Informer 343: 15 March 2016

We’re introducing the Upstream Ingress Policer as a new optional NGA feature. 

What's happening?

The optional Upstream Ingress Policer enforces the NGA service performance SLAs by discarding out-of-profile frames at the ONT. It’s now available, however we strongly recommend that you thoroughly test your CPE and services compatibility in the Chorus Co-Innovation Laboratory (CCIL) in Auckland or Wellington before you turn it ON.

What's the detail?

The default ONT/OLT architecture with the ONT Upstream Ingress Policer turned OFF, treats the OLT/ONT as a single (distributed) device with the Upstream Ingress Policer applied at the OLT, after the GPON Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation has ‘smoothed’ the submitted traffic.

This results in a behaviour where frames submitted upstream that exceed the CBS/EBS limit will be stored in the ONT queue/buffer, not only delaying the out-of-profile frames, but also potentially delaying some subsequent in-profile frames. This could prevent our NGA services from meeting the UFB SLAs upstream under some (burst) conditions.

Turning the ONT Upstream Ingress Policer ON will discard out-of-profile frames at the ONT UNI port, ensuring our network will meet the UFB SLAs for all frames, regardless of CPE behaviour. Please note that these frame discards could result in an unpredictable and variable consumer experience.

It is recommended that you trial the Upstream Ingress Policer against your CPE and each market proposition before turning the Upstream Ingress Policer ON. You will also need to provide the ability to remotely change the CPE egress shapers if the consumer requests a new bandwidth profile.

If your CPE only sends in-profile frames then turning the ONT Upstream Ingress Policer ON will have no impact.

How do I request the Upstream Ingress Policer?

If you have an existing CCIL connection you can apply the Upstream Ingress Policer to that connection by emailing to ChorusCo-InnovationLab@chorus.co.nz.

You can request the Upstream Ingress Policer on a production connection as follows:

• OO&T and Chorus Portal service requests to connect or modify the NGA product instance are submitted as normal
• The Upstream Ingress Policer can be set to ON by sending an email to ONTUIPMANAGEMENT@chorus.co.nz with the Chorus Portal or OO&T request number in the email subject field. Note that turning the Upstream Ingress Policer ON for an existing NGA connection may require a site visit to be scheduled to change the ONT.
• The Upstream Ingress Policer can subsequently be turned OFF by sending an email to ONTUIPMANAGEMENT@chorus.co.nz with the Chorus Portal or OO&T request number in the email subject field.

Who should I contact?

There is more information on our website NGA Technical User Guide (September) whitepaper or contact your Service Delivery Manager.