Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI, New Features and Hardware Support [Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.2 SX]

PB503086

Last Updated: November, 2008

This Product Bulletin introduces Cisco IOS® Software Release 12.2(33)SXI and includes the following sections:

1. Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI Introduction

2. Release 12.2(33)SXI Packaging, Migration, Service Module Support, and Software Modularity Considerations

3. Release 12.2(33)SXI Highlights

4. Release 12.2SX Additional Information

1. Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI Introduction

Release 12.2SX provides new features and hardware support for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switch. Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI, the latest 12.2SX release, delivers new Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series hardware and software innovations that span multiple technology areas, including high availability, MPLS and VPNs, IPv6 support, advanced IP routing and multicast, integrated security, and embedded management.

The broad range of hardware-enabled services (IPv6, MPLS, NAT/PAT, GRE, Bidirectional Protocol Independent Multicast) and Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2SX software features (NSF/SSO, software modularity) makes the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series the most comprehensive switching platform available today.

For detailed information about the features and hardware supported in Release 12.2SX and 12.2(33)SXI, refer to the Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2SX release notes and customer documentation at the following website http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6017/tsd_products_support_series_home.html.

Not all features may be supported on all platforms. Use the Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco IOS Software image support http://tools.cisco.com/ITDIT/CFN/jsp/index.jsp. You must have an account on Cisco.com to access the Cisco Feature Navigator.

Cisco IOS Release 12.2SX is developed for and intended to run on Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches only.

2. Release 12.2(33)SXI IP Version 6 (IPV6) Repackaging

For years, Cisco IOS has expanded support of IPv6 to the majority of its technology areas and hardware platforms. Originally added to the former IP Plus packaging, IPv6 support is currently available in Advanced IP Services, Enterprise Services and above features sets. Due to market trends such as available IPv4 address pool exhaustion and regional registries issuing advisory to the Internet community to adopt IPv6 and national mandates, Cisco IOS packaging for IPv6 is now evolving. Cisco is investing and offers IPv6 support for more and more technologies in order to accelerate and increase deployments based on Cisco IOS Software release. Cisco is taking this a step further by offering packaging parity for IPv6 with IPv4 such that IPv6 feature support for a technology will be packaged in the same feature set as IPv4. For example, IPv6 feature support for BGP will be packaged in IP Services where BGP for IPv4 resides today. This new IOS packaging for IPv6 is starting on Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI, and will get propagated to other IOS release trains in future.

Catalyst 6500 images starting with Release 12.2(33)SXI will support the new IPv6 packaging as follows:

• IPbase image-IPv6 Host features like:

– IPv6 addressing

– ICMPv6 and redirect

– IPv6 Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) path discovery

– IPv6 Neighbor discovery

– Syslog over IPv6

– Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) over IPv6

– Telnet over IPv6

– SSH over IPv6

• IPservices image-Same IPv6 features as supported in advipservicesk9 images in prior releases, including EIGRPv6, IPv6 multicast, IPv6 tunneling, DHCPv6 and 6VPE

Benefits

Customers do not need to purchase new Release 12.2(33)SXI (or later Release 12.2SX releases) feature sets to obtain IPv6 support.

Product Management Contact

• Niraj Gopal (niraj@cisco.com)

• Amit Datar (datar@cisco.com)

2.1. Release 12.2(33)SXI Migration

Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 offers the Cisco IOS Software Modular images as a feature set in addition to the Cisco IOS Native images, with full feature parity between them. The Release 12.2(33)SXI Software Release provides new feature functionality and introduces additional hardware support for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switch, which allows customers to deploy it within the Enterprise campus, Data Center, WAN aggregation, and Service Provider edge networks.

Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI is the next Extended Maintenance (EM) release, and will be supported for a period of 24 months for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches. For more details on Release 12.2SX Standard and Extended Maintenance releases please visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/prod_bulletin0900aecd804f0694.html.

Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI offers the following images for the Supervisor Engine 720, Supervisor Engine 32 and ME 6524:

• Supervisor-720 IOS Software images:

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS IP Services

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS IP Services (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS IP Services (SSH) LAN ONLY

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS IP Services (SSH) LAN ONLY (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS IP Services (SSH)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS IP Services (SSH) (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS Advanced IP Services (SSH)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS Advanced IP Services (SSH) (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS Advanced Enterprise services (SSH)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 720 IOS Advanced Enterprise services (SSH) (MODULAR)

Figure 1. Supervisor-720 Software Image Upgrade to 12.2(33)SXI

• Supervisor-32 IOS Software images:

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS IP Base LAN ONLY

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS IP Base LAN ONLY (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS IP Base (SSH) LAN ONLY

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS IP Base (SSH) LAN ONLY (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS IP Services SSH

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS IP Services SSH (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS Advanced IP Services (SSH)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS Advanced IP Services (SSH) (MODULAR)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS Advanced Enterprise Services (SSH)

– Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor 32 IOS Advanced Enterprise Services (SSH) (MODULAR)

Figure 2. Supervisor-32 Software Image Upgrade to 12.2(33)SXI

• ME6524 Software Feature sets:

– Cisco ME 6524 IOS IP Base (SSH) LAN ONLY

– Cisco ME 6524 IOS IP Base (SSH) LAN ONLY (MODULAR)

– Cisco ME 6524 IOS IP Base LAN ONLY

– Cisco ME 6524 IOS IP Base LAN ONLY (MODULAR)

– Cisco ME 6524 IOS Advanced IP Services (SSH) LAN ONLY

– Cisco ME 6524 IOS Advanced IP Services (SSH) LAN ONLY (MODULAR)

Figure 3. Catalyst 6500 ME-6524 Software Image Upgrade to 12.2(33)SXI

2.2. Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Service Module Support in Release 12.2(33)SXH and Release 12.2(33)SXI

Release 12.2(33)SXH and Release 12.2(33)SXI provides supports for the following Service and WAN modules:

Table 1.

Service Module	Description
ACE10-6500-K9	Application Control Engine Service Module
ACE20-MOD-K9	Application Control Engine 20 Hardware
WS-SVC-CMM	COMMUNICATION MEDIA MODULE
WS-SVC-FWM-1-K9	Firewall blade for 6500 and 7600, VFW License Separate
WS-SVC-IDS2-BUN-K9	600M IDSM-2 Mod for Cat
WS-SVC-NAM-1	Catalyst 6500 Network Analysis Module-1
WS-SVC-NAM-2	Catalyst 6500 Network Analysis Module-2
WS-SVC-WiSM-1-K9	CISCO WIRELESS SERVICES MODULE (WISM)
WS-SSC-600	Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Services SPA Carrier-600
WS-IPSEC-3	Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series VPN Services Port Adapter
WS-X6582-2PA	Cisco7600/Catalyst6500 Enhanced FlexWAN, Fabric-enabled
7600-SIP-200	Cisco 7600 Series SPA Interface Processor-200
7600-SIP-400	Cisco 7600 Series SPA Interface Processor-400

The service modules that were supported in Release 12.2(18)SXF (and prior releases) and not supported in Release 12.2(33)SXH or Release 12.2(33)SXI are shown below with their migration path:

Table 2.

Service Module	Description	Migration Path	Description
WS-SVC-AGM-1-K9	Catalyst 6500 Cisco Anomaly Guard Module	AGXT-5650-MMF-B-K9 For more information, please visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns615/networking_solutions_sub_solution.html	Cisco Guard XT 5650, 1000Base-SX MMF, Dual AC, RAID
WS-SVC-ADM-1- K9	Catalyst 6500 Cisco Anomaly Detector Module	ADXT-5600-MMF-B-K9 For more information, please visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns615/networking_solutions_sub_solution.html	Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector XT 5600,1000Base MMF
WS-SVC-CSG-1	Content Services Gateway
WS-SVC-IPSEC-1	IPSec VPN Services Module for Cisco Catalyst 6500 and Cisco 7600 Series Routers	SPA-IPSEC-2G and 7600-SSC-400 For more information, please visit: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/modules/ps8768/ps4221/prod_end-of-life_notice0900aecd80349e2c_ps8768_Products_End-of-Life_Notice.html	Cisco 7600/Catalyst 6500 IPSec VPN SPA with DES/3DES/AES; Cisco 7600/Catalyst 6500 Services SPA Carrier Card
WS-SVC-WLAN-1-K9	Wireless LAN Services Module, CEF256	WS-SVC-WISM-1-K9 For more information, please visit http://cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/modules/ps2706/prod_eol_notice0900aecd80550b4c.html	Cisco Wireless Services Module (WiSM)

2.3. Release 12.2(33)SXH (and Later 12.2SX Releases) Software Modularity Deployment Considerations

Cisco IOS Software Modularity provides customers multiple benefits in areas of high availability and manageability. The Software Modularity on the Cisco Catalyst 6500 platform has been available to customers starting from the Release 12.2SXF4 release.

