| FAQ |
Frequently Asked Questions
A: Designed to demarc the edge of your network, EtherNID units offer advanced Packet Performance Assurance and service creation directly from customer premises and cell-sites to central offices and mobile switching centers. With a full range of Ethernet rates and interfaces, the comprehensive EtherNID family is designed to assure wireless backhaul and business services from end-to-end. A: Yes, the EtherNID unit features IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet OAM (Ethernet in the First Mile), Two-Port MAC Relay (TPMR) function aligned with IEEE's 802.1aj, IEEE 802.1ad (Provider Bridge), IEEE 802.1ag (Fault Management) / ITU-T Y.1731 (OAM functions and mechanisms for Ethernet based networks) drafts, IEEE 802.1q (VLAN tagging/detagging), SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c, SSL (SSH2, HTTPS), Syslog. A: Yes, the EtherNID unit not only allows loopbacks on a specific VLAN ID, but also on a specific MAC or IP (source or destination). EtherNID unit can do loopbacks at Layer 1 (port), Layer 2 (MAC Swap), Layer 3 (IP Swap), Layer 4 (TCP/UDP Port Swap), on individual VLAN, on specific MAC or IP (Source or Destination) and can automatically re-act to in-band loop-back commands from several industry tests sets such as JDSU's FST-2802 Field Services Test Set and QT-600 TestHead as well as Sunrise Telecom's STT® and Sunset MTT® Ethernet test sets. A: Yes, the EtherNID unit provides Class of Service-based Bandwidth Policing and Rate limiting and enables bandwidth management based on traffic priority. Specific VLAN traffic can be bandwidth policed. A: No, the EtherNID unit does not carry vendor restrictions on SFP. Any standard vendor SFP will be accepted by the EtherNID unit making it SFP vendor agnostic. A: The EtherNID unit can be managed through a secure web interface (GUI) using HTTPS, or through a text interface CLI available by SSH or Serial RS-232 (which can be disabled). The EtherNID unit features Management VLAN Bridging which allows management of EtherNID units in-band using another EtherNID unit's out of band management port, and also allows collecting management traffic from the local management port and forward it to a hub site. A: The integrated copper TDR (short for Time Domain Reflectometer) cable integrity testing allows the EtherNID unit to characterize and locate faults in the copper/electrical cables. It can detect shorts, opens, mismatched pairs and bad impedance at a 100 meter range accuracy. A: The TDR test is only disruptive on the EtherNID OE and EE. The EtherNID GE's TDR test is non-disruptive. A: The Performance Assurance Agent ™, PAA ™, is a H/W assisted active measurement function that computes layer 2 or 3 (IPv4) network delay (latency), delay variation (jitter), packet loss and continuity check. It operates by sending active probes to a peer device, which sends back replies containing timing information. No upper layer protocol, such as TCP, is used. Each peer then computes various metrics. The PAA ™ does this operation on a continuous basis. The PAA ™ is capable of concurrently testing and maintaining multiple flows of active probes using layer 2 or 3 (IPv4) test packets. The characteristics of the test packets for each flow is set to match the layer 2 (P-bit of VLAN tag) or layer 3 (IP ToS/DSCP value) characteristics of the services being monitored. These packets may be independently destined to different peers or to the same peer, using different class of service (CoS) and/or VLAN ID as appropriate. Up to 2 VLAN tag can be specified (.1Q-in.1Q). A: There is absolutely no maximum number of EtherNID units that may be installed in a network. Since the EtherNID unit uses a unique Fast-PAAs architecture with ultra low intrinsic latency and jitter, installing an EtherNID unit does not impact network performance.A: Accedian Network's EVC Service Creation allows service providers to quickly create Ethernet Virtual Circuits (EVCs) for E-Line, E-LAN, and E-Tree services using advanced networking functionality built right into EtherNID demarcation units installed at cell sites and the MSC. Ideal for operators with mixed-vendor, multi-technology networks, EVC service mapping transparently creates Ethernet LAN services and avoids interoperability issues that result in provisioning delays and costly network upgrades. Accedian Networks SLA-Meter combines three advanced test functions into a complete in-service SLA assessment tool. The PAA Performance Assurance Agent provides one-way jitter and delay measurement with an industry-leading microsecond resolution, while advanced per-SLA flow traffic statistics, stored directly on-board EtherNID and MetroNID demarcation units, provide usage information for trending and troubleshooting. A: Yes, in addition to 10/100 Base TX, the EtherNID ® OE supports 100 Base FX/LX/SX/ZX/BX on the Network-side interface (SFP module) and the EtherNID GE supports 10/100/1000 Base TX/FX/LX/SX on both the Network-side and the Client-side interfaces (SFP modules).A: In case of a power outage, the EtherNID unit will send out Dying Gasp messages. If an EtherNID EE or an EtherNID GE unit using RJ-45 copper ports is being used, then the copper failover bypass will engage and traffic will then continue to be transported. Additionally, the EtherNID unit features redundant power feeds in order to avoid power outages altogether. A: There is no failover bypass for the Optical side since it is not possible to have a relay that converts an optical signal to an electrical signal. A: Yes, the EtherNID unit supports Jumbo Frames up to 10,240 bytes. A: Yes, the EtherNID unit will remain perfectly functional. A: No, the EtherNID unit will not lose its configuration because of a power outage since it is stored in the non-volatile memory. A: The 'export' command in the CLI serves as a backup for the configuration. The configuration will be saved in a text file. The 'import' command can then be used to reload the configuration into the EtherNID unit via the CLI. A: Yes, in addition to the external AC/DC adapter (120-240 Vac auto-sensing, 50-60 Hz) 5Vdc input to the unit, the EtherNID unit also supports Dual (A/B) -48 Vdc Central Office Supply inputs. A: Yes, the EtherNID GE can do GigE copper using its RJ-45 ports. The EtherNID GE not only features 2 SFP modules receptacles but also has 2 additional RJ-45 10/100/1000 ports for copper connections. A: No, the EtherNID unit is a secure device and thus prevents Telnet sessions. Instead, it offers a fully secure SSH2 (SSL) command line interface (CLI). A: Yes, the EtherNID unit supports SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c with public and private MIBs. The EtherNID unit also features user settable SLA threshold crossing alerts using SNMP traps. A: Yes, the full EtherNID unit's MIBs are available through RMON. A: Yes, the EtherNID unit allows the administrator to setup privileges for all sections of the management. Q: How are today's service providers using Ethernet in ways that differ from previous applications of the technology?
