Chapter 6, Circuits and Tunnels

This chapter explains how to create and administer Cisco ONS 15454 SDH VC high-order path circuits and VC low-order path tunnels. Table 6-1 lists the chapter topics.

Table 6-1 Circuit and Tunnel Topics

Circuit and Tunnel Topics
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Creating VC High-Order Path Circuits
6.3 Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping
6.4 Creating Multiple Drops for Unidirectional Circuits
6.5 Creating Monitor Circuits
6.6 Searching for Circuits
6.7 Editing SNCP Circuits
6.8 Creating a Path Trace
6.9 Cross-Connect Card Capacities
6.10 Creating DCC Tunnels

Note Although you can view the Orderwire tab, SDH Software R3.3 does not support orderwire tunneling.

6.1 Introduction

You can create VC high-order path circuits and VC low-order path tunnels across and within ONS 15454 SDH nodes and assign different attributes to circuits, for example you can:

Create one-way, two-way, or broadcast circuits
Assign user-defined names to circuits
Assign different circuit sizes. The E3 and DS3i cards must use VC low-order path tunnels. E1 cards, optical cards, and Ethernet cards use VC high-order path circuits. Available sizes are VC4, VC4-2c, VC4-3c, VC4-4c, VC4-8c, VC4-16c, and VC4-64c for optical cards and some Ethernet cards depending on the card type. Of the Ethernet cards, only the G-1000 can use VC4-3c and VC4-8c

Note To create Ethernet circuits, see the "E Series Circuit Configurations" section or the "G1000-4 Circuit Configurations" section on.

Automatically or manually route VC high-order path circuits
Automatically route VC low-order path tunnels
Automatically create multiple circuits
Provide full protection to the circuit path
Provide only protected sources and destinations for circuits
Define a secondary circuit source or destination that allows you to interoperate an ONS 15454 SDH subnetwork connection protection ring (SNCP) with third-party equipment SNCPs

Note In this chapter, "cross-connect" and "circuit" have the following meanings: Cross-connect refers to the connections that occur within a single ONS 15454 SDH to allow a circuit to enter and exit an ONS 15454 SDH. Circuit refers to the series of connections from a traffic source (where traffic enters the ONS 15454 SDH network) to the drop or destination (where traffic exits an ONS 15454 SDH network).

6.2 Creating VC High-Order Path Circuits

This section explains how to create VC high-order path circuits. The E1 card, STM-N cards, and Ethernet cards all use high-order path circuits. To create circuits for E3 and DS3i cards, see the "Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping" section. For an explanation of circuits and tunnels, see the "Cross-Connect Card Capacities" section.

You can create unidirectional or bidirectional, revertive or non-revertive high-order path circuits. CTC can route circuits automatically or you can use CTC to manually route circuits.

You can provision circuits at any of the following points:

Before cards are installed. The ONS 15454 SDH allows you to provision slots and circuits before installing the traffic cards. (To provision an empty slot, right-click it and select a card from the shortcut menu.) However, circuits cannot carry traffic until you install the cards and place their ports in service. For card installation procedures, see the "Install Optical, Electrical, and Ethernet Cards" procedure. For ring-related procedures, see "SDH Topologies."
After cards are installed, and their ports are out of service. You must place the ports in service before circuits will carry traffic.
After cards are installed, and their ports are in service. Circuits will carry traffic as soon as the signal is received.

Procedure: Create an Automatically Routed High-Order Path Circuit

Purpose	Use this procedure to create an automatically-routed, high-order path circuit. The auto range feature eliminates the need to individually build circuits of the same type; CTC can create additional sequential circuits if you specify the number of circuits you need and build the first circuit.
Prerequisite Procedures	If you want to route circuits on protected drops, create the card protection groups before creating circuits. See the "Create Protection Groups" procedure.
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Log into an ONS 15454 SDH and click the Circuits tab. Circuits can be created from the network view, node view, or card view.

Tip You can also right-click a source node in network view, choose Provision Circuit To, and choose the circuit destination node from the menu.

Step 2 Click Create.

Step 3 In the Circuit Creation dialog box (Figure 6-1), complete the following fields:

Figure 6-1 Creating an automatically-routed circuit (high-order path circuit)

Name—(optional) Assign a name to the circuit. The name can be alphanumeric and up to 32 characters (including spaces). If you leave the Name field blank, CTC assigns a default name to the circuit.
Type—Select VC_HO_Path_Circuit (HOP). The circuit type determines the circuit-provisioning options that are displayed. The E3 and DS3i cards must use VC low-order path tunnels. See the "Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping" section for more information.
Size—Select the circuit size (VC_HO_Path_Circuits only). VC high-order path circuits can be VC4, VC4-2c, VC4-3c, VC4-4c, VC4-8c, VC4-16c, and VC4-64c for optical cards and some Ethernet cards depending on the card type. Of the Ethernet cards, only the G-1000 can use VC4-3c and VC4-8c. The "c" indicates concatenated VC4s.
Bidirectional—Check this box to create a two-way circuit; uncheck it to create a one-way circuit.
Number of circuits—Type the number of circuits you want to create. If you enter more than one, you can use auto-ranging to create the additional circuits automatically. Otherwise, CTC returns to the Circuit Source page after you create each circuit until you finish creating the number of circuits specified here.
Auto Ranged—Check this box to use the auto-range feature. If you select the source and destination of one circuit, CTC automatically determines the source and destination for the remaining Number of circuits and creates the circuits. To determine the source and destination, CTC increments the most specific part of the end points. An end point can be a port or a VC4. If CTC cannot find a valid destination, or selects an end point that is already in use, CTC stops and allows you to either select a valid end point or cancel. If you select a valid end point and continue, auto-ranging begins after you click Finish for the current circuit.
Protected Drops—If this box is checked, CTC displays only protected cards and ports (1:1, 1:N, 1+1 or MS-SPRing protection) as choices for the circuit source and destination.

