Verilink NCM Tutorial -- Circuit Manager --

This page describes how to build circuits using the NCM Craft interface. Topics covered are:

Central Circuit Manager concept
Limitations of the product
Key definitions
Adding and editing circuits
Activating/deactivating a configured circuit
Other general functions available through the Circuit Manager menu, such as deleting and searching for circuits

NOTE: Circuit building done by connecting directly to other modules is not documented in this tutorial. When an NCM is present in a node, only the NCM Central Circuit Manager should be used to build circuits.

Cautions

The following must be considered when you are using an NCM to build circuits:

If you are integrating an NCM with a node that has application modules with pre-existing circuits, the circuits must be cleared before using the modules with the NCM or building new circuits with the NCM Circuit Manager.
While the Shelf Type option under the Administration Menu determines which ACP Bus the NCM will use, it also is used by the CCM to determine bus architecture. The Shelf Type selection must accurately reflect the actual shelf type for each shelf in the node. See the section Shelf Type
If an NCM is moved from one node to another node, it will try to build the circuits it has stored in the new node. To avoid configuration errors, delete all circuits from an NCM card before moving it to a new node.
Circuits can only be built within a shelf. (No data bus extensions between shelves are possible.)
ISDN port can be a destination port only, not a source port.
Modules must be present in the shelf at the time their circuits are built.
If a circuit terminates in a DIU 2130/DDS or a DIU 2130/DBU module (two modified versions of the TABS-based DIU 2130 DSU), it will not be restored when the DIU card is removed from the shelf and then re-inserted. To avoid this limitation, do not unplug and reseat these cards after building their circuits.

Modules Supported for Building Circuits

Currently the Central Circuit Database supports the following modules:

TAC 2010
DIU 2130
DIU 2131
DIU 2140
DIDCSU 2912
DPRI 2922
QPRI 2921
HSM 2113
IMUX 2164

Circuit Manager Functions

The Central Circuit Manager performs the following functions:

Preserves and restores circuits after a node is powered down.
Builds and manages circuits, and also detects and resolves any circuit resource conflicts.
Performs special circuit backup applications such as the ISDN dial-backup application.
Preserves the configuration and circuits associated with a module. For example, in case a module goes bad and is replaced by a new module with the same equipment ID (front panel model number), the new module will obtain the configuration previously set to the old module and inherit any associated circuits.
Supports standby NCM backup with its database.
Supports circuit building between Verilink legacy (TABS) modules and new-generation (ACP) modules.
Records configurations of modules installed in a node in a data structure called the Central Circuit Database.
Accepts user circuit-building input.
Checks input information against static circuit-building rules.
Applies dynamic circuit-building rules before activating a circuit.
Detects and resolves circuit resource conflicts.

Alarm Handling

The CCM "catches" every alarm received by the NCM module and processes these alarms. Those selected alarms can be grouped into certain categories. For example, the following alarms belong to the node information alarm category:

module present alarm
module absent alarm
shelf present alarm
standby NCM alarm

Loss of signal, loss of frame, and AIS belong to the circuit performance alarm category. For circuits of the Backup or Dial-Backup types, alarms relating to circuit performance may trigger a switch to the configured backup facility.

Module Configuration Updates

The CCM polls every six seconds to retrieve every module's configuration in the node and to update the Central Circuit Database. A mirror image of this database is maintained in any standby NCM modules present in the node.

Circuit Manager Menu

From the NCM Main Menu, select the Circuit Manager Menu by typing "b".

NOTE:When Circuit Manager is accessed, all other users are prevented from using it. Anyone else who tries to enter the menu while it is being accessed gets the message: Wait until later.

Until circuits have been created, no circuits are listed in the table at the top of the menu. Instead, the following message is displayed in their place:

>>>>>> NO CIRCUIT FOUND IN DATABASE <<<<<
or

>>>>>> REACHED THE END OF THE LIST <<<<<

The commands on the Circuit Manager Menu are described in the table below:

