Release Notes for Cisco Gigabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution, Release 1.0

Tip

Use this document online. This document provides hyperlinks to related documents and websites, including release notes for solution components and Cisco IOS images.

Document History


Document Version	Date	Notes
1	08/25/2005	This document was first published.
2	12/01/2005	DDTS CSCsc16554 is documented. See Open Caveats—Release 1.0.

Solution Description

The Cisco Gigabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband (GOVoBB) Solution, Release 1.0, supports IPTV, broadcast video, and video on demand (VoD) for the video over broadband/telco market, enabling operators that use digital subscriber lines (DSL) and fiber (FTTx) to offer not only video but also voice over IP (VoIP) and data (Internet access)—collectively referred to as "triple play"— over their existing infrastructure, now intelligently optimized for video service. (The solution assumes that Internet access is already available.)

Figure 1 presents a generic view of the Cisco GOVoBB Solution transport architecture. The solution uses a Gigabit-Ethernet (GE) transport network consisting of the following:

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A super headend (SHE), where live feeds for the broadcast video service are located

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A video switching office (VSO), where aggregation routers (ARs) that aggregate local or remotely attached GE DSLAMs are located

The regional access network, or RAN, consists of distribution, aggregation, and access layers. There is one SHE per region or network, and one VHE per metropolitan area. A distribution edge router (DER) provides transport for video traffic between the IP/MPLS core network and the VHO. The real-time encoder encodes and compresses analog signals. The VHO, in turn, is connected to the VSOs through one or more ARs. The customer premises equipment (CPE) consists of residential gateways, most commonly referred to as home access gateways, or HAGs.

Solution Components

Release1.0 of the Cisco Gibabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution features both Cisco and third-party components. Cisco components are listed in the following sections:

Note This solution is primarily for Cisco products. To establish and maintain the third-party products and applications that may be a part of the Cisco Gibabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution, refer to the documentation provided by the vendors of those products.

Cisco Hardware Components

Table 1 describes the Cisco hardware components tested for Release 1.0 of the Cisco Gibabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution. Software releases that were tested for the solution are listed in Table 2.

Tip

When viewing this document online, the components in the Hardware columns of Table 1 serve as links to the platform-specific user documentation. Refer to the release notes for each platform and software image that you use in this solution.

Note Different applications of this solution may use different subsets of the following components.

Table 1 Cisco Hardware Components
Network Role	System	Product Number	Removable Optics
DER, AR	Catalyst switch	7609, 6509
	Supervisor	WS-SUP720-3BXL	N/A
	10 GE x 4 optic	WS-X6704-10GE	XENPAK-10GE-LR
	1 GE x 24 optic	WS-X6724-SFP	1GE-SR/LR/DWDM
	1 GE x 16 DWDM optic	WS-X6816-GBIC	1GE-GBIC-DWDM-xxxx
	48-port copper Ethernet	WS-X6748-SFP	1GE-COPP-SR or -LR
	Switch	4948-10GE	N/A
	Switch	WS-4516-SupV	X2-10GE-LR

Cisco Software Matrix

Table 2 is a matrix that describes the tested Cisco IOS and other software releases for
Release 1.0 of the Cisco Gibabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution. If you are implementing this solution for the first time, we recommend that you use the most recent software releases in Table 2. If you have already implemented the solution in your network, use the entries in Table 2 as options for upgrading your solution components.

Table 2 also provides hyperlinks to release notes and the Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner from which you can download Cisco IOS images for Cisco components of the solution. See How to Use the Cisco Upgrade Planner.

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Select a feature set. Consult with your Cisco account representative to determine the Cisco IOS features that are required for your installation.

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Check the release notes for the platform and software release for flash and DRAM memory requirements.

Tip

If you view this document online, some of the components in the first column of Table 2 serve as links to the platform-specific release notes. The software release names in the rest of the table serve as links to the Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner from which you can download the Cisco IOS images.

