MPLS Working Group                                         Haiyan Zhang 
Internet Draft                                                   Huawei 
Intended status: Standards Track                           Igor Umansky 
                                                         Alcatel-Lucent 
                                                                 Han Li 
                                                           China Mobile 
                                                        Jeong-dong Ryoo 
                                                                   ETRI 
                                                Alessandro D'Alessandro 
                                                         Telecom Italia 
                                                                       
                                                         March 23, 2010 
Expires: September 2010 
 
                                      
                  Linear Protection Switching in MPLS-TP 
           draft-zulr-mpls-tp-linear-protection-switching-00.txt 


Abstract 

   This document specifies a linear protection switching mechanism for 
   MPLS-TP. This mechanism supports 1+1 unidirectional/bidirectional 
   protection switching and 1:1 bidirectional protection switching. It 
   is purely supported by MPLS-TP data plane, and can work without any 
   control plane. 

   This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force 
   (IETF) / International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications 
   Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport 
   Profile within the IETF MPLS and PWE3 architectures to support the 
   capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as 
   defined by the ITU-T.  

Status of this Memo 

   This Internet-Draft is submitted to IETF in full conformance with the 
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. 

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering 
   Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other 
   groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. 

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months 
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any 
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference 
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." 

   The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at 
   http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt 
 
 
 
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   The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at 
   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html 

   This Internet-Draft will expire on April 23, 2010. 

Copyright Notice 

   Copyright (c) 2010 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the 
   document authors. All rights reserved. 

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal 
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents 
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of 
   publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, 
   as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this 
   document. Code Components extracted from this document must include 
   Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust 
   Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in 
   the BSD License. 





























 
 
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Table of Contents

   1. Introduction.................................................4 
   2. Linear protection switching overview.........................4 
   2.1. Protection Architecture Types..............................5 
   2.2. Protection Switching Types.................................6 
   2.3. Protection Operation Types.................................6 
   3. Protection switching trigger conditions......................6 
   3.1. Fault Conditions...........................................6 
   3.2. External commands..........................................7 
   4. Protection Switching Schemes.................................8 
   4.1. 1+1 unidirectional protection switching....................8 
   4.2. 1+1 bidirectional protection switching.....................9 
   4.3. 1:1 bidirectional protection switching....................10 
   5. APS Protocol................................................11 
   5.1. APS PDU Format............................................11 
   5.2. APS transmission..........................................13 
   5.3. Hold-off timer............................................14 
   6. Protection switching logic..................................15 
   7. Protection Switching State Transition Table.................16 
   8. Security Considerations.....................................17 
   9. IANA Considerations.........................................17 
   10. Acknowledgments............................................17 
   APPENDIX A: Operation Examples of APS Protocol.................18 
   11. References.................................................25 
   11.1. Normative References.....................................25 
   11.2. Informative References...................................25 
 




















 
 
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1. Introduction 

   MPLS-TP is defined as transport profile of MPLS technology to fulfill 
   the deployment in transport network. A typical feature of transport 
   network is that it can provide fast protection switching for end-to-
   end or segments. The protection switching time is generally required 
   to be less than 50ms according to the strictest requirement of 
   services such as voice, private line, etc.  

   The goal of linear protection switching mechanism is to satisfy the 
   requirement of fast protection switching for MPLS-TP network. Linear 
   protection switching means that, for one or more working transport 
   entities, there is one protection transport entity, which is disjoint 
   from any of working transport  entities, ready for taking over the 
   service transmission when a working transport entity failed. 

   This document specifies 1+1 unidirectional protection switching 
   mechanism for unidirectional transport entity (either point-to-point 
   and point-to-multipoint) as well as bidirectional point-to-point 
   transport entity, and 1+1/1:1 bidirectional protection switching 
   mechanism for point-to-point bidirectional transport entity. Since 
   bidirectional protection switching needs the coordination of the two 
   endpoints of the transport entity, this document also specifies APS 
   (Automatic Protection Switching) protocol details which is used for 
   this purpose. 

   The APS protocol specified in this document is based on the same 
   principles and behavior of the APS protocol designed for SONET/SDH 
   networks (i.e., it is mature and proven) and provides commonality 
   with the established operation models utilized in other transport 
   network technologies (e.g., SDH/SONET and OTN). 

   It is also worth noting that multi-vendor implementations of the APS 
   protocol described in this document already exist. 

   This document is a product of a joint Internet Engineering Task Force 
   (IETF) / International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications 
   Standardization Sector (ITU-T) effort to include an MPLS Transport 
   Profile within the IETF MPLS and PWE3 architectures to support the 
   capabilities and functionalities of a packet transport network as 
   defined by the ITU-T. 