Step 4 (SNCP protection only) Set the SNCP path selector defaults:

Revertive—Check this box if you want traffic to revert to the working path when the conditions that diverted it to the protect path are repaired. If Revertive is not chosen, traffic remains on the protect path after the switch.
Reversion time—If Revertive is checked, set the reversion time. This is the amount of time that will elapse before the traffic reverts to the working path. Traffic can revert when conditions causing the switch are cleared (the default reversion time is 5 minutes).
SF threshold—Choose from one E-3, one E-4, or one E-5.
SD threshold—Choose from one E-5, one E-6, one E-7, one E-8, or one E-9.
Switch on PDI-P—Check this box if you want traffic to switch when a VC4 payload defect indicator is received (VC4 circuits only).

Step 5 Click Next.

Step 6 In the Circuit Source dialog box, set the circuit source.

Options include node, slot, port, and VC4. The options that display depend on the circuit type and circuit properties you selected in Step 3 and the cards installed in the node.

Note E1 cards use VC4 circuits. All 12 of the E1 ports use VC4 bandwidth.

Note For information about Ethergroups, see the "E Series Circuit Configurations" section and the "G1000-4 Circuit Configurations" section.

Click Use Secondary Source if you need to create an SNCP bridge/selector circuit entry point in a multivendor SNCP.

Step 7 Click Next.

Step 8 In the Circuit Destination dialog box, enter the appropriate information for the circuit destination. If the circuit is bidirectional, you can click Use Secondary Destination if you need to create an SNCP bridge/selector circuit destination point in a multivendor SNCP. (To add secondary destinations to unidirectional circuits, see the "Create a Unidirectional Circuit with Multiple Drops" procedure.)

Step 9 Click Next.

Step 10 Under Circuit Routing Preferences (Figure 6-2), choose Route Automatically. The following options are available:

Using Required Nodes/Spans—If selected, you can specify nodes and spans to include or exclude in the CTC-generated circuit route.
Review Route Before Creation—If selected, you can review and edit the circuit route before the circuit is created.

Step 11 If you want the circuit routed on a protected path, select Fully Protected Path and choose one of the following path diversity options. Otherwise, go to Step 12.

Note In SDH Software R3.3, if you are creating an SNCP circuit, deselect the Fully Protected Path checkbox.

CTC creates a primary and alternate circuit route (virtual SNCP) based on the nodal diversity option you select:

Nodal Diversity Required—Ensures that the primary and alternate paths within the extended SNCP mesh network portions of the complete circuit path are nodally diverse. (For information about extended SNCP, see the "Extended SNCP Mesh Networks" section.)
Nodal Diversity Desired—Specifies that node diversity should be attempted, but if node diversity is not possible, CTC creates link-diverse paths for the extended SNCP mesh network portion of the complete circuit path.
Link Diversity Only—Specifies that only link-diverse primary and alternate paths for extended SNCP mesh network portions of the complete circuit path are needed. The paths may be node-diverse, but CTC does not check for node diversity.

Figure 6-2 Setting circuit routing preferences

Step 12 Click Finish or Next depending on whether you selected Using Required Nodes/Spans and/or Review Route Before Creation:

Using Required Nodes/Spans—If selected, click Next to display the Circuit Route Constraints panel (Figure 6-3). On the circuit map, click a node or span and click Include (to include the node or span in the circuit) or Exclude (to exclude the node/span from the circuit).

The order in which you select included nodes and spans sets the circuit sequence. Click spans twice to change the circuit direction. After you add the spans and nodes, you can use the Up and Down buttons to change their order, or click Remove to remove a node or span. When you are finished, click Finish or Next, depending on whether you selected Review Route Before Creation.

Figure 6-3 Specifying circuit constraints

Review Route Before Creation—If selected, click Next to display the route for you to review. To add or delete a circuit span, select a node on the circuit route. Blue arrows show the circuit route. Green arrows indicate spans that you can add. Click a span arrowhead, then click Include to include the span or Remove to remove the span.

Step 13 After you click Finish, CTC creates the circuit and returns to the Circuits window. If you entered more than one in Number of Circuits in Step 3, the Circuit Source dialog box is displayed so you can create the remaining circuits. If Auto Ranged is checked, CTC automatically creates the number of sequential circuits that you entered in Number of Circuits. Otherwise, proceed to Step 14.

Step 14 If you are provisioning circuits before installing the traffic cards and enabling their ports, you must install the cards and enable the ports before circuits will carry traffic. For card installation procedures, see the "Install Optical, Electrical, and Ethernet Cards" procedure. For ring-related procedures, see "SDH Topologies."

Procedure: Create a Manually Routed High-Order Path Circuit

Purpose	Use this procedure to create a manually routed high-order path circuit.
Prerequisite Procedures	If you want to route circuits on protected drops, create the card protection groups before creating circuits. See the "Create Protection Groups" procedure.
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Log into an ONS 15454 SDH and click the Circuits tab.

Tip You can also right-click a source node in network view, choose Provision Circuit To, and choose the circuit destination node from the menu.

Step 2 Click Create.

