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T1/E1LoopbackTestingandTroubleshootingCisco

T1/E1LoopbackTestingandTroubleshooting
DocumentID: 116492 Updated: Oct09,2013

Contents
Introduction
Background
SmartJack
LoopbackTestTypes
SoftLoopback
HardLoopback
ISDNCircuit
IPInterface

HardandSoftLoopbackVerification
CableRunTest
T1CAS
E1

TelcoAssistedLoopback
RelatedInformation

Introduction
AcommonissueinVoIPnetworkswithadigitalinterfaceconnectiontoatelecommunicationsprovider(telco)
isthattheISDNorchannelassociatedsignaling(CAS)circuitdoesnotcomeuporstayup.Suchissuescan
becomplexbecause:
1. Faultycomponentsmightresideinseveralplacesforexample,withintheCiscodomainorinathirdparty
(telco)domain.
2. MultiplecomponentsimpactthestatusoftheISDNPrimaryRateInterface(PRI)orT1CAScircuit.The
problemcouldbemismatchedconfigurationacrossthetelcointerface,whichleadstoclockslips,line/path
violations,adamagedcable,abadcard,ortelcoissues.
3. TheCiscoTechnicalAssistanceCenter(TAC)doesnotdirectlydealwiththirdpartyorganizations.
Howcantherebeefficientandeffectiveprogressontheissue?Thisdocumentdescribesanimportantand
usefultroubleshootingmethod,knownasloopbacktesting,andcoversvariousloopbacktestingtechniques.
Notes:
UsetheCommandLookupTool(registeredcustomersonly)inordertoobtainmoreinformationonthe
commandsusedinthisdocument.
TheOutputInterpreterTool(registeredcustomersonly)supportscertainshowcommands.Usethe
OutputInterpreterToolinordertoviewananalysisofshowcommandoutput.
RefertoImportantInformationonDebugCommandsbeforeyouusedebugcommands.

Background
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LoopbacktestingisaveryeffectivewaytoisolateafailingT1(orE1).Thebasicideabehindloopbacktesting
is:
1. StartattheVoice/WANInterfaceCard(VWIC)ontheCiscogateway.
2. Performloopbacktesting.Ifthetestingissuccessful,iteliminatestheVWICastheproblemcomponent.
3. Movetheloopbacktestingouttothenextcomponent,andrepeatSteps13.Progressinstagestowardthe
telcopointofdemarcation(demarc).
ThecomponentsyoushouldtrytoeliminateasproblematicincludetheVWIC(cardandport)andthecablerun
(uptotheSmartJack).

SmartJack
TheSmartJackisoftenreferredtoorisinvolvedinTACcallsonT1/E1issues.ASmartJackisatypeof
networkinterfacedevice(NID)thatterminatesthePRI/T1fromtheCiscogatewayandthatalsoprovidessome
diagnosticcapabilities.
AverycommoncapabilityprovidedbyaSmartJackisloopback,wherethesignalfromthetelcoistransmitted
backtothetelco.
TelcosconsidereverythingconnectedtotheinsideoftheSmartJackasthelocalloopandconsideralllocal
loopequipmenttheresponsibilityofthecustomer.ThisfigureillustratesaSmartJack.

LoopbackTestTypes
Thisfigureprovidesageneraloverviewofloopbacktesting.

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Thisdocumentdescribesthreetypesofloopbacktests:
Softloopbacks(alsoknownassoftwareloopsorsoftloops)arecommandsfromtestequipmentthatcause
anetworkinterfaceunit(NIU)orCSUtoautomaticallysendtrafficbacktowardsthesender.
Ahardloopback(alsoknownasahardloop)isaphysicalloopcreatedbywire.AloopbackplugoranRJ
48Xconnectorcancreatethishardloopback.
Thetelcoassistedloopbackisdonewiththeassistanceofthetelco.Youshouldexplorethisoptiononly
afteryouruleouttheCiscogatewayandthecablerun(tothetelcodemarc)asthesourceofproblems.
SeeLoopbackTestsforT1/56KLinesfordetaileddescriptionsofloopbacktests.Youcansafelyignorethe
referencestoCSUsandDataServiceUnits(DSUs)inthisdocument.InCiscovoicegateways,CSUsand
DSUsareintegraltotheVWICsonCiscovoiceenabledgateways.

SoftLoopback
Note:Softloopbackisintrusiveandwillimpactservice.
SoftloopbacktestingisaccomplishedwithasetofCiscoIOSsoftwareconfigurationcommandsonthe
Ciscogateway.ThecommandscausetheWANinterfacecard(WIC)drivertoautomaticallysendtrafficback
towardsthesendingT1/E1port.
Softloopbackdoesnotrequireanyhardwarechangesorreconfiguration,asshowninthisfigure.

