Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS) OverviewSwitched Multimegabit
Data Service (SMDS) is a telecommunications service that provides connectionless,
high-performance, packet-switched data transport. It is neither a PROTOCOL
nor a TECHNOLOGY. Rather, it supports standard protocols and communications
interfaces using current (and future) technology. The SMDS Service Path The SMDS service allows you to create a connectionless network between CPE [single unit, chained units, and/or Local Area Networks (LANs)] at various sites nationwide. The physical SMDS service path consists of three parts: The customer premises includes the CPE and CPE LANs, an attached ROUTER, and the SMDS Data Service Unit/Channel Service Unit (DSU/CSU) which terminates the access line. The dedicated access line is either a DS1 line operating at 1.5 Mbps, DS3 line operating at 45 Mbps, or appropriate E1 or E3 line. The public SMDS network consists of the local and interexchange carriers, their switching stations, and network connections. LOCAL EXCHANGE CARRIER .----------------------. | | | V | .-----. .--------. | .---------------. | | CPE |---| ROUTER | | | .----. | | `--/--' `---|----' |+-- SNI | +---| SS | | | || DXI--->| || | | `-|--' | | .--\--. .----|----. |V | .--|-. | | | | CPE | | DSU/CSU |=|===================|=| SS | | | | `-----' `---------' | DEDICATED ACCESS | `----' | | `----------------------' LINE `----------|----' CUSTOMER PREMISES | .----------|----. | .-|--. | | | SS | | INTEREXCHANGE CARRIER --> | `-|--' | SNI = Subscriber Network Interface SS = Switching System Three protocols tie these three physical elements together: The MAN Access protocol defines the basics of connecting LANs within a metropolitan area. The DQDB Access protocol is also contained within the IEEE 806.2 standard. This protocol defines how a customer accesses the network from the SNI to the SS. The SIP protocol is also defined in IEEE 806.2. This protocol is a specific implementation of the MAN Access protocol designed for SMDS. It functions at the physical and data link layers. The DXI protocol is a bit-oriented protocol (BOP) implementation designed by the SMDS Interest Group (SIG) as a standard communications protocol at the physical and link layers between the router and DSU/CSU. It is supported by all major SMDS equipment vendors. Relationship Between SMDS and the OSI ArchitectureThe MAN Access protocol
and SIP have a layered architecture, that while not EXACTLY like the 7-layer
architecture described by the Open Systems Interconnect model, does parallel
the layers. The diagram on the next page compares the OSI model with the various protocols operating within an SMDS network. (IP is any Layer 3 protocol on the CPE, i.e., Internetworking Protocol.) .-------------. .-------. .-------. | APPLICATION | | | <--- CPE using standard | | +-------------+ | | LAN protocol stack | | | PRESENTATION| | | | | +-------------+ | | | | | SESSION | | | CPE designed for the | | +-------------+ | | SMDS protocol ------> | | | TRANSPORT | | | | | +-------------+ +-------+ +--------------+ +-------+ | NETWORK | | IP | | IP | | IP | +-------------+ +-------+ +--------------+ +-------+ | DATA | | LLC | | LLC | | LLC | | | +-------+ +-------+------+ .-----. +-------+ | | | MAC |<>| MAC | | | | | | +-------------+ +-------+ +-------+ SIP |<>| SIP |<>| SIP | | PHYSICAL | | PHY |<>| PHY | | | | | | `-------------' `-------' `-------'------' `-----' `-------' OSI MODEL CPE ROUTER NETWORK CPE Distributed Queue Dual BusThe current SMDS implementation makes use of DQDB features to transport the 53-octet cells throughout the network. DQDB provides the SMDS network with many advantages:
DQDB provides the
interface between the MAC and the actual transmission facilities. Only
the physical layer is aware of the transmission system in use. A different
Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) is implemented for each type
of transmission system to ensure a consistent set of services between
the DQDB Layer and the Physical Layer. DQDB Open Dual Bus TopologyHEAD OF BUS A END OF BUS A | | .---.v .---. .---. v.---. | ||=======| |==============| |======>| | | N | | N | | N | | N | | O | | O | | O | | O | | D | | D | | D | | D | | E | | E | | E | | E | | |<=======| |==============| |======|| | `---'^ `---' `---' ^`---' | | END OF BUS B HEAD OF BUS B DQDB Looped Bus TopologyEND OF BUS A | | HEAD OF BUS A v.---.v .---. +======>| ||=========================| |=======+ H | N | | N | H H | O | | O | H H | D || END OF BUS B | D | H H | E |v | E | H H +==|| |<=========================| |===+ H H H ^`---' `---' H H H H | HEAD OF BUS B H H H H .---. .---. H H H +===| |==========================| |===+ H H | N | | N | H H | O | | O | H H | D | | D | H H | E | | E | H +=======| |==========================| |=======+ `---' `---' Fault Tolerance on a Looped Dual Bus Topology.---. .---. +=======| |==========================| |=======+ H | N | | N | H H | O | | O | H H | D | | D | H H | E | | E | H H +===| |==========================| |===+ H H H `---' `---' H H H H | END OF BUS B HEAD OF BUS B | H H H H v.---. .---.v H H H +==>| |===/ /=======| ||==+ H H | N | / / | N | H H | O | / broken cable / | O | H H | D | / / | D | H H | E | / / | E | H +======|| |===/ /=======| |<======+ ^`---' `---'^ HEAD OF BUS A | / END OF BUS A Using the dual buses, a switching station creates transmission slots (each 53 octets) and maintains a count of available slots. Each SMDS cell created contains 44 octets of data and 9 octets of DQDB and SIP management overhead. This overhead includes:
