Introduction

Carrier Ethernet is on its way to becoming the service providers' technology of choice due to its combination of improved revenues, better cost management and opportunity to lead customers into the managed services space. Even better, enterprise customers have been working with Ethernet for years in their local area networks (LANs) and it holds great promise for delivering metro-area-based IPTV and video content for the mass market as well. In this e-Guide service providers will find the essential information they need for delivering Carrier Ethernet as a service and gaining an understanding of the key issues in backbone deployment. The e-Guide also explores how service provider certification can give you a leg up in enterprise negotiations because potential customers will know the services they're buying are compliant and interoperable.

In this e-Guide: Ethernet as a service: Best practices for delivery Using Ethernet as carrier backbone transport Why do service providers need Carrier Ethernet certification? An evolutionary path to packet-based metro networks

Some content adapted from www.searchtelecom.com

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Ethernet as a service: Best practices for delivery

By Tom Nolle, president, CIMI Corporation Ethernet services can offer providers a combination of improved revenues better cost management and an opportunity to lead customers into the managed services space. Achieving these goals will require careful planning designing and deployment processes as well as effective network and services management practices once customer services are actually deployed. Ethernet as a service is distinct from Ethernet as the basis for a multi-service metro infrastructure and this distinction is important for ensuring that best-efforts consumer Internet services and high-bandwidth video services (especially video on demand) do not create resource competition and performance/stability problems. On the other hand consumer services may create considerable metro network economies of scale that if properly exploited will lower the cost base for Ethernet services to business customers. The best approach to providing Ethernet as a service is to plan to create multiple Ethernet overlays on a common optical (probably WDM/DWDM) layer to achieve the greatest economies in basic cost per bit. At the minimum Ethernet services to businesses should be separated from consumer services and many providers would further separate consumer Internet from IPTV and video on demand. An Ethernet services network must be designed and deployed in four logical layers: 1. Access -- which provides not only for Ethernet access but if necessary also for Ethernetover-DSL or Ethernet-over-SONET for small and large sites respectively. Access strategies that cover the range of business locations expected in a service geography are important for ensuring that multipoint Ethernet services can be deployed to the full site population of target customers to improve the customer benefit case. 2. Aggregation -- which concentrates traffic onto the metro core network for transport to points where Ethernet service switching can be performed economically. 3. Switching/Service -- which provides the actual multipoint Ethernet service capabilities and also metro transport of traffic. 4. Interconnect -- to allow for connection between sites in different metro areas using Ethernet/fiber IP/MPLS or SONET trunks. The access layer of an Ethernet services network would consist of direct Ethernet connections (usually GigE) to larger customer sites and connection to both the DSL and SONET networks to obtain connection to small sites or to very large sites that have multi-service SONET access. Care should be taken in designing the Ethernet component of this network to ensure adequate levels of redundancy; it is difficult to provide full redundancy in the access layer without increasing costs considerably which will reduce both profit and service acceptance rates.

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The purpose of aggregation is to combine traffic from multiple sources to the point where it is economical to transport it. For this reason the aggregation layer of the network must be highly redundant in order to prevent single outages from affecting large numbers of customers. This can be achieved at the Ethernet level through enhanced topology management (RSTP MSTP) and through the IEEE 802.3ad link aggregation protocol for distributing traffic on multiple trunks. Packet-over-SONET or resilient packet ring may also be effective in some applications though generally more costly. The switching/service layer of an Ethernet service network creates the virtual LAN structure needed to connect the users' sites into networks. Since this layer and the aggregation layer may employ Ethernet switches the boundaries between these layers may be blurred particularly where traffic densities are high such as in a major city. In that case aggregation and switching/service may actually combine. In the switching/service layer redundancy at the equipment level is very important since traffic concentrations are very high but it is also necessary to provide the same level of connection redundancy that was present in the aggregation layer. In some networks the switching/service layer may be created using IP technology and this is particularly true where MPLS is used for metro interconnect. Where IP/MPLS is used it may be advisable to create virtual LANs using IP; this will also facilitate the extension of the service to other cities. The interconnect layer provides linkage between metro networks. Most providers use something other than Ethernet technology for these links: IP/MPLS Packet-over-SONET or even direct optical trunking (WDM/DWDM). The best interconnection option will depend on the amount of traffic moving out of the metro service area. New standards are creating additional options in the critical aggregation and switching/service layers. The Metro Ethernet Forum's MEF 2 framework is based on the service level specification for the Ethernet offering and uses Extended Ethernet Protection Switching (EAPSv2), a superior option to RPR. Enhanced metro Ethernet features, such as PBB and PBT, may also be used to create virtual LANs and paths for business services. PBT and an MPLS version with a similar multi-protocol goal (T-MPLS) can use the GMPLS control plane for superior route control and also improved operations stability. For all carrier Ethernet services it is good design practice to ensure that congestion is held very low not only to improve the delay and loss characteristics of the service but also to ensure that there is spare capacity for fail-over. The "rule of 10 " where each layer of switching or aggregation has a trunk capacity equal to ten times the port capacity is a simple way to ensure that utilization levels remain low and services require minimal traffic engineering and management to maintain.

