14-6
Cisco ONS 15310-CL and Cisco ONS 15310-MA Ethernet Card Software Feature and Configuration Guide R8.5
78-18133-01
Chapter 14 Configuring Resilient Packet Ring on the ML-Series Card
Configuring RPR

MAC Address and VLAN Support

RPR increases the total number of MAC addresses supported because the MAC IDs of packets that pass
through an ML-Series card are not recorded by that ML-Series card. The ML-Series card only records
the MAC IDs of the packets that are bridged or stripped by that ML-Series card. This allows a greater
number of MAC addresses in the collective address tables of the RPR.
VLANs on RPR require less interface configuration than VLANs on STP a nd RSTP, which require
configuration on all the POS interfaces in the ring. RPR VLANs only re quire configuration on SPR
interfaces that bridge or strip packets for that VLAN.
The ML-Series card still has an architectural maximum limit of 255 VLAN/bridge-group per ML-Series
card. But because the ML-Series card only needs to maintain the MAC address of directly connected
devices, a greater total number of connected devices are allowed on an RPR network.

RPR QoS

The ML-Series card’s RPR relies on the QoS features of the ML-Series card for efficient bandwidth
utilization with service level agreement (SLA) support. ML-Series card QoS mechanisms apply to all
SONET traffic on the ML-Series card, whether passed-through, bridged, or stripped. For detailed RPR
QoS information see the QoS on RPR section of Chapter 14, “Configuring Resilient Packet Ring on the
ML-Series Card.”

CTM and RPR

The Cisco Transport Manager (CTM) is an element management system (EMS) designed to integrate
into an overall network management system (NMS) and interface with other higher level management
tools. CTM supports RPR provisioning on ML-Series cards. For more information, refer to the
Cisco Transport Manager User Guide.
Configuring RPR
You need to use both CTC and Cisco IOS to configure RPR for the ML-Series card. CTC is the graphical
user interface (GUI) that serves as the enhanced craft tool for specific ONS node operations, including
the provisioning of the point-to-point SONET circuits required for RPR. Cisco IOS is u sed to configure
RPR on the ML-Series card and its interfaces.
Successfully creating an RPR requires several consecutive procedures:
1. Connecting the ML-Series Cards with Point-to-Point STS Circuits, page 14-7 (CTC or TL1)
2. Configuring CTC Circuits for RPR, page 14-7 (CTC or TL1)
PRI A three-bit QoS class of service (CoS) field that establishes RPR priority.
DE A one-bit field for the discard eligible flag.
TTL A nine-bit field for the frame’s time to live.
Type A field indicating whether the packet is data or control.
Table 14-1 Definitions of RPR Frame Fields