Applications and Overview of

Generic Framing Procedure (GFP)

Mike Scholten (AMCC)

e-mail: mscholten@amcc.com

New ITU-T standard, G.7041 describes a Generic Framing Procedure (GFP)

which may be used for efficiently mapping client signals into and transporting
them over SONET/SDH or G.709 links. This presentation provides an overview
of network applications which have driven the development of the GFP
standard within T1X1.5 and ITU-T SG15. Applications are related to some of
the features included in G.7041.
This contribution is intended only to provide introductory background to
G.7041 and does not make any proposals not already reflected in the standard.
Previewing this contribution may help in understanding motivation behind
and application of the capabilities included in G.7041.

1 T1X1.5/2002-046
What is GFP?
Emerging new standard for Data Encapsulation
Accept any client, encapsulate in simple frame, transport over network
Uses length/HEC frame delineation of variable length packets
Allows multiple data streams to be transported over single path
Packet aggregation for router applications
Common encapsulation of different client data types (e.g. Ethernet, HDLC)
Transparent Mapping supports LAN/SAN extension over WAN
Extension headers support various network topologies
Null Extension Header for channelized Point-to-Point network
Linear Extension Header for Port Aggregation over Point-to-Point network
Ring Header for Resilient Packet Ring applications (removed to Living List)

2 T1X1.5/2002-046
Basic GFP Frame Structure

Length MSB Payload Type MSB

Payload Type LSB
Length LSB
tHEC MSB
cHEC MSB tHEC LSB
cHEC LSB Ext Hdr Byte 1
Ext Hdr Byte 2
Core Header Optional
Payload Header Extension
Ext Hdr Byte n Header
Payload eHEC MSB
Area Payload eHEC LSB

FCS (optional)
FCS[31:24]
FCS[23:16]
FCS[15:8]
FCS[7:0]

3 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Application: Packet Routing through Big Fat Pipes

Edge Switch
OC-48
SONET
STM-16
SDH
SPI-3
Mapper Router-based
N x GbE Packet
Switch WAN
SPI-4 OC-192
SONET STM-64
SDH
Mapper

Packet Switch encodes/decodes 8B/10B and routes packets to appropriate SPI-n

SONET/SDH Mapper encapsulates packets using PPP over GFP and maps them into
concatenated payload (STS-48c/VC-4-16c or STS-192c/VC-4-64c)
Alternative to POS using PPP or EoS/LAPS using PPP
Avoids indeterminate bandwidth expansion due to HDLC transparency processing
All packet switching in WAN handled by Layer 2 routing
Single traffic type aggregated in edge switch & routers into big-fat-pipes going to desired hop in
routing table
Control info from 8B/10B encoding not preserved
Relies on PPP for Link Configuration

4 T1X1.5/2002-046
GFP Frame: PPP Packet Routing via GFP
Length MSB Payload Type MSB
Payload Type LSB
Length LSB
tHEC MSB
cHEC MSB tHEC LSB
cHEC LSB
Core Header
Payload Header

Payload
Area PPP
Packet
Payload

FCS (optional)
FCS[31:24]
FCS[23:16]
FCS[15:8]
FCS[7:0]

5 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Application: Port Aggregation over Digital Wrapper

Edge Switch
OTN OTU-1
Mapper
SPI-3 DWDM
N x GbE Packet
Switch WAN
SPI-4
OTU-2
OTN
Mapper

Packet Switch encodes/decodes 8B/10B and routes packets to appropriate SPI-n

OTN Mapper encapsulates packets using GFP with extension header and aggregates them into OPU-n payload.
Single or multiple traffic types may be aggregated in edge switch onto single wavelength
Control info from 8B/10B encoding not preserved

6 T1X1.5/2002-046
GFP Frame: Packet Aggregation over OTU-n
Length MSB Payload Type MSB
Payload Type LSB
Length LSB
tHEC MSB
cHEC MSB tHEC LSB
cHEC LSB Channel ID
Core Header Spare Linear
Extension
Payload Header eHEC MSB
Header
eHEC LSB
Payload
Area Packet
Payload

FCS (optional)
FCS[31:24]
FCS[23:16]
FCS[15:8]
FCS[7:0]

7 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Application: Resilient Packet Rings

Ring
8B/10B OC-m Node
Client GbE STM-n
MAC
Network SONET
SPI-n Process. SPI-n SDH Ring
Packet
& Mapper Ring Node
Packet
Switch Framer
Stream HDLC
Proc.
Ring Node Ring
Node