Beginning with Release 12.2(33)SXH, customers will receive the following:

• Complete hardware and software feature parity between Cisco IOS Software Modular and Cisco IOS Native images

• Cisco IOS Software Modularity as a feature set of Cisco IOS Native images

Cisco IOS Software Modular images can be deployed across all the different places in the network including Enterprise Campus, Data Centers, WAN, and Carrier Ethernet deployments. However, there are a few scalability considerations for using Software Modular images, mainly in the areas of extremely large deployments. Customers are encouraged to consider the following feature considerations (table below) when planning to deploy Cisco IOS Software Modularity:

Table 3.

Feature	Scalability Consideration
PIM Sparse Mode	16K mroutes
IGMP Groups	2K groups
Bidirectional Protocol Independent Multicast (Bi-Dir PIM)	8K mroutes
OSPF VRF Support	400 VRF's
NetFlow Setup Rate	NetFlow connection rate for a large number of flows can take up to 128 seconds
MSDP	Customers are recommended to use only default timers for MSDP
NSF/SSO	Customers are recommended to use only default timers for routing (OSPF, BGP) and multicast (PIM) protocols
PIM	Customers are recommended to use only default timers for PIM
mVPN	Supports a total of 6k mroutes over 100 VRF's

3. Release 12.2(33)SXI Feature Highlights

The following sections include Release 12.2(33)SXI hardware and software feature highlights.

Release 12.2(33)SXI, like all Release 12.2SX releases, integrates innovations that span multiple technology areas, including Cisco IOS High Availability, Quality of Service, MPLS and VPNs, IP Addressing and Services, IP Multicast and Routing, and Infrastructure and Embedded Management.

Table 4. Release 12.2(33)SXI Highlights

Hardware	MPLS	Ethernet OAM	High Availability
• WS-SSC-600 (jacket card) • VPN Services Port Adapter (VSPA) • SIP-600 and SPA (WAN carrier) • 10GBASE-DWDM • 10GBASE-ZR	• MPLS VPN-VRF CLI for IPv4 and IPv6 VPNs • MPLS VPN-6VPE Support over IP tunnels	• IEEE 802.1ag Ethernet CFM • IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet OAM • Ethernet LMI (E-LMI) • IP SLAs for Ethernet • Ethernet OAM Interworking	• ISSU Phase I • BFD VRF Support • BFD WAN Interface Support

IP Services	Security and Identity	Embedded Management	IP Routing and Multicast
• DHCPv6 Relay Enhancements • HSRP for IPv6 • GLBP for IPv6 • GLBP Client Cache • VRRP SSO • HSRP Gratuitous ARP • EOT/EEM Integration • IPv6 Support on VSPA	• IEEE 802.1x Enhancements: • Flexible Authentication Sequencing • IEEE 802.1x with Open Access • IEEE 802.1x, MAB and Web Authentication with downloadable ACL • CDP enhancement for second port disconnect • Inactivity timer for IEEE 802.1x and MAC Authentication Bypass • Multi-domain authentication • IEEE 802.1x with multi-auth • Centralized Web Authentication • Identity to port description mapping • Inaccessible authentication bypass • Common Session ID • Conditional Logging • Pre-Encryption QoS on VPN Services Port Adapter	• Embedded Event Manager (EEM) Version 2.4 • CatOS Parity MIBs	• EIGRP for IPv6 • Per Interface Mroute State Limit • Bandwidth based Call Admission Control (CAC) for IP Multicast • IPv4/IPv6 Multicast Address Group Range Support • IPv4 Multicast HA Support for Group to RP Mappings

Hardware

Cisco® Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM) X2 Pluggable Module

The Cisco® Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM) X2 pluggable module allows Enterprise companies and Service Providers to offer scalable and easy to deploy 10 Gigabit Ethernet services in their networks.

