How To Note

How To | Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR)

to Protect a Ring from Loops

Introduction
List of terms:
Putting a ring of Ethernet switches at the core of a
EPSR
network is a simple way to increase the network’s
Ethernet Protection Switched
resilience—such a network is no longer susceptible to a
Ring.
single point of failure. However, the ring must be
ER
protected from Layer 2 loops. Traditionally, STP-based
technologies are used to protect rings, but they are Enhanced Recovery.
relatively slow to recover from link failure. This can EPSR Domain
create problems for applications that have strict loss An EPSR Domain is created
requirements, such as voice and video traffic, where the from individual switch nodes
speed of recovery is highly significant. connected as a ring, where all
nodes are configured with an
EPSR instance with the same set
This How To Note describes a fast alternative to STP:
of EPSR Data VLANs.
Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR). EPSR
enables rings to recover rapidly from link or node Failover timer expiry
failures—within as little as 50 ms, depending on port The Failover timer expires when
type and configuration. This is much faster than STP at several healthcheck messages fail
30 seconds or even RSTP at 1 to 3 seconds. to circumnavigate the ring, due
to a break in the ring. This causes
the Master node to undertake
In a separate section, this How To Note also describes
subsequent fault recovery
the EPSR SuperLoop Prevention (EPSR-SLP) feature, actions.
which is an enhancement to the existing EPSR feature in
Health messages
AlliedWare Plus. EPSR-SLP prevents "SuperLoops"
Also known as Healthcheck
forming in certain EPSR multi-ring topologies. This
messages.
functionality makes it possible for EPSR-SLP protected
rings to have data VLANs in common on their
respective ring domains.

C613 16109 00 REV H alliedtelesis.com x

 Introduction

What information will you find in this document?

This How To Note begins by describing EPSR in the following sections:
 "Allied Telesis products that support EPSR and their ring limits" on page 3
 "Establishing a Ring" on page 5
 "Detecting a Fault" on page 6
 "Recovering from a Fault" on page 6
 "Restoring Normal Operation" on page 9
Next it gives step-by-step configuration details and examples in the following sections:
 "How To Configure EPSR" on page 10
 "Example 1: A Basic Ring" on page 12
 "Example 2: A Double Ring" on page 14
 "Example 3: EPSR and RSTP" on page 18
 "Example 4: EPSR with Nested VLANs" on page 21
 "Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP" on page 25
 "Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP" on page 25
Next, it discusses important implementation details in the following sections:
 "Classifiers and Hardware Filters" on page 30
 "Ports and Recovery Times" on page 30
 "IGMP Snooping and Recovery Times" on page 30
 "Health Message Priority" on page 31
Next, it gives troubleshooting information in the following sections:
 "EPSR State and Settings" on page 32
 "SNMP Traps" on page 34
 "Counters" on page 35
 "Debugging" on page 36
Finally, it explains EPSR-SLP in the following section:
 "EPSR SuperLoop Prevention" on page 56

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 2
 Introduction

Allied Telesis products that support EPSR and their ring limits

Product Name Description Ring limit

SwitchBlade® x8100 Next Generation Intelligent Layer 3+ Chassis Switch 64

SwitchBlade® x908 Advanced Layer 3 Modular Switch 64

SBx81CFC400 400Gbps Controller card 64

SBx81CFC960 960Gbps Controller card 64

x900 Series Advanced Gigabit Layer 3+ Expandable Switches 64

x600 Series Intelligent Gigabit Layer 3+ Switches 16

x610 Series Intelligent Gigabit Layer 3+ Switches 64

AT-8948 Multi-Iayer IPv4 and IPv6 Switch 16

AT-9900 Series Multi-layer IPv4 and IPv6 Gigabit Switches 16

MiniMAP 9100 1ntegrated Multiservice Access Platform 64

iMAP 9700 1ntegrated Multiservice Access Platform 64

iMAP 9810 Chassis 1ntegrated Multiservice Access Platform 64

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 3
 Introduction

How EPSR Works

EPSR operates on physical rings of switches (note, not
on meshed networks). When all nodes and links in the EPSR Components:
ring are up, EPSR prevents a loop by blocking data EPSR domain
transmission across one port. When a node or link fails,
A protection scheme for an
EPSR detects the failure rapidly and responds by Ethernet ring that consists of one
unblocking the blocked port so that data can flow or more data VLANs and a
around the ring. control VLAN.
Master node
In EPSR, each ring of switches forms an EPSR domain.
The controlling node for a
One of the domain’s switches is the Master node and
domain, responsible for polling
the others are Transit nodes. Each node connects to the
the ring state, collecting error
ring via two ports.
messages, and controlling the
flow of traffic in the domain.
One or more data VLANs sends data around the ring,
and a control VLAN sends EPSR messages. A physical Transit node
ring can have more than one EPSR domain, but each Other nodes in the domain.
domain operates as a separate logical group of VLANs Ring port
and has its own control VLAN and Master node. A port that connects the node to
the ring. On the Master node,
On the Master node, one port is the Primary port and each ring port is either the
the other is the Secondary port. When all the nodes in Primary port or the Secondary
the ring are up, EPSR prevents loops by blocking the port. On Transit nodes, ring ports
data VLAN on the Secondary port. do not have roles.
Primary port
The Master node does not need to block any port on
the control VLAN because loops never form on the A ring port on the Master node.
control VLAN. This is because the Master node never This port determines the
forwards any EPSR messages that it receives. direction of the traffic flow, and is
always operational.
The following diagram shows a basic ring with all the Secondary port
switches in the ring up: A second ring port on the Master
node. This port remains active,
End User but blocks all protected VLANs
Ports
from operating unless the ring
Control VLAN is forwarding Control VLAN is forwarding
Data VLAN is blocked Data VLAN is forwarding fails. Similar to the blocking port
Ma

S
ste

P in an STP/RSTP instance.
r

Control VLAN
Tr ode
an 4
N

Tr ode
sit

an 1

The VLAN over which all control

N
sit

End User
Ports messages are sent and received.
End User EPSR never blocks this VLAN.
Ports Data VLAN
A VLAN that needs to be
Tr ode
Tr ode

an 2
N

protected from loops. Each EPSR

an 3
N

sit
sit

domain has one or more data

End User End User VLANs.
Ports Ports

Conrol VLAN
Data VLAN 1
Data VLAN 2
P Primary Port
S Secondary Port

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 4
 Introduction

Establishing a Ring
Once you have configured EPSR on the switches, the following steps complete the EPSR ring:
1. The Master node creates an EPSR Health message and sends it out the Primary port. This
increments the Master node’s Transmit: Health counter in the show epsr count
command.
2. The first Transit node receives the Health message on one of its two ring ports and, using
a hardware filter, sends the message out its other ring port.

Note: Transit nodes never generate Health messages, only receive them and forward them
with their switching hardware. This does not increment the Transit node’s Transmit:
Health counter. However, it does increment the Transmit counter in the show switch
port command.

The hardware filter also copies the Health message to the CPU. This increments the
Transit node’s Receive: Health counter. The CPU processes this message as required by
the state machines, but does not send the message anywhere because the switching
hardware has already done this.
3. The Health message continues around the rest of the Transit nodes, being copied to the
CPU and forwarded in the switching hardware.
4. The Master node eventually receives the Health message on its Secondary port. The
Master node's hardware filter copies the packet to the CPU (which increments the Master
node’s Receive: Health counter). Because the Master received the Health message on its
Secondary port, it knows that all links and nodes in the ring are up.
When the Master node receives the Health message back on its Secondary port, it resets
the Failover timer. If the Failover timer expires before the Master node receives the Health
message back, it concludes that the ring must be broken.
The Master node does not send that particular Health message out again. If it did, the
packet would be continuously flooded around the ring. Instead, the Master node
generates a new Health message when the Hello timer expires.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 5
 Introduction

Detecting a Fault
EPSR uses a fault detection scheme that alerts the ring
when a break occurs, instead of using a spanning tree- Master Node States:
like calculation to determine the best path. The ring Complete:
then automatically heals itself by sending traffic over a
The state when there are no link
protected reverse path. or node failures on the ring.
Failed
EPSR uses the following two methods to detect when a
The state when there is a link or
Transit node or a link goes down:
node failure on the ring. This state
 Master node polling fault detection indicates that the Master node
To check the condition of the ring, the Master node received a Link-Down message
or that the failover timer expired
regularly sends Health messages out its Primary port,
before the Master node’s
as described in "Establishing a Ring" on page 5. If all
Secondary port received a
links and nodes in the ring are up, the messages Health message.
arrive back at the Master node on its Secondary
Transit node states:
port.
Idle
This can be a relatively slow detection method, The state when EPSR is first
because it depends on how often the node sends configured, before the Master
Health messages. The Master node only ever sends node determines that all links in
Health messages out its Primary port. If its Primary the ring are up. In this state, both
port goes down, it does not send Health messages. ports on the node are blocked
for the data VLAN. From this
 Transit node unsolicited fault detection
state, the node can move to
To speed up fault detection, EPSR Transit nodes LinksUp or LinksDown.
directly communicate when one of their interfaces LinksUp
goes down. When a Transit node detects a fault at The state when both the node’s
one of its interfaces, it immediately sends a Link- ring ports are up and forwarding.
Down message over the link that remains up. This From this state, the node can
notifies the Master node that the ring is broken and move to LinksDown.
causes it to respond immediately. LinksDown
The state when one or both of
the node’s ring ports are down.
Recovering from a Fault From this state, the node can
move to Pre-forwarding.
Fault in a link or a Transit node Pre-forwarding
When the Master node detects an outage somewhere The state when both ring ports
in the ring, using either detection method, it restores are up, but one has only just
traffic flow by: come up and is still blocked to
prevent loops. From this state,
1. declaring the ring to be in a Failed state the Transit node can move to
2. unblocking its Secondary port, which enables data LinksUp if the Master node blocks
its Secondary port, or to
VLAN traffic to pass between its Primary and
LinksDown if another port goes
Secondary ports
down.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 6
 Introduction

3. flushing its own forwarding database (FDB) for the two ring ports
4. sending an EPSR Ring-Down-Flush-FDB control message to all the Transit nodes, via both
its Primary and Secondary ports.
The Transit nodes respond to the Ring-Down-Flush-FDB message by flushing their
forwarding databases for each of their ring ports. As the data starts to flow in the ring’s
new configuration, the nodes (Master and Transit) re-learn their layer 2 addresses. During
this period, the Master node continues to send Health messages over the control VLAN.
This situation continues until the faulty link or node is repaired.

