Carrier Ethernet Basics

Educational Series 1 2 3 4 5 6

Carrier
Ethernet
Basics
Carrier
Ethernet
Basics

AUTHORS
SYLVAIN CORNAY, Marketing Manager, EXFO
HAMMADOUN DICKO, Product Specialist, EXFO
THIERNO DIALLO, Product Specialist, EXFO
SOPHIE LEGAULT, Product Line Manager, EXFO
SUE JUDGE, Consultant

EXFO Inc.
March 2011
1. CARRIER ETHERNET BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 4

1.1 What Is Carrier Ethernet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 4

1.2 Transport Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 4

1.2.1 Copper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 5
1.2.2 Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 5
1.2.3 Fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 5

1.3 Carrier Ethernet Network Services . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 6

1.3.1 Ethernet Line (E-Line) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 6
1.3.2 Ethernet LAN (E-LAN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 7

1.4 Carrier Ethernet Applications: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 8

1.4.1 Business Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 8
1.4.2 Mobile Backhaul Services . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 9
1.4.3 Key Performance Indicators . . . . . . . . . 1– 9
1.5 Key Technologies Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 10
1.5.1 MPLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1– 10
1.5.2 MPLS-TP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1– 10
1.5.3 PBB-TE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1– 10
1.5.4 PTN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1– 11
1.5.5 PWE3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 11
1.5.6 Circuit Emulation Services . . . . . . . . . .1– 11
1.5.7 Ethernet OAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 12
1.5.8 Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1– 13

Also coming soon to the Carrier Ethernet Basic Educational Series, modules that will focus
on the following aspects of Carrier Ethernet, including service turn-up, service monitoring and
troubleshooting.

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1 CARRIER ETHERNET BASICS

As technologically sophisticated businesses and residential consumers continue to

drive the demand for premium, high-bandwidth data services such as voice and video,
service providers worldwide must evolve their transport infrastructures to support these
bandwidth and quality-intensive services. No longer is an all-IP core sufficient—providers
must now expand their IP convergence to the edge/metro network, in a cost-effective,
quality-assured manner.

1.1 What Is Carrier Ethernet?

Ethernet has long been accepted as an inexpensive, scalable data-networking
solution in LAN environments; however, the stringent quality of service (QoS)
expectations of today’s service offering require that service providers find solutions
to tap into the cost-effectiveness of Ethernet without sacrificing the benefits of
connection-oriented (albeit it costly) time-domain multiplexing (TDM) solutions
such as SONET/SDH

Comprehensive Ethernet testing immediately at service turn-up is now essential

in order to ensure service quality and increase customer satisfaction. Customer
service level agreement (SLAs) dictate certain performance criteria that must
be met, with the majority documenting network availability and mean-time-to-
repair (MTTR) values, which are easily verified. However, Ethernet performance
criteria are more difficult to prove, and demonstrating performance availability,
transmission delay, link burstability and service integrity cannot be done precisely
with only a single ping command. Carrier Ethernet, therefore, is the extension of
Ethernet that enables service providers to provide premium Ethernet services.

1.2 Transport Media

The diagram below outlines the different media used within a Carrier Ethernet
network and indicates where they are commonly deployed:

ETHERNET ACCESS

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics

1.2.1 Copper
To this day, copper cabling (i.e., insulated twisted copper wires) is still one of the
most widely used media in Carrier Ethernet due to its existing vast deployment
and its relatively low cost. It is almost everywhere as it was the media of choice to
deliver plain old telephony service (POTS) to homes and businesses. Leveraging
this infrastructure, service providers can avoid building out new and costly
networks, as they address markets with lower-rate traffic of up to 1 Gigabit per
second (Gbit/s) and begin to carry higher-speed traffic (in some cases up to 10
Gbit/s). Ethernet’s inherent scalability gives carriers a highly flexible platform for
delivering incremental services to smaller enterprises, branch offices, cellular
towers and other sites. However, copper is subject to both electromagnetic
interference and cross-talk, which can negatively affect the reliable transfer of
digital data—and at high speeds, the problem is even worse.

1.2.2 Microwave
Ethernet is also used for mobile backhaul, the distance from a cell tower to
a switching office or between switching offices. The medium used is actually
microwave-over-the-air. Microwave radio is a popular infrastructure choice for
wireless operators. Ethernet-enabled microwave is becoming an increasingly
important component of a wireless infrastructure. The increasing interest in
microwave is driven by the higher bandwidth demands at the base station sites
and the requirement to provide a substantial reduction in operational costs of
backhauling the data traffic. The growth of the wireless industry combined with
the proliferation of the mobile backhaul will only contribute to increase the use of
microwave radio as a transport medium.

1.2.3 Fiber
Since fiber can carry much more information than copper, carrier Ethernet
service providers typically use fiber to transport high-speed traffic (usually 1
Gbit/s or more) over long distances or within the network core. Fiber is used
with SONET/SDH, dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) or optical
transport networks (OTNs). Fiber cabling may have an initial higher cost, but even
at the fastest speeds, it is entirely resistant to both cross-talk and electromagnetic
interference, therefore it can provide much more reliable data transmission. As
the demand for bandwidth and speed increases, the need to implement fiber on
networks, even at the business site, is growing. However, the main issue with fiber
is the high cost of deployment and maintenance.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics Educational Series 1 2 3 4 5 6

1.3 Carrier Ethernet Network Services

The two basic Ethernet service types defined by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) are:

1.3.1 Ethernet Line (E-Line)

Delivering point-to-point connectivity, E-Line services are used to create Ethernet
private line services, Ethernet-based Internet access services and point-to-point
(P2P) Ethernet VPNs.

