Chapter 76: VLL service management

Overview

Purpose

The NFM-P supports the provisioning of VLL services on edge devices. A VLL service is an L2 point-to-point service that connects access interfaces. A VLL service is completely transparent to customer or subscriber data and to control protocols. Because of this, the device performs no MAC learning in a VLL service.

The NFM-P supports multiple variations of VLL services. See VLL service management overview in this section for more information.

A VLL service that connects access interfaces on one device is called a local VLL service. As there is no need for signaling between devices, a local VLL service uses no SDPs.

A VLL service that connects access interfaces on two devices is called a distributed VLL service. Subscriber or customer data enters a distributed VLL service through access interfaces on different edge devices. The VLL service encapsulates the data and transports it across a service provider IP/MPLS network through GRE, MPLS, or MPLS-TP service tunnels.

Packets that arrive at an edge device are associated with a VLL service based on the access interface on which they arrive. An access interface is uniquely identified using these parameters.

physical port or POS port and channel
encapsulation type
encapsulation identifier (if required, depending on encapsulation type)

A VLL service uses T-LDP signaling, and uses MPLS or GRE as the service tunnel transport.

A new or existing VLL can be configured as the spoke of an HVPLS. See HVPLS in VPLS management overview and Chapter 85, Composite service management for more information.

The NFM-P supports end-to-end VLL configuration using tabbed configuration forms with an embedded navigation tree.

Common to all device services, such as VLL, are policies that are assigned to the service. Policies are defined at a global level and can then be applied to components of the service, such as interfaces or circuits, when the service is configured or modified. The following policies are common to all device services:

QoS policies define ingress classification, policing, shaping, and marking on the ingress side of the interface. QoS policies are configured using the SAP Access Ingress Policy form, the SAP Access Egress Policy form, and the ATM QoS Policy form. Because a VLL service is a point-to-point service, ingress QoS policies create only the unicast queues that are defined in the policy and not the multicast queues.
(Epipe service only) Policer control policies to control access ingress policers and access egress policers under a common hierarchy. Policer control policies are configured using the Policer Control Policy Manager.
Scheduling policies define hierarchical rate limiting and scheduling to govern the scheduling of queues. Scheduler policies are configured using the Scheduler Policy and HSMDA Scheduler Policy forms.
Port scheduler policies define hierarchical bandwidth allocation and scheduling at the egress port level. Port scheduler policies are configured using the Port Scheduler Policy form.
Filter policies control network traffic into or out of an interface or circuit based on IP or MAC matching criteria. Filter policies are configured using the ACL IP Filter form and the ACL MAC Filter form.
Accounting policies measure the traffic on a service to ensure proper billing and enforcement of SLAs. Accounting policies are configured using the Accounting Policy form.
ANCP policies provide status and control information based on port-up and port-down messages and changes to the current access line rate between the edge device and the access node. ANCP policies are configured using the Manage Subscriber Policies form.
Time of day suites specify time and day restriction policies that are assigned to QoS policies and schedulers, ACL filters, and aggregation schedulers. Time of day suites and time range policies are configured using the Time of Day Suite form and Time Range form, respectively.

See Chapter 49, Policies overview for more information about policies.

OAM diagnostics can be performed on a per-service basis. See Chapter 90, OAM diagnostic tests for more information.

The General tab of the VLL service management form displays information about the operational state of the service and its sites through the Operational State and State Cause indicators.

The Operational State indicator identifies the states of the sites that are part of the service, as follows:

Up—one operational path in both directions (end-to-end)
Down—path is not operationally complete

When the Operational State is Down, a check mark appears beside the appropriate State Cause indicator to identify the type of fault to the NFM-P operator.

For Epipe services, you can configure SAPs so that if their operational state goes down, the service operational state remains up, to allow performance monitoring and ETH CFM on the service. See To create a VLL L2 access interface on a terminating site and the NE documentation for more information.

You can run the OAM Validation test suite for the service by clicking Validate. Alternatively, you can also perform a One Time Validation. If a check mark appears beside the OAM Validation Failed state cause indicator, the test has failed. In addition, the Tested Entity Result tab on the Tests tab displays detailed information about the OAM test result. See Chapter 89, Service Test Manager for more information about how to configure OAM validation test suites.

The NFM-P also monitors the status of a peer SAP after a VLL has been created and put into service. Status information includes faults detected on the service tunnel, and access and network SAP transmissions and receptions. The States tab of the Spoke SDP Binding form displays indicators of failure in the VLL in the State Cause panel.

When you use the NFM-P to create or discover a service, the NFM-P assigns a default Service Tier value to the service. The Service Tier parameter value is relevant only in the context of composite service topology views. See Chapter 85, Composite service management for more information about the hierarchical organization of composite services.

Overview

VLL service management overview

Sample VLL service configuration

VLL service management procedures

Workflow to create a VLL service

To create a VLL service

To view the VLL service operational status

To move a VLL service

To modify a VLL service

To view VLL service contents

To modify a VLL service using the topology view

To delete a VLL service