2. Linear protection switching overview 

   To guarantee the protection switching time, for a working transport 
   entity, its protection transport entity is always pre-configured 
   before the failure occurs. Normally, the normal traffic will be 
    

    
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   transmitted and received on the working transport entity. The 
   switching to protection transport entity is usually triggered by 
   link/node failure, external commands, etc. Note that external 
   commands are often used in transport network by operators, and they 
   are very useful in cases of service adjustment, path maintenance, etc. 

2.1. Protection Architecture Types 

   - 1+1 architecture 

   In the 1+1 architecture, a protection transport entity is associated 
   with the working transport entity. The normal traffic is permanently 
   bridged onto both the working transport entity and the protection 
   transport entity at the source endpoint of the protected domain. The 
   normal traffic on working and protection transport entities is 
   transmitted simultaneously to the sink endpoint of the protected 
   domain where a selection between the working and protection transport 
   entity is made, based on predetermined criteria, such as signal fail 
   and signal degrade indications. 

   - 1:1 architecture 

   In the 1:1 architecture, a protection transport entity is associated 
   with the working transport entity. When the working transport entity 
   is determined to be impaired, the normal traffic must be transferred 
   from the working to the protection transport entity at both the 
   source and sink endpoints of the protected domain. The selection 
   between the working and protection transport entities is made based 
   on predetermined criteria, such as signal fail and signal degrade 
   indications from the working or protection transport entity. 

   The bridge at source endpoint can be realized in two ways: it is 
   either a selector bridge or a broadcast bridge. With a selector 
   bridge the normal traffic is connected either to the working 
   transport entity or the protection transport entity. With a broadcast 
   bridge the normal traffic is permanently connected to the working 
   transport entity, and in case a protection switch is active also to 
   the protection transport entity. 

   - 1:n architecture 

   Details for the 1:n protection switching architecture will be 
   provided in a future version of this draft. 

   It is worth noting that the APS protocol defined here is ready to 
   support 1:n operations. 

    

    
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2.2. Protection Switching Types 

   The linear protection switching types can be a unidirectional 
   switching type or a bidirectional switching type.  

   - Unidirectional switching type: Only the affected direction of 
      working transport entity is switched to protection transport 
      entity; the selectors at each endpoint operate independently.  
      This switching type is recommended to be used for 1+1 protection 
      in this document. 

   - Bidirectional switching type: Both directions of working transport 
      entity, including the affected direction and the unaffected 
      direction, are switched to protection transport entity. For 
      bidirectional switching, automatic protection switching (APS) 
      protocol is required to coordinate the two endpoints so that both 
      have the same bridge and selector settings, even for a 
      unidirectional failure. This type is applicable for 1+1 and 1:1 
      protection. 

2.3. Protection Operation Types 

   The linear protection operation types can be a non-revertive 
   operation type or a revertive operation type. 

   - Non-revertive operation: The normal traffic will not be switched 
      back to the working transport entity even after a protection 
      switching cause has cleared. This is generally accomplished by 
      replacing the previous switch request with a "Do not Revert (DNR)" 
      request, which has a low priority. 

   - Revertive operation: The normal traffic is restored to the working 
      transport entity after the condition(s) causing the protection 
      switching has cleared. In the case of clearing a command (e.g., 
      Forced Switch), this happens immediately. In the case of clearing 
      of a defect, this generally happens after the expiry of a "Wait-
      to-Restore (WTR)" timer, which is used to avoid chattering of 
      selectors in the case of intermittent defects. 

3. Protection switching trigger conditions 

3.1. Fault Conditions 

   Fault conditions mean the requests generated by the local OAM 
   function. 


    

    
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   - Signal Failure (SF): If an endpoint detects a failure by OAM 
      function or other mechanism, it will submit a local signal failure 
      (local SF) to APS module to request a protection switching. The 
      local SF could be on working transport entity or protection 
      transport entity. 

   - Signal Degrade (SD): If an endpoint detects signal degrade by OAM 
      function or other mechanism, it will submit a local signal failure 
      (local SD) to APS module to request a protection switching. The 
      local SD could be on working transport entity or protection 
      transport entity. 

3.2. External commands 

   The external command issues an appropriate external request on to the 
   protection process: 

   - Lockout of Protection (LO): This command is used to provide 
      operator a tool for temporarily disabling access to the protection 
      transport entity. 

