SDH Networking and Protection

OTA000006
SDH Networking and Protection

ISSUE 1.01

OTA000006 SDH Networking and Protection ISSUE 1.01 Table of ContentsError! Style not defined.

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Table of Contents
Course Description ...........................................................................................................................1
Course Introduction......................................................................................................................1
Targets of the course...................................................................................................................1
References...................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1 SDH Network Topology...................................................................................................2
1.1 Chain (linear) Architecture.....................................................................................................2
1.2 Star Architecture....................................................................................................................2
1.3 Tree Architecture ...................................................................................................................3
1.4 Ring Architecture ...................................................................................................................3
1.5 Mesh Architecture..................................................................................................................4
Chapter 2 SDH Network Protection .................................................................................................5
2.1 Basic Concepts......................................................................................................................5
2.2 Categories of Survivable Networks........................................................................................8
2.2.1 Linear Multiplex Section Protection.............................................................................8
2.2.2 Protection Rings........................................................................................................11
2.2.3 Sub-network Connection Protection .........................................................................18
2.3 Comparison of the Network Protections ..............................................................................20

OTA000006 SDH Networking and Protection ISSUE 1.01 List of Tables


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List of Tables
Table 2-1 the switching criteria for OptiX equipment ............................................................... 19

OTA000006 SDH Networking and Protection ISSUE 1.01 Error! Style not defined.


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Course Description
Course Introduction
The product version of this teaching material is OTA051004.
Here explained the SDH transmission system five basic networks --- chain (line), star,
tree, ring and mesh. As well we will cover the different protection mechanism used in
the SDH survivable networks.
Targets of the course
Through this course, trainees should be able to:
List the SDH different topologies structures, features and applications.
Have idea about the basic concept of the SDH network protection.
Understand the network objectives, application architecture, switching
initialization and restoration criteria, characteristics, network capacity of different
types of network protection.
References
ITU-T recommendation G.841


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Chapter 1 SDH Network
Topology
The network topology, the geometrical layout of SDH network nodes and transmission
lines, reflects the physical connection of the network. The network topology is important
in the sense that it determines the performance, reliability and cost-effectiveness of an
SDH network.
1.1 Chain (linear) Architecture
Chain network, as shown in Figure 1-1 is such a topology in which all nodes are
connected in sequence line, while the two nodes at both ends are connected at only
one side. If the two end nodes are directly connected with each other with no nodes
between them, this is called a point-to-point structure. Point-to-point structure can be
considered as a special case of the chain network.
For a chain network, if there is a service between any two non-adjacent nodes, then we
must configure the add/drop traffic at the two end nodes, and pass-through traffic in
between these two nodes. For example, as shown in Figure 1-1, there is an ADM
between two terminal multiplexers. This is a typical chain topology structure.
The chain network is simple and economical at the initial application stage of SDH
equipment. For a chain network, its more difficult and more expensive to protect the
traffic, compared with a ring network. The chain network is used in cases where the
traffic is unimportant or where the traffic load is small so that we dont have to care
about the traffic protection. In terms of network protection for a chain, we can use 1+1
linear Multiplex Section protection and 1:N linear Multiplex Section protection. The
simplest network configuration involves two multiplexers or multipoint of add/drop
circuit a long the way linked by fiber with or without regenerator in the whole link.

A B
C D
E

Figure 1-1 Chain topology
1.2 Star Architecture
In an SDH transmission network, if a special node (central node or hub node) exists
which has connections with all the other nodes, while between all the other nodes there
are no direct connections, this network will be called a start or hub network. For a star
network, the traffic between any other nodes other than the hub node must pass
through (dispatched at this node) the hub node. The hub node selects routes and
passes through the traffic signals for all the other nodes. As a result, the hub node is
able to manage the bandwidth resources thoroughly and flexibly. On the other hand,


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there is the possibility of a potential bottleneck of bandwidth resources. Besides, the
equipment failure of the hub node may result in the breakdown of the entire network.
The basic physical structure of a star network is shown in Figure 1-3. For star networks,
the possible network protection is the same as a chain. 1+1 linear Multiplex Section
protection and 1:N linear Multiplex Section protection can be used for a star network.

A
B
C
D
E

Figure 1-2 Star topology
1.3 Tree Architecture
In a point-to-point structure, if any end node is connected with several other nodes, a
tree structure is formed. A tree structure can be considered as the combination of chain
and star structures. It is suitable for broadcast service. However, due to the bottleneck
problem and the optical power budget limit, it is not suitable for bidirectional traffic. The
basic physical structure of a tree network is shown in Figure 1-3.

A
B
C
D E

Figure 1-3 Tree topology
1.4 Ring Architecture
The ring network, as shown in Figure 1-4, is the most widely used network for SDH
transmission networks. If the two end nodes in a chain network are connected together,
the chain network will be converted into a ring. In such a structure, any traffic between
two adjacent nodes can be directly add/drop between them. For traffic between two
non-adjacent nodes, we have to configure the add/drop traffic at the source node and


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the sink node. And the pass-through traffic in between those two nodes must be
created as well.
The ring network is highly survivable. The most obvious advantage of a ring network is
its high survivability that is essential to modern optical networks with large capacity.
Thus, the ring network enjoys very broad applications in SDH networks.

