Subject: [VPLS OAM] Follow-up from Seoul L2VPN session

From: "Dinesh Mohan" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 18:31:41 -0500

As a follow-up from yesterday's discussion, let me first point out to the
following slides that were presented during the meeting: 
http://urax.utfors.net/~loa/ietf59-vpls-oam-v1.ppt
<http://urax.utfors.net/~loa/ietf59-vpls-oam-v1.ppt> 

The drafts that were represented are:
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-sajassi-mohan-l2vpn-vpls-fm-00.txt
<http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-sajassi-mohan-l2vpn-vpls-fm-00.tx
t> 
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-mohan-sajassi-l2vpn-vpls-pm-00.txt
<http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-mohan-sajassi-l2vpn-vpls-pm-00.tx
t> 

During the meeting it was acknowledged that VPLS OAM is an important area to
tackle since it is a key requirement for providers. 

It was also my observation that the material was generally well received.
However, few questions that came up during discussions included:
- What really is the scope of VPLS OAM? 
- Should it be different from Ethernet OAM discussions in ITU-T Q.3/13, IEEE
802.1 and MEF since VPLS deals specifically with MPLS/IP transport?

Subsequently, it was generally felt that as next steps:
- Scope for VPLS OAM needs to be clarified
- Requirements and Framework for VPLS OAM needs to be created. There would
then serve as inputs to other working groups/bodies.
- VPLS specific OAM solutions should then be worked in IETF.

Towards that, I would like to add that:
- The drafts introduce important constructs/framework for dealing with the
OAM that differentiate between the service/network layers. It also aligns
with ongoing OAM work in other bodies (we may not want to re-invent the
wheel!)
- The FM/PM mechanisms proposed in the drafts are applicable for VPLS as a
Ethernet service irrespective of the underlying transport mechanism e.g. LDP
based or BGP based solutions.
- Infact, the mechanisms proposed equally apply to Ethernet VPWS as a
Ethernet service.
- MPLS based OAM mechanisms belong to the MPLS layer, as highlighted in the
presentation and in the drafts.
- There is no reason, why service layer OAM mechanisms cannot interwork with
the MPLS-based mechanisms as an optimization, however, for preserving the
layer sanity, each layer still needs to be equipped with right OAM toolset.

Comments?

Best Regards,
Dinesh Mohan                                           
Tel: (613) 763-4794 [ESN: 393-4794]     Nortel Networks
Fax: (613) 763-2697                                 3500 Carling Ave.
Email: [email-masked]        Ottawa, Canada K1Y4H7
http://www.nortelnetworks.com <http://www.nortelnetworks.com>