Interface Types
Interfaces of a device are used to exchange data and interact with other network devices. Interfaces are classified into physical interface and logical interfaces.
Physical interfaces
A device provides physical interfaces. Physical interfaces are categorized as management interfaces and service interfaces.
Management interfaces
Management interfaces are used to log in to devices. Users can use management interfaces to configure and manage devices. An independent management interfaces do not transmit service data.
This document provides only configuration of service and logical interfaces. For the configuration of management interfaces, see the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide -- Basic Configurations.
Table 1-1 describes the management interfaces.
Table 1-1 Description of management interfacesInterface
Description
Application
Console interface
A data connection equipment (DCE) interface that complies with the EIA/TIA-232 standard.
The console interface is connected to the COM serial interface of a configuration terminal to set up an on-site configuration environment.
Mini USB interface
Complies with the USB 2.0 standard.
The mini USB interface is connected to the USB interface of a PC through a mini USB cable to set up an on-site configuration environment.
MEth interface
- Complies with the 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T standard.NOTE:
Only the SRU-100H, SRU-200H, SRU-400H, SRU-400HK, SRU-600HK, and SRU-600H support the MEth interface complies with the 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T standard.
The SRU-100HH supports the MEth interface complies with the 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T standard.
- Complies with the 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX standard.NOTE:
Only the AR1600 series supports the MEth interface complies with the 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX standard.
The MEth interface is connected to the network interface of the configuration terminal or network management workstation to set up an on-site or remote configuration environment.
NOTE:The ports marked with management on the panel is an independent management port. It is not used to transmit services.
The ports marked with MGMT GE on the panel is a non-independent management port. It is used to be as a service port for configuration and management.
Only one of the console interface and mini USB interface of a router can be used as the serial interface. By default, the console interface is used as the serial interface of the router.
- Complies with the 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T standard.
Service interfaces
Service interfaces transmit services and are classified into the following types:- LAN-side interface: used by routers to exchange data with network devices on LANs.
- WAN-side interface: used by routers to exchange data with devices on external networks.
Table Description of service interfaces describes the service interfaces that the router supports.
Table 1-2 Description of service interfacesType
Interface
Description
LAN-side interface
FE interface
A LAN-side FE interface works at the data link layer, provides a maximum of 100 Mbit/s transmission rate, processes Layer 2 protocol packets, and implements Layer 2 forwarding.
GE interface
A LAN-side GE interface works at the data link layer, provides a maximum of 1000 Mbit/s transmission rate, processes Layer 2 protocol packets, and implements Layer 2 forwarding.
WAN-side interface
FE interface
A WAN-side FE interface works at the network layer, can be assigned an IP address, provides a maximum of 100 Mbit/s transmission rate, processes Layer 3 protocol packets, and provides the routing function.
GE interface
A WAN-side GE interface works at the network layer, can be assigned an IP address, provides a maximum of 1000 Mbit/s transmission rate, processes Layer 3 protocol packets, and provides the routing function.
VPORT
The virtual port (VPORT) connects to an open virtual switch (OVS) in a virtualized environment. In the display interface brief command output, an interface with its number marked with (v) is a virtual interface. The information "description VirtualPort" is displayed for the VPORT.
10GE interface
NOTE:The 2X10GL (2-Port 10GE Optical Ports Interface Card) support 10GE interfaces. For the mapping between the device and interface card, see AR-2X10GL-W (2-Port 10GE Optical Ports Interface Card).
A WAN-side 10GE interface works at the network layer, can be assigned an IP address, provides a maximum of 10000 Mbit/s transmission rate, processes Layer 3 protocol packets, and provides the routing function.
Synchronous/Asynchronous serial (SA) interface
An SA interface can work in synchronous mode as a synchronous serial interface or in asynchronous mode as an asynchronous serial interface. Link layer protocols such as PPP and FR can be configured on synchronous serial interfaces. Parameters such as the stop bit and data bit can be set on asynchronous serial interfaces.
Async interface
An async interface is used as an asynchronous serial interface. The link layer protocol is PPP when async interfaces work in protocol mode. Parameters such as the stop bit and data bit can be set on asynchronous serial interfaces.
CE1/CT1 interface
A CE1/CT1 interface is a channelized E1/T1 interface. It can be assigned an IP address, processes Layer 3 protocol packets, has the same logical interfaces as a synchronous serial interface, works in different modes, and supports Point-to-Point (PPP), Frame Relay (FR), and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).
E1-F/T1-F interface
An E1-F/T1-F interface is an E1/T1 interface working in fractional channelized mode. It is a simplified CE1/PRI or CT1/PRI interface. To reduce costs, E1-F/T1-F interfaces can be used in E1/T1 access scenario.
CE3 interface
A CE3 interface is a physical interface in the E3 system for transmitting voice, data, and image signals.
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) interface
An ADSL interface provides asymmetric transmit and receive rates and implements fast data transmission over copper twisted pairs by employing high frequencies that are not used by regular telephone lines.
G.Single-pair High-speed Digital Subscriber Line (G.SHDSL) interface
A G.SHDSL interface provides symmetric transmit and receive rates and implements fast data transmission over copper twisted pairs by employing high frequencies that are not used by regular telephone lines.
VDSL interface
Based on the DSL, the VDSL integrates various interface protocols and multiplexes upstream and downstream channels to provide high rate transmission.
