el RDI se
indica en un byte específica. A failure sent in a transmission way doesn’t depends on the failure
in the other transmission way

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 ITU alarm detection criteria

Alarm Criteria

Detection: before 625µs

OOF
Realignment: before 250µs
Detection: from 0 to3 ms in OOF
LOF
Realignment: from 0 to 3 ms without OOF
Detection: from 8 to 10 invalid ptrs. or from 8 to10 consecutive NDF (New Data Flag)
LOP
Realignment: 3 consecutive valid pointers
Detection: 3 consecutive frames with K2=xxxxx110
MS-RDI
Realignment: 3 consecutive frames with K2<>xxxxx110
Detection: 3 consecutive frames with K2=xxxxx111
MS-AIS
Realignment: 3 consecutive frames with K2<>xxxxx111
AU-AIS Detection: 3 consecutive pointers with all bits to 1 (H1-H2 o bien V1-V2)
TU-AIS Realignment: 3 consecutive valid pointers or 1 NDF (New Data Flag)

LSS Loss of Sequence Synchronization: if BER > 2x10-1 in 1s.

Desirable detection: between 10 and 50µs

LOS
Obligatory detección: before 50µs

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 OAM: detected events at the end of a LOP

LOW ORDER
PATH

HIGH ORDER
PATH

MULTIPLEXER

SECTION

REGENERATOR REGENERATOR

SECTION SECTION

2M 2M
STM-1 STM-N STM-1
HO-PTE LO-PTE

34M 34M

140M 140M

LO-PTE HO-PTE MUX REG MUX HO-PTE LO-PTE

AU-LOP
PDH AIS
(All 1s)
AU-AIS
(All 1s)

LO-RDI
(V5=xxxxxxx1)

BIP-2 (V5) with errors

LO-REI
(V5=nº of detected errors)
V 5 = x x nx x x x x ; E r r o r s = 0 . . 2

• Any loss of pointer (AU-LOP) or an alarm (AU-AIS) generate: a PDH-AIS forwards and a
HO-RDI backwards
• Any parity error in the tributary (V2 bip2) generate a LO-REI backwards

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 OAM: detected events at the end of a HOP

LOW ORDER
PATH

HIGH ORDER
PATH

MULTIPLEXER

SECTION

REGENERATOR REGENERATOR

SECTION SECTION

2M 2M
STM-1 STM-N STM-1
HO-PTE LO-PTE

34M 34M

140M 140M

LO-PTE HO-PTE MUX REG MUX HO-PTE LO-PTE

AU-LOP
TU-AIS PDH AIS
(All 1s) (All 1s)
AU-AIS
(All 1s)

HO-RDI
(G1=xxxx1xxx)

LO-RDI
(V5=xxxxxxx1)

B3 with errors

HO-REI
(G1=nº of detected errors)
G 1 = n n n nxxxx; Errors=0..8

AIS: Alarm Indication Signal

HO-REI: High Order Remote Error Indication

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 OAM: detected events at the end of a MS

LOW ORDER
PATH

HIGH ORDER
PATH

MULTIPLEXER

SECTION

REGENERATOR REGENERATOR

SECTION SECTION

2M 2M
STM-1 STM-N STM-1
HO-PTE LO-PTE

34M 34M

140M 140M

LO-PTE HO-PTE MUX REG MUX HO-PTE LO-PTE

L O S AU-AIS TU-AIS PDH AIS

(All 1s) (All 1s) (All 1s)
L O F
MS-RDI
(K2=xxxxx110)

HO-RDI
(G1=xxxx1xxx)

LO-RDI
(V5=xxxxxxx1)

B2 with errors

MS-REI
(M1=nº of detected errors)
M1=nnnnnnnn; Errors=0..24

MS-RDI: Multiplexer Section Remote Defect Indication

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 OAM: Detected events at the end of a RS

LOW ORDER
PATH

HIGH ORDER
PATH

MULTIPLEXER

SECTION

REGENERATOR REGENERATOR

SECTION SECTION

2M 2M
STM-1 STM-N STM-1
HO-PTE LO-PTE

34M 34M

140M 140M

LO-PTE HO-PTE MUX REG MUX HO-PTE LO-PTE

LOS MS-AIS AU-AIS TU-AIS PDH AIS

(A1, A2 OK; (All 1s) (All 1s) (All 1s)
LOF the rest all 1s)

MS-RDI
(K2=xxxxx110)

HO-RDI
(G1=xxxx1xxx)

LO-RDI
(V5=xxxxxxx1)

