SDH Ring Architectures

This section examines SDH unidirectional and bidirectional ring architectures and
examines the differences between two-fiber and four-fiber SDH rings. A comparison
is also made between multiplex section (ring) switching versus path (span)
switching. SDH provides for three attributes with two choices each, as illustrated in
Table 6-13.
Table 6-13. SDH Ring Types
SDH Attribute Value
Fibers per link 2-fiber
4-fiber
Signal direction Unidirectional
Bidirectional
Protection switching Multiplex section switching
Path switching

Table 6-13 shows various SDH ring configurations that differ in at least one major
attribute. The commonly used ring types and topologies are as follows:
Two-fiber subnetwork connection protection ring (two-fiber SNCP)
Two-fiber multiplex section-shared protection ring (two-fiber MS-SPRing)
Four-fiber multiplex section-shared protection ring (four-fiber MS-SPRing)
Unidirectional Versus Bidirectional Rings
In a unidirectional ring, the working traffic is routed over the clockwise spans around
the ring, and the counterclockwise spans are protection spans used to carry traffic
when the working spans fail. Consider the two-fiber ring schematic presented in
Figure 6-26. Traffic from NE1 to NE2 traverses span 1 in a clockwise flow, and traffic
from NE2 to NE1 traverses span 2, span 3, and span 4 in a clockwise flow as well.
Spans 5, 6, 7 are used as protection spans and carry production traffic when one of
the working clockwise spans fail.
Figure 6-26. Unidirectional Versus Bidirectional Rings


Bidirectional traffic flows can also be illustrated using the schematic of Figure 6-26.
In a bidirectional ring, traffic from NE1 to NE2 would traverse span 1 in a clockwise
flow. However, traffic from NE2 to NE1 would traverse span 5 in a counterclockwise
fashion. If the links between NE1 and NE2 were to fail, traffic between NE1 and NE2
would use the spans between NE2-NE3, NE3-NE4, and NE4-NE1.
Two-Fiber Versus Four-Fiber Rings
Unidirectional and bidirectional systems both implement two-fiber and four-fiber
systems. Most commercial unidirectional systems, such as SNCP, are two-fiber
systems, whereas bidirectional systems, such as MS-SPRing, implement both two-
fiber and four-fiber infrastructures. A two-fiber STM-N unidirectional system with two
nodes is illustrated in Figure 6-27. Fiber span 1 carries N working channels
eastbound, and fiber span 5 carries N protection channels westbound. For example,
an STM-16 system would carry 16 working VC-4s eastbound from NE1 to NE2, while
carrying 16 separate protection VC-4s westbound from NE2 to NE1. The SDH
transport and POH bytes are carried on both working and protection fiber spans.
Figure 6-27. Two-Fiber Unidirectional Ring
[View full size image]


A two-fiber STM-N bidirectional system with two nodes is illustrated in Figure 6-28.
On each fiber, a maximum of half the bandwidth or number of channels are defined
as working channels, and the other half are defined as protection channels. Fiber
span 1 carries (N/2) working channels and (N/2) protection channels eastbound, and
fiber span 5 carries (N/2) working channels and (N/2) protection channels
westbound. For example, an STM-16 system would carry eight working VC-4s and
eight protection VC-4s eastbound from NE1 to NE2, while carrying eight working VC-
4s and eight protection VC-4s westbound from NE2 to NE1. Each fiber has a set of
SDH transport and POH bytes for the working and protection channels.
Figure 6-28. Two-Fiber Bidirectional Ring


A four-fiber STM-N bidirectional system with two nodes is shown in Figure 6-29.
Fiber pair span 1A and 5A carry N working channels full duplex east and westbound,
while fiber pair span 1B and 5B carry N protection channels full duplex east and
westbound. For example, an STM-16 system would carry 16 working VC-4s
eastbound from NE1 to NE2 as well as 16 working VC-4s westbound from NE2 to
NE1. The same system would also carry 16 protection VC-4s eastbound from NE1 to
NE2 as well as 16 protection VC-4s westbound from NE2 to NE1. A set of SDH
transport and POH bytes is dedicated either to working or protection channels for the
four-fiber ring.
Figure 6-29. Four-Fiber Bidirectional Ring
[View full size image]