For a multidomain ring, this process occurs separately for each domain within the ring.

Fault in the Master node

If the Master node goes down, the Transit nodes simply continue forwarding traffic around
the ring—their operation does not change.

The only observable effects on the Transit nodes are that:

 They stop receiving Health messages and other messages from the Master node.
 The Transit nodes connected to the Master node experience a broken link, so they send
Link-Down messages. If the Master node is down these messages are simply dropped.

Neither of these symptoms affect how the Transit nodes forward traffic.

Once the Master node recovers, it continues its function as the Master node.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 7
 Introduction

Enhanced Recovery
A Transit node port enters the Pre-forwarding state when the ring port becomes electrically
available. Enhanced Recovery can speed a node’s recovery from the Pre-forwarding state.

With Enhanced Recovery, the Transit node port can exit the Pre-forwarding state without
the entire ring becoming complete. It does this in one of two ways:
 when entering the Pre-forwarding state, the Transit node sends a Link-Forward-Request
message and waits for a response from the Master node. When the Master receives this
message, it sends a special healthcheck message. If the Master does not receive the
healthcheck back within x seconds, the Master sends a Permission-Link-Forward message
to the Transit node. The Transit node can then start forwarding on both ports.
 if the Transit node doesn't receive a Permission-Link-Forward message within x seconds,
it makes the decision that the Master is not reachable, and starts forwarding anyway.

Without Enhanced Recovery, the Transit node port waits in the Pre-forwarding state until it
receives the Ring Up Flush message from the Master. This occurs when the Master receives
back its healthcheck messages, and the ring is declared complete.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 8
 Introduction

Restoring Normal Operation

Master node
Once the fault has been fixed, the Master node’s Health messages traverse the whole ring
and arrive at the Master node’s Secondary port. The Master node then restores normal
conditions by:
1. declaring the ring to be in a state of Complete
2. blocking its Secondary port for data VLAN traffic (but not for the control VLAN)
3. flushing its forwarding database for its two ring ports
4. sending a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message from its Primary port, to all Transit nodes.

Transit nodes with one port down

As soon as the fault has been fixed, the Transit nodes on each side of the (previously) faulty
link section detect that link connectivity has returned. They change their ring port state from
LinksDown to Pre-Forwarding, and wait for the Master node to send a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB
control message.

Once these Transit nodes receive the Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message, they:

 flush the forwarding databases for both their ring ports
 change the state of their ports from blocking to forwarding for the data VLAN, which
allows data to flow through their previously-blocked ring ports

The Transit nodes do not start forwarding traffic on the previously-down ports until after
they receive the Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message. This makes sure the previously-down Transit
node ports stay blocked until after the Master node blocks its Secondary port. Otherwise,
the ring could form a loop because it had no blocked ports.

Transit Nodes with both ports down

The Allied Telesis implementation includes an extra feature to improve handling of double
link failures. If both ports on a Transit node are down and one port comes up, the node:
1. puts the port immediately into the forwarding state and starts forwarding data out that
port. It does not need to wait, because the node knows there is no loop in the ring—
because the other ring port on the node is down
2. remains in the LinksDown state
3. starts a DoubleFailRecovery timer with a timeout of four seconds
4. waits for the timer to expire. At that time, if one port is still up and one is still down, the
Transit node sends a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message out the port that is up. This message is
usually called a “Fake Ring Up message”.

Sending this message allows any ports on other Transit nodes that are blocking or in the Pre-
forwarding state to move to forwarding traffic in the LinksUp state. The timer delay lets the
device at the other end of the link that came up configure its port appropriately, so that it is
ready to receive the transmitted message.

Note: The Master node would not send a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message in these
circumstances, because the ring is not in a state of Complete. The Master node’s
Secondary port remains unblocked.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 9
 How To Configure EPSR

How To Configure EPSR

This section first outlines, step-by-step, how to configure EPSR. Then it discusses changing the
settings for the control VLAN, if you need to do this after initial configuration.

Configuring EPSR

1. Connect your switches into a ring.

EPSR does not in itself limit the number of nodes that can exist on any given ring. For
information on ring limits, see the section titled: "Allied Telesis products that support EPSR
and their ring limits" on page 3.

If you already have a ring in a live network, disconnect the cable between any two of the
nodes before you start configuring EPSR, to prevent a loop.

2. On each switch, configure EPSR.

On each switch, perform the following configuration steps. Configuration of the Master node
and each Transit node is very similar.
1. Configure the control and data VLAN.
This step creates the control and data VLANs for EPSR. Enter global configuration mode
and enter the following commands:
awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan <control-vid> name <control-vlan-name>
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan <data-vid> name <data-vlan-name>
2. Configure the switch ports.
This step sets the rings ports to VLAN trunk mode and adds the control and data VLANs.
Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:
awplus(config)#interface <port-numbers>
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add
<control-vid,data-vid>
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 10
 How To Configure EPSR

The final command removes the native VLAN (vlan1) from the ring ports. If you leave all
the ring ports in the native VLAN, they will create a loop, unless vlan1 is part of the EPSR
domain. To avoid loops, you need to do one of the following:
 make vlan1 a data VLAN, or
 remove the ring ports from vlan1, or
 remove at least one of the ring ports from vlan1 on at least one of the switches. We
do not recommend this option, because the action you have taken is less obvious
when maintaining the network later.
In this How To Note, we remove the ring ports from the native VLAN (vlan1).
3. Configure the EPSR domain.

This step creates the domain, specifying whether the switch is the Master node or a Transit
node. It also specifies which VLAN is the control VLAN, and on the Master node which port
is the Primary port.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands.

On the Master node:

awplus(config)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr <name> mode master 
controlvlan <control-vid> primaryport <port-numbers>
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr <name> datavlan <data-vid>

On each Transit node:

awplus(config)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr <name> mode transit controlvlan
<control-vid>
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr <name> datavlan <data-vid>

4. Enable EPSR.

This step enables the domain on each switch.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config-epsr)#epsr <name> state enabled

3. Configure other ports and protocols as required.

On each switch, configure the other ports and protocols that are required for your network.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 11
 Example 1: A Basic Ring

Example 1: A Basic Ring

This example builds a simple 3-switch ring with one data VLAN, as shown in the following
diagram. Control packets are transmitted around the ring on vlan 1000 and data packets on
vlan 2.

End User
A Ports
port1.0.2:secondary

Ma
port1.0.1:primary
P

st
S

er
port1.0.1 port1.0.1

Tr Nod
B

an e
Tr Nod

sit
an e
sit

port1.0.2 port1.0.2
End User
C
End User
Ports Ports

Conrol VLAN
Data VLANs
P Primary Port
S Secondary Port

Configure the Master Node (A)

1. Configure the control and data VLANs.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data

2. Configure the switch ports.

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 12
 Example 1: A Basic Ring

3. Configure the EPSR domain.

Create the domain, specifying that this switch is the Master node. Also specify which VLAN is
the control VLAN and which port is the Primary port. In this example the EPSR domain is
called awplus.
awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus mode master controlvlan 1000
primaryport port1.0.1
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus datavlan 2

4. Enable EPSR.

awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus state enabled

Configure the Transit Nodes (B and C)

Each of the Transit nodes has the same EPSR configuration in this example.

1. Configure the control and data VLAN.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data

2. Configure the switch ports.

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

3. Configure the EPSR domain.

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus mode transit controlvlan 1000
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus datavlan 2

4. Enable EPSR.

The two ring ports must belong to both the control VLAN and all data VLANs.
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus state enabled

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 13
 Example 2: A Double Ring

Example 2: A Double Ring

This example adds to the previous ring by making two domains, as shown in the following
diagram.

port1.0.2:
B secondary
port1.0.1 S A

Ma Nod
st e e
Tr Nod
an e

r
sit
P port1.0.1:
primary
Domain 1
port1.0.2 control VLAN: 1000
data VLAN: 2

port1.0.2 port1.0.1

Tr Nod
an e
sit
E port1.0.4

port1.0.5 port1.0.5
Tr Nod
an e
sit

D Domain 2
control VLAN: 40
port1.0.4
data VLAN: 50
port1.0.4:
Ma Nod
P
ste e
primary

r
S
C
port1.0.5:
secondary

Conrol VLAN
Data VLANs
P Primary Port
S Secondary Port

1. Configure the Master node (switch A) for domain 1.

The Master node for domain 1 is the same as in the previous example (except that the
domain has been renamed).

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the control and data VLANs:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data

Configure the switch ports:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 14
 Example 2: A Double Ring

Configure the EPSR domain. This device is an EPSR Master node:

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 mode master controlvlan 1000
primaryport port1.0.1
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 datavlan 2

Enable EPSR:
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

2. Configure the Transit node (switch B) that belongs just to domain 1.

This Transit node is the same as in the previous example (except that the domain has been
renamed).

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the data and control VLANs:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data

Configure the switch ports:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

Configure the EPSR domain. This device is a Transit node:

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 mode transit controlvlan 1000
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 datavlan 2

Enable EPSR:
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

3. Configure the Master node (switch C) for domain 2.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config-epsr)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 40 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 50 name data
awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.4-port1.0.5

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 15
 Example 2: A Double Ring

awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk

awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 50,40
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none
awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 mode master controlvlan 40
primaryport port1.0.4
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 datavlan 50
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

4. Configure the Transit node (switch D) that belongs just to domain 2.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 40 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 50 name data
awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.4-port1.0.5
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 40,50
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none
awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 mode transit controlvlan 40
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 datavlan 50
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

5. Configure the Transit node (switch E) that belongs to both domains.

Two separate EPSR domains are configured on this device.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the data and control VLANs for domain 1:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data

Configure the data and control VLANs for domain 2:

awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 40 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 50 name data

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 16
 Example 2: A Double Ring

Configure the switch ports for domain 1:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

Configure the switch ports for domain 2:

awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.4-port1.0.5
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 40,50
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

Configure EPSR for domain 1. This device is a Transit node:

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 mode transit controlvlan 1000
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 datavlan 2

Configure EPSR for domain 2. This device is a Transit node:

awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 mode transit controlvlan 40
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 datavlan 50

Enable EPSR for both domains:

awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain2 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 17
 Example 3: EPSR and RSTP

Example 3: EPSR and RSTP

This example shows how to configure both EPSR and RSTP in the same network. It is
possible to configure both protocols on a single device. However, it is not possible to run
both EPSR and RSTP on the same ports. RSTP is automatically disabled on a port when it is
added to an EPSR VLAN.
port1.0.2:
B port1.0.1
secondary
A

Ma Nod
S

ste e
Tr Nod
an e

r
sit
P port1.0.1:
Domain 1 primary
port1.0.2 control VLAN: 1000
data VLAN: 2

port1.0.2 port1.0.1

Sw
itc
h
E
port1.0.11
port1.0.11 port1.0.10
RS itch
Sw
TP

D RSTP:
STP VLAN: 10
port1.0.10

RS itch
port1.0.10
Sw
TP
C
port1.0.11

Conrol VLAN
Data VLANs
P Primary Port
S Secondary Port

1. Configure the Master node (switch A) for the EPSR domain.

The Master node is the same as in the previous example.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data
awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none
awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 mode master controlvlan 1000
primaryport port1.0.1
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 datavlan 2
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 18
 Example 3: EPSR and RSTP

2. Configure the Transit node switch (B) that belongs just to the EPSR domain.

This Transit node (B) is the same as in the previous example.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data
awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none
awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 mode transit controlvlan 1000
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 datavlan 2
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

3. Configure the switches that belong to the RSTP instance (switches C and D).

Switches C and D have the same configuration in this example.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 10 name rstp-domain
awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.10-1.0.11
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 10
awplus(config-if)#end

Note that RSTP is enabled by default on AlliedWare Plus switches.