A
B
C
D
E

Figure 1-4 Ring topology
1.5 Mesh Architecture
Mesh networks are such communications networks in which many nodes are
interconnected with each other via direct routes. In such topological structure, if direct
routes are used in the interconnection of all the nodes, this structure is considered as
an ideal mesh topology. In a non-ideal mesh topological structure, the service
connection between nodes that are not connected directly is established through route
selection and transiting via other nodes. In a mesh network, no bottle neck problem
exists. Since more than one route can be selected between any nodes, when any
equipment fails, services can still be transmitted smoothly through other routes. Thus,
the reliability of service transmission is increased. However, such networks are more
complicated, costly and difficult to manage. Mesh networks are very suitable for those
regions with large traffic.

A
B
C
D
E

Figure 1-5 Mesh topology



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Chapter 2 SDH Network Protection
2.1 Basic Concepts
Modern society is getting more and more dependent on communications with the
development of science and technologies, and so higher requirements to network
security are being brought forward. Thus the concept of survivable network comes into
being. The following will deal with the concepts of survivable network.
1. Unidirectional Traffic and Bidirectional Traffic
Unidirectional traffic and bidirectional traffic are named regarding the traffic flow
directions in the ring. A unidirectional ring means that traffic travel in just one direction,
e.g. clockwise or counter-clockwise, following a diverse route. While in a bidirectional
ring, traffic signals go in two directions, one opposite to another, following a uniform
route. As shown in Figure 2-2, a unidirectional ring is diversely routed; Figure 2-1, while
a bidirectional ring is uniformly routed.

The traffic shares the same
equipment and link
B
A

Figure 2-1 Uniformly routed



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T1516670-94
A
B
b) Diversely routed
The traffic is on
different equipment
and links

Figure 2-2 Diversely routed
2. Unidirectional Traffic and Bidirectional Traffic
A network that is capable of restoring traffic in the event of a failure. The degree of
survivability is determined by the network's ability to survive single line system failures,
multiple line system failures, and equipment failures.
3. Bidirectional Protection Swtiching
A protection switching architecture in which, for a unidirectional failure (i.e. a failure
affecting only one direction of transmission), both directions (of the "trail", "subnetwork
connection", etc.) including the affected direction and the unaffected direction, are
switched to protection.
4. Unidirectional Protection Swtiching
A protection switching architecture in which, for a unidirectional failure (i.e. a failure
affecting only one direction of transmission), only the affected direction (of the "trail",
"subnetwork connection", etc.) is switched to protection.
5. Bridge and Switch
Bridge is the action of transmitting identical traffic on both the working and protection
channels. While the action of selecting normal traffic from the protection channels
rather than the working channels is called switch.
6. Protection Channels
The channels allocated to transport the normal traffic during a switch event. Protection
channels may be used to carry extra traffic in the absence of a switch event. When


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there is a switch event, normal traffic on the affected working channels is bridged onto
the protection channels.
7. Working Channels
The channels over which normal traffic is transported when there are no switch events.
8. Subnetwork Connection Protection (SNC Protection)
A working subnetwork connection is replaced by a protection subnetwork connection if
the working subnetwork connection fails, or if its performance falls below a required
level.
9. Idle
A node that is not generating, detecting or passing-through bridge requests or bridge
request status information.
10. Pass-through
The action of transmitting the same information that is being received for any given
direction of transmission.
11. Switching Node
The node that performs the bridge or switch functions for a protection event.
12. Ring Switching
Protection mechanism, that applies to both two-fiber and four-fiber rings. During a ring
switch, the traffic from the affected span is carried over the protection channels on the
long path.
13. Revertive/non-revertive modes
In revertive mode of operation, when the protection is no longer requested, i.e. the
failed working section is no longer in SD or SF condition (and assuming no other
requesting sections), a local wait-to-restore state shall be activated. Since this state
becomes the highest in priority, it is indicated on the sent K1 byte, and maintains the
normal traffic signal from the previously failed working section on the protection section.
This state shall normally time out and become a no request null signal (0) (or no request
extra traffic signal (15), if applicable). The wait-to-restore timer deactivates earlier if the
sent K1 byte no longer indicates wait-to-restore, i.e. when any request of higher priority
pre-empts this state.
In non-revertive mode of operation, applicable only to 1 + 1 architecture, when the
failed working section is no longer in SD or SF condition, the selection of the normal
traffic signal from protection is maintained by activating a do-not-revert state rather than
a no-request state.
Both wait-to-restore and do-not-revert requests in the sent K1 byte are normally
acknowledged by a reverse request in the received K1 byte. However, no request is
acknowledged by another No Request received.
14. Span
The set of multiplex sections between two adjacent nodes on a ring.


