Configure Inline Network Ports and Inline Network

An inline network consists of inline network ports, always in pairs, running at the same speed, on the same medium (either fiber or copper). The inline network ports must be on the same GigaVUE-HC series node.

Following are the two types of inline network:

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Unprotected inline network—It is an arrangement of two ports of the inline network type. The arrangement facilitates access to a bidirectional link between two networks (two far-end network devices) that need to be linked through an inline tool.

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Protected inline network—It is implemented using bypass combo modules. It is based on the pairs of ports associated with physical protection switches on the bypass combo modules. For a protected inline network, the ports are created automatically when the bypass combo modules are recognized by the GigaVUE HC Series node.

To configure inline network ports and an inline network:

On the left navigation pane, go to Physical > Orchestrated Flows > Inline Flows, and then click Configuration Canvas to create a new Flexible Inline Canvas.

In the Flexible Inline Canvas that is displayed, select the required device for which you want to configure the inline network.

Click the ‘+’ icon next to the Inline Network option to create a new inline network.

Figure 50

Inline Network Configuration

In the Alias and Description fields, enter a name and description for the inline network, and then click Port Editor.

In the Quick Port Editor, scroll down to the inline network ports that you wish to configure. Select Enable to administratively enable inline network ports, and then click OK.

From the Port A and Port B drop-down lists, select the ports that you want to configure as the inline network pair.

From the Traffic Path drop-down list, select one of the following options:

Bypass—all traffic that originates from the inline network bypasses the sequence of inline tools and inline tool groups and is redirected to the opposite-side inline network port.

Drop—all traffic originating from the inline network is dropped.

Bypass with Monitoring—a copy of the traffic originating from the inline network bypasses the sequence of inline tools and inline tool groups and is redirected to the opposite-side inline network port. Another copy of the traffic is directed to the sequence of inline tools and inline tool groups, except that no traffic of the second copy is sent to the exit port.

To Inline Tool—all traffic originating from the inline network is directed to the sequence of inline tools and inline tool groups and is guided through the inline tools and inline tool groups according to the current inline tool and inline tool group status.

Select the Link Failure Propagation check box to ensure that the inline network link failure on one side of the inline network is propagated to the other side. For details, refer to Network Port Link Status Propagation Parameter.

Select the Accept Regular Heartbeat check box to ensure that the inline network port pair accepts the heartbeat packets that are sent from the inline tool port pair. For details, refer to Heartbeat Support Between GigaVUE Nodes.

10.

Click OK to save the configuration.

11.

Drag the Inline Network object to the canvas and click Deploy.