Ports And Circuits; Bindings - Patton electronics SmartNode Series Software Configuration Manual

SmartWare Software Configuration Guide 2 • Configuration concepts
interface is a logical construct that provides higher-layer protocol and service information, such as layer 3
addressing. Interfaces are configured as part of a context, and are independent of physical ports and circuits.
The decoupling of the interface from the physical layer entities enables many of the advanced features offered
by SmartWare.
In order for the higher-layer protocols to become active, you must associate an interface with a physical port or
circuit. This association is referred to as a binding in SmartWare. Refer to the "Bindings" section for more
information. In figure 7 on page 31, the IP context shows three interfaces and the CS context shows four inter-
faces. These interfaces are configured within their contexts. The bindings shown in the figure are not present
when the interfaces are configured; they are configured later.

Ports and circuits

Ports and circuits in SmartWare represent the physical connectors and channels on the SmartNode hardware.
The configuration of a port or circuit includes parameters for the physical and data link layer such as line
clocking, line code, framing and encapsulation formats or media access control. Before any higher-layer user
data can flow through a physical port or circuit, you must associate that port or circuit with an interface on a
context. This association is referred to as a binding. Refer to the "Bindings" section for an introduction to the
binding concept.
Examples of SmartNode ports are: 10Base-T Ethernet, Serial ISDN BRI, and ISDN PRI, analog FXS and
FXO. Ports are numbered according to the SmartNode port numbering scheme. The port name corresponds to
the label (or abbreviation) printed on the hardware.
Example: Ethernet 0/1, Serial 0/0, BRI 3/2
Some ports may contain multiple circuits. For example serial ports can contain one or more Frame Relay Per-
manent Virtual Circuits (PVC). If a port has one or more circuits configured, the individual circuits are bound
to interfaces on a context. The port itself may not be bound in that case.
Example: frame-relay pvc 112.
Eight ports are shown in figure 7 on page 31. Three ports are bound directly to an IP interface, one port has a
single circuit configured, which is bound to the IP context. Four ISDN ports are bound to CS interfaces.

Bindings

Bindings form the association between circuits or ports and the interfaces configured on a context. No user
data can flow on a circuit or Ethernet port until some higher-layer service is configured and associated with it.
In the case of IP interfaces, bindings are configured statically in the port or circuit configuration. The binding
is created bottom-up, that is from the port to the interface.
In the case of CS interfaces, bindings are configured in the interface configuration. The binding is created top-
down, that is from the interface to the port. CS interfaces can bind one ore more ISDN or PSTN ports. If
more than one port is bound, the CS interface is responsible for performing channel hunting on all bound
ports. This creates a channel hunt group.
Bindings from ports to IP interfaces and from CS interfaces to ISDN ports are shown in figure 7 on page 31.
Interfaces, Ports, and Bindings 33