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Assisted Partial Timing Support on ACX7024 and ACX7024X Routers

Assisted Partial Timing Support (APTS) is a GNSS backed by PTP delivers accurate timing and synchronization in mobile backhaul networks. This topic talks about the APTS support on ACX7024 and ACX7024X routers.

ACX7024 and ACX7024X routers act as Telecom Boundary Clock for Assisted partial timing support (T-BC-A). The router locks to GNSS as a primary source. When GNSS loses lock, it operates in a frequency or phase backup mode by deriving the time information from a G8275.2 packet timeReceiver. If GNSS loses lock and PTP is unavailable or not ready, then the system moves into a holdover-in-spec state with the internal clock and continues to be in that state until the holdover timer expires. You can configure the holdover time using the holdover-in-spec-duration option under the [set protocols ptp] hierarchy. Once GNSS is available, the router locks back to it.

The supported APTS features include:

  • Both G.8275.1 and G8275.2 timeTransmitter ports are supported, however only a single G.8275.2 timeReceiver port can be configured as the backup path for APTS.

  • Up to 512 PTPoIPv4 timeTransmitter streams are supported and up to 128 PTPoE timeTransmitter streams are supported. PTPoIPv4 and PTPoE are supported simultaneously.
  • A single PTPoIPv4 timeReceiver stream is supported when APTS is configured.

  • PTPoIPv4 timeReceiver configuration is supported for interfaces that belong to a routing-instance.

  • Unicast negotiation is enabled by default in APTS mode.

  • APTS is supported for 100G, 50G, 40G, 25G, 10G, 1G ports.

Configuration

To support this feature on ACX7024 and ACX7024X, you need an APTS node with GNSS source configured at the [edit chassis synchronization] hierarchy level and PTP boundary clock configured at the [edit protocols ptp] hierarchy level as shown below.

  1. Configure ptp-mode to enable PTP functionality:

  2. Configure GNSS settings:
  3. Configure PTP. Note that the clock-mode is set to boundary clock and the base profile is set to G.8275.1 in this configuration for downstream timeReceivers. The configuration [set protocols ptp apts] is required when configuring boundary clock with APTS.

    Optionally configure the domain used for APTS profile:

    You can enable PTP on an interface that belongs to a routing instance:

  4. (Optional) Configure holdover-in-spec-duration settings by specifying the time in minutes:

Verification

  • Verify the PTP configuration:
  • Verify PTP lock status:

  • Verify PTP clock details by executing the show ptp clock detail command.

  • Verify the available upstream PTP timeTransmitter details by executing the show ptp all-master-clock detail command.

  • Verify PTP port details by executing the show ptp port detail command.

  • Verify PTP statistics details by executing the show ptp statistics detail command.