How to Use the Cisco Upgrade Planner

Table 2 Cisco Gibabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution, Release 1.0, Software Matrix
Component	Cisco Release Tested for This Solution
Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches	Cisco IOS Release 12.2(18)SXE
Cisco 7609 router
Cisco Catalyst 4500 series switches, including Cisco Catalyst 4948-10GE	Cisco IOS Release 12.1(25)EWA

Note You need a Cisco.com password and user ID to access the Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner.

Step 1

To access the Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner, complete one of the following steps:

Within the online version of these release notes, click the release version in Table 2, and launch the Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner.

Step 2

Select the platform name from the Select Platform column in the Choose Options window.

Step 3

Go to the Select Release column and find the heading Early Development Updates.

Step 4

Search for the release name that corresponds with the name in the Cisco Releases Tested for This Solution column in Table 2.

Step 5

Click the link for that release. The Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner is refreshed.

Step 6

Read all instructions on the page, then click the appropriate software feature in the Select Software Feature column. The Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner is refreshed.

Step 7

Read the information on that page. If you agree with the requirements, click I Agree. The Cisco IOS Upgrade Planner is refreshed.

Step 8

Read all instructions on that page, then click the filename of the binary image in the Download: line.

Important Notes

Third-Party Components

Note While third-party components are tested for interoperability in this solution, they are not supported as part of this solution. Configurations relevant to the transport network are documented in the Cisco Gigabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution Design and Implementation Guide. Refer to third-party documentation for configuration of third-party equipment.

Note For the most current information, contact your Cisco account representative, visit the manufacturer's website, or contact the manufacturer's representative.

Table 3 Third-Party Components
Network Role	Vendor	System	Product Number
DSL switch	Ericsson	Ethernet DSL Access ECN320	FAB 801 3908
DSLAM		EDN312xp, version R3, revision R1A, ADSL2, ADSL2+	FAB 801 4246
Home access gateway (HAG)		HM340d, version 2, ADSL2 CPE modem	ZAT 759 94/A101
VoD server	Kasenna	GB Media Server	GB-MS-BASEA-LB
VoD server		GB Media Server	GB-MS-GIGE-COP
Application server		Living Room Application Server	LR-VSIF-HWSW
IP STB	Amino	STB	110

Third-Party Hardware and Software Requirements

Special Issues in Using DSL Equipment

If you are using Ericsson DSL equipment, see Appendix D, "Using Ericsson Equipment," in the Cisco Gigabit Ethernet-Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Design and Implementation Guide.

Limitations and Restrictions

IGMP Versions

According to RFC 3376, Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) version 3 is backwards compatible with IGMP versions 1 and 2. The Cisco switches in the solution were verified to support IGMP clients of IGMP versions 2 and 3 on the same aggregation VLAN. At the time of this writing, Ericsson DSL equipment does not support IGMP version 3, and so does not respond to IGMPv3 messages. Those messages are discarded, and the broadcast is therefore not played through the STB. Also, if the Cisco switch sends IGMPv3 queries to the DSLAM and they are discarded, a membership report is not sent to the Cisco switch. The switch, believing that there are no clients for the multicast group, stops forwarding the multicast group.

Consequently, Cisco switches connected to the Ericsson 320 switch must send IGMP version 2 commands to the Ericsson equipment. However, the solution requires IGMPv3 to be used on the switches.

The workaround is to ensure that the port that is connected to the Ericsson ECN 320 uses IGMPv2. (This is the default if no IGMP version is specified by means of a CLI command.) The Cisco switch then converts the IGMPv2 messages to version 3 when communicating with other Cisco switches in the network, while all messages sent to the Ericsson equipment use version 2.

Note IGMP with SSM mapping on the Cisco switches provides a transitional step between IGMPv2 and IGMPv3. Although the current Ericsson gear does not allow both IGMPv2 and IGMPv3 clients to exist on the same network, the Cisco switches allow both to exist in the same aggregation VLAN. This supports a "cap and grow" scenario for deployments. Clients of both versions can coexist on the same VLAN and join different groups or the same multicast group.