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15. Span Switching
Protection mechanism similar to 1:1 linear APS that applies only to four-fiber rings
where working and protection channels are contained in separate fibers and the failure
only affects the working channels. During a span switch, the normal traffic is carried
over the protection channels on the same span as the failure.
16. Extra Traffic
Traffic that is carried over the protection channels when that capacity is not used for the
protection of normal traffic. Extra traffic is not protected. Whenever the protection
channels are required to protect the normal traffic, the extra traffic is pre-empted.
2.2 Categories of Survivable Networks
Ring and line are the two most commonly used networks, so the common protection
network will be about ring and line. For the line network, we have 1:N linear multiplex
section protection and 1+1 linear multiplex section protection. For ring protection, there
might be several classification criteria. Based on the traffic protection level, it can be
grouped into Path Protection ring, Multiplex Section Protection ring and Subnetwork
Connection Protection ring. The basic protection entity for a path protection ring is Path
(VC12 for E1, VC3 for E3/T3 and VC4 for E4). Multiplex section protection protects a
MS, one STM-1 for example, while SNC protection protects one subnetwork
connection.
2.2.1 Linear Multiplex Section Protection
Linear Multiplex Section (MS) protection is one of multiplex section protections. Linear
multiplex section protection switching can be a dedicated or shared protection
mechanism. It protects the multiplex section layer, and applies to point-to-point physical
networks. One protection multiplex section can be used to protect the normal traffic
from a number (N) of working multiplex sections. It cannot protect against node failures.
It can operate in a unidirectional or bidirectional manner, and it can carry extra traffic on
the protection multiplex section in bidirectional operation.
Protection modes can be divided into two kinds: 1+1 and 1:N. In 1+1 protection mode,
every working system is protected by a dedicated protection system. But in 1:N
protection mode, N systems share one protection system; and when the system is in
normal operation, the protection system can also transmit extra traffic. Thus a higher
efficiency can be obtained than that of 1+1 system, but a more complicated APS
protocol is needed. This protection mode mainly protects the normal traffic in case
optical cable of the working multiplex section is cut off or multiplex section performance
degrades.
1. 1+1 linear multiplex section protection
Working mode of 1+1 linear multiplex section protection is shown in Figure 2-3.


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A
B
Working section
Working section
Protection section
Protection section

Figure 2-3 1+1 Linear multiplex section protection working mode
From the viewpoint of switching mode, 1+1 linear multiplex section protection can be
divided into unidirectional switching in non-revertive mode, unidirectinoal switching in
revertive mode, bidirectional switching in non-revertive mode, and bidirectional
switching in revertive mode.
Out of 1+1 linear multiplex section protections, some modes require APS protocol
during the switching process, some dont require. For 1 + 1 unidirectional switching, the
signal selection is based on the local conditions and requests. Therefore each end
operates independently of the other end, and bytes K1 and K2 are not needed to
coordinate switch action.
Technical details:
Unidirectional switching mode means when switching occurs, it occurs only to one end,
while the other end remains unchanged. Take 1+1 linear multiplex section protection as
an example, as shown in Figure 2-3. If the transmitting optical fiber of the working
section from Node A to Node B is cut off accidentally, Node B detects signals being
invalid and switching will occur. The traffic signals that are sent by A will be received by
the protection section optical fiber instead, while the status of Node A remains
unchanged.
Bidirectional switching mode means switching will occur to both ends at the same time.
As shown in Figure 3-2, if the transmitting optical fiber of working section from Node A
to Node B is cut off accidentally and Node B has detected signals being invalid, then
switching will occur. The protection section optical fiber will receive traffic signals sent
by Node A instead and it will inform Node A with K1K2 bytes. Node A, being aware that
Node B is under switching status, will also enter switching status. And then the
protection section will receive traffic signals sent by Node B instead.
Revertive mode means when nodes are under switching status, and after working
section is recovered, the switching status will be cleared so that the nodes recover their
original normal status. While non-revertive mode means when nodes are under
switching status, even if working section is recovered, nodes will no longer restore to its
previous normal status; that is to say, the switching status will remain unchanged. As
shown in Figure 3-2, if the transmitting optical fiber of the working section from Node A
to Node B is cut off accidentally, Node B will detect signal being invalid, and execute
switching to enter the switching status, and then receives traffic signals sent from Node
A through protection section optical fiber. If the transmitting optical fiber of the working
section from Node A to Node B recovers, the signal failure detected by Node B is


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cleared. At this moment, if Node B is in revertive mode, it will release the switching
status and return to normal status. Then working section optical fiber will be used again
to receive traffic signals sent by A. If Node B is in non-revertive mode, the switching
status will be maintained, while the traffic signals sent by Node A will be received from
the protection section optical fiber.
2. 1:N linear multiplex section protection
Working mode of 1:N linear multiplex section protection is shown in Figure 2-4

A B
Bridging Selector
Protection section (Transmit)
Working section 1(Transmit)
Protection section (Receive)
Working section 1(Receive)
Working section 2(Transmit)
Working section 2(Receive)
Working section N(Transmit)
Working section N(Receive)
Selector
Bridging