As can be seen for an STM-N fiber system, two-fiber SNCP provides N * VC-4s,
whereas two-fiber MS-SPRing provides (N/2) * VC-4s in either direction. Four-fiber
MS-SPRing, on the other hand, provides N * VC-4s in either direction. Usually two
segment failures will cause a network failure or outage on a two-fiber ring of either
type. However, four-fiber systems with diverse routing can suffer multiple failures
and still function. Four-fiber systems are widely used for rings spanning large
geographical areas or when the traffic being carried on the network is mission
critical.
SDH rings are limited to 16 nodes per ring because the K1/K2 bytes that define the
source and destination node were defined with only 4 bits each. However, vendors
have implemented proprietary mechanisms that use unused bytes from other fields
in the SDH header to extend the limit on the number of nodes. For example, the
Cisco ONS 15454 SDH uses 4 bits from the K1/K2 fields and 2 additional bits of the
K3 byte in MS-SPRing configurations. The K3 byte also carries information on the
K1/K2 bytes. Out of the 2 K3 bits, 1 bit is used to define the source and the other bit
is used to define the destination node. Use of the 2 additional K3 bits increases the
node count to 32 NEs per MS-SPRing ring. In such a case, however, if the span has
to pass through third-party equipment, the K3 byte needs to be remapped to an
unused SDH overhead byte, such as the E2 or F1 byte.
Path and Multiplex Section Switching
Path switching works by restoring working channels at a level below the entire STM-
N capacity in a single protection operation. This means that levels lower than an
STM-N, such as VC-3s, VC-12, or VC-11s, can be restored in the event of a failure.
Path switching is shown in Figure 6-30. Live protected user traffic is always sent on
the working fiber. However, a copy of the protected traffic is also transmitted over
the protection fiber. The receiver constantly senses the signal level of both the
working and protection fibers. In the event of a fiber cut or signal degradation on the
working fiber, the receiver switches to the incoming signal available on the
protection fiber. All unprotected traffic is dropped for the duration of the outage.
Path switching is mostly implemented on two-fiber SNCP rings.
Figure 6-30. Path Switching
[View full size image]


MS switching works by restoring all working channels of the entire STM-N capacity in
a single protection operation. The protection channels or fiber are idle while the ring
operates normally. MS switching is shown in Figure 6-31. Live protected user traffic
is always sent on the working channels or fiber. In the event of a fiber or node
failure, the protected traffic is switched to the protection channels or fiber at both
ends of the span. Channels within the MS are switched this way, which is why it is
called line switching. In the event of a failure, all unprotected traffic being
transmitted on the protection link or protected channels is dropped. This is called
protection channel access (PCA), and the traffic carried this way is called extra
traffic. Carriers typically discount unprotected PCA bandwidth, thereby enabling
customers to maintain a more cost-effective network without having to pay for a
five-nines service level agreement (SLA). Line-switching systems are able to restore
service within 50 ms. Line switching is mostly implemented on two-fiber and four-
fiber bidirectional rings.
Figure 6-31. Multiplex Section Switching
[View full size image]


Dual-Ring Interconnect
The dual-ring interconnect (DRI) architecture allows subtending rings sharing traffic
to be resilient from a matching node failure perspective. As shown in Figure 6-32, a
DRI topology uses two interconnecting matching nodes, DRI node 3 and DRI node 4,
to connect the two STM-N rings. If one of the interconnected nodes fails, traffic is
routed through the surviving DRI node. The benefit to the service provider is that
continuous network operation is maintained even though a node failure has occurred.
The DRI topology provides an extra level of path protection between rings. In a DRI
configuration, traffic is dropped and continued at the interconnecting nodes to
eliminate single points of failure. Each ring protects against failures within itself using
path-switched and/or MS-switched protection mechanisms, whereas DRI provides
protection against failures at the interconnections. DRI cannot provide protection if
both DRI node 3 and DRI node 4 experience simultaneous failure.
Figure 6-32. Dual-Ring Interconnect
[View full size image]