E1-IMA interface
The E1-IMA interface sends ATM cells to E1-IMA links.
3G cellular interface
A 3G cellular interface is a physical interface supporting 3G technology. It provides enterprise-level wireless WAN access services.
LTE cellular interface
An LTE cellular interface is a physical interface supporting Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. Compared with 3G technology, LTE technology provides enterprises with the high-bandwidth wireless WAN access service.
5G cellular interface
A 5G cellular interface is a physical interface used by a router to implement the 5G technology. The interface provides enterprise-class wireless WAN access services for users, and is mainly used in eMBB scenarios. Compared with LTE, 5G can provide enterprise users with higher-bandwidth wireless WAN access services.
ISDN BRI interface
A BRI interface contains two 64 kbit/s B channels and one 16 kbit/s D channel, and the interface bandwidth is 2B + D. Link layer protocols such as PPP and FR can be configured on ISDN BRI interfaces and the network layer protocol is IP.
POS interface
A POS interface uses SONET/SDH as the physical-layer protocol and provides a high-speed, reliable, and P2P IP data transfer.
CPOS interface
CPOS interfaces are channelized POS interfaces that use the SDH mechanism to improve the router's convergence capability for low-speed access.
PON interface
PON interfaces are classified into Ethernet PON (EPON) interfaces and gigabit PON (GPON) interfaces. They transmit data at a high rate.
Voice interface
Voice interfaces are classified into the following types:
- An FXS interface connects to a POTS phone. To achieve high transmission efficiency on an FXS interface, properly set parameters for the FXS interface, including physical attributes and electrical attributes.
- An FXO interface connects to a PSTN. To achieve high transmission efficiency on an FXO interface, properly set parameters for the FXO interface, including the gain, impedance, ring current, and feed.
- A basic rate access (BRA) interface connects to an ISDN phone. On the router, you can enable BRA interface Layer 2 monitoring, remote power supply, automatic deactivation, and alarm functions, and set the working mode and Layer 1 activation mode on a BRA interface.
- A VE1 interface connects to a PBX or PSTN network. On the router, you can enable the CRC4 check, E1 interface Layer 2 monitoring, and E1 interface pulse code modulation (PCM) alarm functions, and set the CRC alarm threshold and E1 interface signaling mode on a VE1 interface.
Service interfaces are sometimes called ports. This document uses the term interface.
Logical interfaces
Logical interfaces are manually configured and do not physically exist. They can be used to exchange data and transmit service data.
Table 1-3 describes the logical interfaces that the router supports.
Table 1-3 Logical interface typesInterface
Description
Configuration Reference
Eth-Trunk interface
Has Layer 2 or Layer 3 features. An Eth-Trunk interface is formed by binding multiple Ethernet interfaces to provide more bandwidth and higher transmission reliability.
For details about how to configure an Eth-Trunk interface, see Link Aggregation Configuration in the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: LAN.
Virtual-Template (VT) interface
Used when PPP needs to transmit packets of other link layer protocols.
-
Virtual-Ethernet (VE) interface
Used when other data link layer protocols need to be carried by the Ethernet protocol.
-
MP-Group interface
Used to perform MP binding. MP group interfaces are dedicated to the MP application and usually used in scenarios requiring dynamic bandwidth.
For details about how to configure an MP Group interface, see MP Configuration in the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: WAN.
Dialer interface
Used to implement the Dialer Control Center (DCC) function. A physical interface can be bound to a dialer interface to inherit the configuration of the dialer interface.
For details about how to configure a dialer interface, see DCC Configuration in the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: WAN.
Tunnel interface
Has Layer 3 features, transmits packets, and identifies and processes packets transmitted over a tunnel.
For details about how to configure a tunnel interface, see GRE Configuration in the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: VPN.
VLANIF interface
Has Layer 3 features and enables VLANs to communicate after being assigned an IP address.
For details about how to configure a VLANIF interface, see VLAN Configuration in the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: LAN Configuration.
Sub-interface
A sub-interface is a virtual interface configured on a physical interface to allow a physical link to communicate with multiple remote devices.
-
MFR interface
If a single FR link cannot provide sufficient bandwidth, and multiple FR physical links exist between devices, you can bundle these FR physical links into a Multilink Frame Relay (MFR) link to increase bandwidth.
For details about how to configure an MFR interface, see FR Configuration in the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: WAN Interconnection.
Loopback interface
A loopback interface is always Up and can be configured with a 32-bit subnet mask.
-
NULL interface
Used in route filtering because any network packets sent to this interface are discarded.
-
Bridge interface
A bridge interface has Layer 3 features and enables users on different network segments on a transparent bridge to communicate with each other after being assigned an IP address.
For details about how to configure a bridge interface, see Transparent Bridging Configuration in the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: LAN Configuration.
Wlan-Radio interface
Wlan-Radio interface is a kind of logical interface. You can configure the radio after creating a wlan-radio interface.
For details about how to configure a Wlan-Radio interface, see the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: WLAN-FAT AP.
WLAN-BSS interface
A WLAN-BSS interface is a virtual Layer 2 interface. Similar to a Layer 2 Ethernet interface of the hybrid type, a WLAN-BSS interface has Layer 2 attributes and supports multiple Layer 2 protocols. After creating a WLAN-BSS interface, bind a service set to the interface.
For details about how to configure a WLAN-BSS interface, see the NetEngine AR Configuration Guide: WLAN-FAT AP.