Multiplex packet streams into single STS-Nc / VC-4-Xc Packet Add/Drop

Each packet encapsulated into GFP Frame
Payload Type ID in payload header supports multi-service applications
Allows spatial reuse (packet statistical muxing, rather than TDM at each node)
GFP Extension headers support RPR
Ring Node addressing
Class of Service packet prioritization
802.17 RPR WG developed alternative to GFP extension Ring Header:
RPR MAC generates/processes non-GFP ring header which is presented to GFP as part of payload

8 T1X1.5/2002-046
 GFP Frame: RPR Using GFP Ring Header
Payload Type MSB
Length MSB
Payload Type LSB
Length LSB tHEC MSB
cHEC MSB tHEC LSB
DestPort SrcPort
cHEC LSB Spare
Core Header Spare DE CoS
Payload Header TTL
Dest MAC[47:40]
Payload Dest MAC[39:32]
Area Packet Ring
Dest MAC[31:24]
Payload Extension
Header Dest MAC[23:16]
Dest MAC[15:8]
Dest MAC[7:0]
FCS (optional) Src MAC[47:40]
Src MAC[39:32]
Src MAC[31:24]
FCS[31:24] Src MAC[23:16]
NOTE: GFP Ring Header removed to Living FCS[23:16] Src MAC[15:8]
List; 802.17 RPR proposes to include ring Src MAC[7:0]
header as part of GFP payload). FCS[15:8]
eHEC MSB
FCS[7:0] eHEC LSB

9 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Application: Extending LAN / SAN over WAN

GbE SONET / SDH SONET 8B/10B

STS-m Client
FC GbE Network SDH GbE
SONET STM-n
FC Mapper FC
SDH
Mapper Framer
LAN / STS-m
Framer
SAN 8B/10B STM-n
GbE Clients
FC SONET 8B/10B
Client GbE
SDH
Mapper FC
Framer

Want to preserve individual 8B/10B block-coded channels, but

...Cannot fit two 1.25 Gb/s GbE channels into a single OC-48 / STM-16
Transport of single 1.25 Gb/s stream over OC-48 / STM-16 is excessively wasteful.
Need to preserve control info (e.g. link configuration) for LAN extension, so
Cannot just send data packets.
Cannot just interleave two streams into single path and still expect SONET/SDH to
deliver to different destinations.

10 T1X1.5/2002-046
 SAN Transport through Right-Sized Pipes using VC/GFP

Nx
Fibre Chan,
GbE,
FICON, SAN - WAN PHY
OC-48/STM-16 or
SONET/SDH
SONET
ESCON
8B/10B
8B/10B
Transparent
Transparent
Encapsulate
SDH OC-192/STM-64 Switched
Codec Encapsulate Mapper
Codec / /Extract
Extract with VC WAN

Transparent Encapsulation / Decapsulation preserves Control Info

Virtually-concatenated paths sized to fit individual client signals
Client signals preserved intact through the network
Signals routed by switching VC paths (STS-1/VC-3 or STS-3c/VC-4 switching)
Mix of protocols may be carried, each in its own VC path
Virtual Concatenation (VC) essential to compete against SAN over dark fiber

11 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Solution: VC + Transparent GFP
Use Virtual Concatenation (VC) to partition SONET/SDH link into right-sized pipes
Right-sized is smallest number of STS-3c/VC-4 or STS-1/VC-3 needed for client
Compress 8B/10B client without losing control information
Encapsulate compressed client signal into standard adaptation mechanism (GFP)
T1X1.5/2000-046 (Jul-2000) established target VC-path sizes for various clients:
Client Signal / Line Rate VC-Path Size
Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) / 1250 Mb/s STS-3c-7v / VC-4-7v
Fibre Channel / 1062.5 Mb/s STS-3c-6v / VC-4-6v
FICON / 1062.5 Mb/s STS-3c-6v / VC-4-6v
ESCON / 200 Mb/s STS-1-4v / VC-3-4v

Gigabit Ethernet
1000 Mb/s; 1250 Mb/s 8B/10B block-coded fit into STS-3c-7v or VC-4-7v
2 STS-3c/VC-4 available after 2 GbE signals VC-mapped into OC-48/STM-16
Fibre Channel and FICON
850 Mb/s; 1062.5 Mb/s 8B/10B block-coded fit into STS-3c-6v or VC-4-6v
4 STS-3c/VC-4 available after 2 Fibre Channel signals VC-mapped into OC-48/STM-16
ESCON
160 Mb/s; 200 Mb/s 8B/10B block-coded fit into STS-1-4v or VC-3-4v
12 ESCON signals can be VC-mapped into OC-48/STM-16

