Temporal and hitless path segment monitoring
draft-koike-mpls-tp-temporal-hitless-psm-04

Abstract

The MPLS transport profile (MPLS-TP) is being standardized to enable carrier-grade packet transport and complement converged packet network deployments. Among the most attractive features of MPLS-TP are OAM functions, which enable network operators or service providers to provide various maintenance characteristics, such as fault location, survivability, performance monitoring, and preliminary or in-service measurements. One of the most important mechanisms which is common for transport network operation is fault location. A segment monitoring function of a transport path is effective in terms of extension of the maintenance work and indispensable particularly when the OAM function is effective only between end points. However, the current approach defined for MPLS-TP for the segment monitoring (SPME) has some fatal drawbacks. This document elaborates on the problem statement for the Sub-path Maintenance Elements (SPMEs) which provides monitoring of a portion of a set of transport paths (LSPs or MS-PWs). Based on the problems, this document specifies new requirements to consider a new improved mechanism of hitless transport path segment monitoring. This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) / International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport Profile within the IETF MPLS and PWE3 architectures to support the capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network.

Authors

Alessandro D'Alessandro
Manuel Paul
Satoshi Ueno
Yoshinori Koike

(Note: The e-mail addresses provided for the authors of this Internet-Draft may no longer be valid.)