Step 3 In the Circuit Creation dialog box (Figure 6-1), complete the following fields:

Name—(optional) Assign a name to the circuit. The name can be alphanumeric and up to 32 characters (including spaces). If you leave the Name field blank, CTC assigns a default name to the circuit.
Type—Select VC_HO_Path_Circuit (HOP). The circuit type determines the circuit-provisioning options that are displayed. The E1, E3, and DS3i cards must use VC low-order path tunnels. See the "Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping" section.
Size—Select the circuit size (VC_HO_Path_Circuits only). VC high-order path circuits can be VC4, VC4-2c, VC4-3c, VC4-4c, VC4-8c, VC4-16c, and VC4-64c for optical cards and some Ethernet cards depending on the card type. Of the Ethernet cards, only the G-1000 can use VC4-3c and VC4-8c. The "c" indicates concatenated VC4s.
Bidirectional—Check this box to create a two-way circuit; uncheck it to create a one-way circuit.
Number of circuits—Type the number of circuits you want to create. CTC returns to the Circuit Source page after you create each circuit until you finish creating the number of circuits specified here.
Protected Drops—If this box is checked, CTC only displays protected cards and ports (1:1, 1:N, 1+1 or MS-SPRing protection) as choices for the circuit source and destination.

Figure 6-4 Creating a manually-routed circuit

Step 4 (SNCP protection only) Set the SNCP path selector defaults:

Revertive—Check this box if you want traffic to revert to the working path when the conditions that diverted traffic to the protect path are repaired. If Revertive is not chosen, traffic remains on the protect path after the switch.
Reversion time—If Revertive is checked, set the reversion time. This is the amount of time that will elapse before the traffic reverts to the working path. Traffic can revert when conditions causing the switch are cleared (the default reversion time is 5 minutes).
SF threshold—Choose from one E-3, one E-4, or one E-5.
SD threshold—Choose from one E-5, one E-6, one E-7, one E-8, or one E-9.
(VC4 circuits only) Switch on PDI-P—Check this box if you want traffic to switch when a VC4 payload defect indicator is received.

Step 5 Click Next.

Step 6 In the Circuit Source dialog box, set the circuit source.

Options include node, slot, port, and VC4. The options that display depend on the circuit type and circuit properties you selected in Step 3 and the cards installed in the node.

Note E1 cards use VC4 circuits. All 12 of the E1 ports use VC4 bandwidth.

Note For information about Ethergroups, see the "E Series Circuit Configurations" section and the "G1000-4 Circuit Configurations" section.

Click Use Secondary Source if you need to create an SNCP bridge/selector circuit entry point in a multivendor SNCP.

Step 7 Click Next.

Note To add secondary destinations to unidirectional circuits, see the "Create a Unidirectional Circuit with Multiple Drops" procedure.

Step 9 Click Next.

Step 10 Under Circuit Routing Preferences (Figure 6-2), de-select Route Automatically.

Step 11 If you want the circuit routed on a protected path, select Fully Protected Path and choose one of the following path diversity options. Otherwise, go to Step 12.

Note In SDH Software R3.3, if you are creating an SNCP circuit, deselect the Fully Protected Path checkbox.

CTC creates a primary and alternate circuit route (virtual SNCP) based on the nodal diversity option you select:

Nodal Diversity Required—Ensures that the primary and alternate paths within extended SNCP mesh network portions of the complete circuit path are nodally diverse. (For information about extended SNCP, see the "Extended SNCP Mesh Networks" section.)
Nodal Diversity Desired—Specifies that node diversity should be attempted, but if node diversity is not possible, CTC creates link diverse paths for the extended SNCP mesh network portion of the complete circuit path.
Link Diversity Only—Specifies that only link-diverse primary and alternate paths for extended SNCP mesh network portions of the complete circuit path are needed. The paths may be node-diverse, but CTC does not check for node diversity.

Step 12 Click Next. The Route Review and Edit panel is displayed for you to manually route the circuit. The green arrows pointing from the source node to other network nodes indicate spans that are available for routing the circuit.

Step 13 Set the circuit route:

a. Click the arrowhead of the span you want the circuit to travel.

b. If you want to change the source VC4, change it in the Source VC4 fields.

c. Click Add Span.

The span is added to the Included Spans list and the span arrow turns blue.

Step 14 Repeat Step 13 until the circuit is provisioned from the source to the destination node.

When provisioning a protected circuit, you need to select only one path of MS-SPRing or 1+1 spans from the source to the drop. In SNCP, you must select both paths around the ring for the circuit to be protected.

Step 15 When the circuit is provisioned, click Finish.

If you entered more than one in Number of Circuits in the Circuit Attributes dialog box in Step 3, the Circuit Source dialog box is displayed so you can create the remaining circuits.

Step 16 If you are provisioning circuits before installing the traffic cards and enabling their ports, you must install the cards and enable the ports before circuits will carry traffic. For card installation procedures, see the "Install Optical, Electrical, and Ethernet Cards" procedure. For ring-related procedures, see "SDH Topologies."

6.3 Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping

This section explains how to create VC low-order path tunnels for the E3 and DS3i cards. The E1 card, STM-N cards, and Ethernet cards all use high-order path circuits. See the "Creating VC High-Order Path Circuits" section. For more information about cross connections and signal rates, see the "Cross-Connect Card Capacities" section.

