About Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE)
With Ethernet equipment gradually replacing Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) equipment in service-provider networks, frequency synchronization is required to provide high-quality clock synchronization over Ethernet ports. Frequency or timing synchronization is the ability to distribute precision frequency around a network. In this context, timing refers to precision frequency, not an accurate time of day.
Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE), described in ITU G.781, provides the required synchronization at the physical level. In SyncE, Ethernet links are synchronized by timing their bit clocks from high-quality, stratum-1-traceable clock signals in the same manner as SONET/SDH.
To maintain SyncE links, a set of operational messages are required. These messages ensure that a node is always deriving timing information from the most reliable source and then transfers the timing source quality information to clock the SyncE link. In SONET/SDH networks, these are known as Synchronization Status Messages (SSMs). SyncE uses Ethernet Synchronization Message Channel (ESMC) to provide transport for SSMs.
Customers using a packet network find it difficult to provide timing to multiple remote network elements (NEs) through an external time division multiplexed (TDM) circuit. The SyncE feature helps to overcome this problem by providing effective timing to the remote NEs through a packet network. SyncE synchronizes clock frequency over an Ethernet port, leveraging the physical layer of the Ethernet to transmit frequency to the remote sites. SyncE's functionality and accuracy resemble the SONET/SDH network because of its physical layer characteristic.
SONET/SDH use 4 bits from the two S bytes in the SONET/SDH overhead frame for message transmission. Ethernet relies on ESMC that is based on an IEEE 802.3 organization-specific slow protocol for message transmission. Each NE along the synchronization path supports SyncE, and SyncE effectively delivers frequency in the path. SyncE does not support relative time (for example, phase alignment) or absolute time (Time of Day).
SyncE provides the Ethernet physical layer network (ETY) level frequency distribution of known common precision frequency references. Clocks for use in SyncE are compatible with the clocks used in the SONET/SDH synchronization network. To achieve network synchronization, synchronization information is transmitted through the network via synchronous network connections with performance of egress clock.
ESMC carries a Quality Level (QL) identifier that identifies the timing quality of the synchronization trail. QL values in QL-TLV are the same as QL values defined for SONET and SDH SSM. Information provided by SSM QLs during the network transmission helps a node derive timing from the most reliable source and prevents timing loops. ESMC is used with the synchronization selection algorithms. Because Ethernet networks are not required to be synchronous on all links or in all locations, the ESMC channel provides this service. ESMC, described in G.8264, is composed of the standard Ethernet header for an organization-specific slow protocol; the ITU-T OUI, a specific ITU-T subtype; an ESMC-specific header; a flag field; and a type, length, value (TLV) structure. The use of flags and TLVs improves the management of SyncE links and the associated timing change.
Sources and Selection Points
A Frequency Synchronization implementation involves Sources and Selection Points.
A Source inputs frequency signals into a system or transmits them out of a system. There are four types of sources:
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Line interfaces, including SyncE interfaces.
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Clock interfaces. These are external connectors for connecting other timing signals, such as BITS, UTI and GPS.
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PTP clock. If IEEE 1588 version 2 is configured on the router, a PTP clock may be available to frequency synchronization as a source of the time-of-day and frequency.
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Internal oscillator. This is a free-running internal oscillator chip.
Each source has an associated Quality Level (QL), which specifies the accuracy of the clock. This QL information is transmitted across the network using SSMs carried by ESMC. The QL information is used to determine the best available source to which the devices in the system can synchronize.
To define a predefined network synchronization flow and to prevent timing loops, you can assign priority values to each source on the switch. When more than one source has the same QL, the user-assigned priority value determines the relative preference among the sources.
A selection point is the process within the switch where a choice is made between several available frequency signals. The combination of QL information and user-assigned priority levels allows each switch to choose a source to synchronize its SyncE interfaces, as described in the ITU standard G.781.
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