Ethernet is once again evolving as a key technology, this time for service providers and carriers in wide area networking. With the emergence of 10Gb Ethernet, it is time to reconsider the role of Ethernet.
For a long time it has been considered simply as a LAN and enterprise technology, but it is now poised to be the reliable, cost-effective and speedy workhorse of global service provider packeted networks.
In response to this trend, Comztek has announced that Nortel Networks now offers a complete portfolio of carrier-grade technologies that bring Ethernet into the service provider market to improve price/performance of Internet services.
It provides several benefits including reliability - the proven robustness of Ethernet in the LAN, combined with well-known fibre-optic transport in the MAN and WAN, will provide a reliable platform for connections in the LAN, MAN and WAN.
It also offers scalability. As traffic and bandwidth has grown, the Ethernet standard has evolved to higher speeds while maintaining compatibility with existing network infrastructure. 10Gb Ethernet will continue this trend.
And investment protection - at the 9.58Gbps implementation rate, 10Gb Ethernet is a plug-and-play solution that inter-works with existing carrier optical networks, protecting a carrier`s investment in existing infrastructure while adding additional capability at a low implementation cost.
It also provides operating cost reduction. While in operation, Ethernet offers the lowest cost-per Mbps of all competing data transport technologies (according to Dell`Oro Group, 1997). In addition, the relative cost of adopting Ethernet technology, considering its maturity-installed base, is low. It also permits the corporation to leverage the massive human capital associated with accumulated training and deployment of Ethernet technology.
There is also interoperability. Ethernet solutions take advantage of a well defined, common set of standards that ensures multi-vendor equipment interoperability in the LAN, MAN and WAN, and promotes end-to-end network compatibility.
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