Example for Configuring iPCA to Implement Packet Loss Measurement on a Device

iPCA Overview

Packet Conservation Algorithm for Internet (iPCA) technology is used to measure IP network performance. It directly marks service packets to implement network-level and device-level packet loss measurements.

In the all-IP era, various services sensitive to packet loss, such as voice and video services, are transmitted through an IP network. To detect packet loss and find out packet loss points on the network, Huawei developed iPCA technology. Huawei iPCA has the following characteristics:

iPCA applies to both Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks.
iPCA directly marks service packets to obtain the packet loss ratio and number of lost packets, without increasing loads on devices.
iPCA supports packet loss statistics collection on multipoint-to-multipoint networks.

Statistics collection on a device: collects statistics on lost packets on all cards of a device.

Configuration Notes

For the applicable product models and versions of this example, see Applicable product models and versions.

You cannot specify target flows in packet loss measurement for a device.
In packet loss measurement for the entire device, the device can color known IP unicast packets but not MPLS packets or unknown IP unicast packets.
In MPLS L3VPN, packet loss measurement for the entire device is also supported if the device functions as only PE.

Networking Requirements

As shown in Figure 1, Switch_1, Switch_2, and Switch_3 are deployed on an enterprise network. Network-level packet loss measurement has been configured on the network, and the network administrator has known that packet loss occurred. To locate the device where packet loss occurred, the administrator wants to configure iPCA to implement packet loss measurement on a device.

Figure 1 Networking diagram of packet loss measurement on a device

Configuration Roadmap

The configuration roadmap is as follows:

Enable iPCA on each device to implement packet loss measurement on the device so that you can know packet loss in a timely manner. Configure the packet loss alarm on each device.
Retain the default values of color bit and measurement interval.

The packet loss measurement configuration on Switch_3 is the same as that on Switch_1 and Switch_2, and is not mentioned here.

Procedure

Configure Switch_1.

<HUAWEI> system-view
[HUAWEI] sysname Switch_1
[Switch_1] iplpm global loss-measure alarm enable //Enable the alarm and clear alarm of the packet loss ratio for device-level packet loss measurement.
[Switch_1] iplpm global loss-measure enable //Enable packet loss measurement for a device.
[Switch_1] quit

Configure Switch_2.

<HUAWEI> system-view
[HUAWEI] sysname Switch_2
[Switch_2] iplpm global loss-measure alarm enable
[Switch_2] iplpm global loss-measure enable
[Switch_2] quit

Verify the configuration.

# Run the display iplpm loss-measure statistics global command on Switch_1 and Switch_2 to view packet loss measurement results.

Switch_1 is used as an example here. The values of Loss Packets and LossRatio indicate whether packet loss occurs on Switch_1.

<Switch_1> display iplpm loss-measure statistics global
Latest global loss statistics:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 StartTime(DST)        Loss Packets            LossRatio         ErrorInfo      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2014-06-12 18:47:30   344127                  4.513519%         OK 
 2014-06-12 18:47:20   381085                  4.513196%         OK 
 2014-06-12 18:47:10   381192                  4.513290%         OK 
 2014-06-12 18:47:00   381339                  4.513341%         OK 
 2014-06-12 18:46:50   381465                  4.513392%         OK 
 2014-06-12 18:46:40   381444                  4.513487%         OK 
 2014-06-12 18:46:30   381129                  4.513309%         OK 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Configuration Files

Configuration file of Switch_1

#
sysname Switch_1
#
iplpm global loss-measure alarm enable
iplpm global loss-measure enable
#
return

Configuration file of Switch_2

#
sysname Switch_2
#
iplpm global loss-measure alarm enable
iplpm global loss-measure enable
#
return

Applicable product models and versions

Product	Product Model	Software Version
S5700	S5720-HI	V200R006C00, V200R007(C00&C10), V200R008C00, V200R009C00, V200R010C00, V200R011C00, V200R011C10, V200R012C00, V200R013C00, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S5730-HI	V200R012C00, V200R013C00, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S5731-H	V200R013C02, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S5731-S, S5731S-S	V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S5731S-H	V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S5732-H	V200R019C00, V200R019C10
S6700	S6720-HI	V200R012C00, V200R013C00, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S6730-H	V200R013C02, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S6730S-H	V200R019C10
	S6730-S, S6730S-S	V200R019C00, V200R019C10
S7700	S7703, S7706, S7712	V200R006C00, V200R007C00, V200R008C00, V200R009C00, V200R010C00, V200R011C10, V200R012C00, V200R013C00, V200R013C02, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S7703 PoE	V200R013C00, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
	S7706 PoE	V200R013C00, V200R019C00, V200R019C10
S9700	S9703, S9706, S9712	V200R006C00, V200R007C00, V200R008C00, V200R009C00, V200R010C00, V200R011C10, V200R012C00, V200R013C00

For modular switches, only the X series cards support iPCA.