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Carrier Ethernet has arrived

With applications consuming ever increasing amounts of bandwidth, Carrier Ethernet is the only cost-effective solution for boosting bandwidth availability in a metropolitan area network. By Abhinav Singh

Ethernet is the most successful and widely deployed LAN transport technology on the planet. While other technologies such as Token Ring and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) have gone the way of the dinosaur, Ethernet has millions of deployments today, making it the standard interface for most network-capable devices. Ethernet is now becoming the transport technology of choice for carriers who want to increase the capacity of their networks while minimizing costs. The need for additional capacity is being driven by high-bandwidth, next-generation applications such as IPTV and Video on Demand (VoD). Additionally, new Ethernet-based services such as Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) provide carriers with new revenue opportunities, but also require additional bandwidth. Ethernet has broad appeal since it is a familiar technology to service providers and gives them a cost-effective mechanism to scale their networks.

The need for Carrier Ethernet

Carrier Ethernet is high speed Ethernet for a Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN). It defines native Ethernet packet access to the Internet and promises Wide Area Network (WAN) scalablity beyond 10 Gbps using ubiquitous Ethernet technology.

Ethernet uniquely supports true multipoint communications. Most WAN technologies such as Frame Relay or ATM offer point-to-point connectivity only and are complex to configure when the number of connections multiplies. If a Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) is used, its inherent broadcast nature makes newly added locations ready to use because the routing protocol will automatically detect neighboring devices and form routing adjacencies. Although Metro Ethernet is often thought to be analogous to Transparent LAN Services, Ethernet can be used as a broadband access technology to point-to-point Layer 2 VPN, Layer 3 VPN, and Internet services. For these reasons service providers are beginning to consider Ethernet as a core technology, if not a core service, for their WAN and MAN service offerings as well as a mechanism for offering numerous other services.

When coupled with existing, well-known technologies such as SONET/SDH, IP, and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Ethernet has tremendous potential for providing high-bandwidth connectivity and services across the range of service provider offerings. Sajan Paul, Director, Solution Consulting, Enterprise Networks Asia, Nortel said, “Ethernet through its history has grown steadily and it is a popular technology. It started off with 10 Mbps throughput but now has scaled to 10 Gbps and work is happening on 40 and 100 Gbps as well.”

Earlier enterprises would either lease SONET/SDH circuits between routers or buy Frame Relay services. While there is still a significant installed base of enterprises using these technologies, native Ethernet network interfaces on enterprise routers and Ethernet switches have started driving demand for the transport of native Ethernet services in carrier networks.

The volume of Ethernet systems and components deployed around the world has driven the price points of Ethernet equipment to the level where it can and must be considered as an option for carrier transport networks, not just client interfaces to customers.

The speed and bandwidth characteristics of Ethernet allow a service provider to offer incremental and customized services more easily than was previously possible. For instance, a particular end customer might be looking for a voice service as well as point-to-multipoint capability for video. The provider could offer a voice service, while at the same time take advantage of the broadcast nature of video and the intelligence of IP to offer multicast video. All of this is run over a high-bandwidth infrastructure, helping mitigate the need for very granular quality of service (QoS).

Advantage Carrier Ethernet

Carrier Ethernet can deliver cost-effective, high-speed connectivity for MAN and WAN applications. It has the advantages of being easy to use, relatively inexpensive, efficient in terms of data transmission, and it is supported by a multitude of vendors. Businesses of all sizes want to extend their corporate LANs into a MAN or WAN. Carrier Ethernet service provides scalable bandwidth in flexible increments, with simplified management and faster, lower-cost provisioning.

Companies needing to link multiple offices around a metropolitan area or to connect data centers for backup or disaster recovery can benefit from using Carrier Ethernet. Service providers that deploy Carrier Ethernet are in a good position to offer new services to their customers. Often, service providers can add new services without upgrading the CPE or sending an installer, which means faster and easier introduction of new service offerings and quicker reactions to competitive changes in the market. Existing protocols and equipment often take months of planning and deployment before new services can be made available.

Carrier Ethernet reduces capital and operational expenses for service providers as it the equipment is relatively inexpensive and customers only require an integrated services router. This is because of Ethernet’s widespread use and its technical simplicity. Also enterprises already using Ethernet in their LANs typically have in-house skills for managing, maintaining, and troubleshooting these networks and need few additional skills to manage a connection to a Carrier Ethernet network. The Gigabit Ethernet over optical fiber provides enough bandwidth to ensure a lifespan of 20 years or more for the network infrastructure. Additionally Carrier Ethernet is a more flexible platform than the alternatives and it has a broadband capacity, which supports bandwidths from 10 to 1000 Mbps for point-to-point or point-to-multipoint connections between multiple customer sites; standards are being developed for even higher speeds.

Carrier Ethernet supports bandwidth management; it can be increased or decreased from megabits per second to gigabits per second in increments of megabits per second. The bandwidth is easily changed with software reconfiguration, and usually does not require faster network interface cards to be used. The technology provides Internet access that is extremely fast for both sending and receiving data, which is important for applications such as video conferencing. Prasad Babu, Director, Systems Engineering and Operations, India and SAARC, Juniper Networks, said, “Carrier Ethernet technology provides for a plug and play infrastructure. The cost per Ethernet port is also less making it more cost-effective.” Most existing broadband DSL connections are asymmetrical, which assumes that most users will download more data than they upload. Transmitting data from an Ethernet-based LAN to an Ethernet-based MAN eliminates the need for protocol translations, which can introduce overheads in terms of delays and traffic volume. It is also less likely that the data will lose features.

Driven by applications

Customers are attracted by the promise of more bandwidth per rupee, when compared to other services, and the simplicity of and familiarity with Ethernet technology. Bandwidth on-demand is important for many enterprises as they adopt next-generation access solutions. The greatest opportunities in this market is the provision of IP-based managed services such as VPN, IP communications, security, and more, which together comprise almost 40% of net new revenues for service providers. Nowadays residential customers are showing interest in high-speed services such as IP television (IPTV), voice over IP (VoIP), and broadband Internet access. For users in metropolitan areas with multiple dwelling units or multiple-tenant buildings with a mix of businesses and residents, or where communities have fiber installed to the home, provide a platform for service delivery.

Sameer Padhye, Vice President, Worldwide Service Provider Line of Business, Customer Advocacy, Cisco Systems, Inc. said, “Video applications will proliferation driving the adoption of Carrier Ethernet technology across the world and in India. It will require fine-tuning of the network to meet the demands of new applications and service providers will move toward a higher-bandwidth technology such as Carrier Ethernet for their infrastructure.”

The bandwidth explosion

The rapidly spreading use of video on the Internet will lead to a sharp increase in network traffic. It is expected that network loads will increase substantially. Increased network usage means new business opportunities and increased profitability for service providers, because much of the growth will include high-value services with increased profit margins. Paul said, “Through Carrier Ethernet it is possible to provide guaranteed bandwidth per user, per person and per business and accurately distribute it.” Service providers can now confidently deliver profitable business and residential services over a Carrier Ethernet infrastructure.

abhinav.singh@expressindia.com