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Thisproceduredescribeshowtotestasoftloopback:
1.
2.
3.
4.

PuttheT1orE1inlocalloopbackmode.
Configurethechannelgrouponthecontroller.
ConfigureanIPaddressontheserialinterface.
PerformInternetControlMessageProtocol(ICMP)pings,andverifythatthecountsfor'packetsinput'and
'packetsoutput'increment.SeeHardandSoftLoopbackVerificationfordetailsofthisstep.

Thisisanexampleoftheconfigurationofthechannelgrouponthecontroller:
Router#configureterminal
Enterconfigurationcommands,oneperline.EndwithCNTL/Z.
Router(config)#controllert10/0/0
Router(configcontroller)#noprigrouptimeslots124
Router(configcontroller)#channelgroup0timeslots124speed64

!ThisautomaticallycreatesasingleSerial0:0interface.
Router(configcontroller)#loopbacklocal
!Theloopbacklocalcommandaboveisonlynecessaryforsoftwareloopbacks.
Router(configcontroller)#exitRouter(config)#interfaceserial0/0/0:0
Router(configif)#encapsulationhdlc
!Note:Allloopbacktestingisdonewithhdlcencapsulation.

HardLoopback
Note:Hardloopbacktestsareintrusiveandwillimpactservice.
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Inahardloopback,aspecialloopbackplugisusedinordertoloopthetrafficfromtheT1portbackintotheT1
port.Thisfigureillustratesthesetupforhardloopback.

Therearetwoapproachestotestahardloopback:
1. TestasanISDNcircuit.
2. TestasanIPinterface.

ISDNCircuit
Thefirstapproach,testasanISDNcircuit,offerslimitedscopefortestingandverification.
ISDNLayer1canbetested.IftheVWICisworkingcorrectly,theshowcontrollert1commandproduces
outputsimilartothatshowninthisexample:
T10/0/0isup.
AppliquetypeisChannelizedT1
Cablelengthislong0db
Noalarmsdetected.
alarmtriggerisnotset
Soakingtime:3,Clearancetime:10
AISState:ClearLOSState:ClearLOFState:Clear
VersioninfoFirmware:20100222,FPGA:13,spm_count=0
FramingisESF,LineCodeisB8ZS,ClockSourceisLine.
CRCThresholdis320.Reportedfromfirmwareis320.
Dataincurrentinterval(24secondselapsed):
0LineCodeViolations,0PathCodeViolations
0SlipSecs,0FrLossSecs,0LineErrSecs,0DegradedMins
0ErroredSecs,0BurstyErrSecs,0SeverelyErrSecs,0UnavailSecs

ISDNLayer2canbepartiallytested.WhileyoucanverifythatSetAsynchronousBalancedMode(SABME)
messagesflowacrosstheinterface,theother,usualQ.921messages,suchasRR,RRf,andRRp,arenot
seen.Instead,youseethistypeofoutput:
004800:*Aug1216:17:01.319:ISDNSe0/0/0:23Q921:L2_EstablishDataLink:
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sendingSABME
004801:*Aug1216:17:01.319:ISDNSe0/0/0:23Q921:UserTX>
SABMEpsapi=0tei=0
004802:*Aug1216:17:01.323:ISDNSe0/0/0:23Q921:UserRX<
BADFRAME(0x00017F)
004803:*Aug1216:17:02.319:ISDNSe0/0/0:23Q921:UserTX>
SABMEpsapi=0tei=0

Thisisexpected.FortheISDNinterfacetowork,onesidemustbeconfiguredasaprotocolnetwork,andthe
othersideasaprotocoluser.However,thisisnotpossiblesincethereisonlyoneinterfacewiththeloopback.
Consequently,youseethattheISDNstatusoscillatesbetweenAWAITING_ESTABLISHMENTand
TEI_ASSIGNED.
ISDNSerial0/0/0:23interface
dsl0,interfaceISDNSwitchtype=primary4ess
Layer1Status:
ACTIVE
Layer2Status:
TEI=0,Ces=1,SAPI=0,State=AWAITING_ESTABLISHMENT
Layer3Status:
0ActiveLayer3Call(s)
Activedsl0CCBs=0
TheFreeChannelMask:0x807FFFFF
NumberofL2Discards=0,L2SessionID=5

ISDNLayer3nevercomesup.
AnotherlimitationwiththisapproachisthatitdoesnotworkiftheT1isconfiguredasaT1CAS.
Oneadvantageofthisapproachhowever,isthatnoconfigurationchangeisrequiredontheCiscoIOS
software.Theonlyprocedureis:
1. Makeorbuyaloopbackplug.
2. PlugtheloopbackintotheRJ45connectorontheportinquestionontheVWIC.
Usetheshowcontrollert1commandinordertoverifythattheT1controllercomesup,andusethedebug
isdnq921commandinordertoverifytheflowofQ.921messages.ISDNLayer3is,ofcourse,notpossible.