As shown in Figure 6-32, a signal input at node 1 destined for node 7 is bridged east
and west. The downstream primary eastbound signal passes through node 2 and
arrives at the DRI node 3. At DRI node 3, a duplicate copy of the signal is dropped
and transmitted to DRI node 4. Similarly, the downstream secondary westbound
signal passes through node 5 and arrives at the DRI node 4. At DRI node 4, a
duplicate copy of the signal is dropped and transmitted to DRI node 3. The
downstream path selector at node 3 always selects the primary downstream signal
during steady-state normal operation. However, the downstream path selector at
node 4 always selects the secondary downstream signal during steady-state normal
operation. The primary downstream signal at node 3 is then continued and
transmitted to node 6 on ring 2 that acts as a pass-through node and transmits the
signal to node 7. Similarly, the secondary downstream signal at node 4 is then
continued and transmitted to node 8 on ring 2 that acts as a pass-through node and
transmits the signal to node 7.
Node 7 receives two copies of the downstream signal (primary and secondary).
However, the path selector in node 7 always selects the primary downstream signal
during steady-state normal operation. A similar process takes place with the primary
and secondary upstream signal. Suppose that DRI node 3 fails. In such an event, the
path selector at node 7 will switch to the secondary downstream signal. The
upstream traffic is not affected, because the primary upstream path is through the
surviving node 4.
Subnetwork Connection Protection Rings
An SNCP ring is a survivable, closed-loop, transport architecture that protects
against fiber cuts and node failures by providing duplicate, geographically diverse
paths for each circuit. SNCP provides dual fiber paths around the ring. Working traffic
flows clockwise in one direction, and protection traffic flows counterclockwise in the
opposite direction. If fiber or node failure occurs in the working traffic path, the
receiving node switches to the path coming from the opposite direction. Because
each traffic path is transported around the entire ring, SNCPs are best suited for
networks where traffic concentrates at one or two locations and is not widely
distributed. SNCP capacity is equal to its bit rate. This means that an STM-N SNCP
ring will always provide N * VC-4s of capacity. Services can originate and terminate
on the same core SNCP ring, or can be passed across a matching node to an access
ring for transport to the service-terminating location. Figure 6-33 shows a basic
SNCP configuration. This drawing can also be used to explain basic two-fiber SNCP
operation with its various subtleties. The schematic illustrates the operation of a two-
fiber STM-16 ring using SNCP as its protection mechanism. The outer Fiber 1 is the
working fiber that carries traffic in a clockwise direction. The inner Fiber 2 is the
protection fiber that carries a copy of the working traffic in a counterclockwise
direction.
Figure 6-33. Two-Fiber SNCP


If node A sends a signal S1 to node B, the working signal travels on the working
traffic path to node B. The same signal is also sent on the protect traffic path from
node A to node B, via nodes D and C. For node B to reply to node A, the signal uses
the working VC-4 path around the ring via nodes C and D. Note that signal S1 or VC-
4(1)A is the first VC-4 of the STM-16. Signal S1 consumes the entire VC-4 around
the ring. Therefore, it is not possible for another signal, such as S1 VC-4(1)B, to be
transmitted between node C and node D using SNCP protection. However, VC-4(1)B
could be transmitted unprotected between nodes C and D. This circuit would be
dropped in the event SNCP protection is invoked.
Signal S2 is added at node A and dropped at node C. Signal S2 contains VC-4(25)
or [VC-4, number 2 to number 5 of the STM-16]. This also means that VC-4(25)
cannot be used for adds or drops at other nodes on the ring. For node C to reply to
node A, the signal uses the working VC-4 path around the ring via node D. Signal S3
VC-4(6) is added at node B and dropped at node D, effectively blocking any other
adds or drops for VC-4(6) at any of the other nodes. For node D to reply to node B,
the signal uses the working VC-4 path around the ring via node A. Finally, signal S4
is added at node A and dropped at node C. Signal S4 contains VC-4(716); that
means VC-4(716) cannot be used for adds or drops at other nodes on the ring. For
node C to reply to node A, the signal uses the working VC-4 path around the ring via
node D.
As shown in Figure 6-34, if a fiber break occurs on the working Fiber 1 between node
A and node B, node B switches its active receiver to the protect signal coming
through node C. Signals S1 and S3 would be received on the protection fiber for the
duration of the outage. The switchover would happen within the 50-ms SDH
restoration time. Signals S2 and S4 would be received on node C via node D on the
protection fiber. If there were a fiber cut on the protection Fiber 2, however, the
system would continue operating without any disruption. The element management
system would detect the fiber cut and report the LOS on the protection fiber. Repairs
could be performed on the Fiber 2 without service interruption.
Figure 6-34. Two-Fiber SNCP Protection


