Multiple layers come into play for implementing an L2VPN service using the EVPN family of solutions as listed below. The focus of this document is the service and network layers.
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The service layer runs end to end between the sites or Ethernet segments that are being interconnected by the EVPN solution.
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The network layer extends between the EVPN PE (Provider Edge) nodes and is mostly transparent to the P (provider network interior) nodes (except where flow entropy comes into play). It leverages MPLS for service (i.e., EVI) multiplexing and split-horizon functions.
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The transport layer is dictated by the networking technology of the PSN. It may be based on either MPLS LSPs or IP.
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The link layer is dependent upon the physical technology used. Ethernet is a popular choice for this layer, but other alternatives are deployed (e.g., Packet over SONET (POS), Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), etc.).
This layering extends to the set of OAM protocols that are involved in the ongoing maintenance and diagnostics of EVPN networks.
Figure 1 below depicts the OAM layering and shows which devices have visibility into what OAM layer(s).
+---+ +---+
+--+ | | +---+ +---+ +---+ | | +--+
|CE|----|PE |----| P |----| P |----| P |----|PE |----|CE|
+--+ | | +---+ +---+ +---+ | | +--+
+---+ +---+
o-------o----------- Service OAM -----------o-------o
o----------- Network OAM -----------o
o--------o--------o--------o--------o Transport OAM
o----o o----o o----o o----o o----o o----o Link OAM
Service OAM and Network OAM mechanisms only have visibility to the PE nodes but not the P nodes. As such, they can be used to deduce whether the fault is in the customer's own network, the local CE-PE segment, the PE-PE segment, or the remote CE-PE segment(s). EVPN Transport OAM mechanisms can be used for fault isolation between the PEs and P nodes.
Figure 2 below shows an example network where Ethernet domains are interconnected via EVPN using MPLS, and it shows the OAM mechanisms that are applicable at each layer. The details of the layers are described in the sections below.
+---+ +---+
+--+ | | +---+ +---+ +---+ | | +--+
|CE|----|PE |----| P |----| P |----| P |----|PE |----|CE|
+--+ | | +---+ +---+ +---+ | | +--+
+---+ +---+
o----o---------- CFM (Service OAM) ----------o----o
o-------- EVPN Network OAM ---------o
o--------o--------o--------o--------o MPLS OAM
o----o o----o o----o o----o o----o o----o 802.3 OAM
[IEEE-802.3]
The EVPN Service OAM protocol depends on what service-layer technology is being interconnected by the EVPN solution. In the case of [
RFC 7432] and [
RFC 7623], the service layer is Ethernet; hence, the corresponding Service OAM protocol is Ethernet CFM [
IEEE-802.1Q].
EVPN Service OAM is visible to the CEs and EVPN PEs but not to the P nodes. This is because the PEs operate at the Ethernet MAC layer in [
RFC 7432] and [
RFC 7623], whereas the P nodes do not.
The EVPN PE
MUST support MIP functions in the applicable Service OAM protocol (for example, Ethernet CFM). The EVPN PE
SHOULD support MEP functions in the applicable Service OAM protocol. This includes both Up and Down MEP functions.
As shown in
Figure 3, the MIP and MEP functions being referred to are logically located within the device's port operating at the customer level. (There could be MEPs/MIPs within PE ports facing the provider network, but they would not be relevant to EVPN Service OAM as the traffic passing through them will be encapsulated/tunneled, so any customer-level OAM messages will just be treated as data.) Down MEP functions are away from the core of the device while Up MEP functions are towards the core of the device (towards the PE forwarding mechanism in the case of a PE). OAM messages between the PE Up MEPs shown are a type of EVPN Network OAM, while such messages between the CEs or from a PE to its local CE or to the remote CE are Service OAMs.
+-------+ +----------------+ +----------------+ +-------+
|+-----+| |+--------------+| |+--------------+| |+-----+|
|| CE || || PE || ... || PE || || CE ||
|+--+--+| |+---+--------+-+| |+-+--------+---+| |+--+--+|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|+--+--+| |+---+-----+ . | | . +-----+---+| |+--+--+|
|| MEP || || | Up ^| . | ... | . | Up ^| || || MEP ||
||DownV|| ||MIP|MEP | . | | . |MEP |MIP|| ||DownV||
|+--+--+| || |DownV| . | | . |DownV| || |+--+--+|
| | | |+---+-----+ | | | | +-----+---+| | | |
+---|---+ +----|--------|--+ +--|--------|----+ +---|---+
| | | | | |
+------------+ +--- ... ---+ +------------+
The EVPN PE
MUST, by default, learn the MAC address of locally attached CE MEPs by snooping on CFM frames and advertising them to remote PEs as a MAC/IP Advertisement route. Some means to limit the number of MAC addresses that a PE will learn
SHOULD be implemented.
