ECS4100 Series Web Management Guide-R07

Chapter 13 | Basic Administration Protocols
Ethernet Ring Protection Switching
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node holding the link blocked receives this message, it compares the Node ID
information with its own. If the received R-APS (NR) message has a higher
priority, this unblocks its ring ports. Otherwise, the block remains unchanged.
The node identifier may also be used for debugging, such as to distinguish
messages when a node is connected to more than one ring.
◆ R-APS with VC – Configures an R-APS virtual channel to connect two
interconnection points on a sub-ring, allowing ERPS protocol traffic to be
tunneled across an arbitrary Ethernet network. (Default: Enabled)
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A sub-ring may be attached to a primary ring with or without a virtual
channel. A virtual channel is used to connect two interconnection points
on the sub-ring, tunneling R-APS control messages across an arbitrary
Ethernet network topology. If a virtual channel is not used to cross the
intermediate Ethernet network, data in the traffic channel will still flow
across the network, but the all R-APS messages will be terminated at the
interconnection points.
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Sub-ring with R-APS Virtual Channel – When using a virtual channel to
tunnel R-APS messages between interconnection points on a sub-ring, the
R-APS virtual channel may or may not follow the same path as the traffic
channel over the network. R-APS messages that are forwarded over the
sub-ring’s virtual channel are broadcast or multicast over the
interconnected network. For this reason the broadcast/multicast domain of
the virtual channel should be limited to the necessary links and nodes. For
example, the virtual channel could span only the interconnecting rings or
sub-rings that are necessary for forwarding R-APS messages of this sub-
ring. Care must also be taken to ensure that the local RAPS messages of the
sub-ring being transported over the virtual channel into the
interconnected network can be uniquely distinguished from those of other
interconnected ring R-APS messages. This can be achieved by, for example,
by using separate VIDs for the virtual channels of different sub-rings.
Note that the R-APS virtual channel requires a certain amount of
bandwidth to forward R-APS messages on the interconnected Ethernet
network where a sub-ring is attached. Also note that the protection
switching time of the sub-ring may be affected if R-APS messages traverse a
long distance over an R-APS virtual channel.
Figure 307: Sub-ring with Virtual Channel
Sub-ring
with Virtual
Channel
Virtual
Channel
RPL Port
Interconnection Node
Ring Node
Major Ring