   - Manual switch (MS): This command is used to provide operator a 
      tool for temporarily switching normal traffic to working transport 
      entity (MS-W) or protection transport entity (MS-P), unless a 
      higher priority switch request (i.e., LP, FS, or SF) is in effect. 

   - Forced switch (FS): This command is used to provide operator a 
      tool for temporarily switching normal traffic from working 
      transport entity to protection transport entity, unless a higher 
      priority switch request (i.e., LP) is in effect. 

   - Clear: This command between management and local protection 
      process is not a request sent by APS to other endpoints. It is 
      used to clear the active near end external command or WTR state. 












    

    
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4. Protection Switching Schemes 

4.1. 1+1 unidirectional protection switching 

   +-----------+                                         +-----------+ 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |          -+-----------------------------------------+-          | 
   |         / |-----------------------------------------| \         | 
   |        /  |        Working transport entity         |  \        | 
---+------->   |                                         |   --------+-> 
   |        \  |                                         |           | 
   |         \ |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |          -+-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |  source   |-----------------------------------------|    sink   | 
   +-----------+        Protection transport entity      +-----------+ 
                           (normal condition) 

   +-----------+                                         +-----------+ 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |          -+-------------------XX--------------------+           | 
   |         / |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |        /  |     Working transport entity (failure)  |           | 
---|------->   |                                         |   --------+-> 
   |        \  |                                         |  /        | 
   |         \ |-----------------------------------------| /         | 
   |          -+-----------------------------------------+-          | 
   |  source   |-----------------------------------------|    sink   | 
   +-----------+       Protection transport entity       +-----------+ 
                            (failure condition) 
                                      
           Figure 1 1+1 Unidirectional Linear Protection Switching 
    
   1+1 unidirectional protection switching is the simplest protection 
   switching mechanism. The normal traffic is permanently bridged on 
   both the working and protection transport entities at the source 
   endpoint of the protection domain. In normal condition, the sink 
   endpoint receives traffic from working transport entity. If the sink 
   endpoint detects a failure on working transport entity, it will 
   switch to receive traffic from protection transport entity. 1+1 
   unidirectional protection switching is recommended to be used for 
   unidirectional transport entity. 

   Note that 1+1 unidirectional protection switching does not need APS 
   coordination protocol since it only perform protection switching 
   based on the local request. 


    

    
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4.2. 1+1 bidirectional protection switching 

   +-----------+                                         +-----------+ 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |          -+<----------------------------------------+-          | 
   |         / +---------------------------------------->+ \         | 
   | sink   / /|-----------------------------------------|\ \   sink | 
<--+-------/ / |          working transport entity       | --\-------+-> 
---+-------->  |                                         |    <------+-- 
   | source  \ |                                         |   / Source| 
   |          \|-----------------------------------------|  /        | 
   |           +---------------------------------------->| /         | 
   |           |<----------------------------------------+-          | 
   | APS <.....................................................> APS | 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   +-----------+        Protection transport entity      +-----------+ 
                           (normal condition) 

   +-----------+                                         +-----------+ 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |           +<------------------XX--------------------+-          | 
   |           +---------------------------------------->+ \         | 
   |          /|-----------------------------------------|  \        | 
   | source  / |     working transport entity (failure)  |   \ source|   
---+-------->  |                                         |    \<-----+-- 
<--+-------  \ |                                         |  --/------+-> 
   | sink  \  \|-----------------------------------------| / /  sink | 
   |        \  +---------------------------------------->+- /        | 
   |         --+<----------------------------------------+-/         | 
   | APS <.....................................................> APS | 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   +-----------+        Protection transport entity      +-----------+ 
                            (failure condition) 
                                      
            Figure 2 1+1 Bidirectional Linear Protection Switching  
    
   In 1+1 bidirectional protection switching, for each direction, the 
   normal traffic is permanently bridged on both the working and 
   protection transport entities at the source endpoint of the 
   protection domain. In normal condition, for each direction, the sink 
   endpoint receives traffic from working transport entity. 

   If the sink endpoint detects a failure on the working transport 
   entity, it will switch to receive traffic from protection transport 
   entity. It will also send an APS message to inform the sink endpoint 
   on another direction to switch to receive traffic from protection 
   transport entity.  
    

    
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   APS mechanism is necessary to coordinate the two endpoints of 
   transport entity and implement 1+1 bidirectional protection switching 
   even for a unidirectional failure. 

