EoS: Ethernet over SONET/SDH

EoS represents a group of industry standard specifications for optimal transport of

Ethernet through SONET/SDH. Ethernet and SONET/SDH are the two primary link
technologies used in the network communications while Ethernet in the LAN and
SONET/SDH in the Telco/PTT WAN. However, Ethernet rates do not match
SONET/SDH rates and Ethernet traffic can not be effectively carried over the
SONET/SDH network directly. Ethernet over SONET/SDH (EoS) technologies
address this problem and turn the Sonet/SDH MAN/WAN infrastructure backbone
into a transparent Ethernet segment for attached servers and clients. Packet over
SONET/SDH (PoS), the traditional transmission of IP data over Sonet frames via PPP,
is gradually replaced by EoS in many cases.
EoS specifications account for the mapping, aligning, bandwidth management,
sequencing and delay compensation of the individual channels. The core technologies
in the EoS architectures are the encapsulation schemes to match Ethernet and
SONET/SDH rates effectively and manage bandwidth usage. Currently, there are a
few encapsulation techniques used: virtual concatenation (VC) and the link capacity
adjustment scheme (LCAS) techniques, the generic framing procedure (GFP) and link
access procedure for SDH (LAPS) techniques.
Virtual Concatenation (VC): VC allows for non-standard SONET/SDH
multiplexing in order to address the bandwidth mismatch problem between Ethernet
and SONET/SDH. Using virtual concatenation, the SONET/SDH transport pipes may
be right-sized for Ethernet transport. Virtual Concatenation allows SONET channels
to be multiplexed together in arbitrary arrangements, which permits custom-sized
SONET pipes to be created that are any multiple of the basic rates. Virtual
concatenation is valid for STS-1 rates as well as for Virtual Tributary (VT) rates. All
the intelligence to handle virtual concatenation is located at the endpoints of the
connections, so each SONET channel may be routed independently through the
network without it requiring any knowledge of the virtual concatenation. In this
manner, virtually concatenated channels may be deployed on the existing
SONET/SDH network with a simple endpoint upgrade. All the equipment currently in
the center of the network need not be aware of the virtual concatenation.
Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS): a supporting technology to the Virtual
Concatenation, LCAS dynamically changes the amount a bandwidth used for a virtual
concatenated channel and provides tuning of the allocated bandwidth depends on
customer needs. LCAS is also useful for fault tolerance and protection since the
protocol has the ability to remove failed links from the Virtually Concatenated Group
(VCG). Using Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS), signaling messages are
exchanged within the SONET overhead in order to change the number of tributaries
being used by a VCG. The number of tributaries may be either reduced or increased,
and the resulting bandwidth change may be applied without loss of data in the absence
of network errors.
Link Access Procedure for SDH (LAPS): a type of high-level data link controller
(HDLC), LAPS includes data link service and protocol specification used in
transporting IP packets over SDH networks. LAPS provides a point-to-point

unacknowledged connectionless service over SONET/SDH. LAPS enables the

encapsulation of IPv6, IPv4, PPP, and other higher-layer protocols.
Generic Framing Procedure (GFP): another key encapsulation scheme in EoS
and more robust technology than LAPS, GFP maps Ethernet packet data into an
octet-synchronous transport such as SONET. GFP has adapted the cell delineation
protocol used by ATM to encapsulate variable length packets. A fixed amount of
overhead is required by the GFP encapsulation that is independent of the contents
of the packets. In contrast to HDLC whose overhead is data dependent, the fixed
amount of overhead per packet allows deterministic matching of bandwidth
between the Ethernet stream and the virtually concatenated SONET stream.
Within GFP, there are two different mapping modes defined: frame based
mapping and transparent mapping. Each mode is optimized for providing different
services.
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Protocol Structure - EoS: Ethernet over SONET/SDH

Related Protocols

POS: Packet Over SONET/SDH, Ethernet, SONET/SDH, Generic Framing Procedure (GFP),
Virtual Concatenation, LAPS, LCAS
Sponsor Source

EoS protocols are mainly defined by ITU-T.

Reference

1. ITU-T G.707/Y.1322, October 2000: Network Node Interface for the

Synchronous Digital Hierarchy ([G707])
2. ITU-T G.783, October 2000: Characteristics of SDH Equipment Functional
Blocks ([G783])
3. ITU-T G.803, March 2000: Architecture of Transport Networks Based on
SDH. ([G803])
4. T G.805, March 2000: Generic Functional Architecture of Transport
Networks ([G805])
5. T G.7041/Y1303, January 2002: Generic Framing Procedure ([G7041])
6. T G.7042/Y1305, November 2001: LCAS for Virtually Concatenated Signals
([G7042])
7. T Recommendation X.85/Y.1321, March 2001: IP over SDH Using LAPS
8. T Recommendation X.86, February 2001: Ethernet over LAPS