Asymmetrical Delay
As shown in Figure 6-33, any signal from node A to node B traverses a single span.
When node B has to reply to node A, however, the signal has to traverse multiple
spans via node C and node D. In the case of small metropolitan rings, this does not
create any issues. However, for large transcontinental rings, a finite delay could
affect voice or data applications. In the case of voice applications, the cumulative
delay should not exceed 100 ms. So long as the asymmetric delay does not exceed
100 ms, the human user would not perceive any delay. In the case of data, transport
layer windowing comes into play. With asymmetric delay, two end hosts might
experience a 40-ms round-trip delay. One host might perceive a 5-ms inbound delay
with a 35-ms outbound delay. It would be the exact opposite for the other host.
Issues occur when one data application tries to adjust its window size for a 20/20-ms
split in delay, while data keeps arriving early (5 ms). The host on the other end
experiences exactly the opposite effect, when adjusting its window size for a 20/20-
ms split, with data arriving late (25 ms).
Multiplex Section-Shared Protection Rings
MS-SPRing uses bidirectional multiplex sectionswitched protection mechanisms.
MS-SPRing is commonly implemented on two-fiber as well as four-fiber systems. MS-
SPRing nodes can terminate traffic that is fed from either side of the ring and are
suited for distributed node-to-node traffic applications, such as interoffice networks
and access networks. MS-SPRings allow bandwidth to be reused around the ring and
can carry more traffic than a network with traffic flowing through one central hub.
MS-SPRing supports nonrevertive and revertive protection mechanisms.
Two-Fiber MS-SPRing
In a two-fiber MS-SPRing ring, each fiber carries working and protection VC-3s. In an
STM-16 MS-SPRing, as shown in Figure 6-35, for example, VC-4s 1 through 8 carry
the working traffic, and VC-4s 9 through 16 are reserved for protection. Working
traffic travels clockwise in one direction on one fiber and counterclockwise in the
opposite direction on the second fiber.
Figure 6-35. Two-Fiber MS-SPRing


In Figure 6-35, signal S1 VC-4(1)A added at node A, destined for a drop at node B,
typically will travel on Fiber 1, unless that fiber is full (in which case, circuits will be
routed on Fiber 2 through nodes C and D). Traffic from node A to node C (or node B
to node D) can be routed on either fiber, depending on circuit-provisioning
requirements and traffic loads. For node B to reply to node A, the signal uses the
working VC-4(1) path on Fiber 2.
Signal S2 VC-4(25) added at node A, destined for a drop at node C, typically will
travel on Fiber 1 via node B, unless that fiber is full (in which case, the circuit will be
routed on Fiber 2 via node D). For node C to reply to node A, the signal uses the
working VC-4(25) path on Fiber 2 via node B. Signal S3 VC-4(6) added at node B,
destined for a drop at node D, typically will travel on Fiber 1 via node C, unless that
fiber is full (in which case, the circuit will be routed on Fiber 2 via node A). For node
D to reply to node B, the signal uses the working VC-4(6) path on Fiber 2 via node C.
It is quite apparent that only VC-4 * 8 worth of bandwidth can be configured on a
two-fiber STM-16 MS-SPRing. This is not entirely true. Unlike SNCP, the provisioning
of VC-4(1) does not consume the entire first VC-4 of the STM-16 around the ring.
Bandwidth is reusable, as shown by S1 VC-4(1)B in Figure 6-35, and can be
provisioned between nodes C and D. With careful bandwidth-capacity planning, MS-
SPRing could be quite efficient.
NOTE
The bidirectional bandwidth capacities of two-fiber MS-SPRings is the STM-N rate
divided by two, multiplied by the number of nodes in the ring, minus the number of
pass-through VC-4 circuits.

