RE: [802.1] Connectivity Fault Management draft PAR
Richard,
One of the items that has been intensively discussed in the 802.1 meetings
is the layering approach to connectivity management (amongst other aspects
of "OAM") used by the service providers who are principally interested in
this work.
I can't mimic their terms, but essentially the approach is to isolate faults
to the limits of one's visibility at a certain layer in the hierarchy, and
then from one or more of the boundary points at that layer of visibility to
ask questions of the layer below (or make a request to someone who is able
and authorized to do so). For example users may see and end to end service,
with little detail about how that service is made up of separate providers,
each of which does not (by policy) reveal the internal details of how they
carry traffic.
This model applies right layer by layer or step by step from the grand
detail to the eventual micro-detail. Just as it applies to connections
fulfilled by a number of concatenated providers, each providing connections
using many LANs concatenated by bridges, the same layering of concerns
applies to the difference between LANs concatenated by bridges as opposed to
the internal details of the LANs themselves (stations interconnected by
media access control specific methods).
This model is important as it means that 802.1 is not trying to boil the
ocean with this PAR, and in particular it is not trying to boil the seas and
rivers that compose each of the individual MACs. There is absolutely no
suggestion anywhere that MAC specific detail should feature in this work.
Given the complexity of new MACs I am not at all surprised that fault
management for an individual MAC proves far more difficult than fault
management at the level of bridges operating using those MACs (or at the
level subnetworks of bridges that use those MACs).
Mick
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-stds-802-1@majordomo.ieee.org
[mailto:owner-stds-802-1@majordomo.ieee.org]On Behalf Of Richard Brand
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 1:58 PM
To: Tony Jeffree
Cc: stds-802-sec@ieee.org; stds-802-1@ieee.org; Grow, Bob;
dpannell@marvel.com
Subject: Re: [802.1] Connectivity Fault Management draft PAR
Tony:
Having read the draft, seeing a portion of the very large slide presentation
made
at the January interim, and then rereading the scope of this PAR covering
"transport fault management", I would offer that this is major new work
effort
for 802.1 that could have a major effect on many if not all 802 members.
Fault
management has potential applicability to all 802 LANs.
Given this scope, I would strongly recommend that an 802.1 Study Group be
formed
for this activity before the requesting of a PAR, in order to give notice
for all
802 members of your intentions. However, in line with the contents of
Procedure
2, I would settle for an evening tutorial presentation in March as is
"highly
recommended" in the Procedure. This would allow all 802 members the
opportunity
to participate/provide input for a potential PAR in July.
In this case, I am speaking for myself as a member and not for the 802.3
Working
Group, however I will bring it up to my group at our March plenary. FYI,
802.3
ran thru many study group meetings in arriving at an acceptable scope for
our OAM
segment of P802.3ah and we only had one MAC to deal with.
Regards,
Richard Brand
Liaison rep from 802.3 to 802.1
Tony Jeffree wrote:
> This is notification under Procedure 2 - "Procedure for PARs" that 802.1
> intends to request SEC approval of the following draft PAR at the March
> 2004 closing SEC meeting:
>
>
http://www.ieee802.org/1/files/public/docs2004/ConnectivityFaultPAR-v1.2a.do
c
>
> Regards,
> Tony
>
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