Figure 2-4 1:N Linear multiplex section protection working mode
Out of all the possible switching modes, 1:N linear multiplex section protection supports
only one working modebidirectional switching in revertive working mode, in
consideration of the extra traffic.
Bidirectional switching in revertive working mode of 1:N linear protection follows
multiplex section protection protocol as well. In the course of switching, K1K2 bytes
between nodes are transmitted through protection section optical fiber.
Technical details:
The MSP functions, at the ends of a multiplex section, make requests for and give
acknowledgements of switch action by using the APS bytes (K1 and K2 bytes in the
MSOH of the protection section). The bit assignments for these bytes and the
bit-oriented protocol are defined as follows.
K1 byte: The K1 byte indicates a request of a traffic signal for switch action. A request
can be:
1- A condition (SF and SD) associated with a section. A condition has high or low
priority. The priority is set for each corresponding section;
2- A state (wait-to-restore, do not revert, no request, reverse request) of the MSP
function; or
3- An external request (lockout of protection, forced or manual switch, and
exercise).
K1 byte Bits 1-4 indicate the type of request. Bits 5-8 indicate the number of the traffic
signal or section for which the request is issued.


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K2 byte Bits 1-4 indicate a signal number. Bit 5 indicates the type of the MSP
architecture: set 1 indicates 1:n architecture and set 0 indicates 1 + 1 architecture. Bits
6-8 are used for MS-AIS and MS-RDI indication.
2.2.2 Protection Rings
For path protection ring, traffic protection is based on paths. Switching or not is
determined by signal qualities of each path on the ring. For multiplex section protection
ring, traffic protection is based on multiplex section. Switching or not is determined by
signal qualities of the multiplex section between each span of nodes. An important
difference between a path protection ring and a multiplex section protection ring is that
the former usually adopts dedicated protection. That is to say, in normal conditions
protection section also sends traffic and protection channel is dedicated to the whole
ring; while the later usually adopts shared protection, i.e., in normal condition protection
section is idle and protection channel is shared by each span of the ring. Thus
protection rings can be divided into dedicated protection ring and shared protection ring.
It is certain that multiplex section protection ring can also adopt the dedicated
protection, yet it has no distinctive advantages over a path protection ring.
According to the traffic flow direction, we can have unidirectional ring and bidirectional
ring. From the number of optical fibers between two adjacent nodes, the rings can be
further divided into two-fiber rings and four-fiber rings.
From the above-mentioned criteria, we might have 2-fiber unidirectional path protection
ring, 2-fiber bidirectional path protection ring, 2-fiber unidirectional multiplex section
protection ring, 2-fiber bidirectional multiplex section protection ring, 2-fiber
unidirectional SNC protection ring, 2-fiber bidirectional SNC protection and 4-fiber
bidirectional multiplex section protection ring.
1. Two-fiber unidirectional path protection ring
Two-fiber unidirectional path protection rings use the 1+1 protection mode and the
structure of "head-end bridging, while the tail-end switching". One optical fiber is the
working fiber; call the S fiber, while the other is the protection fiber, called the P fiber as
shown in Figure 2-5.

A
B
C
D
S1
P1

Figure 2-5 Illustration of a two-fiber unidirectional path protection ring in normal condition


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A bridge is used to simultaneously transmit signals onto the working and protection
fibers, so the same traffic signals are sent on the two fibers, but in opposite directions.
At the receiving end, either the working or the protection fiber is chosen to receive the
traffic signals according to the signal quality. The receiver uses a switch to select the
working trail under normal operating conditions.
Switching is effected by judging the quality of the path signals according to the path
alarm signals (e.g. TU-AIS, TU-LOP, etc.) as well as error bits status of path signals.
The switch completion time of the OptiX equipment is superior to the 50ms switching
time as stipulated in the ITU-T recommendations. The short switching time is
attributable to the efforts to optimize the path protection in system hardware and
software and is of great significance to the traffic which is sensitive to error bits, such as
signaling, data, video, etc.

A
B
C
D
switch
S1
P1

Figure 2-6 Illustration of a two-fiber unidirectional path protection ring in switched condition
After path protection switch takes place in the NE, the tributary board monitors the
status of traffic on the working fiber S1 at the same time. When no TU-AIS is found for a
while (10 minutes for Huawei equipment), the tributary board of the switched NE will
restore to receive traffic from the working fiber, back to the default status in normal
conditions.
Because path protection is a dedicated protection mechanism, this means that the
timeslots of each fiber cannot be reused. In the two-fiber unidirectional path protection
ring, because the traffic added to the ring is sent concurrently and received selectively,
the path protection is actually in 1+1 protection mode. This mode features fast switch
(Huawei equipment switches at the speed 15ms) and simple traffic flow, making
configuration and maintenance easy. The disadvantage is its limited network capacity.
The network capacity is the maximum traffic load that a network can carry. The network
capacity of the two-fiber unidirectional protection ring is constantly STM-N, which is not
related to the number of nodes on the ring and the traffic distribution between NEs.
Why?
Two-fiber unidirectional path ring is usually used in the case when a site on the ring is
the main traffic station, i.e. centralized traffic station, between which and all the other
nodes there are traffic signals, while between all the other nodes, there are no or few
traffic signals. In the current networking, the two-fiber unidirectional path ring of Huawei
equipment is usually used in STM-1 and STM-4 systems.


