CTC Operations


This chapter covers Cisco Transport Controller (CTC) operations of the ML-Series card (ML100T-2, ML100X-8, and ML1000-2). All operations described in the chapter take place at the card-level view of CTC. CTC shows provisioning information and statistics for both the Ethernet and packet-over-SONET/SDH (POS) ports of the ML-Series card. For the ML-Series cards, CTC manages SONET/SDH alarms and provisions STS/STM circuits in the same manner as other ONS 15454 SONET and ONS SDH traffic cards.

Use CTC to load a Cisco IOS configuration file or to open a Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI) session. See Chapter 5 "Initial Configuration."

This chapter contains the following major sections:

Displaying ML-Series POS and Ethernet Statistics on CTC

Displaying ML-Series Ethernet Ports Provisioning Information on CTC

Displaying ML-Series POS Ports Provisioning Information on CTC

Provisioning Card Mode

Managing SONET/SDH Alarms

Displaying the FPGA Information

Provisioning SONET/SDH Circuits

J1 Path Trace

Displaying ML-Series POS and Ethernet Statistics on CTC

The POS statistics window lists POS port-level statistics. Display the CTC card view for the ML-Series card and click the Performance > POS Ports tabs to display the window.

The Ethernet statistics window lists Ethernet port-level statistics. It is similar in appearance to the POS statistics window. The ML-Series Ethernet ports are zero based. Display the CTC card view for the ML-Series card and click the Performance > Ether Ports tabs to display the window. Table 4-1 describes the buttons in the POS Ports and Ether Ports window.

A different set of statistics appears for the ML-Series card depending on whether the card is using HDLC or GFP-F framing. For definitions of ML-Series card statistics, refer to the "Performance Monitoring" chapter of the Cisco ONS 15454 Reference Manual or the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Reference Manual.

Table 4-1 ML-Series POS and Ethernet Statistics Fields and Buttons

Button
Description
Refresh

Manually refreshes the statistics.

Baseline

Resets the software counters (in that particular CTC client only) temporarily to zero without affecting the actual statistics on the card. From that point on, only counters displaying the change from the temporary baseline are displayed by this CTC client. These new baselined counters are shown only as long as the user displays the Performance window. If the user navigates to another CTC window and comes back to the Performance window, the true actual statistics retained by the card are shown.

Auto-Refresh

Sets a time interval for the automatic refresh of statistics.


Displaying ML-Series Ethernet Ports Provisioning Information on CTC

The Ethernet port provisioning window displays the provisioning status of the Ethernet ports. Click the Provisioning > Ether Ports tabs to display this window.

The user must configure ML-Series ports using the Cisco IOS CLI; however, the following fields can be provisioned using CTC: Port Name, Pre-Service Alarm Suppression (PSAS), and Soak Time. Click the Port Name field to assign a name to the port. For more information about provisioning these fields, refer to the "Change Card Settings" chapter in the Cisco ONS 15454 Procedure Guide and the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Procedure Guide.

"Auto" in a column indicates the port is set to autonegotiate capabilities with the attached link partner.

Not all ML-Series cards display all columns. Table 4-2 details the information displayed under the Provisioning > Ether Ports tab.

Table 4-2 CTC Display of Ethernet Port Provisioning Status 

Column
Description
ML1000-2
ML100T-12
ML100X-8

Port

The fixed number identifier for the specific port.

0 or 1

0-11

0-7

Port Name

Configurable 12-character alphanumeric identifier for the port.

User specific

User specific

User specific

Admin State

Configured port state, which is administratively active or inactive.

UP and DOWN

UP and DOWN

UP and DOWN

Link State

Status between signaling points at port and attached device.

UP and DOWN

UP and DOWN

UP and DOWN

PSAS

A check indicates alarm suppression is set on the port for the time designated in the Soak Time column.

Soak Time

Desired soak time in hours and minutes. Use this column when you have checked PSAS to suppress alarms. Once the port detects a signal, the countdown begins for the designated soak time. Soak time hours can be set from 0 to 48. Soak time minutes can be set from 0 to 45 in 15 minute increments.

MTU

(Maximum Transmission Unit) Largest acceptable packet size configured for that port.

Default value is 1500

Default value is 1500

Default value is 1500

Speed

Ethernet port transmission speed.

Auto, 10Mbps, or 100Mbps

100Mbps

Duplex

Setting of the duplex mode for the port.

Auto, Full, or Half

Full

Flow Control

Flow control mode negotiated with peer device. These values are displayed but not configurable in CTC.

Asymmetrical, Symmetrical or None

Symmetrical or None

Symmetrical or None

Optics

Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) physical media type.

Unplugged, 1000 SX, or 1000 LX

Unplugged, 100 FX, or 100 LX



Note The 100 FX value in the Optics column of the ML100X-8 represent the short wavelength (SX) SFP.



Note The port name field configured in CTC and the port name configured in Cisco IOS are independent of each other. The name for the same port under Cisco IOS and CTC does not match, unless the same name is used to configure the port name in both CTC and Cisco IOS.


Displaying ML-Series POS Ports Provisioning Information on CTC

The POS ports provisioning window displays the provisioning status of the card's POS ports. Click the Provisioning > POS Ports tabs to display this window.