The SDH K1 and K2 bytes carry the information that governs MS-SPRing protection
switching. Each MS-SPRing node monitors the K bytes to determine when to switch
the SDH signal to an alternate physical path. The K bytes communicate failure
conditions and actions taken between nodes in the ring. If a break occurs on one
fiber, working traffic targeted for a node beyond the break switches to the protect
bandwidth on the second fiber. The traffic travels in reverse direction on the protect
bandwidth until it reaches its destination node. At that point, traffic is switched back
to the working bandwidth.
As shown in Figure 6-36, if a break occurs in Fiber 1 between node A and node B,
signal S1 VC-4(1)A that would normally travel between node A and B using VC-4(1)
of Fiber 1 would MS switch to VC-4(9) of Fiber 2 and reach node B via nodes D and C
for the duration of the outage. The switchover would happen within the 50-ms SDH
restoration time. Signal S2 VC-4(25) added at node A and destined for node C
would also be affected. S2 would be MS switched to VC-4(1013) of Fiber 2 and
would reach node C via node D. Signal S3 VC-4(6) would not be affected. Now
consider the case where Fiber 1 is intact and there is a break in Fiber 2 between
nodes A and B. In such a case, the return path for signal S1 VC-4(1)A between node
B and node A is lost. An MS switch would occur and signal VC-4(1)A would switch to
VC-4(9) of Fiber 1 and reach node A via nodes C and D. The return path for signal S2
VC-4(25) between node C, destined for node A, would also be affected. Node C
would transmit signal S2 VC-4(25) back to node A over Fiber 2. However, the fiber
cut on Fiber 2 (between nodes A and B), detected by node B, would cause all return
traffic to node A to be MS switched to VC-4(1013) of Fiber 1 and retransmitted to
node A via nodes C and D.
Figure 6-36. Two-Fiber MS-SPRing Protection


Finally, consider a case of a dual fiber cut of both Fiber 1 and Fiber 2 between nodes
A and B. In such a case, signal S1 VC-4(1)A added at node A and destined for node
B would be MS switched to VC-4(9) of Fiber 2 and would reach node B via nodes D
and C. The return path for signal S1 VC-4(1)A between node B and node A would MS
switch to VC-4(9) of Fiber 1 and reach node A via nodes C and D. Signal S2 VC-4(2-
5) added at node A and destined for node C would be MS switched to VC-4(1013) of
Fiber 2 and would reach node C via node D. Node C would transmit the return signal
S2 VC-4(25) back to node A over Fiber 2. However, the fiber cut on Fiber 2
(between node A and B), detected by node B, would cause all return traffic to node A
to be MS switched to VC-4(1013) of Fiber 1 and retransmitted to node A via nodes
C and D. All unprotected traffic carried over the protection VC-4s is dropped in the
event of an MS switch.
MS-SPRing Node Failure
MS-SPRing restoration gets complex in the event of a node failure. MS-SPRing uses a
protection scheme called shared protection. Shared protection is required because of
the construction of the MS-SPRing ring and the reuse of VC-4s around the ring. This
creates a situation in which the VC-4s on a protection fiber cannot be guaranteed to
protect traffic from a specific working VC-4. Shared protection, which provides MS-
SPRing its capability to reuse bandwidth, brings with it additional problems when a
node failure occurs in a MS-SPRing ring. Consider the MS-SPRing schematic in Figure
6-37. This schematic shows a complete failure of node D. Trace the path of signal S3
as it gets added on to node B with a destination node D. Signal S3 VC-4(6) gets sent
out to node D on Fiber 1 and proceeds to node C. Node C has sensed an LOS from
failed node D and reroutes S3 on to Fiber 2 as signal S3 VC-4(12). Signal S3 passes
via node B and arrives at node A. However, because node A cannot deliver this traffic
to node D, it places S3 on Fiber 1 as S3 VC-4(6). This signal gets dropped off at
node B, because VC-4(6) already has a connection from node A to node B (signal
S4). This event results in the traffic being delivered to the wrong node and is called a
misconnection. In some situations, it is possible that bridging traffic after a node
failure could also lead to a misconnection.
Figure 6-37. MS-SPRing Node Failure