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2. Two-fiber Bidirectional path protection ring
The protection switching principle of two-fiber bidirectional path protection ring is
basically the same as that of unidirectional path protection ring, except that in two-fiber
bidirectional path protection ring, the route of receiving signals is consistent with that of
sending signals, as shown in Figure 2-7.

A
B
C
D

Figure 2-7 Two-fiber bidirectional path protection ring without protection switching
3. Two-fiber bidirectional multiplex section protection ring Two-fiber
bidirectional MS shared protection ring
The two-fiber bidirectional multiplex section protection ring (two-fiber bidirectional MS
shared protection ring in ITU-T recommendations. Note: the following paragraphs will
use those two terms interchangeably) requires only two fibers for each span of the ring.
Each fiber carries both working channels and protection channels. On each fiber, half
the channels are defined as working channels and half are defined as protection
channels. The normal traffic carried on working channels in one fiber are protected by
the protection channels in another fiber traveling in the opposite direction around the
ring (See Figure 2-8). This permits the bidirectional transport of normal traffic. Only one
set of overhead channels is used on each fiber.
Two-fiber MS shared protection rings support ring switching only. When a ring switch is
invoked, the normal traffic is switched from the working channels to the protection
channels in the opposite direction.


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A
B
C
D
Protection channels
Worki ng channels

Figure 2-8 Normal traffic flow for two-fiber bidirectional MS protection ring
The AU groups that traverse the span between any two adjacent nodes are divided into
working channels and protection channels. In the case of the two-fiber ring, the STM-N
can be viewed as a multiplex of N AU-4s, where the AU-4s are numbered from 1 to N
according to the order that they appear in the multiplex. AU-4s numbered from 1 to N/2
shall be assigned as working channels, and AU-4s numbered from (N/2) + 1 to N shall
be assigned as protection channels. The normal traffic carried on working channel m is
protected by protection channel (N/2) + m
For example, a STM-16 system shall assign #1--- #8VC4 as the working channels,
#9---#16 as the protection channels. One fiber of #9---#16 are to protect #1---#8 of
another fiber. For another example, an STM-4 can be considered a multiplex of four
AU-4s numbered one to four. AU-4s number one and two would be assigned as
working channels, and AU-4s number three and four would be assigned as protection
channels. This assignment applies to both directions of transmission and to all spans.
The ring APS protocol shall be carried on bytes K1 and K2 in the multiplex section
overhead. Functions that are required in real time and required to make a protection
switch are defined in the ring APS protocol using bytes K1 and K2. Each node on the
ring shall be assigned an ID that is a number from 0 to 15, allowing a maximum of 16
nodes on the ring. This node ID is called MSP node information for OptiX equipment.
For two-fiber bidirectional multiplex section protection rings, as their traffic have uniform
routes and are sent bidirectionally, time slots in the ring can be shared by all nodes, so
the total capacity is closely related to the traffic distribution mode and quantity of nodes
on the ring. The network capacity for two-fiber bidirectional multiplex section ring is
*M*STM-N (M is the number of nodes on the ring, STM-N is the STM level). If we
count the protection channels as well, the maximum traffic load that a two-fiber
bidirectional MS shared protection ring can carry is M*STM-N. Nevertheless, half of the
traffic would not be protected in case of fiber failures.
Technical details:
APS requests are also initiated based on multiplex section and equipment performance
criteria detected by the NE. All the working and protection channels are monitored


15
regardless of the failure or degradation conditions (i.e. after a switch has been
completed, all appropriate performance monitoring is continued). The NE initiates the
following bridge requests automatically: Signal Failure (SF), Signal Degrade (SD),
Reverse Request (RR), and Wait to Restore (WTR). The bridge requests are
transmitted from NE to NE (not from NMS to NE).
The SF (signal failure) bridge request is used to protect normal traffic affected by
defects, while the SD (signal degrade) bridge request is used to protect against signal
degradations due to bit errors. R-LOS, R-LOF, MS-AIS, AU-LOP etc. are all examples
of SF. B2-SD (the error bit ratio of B2 is above 10E-6), B2-EXC (the error bit ratio of B2
is above 10E-3) are examples of SD. The bridge requests are transmitted on both the
short and long paths. Each intermediate node verifies the destination node ID of the
long-path bridge request and relays the bridge request. The destination node receives
the bridge request, performs the activity according to the priority level, and sends the
bridged indication.
When a node determines that a switch is required, it sources the appropriate bridge
request in the K-bytes in both directions, i.e. the short path and long path.
The destination node is the node that is adjacent to the source node across the failed
span. When a node that is not the destination nodes receives a higher priority bridge
request, it enters the appropriate pass-through state. In this way, the switching nodes
can maintain direct K-byte communication on the long path. Note that in the case of a
bidirectional failure such as a cable cut, the destination node would have detected the
failure itself and sourced a bridge request in the opposite direction around the ring.
When the destination node receives the bridge request, it performs the bridge and
bridges the channels that were entering the failed span onto the protection channels in
the opposite direction. In addition, for signal fail-ring switches, the node also performs
the switch to protection channels.
APS controller status and status transition
The APS controller is responsible for generating and terminating the APS information
carried in the K1K2 bytes and implementing the APS algorithm. With the switching state
of each NE, the APS controller status is also changed.

