L2VPN Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, Cisco IOS XR Releases

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L2VPN Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers, Cisco IOS XR Releases

Y.1564 Ethernet service activation test

Updated: June 15, 2026

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Introduces Y.1564 Ethernet service activation testing, covering SLA assurance methods, key performance indicators, test objectives, supported encapsulation modes, testing restrictions, and guidance for effective SAT and SADT usage.

A Y.1564 Ethernet service activation test is a standardized methodology that

  • validates Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for Ethernet-based services

  • measures key performance metrics such as delay, jitter, loss, and throughput, and

  • ensures consistent service quality and network performance in both User Network Interface (UNI) and Network-to-Network Interface (NNI) deployments.

Feature history

Table 1. Feature History Table

Feature Name

Release Information

Feature Description

Y.1564 Ethernet service activation test

Release 26.1.1

Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8200 [ASIC: P100], 8700 [ASIC: P100, K100], 8010 [ASIC: A100]); Centralized Systems (8400 [ASIC: K100]).

Use the Y.1564 Ethernet Service Activation Test (SAT) to check SLA settings. Ensure all services meet SLA objectives at their maximum committed rate under maximum load. Conduct medium-term and long-term soak tests under stress.

Use this procedure to turn up service, install, and troubleshoot Ethernet-based services.

You can use this test to collect Key Performance Indicator (KPI) metrics, including Frame Transfer Delay (latency or Round Trip Time (RTT)) and Frame Loss Ratio (packet loss). Use the test to measure the non-drop rate and the maximum rate under stress conditions.

Ethernet service activation tests for SLA assurance

The ITU-T Y.1564 Ethernet service activation tests deliver a common approach for carriers and service providers to evaluate Ethernet-based services. As Ethernet deployment expands across provider networks, these tests:

  • allow for SLA verification even under stress conditions and at full committed data rates,

  • support effective network troubleshooting and service activation.

Key performance indicators for Y.1564

SLA assurance for provider Ethernet networks using the Y.1564 standardized test is based on a common method that assesses Ethernet-based services for carriers and service providers. As Ethernet usage increases across provider networks, standardized testing such as Y.1564 ensures services fully satisfy SLAs, including under high load.

Y.1564 tests collect these KPIs to verify that configured SLAs are met:

  • Frame Transfer Delay (FTD) or latency: Measures the round-trip time taken by a test frame across the network.

  • Frame Loss Ratio (FLR): Measures the number of lost test packets relative to packets sent, providing a direct indication of network reliability.

Note

Jitter is not directly measured in Cisco Y.1564 implementations.

SLA validation objectives of Y.1564 tests

Y.1564 tests are used to:

  • Validate network service performance against SLA standards within a controlled test time.

  • Confirm that all services meet committed rate objectives and perform reliably at maximum committed rates.

  • Provide medium-term and long-term testing to evaluate service quality and stability under sustained network load and stress conditions.

Additional information

The primary use case for Service Activation and Data Traffic (SADT) testing with Y.1564 focuses on identifying the "non-drop rate" (the packet transmission rate below which no loss occurs) and the maximum achieved rate under stress. Traditionally, packet count has not been a decisive factor in these tests.

Supported encapsulation modes for Y.1564 service activation and deactivation tests

The Y.1564 Service Activation and Deactivation Test (SAT and SADT) feature supports multiple encapsulation modes used to establish a baseline for Ethernet service behavior during service activation testing. The supported encapsulation modes are:

  • dot1q

  • dot1q + second dot1q

  • dot1ad

  • dot1ad + second dot1q

  • priority tagged

  • untagged

  • default

In two-way statistics collection mode, you send test traffic and the remote node loops it back, enabling local measurement and statistics collection.

To learn more about default encapsulation in Layer 2 VPNs, refer to Virtual LANs in Layer 2 VPNs in the L2VPN Configuration Guide for Cisco 8000 Series Routers.

Restrictions for Y.1564 service activation test

You must follow these restrictions for Y.1564 SAT and SADT sessions to ensure proper functionality and compatibility:

  • Run SAT and SADT only within the supported interface, packet, and interoperability limits.

  • Do not use color aware mode because it is not supported.

  • Do not rely on SAT egress Ethernet ACL classification by VID, DEI, and CoS fields to drop packets based on VLAN and class-of-service matches.

  • Do not run SAT tests on interfaces with Layer 2 ACLs, and do not configure Layer 2 ACLs on interfaces where SAT tests have already run.

  • Restart SAT sessions after Route Processor failover because SAT ACL sessions fail and the sessions do not persist across switchover.

  • Do not use a multicast destination MAC address. Do not use interfaces that rely on VLAN rewrite.

  • Configure the Layer 2 interface under Layer 2 services before you run SAT.

  • Use a largest packet size of 4096 bytes when you run SAT or Ethernet mix tests.

  • Expect up to one percent frame loss for 64-byte and 128-byte packets on K100-based Silicon One ASICs.

Usage guidelines for SAT and SADT testing

When running SAT or SADT tests with default, untagged, and tagged encapsulation combinations, follow these best practices:

  • Use default encapsulation only when the interface design and session sequencing keep SAT traffic on the intended subinterface.

  • Use default encapsulation only without a Class of Service value because CoS is not supported with default encapsulation.

  • Initiate only one session at a time with default encapsulation because the SAT engine uses only the CoS value to differentiate sessions and default encapsulation packets do not include VLAN priority.

  • If your device has both untagged and default subinterfaces, run SAT sessions on the untagged subinterface. Packets sent using default encapsulation are processed by the untagged subinterface and the session will not function.

  • If both tagged and default subinterfaces exist, initiate the session over the tagged interface before you start the default session so both sessions function correctly.

  • Start the session on the tagged interface before you begin the default session to prevent frame loss for tagged packets that can be matched by the default PMF entry because of a missing VLAN priority.