4.3. 1:1 bidirectional protection switching 

   +-----------+                                         +-----------+ 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |          -+<----------------------------------------+-          | 
   |         / +---------------------------------------->+ \         | 
   | sink   / /|-----------------------------------------|\ \  source| 
<--+-------/ / |          working transport entity       | \ <-------+-- 
---+-------->  |                                         |  ---------+-> 
   | source    |                                         |      sink | 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |           |                                         |           | 
   |           |                                         |           | 
   | APS <.....................................................> APS | 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   +-----------+        Protection transport entity      +-----------+ 
                           (normal condition) 

   +-----------+                                         +-----------+ 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   |           |                   \/                    |           | 
   |           |                   /\                    |           | 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   | source    |     working transport entity (failure)  |      sink |   
---+------->   |                                         |   --------+-> 
<--+------- \  |                                         |  / <------+-- 
   | sink  \ \ |-----------------------------------------| / / source| 
   |        \ -+---------------------------------------->+- /        | 
   |         --+<----------------------------------------+--         | 
   | APS <.....................................................> APS | 
   |           |-----------------------------------------|           | 
   +-----------+        Protection transport entity      +-----------+ 
                          (failure condition) 
                                    
            Figure 3 1:1 Bidirectional Linear Protection Switching 
    
   In 1:1 bidirectional protection switching, for each direction, the 
   source endpoint sends traffic on either working transport entity or 
   protection transport entity. The sink endpoint receives the traffic 
   from the transport entity where the source endpoint sends on.  

   In normal condition, for each direction, the source endpoint and sink 
   endpoint send and receive traffic from working transport entity. 
    

    
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   If the sink endpoint detects a failure on the working transport 
   entity, it will switch to send and receive traffic from protection 
   transport entity. It will also send an APS message to inform the sink 
   endpoint on another direction to switch to send and receive traffic 
   from protection transport entity. 

   APS mechanism is necessary to coordinate the two endpoints of 
   transport entity and implement 1:1 bidirectional protection switching 
   even for a unidirectional failure. 

5. APS Protocol 

5.1. APS PDU Format 

   APS packets MUST be sent over a G-ACh as defined in [RFC5586]. 

   The channel type in ACH is used to indicate linear protection 
   switching APS message. The linear protection switching APS does not 
   use ACH TLVs, therefore the APS message MUST follow the ACH. 

    0                   1                   2                   3 
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 
   |0 0 0 1|version|   Reserved    |  Channel Type = linear Prot.  | 
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 
   |                       APS message (TBD)                       | 
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 
    
                         Figure 4  APS message header 
    

   The APS message structure is TBD. 

    

   The following fields MUST be provided: 

   - Version 

   - Request/State 

   The 4 bits indicate the protection switching request type. See Figure 
   5 for the code of each request/state type.  

   In case that there are multiple protection switching requests, only 
   the protection switching request with the highest priority will be 
   processed. 
    

    
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           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |            Request/State           | code/priority | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Lockout of Protection (LO)          | 1111 (highest)| 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Signal Fail for Protection (SF-P)   | 1110          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Forced Switch (FS)                  | 1101          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Signal Fail for Working (SF-W)      | 1011          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Signal Degrade for Working (SD-W)   | 1001          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Signal Degrade for Protection (SD-P)| 1000          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Manual Switch to Protection (MS-P)  | 0111          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Manual Switch to Working (MS-W)     | 0110          | 
          +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Wait to Restore (WTR)               | 0101          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Exercise (EXER)                     | 0100          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Reverse Request (RR)                | 0010          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |Do Not Revert (DNR)                 | 0001          | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
           |No Request (NR)                     | 0000 (lowest) | 
           +------------------------------------+---------------+ 
             Figure 5 Protection Switching Request code/priority 
    
   - Bridge type (B) 

   The 2 bits are used to flag the type of Bridge as follows: 

      B = 00 Reserved 
      B = 01 Broadcast bridge (for 1:1) 
      B = 10 Permanent bridge (for 1+1) 
      B = 11 Selector bridge  (for 1:1) 
 
   - Direction bit (D) 

   This bit is used to flag the direction of protection switching as 
   follows: 



    

    
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       D = 0 Unidirectional switching 
       D = 1 Bidirectional switching 
 
   - Revert mode (R) 

   This bit is used to flag the revert mode of protection switching as 
   follows: 

       R = 0 Non-revertive operation 
       R = 1 revertive operation 
 
   - Requested traffic 

   This byte is used to indicate the traffic that the near end requests 
   to be carried over the protection entity: 

       value = 0 Null traffic 
       value = 1 Normal traffic 1 
       value = 2~255 Reserved 
 
   - Bridged traffic 

   This byte is used to indicate the traffic that is bridged onto the 
   protection entity: 

       value = 0 Null traffic 
       value = 1 Normal traffic 1 
       value = 2~255 Reserved 
 
5.2. APS transmission  

   The APS message should be transported on protection transport entity 
   by encapsulated with the protection transport entity label. If an 
   endpoint receives APS-specific information from the working entity, 
   it should ignore this information. 