The nodes on the SMDS
network access this overhead material for each data cell that received
on either bus. If the cell is empty (and the node is not first in the
queue to transmit), the cell is either passed through the node unchanged
or used to send a waiting cell to a node beyond it on the bus. The Standard DQDB Slot[Number of octets] (Number of Bits) [1] [52] .---------------+--------------------------------------------. | ACCESS CONTROL| SEGMENT | `---------------+--------------------------------------------' | \ ______ | \ _____ | \ ______ | \ _______ | \ | (1) (1) (1) (2) (1) (1) (1) | .------+---------+-----+------+-------+-------+-------. | BUSY | SL_TYPE | PSR | RESV | REQ_2 | REQ_1 | REQ_0 | `------+---------+-----+------+-------+-------+-------' SL_TYPE = slot type PSR = Previous slot instructions RESV = reserved REQ = Request The SEGMENT of this slot, when full, contains a DQDB MAC SERVICE PROTOCOL DATA UNIT consisting of a 2-octet DMPDU Header, a 44- octet Segmentation Unit, and a 2-octet DMPDU Trailer. .----------+---------+------------. | SEG TYPE | SEQ NO. | MESSAGE ID | `----------+---------+------------' | (2) (4) (10) | | ___________________ / | / [2] .--------+------------------------------------------+--------. | HEADER | SEGMENTATION UNIT TRAILER | `--------+------------------------------------------+--------' [2] [44] ____________ / | / (6) (10) .------------+-----------. | PAY LENGTH | PAY CRC | `------------+-----------' The SEGMENTATION UNIT is a 44-octet piece of the Initial MAC PDU. This IMPDU is generated by the router, which adds management overhead to the MAC Service Data Unit generated by the CPE. An IMPDU may range in size from 28 octets to a maximum of 9248 octets. The DSU/CSU is responsible for splitting the IMPDU into 44-octet segments. .--------+---------+-----------------+-----+-------+---------. | HEADER | HDR EXT | MAC SDU | PAD | CRC32 | TRAILER | `--------+---------+-----------------+-----+-------+---------' SMDS Interface ProtocolThe SMDS Interface Protocol (SIP) is an implementation of DQDB that is based on connectionless service to the MAC and the queued arbitrated portion of DQDB. It utilizes four optional features of DQDB in addition:
The protocol data units for SIP, although designated with a different nomenclature, contain similar elements that perform similar functions:
The SIP Layer 3 Protocol Data UnitThe SIP L3_PDU is generated by the router by incorporating management control information before and after the SDU generated by the CPE. .--------+-------------------+-----+--------+---------. | HEADER | INFORMATION (SDU) | PAD | CRC32* | TRAILER | `--------+-------------------+-----+--------+---------' [36] [0-9188] [0-3] [0 or 4] [4] * Note that the Cyclical Redundancy Check (CRC32) is optional with the L3_PDU. If it is present, it is 4 octets in length. However, present or not, the CRC32 bits for the L3_PDU are ignored by the SMDS network. The L3_PDU header contains information used in verifying the PDU integrity as well as addressing information. The header format is as follows: [Number of octets] (Number of bits) .-----+------+-------+---+---+-----+---+----+----+----+---+---. | RSVD| BETag| BASize| DA| SA| HLPI| PL| QOS| CIB| HEL| BR| HE| | | | | | | * | | * | | | * | | `-----+------+-------+---+---+-----+---+----+----+----+---+---' [1] [1] [2] [8] [8] (6) (2) (4) (1) (2) [2] [12] RSVD = reserved QOS = Quality of Service BETag = beginning-end tag CIB = CRC32 Indication Bit BASize = buffer allocation size HEL = Header Extension Length DA = Destination Address BR = Bridging SA = Source Address HE = Header Extension HLPI = Higher-Layer Protocol ID * indicates bits ignored by PL = PAD length SMDS network The BASize octets
indicate the length of the L3_PDU. The CIB indicates the presence or absence
of the 32-bit CRC in the PDU. .------+-------+--------. | RSVD | BETag | LENGTH | `------+-------+--------' RSVD = reserved BETag = beginning-end tag The BETag in the header
is used to indicate the beginning of the L3_PDU; in the trailer, the BETag
indicates the end of the specific L3_PDU. The SIP Layer 2 Protocol Data UnitThe SIP L2_PDU has the same basic format as the DMPDU of DQDB:
The Header contains
the Access Control information (1 octet), the Network Control information
