6 Implementing and Managing Per Hop Behavior Groups

This chapter describes how to implement and manage both standard and MQC Per Hop Behavior (PHB) groups in Oracle Communications IP Service Activator. This chapter:

Describes how to set up and manage PHB groups
Explains how to implement PHB groups and understand the information that IP Service Activator displays for implemented PHB groups

Implementing a PHB Group

This section discusses how to associate PHB groups with policy targets and how to commit transactions.

Associating a PHB Group with a Policy Target

If you set up a PHB group from the Policy tab, you can apply it to the appropriate points in the network by dragging and dropping. A PHB group can be applied to any policy target – that is, a network component, a customer, site or VPN. To apply a PHB group to a policy target:

With the PHB group displayed in the hierarchy pane and the target object displayed in the Details pane, drag the PHB group onto the target object.

To remove a PHB group from a policy target:

Double-click on the policy target.

IP Service Activator lists the configuration associated with the policy target in the details pane.
In the Details pane, select the PHB Groups tab and select the PHB group to be removed.

PHB groups applied to the policy target are listed on a white background, PHB groups applied at a higher point in the hierarchy are listed on a gray background.
From the PHB group's pop-up menu, select Unlink.

Committing the Transaction

As you define PHB groups, they are added to the current transaction. Depending on your user access level, you may be able to commit the transaction immediately, or save it in a pending state for checking and committing by a supervisor. The policy implemented by a PHB group is not implemented until the transaction it forms part of is committed.

Checking Implemented PHB Groups

Once you have propagated PHB groups to devices throughout the network, you can check how and where PHB groups have been implemented.

Abstract and Concrete PHB Groups

A concrete PHB group is an implementation of a defined PHB group that applies to a specific point in the network, that is, at a particular interface, sub-interface or VC endpoint. Each abstract or parent PHB group set up can result in a number of concrete PHB groups. See Figure 6-1.

For more information on abstract and concrete policy elements, see IP Service Activator Concepts Guide.

Figure 6-1 PHB Groups

Description of "Figure 6-1 PHB Groups"

PHB Group Status

A concrete PHB group may have the following status:

Inactive – the PHB group has been applied to an interface but has not yet been propagated to proxy agents.
Active – the PHB group has been propagated to a proxy agent but is not installed on a device at present.
Conflict – the PHB group fails validation – for example, the action performed by a PHB group is not supported by an interface.
Rejected – the proxy agent failed to install the PHB group and it has been discarded.
Installed – the PHB group has been successfully installed on the designated device.

Viewing Implemented PHB Groups

Once you have created PHB groups you can check the points at which they apply.

To view the points at which a PHB group has been implemented:

On the Policy tab, select the relevant PHB group and double-click the Report View button.

The points at which the selected PHB group applies are listed in the Details pane.

Each abstract (parent) PHB group is followed by a list of the concrete PHB groups that have been created at appropriate interfaces. The background color of a PHB group indicates where it was created.

At any one time, a number of PHB groups may be listed for a network component, customer, site or VPN – particularly as PHB groups can be applied to various levels of both the logical and the physical hierarchy and applied via a process of inheritance. See "Policy Inheritance" for information on inheritance.

To view the PHB groups that apply to an object

On the Topology tab, double-click on the relevant policy target.
Select the PHB Groups tab in the Details pane.

The listed PHB groups may have originated at a higher point in the hierarchy. IP Service Activator uses color to indicate whether the PHB group is abstract or concrete. For more information on abstract and concrete policy elements, see IP Service Activator User's Guide.

Note that, in addition to viewing the concrete PHB groups that apply to a specific object, it is also possible to perform a system-wide search to locate concrete PHB groups by state.

If no concrete PHB groups are listed for an abstract PHB group, check the following:

The correct device and interface roles have been associated with the PHB group and assigned to the relevant policy targets – see "Using Roles in Policy Elements".
Devices to which the PHB group should apply are managed.

For more information, see IP Service Activator User's Guide.

Note:

IP Service Activator applies only one concrete PHB group to an interface. An abstract PHB group that has been applied at a lower level in the hierarchy overrides any PHB groups that have been applied at a higher level. A concrete standard PHB group that configures FRTS or ATM traffic shaping can be installed on an interface that has a concrete MQC PHB group whose mechanisms do not conflict with the standard PHB group.

Information Displayed About PHB Groups

Click on the PHB groups tab to view relevant PHB groups. Table 6-1 shows the PHB group details.

Table 6-1 PHB Group Information

Heading	Description
Name	Name of the PHB group
State	Current status of the concrete PHB group
Level	For abstract PHB groups, the level at which the PHB group was created (the name of the domain, VPN, site, device, interface or VC endpoint). For concrete PHB groups, the object on which the PHB group is installed
Type	Either PHB Group or MQC PHB Group
Device Role	Name of the matched device role to which the PHB group is applied
Interface Role	Name of the matched interface role to which the PHB group is applied
Direction	Direction of traffic affected by PHB group - Inbound, Outbound or Both
WRR	True if Weighted Round Robin is applied, otherwise False
WRED	True if Weighted Random Early Detection is applied, otherwise False
PQ	True if Priority Queuing is applied, otherwise False
WFQ	True if Weighted Fair Queuing is applied, otherwise False
Rate Limiting	True if Rate Limiting is applied, otherwise False
FRTS	True if Frame Relay Traffic Shaping is applied, otherwise False
ATM Traffic Shaping	True if ATM Traffic Shaping is applied, otherwise False
ID	The internal ID number by which the concrete PHB group is identified

Changing the Evaluation Order of PHB Groups

The abstract and inherited PHB groups that apply to a policy target are listed in the following order:

Abstract PHB groups – PHB groups applied at the object
Inherited PHB groups – PHB groups that have been applied to an object at a higher level in the hierarchy and inherited to the lower-level object

Inherited PHB groups are further subdivided according to where the corresponding abstract PHB group was applied. For example, PHB groups inherited from devices are grouped together.

The order in which PHB groups are listed in the details pane is important – the first PHB group that appears in the list is applied. IP Service Activator applies only one concrete PHB group to any interface. Therefore, you need to ensure that PHB groups appear in the correct order.

The initial order reflects the order in which the PHB groups were created. You can change the order if required, by dragging and dropping PHB groups to a new position in the list.