4. Configure switch E for EPSR and RSTP.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the data and control VLANs for the EPSR domain:
awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 1000 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 2 name data

Configure the VLAN for the RSTP domain:

awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 10 name rstp-vlan

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 19
 Example 3: EPSR and RSTP

Configure the switch ports for the EPSR domain:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 1000,2
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none

Configure the switch ports for the RSTP domain:

awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.10-port1.0.11
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 10

Configure the EPSR domain. This device is a Transit node:

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 mode transit controlvlan 1000
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 datavlan 2

Enable EPSR:
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr domain1 state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#end

Note: Although RSTP is enabled by default on AlliedWare Plus switches, it is automatically

disabled on EPSR ports.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 20
 Example 4: EPSR with Nested VLANs

Example 4: EPSR with Nested VLANs

In this example:
 client switches A and C are in the same end-user VLAN (vlan20)
 client switches B and D are in the same end-user VLAN (vlan200)
 traffic for vlan20 is nested inside vlan 50 for transmission around the core
 traffic for vlan200 is nested inside vlan51 for transmission around the core
 vlan50 and vlan51 are data VLANs for the EPSR domain
 vlan100 is the control VLAN for the EPSR domain
Cl witc
ien h
S
t

Cl witc
ien h
F

S
t
port1.0.10 port1.0.20 E
port1.0.1:
primary A
port1.0.22 port1.0.1
port1.0.22

Ma Nod
Tr Nod

P
an e

ste e
sit

r
B S
port1.0.2 EPSR Domain port1.0.2:
control VLAN: 100 secondary
data VLANs: 50, 51
port1.0.2
Tr Nod

Tr Nod port1.0.2
an e

an e
sit

port1.0.22 C
port1.0.1
sit D
port1.0.22
port1.0.1
Cl witc

port1.0.20 port1.0.10
ien h
S

Cl witc
t

ien h
S
G

t
H

Conrol VLAN
Data VLANs
P Primary Port
S Secondary Port

1. Configure the Master node (switch A) for the EPSR domain.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the EPSR control and data VLANs:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 100 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 50 name data-c1
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 51 name data-c2

In this example the data VLAN is also the nested VLAN.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 21
 Example 4: EPSR with Nested VLANs

Configure the switch ports:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.22
awplus(config-if)#switchport access vlan 50
awplus(config-if)#switchport vlan-stacking customer-edge-port
awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 100,50,51
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none
awplus(config-if)#switchport vlan-stacking provider-port

Configure the EPSR domain. This switch is the Master node:

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus mode master controlvlan 100
primaryport port1.0.1
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus datavlan 50-51

Enable EPSR:
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#exit

2. Configure Transit node C for the EPSR domain.

Each of the Transit nodes has the same EPSR configuration in this example.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the EPSR control and data VLANs:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 100 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 50 name data-c1
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 51 name data-c2

Note: In this example the control VLAN is also the nested VLAN.

Configure the switch ports:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.22
awplus(config-if)#switchport access vlan 50
awplus(config-if)#switchport vlan-stacking customer-edge-port
awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 100,50,51
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none
awplus(config-if)#switchport vlan-stacking provider-port

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 22
 Example 4: EPSR with Nested VLANs

Configure the EPSR domain:

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus mode transit controlvlan 100
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus datavlan 50-51

Enable EPSR:
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#exit

3. Configure Transit nodes B and D for the EPSR domain.

Each of the Transit nodes has the same EPSR configuration in this example.

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the EPSR control and data VLANs:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 100 name epsr-control
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 50 name data-c1
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 51 name data-c2

Note: In this example the control VLAN is also the nested VLAN.

Configure the switch ports:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface port1.0.22
awplus(config-if)#switchport access vlan 51
awplus(config-if)#switchport vlan-stacking customer-edge-port
awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.1-port1.0.2
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 100,50,51
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk native vlan none
awplus(config-if)#switchport vlan-stacking provider-port

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 23
 Example 4: EPSR with Nested VLANs

Configure the EPSR domain:

awplus(config-if)#epsr configuration
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus mode transit controlvlan 100
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus datavlan 50-51

Enable EPSR:
awplus(config-epsr)#epsr awplus state enabled
awplus(config-epsr)#exit

4. Configure client switch E (connected to the Master node).

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

Configure the end-user VLAN:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 20 name customer20

Configure an IP address on the end-user VLAN:

awplus(config-vlan)#interface vlan20
awplus(config-if)#ip address 192.168.20.10/24

Configure the port connected to the service provider network:

awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.20
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 20
awplus(config-if)#end

5. Configure client switch F (connected to Transit node B).

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 200 name customer200
awplus(config-vlan)#interface vlan200
awplus(config-if)#ip address 192.168.200.1/24
awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.10
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 20
awplus(config-if)#end

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 24
 Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP

6. Configure client switch G (connected to Transit node C).

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 20 name customer20
awplus(config-vlan)#interface vlan20
awplus(config-if)#ip address 192.168.20.1/24
awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.20
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 20
awplus(config-if)#end

7. Configure client switch H (connected to Transit node D).

Enter global configuration mode and enter the following commands:

awplus(config)#vlan database
awplus(config-vlan)#vlan 200 name customer200
awplus(config-vlan)#interface vlan200
awplus(config-if)#ip address 192.168.200.10/24
awplus(config-if)#interface port1.0.10
awplus(config-if)#switchport mode trunk
awplus(config-if)#switchport trunk allowed vlan add 200
awplus(config-if)#end

Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP

This example is the same as "Example 1: A Basic Ring" on page 12 except that one of the
three switches is an iMAP. We used an AT-TN7100 iMAP running 6.1.10. The ring ports on
the iMAP are 5.0 and 5.1. The example first shows the configuration script for the iMAP as
the Master node, then as the Transit node. For the configuration of the other two switches,
see Example 1.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 25
 Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP

Configure the AT-TN7100 iMAP as Master Node

The following diagram shows a partial script for the iMAP, with the commands for configuring
it as a EPSR Master node and other relevant commands.

ADD IP INTERFACE=MGMT IPADDRESS=172.28.9.3 SUBNETMASK=255.255.255.0

CARD=ACTCFC GATEWAY=172.28.9.1
#
SET SWITCH AGEINGTIMER=300
#
SET SYSTEM PROVMODE=AUTO
SET SYSTEM GATEWAY=172.28.9.1
#
CREATE EPSR=awplus MASTER HELLOTIME=1 FAILOVERTIME=2 RINGFLAPTIME=0
#
CREATE VLAN=vlan2 VID=2 FORWARDINGMODE=STD
CREATE VLAN=vlan1000 VID=1000 FORWARDINGMODE=STD
#
ADD VLAN=2 INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1] FRAME=TAGGED
ADD VLAN=1000 INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1] FRAME=TAGGED
#
DELETE VLAN=1 INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1]
#
SET INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1] ACCEPTABLE=VLAN
#
ADD EPSR=awplus INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0] TYPE=PRIMARY
ADD EPSR=awplus INTERFACE=ETH:[5.1] TYPE=SECONDARY
ADD EPSR=awplus VLAN=1000 TYPE=CONTROL
ADD EPSR=awplus VLAN=2 TYPE=DATA
#
ENABLE EPSR=awplus

Checking the Master Node Configuration

To see a summary, use the command:
show epsr

The following diagram shows the expected output.

--- EPSR Domain Information ---------------------------------------------------

EPSR Domain Node Type Domain Status/ Control Interface(s) (PhysicalState,

State Vlan Type, State)
--------------- --------- --------------- ------- ----------------------------
awplus MASTER EN/COMPLETE 1000 5.0 (UP,DNSTRM,FWDING ),
5.1 (UP,DNSTRM,BLOCKED)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To see details, use the command:

show epsr=awplus

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 26
 Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP

The following diagram shows the expected output.

--- EPSR Domain Information ---------------------------------------------------

EPSR Domain Name...................... awplus

EPSR Domain Node Type................. Master
EPSR Domain State..................... COMPLETE
MAC Address of Master Node............ 00:00:CD:28:06:19
EPSR Domain Status.................... Enabled
Control Vlan.......................... 1000
Primary Interface..................... 5.0
Physical State of Primary Interface... UP
Primary Interface Type................ DOWNSTREAM
Primary Interface State............... FORWARDING
Secondary Interface................... 5.1
Physical State of Secondary Interface. UP
Secondary Interface Type.............. DOWNSTREAM
Secondary Interface State............. BLOCKED
Hello Timer (seconds.................. 1
Failover Timer (seconds).............. 2
RingFlap Timer (seconds).............. 0
Hello Time Remaining (seconds)........ 1
Failover Time Remaining (seconds)..... 0
RingFlap Time Remaining (seconds)..... 0
Hello Sequence........................ 526
Data Vlans............................ 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 27
 Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP

Configure the AT-TN7100 iMAP as a Transit Node

The following diagram shows a partial script for the iMAP, with the commands for configuring
it as a Transit node.