VC low-order path tunnels (VC_LO_PATH_TUNNEL) are automatically set to bidirectional with port grouping enabled. VC4 tunnels must be used to transport VC3 signal rates. Three ports form a port group. For example, in one E3 or one DS3i card, there are four port groups: Ports 1—3 = PG1, ports 4—6 = PG2, ports 7—9 = PG3, and ports 10—12 = PG4.

CTC shows VC3-level port groups, but the XC10G creates only VC4-level port groups. Tunnels are routed automatically. The following rules apply to port-grouped circuits:

A port group goes through a VC_LO_PATH_TUNNEL circuit, with a set size of VC4.
The circuit must be bidirectional and cannot use multiple drops.
The circuit number is set to one.
The Auto Ranged field is set to Yes.
The Use secondary destination field is set to No.
The Route Automatically field is set to Yes.
Monitor circuits cannot be created on a VC3 circuit in a port group.

You can provision circuits at any of the following points:

Before cards are installed. The ONS 15454 SDH allows you to provision slots and circuits before installing the traffic cards. (To provision an empty slot, right-click it and select a card from the shortcut menu.) For card installation procedures, see the "Install Optical, Electrical, and Ethernet Cards" procedure. For ring-related procedures, see "SDH Topologies."
After cards are installed, but before ports are in service (enabled). You must place the ports in service before circuits will carry traffic.
After cards are installed, and their ports are in service. Circuits will carry traffic when the signal is received.

Procedure: Create a Low-Order Path Tunnel for Port Grouping

Purpose	Use this procedure to create an automatically-routed, low-order path tunnel for port grouping.
Prerequisite Procedures	If you want to route circuits on protected drops, create the card protection groups before creating circuits. See the "Create Protection Groups" procedure.
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Log into an ONS 15454 SDH and click the Circuits tab. Circuits can be created from the network view, node view, or card view.

Tip You can also right-click a source node in network view, select Provision Circuit To, and choose the circuit destination node from the menu.

Step 2 Click Create.

Step 3 In the Circuit Creation dialog box (Figure 6-5), complete the following fields:

Name—(optional) Assign a name to the circuit. The name can be alphanumeric and up to 32 characters (including spaces). If you leave the Name field blank, CTC assigns a default name to the circuit.
Type—Select VC_LO_Path_Tunnel. The circuit type determines the circuit-provisioning options that are displayed. The E3 and DS3i cards must use VC low-order path tunnels.
Size—This field is automatically set to VC4.
For VC3 Port Grouping Only—The checkbox is automatically selected.
Bidirectional—The checkbox is automatically selected. (VC low-order path tunnels are bidirectional).
Number of circuits—This field automatically lists one port group.

Three ports form one port group. For example, in one E3 or one DS3i card, there are four port groups: Ports 1—3 = PG1, ports 4—6 = PG2, ports 7—9 = PG3 and ports 10—12 = PG4. Low-order path tunneling is performed at the VC3 level.

Auto Ranged—The checkbox is automatically selected.

If you select the source and destination of one circuit, CTC automatically determines the source and destination for the remaining Number of circuits and creates the circuits. To determine the source and destination, CTC increments the most specific part of the end point. An end point can be a port or a VC4. If CTC cannot find a valid destination, or selects an end point that is already in use, CTC stops and allows you to either select a valid end point or cancel. If you select a valid end point and continue, auto-ranging begins after you click Finish for the current circuit.

Protected Drops—If this box is checked, CTC only displays protected cards and ports (1:1 or 1:N) as choices for the circuit source and destination.

Figure 6-5 Creating an automatically-routed circuit (low-order path tunnel)

Step 4 (SNCP protection only) Set the SNCP path selector defaults:

Revertive—Check this box if you want traffic to revert to the working path when the conditions that diverted the traffic to the protect path are repaired. If Revertive is not chosen, traffic remains on the protect path after the switch.
Reversion time—If Revertive is checked, set the reversion time. This is the amount of time that will elapse before the traffic reverts to the working path. Traffic can revert when conditions causing the switch are cleared (the default reversion time is 5 minutes).
SF threshold—Choose from one E-3, one E-4, or one E-5.
SD threshold—Choose from one E-5, one E-6, one E-7, one E-8, or one E-9.
Switch on PDI-P—The checkbox is automatically deselected.

Step 5 Click Next.

Step 6 In the Circuit Source dialog box, set the circuit source.

Options include node, slot, and VC4. The options that display depend on the circuit type and circuit properties you selected in Step 3 and the cards installed in the node. For Ethergroups, see the "E Series Circuit Configurations" section and the "G1000-4 Circuit Configurations" section.

Step 7 Click Next.

Step 8 In the Circuit Destination dialog box, enter the appropriate information for the circuit destination.

Step 9 Click Next. Under Circuit Routing Preferences (Figure 6-6), Route Automatically is selected.

Step 10 If you want the circuit routed on a protected path, select Fully Protected Path and choose one of the following path diversity options. Otherwise, continue with Step 11.

Note In SDH Software R3.3, if you are creating an SNCP circuit, deselect the Fully Protected Path checkbox.

CTC creates a primary and alternate circuit route (virtual SNCP) based on the nodal diversity option you select:

Nodal Diversity Required—Ensures that the primary and alternate paths within the extended SNCP mesh network portions of the complete circuit path are nodally diverse. (For information about extended SNCP mesh network, see the "Extended SNCP Mesh Networks" section.)
Nodal Diversity Desired—Specifies that node diversity should be attempted, but if node diversity is not possible, CTC creates link diverse paths for the extended SNCP mesh network portion of the complete circuit path.
Link Diversity Only—Specifies that only link-diverse primary and alternate paths for extended SNCP mesh network portions of the complete circuit path are needed. The paths may be node-diverse, but CTC does not check for node diversity.