The main features of the Cisco DWDM X2 include:

• The Cisco DWDM X2 supports 10GBASE Ethernet

• The hot-swappable input/output device plugs into an Ethernet X2 port of a Cisco switch or router to link the port with the network

• The Cisco DWDM X2 supports the Cisco Quality Identification (ID) feature, which enables a Cisco switch or router to identify whether or not the module is an X2 module certified and tested by Cisco

• The module supports 32 non-tunable ITU 100-GHz wavelengths compatible with the Cisco ONS DWDM channel plan

• The Cisco DWDM X2 supports digital optical monitoring capability

For Additional Information

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/modules/ps5455/ps6576/data_sheet_c78_489725.html

Cisco X2-10GB-ZR Module

The Cisco X2-10GB-ZR Module (Product Number 10GBASE-ZR) supports link lengths of up to about 80 km on standard Single-Mode Fiber (SMF). This interface is not part of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet standards, but is built according to Cisco optical specifications.

For Additional Information

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/modules/ps5455/ps6574/product_data_sheet0900aecd801f92aa_ps5251_Products_Data_Sheet.html

Catalyst 6500 Series Shared Port Adapter (SPA) and SPA Interface Processor (SIP) Support Enhancements

The new SPA support in Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI includes the low-speed interfaces on the SIP-400. These SPAs were previously only supported on the SIP-200, but now they are also supported on the SIP-400, allowing customers to deploy both low-speed and high-speed interfaces on a single SIP-400.

The new SIP/SPA support is:

• Previously supported on SIP-200, new support on SIP-400:

– SPA-8XCHT1/E1

– SPA-2XT3/E3

– SPA-4XT3/E3

– SPA-2XCT3/DS0

– SPA-4XCT3/DS0

• The ATM SPAs were previously supported in Release 12.2(33)SXH, and is also available in Release 12.2(33)SXI:

– SPA-2XOC3-ATM

– SPA-4XOC3-ATM

– SPA-1XOC12-ATM

– SPA-1XOC48-ATM

• SIP-600 support is now available with support for the following SPAs:

– SPA-2XOC48POS/RPR

– SPX-4XOC48POS/RPR

– SPA-OC192POS-VSR

– SPA-OC192POS-LR

– SPA-OC192POS-XFP

– SPA-5X1GE

– SPA-10X1GE

– SPA-1XTENGE-XFP

– SPA-10X1GE-V2

– SPA-1X10GE-L-V2

Cisco Catalyst® 6500 Series VPN Services Port Adapter (VSPA)

The Cisco® VPN Services Port Adapter (VSPA) is the next-generation VPN module designed to support next-generation VPN technologies with system bandwidths of 8 Gbps in a modular, flexible, and scalable form factor (refer to Figure 4). The Cisco VSPA requires the Cisco Catalyst® 6500 Series Services SPA Carrier-600 (SSC-600) to operate in Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches. Each SSC-600 module takes up one slot in a Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switch and can support up to two Cisco VPN Services Port Adapters. The Cisco VSPA, accompanied with the SSC-600, delivers scalable and cost-effective VPN performance for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches.

Figure 4. Cisco VSPA

Benefits

• High performance: The Cisco VSPA can deliver up to 8 Gbps of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) traffic at large packet sizes and 7 Gbps Internet mix (IMIX) traffic

• Modular design and scalability: Terminate up to 16,000 site-to-site or remote-access IPSec tunnels on each VSPA; Up to 10 VSPAs can be combined in a single chassis

• Enhanced Quality of Service (QoS): The VSPA is designed to handle pre-encryption QoS configured on IPsec tunnel interfaces and provides priority, bandwidth, and traffic shaping services

• Scalable IPv6 encryption: Support for multi-gigabit IPv6 networks based on Static Virtual Tunnel Interfaces (sVTIs)

• Support for industry-leading encryption technology: In addition to Data Encryption Standard (DES) and Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES), the Cisco VSPA also supports AES 192 and 256, the latest standard in encryption technology demanded by most government agencies and the leading financial institutions in the most secure network environments

For Additional Information

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/data_sheet_c78_492120_ps8768_Products_Data_Sheet.html

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9893/index.html

Product Management Contact

• ask-stg-ios-pm@cisco.com

Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Services SPA Carrier-600 (WS-SSC-600)

The Cisco® Catalyst® 6500 Series Services SPA Carrier-600 helps enable high-performance IP Security (IPSec) VPN services for secure transport of mission-critical data across the network. It provides Enterprises and Service Providers tremendous flexibility and density as they scale their network infrastructure and expand secure, remote services to branch offices and offsite users.