   A new APS packet must be transmitted immediately when a change in the 
   transmitted status occurs. The first three APS packets should be 
   transmitted as fast as possible only if the APS information to be 
   transmitted has been changed so that fast protection switching is 
   possible even if one or two APS packets are lost or corrupted. The 
   interval of the first three APS packets should be 3.3ms. APS packets 
   after the first three should be transmitted with the interval of 5 
   seconds. 

   If no valid APS-specific information is received, the last valid 
   received information remains applicable. 
    

    
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5.3. Hold-off timer 

   In order to coordinate timing of protection switches at multiple 
   layers, a hold-off timer may be required. The purpose is to allow a 
   server layer protection switch to have a chance to fix the problem 
   before switching at a client layer. 

   Each protection group should have a provisioned hold-off timer. The 
   suggested range of the hold-off timer is 0 to 10 seconds in steps of 
   100 ms (accuracy of +/-5 ms). 

   When a new defect or more severe defect occurs (new SF/SD), this 
   event will not be reported immediately to protection switching if the 
   provisioned hold-off timer value is non-zero. Instead, the hold-off 
   timer will be started. When the hold-off timer expires, it will be 
   checked whether a defect still exists on the transport entity that 
   started the timer. If it does, that defect will be reported to 
   protection switching. The defect need not be the same one that 
   started the timer. 

   This hold-off timer mechanism shall be applied for both working and 
   protection transport entities. 
























    

    
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6. Protection switching logic 

    
   Fault       +-------------+ Persistent +---------------+   External 
   Conditions  | Hold-off    | Fault      | Local Request |   Commands 
   ----------->| timer logic |----------->| logic         |<------------ 
   (SF, SD)    +-------------+            +---------------+ (LO, FS, MS,  
                                              |              Clear) 
                                              | 
                                              | Highest local request 
   Remote APS                                 V 
   Message       +-------+ Remote APS    +----------------+ 
   ------------->|  APS  | request/state | Global Request | 
   (received     | check |-------------->| logic          | 
   From far end) +-------+               +----------------+ 
                     |                        | 
                     |                        | Highest global request 
                     V                        V 
                Failure of             +-------------+ 
                Protocol defects       | APS Process | 
                                       |    logic    | 
                                       +-------------+ 
                                          |        | 
                                APS state |        | 
                                          V        V 
                                  +-----------+   Action 
                      APS Message | APS Mess. | 
                    <-------------| generator | 
                                  +-----------+ 
    
                     Figure 6  Protection Switching Logic 
    
   Figure 6 describes the protection switching logic.  

   One or more local protection switching requests may be active. The 
   "local request logic" determines which of these requests is highest 
   using the order of priority given in Figure 5. This highest local 
   request information is passed on to the "global request logic". 

   The remote APS message is received from the far end and is subjected 
   to the validity check and mismatch detection in "APS check". Failure 
   of Protocol situations are as follows: 

   - The "B" field mismatch due to incompatible provisioning; 

   - The reception of APS message from the working entity due to 
      working/protection configuration mismatch; 
    

    
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   - No match in sent "Requested traffic" and received "requested 
      signal" for more than 50 ms. 

   The APS message with invalid information should be ignored, and the 
   last valid received information remains applicable. 

   The linear protection switching algorithm commences immediately 
   every time one of the input signals changes, i.e., when the status of 
   any local request changes, or when a different APS specific 
   information is received from the far end. The consequent actions of 
   the algorithm are also initiated immediately, i.e., change the local 
   bridge/selector position (if necessary), transmit a new APS specific 
   information (if necessary), or detect the failure of protocol defect 
   if the protection switching is not completed within 50 ms. 

   The "global request logic" compares the highest local request with 
   the request of the last received remote APS "Request/State" 
   information (according to the order of priority of Figure 5) to 
   determine the highest global request.  

   The APS process logic will trigger the protection switching action 
   and compute the next APS state which is sent to APS message generator. 
   If the top priority global request is the local request, the next APS 
   state will be the local request. If the top priority global request 
   is EXER, DNR or other request from the far end, RR, DNR or NR will be 
   the next APS state respectively. The top priority global request then 
   determines the bridge/selector position of the local network element. 

   In the APS message generator, the APS state and the local 
   bridge/selector status are coded into the "request/status" field and 
   requested/bridged traffic fields and sent to the far end. 

