Security and Timing

Note The terms "Unidirectional Path Switched Ring" and "UPSR" may appear in Cisco literature. These terms do not refer to using Cisco ONS 15xxx products in a unidirectional path switched ring configuration. Rather, these terms, as well as "Path Protected Mesh Network" and "PPMN," refer generally to Cisco's path protection feature, which may be used in any topological network configuration. Cisco does not recommend using its path protection feature in any particular topological network configuration.

This chapter provides information about Cisco ONS 15454 users and SONET timing. To provision security and timing, refer to the Cisco ONS 15454 Procedure Guide.

Chapter topics include:

•Users and Security

•Node Timing

9.1  Users and Security

The CISCO15 ID is provided with the ONS 15454 system, but this user ID is not prompted when you sign into CTC. This ID can be used to set up other ONS 15454 users. (To do this, complete the "Create Users and Assign Security" procedure in the Cisco ONS 15454 Procedure Guide.)

You can have up to 500 user IDs on one ONS 15454. Each Cisco Transport Controller (CTC) or TL1 user can be assigned one of the following security levels:

•Retrieve—Users can retrieve and view CTC information but cannot set or modify parameters.

•Maintenance—Users can access only the ONS 15454 maintenance options.

•Provisioning—Users can access provisioning and maintenance options.

•Superusers—Users can perform all of the functions of the other security levels as well as set names, passwords, and security levels for other users.

By default, multiple concurrent user ID sessions are permitted on the node, that is, multiple users can log into a node using the same user ID. If you provision a user ID to be active in a single occurrence, concurrent logins with that user ID are not permitted.

Note You must add the same user name and password to each node the user accesses.

9.1.1  Security Requirements

Table 9-1 shows the actions that each user privilege level can perform in node view.

Table 9-1 ONS 15454 Security Levels—Node View 

CTC Tab
Subtab(s)
Actions
Retrieve
Maintenance
Provisioning
Superuser

Alarms

—

Synchronize/filter/delete cleared alarms

X

X

X

X

Conditions

—

Retrieve/filter

X

X

X

X

History

Session

Filter

X

X

X

X

Node

Retrieve alarms and events/filter

X

X

X

X

Circuits

—

Create/edit/delete/filter

—

Partial1

X

X

Search

X

X

X

X

Provisioning

General

Edit

—

—

Partial2

X

EtherBridge/

Spanning trees: edit

—

—

X

X

Thresholds: create/delete

—

—

X

X

Network

All

—

—

X

X

Protection

Create/delete/edit

—

—

X

X

Browse groups

X

X

X

X

BLSR

All

—

—

X

X

Security

Create/delete

—

—

—

X

Change password

Same user

Same user

Same user

All users

SNMP

Create/delete/edit

—

—

X

X

Browse trap destinations

X

X

X

X

DCC/GCC

DCC/GCC/OSC (R4.5)

Create/edit/delete

—

—

X

X

Timing

Edit

—

—

X

X

Alarm Behavior

Edit

—

—

X

X

Defaults

Edit

—

—

—

X

UCP

All

—

—

X

X

WDM-ANS/ (R4.5)

Provisioning: edit

—

—

X

X

Connections: create/edit/delete/commit/ calculate

—

—

X

X

Services: launch

—

—

X

X

NE update: edit/reset/import/export

—

—

X

X

Inventory

—

Delete

—

—

X

X

Reset

—

X

X

X

Maintenance

Database

Backup

—

X

X

X

Restore

—

—

—

X

EtherBridge

MAC table retrieve

X

X

X

X

MAC table clear/clear all

—

X

X

X

Trunk utilization refresh

X

X

X

X

Protection

Switch/lock out operations

—

X

X

X

BLSR

BLSR maintenance

—

—

X

X

Software

Download

—

X

X

X

Upgrade/activate/revert

—

—

—

X

Cross-Connect

Protection switches

—

X

X

X

Overhead XConnect

Read only

—

—

—

—

Diagnostic

Retrieve, lamp test

—

Partial

X

X

Timing

Edit

—

X

X

X

Audit

Retrieve

—

—

—

X

Routing Table

Read-only

—

—

—

—

RIP Routing Table

Refresh

X

X

X

X

Test Access

Read-only

X

X

X

X

1 Maintenance user can edit Path Protection circuits.

2 Provisioner user cannot change node name.


Table 9-2 shows the actions that each user privilege level can perform in network view.

Table 9-2 ONS 15454 Security Levels—Network View 

CTC Tab
Subtab
Actions
Retrieve
Maintenance
Provisioning
Superuser

Alarms

—

Synchronize/filter/delete cleared alarms

X

X

X

X

Conditions

—

Retrieve/filter

X

X

X

X

History

—

Filter

X

X

X

X

Circuits

—

Create/edit/delete/filter

—

Partial

X

X

Search

X

X

X

X

Provisioning

Security/

Users: create/change/delete

—

—

—

X

Active logins: logout

—

—

—

X

Policy: change

—

—

—

X

Alarm Profiles

Load/store/delete

—

—

X

X

Compare/available/usage

—

X

X

X

BLSR

All (BLSR)

—

—

X

X

Overhead Circuits

 

Edit

—

—

X

X


9.1.1.1  Idle User Timeout

Each ONS 15454 CTC or TL1 user can be idle during his or her login session for a specified amount of time before the CTC window is locked. The lockouts prevent unauthorized users from making changes. Higher-level users have shorter default idle periods and lower-level users have longer or unlimited default idle periods, as shown in Table 9-3. The user idle period can be modified by a Superuser; refer to the Cisco ONS 15454 Procedure Guide for instructions.