The EVPN PE
SHOULD advertise any MEP/MIP local to the PE as a MAC/IP Advertisement route. Since these are not subject to mobility, they
SHOULD be advertised with the static (sticky) bit set (see
Section 15.2 of
RFC 7432).
EVPN Network OAM is visible to the PE nodes only. This OAM layer is analogous to Virtual Circuit Connectivity Verification (VCCV) [
RFC 5085] in the case of VPLS/VPWS. It provides mechanisms to check the correct operation of the data plane as well as a mechanism to verify the data plane against the control plane. This includes the ability to perform fault detection and diagnostics on:
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the MP2P tunnels used for the transport of unicast traffic between PEs. EVPN allows for three different models of unicast label assignment: label per EVI, label per <ESI, Ethernet Tag>, and label per MAC address. In all three models, the label is bound to an EVPN Unicast Forwarding Equivalence Class (FEC). EVPN Network OAM MUST provide mechanisms to check the operation of the data plane and verify that operation against the control plane view.
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the MP2P tunnels used for aliasing unicast traffic destined to a multihomed Ethernet segment. The three label assignment models, discussed above, apply here as well. In all three models, the label is bound to an EVPN Aliasing FEC. EVPN Network OAM MUST provide mechanisms to check the operation of the data plane and verify that operation against the control plane view.
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the multicast tunnels (either MP2P or P2MP) used for the transport of broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast traffic between PEs. In the case of ingress replication, a label is allocated per EVI or per <EVI, Ethernet Tag> and is bound to an EVPN Multicast FEC. In the case of Label Switched Multicast (LSM) and, more specifically, aggregate inclusive trees, again, a label may be allocated per EVI or per <EVI, Ethernet Tag> and is bound to the tunnel FEC.
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the correct operation of the Ethernet Segment Identifier (ESI) split-horizon filtering function. In EVPN, a label is allocated per multihomed Ethernet segment for the purpose of performing the access split-horizon enforcement. The label is bound to an EVPN Ethernet segment.
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the correct operation of the Designated Forwarder (DF) [RFC 7432] filtering function. EVPN Network OAM MUST provide mechanisms to check the operation of the data plane and verify that operation against the control plane view for the DF filtering function.
EVPN Network OAM mechanisms
MUST provide in-band monitoring capabilities. It is desirable, to the extent practical, for OAM test messages to share fate with data messages. Details of how to achieve this are beyond the scope of this document.
EVPN Network OAM
SHOULD provide both proactive and on-demand mechanisms of monitoring the data plane operation and data plane conformance to the state of the control plane.
The Transport OAM protocol depends on the nature of the underlying transport technology in the PSN. MPLS OAM mechanisms [
RFC 8029] [
RFC 6425] as well as ICMP [
RFC 0792] and ICMPv6 [
RFC 4443] are applicable, depending on whether the PSN employs MPLS or IP transport, respectively. Furthermore, Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) mechanisms per [
RFC 5880], [
RFC 5881], [
RFC 5883], and [
RFC 5884] apply. Also, the BFD mechanisms pertaining to MPLS-TP LSPs per [
RFC 6428] are applicable.
Link OAM depends on the data-link technology being used between the PE and P nodes. For example, if Ethernet links are employed, then Ethernet Link OAM ([
IEEE-802.3], Clause 57) may be used.
When interworking two networking domains, such as actual Ethernet and EVPN to provide an end-to-end emulated service, there is a need to identify the failure domain and location, even when a PE supports both the Service OAM mechanisms and the EVPN Network OAM mechanisms. In addition, scalability constraints may not allow the running of proactive monitoring, such as Ethernet Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) [
IEEE-802.1Q], at a PE to detect the failure of an EVI across the EVPN domain. Thus, the mapping of alarms generated upon failure detection in one domain (e.g., actual Ethernet or EVPN network domain) to the other domain is needed. There are also cases where a PE may not be able to process Service OAM messages received from a remote PE over the PSN even when such messages are defined, as in the Ethernet case, thereby necessitating support for fault notification message mapping between the EVPN Network domain and the Service domain.
OAM interworking is not limited, though, to scenarios involving disparate network domains. It is possible to perform OAM interworking across different layers in the same network domain. In general, alarms generated within an OAM layer, as a result of proactive fault detection mechanisms, may be injected into its client-layer OAM mechanisms. This allows the client-layer OAM to trigger event-driven (i.e., asynchronous) fault notifications. For example, alarms generated by the Link OAM mechanisms may be injected into the Transport OAM layer, and alarms generated by the Transport OAM mechanism may be injected into the Network OAM mechanism, and so on.
EVPN OAM
MUST support interworking between the Network OAM and Service OAM mechanisms. EVPN OAM
MAY support interworking among other OAM layers.