Cisco Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(33)SRE

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Ethernet Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) is a protocol for installing, monitoring, 
and troubleshooting Ethernet metropolitan-area networks (MANs) and Ethernet WANs. It relies on a 
new, optional sublayer in the data link layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. The 
OAM features covered by this protocol are Discovery, Link Monitoring, Remote Fault Detection, 
Remote Loopback, and Cisco Proprietary Extensions. 

The advent of Ethernet as a MAN and WAN technology has emphasized the necessity for integrated 
management for larger deployments. For Ethernet to extend into public MANs and WANs, it must be 
equipped with a new set of requirements on Ethernet’s traditional operations, which had been centered 
on enterprise networks only. The expansion of Ethernet technology into the domain of service providers, 
where networks are substantially larger and more complex than enterprise networks and the user-base is 
wider, makes operational management of link uptime crucial. 

Your Cisco IOS software release may not support all of the features documented in this module. To reach 
links to specific feature documentation in this module and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is 
supported, use the 

.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco IOS and Catalyst OS 
software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to

. An 

account on Cisco.com is not required.