Table 9-3 ONS 15454 Default User Idle Times 

Security Level
Idle Time

Superuser

15 minutes

Provisioning

30 minutes

Maintenance

60 minutes

Retrieve

Unlimited


9.1.1.2  Superuser Password and Login Privileges

Superuser password and login privilege criteria are as follows:

•Password expiration and reuse settings—Superusers can provision password reuse periods and reuse intervals (the number of passwords that must be generated before a password can be reused).

•Login visibility—Superusers can view real-time lists of users who are logged into CTC or TL1 user logins by node by retrieving the list of logins by node.

•Invalid login attempts—Superusers can define the quantity of invalid login attempts a user can make before his ID is locked out.

•Privilege change—Superusers can initiate privilege changes for other users while the user is logged in. The changes are propagated to all nodes within the network and they become effective the next time the user logs in.

9.1.1.3  Audit Trail

The ONS 15454 maintains a 640-entry, human-readable audit trail of user actions such as login, logout, circuit creation or deletion, and so on. You can move the log to a local or network drive for later review. The ONS 15454 generates an event to indicate when the when the log is 80 percent full, and another event to indicate that the oldest log entries are being overwritten.

9.2  Node Timing

SONET timing parameters must be set for each ONS 15454. Each ONS 15454 independently accepts its timing reference from one of three sources:

•The BITS (building integrated timing supply) pins on the ONS 15454 backplane.

•An OC-N card installed in the ONS 15454. The card is connected to a node that receives timing through a BITS source.

•The internal ST3 clock on the TCC+/TCC2 card.

You can set ONS 15454 timing to one of three modes: external, line, or mixed. If timing is coming from the BITS pins, set ONS 15454 timing to external. If the timing comes from an OC-N card, set the timing to line. In typical ONS 15454 networks:

•One node is set to external. The external node derives its timing from a BITS source wired to the BITS backplane pins. The BITS source, in turn, derives its timing from a Primary Reference Source (PRS) such as a Stratum 1 clock or GPS signal.

•The other nodes are set to line. The line nodes derive timing from the externally timed node through the OC-N trunk (span) cards.

You can set three timing references for each ONS 15454. The first two references are typically two BITS-level sources, or two line-level sources optically connected to a node with a BITS source. The third reference is the internal clock provided on every ONS 15454 TCC+/TCC2 card. This clock is a Stratum 3 (ST3). If an ONS 15454 becomes isolated, timing is maintained at the ST3 level.

Caution Mixed timing allows you to select both external and line timing sources. However, Cisco does not recommend its use because it can create timing loops. Use this mode with caution.

9.2.1  Network Timing Example

Figure 9-1 shows an ONS 15454 network timing setup example. Node 1 is set to external timing. Two timing references are set to BITS. These are Stratum 1 timing sources wired to the BITS input pins on the Node 1 backplane. The third reference is set to internal clock. The BITS output pins on the backplane of Node 3 are used to provide timing to outside equipment, such as a Digital Access Line Access Multiplexer.

In the example, Slots 5 and 6 contain the trunk (span) cards. Timing at Nodes 2, 3, and 4 is set to line, and the timing references are set to the trunk cards based on distance from the BITS source. Reference 1 is set to the trunk card closest to the BITS source. At Node 2, Reference 1 is Slot 5 because it is connected to Node 1. At Node 4, Reference 1 is set to Slot 6 because it is connected to Node 1. At Node 3, Reference 1 could be either trunk card because they are equal distance from Node 1.

Figure 9-1 ONS 15454 Timing Example

9.2.2  Synchronization Status Messaging

Synchronization status messaging (SSM) is a SONET protocol that communicates information about the quality of the timing source. SSM messages are carried on the S1 byte of the SONET Line layer. They enable SONET devices to automatically select the highest quality timing reference and to avoid timing loops.

SSM messages are either Generation 1 or Generation 2. Generation 1 is the first and most widely deployed SSM message set. Generation 2 is a newer version. If you enable SSM for the ONS 15454, consult your timing reference documentation to determine which message set to use. Table 9-4 and Table 9-5 show the Generation 1 and Generation 2 message sets.

Table 9-4 SSM Generation 1 Message Set 

Message
Quality
Description

PRS

1

Primary reference source - Stratum 1

STU

2

Sync traceability unknown

ST2

3

Stratum 2

ST3

4

Stratum 3

SMC

5

SONET minimum clock

ST4

6

Stratum 4

DUS

7

Do not use for timing synchronization

RES

 

Reserved; quality level set by user


Table 9-5 SSM Generation 2 Message Set

Message
Quality
Description

PRS

1

Primary reference source—Stratum 1

STU

2

Sync traceability unknown

ST2

3

Stratum 2

TNC

4

Transit node clock

ST3E

5

Stratum 3E

ST3

6

Stratum 3

SMC

7

SONET minimum clock

ST4

8

Stratum 4

DUS

9

Do not use for timing synchronization

RES

 

Reserved; quality level set by user