CREATE EPSR=awplus TRANSIT

#
CREATE VLAN=vlan2 VID=2 FORWARDINGMODE=STD
CREATE VLAN=vlan1000 VID=1000 FORWARDINGMODE=STD
#
DISABLE INTERFACE=0.0-0.15,1.0-1.15,2.0-2.15,4.0-4.1,5.0-5.1
#
ADD VLAN=2 INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1] FRAME=TAGGED
ADD VLAN=1000 INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1] FRAME=TAGGED
#
DELETE VLAN=1 INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1]
#
SET INTERFACE=0.0-0.15,1.0-1.15,2.0-2.15,4.0-4.1,5.0-5.1
PROFILE=AutoProv
SET INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1] ACCEPTABLE=VLAN
#
ADD EPSR=awplus INTERFACE=ETH:[5.0-1]
ADD EPSR=awplus VLAN=1000 TYPE=CONTROL
ADD EPSR=awplus VLAN=2 TYPE=DATA
#
ENABLE EPSR=awplus
#
ENABLE INTERFACE=0.0-0.15,1.0-1.15,2.0-2.15,4.0-4.1,5.0-5.1

Checking the Transit Node Configuration

To see a summary, use the command:
show epsr

The following diagram shows the expected output.

--- EPSR Domain Information ---------------------------------------------------

EPSR Domain Node Type Domain Status/ Control Interface(s) (PhysicalState,

State Vlan Type, State)
--------------- --------- --------------- ------- ----------------------------
awplus TRANSIT EN/LINKS-UP 1000 5.0 (UP,UPSTRM,FWDING ),
5.1 (UP,DNSTRM,FWDING )

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To see details, use the command:

show epsr=awplus

The following diagram shows the expected output.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 28
 Example 5: EPSR with an iMAP

--- EPSR Domain Information ---------------------------------------------------

EPSR Domain Name...................... awplus

EPSR Domain Node Type................. Transit
EPSR Domain State..................... LINKS-UP
MAC Address of Master Node............ 00:00:CD:24:02:4F
EPSR Domain Status.................... Enabled
Control Vlan.......................... 1000
Ring Interface # 1.................... 5.0
Physical State of Ring Interface # 1.. UP
Ring Interface # 1 Type............... UPSTREAM
Ring Interface # 1 State.............. FORWARDING
Ring Interface # 2.................... 5.1
Physical State of Ring Interface # 2.. UP
Ring Interface # 2 Type............... DOWNSTREAM
Ring Interface # 2 State.............. FORWARDING
Hello Timer (seconds.................. N/A
Failover Timer (seconds).............. N/A
Ringflap Timer (seconds).............. N/A
Hello Time Remaining (seconds)........ N/A
Failover Time Remaining (seconds)..... N/A
Ringflap Time Remaining (seconds)..... N/A
Hello Sequence........................ N/A
Data Vlans............................ 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 29
 Classifiers and Hardware Filters

Classifiers and Hardware Filters

On SwitchBlade x908, AT-8948, AT-9900, AT-9900s, and x900 series switches, the switching
hardware has a limit of 16 bytes to use for matching on incoming packets.

EPSR creates a hardware filter that uses 2 bytes for VLAN identification. This means that you
have to design your network carefully when using EPSR with DHCP snooping, QoS, or other
hardware filters.

For example:
 DHCP snooping uses 4 bytes to match on the source and destination UDP ports and the
protocol field. With EPSR and DHCP snooping both enabled, 6 out of the 16 bytes are
used.
 IP addresses use 4 bytes. So if you configured EPSR, DHCP snooping, and a QoS policy
that classified on source IP address, then 10 of the 16 bytes would be used.

Ports and Recovery Times

In practice, recovery time in an EPSR ring is generally between 50 and 100 ms. However, it
depends on the port type, because this determines how long it takes for the port to report
that it is down and send a Link-Down message.

The following ports report that they are down immediately or within a few milliseconds,
which leads to an EPSR recovery time of 50 to 100 ms:
 10/100 M copper RJ-45 ports
 tri-speed copper RJ-45 ports operating at 10 or 100 M
 fiber 1000 M ports
 10 G ports

However, for tri-speed copper RJ-45 ports operating at 1000 M, there is a short delay before
the port reports that it is down. For almost all networks, this slight delay in recovery has no
practical effect. However, for networks with extremely stringent failover requirements, we
recommend using fiber 1000 M ports instead of copper.

IGMP Snooping and Recovery Times

From Software Version 5.3.2 onwards, IGMP snooping includes query solicitation, a feature
that minimises loss of multicast data after a topology change.

When IGMP snooping is enabled on a VLAN, and EPSR changes the underlying link layer
topology of that VLAN, this can interrupt multicast data flow for a significant length of time.
Query solicitation prevents this by monitoring the VLAN for any topology changes. When it
detects a change, it generates a special IGMP Leave message known as a Query Solicit, and
floods the Query Solicit message to all ports. When the IGMP Querier receives the

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 30
 Health Message Priority

message, it responds by sending a General Query. This refreshes snooped group

membership information in the network.

Query solicitation functions by default (without you enabling it) on the EPSR Master node. By
default, the Master node always sends a Query Solicit message when the topology changes.

On other switches in the network, the query solicitation is disabled by default, but you can
enable it by using the command:
awplus(config)#ip igmp snooping tcn query solicit

If you enable query solicitation on an EPSR Transit node, both that node and the Master
node send a Query Solicit message.

Once the Querier receives the Query Solicit message, it sends out a General Query and
waits for responses, which update the snooping information throughout the network. If
necessary, you can reduce the time this takes by tuning the IGMP timers, especially the
general query messages using the ip igmp query-interval command.

Query solicitation also works with networks that use Spanning Tree (STP, RSTP, or MSTP).

Query flooding protection

It is possible for an IGMP Querier to be flooded with Query Solicit packets and, in response,
generate large numbers of IGMP Queries. This could potentially congest the network.

To prevent this kind of flooding, the AlliedWare Plus OS has an IGMP Query-Hold Interval.
This is the time, starting from the last Query sent, that an IGMP Querier refrains from
sending any more IGMP Queries. You can configure this time period on each VLAN
interface, using the command:
awplus(config-if)#ip igmp query-holdtime <100-5000>

where <100-5000> is the time in milliseconds for the hold interval. The default is 500
milliseconds. This hold time is always enabled, and does not require Query Solicitation to be
enabled.

Health Message Priority

EPSR uses Health messages to check that the ring is intact. If switches in the ring were to
drop Health messages, this could make the ring unstable. Therefore, Health messages are
sent to the highest priority queue (queue 7), which uses strict priority scheduling by default.
This makes sure that the switches forward Health messages even if the network is congested.

We recommend that you leave queue 7 as the highest priority queue, leave it using strict
priority scheduling, and only send essential control traffic to it.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 31
 EPSR State and Settings

In the unlikely event that this is impossible, you can increase the failover time so that the
Master node only changes the ring topology if several Health messages in a row fail to arrive.
By default, the failover time is set to two seconds, which means that the Master node decides
that the ring is down if two Health messages in a row fail to arrive.

EPSR State and Settings

To display the EPSR state, the attached VLANs, the ring ports, and the timer values, use the
command:
show epsr

Master Node The following diagram shows the output for a Master node in a ring that is in a state of
in Complete. As well as giving the state as Complete, it also shows that port1.0.1 is the Primary
a Complete port and port1.0.2 is the Secondary port. The Secondary port is blocked, so does not
Ring
forward packets over the data VLAN (vlan2).

EPSR Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name ........................ test
Mode .......................... Master
Status ........................ Enabled
State ......................... Complete
Control Vlan .................. 1000
Data Vlan(s) .................. 2
Primary Port .................. port1.0.1
Primary Port Status ........... Forwarding
Secondary Port ................ port1.0.2
Secondary Port Status ......... Blocked
Hello Time .................... 1 s
Failover Time ................. 2 s
Ring Flap Time ................ 0 s
Trap .......................... Enabled
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 32
 EPSR State and Settings

Transit Node The following diagram shows the output for a Transit node in a ring that is in a state of
in Complete. The State is Links-Up, not Complete. Only the Master node shows Complete as
a Complete the state.
Ring

EPSR Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name ........................ test
Mode .......................... Transit
Status ........................ Enabled
State ......................... Links-Up
Control Vlan .................. 1000
Data VLAN(s) .................. 2
First Port .................... port1.0.1
First Port Status ............. Forwarding
First Port Direction .......... Upstream
Second Port ................... port1.0.2
Second Port Status ............ Forwarding
Second Port Direction ......... Downstream
Trap .......................... Enabled
Master Node ................... 00-00-cd-28-06-19
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Master Node In contrast, the following diagram shows the output for a Master node in a ring that is in a
in Failed state. Both ring ports are now forwarding.
a Failed Ring

EPSR Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name ........................ domain1
Mode .......................... Master
Status ........................ Enabled
State ......................... Failed
Control Vlan .................. 1000
Data VLAN(s) .................. 2
Primary Port .................. port1.0.1
Primary Port Status ........... Forwarding
Secondary Port ................ port1.0.2
Secondary Port Status ......... Forwarding
Hello Time .................... 1 s
Failover Time ................. 2 s
Ring Flap Time ................ 0 s
Trap .......................... Enabled
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 33
 SNMP Traps

SNMP Traps
From Software Version 5.3.1 onwards, you can use SNMP traps to notify you when events
occur in the EPSR ring.

Download the latest version of the Allied Telesis Enterprise MIB from www.alliedtelesis.co.nz/
support/updates/patches.html. The EPSR Group is contained in the sub-file called at-
epsrv2.mib.

The EPSR Group has the object identifier prefix epsrv2 (module 536), and contains a
collection of objects and traps for monitoring EPSR states.

The following trap is defined under the epsrv2Events subtree:

 atEpsrv2NodeTrap is the trap type of the EPSR node (master/transit).