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Using Ethernet as carrier backbone transport

By Tom Nolle, president, CIMI Corporation As network traffic has evolved from time-division multiplexed (TDM) to packet providers have become more committed to backbone or "core" networks built on packet technology. In the 1990s the growth of the Internet created a wave of interest in "convergence" on IP as the universal network technology. But IP networks have proved more costly than expected to operate and in any event packet protocols are multi-layered and IP is a Layer 3 protocol. Below IP at the "data link layer" of the OSI model are options like Packet over SONET (PoS) and Ethernet. SONET technology has evolved since the days when OC-3 (155 Mbps) was considered fast and now OC-768 (about 40 Gbps) is common. In fact SONET standards have consistently kept ahead of Ethernet in terms of speed and this has helped maintain SONET and PoS as preferred options. Recently the combination of WDM/DWDM and faster Ethernet (10 Gbps Ethernet is now available and 100 Gbps is being worked on by standards bodies) has raised interest in using Ethernet as the backbone in large packet networks. Ethernet backbone applications can be broadly divided into interface and network applications. In the former Ethernet is used simply as a point-to-point link layer protocol between devices usually IP routers. In this application the benefit of Ethernet lies in its lower cost relative to SONET. In network Ethernet applications there is an actual Ethernet network built over which IP and other higher-layer protocols travel. Ethernet LAN technology is not suitable for network core deployment and in fact is unsuitable for carrier deployment in any application. The standards for LANs particularly those relating to the size of Ethernet subnetworks and the bridging between subnets (spanning tree) are not scalable to carrier levels. The IEEE and Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) have been working on a series of standards to create carrier-scalable Ethernet. The key issues in Ethernet backbone deployment are maintaining scalability with very large Ethernet networks providing QoS to applications that need it and improving resiliency to ensure that failures in the core do not generate tens of thousands of customer complaints. How each of these is best accommodated depends on whether the provider intends to offer Ethernet services or simply use Ethernet as a path protocol under a service layer like IP. Scalability in Ethernet backbone applications means better spanning tree. Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) offers better convergence in large Ethernet networks and the Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) provides for VLAN-specific bridging needed for Ethernet services. Both may still create challenges however and current work on Provider Backbone Bridging with Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) often called Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) eliminates spanning trees completely allowing Ethernet to use a separate control plane such as GMPLS to create the bridging tables. Sponsored by

Where VLAN services are to be offered seamlessly from customer premises through the core network most providers have determined that the "stacked VLAN" approach of IEEE 802.1ad will not support sufficient customers and flexible VLAN tag assignments to be commercially optimal. Instead they opt for the 802.1ah approach (PBB). Some network architects believe that very large VLAN spaces are better served by using a hybrid of Ethernet in the metro network and an IP-based core. Providing QoS at the network transport level in today's thinking is best accomplished through the PBB-TE/PBT mechanisms at the Ethernet level because PBT paths can be put into place and maintained statically. If Ethernet services are also to be offered then it will be necessary to maintain the 802.1p class-of-services from VLANs and map them correctly to PBT trunks. Some vendors recommend that core VLAN interconnect be done via MPLS rather than through Ethernet but PBT trunking should permit QoS control entirely within the Ethernet level. Still when large scale and stringent QoS control are both requirements an MPLS core may be a better approach. Resiliency issues in Ethernet today are handled in the Metro Ethernet Forum's MEF 2 specification and this is an excellent practices guide even for Ethernet backbone applications particularly if Ethernet services are also offered directly from the backbone. Another issue to be addressed in Ethernet backbone design is the relationship between Ethernet and other layers and this is of particular interest in the area of managing availability and resiliency. If strong Ethernet path recovery exists then higher-layer protocols like IP will not "see" failures and recovery processes there can be less stringent. Similarly if Ethernet is used over recoverable optical trunks it is important that the Ethernet design accommodate the optical reconfiguration below (Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers or ROADMs) to ensure that there is no "hunting" of topology discovery created by multiple-layer fault recovery events. All of these constraints must be considered within the context of a strong network and operations management plan. The MEF 2 specification addresses end-to-end Ethernet monitoring for OAM&P and where PBT is used the GMPLS or other control plane may be able to provide some detailed operations management and control links for a network management or OSS application. There is considerable standards work under way in Ethernet management however and it is advisable for backbone designers to check the state of the standards and the specific support offered for each by the vendors available before making a final vendor choice and finalizing their Ethernet backbone design.