S Switching
P Pass-through
I Idle
WTR Wait to Restore
I
I I
I
S
S
P
P WT
R
WTR P
P
APS Controller Status

Figure 2-9 The status of APS Controller


16
4. Two-fiber unidirectional multiplex section protection ring two-fiber
unidirectional Multiplex Section dedicated protection ring
Two-fiber unidirectional MS dedicated protection ring is composed of two fibers.
Working channels and protection channels are carried over different optical fibers. The
S1 is used to carry the working channels, while the P1 carries the protection channels.
The low-rate tributary payload is added and dropped only in the S1 optical fiber, while
the protection fiber P1 is left idle for protection purpose. Of course, fiber P1 can be used
to carry extra traffic when not used for protection.

P 1
CA A C
C A A C
S 1
S1
P 1
D
A
C
B
X
s wi tc h i n g
( b )
P 1
C A AC
CA A C
S 1
S1
P 1
D
A
C
B
( a )

Figure 2-10 Two-fiber unidirectional MS dedicated switching
In case the two optical fibers between Node B and Node C are cut, the protection
switch at Node B and Node C adjacent to the broken point will start the bridge function
specified in the APS protocol, as shown in Figure 2-10. At Node B, the line signals (AC)
previous carried over the S1 optical fiber is bridged to the P1 fiber and can still reach
Node C counter clockwise via Node A and Node D. The other nodes (A and D) serve to
pass through the working traffic carried over the P1 optical fiber and send them to the
Node C smoothly. The bridge function guarantees the continuity of the ring even in time
of failures so that the working traffic on the low-rate tributaries will not be interrupted.
When the fault is finished, the switch will return to its original position.
The two-fiber unidirectional Multiplex Section dedicated protection ring is seldom used
in actual applications since it has no advantages over either the two-fiber unidirectional
path protection ring or two-fiber bidirectional multiplex section shared protection.
The OptiX SDH Optical Transmission System fully supports the two-fiber unidirectional
MS dedicated protection ring, which is similar to the two-fiber bidirectional MS
switching ring in switching condition, configuration and switching time.
5. Four-fiber bidirectional multiplex section protection ring Four-fiber
bidirectional Multiplex Section shared protection ring
Four-fiber MS shared protection rings require four fibers for each span of the ring. As
illustrated in Figure 2-11, working and protection channels are carried over different
fibers: two multiplex sections transmitting in opposite directions carry the working


17
channels while two multiplex sections, also transmitting in opposite directions, carry the
protection channels. This permits the bidirectional transport of normal traffic. The
multiplex section overhead is dedicated to either working or protection channels since
working and protection channels are not transported over the same fibers.

Node A
Node B
Node D Node C
See exploded view
Fibre carrying working traffic (arrow indicates transmission direction)
Fibre carrying protection traffic (arrow indicates transmission direction)

Figure 2-11 Four-fiber MS shared protection ring view of entire ring
Four-fiber MS shared protection rings support ring switching as a protection switch, as
well as span switching, though not concurrently. Multiple span switches can coexist on
the ring since only the protection channels along one span are used for each span
switch. Certain multiple failures (those that affect only the working channels of a span
such as electronic failures and cable cuts severing only the working channels) can be
fully protected using span switching.
The AU groups that traverse the span between any two adjacent nodes are divided into
working channels and protection channels. In the case of the four-fiber ring, each
working and protection STM-N is carried on a separate fiber.
The ring APS protocol shall be carried on bytes K1 and K2 in the multiplex section
overhead. In the case of the four-fiber ring, the APS protocol is only active on the fibers
carrying protection channels. Functions that are required in real time and required to
make a protection switch are defined in the ring APS protocol using bytes K1 and K2.
Each node on the ring shall be assigned an ID that is a number from 0 to 15, allowing a
maximum of 16 nodes on the ring. This ID is called MSP node information for OptiX
equipment.
For four-fiber bidirectional multiplex section protection rings, as their traffic have
uniform routes and are sent bidirectionally, time slots in the ring can be shared by all
nodes, so the total capacity is closely related to the traffic distribution mode and
quantity of nodes on the ring. The network capacity for four-fiber bidirectional multiplex
section ring is M*STM-N (M is the number of nodes on the ring; STM-N is the STM
level). If we count the protection channels as well, the maximum traffic load that a
four-fiber bidirectional MS shared protection ring can carry is 2*M*STM-N.
Nevertheless, half of the traffic would not be protected in case of fiber failures.
Protection switching description
APS requests are also initiated based on multiplex section and equipment performance
criteria detected by the NE. All the working and protection channels are monitored
regardless of the failure or degradation conditions (i.e. after a switch has been
completed, all appropriate performance monitoring is continued). The NE initiates the
following bridge requests automatically: Signal Failure (SF), Signal Degrade (SD),