7. Protection Switching State Transition Table 

   The following macro-states may be identified in the protection 
   process. The term "macro-state" refers to a state of protection 
   switching algorithm, including one or more sub-states: 

   - No request (NR): No switching trigger (fault condition/command) is 
      present. All normal traffic is selected from their corresponding 
      working transport entities. The protection transport entity 
      carries either the null signal or the "best effort" traffic or, 
      when in a 1+1 protection, the normal traffic bridged. 

   - Switching (FS, SF-W, SD-W, SD-P, MS-P, MS-W): A switching trigger, 
      NOT resulting in the protection transport entity unavailability is 
      present. The normal traffic is selected either from the 
    

    
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      corresponding working transport entity or from the protection 
      transport entity, according to the behaviour of the specific 
      switching trigger. 

   - Protection Transport Unavailability (LO, SF-P): The access by the 
      normal traffic to the protection transport entity is NOT allowed, 
      due to the SF detected on the protection entity or due to the 
      lockout of protection command applied. The normal traffic is 
      carried by the working transport entity, regardless of the 
      fault/degrade condition possibly present (due to the highest 
      priority of the switching triggers leading to this state).  

   - Wait to Restore (WTR): In revertive operation, after the clearing 
      of an SF or SD on working transport entity, maintains normal 
      traffic as selected from the protection transport entity until a 
      wait-to-restore timer expires or another request with higher 
      priority, including a clear command, is received. This is used to 
      prevent frequent operation of the selector in the case of 
      intermittent failures. 

   - Do not revert (DNR): In non-revertive operation, this is used to 
      maintain a normal traffic to be selected from the protection 
      transport entity. 

   Detailed transitions tables to be added. 

8. Security Considerations 

   To be added in a future version of the document. 

9. IANA Considerations 

   To be added in a future version of the document. 

10. Acknowledgments 

   The authors would like to thank Hao Long, Vincenzo Sestito, Italo 
   Busi, Huub van Helvoort for their input to and review of the current 
   document. 

    






    

    
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APPENDIX A: Operation Examples of APS Protocol 

   The sequence diagrams shown in this section are only a few examples 
   of the APS operations. The first APS message which differs from the 
   previous APS message is shown. The operation of hold-off timer is 
   omitted. The fields whose values are changed during APS packet 
   exchange are shown in the APS packet exchange. They are Request/State, 
   requested traffic, and bridged traffic. For an example, SF(0,1) 
   represents an APS packet with the following field values: 
   Request/State = SF, request traffic = 0, and bridged traffic = 1. The 
   values of the other fields remain unchanged from the initial 
   configuration. The signal numbers 0 and 1 refer to null signal and 
   normal traffic signal, respectively. W(A->Z) and P(A->Z) indicate the 
   working and protection paths in the direction of A to Z, respectively. 

   Example 1. 1:1 bidirectional protection switching (revertive mode) - 
   Unidirectional SF case 

                    A                  Z 
                    |                  | 
                (1) |---- NR(0,0)----->| 
                    |<----- NR(0,0)----| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (2) | (SF on W(Z->A))  | 
                    |---- SF(1,1)----->| (3) 
                    |<----- NR(1,1)----| 
                (4) |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (5) | (Recovery)       | 
                    |---- WTR(1,1)---->| 
                   /|                  | 
          WTR timer |                  | 
                   \|                  | 
                (6) |---- NR(0,0)----->| (7) 
                (8) |<----- NR(0,0)----| 
                    |                  | 
           
   (1) The protection domain is operating without any defect, and the 
   working entity is used for delivering the normal traffic. 

   (2) Signal Fail occurs on the working entity in the Z to A direction. 
   Selector and bridge of node A select protection entity. Node A 
   generates SF(r=1, b=1) message. 



    

    
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   (3) Upon receiving SF(r=1, b=1), node Z sets selector and bridge to 
   protection entity. As there is no local request in node Z, node Z 
   generates NR(r=1, b=1) message. 

   (4) Node A confirms that the far end is also selecting protection 
   entity. 

   (5) Node A detects clearing of SF condition, starts the WTR timer, 
   and sends WTR(r=1, b=1) message. 

   (6) At expiration of the WTR timer, node A sets selector and bridge 
   to working entity and sends NR(r=0, b=0) message. 

   (7) Node Z is notified that the far end request has been cleared, and 
   sets selector and bridge to working entity. 

   (8) It is confirmed that the far end is also selecting working entity. 