IPInterface
Theotherapproach,testasanIPinterface,isalsoknownas"testasadataT1."Thisapproachletsyou
conductICMPpingtests,whichseemsbetterbecauseyoucanverifythattheVWIC(cardandport)isgoodall
thewayuptoLayer3.Note,however,thattheLayer3isOpenSystemInterconnection(OSI)Layer3,not
ISDNLayer3.
Tip:ThismethodisversatilebecauseitworksregardlessofwhethertheT1isbeingusedasanISDN
interfaceorasanT1CASinterface.
ThisproceduredescribeshowtotestasanIPinterface:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Makeorbuyaloopbackplug.
PlugtheloopbackintotheRJ45connectorontheportinquestionontheVWIC.
Configurethechannelgrouponthecontroller.
ConfigureanIPaddressontheserialinterface.
PerformICMPpings,andverifythatthecountfor'packetsinput'and'packetsoutput'increments.SeeHard
andSoftLoopbackVerificationfordetailsofthisstep.

SeetheproceduretocreatealoopbackplugforaT1CSU/DSUinLoopbackTestsforT1/56KLines.
ThisisanimageofaT1/E1loopbackplug:

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Thisisanexampleoftheconfigurationofthechannelgrouponthecontroller:
Router#configureterminal
Enterconfigurationcommands,oneperline.EndwithCNTL/Z.
Router(config)#controllert10/0/0
Router(configcontroller)#noprigrouptimeslots124
Router(configcontroller)#channelgroup0timeslots124speed64
!ThisautomaticallycreatesasingleSerial0/0/0:0interface.

Router(configcontroller)#exit
Router(config)#interfaceserial0/0/0:0
Router(configif)#encapsulationhdlc
!Note:Allloopbacktestingisdonewithhdlcencapsulation.

Theshowcontrollercommandproducesresultssimilartothese:
T10/0/0isup.
AppliquetypeisChannelizedT1
Cablelengthislong0db
Noalarmsdetected.
alarmtriggerisnotset
Soakingtime:3,Clearancetime:10
AISState:ClearLOSState:ClearLOFState:Clear
VersioninfoFirmware:20100222,FPGA:13,spm_count=0
FramingisESF,LineCodeisB8ZS,ClockSourceisLine.
CRCThresholdis320.Reportedfromfirmwareis320.
Dataincurrentinterval(2secondselapsed):
0LineCodeViolations,0PathCodeViolations
0SlipSecs,0FrLossSecs,0LineErrSecs,0DegradedMins
0ErroredSecs,0BurstyErrSecs,0SeverelyErrSecs,0UnavailSecs

HardandSoftLoopbackVerification
LoopbacktestingtoverifytheinterfaceatISDNLayer3levelisnotpossiblebecauseISDNLayer2doesnot
comeuponaloopbacksetup.Therefore,onlytestingasanIPinterfaceispossible.Oncetheconfiguration
stepsarecomplete,performICMPpings:
Router(configif)#ipaddress172.53.11.1255.255.0.0
Router(configif)#ping172.53.11.1

Checktheinterfacecountersinordertoverifythatthecountfor'packetsinput'and'packetsoutput'
increments.Thisisasampleoutputoftheshowinterfacesserialslot/portcommand:
Router#shointser0/0/0:0
Serial0/0/0:0isup,lineprotocolisup
HardwareisGT96KSerial
Internetaddressis172.53.11.1/16
MTU1500bytes,BW1536Kbit/sec,DLY20000usec,
reliability255/255,txload1/255,rxload1/255
EncapsulationHDLC,loopbacknotset
Keepaliveset(10sec)
Lastinput00:00:04,output00:00:04,outputhangnever
Lastclearingof"showinterface"counters00:47:05
Inputqueue:0/75/0/0(size/max/drops/flushes)Totaloutputdrops:0
Queueingstrategy:weightedfair
Outputqueue:0/1000/64/0(size/maxtotal/threshold/drops)
Conversations0/1/256(active/maxactive/maxtotal)
ReservedConversations0/0(allocated/maxallocated)
AvailableBandwidth1152kilobits/sec
5minuteinputrate1000bits/sec,1packets/sec
5minuteoutputrate1000bits/sec,1packets/sec
20packetsinput,2723bytes,0nobuffer
Received4broadcasts(0IPmulticasts)
0runts,0giants,0throttles
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0inputerrors,0CRC,0frame,0overrun,0ignored,0abort
20packetsoutput,2723bytes,0underruns
0outputerrors,0collisions,0interfaceresets
0unknownprotocoldrops
0outputbufferfailures,0outputbuffersswappedout
1carriertransitions
Timeslot(s)Used:124,SCC:0,Transmitterdelayis0flags