E-LINE SERVICE TYPE

Source: Metro Ethernet Forum

E-LINE VARIANTS

Ethernet Private Lines

This service consists of a P2P connection that uses dedicated bandwidth, either
virtually concatenated SONET/SDH channels or reserved packet bandwidth
in a packet-switched network. The customer’s Ethernet frames stay strictly
separated from others’ at the Ethernet layer, and the customer will always have
the contracted bandwidth rate available (also known as the committed information
rate (CIR)). In this regard, the Ethernet private line is much like legacy TDM-based
private lines, yet offers the benefit of a native Ethernet interface to the customer
and to the network operator’s edge equipment. Like typical TDM private lines,
the Ethernet private line can be deployed to support a number of different carrier
services such as Ethernet Internet, network services access or LAN-to-LAN
interconnect—in which the customer owns one or both ends of the connection.
The Ethernet private line is the simplest E-Line service to deploy. Service providers
typically provide these services from a multiservice provisioning platform (MSPP),
which acts as the demarcation between the customer’s network and the carrier’s
SONET/SDH transport network.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics

Ethernet Virtual Private Line

For the Ethernet virtual private line, the rules are slightly different. In this service,
the customer still gets point-to-point connectivity, but over shared bandwidth
instead of dedicated. The shared bandwidth can be a TDM channel in the
transport network or the switched-fabric bandwidth of switches and routers in
the packet network. The service can either be offered as best-effort or with SLAs
specifying CIR and other critical network parameters, such as latency. This service
is quite similar to frame relay and its model of creating networks using permanent
virtual circuits (PVCs). MEF defines Ethernet virtual private line service as a P2P
Ethernet virtual connection (EVC) between two subscribers. Multiple EVCs can be
combined to provide hub-and-spoke architectures in which multiple remote offices
all require access to a head office, or multiple customers all require access to
managed services from an operator’s point of presence (POP).

1.3.2 Ethernet LAN (E-LAN)

Delivering multipoint-to-multipoint (any-to-any) connectivity, E-LAN services are
designed for multipoint Ethernet VPNs and native Ethernet transparent LAN
services.
E-LAN SERVICE TYPE

Source: Metro Ethernet Forum

E-LAN VARIANTS

Ethernet Private LAN

An Ethernet private LAN (EPLAN) service provides multipoint connectivity over
dedicated bandwidth, i.e., it can connect two or more subscribers. Subscriber
data sent from one customer site can be received at one or more of the other
customer sites. Each site is connected to a multipoint-to-multipoint Ethernet
virtual circuit (EVC) and uses dedicated resources so that the different customers’
Ethernet frames are not multiplexed together. As new sites are added, they are
connected to the same multipoint EVC, thus simplifying provisioning and service
activation. From a subscriber standpoint, an EPLAN makes multiple LAN sites look
like a single, yet immense, LAN.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics Educational Series 1 2 3 4 5 6

Ethernet Virtual Private LAN

The Ethernet virtual private LAN (EVPLAN) has gone by many names over the past
two years, from virtual private LAN service (VPLS) to transparent LAN service (TLS)
to virtual private switched network (VPSN). Regardless of how it is termed, the
EVPLAN is a network service providing layer 2 multipoint connectivity between
Ethernet-edge devices. Customer separation is accomplished via encapsulation
using VLAN tags or other encapsulation technologies such as MPLS. The EVPLAN
is a cost-effective service for the service provider, as it can leverage shared
transmission bandwidth in the network. However, because it is a multipoint service,
it can be complex to administer. The operator must implement protection, bandwidth
profiles, congestion management, buffering, etc.—these are much more complex to
implement in EVPLANs when compared to P2P services.

1.4 Carrier Ethernet Applications:

Carrier Ethernet services are mainly used in two segments:
1.4.1 Business Services
The deployment of carrier Ethernet services within businesses will continue to grow
with the demand of higher and higher bandwidth; this is driven by the requirements
of enterprises—not only for data services, but also for voice and video services over
their network.

Site-to-site access, data centers, server consolidations, disaster recovery, service

orientated architecture, internet access, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and converged
networking are just a few applications that require high bandwidth and low latency.

One of the major benefits of Ethernet for business services is cost reduction.
Global availability of standardized services reduces the cost of implementation.
The familiarity of IT departments with Ethernet makes the implementation of Carrier
Ethernet services easier and cheaper. In essence, Carrier Ethernet brings the benefits
of the Ethernet cost model to metro and wide-area networks. New applications
requiring high bandwidth and low latency—which was previously not possible or
prohibited due to high costs—can now be implemented.

Another major benefit of Carrier Ethernet is performance. That is, in part because
inherently, Ethernet networks require less processing to operate and manage. They
also operate at higher bandwidths than other technologies. It is also the most suited
solution for voice, video and data because of its low latency and delay variation.
Carrier Ethernet services also provide a high level of flexibility, which is ideal for
applications such as site-to-site access that by the nature can have unpredictable
and varying bandwidth requirements.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics

1.4.2 Mobile Backhaul Services

As the backhaul network infrastructure evolves to support packet-based
transmission, mobile operators face numerous challenges, resulting from the shift
from managing network performance to managing service performance. Testing
the network with a simple ping is no longer an option. In addition to assessing the
network’s performance, operators now must constantly validate and measure key
performance indicators on a per-service basis.

Today, and in the years to come, backhaul networks will be made of a mixture
of both E1/T1 (for voice) and Ethernet/IP (for data services) technologies. This
hybrid-network approach offers an economical solution for potential traffic
bottlenecks with the increased traffic of non-real-time data.

As carrier Ethernet networks mature, wireless backhaul will eventually become

totally packet-based; this will simplify network architecture, reduce costs
and provide the necessary scalability for expected growth with data-centric
applications.

1.4.3 Key Performance Indicators

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are specific traffic characteristics that indicate
the minimum performance of a specific traffic profile. The following KPIs directly
influence the performance of backhaul networks.

• Frame delay, or latency, is the difference in time from the moment a frame or
packet leaves the origination port and the moment it arrives at the destination
port. It has a direct impact on the quality of real-time data, such as voice or video.
Management services such as synchronization protocols, which communicate
between the BSC and mobile devices, must have a very fast response time. This
helps to ensure quality voice transmission, cell handoffs, signaling and reliable
connectivity.

• Frame loss is a serious problem for all real-time services such as voice or live
video, as well as for synchronization and management of traffic control. Lost
packets cause poor perception quality, and lost control packets increase latency
and may cause connectivity failures—and even dropped calls.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics Educational Series 1 2 3 4 5 6

• Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data that can be forwarded.

