SCENARIO
Carrier Ethernet services are growing rapidly, driven by next-generation virtual private network (VPN) services and mobile backhaul. A suite of protocols is required to achieve carriergrade scale, reliability, and management. Carrier Ethernet requires the use of Ethernet at the user-to-network interface (UNI) and can be delivered via a variety of metro and core technologies, including an IP/multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) core.
The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) has defined technical specifications to advance the development and deployment of Carrier Ethernet services.
• MEF 9 outlines conformance-oriented service testing and is the basis for performance tests.
• MEF 14 defines testing of performance service attributes, including QoS functional requirements.
• MEF 21, 24, and 25 constitute a test suite for UNI type 2, including link OAM, E-LMI, service OAM, protection, enhanced UNI attributes, and L2CP handling.
IXIA SOLUTIONS
Ixia’s MEF conformance tests verify both Carrier Ethernet conformance requirements and network performance.
IxANVL has the widest coverage of Carrier Ethernet and MEF conformance in the industry. Ixia emulation functionality tests common Carrier Ethernet routing protocols, including MPLS, Layer 2 (L2) switching, and provider backbone bridge traffic engineering (PBB-TE). Ixia’s solutions include support for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3ah, IEEE 802.1ag, and International Telecommunication Union Telecommunications (ITU-T) Standard Y.1731.