12 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Solution: VC + Transparent GFP (cont.)
T1X1.5/2001-04R1 (Jan-2001) established 64B/65B compression scheme:
Map 8-bit data directly into 64-bit block with pre-pended SyncBit = 0
Map 12 control characters into 3-bit location + 4-bit control code
Input Data SyncBit 64-bit Field

All Data 0 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8
7 Data + 1 Control 1 0,aaa,C1 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7
6 Data + 2 Control 1 1,aaa,C1 0,bbb,C2 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6
5 Data + 3 Control 1 1,aaa,C1 1,bbb,C2 0,ccc,C3 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5
4 Data + 4 Control 1 1,aaa,C1 1,bbb,C2 1,ccc,C3 0,ddd,C4 D1 D2 D3 D4
3 Data + 5 Control 1 1,aaa,C1 1,bbb,C2 1,ccc,C3 1,ddd,C4 0,eee,C5 D1 D2 D3
2 Data + 6 Control 1 1,aaa,C1 1,bbb,C2 1,ccc,C3 1,ddd,C4 1,eee,C5 0,fff,C6 D1 D2
1 Data + 7 Control 1 1,aaa,C1 1,bbb,C2 1,ccc,C3 1,ddd,C4 1,eee,C5 1,fff,C6 0,ggg,C7 D1
All Control 1 1,aaa,C1 1,bbb,C2 1,ccc,C3 1,ddd,C4 1,eee,C5 1,fff,C6 1,ggg,C7 0,hhh,C8

aaa = 3-bit representation of the 1st control codes original position

bbb = 3-bit representation of the 2nd control codes original position

hhh = 3-bit representation of the 8th control codes original position

Ci = 4-bit representation of the ith control code

Di = 8-bit representation of the ith data value in order of transmission

13 T1X1.5/2002-046
Transparent GFP Mapping (cont.)
12 8B/10B Special Characters remapped to 4-bit codes as shown
10B Violations mapped as 10B_ERR (RD errs, unrecognized 10B codes)
Rate adapt by inserting 65B_PAD code
NAME Byte Value 10B Codeword (RD-) 10B Codeword (RD+) 64B/65B
abcdei fghj abcdei fghj 4-bit Mapping
/K28.0/ 1C 001111 0100 110000 1011 0000
/K28.1/ 3C 001111 1001 110000 0110 0001
/K28.2/ 5C 001111 0101 110000 1010 0010
/K28.3/ 7C 001111 0011 110000 1100 0011
/K28.4/ 9C 001111 0010 110000 1101 0100
/K28.5/ BC 001111 1010 110000 0101 0101
/K28.6/ DC 001111 0110 110000 1001 0110
/K28.7/ FC 001111 1000 110000 0111 0111
/K23.7/ F7 111010 1000 000101 0111 1000
/K27.7/ FB 110110 1000 001001 0111 1001
/K29.7/ FD 101110 1000 010001 0111 1010
/K30.7/ FE 011110 1000 100001 0111 1011
10B_ERR N/A Unrecognized RD- Unrecognized RD+ 1100
65B_PAD N/A N/A N/A 1101
Spare N/A N/A N/A 1110
Spare N/A N/A N/A 1111

14 T1X1.5/2002-046
 GFP Encapsulation of N x [536,520] Superblocks
Encapsulate N x [536,520] superblocks into standard GFP Frames
Relocate leading sync bits of 8 x 65B blocks to end of 8 x 64-bit blocks
Compute & append CRC-16 after 8 x 65B blocks to create [536,520] superblock
[536,520] superblock maintains byte alignment
Choose N to fit available bandwidth of selected virtually-concatenated path
Scramble Payload Area using self-synchronous x 43+1 scrambler
Leading Bit
8 byte block
8 x 65B blocks = 520 bits
1. Group 8 x 65B blocks

2. Rearrange Leading Bits at end

3. Generate & append CRC-16 checkbits

to form [536,520] superblock.

4. Pre-pend with GFP core & payload headers.

5. Scramble payload header & payload

with x43+1. (Core header not scrambled.)

6. Form GFP frames with N x [536,520]

superblocks.

Payload Header (4 bytes) N x [536,520] Superblocks

Optional FCS (4 bytes)
Core Header (4 bytes)

15 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Handling 8B/10B Disparity

Transp. STS-m STS-m 8B/10B

Client 8B/10B Client STM-n STM-n Transp. Client Client
GFP SONET / SDH
Source 1.25Gb/s GbE, Mapper GFP Sink
Network De-map
1.0625Gb/s FC Framer
or FICON,
200Mb/s ESCON

Client Ingress Client Transport Client Egress

Ingress Code Violations Detected:

Invalid Codewords
Running Disparity Errors
Map 10B_ERR into GFP Frame.
Egress Codeword Generation:
Generate correct disparity.
Prevent disparity error propagation across
data packets.
Handle received 10B_ERR.

