ETX-203AX Carrier Demarcation Device
(Part of the ETX-2
family)
Key Points of the ETX-203AX include:
· Feature-rich Carrier Ethernet demarcation device delivering TDM-like experience with Ethernet end-to-end service
· MEF-compliant services with CIR/EIR traffic profiles and hierarchical scheduling
providing traffic management at the edge of Carrier Ethernet networks
· Quick network fault detection with complete hardware-based OAM toolset: ITU-T Y.1731, IEEE 802.1ag, IEEE 802.3ah
· Throughput testing across routed/switched networks up to line rate by using Layer-2 RFC-2544 traffic generator and analyzer, and Layer-2/3
loopbacks
The RAD ETX-203AX Carrier Ethernet demarcation device delivers SLA-based
business services to the customer premises over native Ethernet access networks.
ETX-203AX ensures SDH/SONET-like performance and Five Nines reliability for IP VPN and VoIP transport, as well as for
dedicated Internet access and Layer-2 LAN-to-LAN services, all with differentiated quality of service and
end-to-end monitoring.
The ETX-203AX architecture ensures powerful traffic management that allows the service provider to control bandwidth
and enforce traffic SLA. ETX-203AX features hardware-powered OAM for multiple flow monitoring at line
rate. It provides 15 different SLA tools to assure and control service provider traffic
around the clock.
RAD's ETX-203AX is a compact demarcation device that delivers MEF 9 and MEF 14 certified services. It provides Ethernet
uplink NNI ports as well as UNI ports.
ETX-203AX MARKET SEGMENTS AND APPLICATIONS
ETX-203AX is used as an Ethernet demarcation device. ETX-203AX separates
the service provider network, the access provider network, and the customer
network, providing proactive service monitoring and easy fault localization
throughout the entire network (see Figure 1).
ETHERNET
Classification
Traffic is mapped to the Ethernet flows using very flexible classification criteria
based on incoming port (port-based
all-to-one bundling), VLAN ID, VLAN priority, IP precedence, DSCP, Ethertype,
and IP/MAC source/destination address.
Classification is defined for both VLAN tagged as well as untagged traffic.
Layer-2 Control Processing
The ETX-203AX can be configured to forward Layer-2 control frames per EVC (including
other vendors L2CP frames) across the
network, to peer supported protocols (IEEE 802.3-2005 and LACP), or to discard
the L2CP frames.
ETX-203AX OAM
Featuring ultra fast, hardware-powered processing, ETX-203AX performs OAM and
PM measurements in line rate with
maximum precision, offering the following powerful benefits:
· Immediate detection of loss of continuity (LOC), ensuring under 50 ms
protection switching
· Highly accurate frame loss measurements of live traffic
· Flow-level (per CoS) monitoring, enabling simultaneous processing of
multiple OAM sessions with E-LAN and E-Tree support
· Non-disruptive MAC and IP level loopback testing of network integrity.
ETX-203AX provides these types of Ethernet OAM:
· Single-segment (link) OAM according to IEEE 802.3-2005 (formerly 802.3ah)
for remote management and fault indication, including remote loopback,
dying gasp with SNMP trap, and MIB parameter retrieval. Active and passive
mode are supported.
· End-to-end connectivity OAM based on IEEE 802.1ag that enables Ethernet
service providers to monitor their services proactively and guarantee that
customers receive the contracted SLA
· End-to-end service and performance monitoring based on ITU-T Y.1731.
Fault monitoring and end-to-end performance measurement include delay, delay variation, frame loss and
availability.
Traffic Management/QoS
Different service types require different levels of QoS to be provided end-to-end.
QoS can be defined per subscriber as well as per service. QoS has three aspects: rate
limitation, traffic shaping, and traffic prioritization.
Traffic policing is applied per flow or group of flows, and operates according to the
dual token bucket mechanism based on
user-configurable CIR + CBS and EIR + EBS. Traffic can be limited to the line rate or
the data rate.
Forwarding with the ETX-203AX
Every flow per EVC or EVC.cos has its own queues and scheduler supporting strict
priority and weighted fair queues (WFQ).
Queue blocks of eight queues per EVC are scheduled and shaped, forming an H-QoS model with shaped services and prioritized
classes of service. The WRED mechanism is used for smart packet drop. The VLAN priority bit in Ethernet frames
can be modified at network ingress according to the color of the frame. This
allows service consistency and QoS continuity across color-aware (drop
eligible-enabled) as well as color-unaware networks.