SSM Mapping Configuration

The following Cisco implementation guide states that IGMP SSM must be configured on all edge switches that process IGMP messages:

SSM functions fine with this recommendation, but testing showed that enabling SSM on all switches in the network decreased the jitter in the reconvergence times. The minimum reconvergence times were a little larger with the latter configuration, but more predictable because there was less jitter.

Anycast Functionality

Anycast provides multicast redundancy of multicast streams in the Cisco network. Two multicast sources are configured with identical source and destination IP addresses, but reside on different locations in the network. The edge router builds the reverse path tree to the closest source by means of the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) routing table. When the IGP detects a topology change, the edge router builds a new tree to the next closest source. This functionality works well on the Cisco switches, but requires third-party features to provide full functionality. For example, the Cisco network is not able to recognize a loss of video baseband or asynchronous serial interface (ASI) input to the IP encapsulator.

Incremental OSPF

On the Cisco Catalyst 4000 series switches, commands are available to configure incremental Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) under the OSPF process configuration. However, this feature is not completely supported by the Cisco Catalyst 4000 series, and incorrect routing tables may be witnessed when the anycast feature is used. To avoid this problem, it is recommended that incremental OSPF not be configured in this solution.

Ericsson Version Recommendation

During solution testing the Ericsson EAN, detailed in Appendix D of the Cisco Gigabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution Design and Implementation Guide, exhibited an unacceptable number of packet drops between the DSLAM and HAG. When the EAN was upgraded to the version listed in that appendix, the packets drops were no longer witnessed. Contact Ericsson to obtain the latest software releases for all of the Ericsson equipment.

Caveats

This section lists the key caveats for the components in this solution. Workarounds are provided where applicable.

Note For additional caveats that may affect this solution, refer to the release notes for each platform and software release that you use as a solution component. If you view this document online, the software release numbers in Table 2 serve as links to the platform-specific release notes.

If you have an account with Cisco.com, you can use the Bug Toolkit to find to find caveats of any severity for any release. To find the open caveats for Cisco components used in this solution, you must query the system for each of the component and software releases used or being planned for your network. To reach the Bug Toolkit, go to http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/Support/Bugtool/launch_bugtool.pl.

Open Caveats—Release 1.0

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CSCef28346—Long IGMP join latencies for multicast with the Cisco Catalyst 6000 series and Sup 720 have been seen with Cisco IOS Release 12.2(18)SXE.

Workaround—Use static joins, as described in "Effect of Multicast on Channel-Change Performance," in Chapter 3, "Solution Transport Architecture," of the Cisco Gigabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution Design and Implementation Guide.

In the 1-GE topology, UDLR may not be functional on the Cisco Catalyst 4000 series after a reload or power cycle. This is related to ARP requests and responses during bootup. The Cisco Catalyst 4000 series sometimes fail to respond successfully, and the upstream switch considers the unidirectional link to be down. The link can be activated by pinging across the unidirectional link.

Workaround—Configure the upstream switch with static ARPs for the endpoint of the unidirectional link on the downstream Cisco Catalyst 4000 series switch.

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CSCsc16554—When the IGMP limit (state limit) feature is used with Source Specific Multicast (SSM) and source mapping, the feature does not work under all conditions.

When SSM is used and the client supports only IGMP version 2, source mapping is required. IGMPv2 messages cause the active group counter to increment properly. However, when the receiver sends an IGMPv2 leave message to the router, the active group counter (set by the ip igmp limit command) does not decrement. Consequently, all subsequent IGMP joins are denied.

Related Documentation

Solution Documentation

This document, and the Cisco Gigabit-Ethernet Optimized IPTV/Video over Broadband Solution Design and Implementation Guide, are available under the following URLs:

Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches

Documentation resources for the Cisco 6500 series switches are available at the following URL:

Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Switches

Documentation resources for the Cisco Catalyst 4500 series switches, including the Cisco Catalyst 4948-10GE, are available at the following URL:

Cisco 7609 Router

Documentation resources for the Cisco 7609 router are available at the following URL:

Obtaining Documentation

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Severity 1 (S1)—Your network is "down," or there is a critical impact to your business operations. You and Cisco will commit all necessary resources around the clock to resolve the situation.

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