16 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Signal Fail Handling in Transparent Mapping

Transp. STS-m STS-m 8B/10B

Client 8B/10B Client STM-n STM-n Transp. Client Client
GFP SONET / SDH
Source 1.25Gb/s GbE, Mapper GFP Sink
Network De-map
1.0625Gb/s FC Framer
or FICON,
200Mb/s ESCON

Client Ingress Client Transport Client Egress

Signal Fail Handling on Egress:

Signal Fail Conditions on Ingress: Locally detected Signal Fail
Protocol-specific Client Signal Failures Section / RS defects (LOS, OOF/LOF, RS-TIM) 10B_ERRs
Loss of Signal GFP_CSF Line / MS defects (AIS-L) 10B_ERRs
Loss of Synchronization GFP_CSF Path defects (LOP-P, PLM, UNEQ, MS-TIM) 10B_ERRs
VC-Path defects (dLOM, dSQM, dLOA) 10B_ERRs
GFP Frame Sync Loss 10B_ERRs
Received Signal Fail conditions
GFP_CSF 10B_ERRs
Handling of non-failure errors
Definitions: Errored 8 x 65B Superblock 8 x 8 10B_ERR chars
Non-decodable 65B Block 8 x 10B_ERR chars
GFP_CSF = GFP Client Mgt Frame with Client Signal Fail Indication
10B_ERRs = stream of consecutive 10B_ERR codewords

17 T1X1.5/2002-046
 Clocking Options for Egress Client Signals

Transp. STS-m STS-m 8B/10B

Client 8B/10B Client STM-n STM-n Transp. Client Client
GFP SONET / SDH
Source 1.25Gb/s GbE, Mapper GFP Sink
Network De-map
1.0625Gb/s FC Framer
or FICON,
200Mb/s ESCON

Client Ingress Client Transport Client Egress

Egress Clock Options:

Recover Client clock from transported
GFP-mapped client signal; or
Rate adapt extracted client to locally derived
client reference clock.

18 T1X1.5/2002-046
Frame-Mapped GFP vs. Transparent GFP
Frame-Mapped GFP
Variable Length GFP Frames
1-to-1 mapping of Data Packets to GFP
Frames
Point-to-Point, Packet Aggregation, or
Resilient Packet Ring Network Topology
Requires MAC to terminate client signal and
pass only data packets.
Data only passed in 8B format.
Channel-associated control possible using
GFP Control Frames.
Unclear if client LOS, Loss-of-Sync, or code
violations should be communicated to far-end.
Doesnt define client egress action due to
SONET/SDH signal failure.
19
Transparent-Mapped GFP
Fixed Length GFP Frames
N-to-1 mapping of client characters to GFP
Frames
Primarily Point-to-Point Topology using Virtual
Concatenation
Only 8B/10B PHY layer terminated; MAC
not required to terminate higher layer protocol.
Data and control compressed using 64B/65B
re-coding.
Channel-associated control possible using
GFP Control Frames.
Transparent mapping defines mechanisms for
communicating LOS, Loss-of-Sync, code
violations to far end.
Defines client egress action due to
SONET/SDH signal failure.
T1X1.5/2002-046
GFP Overview Summary
Various GFP Applications have been described and illustrated
Packet routing
Port aggregation over SONET/SDH or OTN using Linear Extension Headers
Resilient Packet Ring applications using Ring Extension Headers
Transparent Transport of 8B/10B clients
Basic GFP Frame Structure has been described and shown
Length/cHEC frame delineation, similar to ATM cell delineation.
Payload Headers ID encapsulated payload & encapsulation options
Presence or absence of optional FCS
Presence and type or absence of extension header
Payload type allows for mixing data types in a single SONET/SDH or OTN path
Extension headers support various network topologies
Null Extension Header for channelized Point-to-Point network
Linear Extension Header for Port Aggregation over Point-to-Point network
Ring Header for Resilient Packet Ring applications
LAN/SAN extension over WAN using Transparent Mapping described and shown
64B/65B re-coding preserves data & control for transparent transport
[536,520] superblocks provide error detection / correction over relatively small blocks
Supports efficient transport of full-rate 8B/10B clients over smallest paths
Foundation laid for more easily understanding ITU-T G.7041 GFP Standard

20 T1X1.5/2002-046