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Why do service providers need Carrier Ethernet certification?

By Kate Gerwig, site editor, SearchTelecom.com Carrier Ethernet services are seeing some serious traction among enterprise customers and to make sure businesses feel comfortable buying this familiar technology from a telecom service provider the Metro Ethernet Forum is offering certification not only for vendors but for service providers too. Service provider certification marks a revolutionary change in the industry. Since the program began in April 2005 more than 80% of the major carriers offering Carrier Ethernet in the U.S. have gone through the MEF's program designed to guarantee service functionality and performance. MEF-certified services help provide enterprises with guarantees on real-time applications like VoIP and videoconferencing. The third phase of the MEF's Carrier Ethernet is now underway; educating enterprises around the world about the advantages of buying certified equipment and services. Bob Mandeville president and founder of Iometrix talked to SearchTelecom.com site editor Kate Gerwig about the purpose of Carrier Ethernet certification for service providers. Iometrix is an independent testing lab endorsed by the MEF that developed and runs the certification program. It's unusual for carriers to be certified to offer a service. Why do they need that to sell Carrier Ethernet? Bob Mandeville: The mission of the Metro Ethernet Forum's technical arm is to produce all of the standards that are required to make Ethernet carrier class. The standards, or the technical specifications, that the MEF has developed have done that by concentrating first on the definition of what Ethernet services are. By defining attributes such as multiplexing, it's become possible to define an Ethernet service that brings with it all of the advantages of Ethernet, low cost and familiarity, together with the topology familiar to Frame Relay users. One happens to be called EVPL, Ethernet Virtual Private Line. That's just one of the services as an example that has been defined by the MEF. One of the services is an upgraded version of Frame Relay, because it's offered over Ethernet. Was certifying vendor equipment the first step in the MEF's Carrier Ethernet program? Yes, we use two different test specs developed by the MEF for vendor equipment to allow service providers to deliver compliant services. So the equipment that we certify addresses the need for service providers to have the guarantee that when they buy equipment, it is capable and has been verified to deliver compliant services. The first test spec is called MEF9, which is a functional verification of the services, so there are a series of test cases that verify that the multiplexing function is compliant. That's only one of 244 test cases. The next test spec is MEF14, which looks at service performance. That's revolutionary in the industry. In the past, forums haven't backed a certification program that verifies performance. First the MEF wanted to give service providers assurance that when they buy Sponsored by

equipment with a MEF-certified logo on it, the equipment will enable them to roll out certified services. Did service providers embrace the idea of being certified? MEF membership has more than doubled since the launch of the certification program a year and a half ago, and more than two-thirds of the new members are service providers. There have been more than 320 services and systems certified since we started the program, and that includes all of the major U.S. Carrier Ethernet service providers and service providers in Europe and Asia. The origin of certification is in the strong growth of service provider members of the MEF. They wanted to know what the organization was going to do to help sell Carrier Ethernet to the enterprise. Now that they have a dominant position in the MEF, a certification program was created, and that's a good thing. Smaller providers are in the pipeline right now, and you're going to see more. Certification was perceived as an opportunity for service providers to go through a rigorous process at the end of which that they could make a strong claim. They embraced the idea that their services be certified to Metro Ethernet Forum standards. That claim in the marketplace goes a long way, so the response to the program was great.