The following objects are defined under the epsrv2EventVariables subtree:

 atEpsrv2NodeType is the type of the EPSR node (master/transit).
 atEpsrv2DomainName is the name assigned to the EPSR domain.
 atEpsrv2DomainID is a domain index variable used by the AlliedWare Plus GUI.
 atEpsrv2FromState is the defined state that an EPSR domain is transitioning from.
 atEpsrv2CurrentState is the state that an EPSR domain is transitioning to.
 atEpsrv2ControlVlanId is the VLAN identifier for the control VLAN.
 atEpsrv2PrimaryIfIndex is the ifIndex of the primary interface.
 atEpsrv2PrimaryIfState is the current state of the primary interface.
 atEpsrv2SecondaryIfIndex is the ifIndex of the secondary interface.
 atEpsrv2SecondaryIfState is the current state of the secondary interface.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 34
 Counters

Counters
The EPSR counters record the number of EPSR messages that the CPU received and
transmitted. To display the counters, use the command:
show epsr <epsr-name> count

Master node in The following diagram shows the counters for a Master node in a ring that has never had a
a Complete link or node fail.
ring

EPSR Counters
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: domain1
Receive: Transmit:
Total EPSR Packets 1093 Total EPSR Packets
1093
Health 1092 Health
1092
Ring Up 1 Ring Up 1
Ring Down 0 Ring Down 0
Link Down 0 Link Down 0
Invalid EPSR Packets 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The node has generated 1093 EPSR packets (and sent them out its Primary port) and has
received the same number of EPSR packets (on its Secondary port).

However, it is very common to see a few Link Down, Ring Down, and Ring Up entries in the
output of a ring that has never been in a Failed state. These messages are produced when
you first enable EPSR, if some ring nodes establish before others.

Transit Node In contrast, the following diagram shows the counters for a Transit node in a ring that has
in been in a Failed state twice.
a ring that had
failures

EPSR Counters
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: domain1
Receive: Transmit:
Total EPSR Packets 1425 Total EPSR Packets 2
Health 1423 Health 0
Ring Up 2 Ring Up 0
Ring Down 0 Ring Down 0
Link Down 0 Link Down 2
Invalid EPSR Packets 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here, the Transit node has received 1421 Health messages, which it will have forwarded on if
its ports were up. These messages do not show in the transmit counters because they are
transmitted by the switching hardware, not the CPU.

The node has also generated two Link-Down messages, indicating that on two separate
occasions one of its links has gone down.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 35
 Debugging

Debugging
This section walks you through the EPSR debugging output as links go down and come back
up again. The debugging output comes from the ring in "Example 1: A Basic Ring" on page 12.
The output shows what happened when we took down two separate links in turn:
 first, the link between the Master node’s Primary port and Transit node B
 second, the link between the two Transit nodes B and C

To enable debugging, enter the commands:

awplus#terminal monitor
awplus#debug epsr all

The terminal monitor command causes the switch to display terminal logging messages on the
console. By default, debug messages are terminal logging messages. You can change this by
using the log terminal command in global configuration mode. You can see which messages
are saved into each type of log by using the show log config command.

Note: The Master node transmits Health messages every second by default. The debugging
displays every message, including all Health messages. Therefore, we recommend that
you capture the debugging output for separate analysis, to make analysis simpler.

Link Down Between Master Node and Transit Node

This section shows the debugging output when the link between the Master node’s Primary
port and Transit node B goes down and comes back up again. It shows the debugging output
for the complete failure and recovery cycle:
 first on the Master node
 then on the Transit node

Master Node (Node A) Debug Output

The following debugging output starts with the ring established and in a state of Complete.

1. The Master node sends Health messages.

Each time the Hello timer expires, the Master node sends a Health message out its Primary
port (port1.0.1). As long as the ring is in a state of Complete, it receives each Health
message again on its Secondary port (port1.0.2). In the System field, this output shows the
MAC address of the source of the message—the Master node in this case.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 36
 Debugging

13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired

13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005405f1 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 01001fcf 00000000
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: ---------------------------------------------------------------
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8143
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: ---------------------------------------------------------------
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005405f1 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 01001fcf 00000000
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: ---------------------------------------------------------------
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8143
13:49:18 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: ---------------------------------------------------------------

2. The Master node continues sending Health messages.

The Master node continues sending Health messages, and increments the Hello Sequence
number with each message. If all nodes and links in the ring are intact, these Health messages
are the only debugging output you see.

.
.
.
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00540545 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100207b 00000000
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8420
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00540545 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100207b 00000000
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8420
13:52:10 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 37
 Debugging

3. The Primary port goes down.

The link between the Master node’s Primary port and the neighbouring Transit node goes
down. Therefore, the Master node detects that its Primary port (port1.0.1) has gone down.

13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus, ifIndex 5001 down

13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5001 is down

4. The Master node receives a Link-Down message on its Secondary port.

The Master node receives a Link-Down message on its Secondary port (port1.0.2) from
Transit node B, which is at the other end of the broken link.

13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:

13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd127808 810003e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00543935 00000000 0000cd12 7808990b 00400108
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd127808 00000000 04000000 00000000
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = LINK-DOWN STATE = LINK-DOWN
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-12-78-08
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: link down msg from 00-00-cd-12-78-08

In the System field, this output shows the MAC address of the source of the message—the
Transit node in this case.

5. The Master node transmits a Ring-Down-Flush-FDB message.

The Master switch responds to the break in the ring by sending a Ring-Down-Flush-FDB
message, which tells each Transit node to learn the new topology. The Master node also
unblocks its Secondary port for the data VLAN (vlan2), flushes its FDB, sends an SNMP trap,
and changes the EPSR state to Failed. The Master node sends the Ring-Down-Flush-FDB
message only out its Secondary port, because the link between the Primary port and the
neighbouring Transit node is down.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 38
 Debugging

13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Tx:

13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005424c1 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400107
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 02000000 00000000
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Tx:
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-DOWN-FLUSH-FDB STATE = FAILED
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: Unblock EPSR:awplus port:5002 VLAN:2
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5002 is forwarding
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: awplus oldState:COMPLETE newState:FAILED
13:53:45 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: ring failed

6. The Hello timer expires.

The Hello timer expires, which would normally trigger the Master node to send a Health
message out the Primary port. However, the link between the Primary port and the
neighbouring Transit node is down, so the Master node does not send the Health message.

13:53:46 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired

13:53:47 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired
13:53:48 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired
13:53:49 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired

7. The Primary port comes back up.

The Primary port comes back up. The Master node immediately blocks that port for vlan2 to
prevent a loop.

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus, ifIndex 5001 up

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: Block EPSR:awplus port:5001 VLAN:2
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5001 is blocking

8. The Hello timer expires again.

The Hello timer expires again. Port1.0.1 is now up, so this time the Master node sends a
Health message. The Health message shows that the EPSR state is Failed.

The Hello Sequence number increments from the number it was before the Primary port
went down, because the Master node could not transmit Health messages while the port
was down.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 39
 Debugging

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005403db 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 020020e5 00000000
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8421
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------

9. The Master node receives the Health message on its Secondary port.

The Master node receives the Health message on its Secondary port (port1.0.2). This tells it
that all links on the ring are up again.

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005403db 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 020020e5 00000000
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8421
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 40
 Debugging

10. The Master node returns the ring to a state of Complete.

The Master node blocks its Secondary port for the data VLAN, unblocks its Primary port,
transmits a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message, flushes its FDB, sends a trap, and changes the EPSR
state to Complete.

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: Block EPSR:awplus port:5002 VLAN:2

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5002 is blocking
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: Unblock EPSR:awplus port:5001 VLAN:2
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5001 is forwarding
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005425c2 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400106
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 01000000 00000000
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-UP-FLUSH-FDB STATE = COMPLETE
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: awplus oldState:FAILED newState:COMPLETE
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: ring complete

11. The Master node receives the Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message on port1.0.2.

The Master node receives the Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message back on its Secondary port,
because the packet traversed the whole ring. The Master node ignores the message.

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:

14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005425c2 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400106
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 01000000 00000000
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-UP-FLUSH-FDB STATE = COMPLETE
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
14:05:03 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------

12. The Master node transmits and receives Health messages.

The Master node continues transmitting and receiving Health messages for as long as the ring
stays in a state of Complete.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 41
 Debugging

14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired

14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005404da 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 010020e6 00000000
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8422
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005404da 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 010020e6 00000000
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 8422
14:05:04 EPSR[1296]: EPSR: --------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 42
 Debugging

Transit Node (Node B) Debug Output

The following debugging shows the same sequence of events as the previous section, but on
the Transit node instead of the Master node. It starts with the ring established and in a state
of Complete.

Note: The following debug was captured at a different time (during a different ring-down
event) from the Master node debug in the previous section. This is why the times and
hello sequence numbers do not match.

1. The Transit node receives Health messages.

The Transit node receives Health messages on port1.0.1, because that port is connected to
the Master node’s Primary port. In the System field, this output shows the MAC address of
the source of the message—the Master node in this case.

10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005422a9 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100052d 00000000
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 1325
10:45:38 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005422a8 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100052e 00000000
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 1326
10:45:39 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 43
 Debugging

2. Port1.0.1 on the Transit node goes down.

The Transit node detects that port1.0.1 (between the Transit node and the Master node) has
gone down. The Transit node flushes its forwarding database, blocks port1.0.1 for the data
VLAN (to prevent a loop from forming when the Master node comes back up), sends a Link-
Down message towards the Master node, sends a trap, and changes the EPSR state to Link-
Down.

10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus, ifIndex 5001 down

10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5001 is down
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Block EPSR:awplus port:5001 VLAN:2
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Tx:
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd247808 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005422c0 00000000 0000cd24 7808990b 00400108
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd247808 00000000 04000000 00000000
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Tx:
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = LINK-DOWN STATE = LINK-DOWN
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-78-08
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: awplus oldState:LINK-UP newState:LINK-DOWN

3. The Transit node receives a Ring-Down-Flush-FDB message.

In response to the Link-Down message, the Master node sends a Ring-Down-Flush-FDB

message. However, this Transit node does not need to flush its database—it already did.

10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:

10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005426d7 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400107
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 02000000 00000000
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-DOWN-FLUSH-FDB STATE = FAILED
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:46:10 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 44
 Debugging

4. Port1.0.1 comes back up.

The Transit node detects that port1.0.1 has come back up. It sends a trap and changes the
EPSR state to Pre-forwarding. It leaves port1.0.1 blocked for vlan2, to make sure there are no
loops.

10:47:27 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Block EPSR:awplus port:5001 VLAN:2

10:47:27 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5001 is blocking
10:47:27 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus, ifIndex 5001 up
10:47:27 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: awplus oldState:LINK-DOWN newState:PRE-FORWARDING

5. Transit node receives a Health message.

Now that the Master node’s Primary port is up again, it sends a Health message. Now that
the Transit node’s port1.0.1 is up again for the control VLAN, the Transit node receives the
message. This demonstrates that the Transit node has only blocked port1.0.1 for the data
VLAN, not the control VLAN. EPSR control messages never loop because the Master node
never forwards them between its ring ports.