Smart SFPs
Integrated management of MiRICi smart SFPs provides TDM (E1/T1/E3/T3/OC-3/STM-1) connectivity over PDH or
SDH legacy networks. ETX-203AX supports configuration and statistic collection for
the smart SFP TDM port.
RESILIENCY
Dying Gasp
ETX-203AX reports power failures to defined network management stations by sending an IEEE 802.3-2005 message or
SNMP trap, thus enabling the unit to properly disconnect from the network with notification of the reason for the
service problem.
Fault Propagation
The RAD ETX-203AX provides a user-configurable fault propagation mechanism in the
network-to-user or user-to-network
direction. When a link failure is detected or OAM failure received, ETX-203AX can shutdown the affected port or forward the
OAM failure message. The fault propagation mechanism enables routers and switches connected to both ends of
the link to reroute the traffic to the redundancy path.
Link Protection
ETX-203AX provides the following network interface protection modes:
· 802.3ad link aggregation (LAG), providing 1:1 link protection with Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
support
· Dual homing (1:1), allowing ETX-203AX units to be connected to two different upstream devices.
Ethernet Path Protection
ETX-203AX applies standard ITU-T G.8031Ethernet Linear Protection switching for fast protection of one or more EVCs from
end to end. The standard implementation ensures interoperability with third-party
devices. With standard APS functionality, Ethernet OAM messages provide bandwidth-efficient unidirectional or
bidirectional 1:1 protection.
The EVC protection path can be configured on the same network port, enabling the
transport network to provide an alternative path for the working and protecting path. It can also be configured
on separate network ports, adding protection at the access layer and enabling load balancing on network
interfaces by splitting traffic between the two network ports.
The performance of the hardware-based Ethernet OAM together with protection switching for physical layer failure ensures
fast protection in any scenario. The flow level protection provides a full set of manual commands for maintenance
purposes.
MANAGEMENT AND SECURITY WITH ETX-203AX
The following security protocols are provided by ETX-203AX to ensure client server communication privacy and correct
user authentication:
· SNMPv3
· RADIUS (client authentication)
· TACACS+ (client authentication and accounting)
· SSH (secure shell communication session)
· SFTP (secure file transfer).
Ports
The RAD ETX-203AX can be managed using the following ports and applications:
· Local management via an ASCII terminal connected to the RS-232 port
· Out-of-band management via a dedicated management port.
· Remote inband management via user or network ports routed via separate VLANs, Telnet, or an
SNMP-based management system.
Command Line Interface (CLI)
Databases and scripts of commonly used commands can be easily created and applied to multiple units using command
line interface.
Trap Synchronization
Traps are sent with sequence IDs to network manager groups, to enable the managers to detect when traps are lost
and request the traps be sent again.
Zero Touch Provisioning
IP address and mask, default gateway, and software and configuration files can be
automatically obtained using standard
DHCP client functionality. This enables seamless node setup and configuration for quick and scalable network setup and
deployment as well as configuration consistency when nodes must be replaced.
MONITORING AND DIAGNOSTICS
RFC-2544
The ETX-203AX provides a built-in RFC-2544 wirespeed traffic generator and analyzer
for unidirectional and bidirectional testing
of throughput, latency, and frame loss. Based on standard OAM messages, the tests can be simultaneously performed
over multiple flows, at the EVC.CoS level.
Enhanced RFC-2544 functionality provides service-oriented KPI analysis. SLA
conformance is measured per service bandwidth and packet size, within a
user-defined amount of time, for faster service introduction.
Loopback Tests
Layer-2 and/or layer-3 network integrity can be tested by a non-disruptive
loopback performed per flow, with swapping of MAC address and optionally
IP address. When the loopback is activated, ETX-203AX exchanges the source and destination MAC/IP addresses
of the incoming packets. This loopback passes through Ethernet bridges (MAC address) and routers (IP address).
Popular models include:
ETX-203AX/2SFP/4UTP
ETX-203AX/GE/2SFP/4UTP
ETX-203AX/GE30/2SFP/4UTP
ETX-203AX/2SFP/2SFP2UTP
ETX-203AX/GE/2SFP/2SFP2UTP
ETX-203AX/GE/2SFP/4UTP
ETX-203AX/GE30/2SFP/2SFP2UTP
Product data sheet for the ETX-203AX
(pdf)