    

   Example 2. 1:1 bidirectional protection switching (revertive mode) - 
   Bidirectional SF case 

                    A                  Z 
                    |                  | 
                (1) |---- NR(0,0)----->| (1) 
                    |<----- NR(0,0)----| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (2) | (SF on W(Z<->A)) | (2) 
                    |<---- SF(1,1)---->| 
                (3) |                  | (3) 
                    |                  | 
                (4) |    (Recovery)    | (4) 
                    |<---- NR(1,1)---->| 
                (5) |<--- WTR(1,1)---->| (5) 
                   /|                  |\ 
          WTR timer |                  | WTR timer 
                   \|                  |/ 
                (6) |<---- NR(1,1)---->| (6) 
                (7) |<----- NR(0,0)--->| (7) 
                (8) |                  | (8) 
           
   (1) The protection domain is operating without any defect, and the 
   working entity is used for delivering the normal traffic. 


    

    
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   (2) Nodes A and Z detect local Signal Fail conditions on the working 
   entity, set selector and bridge to protection entity, and generate 
   SF(r=1, b=1) messages. 

   (3) Upon receiving SF(r=1, b=1), each node confirms that the far end 
   is also selecting protection entity. 

   (4) Each node detects clearing of SF condition, and sends NR(r=1, b=1) 
   message as the last received APS message was SF. 

   (5) Upon receiving NR(r=1, b=1), each node starts the WTR timer and 
   sends WTR(r=1, b=1). 

   (6) At expiration of the WTR timer, each node sends NR(r=1, b=1) as 
   the last received APS message was WTR. 

   (7) Upon receiving NR(r=1, b=1), each node sets selector and bridge 
   to working entity and sends NR(r=0, b=0) message. 

   (8) It is confirmed that the far end is also selecting working entity. 

    

   Example 3. 1:1 bidirectional protection switching (revertive mode) - 
   Bidirectional SF case - Inconsistent WTR timers 





















    

    
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                    A                  Z 
                    |                  | 
                (1) |---- NR(0,0)----->| (1) 
                    |<----- NR(0,0)----| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (2) | (SF on W(Z<->A)) | (2) 
                    |<---- SF(1,1)---->| 
                (3) |                  | (3) 
                    |                  | 
                (4) |    (Recovery)    | (4) 
                    |<---- NR(1,1)---->| 
                (5) |<--- WTR(1,1)---->| (5) 
                   /|                  |\ 
          WTR timer |                  | | 
                   \|                  | WTR timer 
                (6) |----- NR(1,1)---->| | (7) 
                    |                  |/  
                (9) |<----- NR(0,0)----| (8) 
                    |---- NR(0,0)----->| (10) 
           
   (1) The protection domain is operating without any defect, and the 
   working entity is used for delivering the normal traffic. 

   (2) Nodes A and Z detect local Signal Fail conditions on the working 
   entity , set selector and bridge to protection entity, and generate 
   SF(r=1, b=1) messages. 

   (3) Upon receiving SF(r=1, b=1), each node confirms that the far end 
   is also selecting protection entity. 

   (4) Each node detects clearing of SF condition, and sends NR(r=1, b=1) 
   message as the last received APS message was SF. 

   (5) Upon receiving NR(r=1, b=1), each node starts the WTR timer and 
   sends WTR(r=1, b=1). 

   (6) At expiration of the WTR timer in node A, node A sends NR(r=1, 
   b=1) as the last received APS message was WTR. 

   (7) At node Z, the received NR(r=1, b=1) is ignored as the local WTR 
   has a higher priority. 

   (8) At expiration of the WTR timer in node Z, node Z node sets 
   selector and bridge to working entity, and sends NR(r=0, b=0) message.  


    

    
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   (9) Upon receiving NR(r=0, b=0), node A sets selector and bridge to 
   working entity and sends NR(r=0, b=0) message. 

   (10) It is confirmed that the far end is also selecting working 
   entity.   

    

   Example 4. 1:1 bidirectional protection switching (non-revertive mode) 
   - Unidirectional SF on working followed by unidirectional SF on 
   protection 

                    A                  Z 
                    |                  | 
                (1) |---- NR(0,0)----->| (1) 
                    |<----- NR(0,0)----| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (2) | (SF on W(Z->A))  | 
                    |----- SF(1,1)---->| (3) 
                (4) |<----- NR(1,1)----| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (5) |    (Recovery)    | 
                    |----- DNR(1,1)--->| (6) 
                    |<--- DNR(1,1)---->| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                    | (SF on P(A->Z))  | (7) 
                (8) |<--- SF-P(0,0)----| 
                    |---- NR(0,0)----->| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                    |     (Recovery)   | (9) 
                    |<----- NR(0,0)----| 
                    |                  | 
           
   (1) The protection domain is operating without any defect, and the 
   working entity is used for delivering the normal traffic. 