This measurement is a ratio of the total amount of traffic forwarded during a
measurement window of one second. Bandwidth can either be ‘committed’ or
‘excess’ with different performance guarantees.

• Frame delay variation, or packet jitter, refers to the variability in arrival time
between packet deliveries. As packets travel through a network, they are often
queued and sent in bursts to the next hop. Random prioritization may occur,
resulting in packet transmission at random rates. Packets are therefore received
at irregular intervals. This jitter translates into stress on the receiving buffers of
the end nodes, where buffers can be overused or underused when there are
large swings of jitter. Real-time applications are especially sensitive to packet
jitter. Buffers are designed to store a certain quantity of video or voice packets,
which are then processed at regular intervals to provide a smooth and error-free
transmission to the end user. Too much jitter will affect the quality of experience
(QoE)—where packets arriving at a fast rate will cause buffers to overfill, leading
to packet loss; while packets arriving at a slow rate will cause buffers to empty,
leading to still images or sound.

1.5 Key Technologies Overview

1.5.1 MPLS
IP/multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), an IEEE standard, is an established
transport method that transparently switches data (packets or frames) from
multiple protocols (ATM, frame relay, Ethernet, etc.) across an all-IP backbone.
With full class-of-service (CoS) and virtual LAN (VLAN) support, MPLS is an ideal
solution for carriers wanting to extend the life of legacy TDM-based services in the
core. Modifications are being made to the standard to increase traffic engineering
capabilities (MPLS-TP), which will enable IP/MPLS to support the advanced
quality of service needed to extend the solution out to the metro edge.

1.5.2 MPLS-TP
With the movement toward packet-based services, transport networks have to
encompass the provision of packet-aware capabilities while enabling carriers to
leverage their installed transport infrastructure investments. MPLS transport profile
(MPSL-TP) is a derivative of MPLS designed for transport networks. It supports
the capabilities and functionalities needed for packet-transport network services
and operations through combining the packet experience of MPLS with the
operational experience and practices of existing transport networks. MPLS-TP
enables the deployment of packet-based transport networks that efficiently scales
to support packet services in a simple and cost-effective way.

1.5.3 PBB-TE
Provider backbone bridge traffic engineering or PBB-TE (also referred to as
PBT) is an alternative Ethernet-based implementation that enables carrier-grade
provisioning and management of connection-oriented transport services across an

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics

all-IP MAN and core network by disabling the flooding/broadcasting and spanning
tree protocol features. It is an evolution of MAC-in-MAC by making it connection-
oriented. PBB-TE separates the Ethernet service layer from the network layer; its
flexibility also allows service providers to deliver native Ethernet initially and MPLS-
based services—i.e., virtual private wire service (VPWS) or virtual private LAN
service (VPLS)—if and when they are required.

1.5.4 PTN
The packet transport network (PTN) is the next generation of networks designed
around the best elements of traditional TDM technologies and the emergent
packet technologies. It is typically deployed at two layers. At the access layer, PTN
provides convergence of multiple services by converging TDM and packets into
the PTN cloud. TDM packets are encapsulated and forwarded as packets in the
PTN cloud while native Ethernet/IP packets are encapsulated and forwarded in
the same PTN cloud.

PTN networks overcome many of the challenges of carriers by providing the

efficient data transport of packetized technologies with the fault detection
and resiliency of TDM-based networks. Service providers can now leverage
the inherent advantages of Ethernet and TDM technologies, such as cost
effectiveness, flexibility, multiservice applications as well as quality of service.

1.5.5 PWE3
Pseudo wire emulation edge-to-edge (PWE3) is a mechanism that emulates the
essential attributes of a service such as ATM, frame relay or Ethernet over a packet
switched network (PSN). PWE3 only provides the minimum required functionality
to emulate the wire. From the customer perspective, it is perceived as an unshared
link or circuit of the chosen service. PW3 specifies the encapsulation, transport,
control, management, interworking and security of services emulated over PSNs.

To maximize the return on their assets and minimize their operational costs,
many service providers are looking to consolidate the delivery of multiple service
offerings and traffic types onto a single IP-optimized network. PWE3 is a possible
solution since it emulates Ethernet frame formats over IP networks.

1.5.6 Circuit Emulation Services

Circuit emulation services (CES) is a technology used to carry T1/E1 services over
asynchronous networks such as ATM, Ethernet. This paper focuses specifically on
CESoS (Circuit Emulation over Ethernet). Service providers can now manage and
provision TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) leased lines via CESoS and endpoints
terminating in the PSTN (public switched telephone network) or between
enterprise endpoints. With this technology, service providers can now use TDM
applications to leverage the advantages inherent in Ethernet such as: flexibility,
cost-effectiveness and simplicity.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics Educational Series 1 2 3 4 5 6

1.5.7 Ethernet OAM

Ethernet OAM draws on and includes existing standards such as IEEE 802.1ag
for connectivity fault management (CFM), ITU-T Y.1731 for performance
monitoring, 802.3ah or EFM (Ethernet in the first mile) for link monitoring, fault
signaling and remote loopback for the access network.

OAM standards are used to troubleshoot networks, monitor performance, verify

configuration and manage security. OAM functionality allows network operators
to measure QoS attributes, such as availability, frame delay, frame delay variation
(jitter) and frame loss. Ethernet OAM can also provide remote loopback, a feature
often used to troubleshoot networks where all inbound traffic is immediately
reflected back on the link.

At the device level, OAM protocols generate messages that are used by
operations staff to help identify problems in the network. In the event of a fault,
the information generated by OAM helps the operator troubleshoot the network
to locate the fault, identify which services have been impacted and take the
appropriate action. Also, just as it is important to keep the customers’ services
running, operators must be able to prove that is the case, this is usually measured
against an SLA, and the operator must have the performance measurements to
manage customer SLAs. Finally, administration features include collecting the
accounting data for the purpose of billing and network usage data for capacity-
planning exercises.

