ETX-1 Ethernet Demarcation Switch
Key points of the RAD ETX-1 Ethernet Demarcation Switch
Cost-optimized switch with carrier Ethernet demarcation capabilities
Linear and ring topology resiliency using ERP G.8032v2 and static LAG per 802.3-2005
with load balancing
Quality of Service mechanism for user and service classification, rate limitation and
prioritization
OAM toolset based on IEEE 802.3-2005, IEEE 802.1ag and Y.1731 for network monitoring and fault detection
Configurable fault propagation mechanism in the network-to-user or user-to-network
direction
ETX-1 is an entry level Ethernet demarcation switch, part of RADs Service Assured Access (SAA) solution, provides Ethernet connectivity services for business applications. Combining switch functionality with basic Ethernet demarcation capabilities, ETX-1 enables quick, cost-effective service deployment to meet enterprise demand for Ethernet Private Line connectivity and LAN-to-LAN interworking.
ETX-1 from RAD features Ethernet QoS, OAM and diagnostics to lower OpEx associated with service provisioning and monitoring. In addition, built-in switch functionalities allow local service provisioning within the organization, without the need to traverse the operators network.
ETX-1 MARKET SEGMENTS AND APPLICATIONS
ETX-1 is a demarcation point for service providers enabling control and monitoring of the network starting at the customer site.
Supporting standard based Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) and QoS mechanisms, it enables the operator to provide Carrier Ethernet services from the network hand-off point (see Figure 1).
ETHERNET
ETX-1 introduces a six-port, full line rate wire-speed VLAN-aware GbE switch with 9-kB Jumbo frame size support.
QoS with the ETX-1
ETX-1 supports six Classes of Service per network port and four Classes of Service per user port with configurable strict priority and/or Weighted Round Robin priority mechanisms. Traffic is shaped at the port egress or per network queue.
Classification
Traffic is mapped to Ethernet flows (EVCs) using the following per-port classification criteria:
Port-based (all-to-one bundling)
P-bit (802.1p)
VLAN ID
IPv4 ToS/DSCP
Source/destination IP address.
The following per-flow actions are supported:
Rate limiting with 64-kbps granularity
802.1ps/P-bit remarking
VLAN stacking.
Ethernet OAM on the ETX-1
Single segment (link) OAM according to IEEE 802.3-2005 (formerly 802.3ah) provides fault indication, including remote loopback.
End-to-end OAM based on IEEE 802.1ag enables Ethernet service providers to monitor their services proactively and ensure service
availability.
End-to-end service and performance monitoring based on ITU-T Y.1731. Fault monitoring and end-to-end performance measurement
including delay, delay variation, frame loss and availability.
Dying Gasp feature of the ETX-1
ETX-1 reports power failures to defined network management stations by sending an IEEE 802.3-2005 message or SNMP trap, for quick
discovery and recovery from outage events.
ETX-1 RESILIENCY
Protection
ETX-1 provides the following network interface protection modes:
Link aggregation (LAG) based on 802.3-2005 with load balancing algorithm and configurable hashing mechanism ensures Ethernet interface protection.
Ethernet ring protection switching per ITU-T G.8032 v2 allowing the device to act as a node in an Ethernet ring and achieve 50 msec protection restore time in case of link failure.
Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) per IEEE 802.1w allowing the device to activate a redundant path in case of failure on the traffic route as well as preventing Ethernet loops.
Fault Propagation
The RAD ETX-1 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-1 shuts down the affected user port or forwards the OAM failure message towards the network. The fault propagation mechanism enables routers and switches connected to both ends of the link to reroute the traffic to the redundancy path.
TIMING AND SYNCHRONIZATION
Synchronous Ethernet (Sync-E) clock recovered via the network port can be used as a timing reference by the devices connected to the user ports of the unit. Sync-E option requires a dedicated hardware.
ETX-1 MANAGEMENT AND SECURITY
Management
The ETX-1 can be managed using the following ports and applications:
Local out-of-band management access via a dedicated serial management port (mini-USB).
Remote inband management via the network ports using Telnet or RADview, RADs SNMP-based management system.
Command Line Interface
Databases and scripts of commonly used commands can be easily created and applied to multiple units using command line interface.
Security
The following security protocols are provided by ETX-1 to ensure client server communication privacy and correct user authentication:
SNMPv3
RADIUS (client authentication)
TACACS+ (client authentication and accounting)
SSH for secure shell communication session
SFTP for secure file transfer.
L2CP HANDLING
The device can be configured to pass through Layer-2 control frames (including other vendors L2CP frames) across the network, to peer supported protocols, or to discard the L2CP frames
RAD ETX-1 Ethernet Demarcation Switch data sheet
(pdf)