18
Reverse Request (RR), and Wait to Restore (WTR). The bridge requests are
transmitted from NE to NE (not from NMS to NE).
The SF (signal failure) bridge request is used to protect normal traffic affected by
defects, while the SD (signal degrade) bridge request is used to protect against signal
degradations due to bit errors. R-LOS, R-LOF, MS-AIS, AU-LOP etc. are all examples
of SF. B2-SD (the error bit ratio of B2 is above 10E-6), B2-EXC (the error bit ratio of B2
is above 10E-3) are examples of SD. The bridge requests are transmitted on both the
short and long paths. Each intermediate node verifies the destination node ID of the
long-path bridge request and relays the bridge request. The destination node receives
the bridge request, performs the activity according to the priority level, and sends the
bridged indication.
A two-fiber ring only uses ring switches to restore traffic. A four-fiber ring has the
additional option of span switching. Specifically, from the perspective of a node in a
four-fiber ring, two protection channels exist: a short path over the span used in the
span switch, and a long path over the long way around the ring used in a ring switch.
With span switching, each span in a four-fiber ring can behave similar to a 1:1 linear
protection system. Therefore, failures that only affect the working channels and not the
protection channels can be restored using a span switch. Four-fiber rings should use
span switching when possible so that multiple span switches can coexist. Therefore,
span switching has priority over ring switching for bridge requests of the same type (e.g.
Signal Fail, Signal Degrade, and Forced Switch). Lower priority span switches shall not
be maintained in the event of a higher priority ring bridge request.
When a node determines that a switch is required, it sources the appropriate bridge
request in the K-bytes in both directions, i.e. the short path and long path.
In the case of unidirectional failures, signaling on the short path may permit faster
switch completion. Since the node across the failed span will typically see the
short-path bridge request much sooner than the long-path bridge request status (or
bridge request), it can initiate its own bridge requests more quickly. In the case of span
bridge requests on four-fiber rings, signaling on the long path informs other nodes on
the ring that a span switch exists elsewhere on the ring. This mechanism denies lower
priority ring switches.
The destination node is the node that is adjacent to the source node across the failed
span. When a node that is not the destination nodes receives a higher priority bridge
request, it enters the appropriate pass-through state. In this way, the switching nodes
can maintain direct K-byte communication on the long path. Note that in the case of a
bidirectional failure such as a cable cut, the destination node would have detected the
failure itself and sourced a bridge request in the opposite direction around the ring.
When the destination node receives the bridge request, it performs the bridge. If the
bridge request is of a ring type, the node bridges the channels that were entering the
failed span onto the protection channels in the opposite direction. In addition, for signal
fail-ring switches, the node also performs the switch to protection channels.
2.2.3 Sub-network Connection Protection
As network structures are becoming more and more complicated, the sub-network
connection protection (SNCP) is the only traffic protection mode that can be adapted to
various network topological structures with a fast switching time. LO/HO SNC
protection is another path layer protection. It is a dedicated protection scheme which
can be used in different network structures: meshed networks, rings, etc.
As shown in Figure 2-12, SNCP uses the 1+1 protection mode. Traffics are
simultaneously sent on both the working and protection sub-network connection. When
the working sub-network connection fails, or when its performance deteriorates to a


19
certain level, at the receiving end of the sub-network connection, the signal from the
protection sub-network connection is selected according to the preference selection
rule. Switching usually takes the unidirectional switching mode, thus it needs no APS
protocol.

SNC
Starting
Node
SNC
Termination
Node
Protection
SNC
Working
SNC
Sub-network
1
Sub-network
2
NE A NE B
Selector
123
123

Figure 2-12 Sub-network connection protection
SNCP is dedicated 1 + 1 in which traffic at the transmit end of a subnetwork connection
is transmitted two separate ways over working and protection paths. In the case of
1 + 1 dedicated protection, the transmit end is permanently bridged, where the traffic
will be transmitted on both the working and protection subnetwork connections. At the
receive end of the SNC, a protection switch is effected by selecting one of the signals
based on purely local information. No APS protocol is required for this protection
switching scheme if it is unidirectional.
For OptiX series equipment, the alarms causing the SNC protection switching are listed
in the Table 2-1:
Table 2-1 the switching criteria for OptiX equipment
No. 8w|tch|ng cr|ter|a 0efau|t
sw|tch|ng
cond|t|ons
No. 8w|tch|ng cr|ter|a 0efau|ted
sw|tch|ng
cond|t|ons
1 R-LOS default 11 HP-LOM default
2 R-LOF, R-OOF default 12 HP-UNEQ default
3 MS-AIS default 13 B3-EXC default
4 B2-EXC default 14 B3-SD optional
5 B2-SD optional 15 Unplug line card default
6 AU-LOP default 16 LP-TIM optional
7 AU-AIS default 17 LP-SLM optional
8 HP-TIM optional 18 LP-UNEQ optional
9 TUAIS default 19 BIP-EXC optional
10 TULOP default 20 BIP-SD optional


