Benefits and Implementation of Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme

(LCAS) in Ethernet over SONET/SDH Networking

Introduction
Almost on a daily basis an article or a product announcement will appear on technical trade
publications extolling the virtues of Generic Framing Procedure (GFP), Virtual Concatenation (VC),
and Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS). This paper will attempt to clarify the issues and
benefits of implementing these technologies especially LCAS on the Next Generation SONET/SDH
Networks.

The strains of the current economic conditions are forcing carriers to reuse existing equipment and
preserve the current network infrastructure. Carriers along with the help of system and silicon
vendors are reinventing the SONET/SDH technology to offer new flexible data services more
efficiently and cost effectively. Virtual Concatenation (VC), Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme
(LCAS), and Generic Framing Protocol (GFP) are the key enablers of these new services. These
technologies are vital to the success of Ethernet over SONET/SDH and have a direct impact on
carriers’ financial performance. The use of LCAS enables dynamic provisioning and along with VC
enables highly efficient provisioning of traffic through the network. LCAS can be viewed a
supplementary technology that allows the adjustment of capacity in real time without the loss of
data.

SONET/SDH and Ethernet

Ethernet is predominantly deployed in the Local Area Networks (LAN) and SONET/SDH in the
Wide Area Networks (WAN). The majority of carriers worldwide counts on SONET/SDH as their
transport infrastructure of choice, and has accumulated tremendous valuable experience operating,
maintaining, and deriving revenue from these networks. SONET/SDH networks offer carrier-class
reliability, availability, quality of service (QoS), sub 50 msec protection switching, performance
monitoring, and remote maintenance.

Ethernet is simple, low cost, high-speed, well-understood, ubiquitous protocol that has been widely
deployed. Up until recently in order to carry customer’s traffic over the SONET/SDH network a
number of technologies were utilized that introduced additional complexity and cost to the network.
Ethernet over SONET solutions dramatically decrease customers’ capital and operating expenses,
eliminate the barriers between LANs and WANs by supporting native Ethernet switching,
seamlessly supporting geographically diverse corporate networks, and reduce network cost and
complexity by avoiding separate, and costly Ethernet conversion platforms.

Virtual Concatenation (VC)

VC, ITU-T G.707/Y.1332 recommendation, can be described simply as a technique that allows
SONET/SDH channels to be grouped in an arbitrary manner, thus creating right-sized pipes over the
transport layer for an efficient use of bandwidth. VC can be deployed over SONET/SDH or OTN
networks, thus it can be classified as transport layer independent technology. VC breaks the
bandwidth into smaller individual containers that are grouped logically. The members of the channel
can be routed independently through the network without the knowledge that the traffic is virtually
concatenated; therefore there is no need for costly upgrades of older legacy equipment that comprise

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all the intermediate nodes thus reducing the Capex and Opex for carriers. This fact is one of the key
advantages of VC: the ability to deploy VC on the existing SONET/SDH infrastructure with a
simple upgrade of the end points. All intelligence to handle VC is located at the end points of the
connections. The efficient use of the network achieved by using VC allows recovering of stranded
bandwidth in the SONET/SDH network.

In contrast, arbitrary contiguous concatenation allows the creation of custom sized bandwidth but the
network needs to treat this bandwidth as a single entity throughout the network that requires all the
intermediate nodes to be upgraded in order to accommodate the new contiguous “custom sized”
pipe. Such a requirement makes the use of this technique impractical.

The SONET/SDH structures allow various client signals to be carried at different rates such that
higher SONET/SDH data rates are created by using N units of the basic STS-1/VC-3 (51.84
Mbps) channel. The payload of the basic STS-1/VC-3 signal may consist of independent lower order
tributaries, Virtual Tributaries (VT) in SONET or Tributary Units (TU) in SDH that accommodate
the transport of low-rate services. VC is defined for STS-1/VC-3 or STS-3c/VC-4 rates, referred to
as High-Order VC and at Virtual Tributary VT/TU rates, referred to as Low-Order VC.

The following two tables summarize the efficiencies achieved while transporting typical Data rates
over SONET/SDH networks.