Note:Performanextendedpinginordertotestforpossibleflappingconditions.

CableRunTest
OnceyoudeterminethattheVWICisworkingcorrectly,usethisproceduretotestandeliminatethecablerun
(tothetelcodemarc)asthesourceofproblems:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

RemovetheloopbackplugfromtheVWICport.
ConnectthecabletotheVWICport.
DisconnectthecablefromSmartJack.
Plugtheloopbacktothatendofthecablerun.
Performloopbacktests.

IftheICMPpingsaresuccessful,thetestissuccesful,whichindicatesthatthecableisfine.Iftherearecuts
orotherdamagestothecablerun,youseethattheT1controllerstaysdown,causedbythelossofsignal
(LOS):
Router#showcontrollert1
T10/0/0isdown.
AppliquetypeisChannelizedT1
Cablelengthislong0db
Transmitterissendingremotealarm.
Receiverhaslossofsignal.
alarmtriggerisnotset
Soakingtime:3,Clearancetime:10
AISState:ClearLOSState:FailureLOFState:Failure
VersioninfoFirmware:20100222,FPGA:13,spm_count=0
FramingisESF,LineCodeisB8ZS,ClockSourceisLine.
CRCThresholdis320.Reportedfromfirmwareis320.
Dataincurrentinterval(395secondselapsed):
25LineCodeViolations,1PathCodeViolations
0SlipSecs,0FrLossSecs,1LineErrSecs,0DegradedMins
1ErroredSecs,0BurstyErrSecs,0SeverelyErrSecs,34UnavailSecs
TotalData(last24hours)
25LineCodeViolations,1PathCodeViolations,
14SlipSecs,0FrLossSecs,3LineErrSecs,1DegradedMins,
15ErroredSecs,0BurstyErrSecs,2SeverelyErrSecs,349UnavailSecs

Note:Nonzerolineandpathcodeviolationsdonotnecessarilyindicateproblemswiththecable.When
youmovetheloopbackplugfromtheVWICporttotheendofthecablerun,lineandpathcode
violationsaretriggered.Afteryoumovetheloopbackplug,youcanclarifythisifyoufirstclearthe
controllercounterswiththeclearcontrollert10/0/0command,thenseeiflineandpathcodeviolations
increment.

T1CAS
UsetheproceduredescribedinIPInterface.

E1
ThereisnodifferencebetweenloopbacktestingforaT1oranE1.

TelcoAssistedLoopback
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Note:Telcoassistedloopbacktestsmayimpactservice.
Thetelco(alsoknownasthecarrier,telephonecompany,telecommunicationsprovider,orserviceprovider)is
theprovideroftheT1/E1circuitservice.
Ifyouareunabletoperformthehardandsoftloopbacktestsorifthehardandsoftloopbacktestsrevealthat
thattheCiscogatewayandthecablerun(tothetelcodemarc)areworkingcorrectly,telcoassistedloopback
mightbeanoption.
Therearetwopossibilities:
1. Askthetelcotoprovideloopbackstowardsyourpremisesfromthetelcoswitches.Monitorthelooped
circuitfromtherouter.Inthisscenario,testthecircuitasanISDNinterface.
2. Contactyourtelco,andaskthemtoperformaloopbacktesttotheSmartJack.Thetelcocantesttheline
fromthecentraloffice anddoesnotneedtohavetestequipmentatyoursite.Usually,thetelcocan
activatetheloopbackremotelyanddoesnotneedtohavepersonnelatyoursite.Whenloopedback,your
equipmentisdisconnectedfromtheline.
Thisisafigureofthetwopossibilitiesfortelcoassistedloopbacks:

RelatedInformation
HardPlugLoopbackTestsforE1Lines
TechnicalSupport&DocumentationCiscoSystems

2015Ciscoand/oritsaffiliates.Allrightsreserved.

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