(4 octets), the Segment Type, the Sequence Number, and the Message Identifier. [Number of Octets] (Number of Bits) [1] [4] (2) (4) (10) .------------+-------------+----------+---------+-----. | ACCESS CON | NETWORK CON | SEG TYPE | SEQ NO. | MID | `------------+-------------+----------+---------+-----' | ___________________ / | __________________ / | / .--------+-------------------------------+---------. | HEADER | SEGMENTATION UNIT | TRAILER | `--------+-------------------------------+---------' [7] [44] | [2] \ _______ | \ | (6) (10) \ .-----------+--------. | PAY LNGTH | PAY CRC| `-----------+--------' The ACCESS CONTROL and NETWORK CONTROL INFORMATION portions of the Header contain information analogous to the Access Control portion of the DQDB slot and the DQDB Payload Header, respectively. This includes: For SMDS the Network Control Information must be the hexadecimal sequence FF, FF, F0, 22. (Number of bits) **** These 4 bits are ignored by the SMDS network. They (1) (4) (1) (1) (1) are the SL_TYPE, PSR, .------+------+-------+-------+-------. and RESV bits of the | BUSY | **** | REQ_2 | REQ_1 | REQ_0 | DQDB slot Access `------+------+-------+-------+-------' Header byte. | _________ / | _________ / | / .------------+-------------+----------+---------+-----. | ACCESS CON | NETWORK CON | SEG TYPE | SEQ NO. | MID | `------------+-------------+----------+---------+-----' | \_________ | \ | (20) (2) (2) (8) | .-----+----------+-----+-----. | VCI | PAY TYPE | PRI | HCS | `-----+----------+-----+-----' The segment type is
used by SMDS to indicate whether the Segmentation Unit (SU) in a given
cell is the beginning of the message (BOM), a continuation of a message
(COM), the end of the message (EOM), or a single segment (an entire frame
within one cell). Physical Layer Convergence Protocol Frame FormatThe L2_PDUs are formatted
into a PLCP frame for transmission over the DS1 or E1 lines. (The INTERVIEW
currently does not support SMDS on DS3 or E3 lines.) NOTE: For the PLCP frame, the MOST-SIGNIFICANT BIT is transmitted over the line first. This is contrary to most other protocols monitored by the INTERVIEW (including the raw data display during bit-image data playback via sync with Display Idle: ON) and is not the way data is normally stored in the unit. The received process reverses the bit order of the data as it is received, so that the first bit of each octet is stored as the most-significant bit in memory. The DS1 frame has
a duration of 3 milliseconds. It is transmitted at a rate of 1.536 Mbps.
The E1 frame is similar in size. [1] [1] [1] [1] [53 octets] .----+----+----+----+-------------------------------. | A1 | A2 | P9 | Z4 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P8 | Z3 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P7 | Z2 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P6 | Z1 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P5 | F1 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P4 | B1 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P3 | G1 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P2 | M2 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+ | A1 | A2 | P1 | M1 | L2_PDU | +----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+---------. | A1 | A2 | P0 | C1 | L2_PDU | TRAILER | `----+----+----+----+-------------------------------+---------' Key: A1 = 11110110 (fixed) A2 = 00101000 (fixed) Px = Path Overhead Identifier Zx = Growth octets F1 = PLCP Path User Channel B1 = Bit-Interleaved Parity 8 G1 = PLCP Path Status (BIP-8) C1 = Cycle/Stuff Counter Mx = SIP Layer 1 Control Info
SIP Addressing SchemeThe SIP Destination and Source Addresses for the United States are 10-digit numbers preceded by a "1" and followed by four Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD) "F". International addresses include the appropriate country code, telephone number, and node designation, not exceeding 15 BCD digits (not supported by the INTERVIEW SMDS Application programs at this time). Two types of addresses are used: Each individual address uniquely identifies a single Subscriber Network Interface (SNI). However, up to 16 individual addresses may be assigned to a single SNI, each equally valid. Each group address is used to identify a group of up to 128 individual addresses. The Switching System is able to support up to 1024 group addresses. A given individual address is able to participate in a maximum of 32 group addresses. Each SNI is able to be a part of up to 48 group addresses. In addition to indicating the source node and the destination node, the SIP address functions as part of the security system of the SMDS network. As the BOM of each SMDS packet is received, the Source Address is verified to ensure that the sender is not inserting another subscriber's address. The SS will verify that the Source Address is:
Both Source and Destination
Addresses are also used in the ADDRESS SCREENS that may be maintained
by the SS. Address screens may be used to create Closed User Groups (CUGs)
within the SMDS network. This allows for the creation of virtual private
networks within the context of the public-access SMDS network. Up to 128
address screens may be maintained by the SS for any SNI on the network. The current implementation of SMDS in North America has Customer Network Management (CNM) capabilities. This implementation allows the CUSTOMER to maintain control over the network functions, including:
The CNM implementation currently in place for SMDS is the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). This is a LAN network management supported by many vendors and used on many non-TCP/IP networks. |