Data Bit Rate SONET Rate Effective Payload Rate Bandwidth Efficiency
10 Mbps Ethernet VT-1.5-7v 11.2 Mbps 89%
10 Mbps Ethernet VT-2.0-5v 10.88 Mbps 92%
100 Mbps Ethernet STS-1-2v 96.77 Mbps 100%
1 Gbps Ethernet STS-1-21v 1.02 Gbps 98%
1 Mbps Ethernet STS-3c-7v 1.05 Gbps 95%

Data Bit Rate SDH Efficiency

10 Mbps Ethernet C-12-5c 92%
ATM C-12-12c 98%
100 Mbps Ethernet C-12-46c 100%
C-3-2c 100%
200 Mbps ESCON C-3-4c 100%
400 Mbps Fibre Channel C-3-8c 100%
800 Mbps Fibre Channel C-4-6c 89%
1Gbps Ethernet C-4-7c 95%
10Gbps Ethernet C-4-64c 100%

The source transmitter divides the bandwidth into containers of finer granularity that are logically
represented by a Virtual Concatenation Group (VCG). The routing of the individual members of the
VCG is not constrained to the same path; they could traverse through the network using different
paths therefore introducing different propagation delays. The destination receiver stores the
individual members in order to perform realignment of the VCGs and introduces them as a single
entity.
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Differential propagation delay is mainly introduced by the following factors:
a) Network node processing delays
b) Fiber propagation delay

With VC all the necessary information for the successful alignment of the payload at the receiver is
carried in the H4 Path Overhead byte of the SONET/SDH frame. The Multi-Frame Indicator (MFI)
and the Sequence Indicator Field (SQ) within the H4 byte are used to provide this information.

VC uses either an STS-1/VC-3 or STS-3c/VC-4 and groups these payloads to create a larger “right
sized” aggregate payload. For example, 21 STS-1 channels can be grouped to create 1 Gbps payload.
In addition to right-sizing the payload to match the data rate of the client service, VC enables the
payload capacity to be varied; for example, a data channel can be created that is approximately 400
Mbps (8 STS-1 channels). This sizing allows a greater number of Ethernet channels to be mapped
into the SONET/SDH channel using oversubcription. These sub-rate channels allow carriers to offer
a tiered transport service where customers only pay for the required bandwidth, yet they still use the
same connection into the WAN.

Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS)

In traditional SONET/SDH networks to change the capacity of a channel is quite a laborious and
expensive procedure; the link needs to be brought down thus interrupting traffic, changing the
capacity, and then re-starting traffic. This process involves a considerable downtime of the channel
that translates to lost revenue for the carrier in addition to the expense incurred by manually re-
provisioning the link. Likewise, the previously described procedure is repeated in cases of channel
failures with the same economic consequences. In order to remedy and improve the above-described
situation we need a mechanism to dynamically alter the SONET/SDH bandwidth and preferably
based on a number of parameters.

In order to address some of these problems and challenges the Standards bodies, in addition to VC
that provides the ability to “right size” the SONET/SDH channels have standardized the Link
Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS), ITU-T G.7042 specification, can be viewed as a further
enhancement of VC, and is defined as an adjustment scheme that hitlessly increases or decreases the
capacity of a container that is transported in a SONET/SDH/OTN network using VC. While VC is a
simple labeling of members within a channel, LCAS is a two-way handshake signaling protocol.
Synchronization of changes in the capacity of the transmitter (So) and the receiver (Sk) is achieved
by a control packet sequence of H4 Path overhead bytes. The control packet consists of fields
dedicated to a specific function and the information is bi-directional (from So to Sk and from Sk to
So). Each control packet describes the state of the link during the next control packet; and the
changes are sent in advance in order for the receiver to switch to the new configuration as soon as
possible.

LCAS offers network designers the ability to automatically fine tune the bandwidth based on a
number of factors:
a) Bandwidth on demand – Bandwidth can be adjusted based on a number of factors:

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 I. “Time-of-day demands”: It provides carriers the flexibility to tailor traffic based on
their customer’s demands. Carriers can allocate, using the same network, different
bandwidths to their customers, thus giving customers a more efficient model for their
bandwidth needs and carriers can charge a premium based on this period of time.

II. Special events: Customers can purchase extra bandwidth, for a short period of time, to
accommodate their needs for extra bandwidth during special events such as new
product introductions, sporting events etc.

