Allied Telesis AT-S70 - Manual (Page 91)

AT-S70 Management Software User’s Guide
91
Overview
The Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) is a group of
functions that provides tools and utilities used to manage a network. The
OAM feature is 802.3ah-compliant and is used to provide network
indication, system configuration, performance monitoring, security
management, diagnostic functions and configuration. Each function in the
OAM feature is described below:
Operations: Coordinates actions between Administration and
Maintenance functions.
Administration: Coordinates administrative functions such as designing a
system or network, processing order, assigning addresses, tracking usage
and accounting.
Maintenance: Coordinates maintenance functions such as diagnosing
and troubleshooting system features that do not work as planned.
The advantage of this OAM feature is that you can monitor and
troubleshoot the network without having a technician on site.
With the SNMPv1 and SNMPv2 protocols, you can create community
groups and define SNMP manager IP addresses. SNMP has been known
as a flexible tool used for managing the Ethernet links and networks.
However, it does not offer some of the management functionalities
required by some networks, especially when the underlying network is in a
non-operational status. In this case, the 802.3ah OAM feature is a better
solution because it provides the management capabilities at every layer of
the network.
Note
Note that the 802.3ah OAM capabilities are not intended to replace
SNMP as a management utilities, but are there to enhance it.
The following functions are supported on some of the Converteon™ line
cards.
OAM Discovery
OAM discovery function is used to exchange the information about OAM
entities capabilities, configuration and identity between the Converteon™
line cards. The discovery process allows a local station to detect OAM
support on a remote station. Once the OAM support is detected on a
remote station, both ends of the link exchange OAM entities capabilities,
configuration, and identity information (such as mode, PDU size, loopback
support, etc.). If both stations are satisfied with the settings, OAM
discovery is enabled on the link. However, if one of the stations
experiences a link loss or fails to receive OAM Protocol Data Units
(OAMPDUs) for five seconds, the OAM discovery process will restart.