Figure 5. Cisco Services SPA Carrier-600 with Two Cisco VPN Services Port Adapters

Benefits

• Modularity-Creates investment protection and offers flexibility for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches

• Scalability-Up to 10 Cisco Services SPA Carrier-600 modules and 10 Cisco VSPAs in a Cisco Catalyst 6500 chassis

For Additional Information

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps708/data_sheet_c78_491727_ps8768_Products_Data_Sheet.html

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9893/index.html

Product Management Contact

• ask-stg-ios-pm@cisco.com

MPLS

Layer 3 MPLS VPN Feature Enhancements

Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI includes the following new Layer 3 MPLS VPN feature enhancements:

• MPLS VPN-VPN Routing/Forwarding Instance (VRF) Command-Line Interface (CLI) for IPv4 and IPv6 VPNs

• MPLS VPN-IPv6 VPN over MPLS (6VPE) Support over IP tunnels

Benefits

• MPLS VPN-VRF CLI for IPv4 and IPv6 VPNs: Provides a CLI improvement and integration for VRF IPv4 and IPv6 commands

• MPLS VPN 6VPE support over IP tunnels: This new option of the L3VPN solutions suite enables network providers to run IPv6 VPNs over classical IPv4 transport networks without the requirement to run MPLS and LDP/MPLS-TE within the core network

For Additional Information

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6604/products_ios_protocol_group_home.html

• http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6017/products_feature_guides_list.html

Product Management Contact

• Bertrand Duvivier (bduvivie@cisco.com)

Ethernet OAM Enhancements

IEEE 802.1ag Ethernet Connectivity Fault Management (CFM)

IEEE 802.1ag Ethernet Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) is comprised of the following four categories of messages that work together to help administrators debug Ethernet networks:

1. Continuity check messages-these are "heartbeat" messages issued periodically by maintenance endpoints. They allow maintenance endpoints to detect loss of service connectivity among themselves. They also allow maintenance endpoints to discover other maintenance endpoints within a domain, and allow maintenance intermediate points to discover maintenance endpoints.

2. Link trace messages-these are transmitted by a maintenance endpoint on the request of the administrator to track the path (hop-by-hop) to a destination maintenance endpoint. They allow the transmitting node to discover vital connectivity data about the path. Link trace is similar in concept to UDP Traceroute.

3. Loopback messages-these are transmitted by a maintenance endpoint on the request of the administrator to verify connectivity to a particular maintenance point. Loopback indicates whether the destination is reachable or not; it does not allow hop-by-hop discovery of the path. It is similar in concept to ICMP Echo (Ping).

Release 12.2(33)SXI includes support for the following functionality:

Maintenance End Points (MEPs) on Switchports (Inward)

Maintenance Intermediate Points (MIPs)

CFM MIP/MEP over EtherChannel

CFM-Outward Facing MEPs on Routed Ports

Release 12.2(33)SXI includes support for the following message types:

• Continuity Check (CC) 3

• Traceroute

• Loopback

Release 12.2(33)SXI includes additional support for the following functionality:

• Crosscheck

• SNMP Traps

Product Management Contact

• Eric Matkovich (ematkovi@cisco.com)

Link Layer OAM-IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM)

Link Layer OAM (as specified in IEEE Standard 802.3ah-2004 Clause 57) can be implemented on any full-duplex point-to-point or emulated point-to-point Ethernet link. OAM Protocol Data Unit (OAMPDU) frames cannot propagate beyond a single hop within an Ethernet network and have modest bandwidth requirements (frame transmission rate is limited to a maximum of 10 frames per second; refer to Figure 6 below).

Figure 6. OAM Protocol Data Units

Release 12.2(33)SXI includes support for the following functionality:

• OAM Discovery

Discovery is the first phase of Link Layer OAM. It identifies the devices at each end of the link along with their OAM capabilities.

• Link Monitoring

Link monitoring OAM serves for detecting and indicating link faults under a variety of conditions. Faults in link connectivity that are caused by slowly deteriorating quality are difficult to detect. Link OAM provides a mechanism for an OAM entity to convey these types of failure conditions to its peer via specific flags in the OAMPDUs. It provides statistics on the number of frame errors (or percent of frames that have errors) as well as the number of coding symbol errors.