Figure 6-6 Setting circuit routing preferences

Step 11 Click Finish. CTC creates the circuit and returns to the Circuits window (Figure 6-7).

Figure 6-7 CTC creates low-order path circuits for port grouping

Step 12 If you are provisioning circuits before installing the traffic cards and enabling their ports, you must install the cards and enable the ports before circuits will carry traffic. For card installation procedures, see the "Install Optical, Electrical, and Ethernet Cards" procedure. For ring-related procedures, see "SDH Topologies."

6.4 Creating Multiple Drops for Unidirectional Circuits

Unidirectional circuits can have multiple drops for use in broadcast circuit schemes. In broadcast scenarios, one source transmits traffic to multiple destinations, but traffic is not returned back to the source.

When you create a unidirectional circuit, the card that does not have its backplane Rx input terminated with a valid input signal generates a loss of service (LOS) alarm. To mask the alarm, create an alarm profile suppressing the LOS alarm and apply it to the port that does not have its Rx input terminated. See the "Alarm Profiles" section for information.

Procedure: Create a Unidirectional Circuit with Multiple Drops

Purpose	Use this procedure to create a unidirectional circuit with multiple drops.
Prerequisite Procedures	—
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Use the "Create an Automatically Routed High-Order Path Circuit" procedure to create a circuit. To make it unidirectional, clear the Bidirectional check box on the Circuit Creation dialog box.

Step 2 After the unidirectional circuit is created, in node or network view select the Circuits tab.

Step 3 Select the unidirectional circuit and click Edit (or double-click the circuit).

Step 4 On the Drops tab of the Edit Circuits dialog box, click Create or, if Show Detailed Map is selected, right-click a node on the circuit map and select Add Drop.

Step 5 On the Define New Drop dialog box, complete the appropriate fields to define the new circuit drop: Node, Slot, Port, and VC4.

Step 6 Click OK.

Step 7 If you need to create additional drops, repeat Steps 4 - 6. If not, click Close.

Step 8 Verify that the new drops appear on the Edit Circuit map:

If Show Detailed Map is selected: a "D" enclosed by circles appears on each side of the node graphic.
If Show Detailed Map is not selected: "Drop #1, Drop #2" appears under the node graphic.

6.5 Creating Monitor Circuits

You can set up secondary circuits to monitor traffic on primary bidirectional circuits. Monitor circuits can be created on E1 or STM-N cards. Figure 6-8 shows an example of a monitor circuit. At Node 1, a VC4 is dropped from Port 1 of an STM-1 card. To monitor the VC4 traffic, test equipment is plugged into Port 2 of the STM-1 card and a monitor circuit to Port 2 is provisioned in CTC. Circuit monitors are one-way. The monitor circuit in Figure 6-8 is used to monitor VC4 traffic received by Port 1 of the STM-1 card.

Note Monitor circuits cannot be used with EtherSwitch circuits.

Figure 6-8 A VC4 monitor circuit received at an STM-1 port

Procedure: Create a Monitor Circuit

Purpose	Use this procedure to set up secondary circuits to monitor traffic on primary bidirectional circuits.
Prerequisite Procedures	For unidirectional circuits, create a drop to the port where the test equipment is attached.
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 In node view, choose the Circuits tab.

Step 2 Choose the bidirectional circuit that you want to monitor. Click Edit.

Step 3 On the Edit Circuit dialog box, click the Monitors tab.

The Monitors tab displays ports that you can use to monitor the circuit you selected in Step 2.

Step 4 Choose a port. The monitor circuit displays traffic coming into the node at the card/port you select.

Step 5 Click Create Monitor Circuit.

Step 6 On the Circuit Creation dialog box, choose the destination node, slot, port, and VC4 for the monitored circuit. In the Figure 6-8 example, this is Port 2 on the E1 card.

Step 7 If Use Secondary Destination is chosen, enter the slot, port, and VC4.

Step 8 Click Next.

Step 9 On the Circuit Creation dialog box confirmation, review the monitor circuit information. Click Finish.

Step 10 On the Edit Circuit dialog box, click Close. The new monitor circuit displays on the Circuits tab.

6.6 Searching for Circuits

CTC provides the ability to search for ONS 15454 SDH circuits using the circuit name. You can conduct a search at the network, node, or card level, and search for whole words and/or include capitalization as a search parameter.

Procedure: Search for ONS 15454 SDH Circuits

Purpose	Use this procedure to search for ONS 15454 SDH circuits based on circuit name.
Prerequisite Procedures	"Creating VC High-Order Path Circuits" section or "Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping" section
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Display the appropriate CTC view:

Network view to conduct searches at the network level
Node (default) view to conduct searches at the node or network level
Card view to conduct searches at the card, node, or network level

Step 2 Click the Circuits tab.

Step 3 If you are in node or card view, choose the scope for the search in the Scope field.

Step 4 Click Search.

Step 5 In the Circuit Name Search dialog box, complete the following:

Find What—Enter the circuit name you want to find.
Match Whole Word Only—If checked, CTC selects circuits only if the entire word matches the name in the Find What field.
Match Case—If checked, CTC selects circuits only when the capitalization matches the capitalization entered in the Find What field.
Direction—Select the direction for the search. Searches are conducted up or down from the currently selected circuit.

Step 6 Click Find Next.