The Hello Sequence number increments from the number it was before the Primary port
went down, because the Master node could not transmit Health messages while the port
was down.

10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542188 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0200054e 00000000
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 1358
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: ------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Transit node receives a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message.

The Health message from the previous step reaches the Master node and shows it that all
links in the ring are now up. The Master node sends a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message. When it
receives the message, the Transit node unblocks port1.0.1 for vlan2, flushes its FDB, sends a
trap, and changes the state to Link-Up.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 45
 Debugging

This is equivalent to the packet shown in step 10 on page 41 of the Master node debug
output.

10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005427d8 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400106
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 01000000 00000000
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-UP-FLUSH-FDB STATE = COMPLETE
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Unblock EPSR:awplus port:5001 VLAN:2
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5001 is forwarding
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
10:47:28 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: awplus oldState:PRE-FORWARDING newState:LINK-UP

7. The Transit node receives Health messages.

The Transit node continues receiving Health messages for as long as the ring stays in a state
of Complete.

10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542287 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100054f 00000000
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 1359
10:47:29 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542286 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 01000550 00000000
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 1360
10:47:30 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
.

Link Down Between Two Transit Nodes

This section shows the debugging output when the link between Transit node B and Transit
node C goes down and comes back up again. It shows the debugging output for a complete
failure and recovery cycle:
 On the Master node, and then
 On Transit node B.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 46
 Debugging

Master Node (Node A) Debug Output

The following debugging output starts with the ring established and in a state of Complete.

1. The Master node sends Health messages.

Each time the Hello timer expires, the Master node sends a Health message out its Primary
port (port1.0.1). As long as the ring is in a state of Complete, it receives each Health
message again on its Secondary port (port1.0.2).

10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: epsrHelloTimeout: EPSR awplus Hello Timer expired

10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005425a3 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100001d 00000000
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 29
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005425a3 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100001d 00000000
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 29
10:52:14 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

2. The link between the two Transit nodes goes down.

When the link goes down, the Master node transmits a Health message but does not receive
it on its Secondary port.

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542560 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 01000060 00000000
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 96
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 47
 Debugging

3. The Master node receives a Link-Down message on its Secondary port.

The Master node receives a Link-Down message, which tells it that a link in the ring is
broken. This message came from the Transit node on one side of the broken link.

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd127808 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00543935 00000000 0000cd12 7808990b 00400108
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd127808 00000000 04000000 00000000
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = LINK-DOWN STATE = LINK-DOWN
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-12-78-08
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: link down msg from 00-00-cd-12-78-08

4. The Master node transmits a Ring-Down-Flush-FDB message.

In response to the Link-Down message, the Master node transmits a Ring-Down-Flush-FDB

message out both its Primary and Secondary ports. The message has to go out both ports
to make sure it reaches the nodes on both sides of the broken link. The Master node also
unblocks its Secondary port for vlan2, flushes its forwarding database, sends a trap, and
changes the EPSR state to Failed.

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005424c1 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400107
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 02000000 00000000
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-DOWN-FLUSH-FDB STATE = FAILED
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Tx:
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005424c1 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400107
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 02000000 00000000
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Tx:
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-DOWN-FLUSH-FDB STATE = FAILED
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: Unblock EPSR:awplus port:5002 VLAN:2
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5002 is forwarding
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: awplus oldState:COMPLETE newState:FAILED

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 48
 Debugging

5. The Master node receives a second Link-Down message.

The Master node receives a Link-Down message from the Transit node on the other side of
the broken link. This message arrived after a delay because the ring ports are 1000M ports
(see "Ports and Recovery Times" on page 30). The Master node does not take any action in
response to this message, because it already responded to the broken link.

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240226 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005424d6 00000000 0000cd24 0226990b 00400108
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240226 00000000 04000000 00000000
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = LINK-DOWN STATE = LINK-DOWN
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-02-26
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:53:21 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

6. The Master node continues sending Health messages.

The Master node continues sending Health messages out its Primary port. It does not
receive any of these at the Secondary port, which tells it that the link is still down.

10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:

10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 0054245f 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 02000061 00000000
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 97
10:53:22 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 49
 Debugging

7. The Master node receives a Health message.

The Master node transmits a Health message and receives it at the Secondary port. This
indicates that the link is back up.

10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:

10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 447
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542301 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 020001bf 00000000
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 447
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

8. The Master node returns the ring to a state of Complete.

Now that the ring is back up, the Master node blocks its Secondary port for the data VLAN,
transmits a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message, flushes its FDB, sends a trap, and changes the EPSR
state to Complete.

10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: Block EPSR:awplus port:5002 VLAN:2

10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5002 is blocking
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005425c2 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400106
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 01000000 00000000
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-UP-FLUSH-FDB STATE = COMPLETE
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: awplus oldState:FAILED newState:COMPLETE
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: ring complete

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 50
 Debugging

9. The Master node receives the Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message on port1.0.2.

The Master node receives the Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message back on its Secondary port,
because the packet traversed the whole ring. The Master node ignores the message.

10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:

10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005425c2 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400106
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 01000000 00000000
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-UP-FLUSH-FDB STATE = COMPLETE
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:59:12 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

10. The Master node transmits and receives Health messages.

The Master node continues transmitting and receiving Health messages for as long as the ring
stays in a state of Complete.

10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:

10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542400 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 010001c0 00000000
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 448
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542400 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 010001c0 00000000
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: port1.0.2 Rx:
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 448
10:59:13 EPSR[1283]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 51
 Debugging

Transit Node (Node B) Debug Output

The following debugging shows the same sequence of events as the previous section, but on
the Transit node instead of the Master node. It starts with the ring established and in a state
of Complete.

Note: The following debug was captured at a different time (during a different ring-down
event) from the Master node debug in the previous section. This is why the times and
hello sequence numbers do not match.

1. The Transit node receives Health messages.

The Transit node receives Health messages on port1.0.1, because that port is connected to
the Master node’s Primary port. The message shows that the ring state is Complete.

Also note the hello sequence number, which is very close to the maximum of 65535. Once
the number reaches 65535, it restarts at zero.

10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005427e9 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100ffec 00000000
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 65516
10:23:12 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.

2. The link between the two Transit nodes goes down.

The Transit node receives Health message 29. At this stage, the message does not indicate
that anything is wrong. However, between messages 28 and 29, the link went down. This
means that message 29 will not make it back to the Master node.

The hello sequence counter has wrapped and is now counting up from zero.

10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005427b9 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0100001d 00000000
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 29
10:24:01 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 52
 Debugging

3. The Transit node receives a Ring-Down-Flush-FDB message.

In the meanwhile, the Master node has received a Link-Down message from the switch at
the other end of the broken link. Therefore, the Master node realises that the ring is broken
and acts accordingly. As part of the recovery process, the Master node sends a Ring-Down-
Flush-FDB message. The Transit node receives this message and flushes its forwarding
database.

10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005426d7 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400107
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 02000000 00000000
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-DOWN-FLUSH-FDB STATE = FAILED
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

4. The Transit node sends a Link-Down message.

The Transit node realises that its port is down, sends a Link-Down message, sends a trap, and
changes its state to Link-Down. The Transit node sends this message some time after the link
actually went down, because the ring ports are 1000M ports (see "Ports and Recovery
Times" on page 30). By this stage the ring has already changed topology to restore traffic
flow. The Master node detected the link failure by receiving a Link-Down message from the
other side of the link..

10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:

10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240226 8100e3e8 005caaaa 0300e02b
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005422c0 00000000 0000cd24 0226990b 00400108
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240226 00000000 04000000 00000000
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Tx:
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = LINK-DOWN STATE = LINK-DOWN
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-02-26
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: awplus oldState:LINK-UP newState:LINK-DOWN

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 53
 Debugging

5. The Transit node receives Health messages.

The Transit node receives Health messages from the Master node. These have a state of
Failed, which shows that the ring is still broken.

10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005426b8 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 0200001e 00000000
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 30
10:24:02 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.

6. The link comes back up.

The Transit node detects that the broken link has come back up. It blocks the port to
prevent a loop from occurring, sends a trap, and changes the EPSR state to Pre-forwarding.

10:42:49 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Block EPSR:awplus port:5002 VLAN:2

10:42:49 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5002 is blocking
10:42:49 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus, ifIndex 5002 up
10:42:49 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: awplus oldState:LINK-DOWN newState:PRE-FORWARDING

7. The Transit node receives another Health message.

The Transit node receives another Health message. This message will make it back to the
Master node’s Secondary port, because the link between the two Transit nodes is now up.

10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542251 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 02000485 00000000
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = FAILED
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 1157
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 54
 Debugging

8. The Transit node receives a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message.

The Transit node receives a Ring-Up-Flush-FDB message, which indicates that the Master
node knows that all links in the ring are up again. The Transit node unblocks port1.0.2 for
vlan2, flushes its FDB, sends a trap, and changes state to Link-Up.

10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 005427d8 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400106
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00000000 01000000 00000000
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = RING-UP-FLUSH-FDB STATE = COMPLETE
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 0 FAIL TIME = 0
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 0
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Unblock EPSR:awplus port:5002 VLAN:2
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: EPSR awplus: port 5002 is forwarding
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: Flush FDB EPSR: awplus vid: 2
10:42:50 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: awplus oldState:PRE-FORWARDING newState:LINK-UP

9. The Transit node receives Health messages.

The Transit node continues receiving Health messages for as long as the ring stays in a state
of Complete.

This is equivalent to the packet shown in step 10 on page 51 of the Master node debug
output.

