World Wide Packets 

LightningEdge® Operating System (LE-OS)  

Efficient End-to-End Traffic Monitoring and Management

Worldwide Packets LightningEdge Operating System supports a rich set of features defined in the IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) standard for Operational, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) management capabilities as well as pre-standard IEEE 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) capabilities. LE-OS OAM and CFM capabilities enable LightningEdge systems to share and distribute management information across point-to-point links as well as across end-to-end point-to-point or point-to-multipoint connections.

World Wide Packets has been actively involved in delivering critical OAM capabilities to Carrier Ethernet in both the IEEE 802.3ah (Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) and the IEEE 802.1ag (Connectivity Fault Management, CFM) initiatives. LE-OS implements important capabilities from both these IEEE initiatives to deliver management tools for Ethernet over WAN networks:

  • Link Events
    LE-OS supports IEEE 802.3ah specifications for link events. LE-OS monitors normal system operation for degraded, but not yet inoperable Ethernet connections. Link events allow the number of frame errors in a given interval and the number of frame errors out of a set of frames to be actively monitored and event notifications to be sent to an OAM peer.
  • Remote Loopback
    Remote Loopback is an important diagnostic tool to isolate problem connections and segments in a larger network. LE-OS supports the Remote Loopback capabilities in IEEE 802.3ah to enable an OAM entity to transmit every frame received back to the same port as a way to track metrics such as delay, throughput, etc. The Remote Loopback feature in LE-OS is valuable for qualitatively testing a link prior to activating and enabling services. It is also useful as a diagnostic tool for troubleshooting the location of faults when errors occur after a service has been deployed.
  • MAC Ping/Traceroute
    Cost-effective network operations centers (NOCs) with a minimum of staffing require automated techniques for monitoring paths and connections within a Carrier Ethernet topology. LE-OS provides the ability to ensure that virtual link/path connectivity exists for a given service. A pre-standard IEEE 802.1ag CFM feature called MAC ping/traceroute enables periodic or operator-initiated diagnostic operations.
  • Continuity Check
    LE-OS implements Continuity Check, also defined within IEEE 802.1ag CFM. Continuity Check is an always-on heartbeat-style protocol that continuously checks the paths between devices in a Carrier Ethernet network. In the event that an error is detected along a provisioned, configured path, the NOC can be alerted.