MS-SPRing misconnections can be avoided by using the squelching mechanism. The
squelching feature uses automatically generated squelch maps that require no
manual record-keeping to maintain. Each node maintains squelch tables to know
which connections need to be squelched in the event of a node failure. The squelch
table contains a list of inaccessible nodes. Any traffic received by a node for the
inaccessible node is never placed on the fiber and is removed if discovered.
Squelching involves sending the AIS in all channels that normally terminated in the
failed node rather than real traffic. The misconnection is avoided by the insertion of
an AIS path by nodes A and C into channel VC-4(6). In an AIS path, all the bits
belonging to that path are set to 1 so that the information carried in that channel is
invalidated. This way, node B is informed about the error condition of the ring, and a
misconnection is prevented. Misconnection can occur only in MS-SPRing when a node
is cut off and traffic happens to be terminated on that node from both directions on
the same channel (VC-4). In some implementations, the path trace might also be
used to avoid this problem. If node B monitors the path trace byte, it will recognize
that it has changed after the misconnection. This change should be a sufficient
indication that a fault has occurred, and that traffic should not be terminated.
Four-Fiber MS-SPRing
Four-fiber MS-SPRings double the bandwidth of two-fiber MS-SPRings. As shown in
Figure 6-38, two fibers are allocated for working traffic and two fibers are allocated
for protection. Signal S1 from node A to node B would use VC-4(1) of the working
Fiber 1, and the return path from node B to node A would use VC-4(1) of the
working Fiber-3. Signal S2, added at node A and destined for node C, would use VC-
4(25) of the working Fiber 1, and would use VC-4(25) of the working Fiber-3 for
its return path from node C to node A.
Figure 6-38. Four-Fiber MS-SPRing
[View full size image]


Signal S3, added at node B and destined for node D, would use VC-4(6) of the
working Fiber 1 via node C, and would use VC-4(6) of the working Fiber-3 for its
return path from node D to node B, via node C. Signal S4, added at node A and
destined for node C, would use VC-4(712) of the working Fiber 1, and would use
VC-4(712) of the working Fiber-3 for its return path from node C to node A.
Four-fiber MS-SPRing allows path (span) switching as well as MS (ring) switching,
thereby increasing the reliability and flexibility of traffic protection. Path (span)
switching occurs when a working span fails. Traffic switches to the protect fibers
between the nodes and then returns to the working fibers. Multiple span switches
can occur at the same time. MS (ring) switching occurs when a span switch cannot
recover traffic, such as when both the working and protect fibers fail on the same
span. In an MS (ring) switch, traffic is routed to the protect fibers throughout the full
ring.
As shown in Figure 6-39, if the working fiber pair between node A and B fails, all
working traffic between these nodes is shunted onto the protection fiber pair. Any
unprotected traffic mapped between other nodes on the ring is unaffected by this
outage.
Figure 6-39. Four-Fiber MS-SPRing Span Switch
[View full size image]


Signal S1 from node A to node B would use VC-4(1) of protection Fiber 2, and the
return path from node B to node A would use VC-4(1) of protection Fiber-4. Signal
S2, added at node A and destined for node C would use VC-4(25) of protection
Fiber 2 between node A and B, after which it would revert to VC-4(25) of the
working Fiber 1 between nodes B and C. Signal S2 would use VC-4(25) of the
working Fiber-3 for its return path from node C to node B, after which it would use
VC-4(25) of protection Fiber-4 between nodes B and A. Signal S3 would be
unaffected. However, signal S4, added at node A and destined for node C, would use
VC-4(712) of protection Fiber 2 between node A and node B, after which it would
revert to VC-4(712) of the working Fiber 1 between nodes B and C. Signal S4 would
use VC-4(712) of the working Fiber-3 for its return path from node C to node B,
after which it would use VC-4(712) of protection Fiber-4 between nodes B and A.
Four-fiber MS-SPRing ring switching is shown in Figure 6-40. If both fiber pairs
between node A and B fail, all working traffic between these nodes is wrapped onto
the protection fiber pairs. Any unprotected traffic mapped between other nodes on
the ring is preempted and dropped because all the protection pairs are used during
the outage.
Figure 6-40. Four-Fiber MS-SPRing Ring Switch
[View full size image]


