Enhanced fault isolation in connectivity fault management (CFM)
AssigneeCiena Corporation
InventorGhulam Mustafa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for enhanced fault isolation in connectivity fault management (CFM) enhance the functionality of maintenance domain intermediate point (MIP). The MIP is configured to monitor continuity check messages (CCMs) from a first maintenance association end point (MEP) and a second MEP, and, responsive to detection of a loss of CCMs, from the first MEP, send one or more unsolicited response messages to the second MEP. The one or more unsolicited response messages are usable by the second MEP to isolate a location of a fault causing the loss of CCMs. The one or more unsolicited response messages can be one of a loopback response message, a linktrace response message, and a combination thereof.
Claims19
A maintenance domain intermediate point (MIP) in a network supporting connectivity fault management (CFM), the MIP comprising circuitry configured to:
- monitor continuity check messages (CCMs) received at the MIP from a first maintenance association end point (MEP) and from a second MEP, the first MEP and the second MEP participating in a CFM session, and
- responsive to detecting a fault condition comprising (i) reception, at the MIP, of CCMs from the second MEP with a remote defect indication set, (ii) loss, at the MIP, of CCMs from the first MEP, and (iii) expiration of a predetermined time with the reception and the loss continuing, send one or more unsolicited response messages from the MIP toward the second MEP.
A maintenance association end point (MEP) in a network supporting connectivity fault management (CFM), the MEP comprising circuitry configured to:
- send continuity check messages (CCMs) to a second MEP with one or more maintenance domain intermediate point (MIP) between the MEP and the second MEP,
- responsive to detection of a loss of CCMs from the second MEP, send a CCM with a remote defect indicator (RDI) towards the second MEP, and
- receive one or more unsolicited response messages from the one or more MIPs, the one or more unsolicited response messages comprising at least one of a loopback response message and a linktrace response message, each unsolicited response message including (i) a designation indicating that the message is unsolicited and (ii) an identifier of a MEP from which CCMs are not received at a corresponding MIP.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform steps of:
- responsive to operation of a connectivity fault management (CFM) session between a first maintenance association end point (MEP) and a second MEP with one or more maintenance domain intermediate points (MIPs) between the first MEP and the second MEP, and responsive to a fault, receiving first information from the first MEP and second information from the second MEP based on one or more unsolicited response messages from the one or more MIPs;
- and
- analyzing the first information and the second information to automatically determine a location of the fault in the CFM session based at least on which of the one or more MIPs have sent the one or more unsolicited response messages to the first MEP and to the second MEP,
- wherein the one or more MIPs detect the fault based on reception, at a MIP, of a CCM with a remote defect indication from one of the first MEP and the second MEP, loss, at the MIP of the CCMs from the other of the first MEP and the second MEP, and expiration of a predetermined time with the reception and the loss continuing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.