Effective end-to-end service control also enables carriers to avoid expensive truck
rolls to locate and contain faults, thereby facilitating reduction of maintenance
costs. Intrinsic OAM functionality is therefore essential in any carrier-class
technology and is a ‘must have’ capability in intelligent Ethernet network
termination units.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics

1.5.8 Synchronization
As the network moves toward Ethernet as the transport technology of choice,
synchronization remains a major issue. As Ethernet and TDM technologies
continue to coexist, technologies like circuit-emulation services (CES) provide
capabilities to map TDM traffic on Ethernet infrastructure and vice versa, enabling
a smooth changeover for network operators transitioning to an all-packet network.

To interconnect these two technologies, frequency synchronization is key since the

TDM technologies have frequency-offset tolerances that are much more restrictive
than the asynchronous Ethernet technologies. Ethernet relies on inexpensive
holdover oscillators and can stop transmitting traffic or buffer data, while TDM
technologies rely on the continuous transmission and presence of synchronization
reference. Synchronous Ethernet solves these issues by ensuring frequency
synchronization at the physical level.

However, since SyncE is a synchronization technology based on layer 1,

it requires that all ports on the synchronized path be enabled for SyncE.
Any node that is non SyncE-enabled on the path will automatically break the
synchronization from this node. This is an issue for network providers that have
a multitude of Ethernet ports between the primary synchronization unit and
the edge device that needs synchronization as all the ports must be SyncE-
enabled to synchronize to the edge. Such requirements can increase the cost of
deployments as hardware and software upgrades can dramatically increase the
total cost of ownership. SyncE also only focuses on frequency synchronization
and does not guarantee phase synchronization—although the phase requirements
can be somewhat assessed via SyncE.

This diagram shows an example of Ethernet synchronization.

Many services need synchronization, but wireless base stations today have the
largest stake in frequency and time distribution. The frequency stability of the
air interface between the cell tower and the handset supports handing off a call
between adjacent base stations without interruption. Synchronization for base
stations is therefore central to the QoS that an operator provides.

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The next packet synchronization technology, the Precise Time Protocol (PTP) also
referred to as the “IEEE 1588v2”, is specifically designed to provide high clock
accuracy through a packet network via a continuous exchange of packets with
appropriate timestamps. In this protocol, a highly precise clock source, referred to
as the “grand-master clock” generates timestamp announcements and responds
to timestamp requests from boundary clocks, thus ensuring that the boundary
clocks and the slave clocks are precisely aligned to the grand-master clocks. By
relying on the handover capability and the precision of the integrated clocks in
combination with the continuous exchange of timestamps between PTP-enabled
devices, frequency and phase accuracy can be maintained at a sub-microsecond
range, thus ensuring synchronization within the network. In addition to frequency
and phase synchronization, ToD synchronization can also ensure that all PTP-
enabled devices are synchronized with the proper time, based on coordinated
universal time (UTC).

The great advantages of PTP is that as a packed-based technology, only

boundary and slave clock needs to be aware of the nature of the packets and
therefore synchronization packets are forwarded as any other data packets within
the network. This flexibility reduces the cost of ownership as the main upgrade
to the networks are limited to synchronization equipment contrarily to the SyncE
approach that requires both synchronization equipment and upgrade of all
Ethernet ports on the link to SyncE specifications.

This diagram shows an application of IEEE 1588v2 PTP in a mobile backhaul to establish
synchronization.

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Carrier Ethernet Basics
Educational Series 1 2 3 4 5 6

Carrier Ethernet
Testing TECHNOLOGIES
AND METHODOLOGIES
Carrier Ethernet
Testing Technologies
and Methodologies

AUTHORS
SYLVAIN CORNAY, Marketing Manager, EXFO
HAMMADOUN DICKO, Product Specialist, EXFO
THIERNO DIALLO, Product Specialist, EXFO
SOPHIE LEGAULT, Product Line Manager, EXFO
SUE JUDGE, Consultant

EXFO Inc.
March 2011
2. OPTIMIZING QUALITY OF SERVICE
AND QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 4

2.1 RFC-2544 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 5

2.2 ITU-T Y.1564 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 7
2.2.1 Service Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 7
2.2.2 Test Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 7
2.2.3 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 8
2.2.4 Burst (CBS and EBS) Tests . . . . . . . . . .2– 10
2.2.5 Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 11
2.2.6 Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2– 12
2.3 BERT over Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2– 12
2.4 Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2– 13
2.4.1 Ethernet Synchronization Methods . . . . .2– 14
2.4.2 Synchronization Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 16
2.4.3 PTP Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2– 16
2.5 Service Lifecycle Management . . . . . . . . . . . . .2– 17
2.5.1 Fault Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2– 17
2.5.2 Performance Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . .2– 18

Also coming soon to the Carrier Ethernet Basic Educational Series, modules that will focus
on the following aspects of Carrier Ethernet, including service turn-up, service monitoring and
troubleshooting.

2– 3
2 OPTIMIZING QUALITY OF SERVICE
AND QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE

The increasing demand for data-centric services driven by smartphone technologies,

along with the growth of social networking (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and multimedia
applications (e.g., gaming, YouTube, etc.), has prompted operators to shift toward packet-
based Ethernet/IP technologies across their access and core networks in order to cost-
effectively support the rapidly escalating bandwidth requirements.

In fact, according to the latest report from Cisco’s Visual Networking Index Global Mobile
Data Traffic Forecast, it is predicted that global mobile data traffic will grow by 26 times
between 2010 and 2015, to 6.3 exabytes—one billion gigabytes—per month. Additionally,
the report foresees that by 2015, two-thirds of all mobile data traffic will be video,
underscoring the challenges operators face as they try to manage the tidal wave of mobile
data set to flood their networks.

While there is little doubt about the cost efficiencies and scalability of Ethernet, the
time- and delay-sensitive nature of established voice services, in addition to the growing
popularity of new mobile video services, cannot be ignored and necessitate an advanced
approach to Ethernet networking and testing to maintain the customer expectations for
quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE).

As Carrier Ethernet technology matures, networks will eventually become entirely packet-
based; this will greatly simplify the network architecture, reduce costs and provide the
necessary scalability for expected growth with data-centric applications. But as the
network infrastructure evolves to support packet-based transmission, operators must also
evolve from only managing network performance to also managing service performance.
This means that testing the network with a simple ping is no longer an option as operators
must now constantly validate and measure the key performance indicators (KPIs) on a
per-service basis.