Circuit Manager Menu Commands

Key	Description	Notes
A	Add Circuit: Displays Add Circuit submenu.	See the section Adding Circuits below.
I	Activate Circuit: used to start a circuit. This step is not usually required for a circuit type of Permanent or Primary.	The circuit must exist first. Useful for testing switched, backup and dial-backup circuits.
D	Delete Circuit: removes a circuit from the list maintained in the NCM database. A submenu appears: Circ Deletion Menu -- [1,1] NCM 2000 S) single circuit A) all circuits C) card circuits P) port circuits X) exit	Before attempting to delete an active circuit, it must be deactivated. The user is able to delete a single circuit, a subsequent prompt will ask for the circuit name. The user may also delete all circuits, this would be wise if an NCM is to be moved to a new node. All the circuits with Source or Destination ports on a specific card may be deleted, or only those ports which terminate on a particular port of a specific card.
R	Deactivate Circuit: used to stop a running circuit. The user is prompted for the name of the circuit to be deactivated.	Stops user data. Use before deleting or editing a circuit.
P	Previous Page: display previous page of circuits in NCM database.	Used when the database contains more circuits than one screen can display.
L	Search Circuit: a submenu appears which allows the user to find a circuit based on a known Source or Destination port: C) search by shelf,slot P) search by port X) exit Use X to exit when done searching.	To display all of the circuits with a Source Port or a Destination Port on a particular module use C. The user is asked for the desired shelf,slot. An entry in the format x,y is expected where x=shelf and y=slot. To narrow the search to a specific port of an application module use P. The user indicates a specific module first by its shelf/slot location and is then asked to select a port from a list of options.
N	Next Page: display next page of configured circuits.	Used when the database contains more circuits than one screen can display.
E	Edit Circuit: used to change one or more parameters of a circuit which already exists in the CCM database.	Before attempting to edit a circuit, it must be deactivated.
X	Exit to Craft Main Menu	Leaves the Circuit Manager and returns to the Main Menu.

Adding Circuits

To add a new circuit, select option "A" from the Circuit Manager menu:

[12.13.14.15] [1,1] NCM 2000 > a

The Add Circuit menu is displayed:

When the menu is displayed, the default circuit priority (normal) is displayed. All other parameter fields are either empty (--) or undefined.

Add Circuit Menu Commands

Key	Description	Range	Note
N	Name: User defined alpha-numeric label for circuit.	12 character maximum.	Used as an entry key for future edits of this circuit.
P	Priority: Sets order in which circuits are routed. Highest priority circuits are routed first.	Low, normal, high, critical. Default = normal.	Important when a network includes ISDN or other backup ability.
T	Type: Circuit type sets basic function of this circuit. Except where some method of alternative routing or a switched facility like ISDN is available, most circuits will be permanent type.	Permanent, switched, primary, dial backup, backup.	Selection of circuit type may cause additional option parameters to appear. See further details in the section Circuit Types below.
M	Mode: Bandwidth usage per timeslot, select 56K or 64K for most cases. Actual data rate becomes 56K or 64K multiplied by the number of DS0s selected, except subrate ports.	56K or 64K except for subrate DIU ports.	On DIU2131 port 2 rates available are: 2.4K through 64K: on DIU 2140 rates available are 2.4K through 19.2K.
SP	Source Port: port from which circuit originates. A specific port on an application module currently installed in a slot of a shelf in the node.	Shelf number/slot number separated by a comma (1,7), then a port of the card per list presented.	Source port may be a network port or a data port. Circuits must have one network port.
DP	Destination port: port at which circuit terminates. A specific port on an application module currently installed in a slot of a shelf in the node.	Shelf number/slot number separated by a comma (1,8) then a port of the card per list presented.	Destination port may be a network port or a data port. If a circuit uses ISDN, it must be the Destination Port.
SM	Source Mapping: timeslots to use at the Source Port. For T1/E1 ports these are level zero (DS0) timeslots at 56K or 64K each. For T3 ports these are level 1 (DS1) timeslots - at T1 rate each.	Enter the timeslots with comma separators or a range with a hyphen between first and last. For example: 1,2,3,4 or 1-4.	One timeslot only for circuits terminating in subrate DIU ports. 1-24 for T1 ports. 1-30 for E1 ports. 1-28 for T3 ports.
DM	Destination Mapping: timeslots to use at the Destination Port. For T1/E1 ports these are level zero (DS0) timeslots at 56K or 64K each. For T3 ports these are level 1 (DS1) timeslots - at T1 rate each.	Enter the timeslots with comma separators or a range with a hyphen between first and last. For example: 1,2,3,4 or 1-4.	One timeslot only for circuits terminating in subrate DIU ports. 1-24 for T1 ports. 1-30 for E1 ports. 1-28 for T3 ports.
U	Bus: Selects which, if any, backplane bus will be used to transfer data from one application module to another for this circuit.	For circuits with source and destination ports in different modules, choose A,B,C or Auto. Auto allows the Circuit Manager to select the best bus to use.	For circuits with source and destination ports on the same module no bus is required. For more details on bus selection see the section Backplane Bus.
S	Setup: used to start a fully configured circuit. All parameters above should be entered first before setup is invoked.	When Setup command is issued Circuit Manager will attempt to route and initialize the circuit.	After a brief pause the menu is redisplayed with the status of the circuit shown on same line as bus selection.
X	Exit: return to Circuit Manager Menu above.	If the Add Circuit Menu is exited before completing a circuit, when the Add Circuit Menu is re-entered, the incomplete circuit will be displayed.	Should a circuit fail to become active, check the configuration of the application module(s) and verify ports used are configured as active ports.