III. “Pay as you Grow”: Customers can purchase bandwidth to match their current traffic
needs, with the understanding that they can purchase additional bandwidth to match
their future needs. From a carrier’s perspective the benefit is that additional traffic can
be effortlessly provisioned through Network Management Software without resorting to
expensive and time consuming manual provision.

b) Quality of Service (QoS) – Dynamic reconfiguration allows “Adds” and “Removes” in a

hitless manner without service interruption or loss of data. It enables carriers to oversubscribe
the network and maintain profitable data services by creating pricing structures based on
tiered Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for the particular application.

c) Minimum network infrastructure upgrade – Support for LCAS is located at the end points of
the network. In order for carriers to deploy this feature they only need to install new Line
cards in their existing equipment, a tremendous advantage in today’s economic environment
where carriers are looking for ways to reduce CAPEX and OPEX. LCAS allows carriers with
a minimum investment to leverage their existing infrastructure to offer new services while
extending its lifespan, thus reducing CAPEX.

d) Dynamic Load Balancing/Dynamic Route Optimization – Diverse routing of individual

members of VCG to split the traffic load between different points in the network. It optimizes
routes as network topology changes.

e) Fault recovery mechanism – VC traffic is interleaved into several SONET/SDH containers

that are routed through different paths. LCAS has the ability to automatically decrease the
capacity if a member experiences a failure in the network by removing the failing member,
the remaining channels will be unaffected and they will continue carrying traffic. Therefore,
traffic will continue to be transmitted at a reduced rate but no traffic interruption will occur,
after the failed members have been repaired automatically can be added back into service.
Previously, in legacy SONET/SDH networks partial bandwidth failure would result in total
traffic interruption.

Support for LCAS is located in the VC source and sink adaptation functions only, and it assumes
that in cases of capacity initiation, increase or decrease, the construction or destruction of the end-to-
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end path of each individual member is the responsibility of the Network and Element Management
Systems (NMS/EMS).
The main challenge that carriers face while deploying these new services based on these standards
(GFP, VC, and LCAS) is the software effort required to upgrade the Network and Element
Management System (NMS/EMS) in a standardized and compatible manner. Currently there are
efforts in the standards bodies to address these problems mainly the G.ASTN initiative at the ITU
and the “Generalized MPLS” of the IETF. These working groups are in their initial stages and much
work needs to be done before their efforts and contributions could be standardized and become
widely adapted by carriers to reach the point of enabling point-and-click provisioning.

Generic Framing Procedure (GFP)

Generic Framing Procedure (GFP), ITU-T Recommendation G.7041/Y.1303, has been defined as a
protocol that encapsulates variable length payloads of various client signals for subsequent transport
over SONET/SDH and OTN networks. The main advantage of GFP is that it provides a unified way
to encapsulate and transport client signals instead of application specific mapping protocols such as
Packet over SONET (PoS), Ethernet over SONET (EoS), and it has a small fixed overhead, unlike
HDLC-like protocol.
GFP provides two different operating modes: Frame mapped (GFP-F) and transparent GFP (GFP-T);
the latter one is designed for client signals requiring very low latency.
The GFP frame format provides methods to locate frame delineation in an octet synchronous stream,
distinguish client data and management frames, and identify different client signal types. The frame
is divided into core header and payload area.
The transparent GFP (GFP-T) is based on coding block coded 8B/10B signals into 64B/65B-coded
blocks. The client signal mappings defined for GFP-T are Fibre Channel (FC), FICON, ESCON, and
Gigabit Ethernet (GbE).

Conclusion
LCAS along with VC enable carriers to optimize their existing networks, and offer new services
with a minimal investment by leveraging their existing infrastructure. These new services will be
based on the simplicity and efficiency of Ethernet along with the reliability and scalability of
SONET/SDH to complement or replace legacy technologies, generate new revenue streams and
profitability while offering high-value services, reduce CAPEX, and extend the lifespan of the
existing infrastructure.

References
ITU-T G.7042/Y.1305 Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS) for Virtual Concatenated Signals
ITU-T G.7041/Y.1303 Generic Framing Procedure (GFP)
ITU-T G.707/Y.1322 Network node interface for the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH)

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