Overview

General information

A composite service is a set of linked services. Composite service functionality supports complex applications that require a combination of services, such as VLAN connections to an HVPLS, an IES spoke into a VPLS, or a VPRN-to-VPLS interconnection.

Services that are owned by different customers can be connected to form a composite service. An example is an HVPLS in which the core VPLS belongs to one customer and the satellite VPLS instances belong to other customers. An HVPLS is considered to be a composite service by the NFM-P.

Composite services consist of customer services, called SCs in the context of a composite service, and connectors. A connector is a bidirectional logical link between two SCs, such as a pair of PW spokes that carry traffic in opposite directions between VLL and VPLS instances, a dot1q-encapsulated link between a VLAN and a VPLS, or an internal cross-connect.

The term SCP describes a type of connector endpoint. In the case of the services that are available on the 7210 SAS, 7450 ESS, 7750 SR, or the 7950 XRS, an SCP is a service interface or SAP. For L2 switches, an SCP may be a network interface, such as an uplink port.

Composite services exist only in the context of the NFM-P and are configured through the NFM-P GUI or an OSS application. They are unknown to individual network devices. To simplify composite service configuration and to ensure that non-NFM-P device configuration does not disrupt the management of composite services, the following rules apply to the creation, deletion, modification, and presentation of composite services.

• A composite service can have zero SCs.

• A composite service can have zero connectors.

• Two connected SCs can belong to only one composite service.

• A connector between two SCs belongs to only one composite service.

• An SC cannot be removed from a composite service until its connector to the composite service is removed.

• A group of connected services can be moved from one composite service to another.

The NFM-P supports composite-service configuration using the following methods.

• Tabbed configuration forms with an embedded navigation tree that provides a logical, hierarchical view of the composite service and acts as a configuration interface. When you right-click on an object In the service navigation tree, a menu specific to the object appears. When you choose an object in the menu, the related configuration form opens.

• Connector creation and configuration from within the composite service’s flat topology view

If a service that is specified for inclusion in a composite service does not currently belong to a composite service, it is added to the composite service regardless of its administrative or operational state. If the specified service is part of an existing composite service, it can be moved to a different composite service. However, SCs that are connected to the specified service are also moved to the new composite service upon confirmation of the action by the NFM-P operator. The NFM-P performs no such action confirmation for OSS applications.

Services within a composite service can have the same service ID, service type, and customer ID. For example, a VPLS with service ID 5 on one NE and an IES service with service ID 5 on another NE can be combined to create a composite service.

Hierarchical organization of composite services

The NFM-P organizes the SCs in a composite service by tiers within a hierarchy during network discovery and for display purposes. When you add an SC to a composite service, the NFM-P assigns a default tier value to the SC according to the service type.

Table 85-1: Default tiers for service types

Service type	Default tier
IES and VPRN	1
VPLS and MVPLS	2
VLL	3
VLAN	4

The default tier values reflect common deployment configurations. The figure below shows a composite service hierarchy. SCs are not restricted to the default tiers, as in the case of the VPLS in Tier 3 that forms an HVPLS with the VPLS in Tier 2.

Figure 85-1: Default SC tier assignments

You can change the tier of an SC at any time and can specify a value other than one of the defaults that the NFM-P assigns; composite services can have many tiers.

The tier value of an SC determines the relative position of the SC within a composite service topology map. The NFM-P displays SCs in rows by tier, in numerical order from the top of the panel downward, beginning with tier 1.

You can move SC icons in a composite service topology map from one tier to another for a customized view, then use the Rearrange by Service Tiers button to organize the SC icons in the map panel according to tier. The composite service topology map is redrawn when you click on the Rearrange by Service Tiers button, and you cannot revert to the former layout of the composite service topology map.

See Chapter 4, Topology map management for more information about NFM-P map management.

Network discovery of composite services

The NFM-P associates SCs and connectors with composite services during network discovery. The following rules apply to this process.

• When the NFM-P discovers a valid connector between two services that do not belong to a composite service, a composite service that contains the services and connector is automatically created.

• When the NFM-P discovers a valid connector between two services and one of the services belongs to a composite service, the other service is added as an SC of the composite service.

• When the NFM-P discovers a valid connector between two services and the two services are SCs of different composite services, an alarm is raised and the connector is excluded from the NFM-P database.

The NFM-P assigns a default tier value to a service upon creation and to a new SC during network discovery. The tiered hierarchy provides a common framework for service configurations that are provisioned through the NFM-P and CLI. An NFM-P operator can assign a different tier value to an SC after discovery.

A composite service has Aggregated Operational State and Service Component Degraded status indicators. The General tab of the Composite Service management form displays these indicators.

The Aggregated Operational State indicator has four possible values: Up, Down, Partially Down, and Unknown. The value is derived from the aggregated SC operational states as follows.

• Up—All SCs are operationally up

• Partially Down—At least one SC is operationally down

• Down—All SCs are operationally down

• Unknown—The status of at least one SC is undetermined

The Service Component Degraded indicator shows whether there is an operational flag set on any of the service sites under this composite service.