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 Carrier Ethernet Basics

2.1 RFC-2544
The Internet Engineering Task Force’s (IETF’s) RFC 2544 is a benchmarking
methodology for network interconnect devices. This request for comment (RFC)
was created in 1999 as a methodology to benchmark network devices, such as
hubs, switches and routers, as well as to provide accurate and comparable values
for comparison and benchmarking.

RFC 2544 provides engineers and network technicians with a common language
and results format. RFC 2544 describes the following six subtests:

• Throughput: This test measures the maximum rate at which none of the
offered frames is dropped by the device/system under test (DUT/SUT). This
measurement translates into the available bandwidth of the Ethernet virtual
connection.

• Back-to-back or burstability: This test measures the longest burst of frames at

maximum throughput or minimum legal separation between frames that the device
or network under test will handle without any loss of frames. This measurement is
a good indication of the buffering capacity of a DUT.

• Frame loss: This test defines the percentage of frames that should have been
forwarded by a network device under steady state (constant) loads that were not
forwarded due to lack of resources. This measurement can be used for reporting
the performance of a network device in an overloaded state, as it can be a useful
indication of how a device would perform under pathological network conditions,
such as broadcast storms.

• Latency: This test measures the round-trip time of a test frame to travel through
a network device or across the network and back to the test port. Latency is the
time interval that begins when the last bit of the input frame reaches the input port
and ends when the first bit of the output frame is seen on the output port. It is the
time taken by a bit to go through the network and back. Latency variability can be
a problem. With protocols like voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), a variable or
long latency can cause degradation in voice quality.

• System reset: This test measures the speed at which a DUT recovers from a
hardware or software reset. This subtest is performed by measuring the interruption
of a continuous stream of frames during the reset process.

• System recovery: This test measures the speed at which a DUT recovers from an
overload or oversubscription condition. This subtest is performed by temporarily
oversubscribing the device under test and then reducing the throughput at normal
or low load while measuring frame delay in these two conditions. The difference
between delay at overloaded conditions and the delay and low-load conditions
represent the recovery time.
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From a laboratory and benchmarking perspective, the RFC 2544 methodology is

an ideal tool for automated measurement and reporting. From a service turn-up and
troubleshooting perspective, RFC 2544, although acceptable and valid, does have
some drawbacks:

• Service providers are shifting from only providing Ethernet pipes to enabling
services. Networks must support multiple services from multiple customers,
while each service has its own performance requirements that must be met even
under full load conditions and with all services being processed simultaneously.
RFC 2544 was designed as a performance tool with a focus on a single stream
to measure maximum performance of a DUT or network under test and was never
intended for multiservice testing.

• With RFC 2544’s focus on identifying the maximum performance of a device or

network under test, the overall test time is variable and depends heavily on the
quality of the link and subtest settings. RFC 2544 test cycles can easily require
a few hours of testing. This is not an issue for lab testing or benchmarking, but
becomes a serious issue for network operators with short service maintenance
windows.

• Packet delay variation is a KPI for real-time services such as VoIP and Internet
protocol television (IPTV) and is not measured by the RFC 2544 methodology.
Network operators that performed service testing with RFC 2544 must typically
execute external packet jitter testing outside of RFC 2544—as this KPI is not
defined or measured by the RFC 2544.

• Testing is performed sequentially on one KPI after another. In today’s multiservice

environments, traffic is going to experience all KPIs at the same time, although
throughput might be good, it can also be accompanied by very high latency due
to buffering. Designed as a performance assessment tool, RFC 2544 measures
each KPI individually through its subtest and therefore cannot immediately
associate a very high latency with a good throughput, which should be a cause
for concern.

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2.2 ITU-T Y.1564

Next-Generation Carrier-Ethernet Testing

To resolve issues with RFC 2544, ITU-T has introduced a new test standard: the
ITU-T Y.1564 methodology, which is aligned with the requirements of today’s
Ethernet services. EXFO is the first to implement EtherSAM—the Ethernet service
testing methodology based on this new standard—into its Ethernet-testing
products.

ITU-T Y.1564 is designed around the three following key objectives:

1. To serve as a network service-level-agreement (SLA) validation tool, ensuring that

a service meets its guaranteed performance settings in a controlled test time.

2. To ensure that all services carried by the network meet their SLA objectives
at their maximum committed rate, proving that under maximum load, network
devices and paths can support all the traffic as designed.

3. To perform medium- and long-term service testing, to validate that network elements
can properly carry all services while under stress during a soaking period.

2.2.1 Service Definitions

ITU-T Y.1564 defines test streams with service attributes linked to the Metro
Ethernet Forum (MEF) 10.2 definitions.

Services are traffic streams with specific attributes identified by different classifiers,
such as 802.1q VLAN, 802.1ad and class of service (CoS) profiles. These services
are defined at the user-to-network interface (UNI) level with different frame and
bandwidth profiles, such as the service’s maximum transmission unit (MTU) or frame
size, committed information rate (CIR) and excess information rate (EIR).

2.2.2 Test Rates

ITU Y.1564 defines three key test rates based on the MEF service attributes for
Ethernet virtual circuit (EVC) and UNI bandwidth profiles.

• CIR defines the maximum transmission rate for a service where it is guaranteed
certain performance objectives; these objectives are typically defined and
enforced via SLAs.

• EIR defines the maximum transmission rate above the committed information
rate considered as excess traffic. This excess traffic is forwarded as the capacity
allows and is not subject to meeting any guaranteed performance objectives
(best effort forwarding).

• Overshoot rate defines a testing transmission rate above CIR or EIR and is used
to ensure that the DUT or network under test does not forward more traffic than
specified by the CIR or EIR of the service.

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2.2.3 Methodology
The ITU-T Y.1564 is built around two key subtests, the service-configuration test
and the service-performance test, which are performed in order:

Service Configuration Test

Forwarding devices such as switches, routers, bridges and network interface
units are the basis of any network as they interconnect segments. If a service is
not correctly configured on any one of these devices within the end-to-end path,
network performance can be greatly affected, leading to potential service outages
and network-wide issues such as congestion and link failures.