10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:

10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00e02b00 00040000 cd240331 810003e8 0058aaaa 0300e02b
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 00bb0100 00542350 00000000 0000cd24 0331990b 00400105
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: 03e80000 00000000 cd240331 00010002 01000486 00000000
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: port1.0.1 Rx:
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: TYPE = HEALTH STATE = COMPLETE
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: CTRL VLAN = 1000 SYSTEM = 00-00-cd-24-03-31
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO TIME = 1 FAIL TIME = 2
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: HELLO SEQ = 1158
10:42:51 EPSR[1284]: EPSR: -----------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 55
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Overview
List of terms:
EPSR SuperLoop Prevention (EPSR-SLP) is an
SuperLoop
enhancement to the existing EPSR feature in AlliedWare
Multiple rings, each with their
Plus. EPSR-SLP prevents "SuperLoops" forming in certain
own EPSR Domains, may be
EPSR multi-ring topologies. EPSR-SLP was introduced in
connected together in a
AlliedWare Plus Version 5.4.2. topology. If these domains share
the same set of Data VLANs,
What is a SuperLoop? and also share a Common
To achieve redundancy, you may wish to deploy multiple Segment, then the failure of that
EPSR rings that have the same set of protected VLANs. Common Segment leads to a
If these rings share a Common Segment, and that SuperLoop.
Common Segment fails, a loop forms. This loop is Common Segment
known as a SuperLoop. A Common Segment is a link (or
links) in the network that are
Why do SuperLoops occur? shared by two or more rings, and
which has a common set of Data
In normal EPSR operation (I.e. without EPSR-SLP), the
VLANs.
Masters on both rings separately put their Secondary
SLP
ports into the Forwarding state when they detect a link
SuperLoop Prevention.
going down. As illustrated in the diagram on the
following page, this creates a Forwarding loop.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 56
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Example diagram
The following diagram shows how EPSR without the EPSR-SLP enhancement can lead to a
SuperLoop. It also shows the topology of the resultant SuperLoop.

The sequence of events without EPSR-SLP, as shown above, is:

1. The common link goes down.
2. The Transit nodes at each end of the common link send Link Down messages to both
Master nodes.
3. The Master nodes both unblock their Secondary ports.
4. As shown in the lower half of the diagram, this results in a loop. Data circulates
continuously around this loop, congesting the network.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 57
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

How does EPSR-SLP work?

EPSR-SLP prevents SuperLoops forming in the following way:
1. It assigns a priority to each EPSR ring.
2. It ensures that Common Segment Transit nodes send Link Down messages only to the
Master of the highest priority ring.
3. When a link in a Common Segment goes down, only the Master of the highest priority
ring opens its Secondary port.

The following diagram illustrates how EPSR-SLP prevents SuperLoops forming.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 58
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

The sequence of events with EPSR-SLP, as shown above, is:

1. The common link goes down.
2. The Transit nodes at each end of the common link send Link Down messages only to their
higher-priority Master nodes.
3. The higher-priority Master node unblocks its Secondary ports.
4. The other Master node performs no action.
5. The end result is a new topology in which all nodes retain connectivity, but one link is
blocked to prevent packet storming.

Fault Detection and Recovery without EPSR-SLP

It is important at this stage to review original EPSR functionality (prior to the introduction of
EPSR-SLP).

For information about how EPSR detects outages in a node, or a link in the ring, see
"Detecting a Fault" on page 6.

For information about the fault recovery actions EPSR takes, see "Recovering from a
Fault" on page 6.

For information about Enhanced Recovery, see "Enhanced Recovery" on page 8.

Note: Enhanced Recovery behaviour is the same with EPSR-SLP enabled, however some
differences exist for a Master node. For more information, see "EPSR Enhanced
Recovery when SLP is enabled" on page 63.

Fault Detection and Recovery with EPSR-SLP

The key concept that underlies EPSR-SLP is that of domain priority. For a network to utilise
EPSR-SLP, you need to assign all EPSR Domains a priority level value between 1 and 127.

A value of 1 represents the lowest priority level, and 127 the highest priority. Assigning a
priority of 1 or greater enables EPSR-SLP.

Note: A value of 0 effectively disables EPSR-SLP, returning the switch to standard EPSR
behaviour.

Common Segments
A Common Segment is a link in the network that is shared by two or more rings, and which
has a common set of Data VLANs. In other words, the Data VLANs passing through the
Common Segment also extend into both the rings that share the segment.

The following diagram illustrates a Common Segment.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 59
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

How the switch applies SuperLoop depends on the role of the node within the ring:
 whether it is a Master node or a Transit node
 whether or not the node is connected to a Common Segment.

Master node behavior

When a domain’s Failover timer expires, the Master node does not unblock its Secondary
port, but it does:
 transition to the Failed state
 send a Ring-Down-Flush message

The only situation in which the Master node does unblock its Secondary port is if:
 it receives a Link Down message from a Transit node, 
and
 the Link Down message arrives before the failover timer expires.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 60
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Example

In this example:

Master A is the higher-priority Master node with a priority level of 10. Therefore, Transit
nodes send Link Down messages to Master A.

Master A receives the Link Down messages before its failover timer expires. This means it
will:
1. transition its Secondary port to the Forwarding state
2. transition to the Failed state
3. send a Ring-Down-Flush message to enable new MAC address learning

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 61
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Master B does not receive Link Down messages. Therefore its Failover timer will expire
without having received any Link Down messages. So, it will:
1. not unblock its Secondary port
2. transition to the Failed state
3. send a Ring-Down-Flush message from both ports.

Timing is important:
 Link Down messages are normally received from Transit nodes before Failover timer
expiry. In this case, the Secondary port transitions to the Forwarding state.
 If a Link Down message is received after the Failover timer expires, the Secondary port
remains in the Blocking state.

This behaviour can sometimes result in cases where the Secondary port seems to be
unexpectedly blocked. See "High priority Master reboot when ring is down" on page 73.

Transit node behavior

A Transit node that is not connected to a Common Segment is not affected by its EPSR
priority. It behaves as it would without SuperLoop enabled, simply sending a Link Down
message if it detects a failed link.

A Transit node that is connected to a Common Segment is affected by its EPSR priority. It
changes its behaviour in the following ways:
 It compares the EPSR priority of each of the instances that share the Common Segment.
 If the Common Segment fails, the Transit node only issues a Link Down message on the
instance with the highest priority.

This is illustrated in the example diagram under "Master node behavior" on page 60. At step
2 in this diagram, the Transit nodes on the common link send Link Down messages only to
the higher-priority Master.

Transit node behaviour if the other port is still down

Without SuperLoop, if both ring ports that connect a Transit node to a given EPSR instance
go down, and then one of those ports comes back up again, the switch will end up putting
that newly recovered port into forwarding.

With SuperLoop, there are cases where this does not happen. Specifically:
 if one of the ring ports that went down is connected to a common segment,
and
 if the ring port that recovers is not connected to the common segment, and is not
connected to the highest priority EPSR instance that shares the common segment,

then the newly recovered ring port is not transitioned to forwarding.

This avoids the risk of SuperLoops that could form in some topologies.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 62
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Example Consider the case illustrated in the diagram below. If the switch at the right-hand end of the
Common Segment is power cycled while the Common Segment is down, then when the
switch comes up, the port that connects to EPSR instance 2 will remain Blocking.

The reason for this is that this Transit node cannot know for certain whether the Secondary
port on the Master switch in the lower-priority ring is still Blocking. If that Master's Secondary
port is not Blocking, then if the Transit node puts its port into Forwarding, a SuperLoop
would form. Hence, to be safe, that port remains Blocking.

EPSR Enhanced Recovery when SLP is enabled

For information about EPSR Enhanced Recovery without SuperLoop enabled, see "Enhanced
Recovery" on page 8.

The following sections address the behaviour of EPSR Enhanced Recovery on SuperLoop-
enabled nodes.

Note: Enhanced Recovery should not be used in EPSR-SLP topologies that include 3 or
more rings. For more information, see "Caution on 3 or more rings EPSR-SLP
topologies and Enhanced Recovery" on page 72.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 63
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Transit nodes and Enhanced Recovery

In most situations, Transit nodes using Enhanced Recovery behave in the same way regardless
of whether or not SuperLoop is enabled. In general, when a Transit node receives the
Permission-Link-Forward response from the Master, it moves the newly-recovered port from
the Pre-forwarding state to the Forwarding state.

However, there are some over-riding behaviours that can cause a port to remain in the
Blocking state:
 If the instance that receives permission to forward is not the highest priority on a
Common Segment, the port may still be subject to the physical blocking of a higher
priority instance. For more information, see "Physical and logical port control" on page 64.
 The Transit node behaviour explained in "Transit node behaviour if the other port is still
down" on page 62.

Physical and logical port control

In the context of EPSR-SLP, it is important to understand the difference between physical and
logical control of ports.

On nodes that have ports connected to Common Segments, only the highest priority EPSR
instance has physical control of those ports. The other EPSR instances are deemed to have
logical control of the Common Segment ports.

The EPSR instance that has physical control of the ring ports is the one that sets the port
states, for example blocking, pre-forwarding or forwarding.

The state that the other, lower-priority instances that share the ring ports would put the
ports into, if they had control of them, is referred to as the logical state of the ports for those
instances. This logical state has no effect on the operation of the ports. The logical state is
tracked mostly so that you can check that those other instances are maintaining internal
consistency, and are making the correct state transitions.

If the EPSR instance that has physical control of a port is physically blocking the port, it is also
blocking access to that port for all other instances as well.

You can see whether a port is physically or logically blocking by using the show epsr
command:

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 64
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

epsr4# sh epsr

EPSR Information
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Name ........................ B
Mode .......................... Master
Status ........................ Enabled
State ......................... Idle
Control Vlan .................. 6
Data VLAN(s) .................. 40
Interface Mode ................ Channel Groups Only
Primary Port .................. sa2
Status ...................... Down
Is On Common Segment ........ No
Blocking Control ............ Physical << Here it is physical
Secondary Port ................ sa1
Status ...................... Down
Is On Common Segment ........ No
Blocking Control ............ Physical << Here it is physical
Hello Time .................... 1 s
Failover Time ................. 2 s
Ring Flap Time ................ 0 s
Trap .......................... Enabled
Enhanced Recovery ............. Enabled
Priority ...................... 5
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 65
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Example The following example illustrates the distinction between physical and logical control.

On the Common Segment, only the highest priority EPSR instance has physical control of the
ports. So, when a Common Segment port fails, only the highest priority instance on that
Common Segment physically blocks the port. Other instances on the Common Segment put
their ring ports into a logical blocking state.

When the link goes up again, the port is initially held in the Pre-forwarding state. While in the
Pre-forwarding state, the highest priority instance is physically blocking. This also blocks all
other instances on the port.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 66
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Once the highest priority Master has put its Secondary port into the Blocking state, it can
inform the Transit odes attached to the Common Segment to transition their pre-forwarding
ports to Forwarding. At that point, these ports will also go to Forwarding for the other EPSR
instance. So, when the physical blocking is removed, the logical blocking is also removed.

The port remains in the Pre-forwarding state until:

 without Enhanced Recovery enabled:
the node receives a Ring-Up-Flush message from the highest-priority Master.
 with Enhanced Recovery enabled:
the node receives a Permission-Link-Forward message from the highest-priority Master.

