Remote node management using GCC
Remote node management using GCC is a network management method that
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leverages the General Communication Channel (GCC) embedded in optical transport networks,
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delivers reliable, out-of-band communication between centralized controllers and remote network nodes, and
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enables real-time monitoring, configuration, and maintenance activities without requiring direct physical access to each node.
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Feature Name |
Release Information |
Feature Description |
|---|---|---|
|
GCC Support for OTN-XP Card |
Cisco IOS XR Release 7.3.2 |
The node supports a maximum of 48 GCC (GCC0 and GCC1) channels for each OTN-XP card. |
From R7.2.1 onwards, the OTN-XP card provides OTU interface that supports communication channels between adjacent network elements or nodes using GCC bytes in the OTN header. Remote node management is supported over the GCC interface.
The remote nodes can be dynamically discovered over the GCC interface using OSPF. The connectivity to the management network can be achieved using OSPF and static routes.
 Note |
The GCC2 and GCC0 interfaces are supported in NCS 1004. The GCC0 interface is supported on the Coherent DSP controller whereas the GCC2 interface is supported on the ODU controller. |
Note |
The GCC0 and GCC2 interfaces are supported in Muxponder and Muxponder slice modes. Only the GCC0 interface is supported in the Regeneration (Regen) mode. |
From R7.2.1 onwards, the node supports GCC0 on the corresponding OTU2, OTU2e, and OTU4 interfaces. The node (Cisco FPGA) supports a maximum of 22 GCC channels for each card.
Note |
The GCC0 and GCC1 interfaces are supported on OTN-XP card and GCC2 interface is not supported. |
From R7.3.1 onwards, the node supports GCC0 on the corresponding OTU2, OTU2e, OTU4, and Coherent DSP interfaces, and GCC1 on OTN ODU controller (ODU2, ODU2E, ODU4, and ODUCn).
From R7.3.2 onwards, the node (Cisco FPGA) supports a maximum of 48 GCC (GCC0 and GCC1) channels for each card.
Supported and unsupported features of the GCC interface
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Feature/Functionality |
Supported on GCC Interface? |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
gRPC protocol |
No |
gRPC is not supported over the GCC interface. |
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Open Config |
No |
Not supported due to lack of gRPC support. |
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Streaming telemetry |
No |
Not supported due to lack of gRPC support. |
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Tx and Rx packet count statistics |
Yes |
Only Tx and Rx packet count information is available in GCC |
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Remote node management (after initial provisioning) |
Yes |
Devices can be managed over GCC only when connected through the management network using GCC. |
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Initial provisioning and bring-up via GCC |
No |
Must use console or management Ethernet interface for initial setup. |
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Remote management after headless/HA event |
May be impacted |
Events like reloads or driver restarts at intermediate nodes may affect management of subsequent nodes. |
| IP fragmentation for SCP protocol |
No |
Not supported; reduce packet size to less than 1454 bytes as a workaround. |
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TCP MSS configuration to avoid fragmentation |
Yes |
Use |
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Coherent DSP controller (QXP card) GCC0 interface |
Yes |
Supported on QXP card. |
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GCC0 speed on QXP card |
Yes |
7.7 Mbps. |
Note |
For operations not supported on the GCC interface, use the console or management Ethernet interface as alternatives. For SCP protocol, configure TCP MSS or IPv4 MTU settings to avoid IP fragmentation issues. |
Supported protocols
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PING
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SSH
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TELNET
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SCP
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TFTP
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FTP
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SFTP
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HTTP
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HTTPS
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OSPF
Enable the GCC interface
Use this task to enable GCC0, GCC1, or GCC2 interfaces on various line cards (1.2T, OTN-XP) to support management and communication channels.
Procedure
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Step 1 |
Enter configuration mode. |
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Step 2 |
Configure the controller and the GCC interface for a line card.
Example:This sample configuration enables the GCC2 interface for the 1.2T line card. This sample configuration enables the GCC0 interface for the 1.2T line card. This sample configuration enables the GCC0 interface for the OTN-XP line card. This sample configuration enables the GCC1 interface for the OTN-XP line card. |
Configure the GCC interface
Use this task to configure the GCC0, GCC1, and GCC2 interfaces on 1.2T and OTN-XP cards using static or loopback IP addresses.
Procedure
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Step 1 |
Enter configuration mode. |
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Step 2 |
Specify the GCC2 interface for a line card.
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Step 3 |
Use the command ipv4 address ipv4-address net-mask to set the IPv4 address for the interface. Example:This sample configures the GCC2 interface using the static IP address on the 1.2T line card This sample configures the GCC2 interface using the loopback IP address on 1.2T card. This sample checks the status of GCC2 interface. This sample configures the GCC0 interface using the static IP address on 1.2T or OTN-XP card.enables the GCC1 interface for the OTN-XP line card. This sample configures the the GCC0 interface using the loopback IP address on 1.2T or OTN-XP card.
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Configure static routes over the GCC interface
Use this task to configure the router to forward packets for specific networks or hosts via the GCC interface using manually defined routes.
Procedure
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Step 1 |
Enter configuration mode. |
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Step 2 |
Enter the router static configuration mode. |
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Step 3 |
Use the command address-family ipv4 unicast ip4 address default-gateway to enter address family configuration mode. This step also configures a routing session using standard IPv4 address prefixes. Example: |
Configure OSPF Routes Over the GCC Interface
To configure OSPF routes over the GCC interface, use the following commands:
configure
router ospf process-id
router-id ip-address
area area-id
interface type R/S/I/P/L
exit
Examples
The following is a sample to configure OSPF routes over the GCC interface.
Gateway Node:
configure
router ospf 1
router-id 192.0.2.89
area 0
interface Loopback0
!
interface MgmtEth0/RP0/CPU0/1
!
interface GCC20/0/0/0/1
!
interface GCC20/0/0/0/2
Remote Node:
configure
router ospf 1
router-id 192.0.2.92
redistribute connected
area 0
interface Loopback0
!
interface GCC20/0/0/0/1
!
interface GCC20/0/0/0/2
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