The service configuration test is designed to measure the ability of the DUT or the
network under test to properly forward in three different states:

• In the CIR phase, where performance metrics for the service are measured and
compared to the SLA performance objectives
• In the EIR phase, where performance is not guaranteed and the services transfer
rate is measured to ensure that CIR is the minimum bandwidth
• In the discard phase, where the service is generated at the overshoot rate and
the expected forwarded rate is not greater than the committed information rate
or excess rate (when configured)

Service Performance Test

As network devices come under load, they must prioritize one traffic flow over
another to meet the KPIs set for each traffic class. With only one traffic class,
there is no prioritization performed by the network devices since there is only one
set of KPIs. As the amount of the traffic flow increases, prioritization is necessary
and performance failures may occur.

The service performance test measures the ability of the DUT or network under test
to forward multiple services, while maintaining SLA conformance for each service.
Services are generated at the CIR, where performance is guaranteed, and pass/fail
assessment is performed on the KPI values for each service according to its SLA.

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Service performance assessment must also be maintained for a medium- to long-

term period as performance degradation will likely occur as the network is under
stress for longer periods of time. The service performance test is designed to soak
the network under full committed load for all services and measure performance
over medium and long test times.

Bidirectional Test
EtherSAM can perform round-trip measurements with a loopback device. In this
case, the results reflect the average of both test directions, from the test set to the
loopback point and back to the test set. In this scenario, the loopback functionality
can be performed by another test instrument in Loopback mode or by a network
interface device in Loopback mode.

The same test can also be run in simultaneous bidirectional mode (dual test set).
In this case, two test sets, one designated as local and the other as remote, are
used to communicate and independently and run tests per direction. The tests are
performed simultaneously as well. This provides much more precise test results
such as independent assessment per direction and the ability to quickly determine
which direction of the link is experiencing failure. This allows service providers
to test asymmetrical links. This test uncovers more configuration errors than the
EtherSAM test with one loopback device on the other end especially when testing
multiple services with different EIRs and CIRs.

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2.2.4 Burst (CBS and EBS) Tests:

Committed burst size (CBS) and excessive burst size (EBS) tests are still
considered preliminary and experimental only. The bandwidth profile contains
attributes of CBS and EBS that some service providers may wish to test at the
time of service activation to verify proper attribute configuration. Today, these
types of SLA parameters are only offered for more complex/advanced Ethernet
commercial services offerings. As these mechanisms work independently for each
service direction, testing CBS and EBS in a round-trip configuration (one end
in loopback) has little to no value. It is essential that these parameters be tested
independently for each service direction. Burst testing is mainly important for high
bandwidth Ethernet user network interfaces that have a small fraction of the line
capacity provisioned to carry customer traffic.

Burst test methodologies assume a token bucket algorithm to police and shape
the traffic. The token bucket is a control mechanism that dictates when traffic
can be transmitted, based on the presence of tokens in the bucket–an abstract
container that holds aggregate network traffic to be transmitted.

The burst test is provided for non-color aware and color aware applications. In
advanced business Ethernet services, it is possible to have traffic that is tagged
with different colors (green and yellow) within the same service. The colors are
a method allowing the end customer to tell the network that specific traffic has
higher priority in case of congestion. Color Aware mode is also offered only in
more complex/advanced Ethernet Services. Color mode testing consists in
verifying that the traffic policers and shapers properly respects the Color mode.
Testing Color mode is a complex test and will not be tested frequently in the field.
On the other hand Non-Color Aware mode requires only one color per service. It is
the most common mode.

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2.2.5 Metrics
Y.1564 focuses on the following KPIs for service quality:

• Bandwidth: This is a bit rate measure of the available or consumed data

communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it (kilobits/s,
megabits/s, etc.).

• Frame transfer delay (FTD): Also known as latency, this is a measurement of

the time delay between the transmission and the reception of a frame. Typically
this is a round-trip measurement, meaning that the calculation measures both
the near-end to far-end and far-end to near-end directions simultaneously.

• Frame delay variations: Also known as packet jitter, this is a measurement

of the variations in the time delay between packet deliveries. As packets travel
through a network to their destination, they are often queued and sent in bursts
to the next hop. There may be prioritization at random moments, also resulting in
packets being sent at random rates. Packets are therefore received at irregular
intervals. The direct consequence of this jitter is stress on the receiving buffers
of the end nodes where buffers can be overused or underused when there are
large swings of jitter.

• Frame loss: Typically expressed as a ratio, this is a measurement of the number

of packets lost over the total number of packets sent. Frame loss can be due to
a number of issues such as network congestion or errors during transmissions.

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2.2.6 Benefits:
ITU-T Y.1564 provides numerous benefits to service providers, offering mobile
backhaul, commercial and wholesale Ethernet services.

• Measurement of all KPIs in a single test:

While existing methodologies like RFC 2544 only provide the capability to
measure the maximum performances of a link, EtherSAM uses a validation
approach where KPIs are measured and compared to the expected values
for each service. This approach focuses on proving that KPIs are met while in
guaranteed traffic conditions.

• Significantly faster:
The RFC 2544 methodology uses a sequential approach where each subtest is
executed one after the other until they have all been completed, making it a time-
consuming procedure. Additionally, the completion of a subtest heavily relies on
the quality of the link.

In opposition, ITU-T Y.1564 uses a defined ramp-up approach where each step
takes an exact amount of time. Link quality issues are quickly identified without
necessarily increasing test time because a pass/fail condition is based on the
KPI assessment during the step.

• Multiservice testing capabilities:

As described earlier, the majority of Ethernet services deployed today include
multiple classes of service within the same connection. A major drawback of
RFC 2544 is the fact that it can only test a single service at a time; Y.1564 on
the other hand can test multiple services simultaneously.

• More representative of real-life conditions:

The worst-case scenario for a network is handling multiple traffic types during a
congestion period. Since RFC 2544 only tests a single stream at a time, it cannot
simulate worst-case scenarios.

The ITU-T Y.1564 service subtest can generate all configured services at the
same time, providing the ability to stress network elements and data paths in
worst-case conditions. The service test provides powerful test results since all
KPIs are measured simultaneously for all services with clear pass/fail indication, as
well as identification of failed KPIs. This ensures that any failure or inconsistency
is quickly pinpointed and reported, again contributing to an efficient and more
meaningful test cycle.