20
2.3 Comparison of the Network Protections
SDH is a complicated transmission network. Its highly survivable and flexible in the
application architecture. One might be easily confused about the network protections.
The following paragraphs list the comparison between the network protections
supported by OptiX equipment.
Linear multiplex section protection is the simplest networking application in
survivable networks. The traffic recovery of this protection is instant, which
is very effective for the faults caused by optical or electrical components of
nodes. But this protection mode does not work when optical cables are cut
off (which is a serious fault that occurs frequently) because usually all
optical fibers are in one cable (including working and protection) and would
be cut off at the same time. Further improvement is to adopt a different
geographic route for protection fibers. Thus when optical fibers of working
path are cut off; optical fibers of protection route can still send signals safely
to the opposite end. This route backup method is easy to configure, and
network is simple to manage, while traffic can be recovered rapidly. But this
method needs at least two sets of optical cables and equipment, and
usually the backup route is long and costly. Furthermore, this method can
protect only transmission link failure, it cannot protect node failure.
(Survivable rings can protect against node failures). So this method is
chiefly applied to point-to-point networking application.
For two-fiber unidirectional path protection ring, all tributary signals entering
into the ring will arrive at the receiving nodes in two directions. That is to say,
the signals have to travel along the whole ring, so the timeslots can not be
reused. As a result the network capacity of the ring is limited to STM-N. For
two-fiber bidirectional path protection ring, the network is the same as a
unidirectional path protection ring, but the traffic signals go along a uniform
route. Its a little bit more confusing than a two-fiber unidirectional path
protection ring. In China, the customers tend to use unidirectional path
protection ring, while outside China, the customers are happier to use
bidirectional path protection ring.
For multiplex section protection rings, most customers will choose
bidirectional rings because of its higher network capacity than other forms.
Two-fiber unidirectional MS dedicated protection ring is used in some
special situations such as ring-line architecture where the transmission is
only STM-1 level and its a must to protect the traffic signals between the
ring and the line. Two-fiber unidirectional MS dedicated protection ring is
seldom used for system at STM-4 level or above. Four-fiber bidirectional
MS shared protection ring is very expensive to construct, its not so easy to
maintain neither. Put it in one word, four-fiber bidirectional MS shared
protection ring is used for system at STM-16, STM-64 or above.


21
The protection mechanism of SNC protection is almost the same as that of
a path protection ring. They are both dedicated protection, so they have the
same network capacity, which is a constant of STM-N, regardless of the
number of nodes. SNC protection is more effective in complicated networks,
such as tangent rings, ring inter-working where two rings are connected at
two points and operate such that failure at either of these two nodes will not,
because lost of any traffic, except for traffic inserted or dropped at the point
of failure.
When the traffic distribution is of a concentrated type where there is a
central node and all other nodes have traffic to and from this central node,
while between any other two nodes there is no or very little traffic, then a
unidirectional ring is more cost-effective than a bidirectional ring. On the
contrary, when the traffic distribution is of a scattered type where there isnt
a central node and between all other nodes there is much traffic to and from
each other, then a bidirectional ring is more cost-effective than a
unidirectional ring. For the latter case, its better to adopt the two-fiber or
four-fiber bidirectional MS shared protection rings.
When the transverse compatibility (the capability to interconnect different
products together) in concerned, its better to use 1+1 linear MS protection,
1:N linear MS protection, two-fiber or four-fiber bidirectional MS shared
protection ring, two-fiber unidirectional or bidirectional path protection ring,
two-fiber unidirectional or bidirectional SNC protection (unidirectional
protection switching, revertive or non-revertive mode). For two-fiber
unidirectional MS dedicated protection and bidirectional SNC protection (in
revertive or non-revertive mode), because ITU-T is yet to give the technical
recommendations, so transverse compatibility can not be guaranteed until
new recommendations are given. At the moment, its up to the discretion of
the customers to use those types of protection mechanism at their own
risks.
If the traffic is time sensitive, its better to select two-fiber unidirectional or
bidirectional path protection ring thanks to its shorter protection switching
completion time (about 15ms). For multiplex section protection rings, the
switching completion time is about 25ms. But if your rings are longer than
1200km, youd better to consider the K1K2 bytes transmission delay which
will be noticeable. For a ring with no extra traffic, all nodes in the idle state,
and with less than 1200km of fiber, the ring switch or span switch
completion time for a failure on a single span shall be less than 50ms. On
rings under all other conditions, the switch completion time can exceed
50ms to allow time to remove extra traffic, or to negotiate and accommodate
coexisting APS requests. The specific time interval is under study in ITU-T,
so for those types of application architecture, there might be some
discrepancies. These discrepancies are permissible according to ITU-T
recommendations.


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