scope:

This Recommendation specifies operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) mechanisms based on the tools defined for MPLS in IETF Requests for Comments, for data-plane OAM in multi-protocol label switching transport profile (MPLS-TP) networks to meet the MPLS-TP OAM requirements defined in [IETF RFC 5860]. It also specifies the MPLS-TP OAM packet formats, syntax and semantics of MPLS-TP OAM packet fields.

The OAM mechanisms defined in this Recommendation assume common forwarding of the MPLS-TP user packets and MPLS-TP OAM packets. In transport networks using co-routed bidirectional point-to-point connections, the OAM return path is always in-band.

This Recommendation provides a representation of the MPLS-TP technology using the methodologies that have been used for other transport technologies (e.g., SDH, OTN and Ethernet).¹

¹ This ITU-T Recommendation is intended to be aligned with the IETF MPLS RFCs normatively referenced by this Recommendation.