2.3 BERT over Ethernet

Since transparent transport of Ethernet over physical media is now a common
service, Ethernet is increasingly carried across a variety of media over longer
distances. There is, therefore, a growing need to certify Ethernet carriage on a bit-
per-bit basis. This can be done using bit error-rate testing (BERT).

BERT is a concept taken from the SONET/SDH world. In a BERT, a data stream is
sent through the communications medium and the resulting data stream is compared
with the original. Any changes are noted as data errors. BERT uses a pseudo-random
binary sequence (PRBS) encapsulated into an Ethernet frame, making it possible to
go from a frame-based error measurement to a BER (bit error rate) measurement.

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BERT still remains a very popular testing methodology because it is suited for
applications that are transparent to the transport medium and also because it has
been used for a long time and most telecom engineers and technicians are very
comfortable with it. However if the network to be tested is switched-based and
includes overhead processing and error verification, the BER approach is not the
best one. This is because a network processing element will discard frames or
packets if an error is found, which means that most errors will never reach the test
equipment. These lost frames are more difficult to translate into a BER value.

2.4 Synchronization
Synchronization can be defined as the coordinated and simultaneous relationship
between time-keeping among multiple devices. For people outside of the telecom
world, synchronization typically refers to time synchronization where one or more
devices have the same time as a reference clock, typically the universal time clock
(UTC); when synchronized, two devices will have the proper time of day (ToD) in
reference to the universal time reference, regardless of their geographical location.

However for network engineers, synchronization has a very precise and critical use.
Telecom networks, such as SONET and SDH networks, are based on a synchronous
architecture, meaning that all data signals are synchronized and clocked using
virtually the same clock throughout. This ensures that all of the ports that carry
data do so at the same frequency or with very little offset, and therefore, network
throughput is deterministic and fixed for a specific transport rate.

Ethernet on the other hand is an asynchronous technology where each Ethernet

port has its own independent clock circuit and oscillator. Because each port is
clock independent, frequency offsets between interconnected ports can be relatively
high. To solve this issue, Ethernet devices typically implement buffers that can
store traffic and then mitigate the effect of offsets between two ports. Therefore,
telecom networks require two other types of synchronization in addition to time
synchronization, that is, frequency synchronization and phase synchronization.

Frequency synchronization is typically a physical synchronization where the

output clocks between devices is synchronized. When two devices are frequency
synchronized, they basically generate the same number of bits over an integration
period (typically 1 second). When they are not frequency synchronized, one device
will generate more bits per second than the other, which can cause overflow and
eventually bit errors or traffic loss.

Phase synchronization refers to the simultaneous variation of clocks between

devices. When phase-synchronized, the two devices will shift at exactly the same
time from one clock pulse to the other. A real-world example would be to compare
two watches side-by-side. When synchronized, these two watches will increment at
exactly the same time; when unsynchronized, one device will count faster than the
other and in the network world, these variations are the equivalent of phase offset.

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2.4.1 Ethernet Synchronization Methods

There are currently two techniques available:
• SyncE
Ethernet SyncE achieves frequency by timing the output bit clocks from a highly
accurate stratum 1 traceable clock signal in a fashion similar to traditional TDM and
SONET/SDH synchronization. SyncE supports the exchange of synchronization
status messages (SSM) and now includes a newly introduced Ethernet
synchronization messaging channel (ESMC), which ensures that the Ethernet
node with SyncE enabled always derives its timing from the most reliable source.

However, since SyncE is a synchronization technology based on layer 1, it requires

that all ports on the synchronized path be enabled for SyncE. Any node that is
non SyncE-enabled on the path will automatically break the synchronization from
this node; this is an issue for network providers that have a multitude of Ethernet
ports between the primary synchronization unit and the edge device that needs
synchronization, as all the ports must be SyncE-enabled to synchronize to the
edge. Such requirements can increase the cost of deployments as hardware
and software upgrades can dramatically raise the total cost of ownership. Also,
SyncE only focuses on frequency synchronization and does not guarantee phase
synchronization—although the phase requirements can be somewhat assessed
via SyncE.

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• Precise Time Protocol (PTP)

The 1588v2 standard, defined by the ITU and also known as Precise Time
Protocol, (PTP) is specifically designed to provide high clock accuracy through
a packet network via a continuous exchange of packets with appropriate
timestamps. In this protocol, a highly precise clock source, referred to as the
“grand-master clock” generates timestamp announcements and responds to
timestamp requests from boundary clocks, thus ensuring that the boundary
clocks and the slave clocks are precisely aligned to the grand-master clocks.
By relying on the holdover capability and the precision of the integrated
clocks in combination with the continuous exchange of timestamps between
PTP-enabled devices, frequency and phase accuracy can be maintained at a
sub-microsecond range, thus ensuring synchronization within the network. In
addition to frequency and phase synchronization, ToD synchronization can also
ensure that all PTP-enabled devices are synchronized with the proper time,
based on the coordinated universal time clock (UTC). The advantage of PTP
is that as a packed-based technology, only the boundary and slave clock need
to be aware of the nature of the packets and therefore, synchronization packets
are forwarded as any other data packets within the network. This flexibility
reduces the cost of ownership as the main upgrade to the networks are limited
to synchronization equipment, contrarily to the SyncE approach which requires
both synchronization equipment and upgrade of all Ethernet ports on the link to
SyncE specifications.

However, the major weakness of PTP is due to its packet nature. As the
synchronization packets used by PTP are forwarded in the network between
grand master and hosts, they are subject to all the network events, such as
frame delay (latency), frame-delay variation (packet jitter) and frame loss. Even
with the best practice of applying high priority to synchronization flows, these
synchronization packets still experience congestion and possible routing and
forwarding issues, such as out-of-sequence and route flaps. This means that the
host clock’s holdover circuit must be stable enough to maintain synchronization
where the synchronization packets experienced network events.