Step 7 Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you are finished, then click Cancel.

6.7 Editing SNCP Circuits

Use the Edit Circuits window to change SNCP selectors and switch protection paths. In this window, you can:

View the SNCP circuit's working and protection paths
Edit the reversion time
Edit the Signal Fail/Signal Degrade thresholds
Change PDI-P settings, perform maintenance switches on the circuit selector, and view switch counts for the selectors
Display a map of the SNCP circuits to better see circuit flow between nodes

Procedure: Edit an SNCP Circuit

Purpose	Use this procedure to edit SNCP circuits.
Prerequisite Procedures	"Creating VC High-Order Path Circuits" section or "Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping" section
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Log into the source or drop node of the SNCP circuit.

Step 2 Click the Circuits tab.

Step 3 Click the circuit you want to edit, then click Edit.

Step 4 On the Edit Circuit window, click the SNCP Selectors tab.

Step 5 Edit the SNCP selectors:

Revert Time—Controls whether traffic reverts to the working path when conditions that diverted it to the protect path are repaired. If you select Never, traffic does not revert. Selecting a time sets the amount of time that will elapse before traffic reverts to the working path.
(VC4 circuits only) SF Ber Level—Sets the SNCP signal failure BER threshold.
(VC4 circuits only) SD Ber Level—Sets the SNCP signal degrade BER threshold.
(VC4 circuits only) PDI-P—When checked, traffic switches if a VC4 payload defect indication is received.
Switch State—Switches circuit traffic between the working and protect paths. The color of the Working Path and Protect Path fields indicates the active path. Normally, the working path is green and the protect path is purple. If the protect path is green, working traffic has switched to the protect path.

CLEAR—Removes a previously-set switch command.

LOCKOUT OF PROTECT—Prevents traffic from switching to the protect circuit path.

FORCE TO WORKING—Forces traffic to switch to the working circuit path, regardless of whether the path is error free.

FORCE TO PROTECT—Forces traffic to switch to the protect circuit path, regardless of whether the path is error free.

MANUAL TO WORKING—Switches traffic to the working circuit path when the working path is error free.

MANUAL TO PROTECT—Switches traffic to the protect circuit path when the protect path is error free.

Caution The FORCE and LOCKOUT commands override normal protection switching mechanisms. Applying these commands incorrectly can cause traffic outages.

Step 6 Click Apply, then verify that the selector switches as you expect.

6.8 Creating a Path Trace

Use a J1 path trace to monitor interruptions or changes to circuit traffic. The J1 path trace for each drop port transmits a repeated, fixed-length string. If the string received at a circuit drop port along the circuit does not match the string the port expects to receive, an alarm is raised. To set up path trace on the ports, you must repeat the following procedure for each port. Table 6-2 shows the ONS 15454 SDH cards that support path trace. Cards not listed in the table do not support the J1 byte.

Table 6-2 ONS 15454 SDH Cards Supporting J1 Path Trace

J1 Function	Card
Transmit and Receive	E3
	DS3i
	G1000-4
Receive Only	OC3 IR 4/STM1 SH 1310
	OC48 IR/STM16 SH AS 1310
	OC48 LR/STM16 LH AS 1550
	OC192 LR/STM64 LH 1550

Note There are two types of J1 bytes, high-order (HO-J1) and low-order (LO-J1). The electrical cards support LO-J1 (VC3) and the optical cards support HO-J1 (VC4) and cannot monitor the LO-J1 byte.

Note Path trace is available for VC3 and VC4 circuits. In SDH Software R3.3, you can set the VC3 J1 transmit string on E3 and DS3i cards, but VC3 is not monitored by STM-N cards. The VC4 transmit string cannot be set on the E3 and DS3i.

Procedure: Create a J1 Path Trace

Purpose	Use this procedure to create a path trace on a circuit source and destination port. This procedure assumes you are setting up a path trace on a bidirectional circuit, and you will set transmit strings at the circuit source and destination.
Tools/Equipment	ONS 15454 SDH cards capable of path trace. See Table 6-2.
Prerequisite Procedures	"Creating VC High-Order Path Circuits" section or "Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping" section
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Log into a node on the network where you will create the path trace.

Step 2 From node view click the Circuits tab.

Step 3 For the circuit you want to monitor, verify that the source and destination ports are on a card that can transmit and receive the path trace string (E3, DS3i, G1000-4). See Table 6-2 for a complete list of cards.

If neither port is on a transmit/receive card, you will not be able to complete this procedure. If one port is on a transmit/receive card and the other on a receive-only card, you can set up the transmit string at the transmit/receive port and the receive string at the receive-only port, but you will not be able to transmit in both directions.

Step 4 Choose the circuit you want to trace, then click Edit.

Step 5 On the Edit Circuit window, click the Show Detailed Map box at the bottom of the window. A detailed map of the source and destination ports is displayed.

Step 6 Provision the circuit source transmit string:

a. On the detailed circuit map right-click the circuit source port (the square on the left or right of the source node icon) and choose Edit Path Trace from the shortcut menu.

Figure 6-9 Selecting the detailed circuit map

b. Choose the format of the transmit string by choosing either the 16 byte or 64 byte selection button.

c. In the New Transmit String field, enter the circuit source transmit string. Enter a string that makes the source port easy to identify, such as the node IP address, node name, circuit name, or another string. If the New Transmit String field is left blank, the J1 transmits a string of null characters.

d. Click Apply, then click Close.