Certain additional commands appear on the Add Circuit Menu when a circuit type of Backup or Dial-Backup is chosen. These additional parameters are detailed below in the table: Backup and Dial-Backup Options

Circuit Types

When the circuit type is set to permanent, Circuit Manager will attempt to route the circuit as described and it will not reroute the circuit based on current or future alarm conditions.

A Primary circuit is one which uses a Backup circuit in the event of a failure in the normal circuit path. Primary and Backup circuits may be built such that a single Backup circuit serves to protect a number of Primary circuits in an n x 1 configuration. In the event of multiple simultaneous Primary circuit failures, the circuit with the highest priority will be given Backup circuit bandwidth first. When configuring Primary and Backup circuits, configure the Primary circuit(s) first, as you will refer to them when creating the Backup circuit.

There are two types of backup circuits: ISDN dial-backup (d-bk) and non-ISDN backup (bkup).

Switched circuits and Dial-Backup circuits require a DPRI 2922 or QPRI 2921 ISDN application module for the destination port, as only these products handle establishing calls over digital switched facilities. For more information on backup and dial-backup circuits see the DPRI 2922 User Manual or the QPRI 2921 User Manual.

Additional menu items for Backup and Dial-Backup are detailed in the table Backup and Dial-Backup Options below.

Add Circuit Menu for Backup/Dial-Backup Circuits

Backup and Dial-Backup Options

Key	Description	Notes
A	Primary circuit, the name of the (previously configured) circuit to be protected.	Enter the name of the Primary circuit which this Backup or Dial-Backup circuit is to protect.
SE	Source Error Mask: used to select which possible alarm conditions on the source port will be used to trigger a switch to backup or dial-backup. Some of these conditions indicate a major failure of a circuit. A network port, for example, is completely out of service when a Loss Of Signal or Loss Of Frame condition exists. Severely Errored Seconds on a network port is a different case as the facility may still be in service although it is seriously impaired. The user is able to select one, more than one, all or none of these possible triggers which will be used to determine when a backup/dial-backup switch will be made.	Enter the numbers shown for the conditions upon which a switch to backup/dial-backup is to be made. For a T1 port possible selections are: AIS, yellow alarm received, Loss Of Signal, Loss Of Frame or Severely Errored Seconds/Unavailable Seconds threshold exceeded. For a data port choices are presented for leads which might be asserted by the DTE: RTS or DTR. In the less common case of a data port configured for DTE mode, it will switch on CTS or DSR, if so configured. Multiple selections can be made by using a comma between the digits. For example, to switch on any of the possible T1 port error conditions enter 1,2,3,4,5.
DE	Destination Error Mask: as above, the user selects from a list of possible errors on the Destination Port which may trigger a backup/dial-backup switch.	Multiple selections can be made by using a comma between the digits. For example, to switch on any of the possible T1 port error conditions enter 1,2,3,4,5.
O	Dial Backup Timeout: the maximum length of time which a circuit will be kept on the backup or dial-backup path. Upon expiration of this time period the Circuit Manager will revert to the primary circuit.	A series of three prompts are presented. First the user sets a maximum number of days, then maximum hours, then maximum minutes up to a total of 5 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes.
G	Error Clear Mask: list of possible alarm conditions which must not exist before backup/dial-backup is terminated. User selects from a list.	These need not exactly match the choices made above for Source Error Mask or Destination Error Mask. Separate multiple entries with commas: 1,2,3,4.

TAC Module Differences

When a circuit uses a TAC 2010 T1 CSU module for the source port, the Source Port Mapping option need not be entered. When the Destination Port Mapping is entered, like values are used for the TAC 2010. A different menu appears as shown below:

Add Circuit Menu for TAC 2010

Backplane Bus

Limited bus selection is provided to give the user more control which may be useful under certain circumstances, such as running certain combinations of modules. If a bus is selected that cannot be used because of the shelf/slot configuration, the Circuit Manager prompts the user with an appropriate message. Initially, the bus selection displayed in the Add Circuit menu/form is Non (None).

Bus Selection Commands

Value	Description	Notes
A	The circuit will use Bus A between modules.	Bus A offers 16 Mbit/s bandwidth in an AS2000 shelf.
B	The circuit will use Bus B between modules.	Bus B offers a maximum of 2.048 Mbit/s bandwidth in an AS2000 shelf.
C	The circuit will use Bus C between modules.	Bus C offers a maximum of 2.048 Mbit/s bandwidth in an AS2000 shelf.
Auto	Circuit Manager will compute the best selection for which bus to use and assign the circuit automatically.	For most cases Auto will be the best selection. Circuit Manager uses the Shelf Type selection in calculating which bus to use.

When building circuits you may need to separately activate the circuit when you are ready to do so. You activate a configured circuit by selecting the command: I) activate circuit from the Circuit Manager menu. However, when building a permanent circuit, the Circuit Manager automatically activates the circuit when you apply the Setup command.