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2.4.2 Synchronization Metrics

Measuring synchronization accuracy almost entirely rests on the offset between the
significant events of the tested signal compared to the same significant event of the
reference clock. Synchronization metrics typically consist of three key measurements:
time interval error (TIE), maximum time interval error (MTIE) and time deviation (TDEV).

• TIE: Is a basic measurement of the phase difference between the reference

clock and the clock under test, based on the time difference between significant
events. This basic measurement, performed over many hours or days of tests,
provides immediate offsets between the clocks. Due to its instantaneous nature,
this measurement is not ideal for the long-term but provides an assessment of the
peak offsets of phase variations, which typically lead to failures.

• MTIE: Is a measurement based on the TIE data designed to provide the maximum
deviation of the peak-to-peak value of the TIE within, by widening the observation
window. Typically produced after processing the TIE data, the MTIE provides the
worst-possible TIE change within different observation windows and can be used
to predict the stability of the clock frequency over time.

• TDEV: Is another measurement derived from the TIE data and provides the average
phase variations of the clock by expressing the root mean square (RMS) of the
variations of the MTIE for specific measurement windows. As MTIE is focused on
the worst case, any peak variation will limit the visibility of small variations. TDEV on
the other hand averages the worst peak variations and provides a good indication
of the periodicities or TIE offsets. TDEV provides information about the short-term
stability of the clock and the random noise in the clock accuracy.

2.4.3 PTP Metrics

With the introduction of PTP, network operators must now qualify new packet metrics
based on the PTP architecture. In PTP, since packet synchronization is performed
via an exchange of messages, the synchronization flow is therefore sensitive to the
presence or absence of messages due to frame delay, frame-delay variation and
frame loss. Moreover, messages are exchanged unidirectionally, meaning that nodes
will exchange and terminate the synchronization packets. This induces the concept
of unidirectional performance as a direction can experience more network events
than the other directions. Asymmetrical behavior may cause synchronization packets
to experience more delays, congestion and possible loss in one direction, while the
other direction remains trouble-free.

For such reasons, PTP testing involves not only the synchronization KPIs listed earlier
but also new ones such as:
• Frame delay (latency)
• Frame delay variation
• Frame loss

The increasing demand on network operators to provide more services at

competitive rates has resulted in a paradigm shift in the availability of physical-
layer synchronization, requiring not only testing and monitoring of synchronization
performance carried out at the physical layer, but the packet-layer performance has
to be tested and monitored too.

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2.5 Service Lifecycle Management

Operation, administration and maintenance (OAM)

OAM functionality in traditional TDM networks is well-defined and is an important

building block in ensuring that operators can deliver carrier-grade performance.
However, OAM represents a significant challenge for next-generation technologies,
such as Carrier Ethernet. Ethernet OAM draws on and includes existing standards
such as IEEE 802.1ag for connectivity fault management (CFM) and ITU-T Y.1731
for performance monitoring.

Measurements such as availability, frame delay, frame delay variation (jitter) and
frame loss enable identification of problems before they escalate so that users
are not impacted by network defects. Furthermore, these capabilities allow
the operators to offer binding SLAs and generate new revenues from rate- and
performance-guaranteed service packages that are tailored to the specific needs
of their customers.

Effective end-to-end service control also enables carriers to avoid expensive truck
rolls to locate and contain faults thereby facilitating reduction of maintenance costs.
Intrinsic OAM functionality is therefore essential in any carrier-class technology and
is a must have capability in intelligent Ethernet network termination units.

There are two main areas of Ethernet OAM:

2.5.1 Fault Management:

Fault management ensures that when a defect occurs in the network, it is reported
to the network operator who can then take the appropriate action.

• Fault detection: IEEE 802.1ag and ITU-T Y.1731 support fault detection
through continuity check messages (CCM). These allow endpoints to detect an
interruption in service. CCMs are sent from the source to the destination node
at periodic intervals; if either end does not receive a CCM within a specified
duration, then a fault is detected against the service.

• Fault verification: IEEE 802.1ag and ITU-T Y.1731 support fault verification
through loopback messages (LBM) and loopback reply (LBR).

• Fault isolation: IEEE 802.1ag and ITU-T Y.1731 support fault isolation through
linktrace messages (LTM) and linktrace reply (LTR). Under normal conditions,
it allows the operator to determine the path used by the service through the
network, while under fault conditions, it allows the operator to isolate the fault
location without making a site visit.

• Fault notification: ITU-T Y.1731 supports fault notification through alarm

indication signal (AIS); this functionality alerts the operator to a fault in the
network, before it is reported by customers.

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2.5.2 Performance Monitoring:

Carrier Ethernet networks require advanced performance monitoring to enforce
customer SLAs and this functionality is introduced by ITU-T Y.1731. The following
features are supported:

• Frame loss ratio: This represents the percentage of the traffic that has been
lost; it is the percentage ratio of the traffic not received versus the traffic that
was sent.

• Frame delay (latency): Two types of delays are measured: one-way delay
represents how long it takes traffic to go from one of the network to another;
whereas two-way delay represents the duration from one end back to the same
end.

• Frame delay variation: This is also referred to as jitter; it represents the variation
between different delay measurements.

Another standard used for OAM is 802.3ah, which is a complete standard for
Ethernet in the first mile, but it also contains a link level (as opposed to service
level) OAM mechanism. 802.3ah detects link failures in both bi-directional links
and unidirectional links (link monitoring). Once the failure is detected, it can set a
device in Loopback mode that will check when it recovers.

The four major capabilities of 802.3ah are:

• Discovery: Detects the endpoints of a link and their OAM capabilities

• Remote fault detection: Allows one endpoint to inform the other after it has
detected a fault
• Remote loopback: Can be used to put the remote port in loopback mode,
useful for data-path testing
• Remote monitoring: Allows near-end and far-end statistics similar to those
found in SONET/SDH

The emergence of carrier-grade Ethernet has driven the need for improved
Ethernet OAM functionality. Ethernet OAM allows the exchange of management
information from the network elements to the management layer. Without this
capability, it is impossible to provide the comprehensive network management
tools that operators have today in their TDM networks. The combination of IEEE
802.1ag and ITU-T Y.1731 provides powerful fault management and performance
monitoring capabilities to Ethernet.

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