Step 7 Provision the circuit destination transmit string:

a. On the Edit Circuit window right-click the circuit destination port and choose Edit Path Trace from the shortcut menu.

b. In the New Transmit String field, enter the string that you want the circuit destination to transmit. Enter a string that makes the destination port easy to identify, such as the node IP address, node name, circuit name, or another string. If the New Transmit String field is left blank, the J1 transmits a string of null characters.

c. Click Apply.

Step 8 Provision the circuit destination expected string:

a. On the Circuit Path Trace window, enable the path trace expected string by choosing Auto or Manual from the Path Trace Mode drop-down menu:

Auto—The first string received from the source port is the baseline. An alarm is raised when a string that differs from the baseline is received. Continue with Substep b.
Manual—The string entered in Current Expected String is the baseline. An alarm is raised when a string that differs from the Current Expected String is received. Enter the string that the circuit destination should receive from the circuit source in the New Expected String field.

b. Click the Disable AIS on TIM-P checkbox if you want to suppress the Alarm Indication Signal when the Path Trace Identifier Mismatch Path (TIM-P) alarm is displayed. Refer to the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide for descriptions of alarms and conditions.

c. Click Apply, then click Close.

Step 9 Provision the circuit source expected string:

a. On the Edit Circuit window right-click the circuit source port and choose Edit Path Trace from the shortcut menu.

b. On the Circuit Path Trace window, enable the path trace expected string by choosing Auto or Manual from the Path Trace Mode drop-down menu:

Auto—Uses the first string received from the port at the other end as the baseline string. An alarm is raised when a string that differs from the baseline is received. Continue with Substep c.
Manual—Uses the Current Expected String field as the baseline string. An alarm is raised when a string that differs from the Current Expected String is received. Enter the string that the circuit source should receive from the circuit destination in the New Expected String field.

c. Click the Disable AIS on TIM-P checkbox if you want to suppress the Alarm Indication Signal when the Path Trace Identifier Mismatch Path (TIM-P) alarm is displayed. Refer to the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide for descriptions of alarms and conditions.

d. Click Apply, then click Close.

Step 10 After you set up the path trace, the received string is displayed in the Received box on the path trace setup window. The following options are available:

Click Switch Mode to toggle between ASCII and hexadecimal display.
Click the Reset button to reread values from the port.
Click Default to return to the path trace default settings (Path Trace Mode is set to Off and the New Transmit and New Expected Strings are null).

Caution Clicking Default will generate alarms if the port on the other end is provisioned with a different string.

The Expect and Receive strings are updated every few seconds only if Path Trace Mode is set to Auto or Manual.

When you display the detailed circuit window, path trace is indicated by an M (manual path trace) or an A (automatic path trace) at the circuit source and destination ports.

Procedure: Monitoring a Path Trace on STM-N Ports

Purpose	Use this task to monitor a path trace on STM-N ports within the circuit path.
Tools/Equipment	ONS 15454 SDH cards capable of receiving path trace must be installed at the STM-N circuit ports. See Table 6-2.
Prerequisite Procedures	"Create a J1 Path Trace" section.
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Start CTC on a node in the network where path trace was provisioned on the circuit source and destination ports.

Step 2 Click Circuits.

Step 3 Choose the VC4 circuit that has path trace provisioned on the source and destination ports, then click Edit.

Step 4 On the Edit Circuit window, click the Show Detailed Map box at the bottom of the window. A detailed circuit graphic showing source and destination ports is displayed.

Step 5 On the detailed circuit map right-click the circuit STM-N port (the square on the left or right of the source node icon) and choose Edit Path Trace from the shortcut menu.

Note The STM-N port must be on a receive-only card listed in Table 6-2. If not, the Edit Path Trace menu item will not display.

Step 6 On the Circuit Path Trace window, enable the path trace expected string by choosing Auto or Manual from the Path Trace Mode drop-down menu:

Auto—Uses the first string received from the port at the other end as the baseline string. An alarm is raised when a string that differs from the baseline is received. For STM-N ports, Auto is recommended, since Manual mode requires you to trace the circuit on the Edit Circuit window to determine whether the port is the source or destination path.
Manual—Uses the Current Expected String field as the baseline string. An alarm is raised when a string that differs from the Current Expected String is received.

Step 7 If you set Path Trace Mode to Manual, enter the string that the STM-N port should receive in the New Expected String field. To do this, trace the circuit path on the detailed circuit window to determine whether the port is in the circuit source or destination path, then set the New Expected String to the string transmitted by the circuit source or destination. If you set Path Trace Mode to Auto, ignore the New Expected String field.

Note A screen will appear with 16 byte and 64 byte buttons. The software automatically selects the appropriate choice. SDH Software R3.3 does not support changes to these fields.

Step 8 The Disable AIS on TIM-P checkbox cannot be selected.

Note SDH Software R3.3 does not support changes to the Disable AIS on TIM-P field. The STM-N path trace monitoring does not generate AIS on TIM-P.

Step 9 Click Apply, then click Close.

6.9 Cross-Connect Card Capacities

The XC10G is required to operate the ONS 15454 SDH. XC10Gs support high-order cross-connections (VC4 and above). The XC10G does not support any low-order circuits such as VC-11, VC-12, and VC3. The XC10G card works with the TCC-I card to maintain connections and set up cross-connects within the node. You can create circuits using the Cisco Transport Controller (CTC). The XC10G card cross connects standard VC4, VC4-4c, VC4-16c, and VC4-64c signal rates and the non-standard VC4-2c, VC4-3c, and VC4-8c signal rates providing a maximum of 384 x 384 VC4 cross-connections. Any VC4 on any port can be connected to any other port, meaning that the VC cross-connection capacity is non-blocking. The XC10G card manages up to 192 bidirectional VC4 cross-connects.