How does the Carrier Ethernet certification process for service providers work? Service Providers have to go through a total of 404 test cases, for a combination MEF9 and MEF14 certification. That's achieved on real customer circuits. Probes are deployed, and each probe (called CNodes) runs the full series of tests. In so far as the performance service tests are Sponsored by

concerned, we have established objective criteria for the principal metrics, which are loss, delay and delay variation. Those criteria are extremely aggressive and are generally perceived to be far more aggressive than commonly found SLAs in networking. We really put the screws down, and that's why service providers like going through the process. Why does the MEF care so much about Carrier Ethernet certification? There's another way of looking at it. There are all of these fantastically gifted genius engineers that show up at quarterly meetings of the MEF. They pour all of their know-how, this genius into these specs. And they ask, then what? How do we know that these specs are being implemented properly? How do we know that it's all going to work together? Why don't we do something to make sure all of this work is followed through all the way to the end customer. The MEF as an organization really is the first forum to address these issues in an aggressive and courageous way. The board of the MEF has the guts. What's the advantage of certified Carrier Ethernet services for enterprises? When service providers are certified, it gives enterprises buying Carrier Ethernet services the assurance that the services they're buying are compliant, and therefore they're interoperable. They can get services from multiple vendors and get the same service by all of the vendors nationally and globally. Services from different providers might be better or worse, but the basics will be the same. There is strong demand for certification from vendors because providers ask for certified equipment in their RFPs. So the next part in the food chain is making sure that enterprises are aware of the certification program and that their service providers are in the food chain when large enterprises put out their RFPs. In order to make sure that that happens, the MEF launched a world tour road show in September. It's designed specifically for large enterprises to make sure they are aware of the program and that they buy Carrier Ethernet services rather than Frame or T1. In doing so, we want them to require that their services are certified. Do enterprises need to change the way they think about Ethernet services? Ethernet is considered an enterprise technology. One of the great things is that enterprises are very familiar with Ethernet services. Because it's a Layer 2 service, they can build whatever they want on top of it. It's drop dead simple. If you're in a big data center and you have a massive backup facility 100 miles away, you introduce another machine and plug it into another Ethernet port that happens to belong to the service provider. That's the tremendous advantage of Ethernet service. At that level, it's simple. All the complexity is hidden from the end user. The end user ends up interfacing with a simple Ethernet jack. If you weren't using Carrier Ethernet, you would probably be using a leased line. That's much more expensive, and you have all this spooky carrier equipment in your data center. How long does the certification process take? For a service provider to get MEF9 certification for the three services that we certify today, the

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total process from beginning to end takes four to five weeks. The testing process part takes about two weeks. For MEF14, the testing process takes more like three weeks. What Carrier Ethernet Services are included in certification? For MEF9, there are two point to point services. There is EPL (Ethernet Private Line), a transparent service, Ethernet's version of leased or private lines. EVPL (Ethernet Virtual Private Line) features multiplexing. It is also point to point, so its corresponding topology is hub and spoke, like Frame Relay). Finally there's ELAN, which is a multipoint to multipoint service. These are all part of Carrier Ethernet. The right service depends on what the customer wants to do. If I want to hook two data centers together, I would buy EPL service because it's a big transparent pipe that belongs only to me, so I could blast my backup overnight. EVPL, for example, could be used by an HMO, where there are computers at headquarters and a lot of terminals spread out in different offices, clinics and labs. Is it true that when most people talk about Carrier Ethernet today, they're talking about ELAN? ELAN seems to be the service that most enterprises are buying today. At the beginning, EPL sold very well because it could be done using Ethernet over SONET. Major carriers have SONET networks, and if they threw in a blade with an Ethernet front end, they could build a point-topoint service. But ELAN seems to be turning out to be the big seller today in Asia and North America in particular. It's kind of new. It's a full peer kind of network. You can do VoIP because it establishes the call on a peer to peer basis and ELAN is the network topology that can handle it. How will the emerging PBB standard affect ELAN and MPLS? Many ELAN implementations are rolled out on MPLS/VPLS cores, so they work together. We're not advocating throwing out MPLS. We're saying that there are other ways of doing it. Upcoming standards called Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) are creating a big debate in the industry. PBB is presented as pure Ethernet transport. What it does essentially is provide high scalability because carriers have to address millions of customers. Ethernet had MAC (Media Access Control) sourcing at the beginning, an outer tag or MAC address. PBB would add another outer MAC address called MAC in MAC. That's the key behind PBB, an outer MAC address that provides very, very high levels of scalability.