   (2) Signal Fail occurs on the working entity in the Z to A direction. 
   Selector and bridge of node A select the protection entity. Node A 
   generates SF(r=1, b=1) message. 

   (3) Upon receiving SF(r=1, b=1), node Z sets selector and bridge to 
   protection entity. As there is no local request in node Z, node Z 
   generates NR(r=1, b=1) message. 
    

    
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   (4) Node A confirms that the far end is also selecting protection 
   entity. 

   (5) Node A detects clearing of SF condition, and sends DNR(r=1, b=1) 
   message. 

   (6) Upon receiving DNR(r=1, b=1), node Z also generates DNR(r=1, b=1) 
   message. 

   (7) Signal Fail occurs on the protection entity in the A to Z 
   direction. Selector and bridge of node Z select the working entity. 
   Node Z generates SF-P(r=0, b=0) message. 

   (8) Upon receiving SF-P(r=0, b=0), node A sets selector and bridge to 
   working entity, and generates NR(r=0, b=0) message. 

   (9) Node Z detects clearing of SF condition, and sends NR(r=0, b=0) 
   message. 

    

   Exmaple 5. 1:1 bidirectional protection switching (non-revertive mode) 
   - Bidirectional SF on working followed by bidirectional SF on 
   protection 






















    

    
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                    A                  Z 
                    |                  | 
                (1) |---- NR(0,0)----->| (1) 
                    |<----- NR(0,0)----| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (2) | (SF on W(A<->Z)) | (2) 
                (3) |<---- SF(1,1)---->| (3) 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (4) |    (Recovery)    | (4) 
                (5) |<---- NR(1,1)---->| (5) 
                    |<--- DNR(1,1)---->| 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (6) | (SF on P(A<->Z)) | (6) 
                (7) |<--- SF-P(0,0)--->| (7) 
                    |                  | 
                    |                  | 
                (8) |     (Recovery)   | (8) 
                    |<---- NR(0,0)---->| 
                    |                  | 
           
   (1) The protection domain is operating without any defect, and the 
   working entity is used for delivering the normal traffic. 

   (2) Nodes A and Z detect local Signal Fail conditions on the working 
   entity, set selector and bridge to protection entity, and generate 
   SF(r=1, b=1) messages. 

   (3) Upon receiving SF(r=1, b=1), each node confirms that the far end 
   is also selecting protection entity. 

   (4) Each node detects clearing of SF condition, and sends NR(r=1, b=1) 
   message as the last received APS message was SF. 

   (5) Upon receiving NR(r=1, b=1), each node sends DNR(r=1, b=1). 

   (6) Signal Fail occurs on the protection entity in both directions. 
   Selector and bridge of each node selects the working entity. Each 
   node generates SF-P(r=0, b=0) message. 

   (7) Upon receiving SF-P(r=0, b=0), each node confirms that the far 
   end is also selecting working entity  

   (8) Each node detects clearing of SF condition, and sends NR(r=0, b=0) 
   message. 
    

    
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11. References 

11.1. Normative References 

   [RFC5317] Bryant,S., Andersson,L., "Joint Working Team (JWT) Report      
             on MPLS Architectural Considerations for a Transport 
             Profile", RFC 5317, February 2009 

   [RFC5586] Bocci,M., Vigoureux,M., and Bryant,S., MPLS Generic 
             Associated Channel", RFC 5586, June 2009 

   [RFC5654] Niven-Jenkins,B., Brungard,D., and Betts,M., "Requirements 
             of an MPLS Transport Profile", RFC 5654, September 2009 

11.2. Informative References 

   [MPLS-TP Survive Frmk] Sprecher,N., and Farrel,A., "Multiprotocol 
             Label Switching Transport Profile Survivability Framework", 
             draft-ietf-mpls-tp-survive-fwk-03(work in progress), 
             November 2009 

Author's Addresses 

   Haiyan Zhang
   Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
   Email: zhanghaiyan@huawei.com


   Igor Umansky
   Alcatel-Lucent
   Email: igor.umansky@alcatel-lucent.com


   Han Li
   China Mobile
   Email : lihan@chinamobile.com


   Jeong-dong Ryoo
   ETRI
   Email : ryoo@etri.re.kr


   Alessandro D'Alessandro
   Telecom Italia
   Email : alessandro.dalessandro@telecomitalia.it




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