The user must configure ML-Series ports using the Cisco IOS CLI; however, the following fields can be provisioned using CTC: Port Name, Pre-Service Alarm Suppression (PSAS), and Soak Time. Click the Port Name field to assign a name to the port. For more information about provisioning these fields, refer to the "Change Card Settings" chapter in the Cisco ONS 15454 Procedure Guide and the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Procedure Guide.

Table 4-3 details the information displayed under the Provisioning > POS Ports tab.

Table 4-3 CTC Display of POS Port Provisioning Status 

Column
Description

Port

The fixed number identifier for the specific port.

Port Name

Configurable 12-character alphanumeric identifier for the port.

Admin State

Configured port state, which is administratively active or inactive. Possible values are UP and DOWN. For the UP value to appear, a POS port must be both administratively active and have a SONET/SDH circuit provisioned.

Link State

Status between signaling points at port and attached device. Possible values are UP and DOWN.

PSAS

A check indicates alarm suppression is set on the port for the time designated in the Soak Time column.

Soak Time

Desired soak time in hours and minutes. Use this column when you have checked PSAS to suppress alarms. Once the port detects a signal, the countdown begins for the designated soak time. Soak time hours can be set from 0 to 48. Soak time minutes can be set from 0 to 45 in 15 minute increments.

MTU

The maximum transfer unit, which is the largest acceptable packet size configured for that port. The maximum setting is 9000. The default size is 1500 for the G-Series card compatible encapsulation (LEX) and 4470 for Cisco HDLC and Point-to-Point Protocol/Bridging Control Protocol (PPP/BCP) encapsulation.

Framing Type

HDLC or frame-mapped generic framing procedure (GFP-F) framing type shows the POS framing mechanism being employed on the port.



Note The port name field configured in CTC and the port name configured in Cisco IOS are independent of each other. The name for the same port under Cisco IOS and CTC does not match, unless the same name is used to configure the port name in both CTC and Cisco IOS.


Provisioning Card Mode

The card mode provisioning window shows the mode currently configured on the ML-Series card and allows the user to change it to either HDLC, GFP-F, or 802.17 RPR. For more information on HDLC or GFP-F, see POS on ONS Ethernet Cards section.

The user may also pre-provision the card mode of an ML-Series card before the card is physically installed. The ML-Series card will then boot up into the pre-provisioned mode. If the correct microcode image is not already loaded, setting the card mode to 802.17 will automatically download and enable the correct microcode image for IEEE compliant 802.17b.


Caution The ML-Series card reboots after the card mode is changed.

Click the Provisioning > Card tabs to display this window. Use the Mode drop-down list and then click Apply to provision the card mode type. Click Yes at the Reset Card dialog box that appears.

Managing SONET/SDH Alarms

CTC manages the ML-Series SONET/SDH alarm behavior in the same manner as it manages alarm behavior for other ONS 15454 SONET/SDH cards. Refer to the "Manage Alarms" chapter of the Cisco ONS 15454 Procedure Guide or the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Procedure Guide for detailed information. For information on specific alarms, refer to the "Alarm Troubleshooting" chapter of the Cisco ONS 15454 Troubleshooting Guide or the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Troubleshooting Guide for detailed information.

To view the window, click the Provisioning > Alarm Profiles tabs for the Ethernet and POS port alarm profile information.

Displaying the FPGA Information

CTC displays information for the field programmable gate array (FPGA) on the ML-Series card. Click the Maintenance > Info tabs to display this window.

The FPGA on the ML100T-12, ML100X-8 and ML1000-2 provides the interface and buffering between the card's network processor and the SONET/SDH cross-connect. FPGA Image Version 3.x supports HDLC framing, and FPGA Image Version 4.x supports GFP-F Framing. Both images support virtual concatenation (VCAT). In Release 5.0 and later, the correct FPGA is automatically loaded when the framing mode is changed by the user.


Note ML-Series cards manufactured prior to Software Release 4.6 need an updated version of the FPGA to support VCAT.



Caution Do not attempt to use current FPGA images with an earlier CTC software release.

Provisioning SONET/SDH Circuits

CTC provisions and edits STS/STM level circuits for the two virtual SONET/SDH ports of the ML-Series card in the same manner as it provisions other ONS 15454 SONET and ONS SDH OC-N/STM-N cards. The ONS 15454 ML-Series card supports both contiguous concatenation (CCAT) and virtual concatenation (VCAT) circuits.

For step-by-step instructions to configure an ML-Series card SONET CCAT or VCAT circuit, refer to the "Create Circuits and VT Tunnels" chapter of the Cisco ONS 15454 Procedure Guide. For step-by-step instructions to configure an ML-Series card SDH CCAT or VCAT circuit, refer to the "Create Circuits and Tunnels" chapter of the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Procedure Guide. For more general information on VCAT circuits, refer to the "Circuits and Tunnels" chapter of the Cisco ONS 15454 Reference Manual or the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH Reference Manual.

J1 Path Trace

The J1 Path Trace is a repeated, fixed-length string comprised of 64 consecutive J1 bytes. You can use the string to monitor interruptions or changes to SONET/SDH circuit traffic. For information on J1 Path Trace, refer to the Cisco ONS  15454  Reference Manual or the Cisco ONS  15454  SDH Reference Manual.