The key point here is that it is packets from the highest priority Master that determine when
the ports can return to the Forwarding state. Therefore, it must be the highest priority EPSR
instance that has control of this.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 67
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

EPSR show commands

Some show commands have been introduced to enable monitoring of EPSR-SLP.

Command show epsr common-segments

This show command gives you information about common segments.

EPSR Common Segments

Common EPSR Port Phys Ctrl Ring

Seg Port Instance Mode Prio Type of Port Port Status
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
port1.0.2 blue Transit 120 Second Yes Fwding
green Transit 60 First No Fwding (logical)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parameters
explained Parameter Meaning
Common Seg Port The ring port that identifies the Common Segment

EPSR Instance Corresponds to IMASK/EMASK fields on the IMASK table. Shows

which port numbers packets will be matched on.

Mode The mode in which the EPSR instance is configured to operate - either
Master or Transit

Prio The EPSR instance's priority

Port Type The type of ring port in the instance - Primary or Secondary for a
Master node; First or Second for a Transit node

Phys Ctrl of Port Whether the instance has physical control of the common ring port's
blocking in the instances' data VLANs

Ring Port Status Whether the EPSR instance's ring port is currently in the Forwarding,
Blocking, or Link Down state

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 68
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Command show epsr summary

This command lets you view summary information for all EPSR instances. Information specific
to Common Segments is present in this output.

EPSR Summary Information

Abbreviations:
M = Master node
T = Transit node
C = is on a Common Segment with other instances
P = instance on a Common Segment has physical control of the shared port's
data VLAN blocking
Blocked (SLP) = master secondary ring port is blocked for EPSR-SLP

EPSR Ctrl Primary/1st Secondary/2nd

Instance Mode Enabled State VLAN Prio Port Status Port Status
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
blue T Yes Links-Up 5 120 Fwding Fwding (C,P)
green T Yes Links-Up 6 60 Fwding (C) Fwding
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parameters
explained Parameter Meaning
EPSR Instance The name of the EPSR instance

Mode The mode in which the EPSR instance is configured to operate - either
Master (M) or Transit (T)

Enabled Whether the EPSR instance is enabled or disabled

State The state of the EPSR instance's state machine

Ctrl VLAN The VLAN ID of the EPSR instance's control VLAN

Prio The EPSR instance's priority

Primary/1st Port Status For a Master node, this is the EPSR instance's Primary ring port. For a
Transit node, this is the EPSR instance’s first port.
C indicates the ring port is on a Common Segment with other
instances. P indicates the instance has physical control of the shared
port's data VLAN blocking.

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 69
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Best practice guidelines for EPSR-SLP deployment

EPSR-SLP priorities
 To enable EPSR SuperLoop, EPSR Master nodes and Common Segment Transit nodes
must have an EPSR instance priority greater than zero.
 All member nodes of an EPSR-SLP domain should have a consistent EPSR priority value.
 On Common Segment nodes, ensure that all the different instances have unique priorities.

EPSR-SLP Data VLANs

 During deployment, you need to define the same set of Data VLANs for all member
nodes of EPSR-SLP domains.
 When configuring multiple EPSR-SLP instances on a Common Segment node, the switch
performs checks to ensure that all instances on any identified Common Segment ports
share the same set of data VLANs. If any of these checks fail, the switch does not accept
the command, and returns an error message.
 Either remove the native VLAN from ring ports, or ensure that the native VLAN is
specified as an EPSR Data VLAN.

Placement of EPSR Master node

 Whenever possible avoid placing a Master node on a Common Segment.
 If a Master must be located on a Common Segment:
 do not locate an EPSR Domain‘s Master node on a segment that is shared with a
higher priority EPSR Domain.
 the port that connects to the Common Segment must be configured as the Primary
port.

These placement rules have been observed in the diagram below, where the Instance 2,
Instance 3, and Instance 4 Masters are all located on Common Segments shared with lower
priority domains. This is permitted.

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 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Master node on Common Segment: inappropriate physical blocking

When a Master node is located on the Common Segment, deployment rules dictate that the
port connecting to the Common Segment on the Master node's Master instance must be a
Primary port.

This is to avoid inappropriate physical blocking. A Master node’s Secondary ports must not
connect to the Common Segment, because in normal operation Secondary ports are
blocking. In the case of the highest priority Master, this would result in physical blocking,
which would unnecessarily prevent lower priority domains from having access to the
Common Segment.

Co-existence with non-SLP EPSR instances

If a node with an EPSR-SLP instance also has other non-SLP EPSR instances present, these
instances are not protected by EPSR-SLP. The non-SLP instances cannot have any Data
VLANs in common with the ESPR-SLP instances.

Therefore, if an EPSR instance has to share any VLANs with other EPSR instances, then
EPSR-SLP must be enabled on all those instances.

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 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Caution on 3 or more rings EPSR-SLP topologies and Enhanced Recovery

Any EPSR-SLP topology that includes three or more rings with two or more Common
Segments (I.e. ladder topology) must not have Enhanced Recovery enabled on the Common
Segment nodes. Referring to the diagram below, the problem with having Enhanced
Recovery enabled is that a SuperLoop will form if the following sequence of events occurs:
1. Both Common Segments go down (I.e. the Common Segments between switches C and
D; G and H).
2. The Common Segment between switches G and H becomes available again, but the other
Common Segment (between switches C and D) remains down.

Let’s look at the sequence of events that will cause a SuperLoop to form in this scenario.
1. When the common link between switches G and H is repaired, they send
LinkForwardRequest messages to their highest priority Master, which is switch E.
2. Because the link between C and D is still down, the healthcheck packets that switch E
sends do not arrive back on its Secondary port. So, switch E sees the ring as down, and
therefore permits switches G and H to transition their ports on the Common Segment
to Forwarding.
3. At this point, because the Secondary ports of Master switches E and A are still Forwarding,
a SuperLoop forms around the path A->B->D->F->H->G->E->C->A

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 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Precaution Rule for 3-or-More Rings EPSR-SLP Topologies

To avoid this SuperLoop storm, do not enable Enhanced Recovery on Common Segment
nodes for EPSR topologies that:
 involve three or more rings, 
and
 include two or more Common Segments.

Cases where manual intervention may be required

The guiding principle in EPSR protocol design is to avoid loops. This principle means that in
some cases the automatic recovery from ring failure will be very slow, and manual
intervention is required to achieve faster recovery.

High priority Master reboot when ring is down

In some situations, unexpected Secondary blocking can occur.

When an EPSRing is broken, the highest priority Master node’s Secondary port enters the
Failed state. The Master node’s Secondary port must receive a Link Down message before
the Failover timer expires, in order to re-enter the Forwarding state.

If the Master node has rebooted while the ring was in the Failed state, then after this reboot
the Master node cannot receive new Link Down messages. As such, it enters the Blocking
state. The same situation occurs when the Secondary port has its state toggled.

Furthermore, after a reboot, the Master node cannot judge whether it is safe to allow its
Secondary port to forward. For example, it does not know:
 if it is the highest priority Master
 if any other Master in the multi-ring topology is already forwarding

In some cases this can lead to a split ring. If you cannot quickly repair the Common Segment,
you can manually intervene, using the following techniques.

Split ring recovery techniques and warning

A split ring can occur in a two-ring SuperLoop topology with Transit nodes on the Common
Segment, and with Enhanced Recovery enabled on all nodes. The split ring occurs when a
Common Segment fails and is then followed by either a Highest Priority Master node reboot,
or a Secondary port state toggle.

The split ring can be described as a 2-ring topology segmented into two isolated sides of the
failed Common Segment. This split-ring is not automatically restored until the Common
Segment comes back up. You can manually fix this, but the resulting configuration is not
without risk. See "Manual fix" on page 74.

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 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

Manual fix
You can temporarily allow connectivity by setting the state of the Secondary port to
Forwarding:
1. disable EPSR
2. disable SuperLoop
3. re-enable EPSR

You should return to your normal configuration before the Common Segment is repaired,
using the following instructions.

To return to normal configuration

1. On the highest priority Master which needs to forward, disable EPSR using:
epsr3(config)# epsr configuration
epsr3(config-epsr)# epsr a state disabled
epsr3(config-epsr)# epsr a priority 0
epsr3(config-epsr)# epsr a state enabled
2. Use the show epsr command to confirm this action:

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 74
 EPSR SuperLoop Prevention

show epsr

EPSR Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name ........................ A
Mode .......................... Master
Status ........................ Enabled
State ......................... Failed
Control VLAN .................. 5
Data VLAN(s) .................. 40
Interface Mode ................ Channel Groups Only
Primary Port .................. sa1
Status ...................... Forwarding
Is On Common Segment ........ No
Blocking Control ............ Physical
Secondary Port ................ sa2
Status ...................... Forwarding
Is On Common Segment ........ No
Blocking Control ............ Physical
Hello Time .................... 1 s
Failover Time ................. 2 s
Ring Flap Time ................ 0 s
Trap .......................... Enabled
Enhanced Recovery ............. Enabled
Priority ...................... 0 [SuperLoop prevention disabled]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Ensure that the fibre repairers notify you when the Common Segment is close to
reconnection. Before it is actually re-connected, you must enable EPSR, and enable
SuperLoop at its previous priority setting:
epsr3(config)# epsr configuration
epsr3(config-epsr)# epsr A state disabled
epsr3(config-epsr)# epsr A priority 10
epsr3(config-epsr)# epsr A state enabled

Configure Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR) to Protect a Ring from Loops | Page 75
 show epsr

EPSR Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name ........................ A
Mode .......................... Master
Status ........................ Enabled
State ......................... Failed
Control VLAN .................. 5
Data VLAN(s) .................. 40
Interface Mode ................ Channel Groups Only
Primary Port .................. sa1
Status ...................... Forwarding
Is On Common Segment ........ No
Blocking Control ............ Physical
Secondary Port ................ sa2
Status ...................... Blocked (for SuperLoop prevention)
Is On Common Segment ........ No
Blocking Control ............ Physical
Hello Time .................... 1 s
Failover Time ................. 2 s
Ring Flap Time ................ 0 s
Trap .......................... Enabled
Enhanced Recovery ............. Enabled
Priority ...................... 10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. As shown above, the EPSR instance’s Secondary port is Blocked until the Common
Segment is reconnected.

Caution: It is very important to enable SuperLoop before the Common Segment is

reconnected. Otherwise, the network is at risk of another, possibly longer SuperLoop
storm occurring during reconnection.

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