Signal S1 from node A to node B would use VC-4(1) of protection Fiber-4 via nodes
D and C, and the return path from node B to node A would use VC-4(1) of protection
Fiber 2 via nodes C and D. Signal S2, added at node A and destined for node C,
would use VC-4(25) of protection Fiber-4 via node D. On its return path from node
C to node A, signal S2 would use VC-4(25) of the working Fiber-3 between node C
to node B. Node B would cause a wrap and switch the traffic to VC-4(25) of
protection Fiber 2 for a drop at node A via nodes C and D. Signal S3 would be
unaffected. Signal S4, added at node A and destined for node C, would use VC-4(7
12) of protection Fiber-4 via node D. On its return path from node C to node A,
signal S4 would use VC-4(712) of the working Fiber-3 between node C to node B.
Node B would cause a wrap and switch the traffic to VC-4(712) of protection Fiber 2
for a drop at node A via nodes C and D.
SDH Network Management
SDH NEs need OAM&P support to be managed by carriers and service providers. The
OAM&P of an NE is the task of its EM. EMs are device-specific and vary by vendor. In
a typical service provider environment, there could be multiple EMs. The integration
of the various EMs along with fault management (FM), performance management
(PM), accounting management (AM), security management (SM), configuration
management (CM), and trouble ticketing and billing applications is the function of the
OSS. Multiple OSS systems that manage the data communications network (DCN)
constitute the TMN. The TMN has been standardized by the ITU-T under
Recommendation M.3010. SDH devices can be remotely managed through the use of
in-band management channels in the RSOH and MSOH, known as DCCs. Figure 6-41
shows an intercarrier TMN model. OSS-1 is operated by Carrier 1 and OSS-N is
operated by Carrier N. The OSS accesses the DCN via a gateway network element
(GNE).
Figure 6-41. OSS and TMN Schematic
[View full size image]


The DCC channels can transport operations and management messages that let OSS
systems comply with the TMN specification. However, many SDH equipment vendors
have established proprietary element management schemes, and there is little
interoperability between vendors in the use of these bytes. The DCC bytes, D1
through D3 in the RSOH, are known as DCC
R
. The 3 DCC
R
bytes provide a 192-kbps
communications channel. The DCC bytes, D4 through D12 in the MSOH, are known
as DCC
M
. The 9 DCC
M
bytes provide a 576-kbps communications channel. Most SDH
systems use DCC
R
bytes for management purposes and don't use the DCC
M
bytes by
themselves. The Cisco Transport Manager (CTM) enables service providers to
manage their Cisco SDH and optical transport devices collectively under one
management system. Cisco also uses a craft tool and element management system
(EMS) for comprehensive SDH and optical transport management called Cisco
Transport Controller (CTC). Cisco has developed its management application based
on an IP stack coupled with an Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)-based topology
discovery mechanism. Furthermore, Cisco ONS devices can tunnel their DCC
R
bytes
through an ONS network. The bytes are tunneled by copying the DCC
R
bytes into 3
of the DCC
M
bytes. Because there are 3 DCC
R
bytes and 9 DCC
M
bytes, the ONS
devices have the capability to transport traffic from 3 different SDH networks
simultaneously across any given span. The DCC
R
bytes are restored as they leave the
ONS network, thus permitting interoperability with non-ONS networks. The Cisco
EMS supports Transaction Language 1 (TL-1), Common Object Request Broker
Architecture (CORBA), and SNMP for OAM&P purposes.

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