20-27
Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Software Configuration Guide—Release 8.7
OL-8978-04
Chapter 20 Checking Status and Connectivity
Configuring IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet OAM
Note
OAM is a relatively slow protocol with low bandwidth requirements (the frame transmission rate is
limited to a maximum of 10 frames per second), and it is not required for normal link operation. OAM
frames, referred to as OAM protocol data units (OAMPDUs), use the slow protocol destination MAC
address (0180.c200.0002), are intercepted by the MAC sublayer, and cannot propagate beyond a single
hop within an Ethernet network.
You can implement OAM on any full-duplex point-to-point or emulated point-to-point Ethernet link.
You configure OAM on a per-port basis and the OAM configuration is independent of any other
configuration on the port. The port can be a trunk port, access port, or part of an EtherChannel. When
you configure OAM on a port, that port’s OAM functions are independent of the OAM functions that are
configured on other ports.
Ethernet OAM Configuration Guidelines and Restrictions
Follow these configuration guidelines and restrictions when configuring Ethernet OAM:
•
The OAM feature is only supported on physical, external Ethernet ports.
•
The port that is running OAM must be in full-duplex mode.
•
Remote failure indication is not supported.
•
To support OAM remote loopback mode, the port needs to
specifically
be configured as follows:
–
The trunk mode must be set to
off
.
–
The channel mode must be set to
off
.
–
The port cannot be a private VLAN port.
•
MIB variable requests and responses are not supported.
Executing Ethernet OAM
These sections describe how to execute Ethernet OAM:
•
Enabling or Disabling Ethernet OAM, page 20-28
•
Specifying the Ethernet OAM Port Mode, page 20-28
•
Denying or Permitting Ethernet OAM Remote Loopback Tests, page 20-29
•
Enabling or Disabling the Ethernet OAM Remote Loopback Test, page 20-29
•
Specifying the Number of Packets and the Packet Size for the Ethernet OAM Remote Loopback Test
and Running the Test, page 20-30
•
Enabling or Disabling Ethernet OAM Link Monitoring, page 20-31
•
Specifying the Window Size for Link Events for Ethernet OAM Link Monitoring, page 20-31
•
Specifying the Low-Threshold Error Count and the Associated Action for Ethernet OAM Link
Monitoring, page 20-32
•
Specifying the High-Threshold Error Count and the Associated Action for Ethernet OAM Link
Monitoring, page 20-32
•
Specifying the Associated Action for OAM Critical Link Events, page 20-33
•
Clearing Ethernet OAM Statistics and the Ethernet OAM Configuration, page 20-33