Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the ML1000-2 and ML100T-12 cards for the ONS 15454 SONET
and ONS 15454 SDH. It lists Ethernet and SONET/SDH capabilities and Cisco IOS and Cisco Transport
Controller (CTC) software features, with brief descriptions of selected features.
This chapter contains the following major sections:
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ML-Series Card Description
The ML-Series cards are Gigabit Ethernet (ML1000-2) and Fast Ethernet (ML100T-12) multilayer
switches integrated into the ONS 15454 SONET/SDH platform. An ONS 15454 SONET with a 10
Gigabit Cross-Connect card (XC10G) can host the card in any traffic card slot, but an ONS 15454
SONET with a Cross- Connect card (XC) or Cross Connect Virtual Tributary card (XCVT) can only host
the card in the four high-speed traffic slots. An ONS 15454 SDH can host the card in any traffic card slot.
Each card is an independent data switch that processes up to 5.7 Mpps of Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching.
The card ships loaded with Cisco IOS Release 12.1(14)EO, which controls the data functions of the card.
Users can access Cisco IOS in three ways: the console port on the faceplate of the card, the Ethernet
ports on the ML-Series card assigned to a management VLAN, or a Telnet session. The Telnet sessions
can be initiated through a terminal program on the PC or through CTC, the standard ONS 15454
SONET/SDH graphical user interface (GUI).
The Cisco IOS software image used by the ML-Series card is not permanently stored on the ML-Series
card but in the flash memory of the TCC+/TCC2 card. During a hard reset, when a card is physically
removed and reinserted, the Cisco IOS software image is downloaded from the flash memory of the
TCC+/TCC2 to the memory cache of the ML-Series card. The cached image is then decompressed and
initialized for use by the ML-Series card.
During a soft reset, when the ML-Series card is reset through CTC or Cisco IOS CLI commands, the
ML-Series card checks its cache for an IOS image. If a valid and current IOS image exists, the ML-Series
card decompresses and initializes the image. If the image does not exist, the ML-Series requests a new
copy of the IOS image from the TCC. Caching the IOS image provides a significant time savings when
a warm reset is performed.
The Cisco IOS CLI is the primary user interface for the ML-Series card. Most configuration for the card,
such as Ethernet port, bridging and VLAN, can only be done via the Cisco IOS CLI. But CTC, the
ONS 15454 SONET/SDH GUI, also supports the ML-Series. CTC offers ML-Series status information,
Cisco ONS 15454 SONET/SDH ML-Series Multilayer Ethernet Card Software Feature and Configuration Guide, R4.0
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ML-Series Card Description, page 1-1
ML-Series Feature List, page 1-2
Understanding Key Features, page 1-5
C H A P T E R
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