• Remote Loopback

An OAM entity can put its remote peer into loopback mode using the loopback control OAMPDU. In loopback mode, every frame received is transmitted back on the same port (except for OAMPDUs needed to maintain the OAM session). This helps the administrator ensure the quality of links during installation or when troubleshooting, and can also be used to test SLA requirements such as delay, jitter, and throughput. This feature is asymmetric, the provider device can put the customer device into loopback mode, but not conversely.

• Remote Fault Indication (RFI)-Dying Gasp

The failure conditions that can be communicated are a loss of signal in one direction on the link, an unrecoverable error (such as a power failure), or some critical event. Currently, Cisco supports the Dying Gasp generation and can receive the Critical Event and Link Fault.

Release 12.2(33)SXI includes support for the following proprietary reason codes:

– Administratively Down

– Error Disabled

– Reload

Reason codes are sent through organization-specific OAMPDU frame structures.

Product Management Contact

• Eric Matkovich (ematkovi@cisco.com)

Ethernet Local Management Interface (E-LMI)

E-LMI defines the protocol and procedures that convey the information that allows auto-configuration of the CE device by the Service Provider's User-facing Provider Edge (U-PE) device (see Figure 7). The E-LMI protocol also provides the means for notification of the status of an Ethernet Virtual Circuit (EVC).

Figure 7. Ethernet Local Management Interface

The E-LMI protocol includes the following procedures:

• Notification to the Customer Edge (CE) device of the addition of an EVC

An example use case of this is if a new branch office is connected to headquarters. The CE device at headquarters will be notified via the U-PE of the EVC and the associated VLAN to be configured. Future releases of E-LMI will also support auto-configuration, which provides notable benefits in that the branch office CE device can be deployed at the convenience of the customer and it will begin operation as soon as the Service Provider turns up the service.

• Notification to the CE device of the deletion of an EVC

This is very similar to the previous examples, except the EVC is being removed.

• CE EVC State notification (active) or (inactive)

The primary benefit is that the CE device can take some corrective action, such as re-routing traffic to a different EVC or other WAN service, when informed that an EVC has become inactive.

Release 12.2(33)SXI includes support for the following functionality:

• EVC and Remote User Network Interface (UNI) Status

Remote UNI status is a Cisco proprietary extension which is supported by the OAM Interworking component.

• Traffic Shutdown on CE based on EVC Status

Product Management Contact

• Eric Matkovich (ematkovi@cisco.com)

Cisco Performance Management and Monitoring Through IP SLAs for Ethernet

As Metro Ethernet services are fast becoming the WAN interface of choice, "carrier grade" requirements, such as those found in ATM, are becoming de facto rather than optional for the Enterprises deploying emerging services, such as voice and video. With this, the need for a network provider to provide tight Service Level Agreements (SLAs) is an intrinsic requirement to be able to compete and offer value-added services.

Cisco Performance Management and Monitoring through IP SLAs for Ethernet is a Layer 2 performance monitoring tool that builds upon the popular IP SLAs embedded management application. Cisco IP SLAs for Ethernet solves many problems not currently addressed with native IP performance monitoring and the limited specification on point-to-point performance monitoring as outlined in Y.1731.

Benefits of IP SLAs for Ethernet include:

• A reduction in OPEX by employing:

– Point-to-Point and Multipoint support

– Auto-discovery of endpoints (Moves/Adds/Changes)

– No IP overlay required to manage native Ethernet service

• Hierarchical Performance Management

– Monitor Customer, Operator and Service Provider networks

– Monitoring is transparent to lower layers

• In-Band Performance Management using Ethernet Frames

• Policy threshold alerts via SNMP Traps

Cisco IP SLAs for Ethernet reduces OPEX by leveraging the attributes of Connectivity Fault Management (CFM, 802.1ag). By coupling powerful IP SLAs with CFM, a network provider gains the ability to auto-discover endpoints using the Continuity Check Database (CCDB) to identify maintenance endpoints. By doing so, the probes can be set to monitor at a given Maintenance Domain and VLAN level, providing precise measurements for a given service. Other advantages include no need to deploy a separate IP overlay network to monitor services, which adds costly hardware and subnet management. There is no need to configure a mesh of point to point probes for multipoint services.

Hierarchical Navigation

Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.2 SX

Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SXI, New Features and Hardware Support

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