B1 with errors

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 Anomaly and defect management
phys. regen. multiplexer
section section section Higher order path Lower order path AIS: Alarm indication signal
SPI RST (Note 1) MST MSA HPOM HUG HPC HPT HPA LPOM LUG LPC LPT LPA RDI: Remote defect indication
LOS REI: Remote error indication
“1”
LOF
Error
HPA: Higher order path adaptation
B1
“1” Detection HPC: Higher order path connection
regenerated signal
“1”
MS-AIS Generation HPOM: Higher order path monitor
Error MS-Exc. (B2)
Error MS-BIP (B2) Detection/Generation HPT: Higher order path termination
AU-AIS “1” AIS Insertion HUG: Higher order unequipped generator
MS-RDI
MS-RDI LPA: Lower order path adaptation
AU-AIS
“1” LPC: Lower order path connection
AU-LOP
HO path signal “1”
HPC unused
output/
LPOM: Lower order path monitor
HP-UNEQ
HOVC with POH y and unspecified useful load LPT: Lower order path termination
HO unequipped signal
HP-UNEQ LUG: Lower order unequipped generator
HP-TIM “1”
HP-SLM
LOF: Loss of frame
Error HP-BIP (B3)
TU-AIS LOM: Loss of multiframe
HP-REI
HP-RDI LOP: Loss of pointer
HP-RDI
HP-REI
LOS: Loss of signal
“1”
TU-AIS MSA: Multiplexer section adaptation
HP-LOM/TU-LOP HPC unused
“1” output/
LP-UNEQ
MST: Multiplexer section termination
RST: Regeneration section termination
LP-UNEQ
“1” SPI: SDH physichal interface
LP-TIM
LP-SLM SLM: Signal label mismatch
Error LP-BIP (B3)
LP-REI TIM: Trace identifier mismatch
LP-RDI
LP-RDI
UNEQ: Unequipped signal
LP-REI

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 AIS formats

RSOH RSOH RSOH

PTR PTR PTR

:X K2

MSOH MSOH MSOH

=1
MS-AIS AU-AIS TU-AIS PDH-AIS

• MS-AIS: All bits excepting the ones of the RSOH are put to the binary value ‘1’.
• AU-AIS: All bits of the adminsitrative unit are put to ‘1’ but the RSOH and MSOH maintains
their codification.
• TU-AIS: All bits in the tributary unid are put to ‘1’ but the unaffected tributaries and the RSOH
and MSOH maintains their codification.
• PDH-AIS: All the bits in the tributary are ‘1’.

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Some conclusions

Section
 SDH means infrastructures standardization

Frame Relay
GSM

SDH
node STM-N

SDH

ATM
SDH
node
UMTS

A SDH network can offer transport services to final users or it can be used as a transport
infrastructure by a GSM, ISDN, ATM, Frame Relay, UMTS..., network.

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 Simple and reliable

Simple
• Direct tributaries add&drop avoiding the typical PDH mux/demux
• The tributaries are synchronized to the network
• Byte oriented justification; stuffing bits are not necessary
• Tributaries can be drop&insert to the signal dynamically without disturbing the signal.
• The High efficiency level reached is a consequence of management facilities
• It is cheaper to provide new service

Reliable
• SDH is byte oriented allowing the integration of telecommunications with computers
• Automatic reconfiguration is possible to prevent faults
• Multiplexers provide a high reliability equivalent similar in backbones and in regional areas
• Hierarchical management of alarms and maintenance functions by the network elements.

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 New services

Host

IWU Services
Frame
Relay Telephony
UMTS
Frame Relay
GSM
ATM access
Infrastructures

SDH ATM
SDH link
Superserver

• As a consequence of higher capacity and quality

• Transport for high definition audio and video
• High speed data for Internet or other networks
• Fast bandwidth management to answer requirements
• Integration under the same arquitecture circuit and packet networks.

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 Cost effective

Interconnected rings

PDH access
SDH access
point ot point
45 Mb/s
SDH ring
2,5 Gb/s

622 Mb/s

SDH network

• Universal standard: multivendor

• Maintains the compatibility with legacy PDH networks
• Reduces the number of network elements to provide advanced services
• With just a few network elements is possible to configure a network
• Simplifies the management because of centralized configurations
• Fast traffic routing in case of fault

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 Telecom basis in the next 10 years?

“SDH will be the dominant technology in the next 10 years” as Pioneers Optical Edge Networks
Boston (MA) June 2000 said

• IP, MPLS, DWDM, will be attention focus of investements of 2,5 billion $

• Investements in SONET/SDH tecnology will be about 6 billion $

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