A: Ethernet has traditionally been a best effort service, lacking the standardized operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) and service level agreement-backed performance guarantees required for 4G/LTE/WiMAX backhaul networks. To enable the cost-benefits and bandwidth efficiencies of Ethernet-based wireless backhaul, providers must establish carrier-grade Ethernet services and monitor them with packet performance assurance solutions.
Q: What are some of the specific challenges that wireless service providers face with Ethernet wireless backhaul, and how does service assurance and Ethernet service mapping make their jobs easier?
A: Millisecond Jitter and latency requirements, high availability and committed throughput are some of the challenges facing wireless backhaul networks based on Ethernet technology. Establishing carrier-grade Ethernet Virtual Circuits (EVCs) with service mapping, bandwidth policing, traffic filtering and shaping functionality creates the links required for emerging packet-based services, allowing providers to meet stringent wireless backhaul SLAs. The ability to perform remote, in-service testing, one-way delay and jitter monitoring, service assurance over mesh networks and to establish end-to-end OAM is critical to ensuring quality of service (QoS) and SLAs are met.
A: SLAs are a contract between the wireless backhaul provider and the mobile operator, specifying performance and availability levels for the service provided. Typical SLA parameters specify Commited Information Rate (CIR, throughput), Excess Information Rate (EIR), as well as burst capabilities, delay and jitter (typically 1-5 msec), and 99.99%-99.999% availability. These represent some of the most strict SLAs in communications, and require well designed and monitored networks to deliver this level of performance. A: Accedian Networks' Ethernet Service Assurance Platform (ESAP ™) provides in-service monitoring, loopback testing, remote troubleshooting, service management and network demarcation for high-performance wireless backhaul, business services and carrier hand-off applications. ESAP provides both service creation and assurance functionality for EtherNID and MetroNID demarcation units, which feature an all-hardware data-path and packet processing engine capable of in-service measurements with microsecond resolution, in-service RFC-2544 testing that doesn't affect customer traffic, and intelligent layer 1-4 loopbacks for complete network and application QoS testing. ESAP also provides complete, end-to-end OAM and SLA assurance functionality over any network, even multi-vendor, multi-technology and multi-carrier networks. A: Accedian Networks is currently a leading provider of wireless backhaul packet performance assurance and service creation solutions to a number of leading service providers, including Fiber Tower and other alternate access providers supporting the Sprint & Clearwire WiMAX projects in the U.S.With the capability to provide complete SLA monitoring, including microsecond resolution one-way jitter and delay measurements, the Accedian Networks solution is regarded as an efficient, highly capable, carrier grade assurance solution that easily scales in mesh network environments. Q: How do the Y.1731 OAM capabilities of EtherNID & MetroNID units compare to network element functionality?
A: A complete comparison is provided in this Accedian FAQ Sheet
Q: How does Accedian Networks Performance Assurance Agent ™ (PAA) continuous performance monitoring compare to Cisco's IP SLA?
A: A complete comparison is available in this Accedian FAQ Sheet.
Q: How intrusive is Accedian Networks' service assurance technology? Will it affect my customers' traffic or impact QoS ?
A: A complete overview of the non-instrusive nature of Accedian Networks' active testing technology and the Y.1731 OAM PM feature is available in this FAQ Sheet.
Q: What challenges do operators face deploying Y.1731 OAM in large-scale wireless backhaul networks?
A: Scalability, performance monitoring (PM) measurement precision and accuracy top the list of significant challenges operators face – learn all about these issues and practical solutions in our FAQ Sheet. |