VC4 tunnels must be used with the E3 and DS3i cards to transport VC3 signal rates. Three ports form a port group. For example, in one E3 or one DS3i card, there are four port groups: Ports 1—3 = PG1, ports 4—6 = PG2, ports 7—9 = PG3 and ports 10—12 = PG4.

Note In SDH Software R3.3, the XC10G does not support VC3 circuits for the E3 and DS3i cards. You must create a VC tunnel. See the "Create a Low-Order Path Tunnel for Port Grouping" procedure for more information.

Note The Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide contains detailed specifications of the XC10G card.

6.10 Creating DCC Tunnels

SDH provides four data communications channels (DCCs) for network element operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning: one on the SDH Section layer and three on the SDH Line layer. The ONS 15454 SDH uses the Section DCC (SDCC) for ONS 15454 SDH management and provisioning.

You can use the Line DCCs (LDCCs) and the SDCC (when the SDCC is not used for ONS 15454 SDH DCC terminations) to tunnel third-party SDH equipment across ONS 15454 SDH networks. A DCC tunnel end-point is defined by Slot, Port, and DCC, where DCC can be either the SDCC, Tunnel 1, Tunnel 2, or Tunnel 3 (LDCCs). You can link an SDCC to an LDCC (Tunnel 1, Tunnel 2, or Tunnel 3) and an LDCC to an SDCC. You can also link LDCCs to LDCCs and link SDCCs to SDCCs. To create a DCC tunnel, you connect the tunnel end points from one ONS 15454 SDH optical port to another.

Each ONS 15454 SDH can support up to 32 DCC tunnel connections. Table 6-3 shows the DCC tunnels that you can create.

Table 6-3 DCC Tunnels

DCC	SDH Layer	SDH Bytes	STM-1 (all ports)	STM-4, STM-16, STM-64
SDCC	Section	D1 - D3	Yes	Yes
Tunnel 1	Line	D4 - D6	No	Yes
Tunnel 2	Line	D7 - D9	No	Yes
Tunnel 3	Line	D10 - D12	No	Yes

Figure 6-10 shows a DCC tunnel example. Third-party equipment is connected to STM-1 cards at Node 1/Slot 3/Port 1 and Node 3/Slot 3/Port 1. Each ONS 15454 SDH node is connected by STM-16 trunk cards. In the example, three tunnel connections are created, one at Node 1 (STM-1 to STM-16), one at Node 2 (STM-16 to STM-16), and one at Node 3 (STM-16 to STM-1).

Figure 6-10 A DCC tunnel

When you create DCC tunnels, keep the following guidelines in mind:

Each ONS 15454 SDH can have a maximum of 32 DCC tunnel connections.
Each ONS 15454 SDH can have a maximum of 10 SDCC terminations.
An SDCC that is terminated cannot be used as a DCC tunnel end-point.
An SDCC that is used as an DCC tunnel end-point cannot be terminated.
All DCC tunnel connections are bidirectional.

Procedure: Provision a DCC Tunnel

Purpose	Use this procedure to provision a DCC tunnel.
Onsite/Remote	Onsite or remote

Step 1 Log into an ONS 15454 SDH that is connected to the non-ONS 15454 SDH network.

Step 2 Click the Provisioning > SDH DCC tabs.

Step 3 Beneath the DCC Tunnel Connections area (bottom right of the screen), click Create.

Step 4 In the Create DCC Tunnel Connection dialog box (Figure 6-11), select the tunnel end points from the From (A) and To (B) lists.

Note You cannot use the SDCC listed under SDCC Terminations (left side of the window) for tunnel connections. These are used for ONS 15454 SDH optical connections.

Figure 6-11 Selecting DCC tunnel end points

Step 5 Click OK.

Step 6 Put the ports hosting the DCC tunnel in service:

a. Double-click the card hosting the DCC in the shelf graphic or right-click the card on the shelf graphic and choose Open.

b. Click the Provisioning > Line tabs.

c. Under Status, choose In Service.

d. Click Apply.

DCC provisioning is now complete for one node. Repeat these steps for all slots/ports that are part of the DCC tunnel, including any intermediate nodes that will pass traffic from third party equipment. The procedure is confirmed when the third-party network elements successfully communicate over the newly-established DCC tunnel.

Table of Contents

Circuits and Tunnels

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Creating VC High-Order Path Circuits

Procedure: Create an Automatically Routed High-Order Path Circuit

Procedure: Create a Manually Routed High-Order Path Circuit

6.3 Creating VC Low-Order Path Tunnels for Port Grouping

Procedure: Create a Low-Order Path Tunnel for Port Grouping

6.4 Creating Multiple Drops for Unidirectional Circuits

Procedure: Create a Unidirectional Circuit with Multiple Drops

6.5 Creating Monitor Circuits

Procedure: Create a Monitor Circuit

6.6 Searching for Circuits

Procedure: Search for ONS 15454 SDH Circuits

6.7 Editing SNCP Circuits

Procedure: Edit an SNCP Circuit

6.8 Creating a Path Trace

Procedure: Create a J1 Path Trace

Procedure: Monitoring a Path Trace on STM-N Ports

6.9 Cross-Connect Card Capacities

6.10 Creating DCC Tunnels

Procedure: Provision a DCC Tunnel