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An evolutionary path to packet-based metro networks

The Redback SM 480 can accelerate convergence and support wholesale, backhaul, enterprise or triple-play services Redbacks SM 480 Metro Ethernet service transport is a scalable, carrier-class platform that can support Metro Ethernet infrastructure, Wireline and Mobile Backhaul, and Transport and Access Aggregation. Its broad capabilities accelerate the convergence of transport and aggregation for fixed and mobile networks. The SM 480 has been designed to implement Ericsson/Redbacks vision of Fixed/Mobile Convergence (FMC) for aggregation and transport functions. It has the required functionalities for FMC and absorbs the complexities of the converged network to simplify network operation for the service provider. It is designed also to overcome the limitations of other Ethernet products-- gaps that directly translate into requirements for additional systems that increase the total cost of ownership. For service providers facing the prospect of becoming merely data pipes, the SM 480 also offers more control over their networks. This enables them to add differentiated services and pricing schemes for various traffic and content types using a highly optimized network architecture. As Ethernet becomes the transport of choice in mobile networks, the SM 480 leads the way to a seamless transformation from legacy transport networks such as TDM or ATM. Ethernet is a highly versatile networking technology. It is robust, relatively inexpensive and wellknown to telecom carriers, who have consistently chosen it to provide access aggregation, metro networks and transport networks. Ethernet platforms have been available in the form of switches or routers or switch/router combinations. According to an Infonetics Research forecast, worldwide sales of carrier Ethernet switch/routers is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 16% in the period 2006-2010. Service providers are seeking networks that are scalable and cost-effective. They need access aggregation networks, with the ability to support multiple target markets, as a well as path to provide future additional services as required. Evolutionary network architecture The SM 480 enables service providers to build a smart metro network that can reliably support consumer and business services via three different networking platforms - Ethernet, IP, and IP/MPLS. Sponsored by

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Decisions that service providers make today will have a profound impact on their ability to meet the needs of the rapidly-evolving market. Hence, a flexible and evolutionary network architecture is essential. The shift to converged networks underlines the uncertain nature of market demand and traffic evolution. Future services will no longer be classified as fixed or mobile, but simply as services. Carriers have already begun to deploy converged networks because of the competitive advantage in both service delivery and operational cost. The Ericsson/Redback vision is consolidation based on packet-based Ethernet and IP. The SM 480 was designed to support layer 2 services on Ethernet, IP and IP/MPLS to give the carrier a wider choice when establishing its business model. It can support carriers offering wholesale, backhaul, enterprise or residential triple-play services. The SM 480 can deliver services with secure, traffic engineered tunnels such as MPLS pseudowire, or simple Ethernet-based point to point connectivity such as E-LINE, ETREE, or VLLs. The SM 480 enables the convergence of these technologies, which have not previously been available on one Ethernet switch. It offers the ability to police or shape traffic on both the ingress and egress ports, and delivers latency protection using a variety of available scheduling policies with a strict priority queuing for real time traffic. The SM 480 is highly reliable. It employs a distributed, modular OS called SmartEdge Operating System (SEOS) which has been used for years in Redbacks SmartEdge MultiService Edge Router (MSER). It supports multiple processors and has been designed with a software infrastructure that separates different tasks so that faults in one do not permeate to others. To ensure service continuity, the SM 480 has deployed reliability methodologies such as HVPLS, Link Aggregation (802.3ad) for Ethernet Resiliency or Label Switched Paths (LSP) protection via backup, nailed-down LSPs or Fast ReRoute (FRR). FRR achieves SONET-like protection in order of milliseconds in path switchover and restoration. A strong capability to detect and correct faults can minimize network downtime and ensure adherence to a customers SLA. The SM 480 supports the IEEE 802.1ag, a Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) protocol, which can detect and verify faults. SM 480 enables efficient OAM capabilities through fast provisioning time, quicker fault-detection and isolation and availability of ample statistics information to make adjustments in the network and gauge its performance. It SM 480 provides statistics for customers down to the packet level. Sponsored by

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Accelerates convergence Service providers have acknowledged the benefits of deploying Ethernet as an aggregation and transport technology for metro networks. In choosing a solution, they must carefully assess their immediate future requirements in the applications and services they intend to deliver to the market. Carriers must be ready to react and expand their service offerings. They require an infrastructure with the flexibility to easily and quickly introduce new services. The requirement for flexibility starts with the aggregation and transport networks. Redbacks SM 480 is an MEF (Metro Ethernet Forum) 9 and MEF 14-certified platform designed for current and future applications. It accelerates the convergence of fixed and mobile networks and enables service providers to build a flexible carrier-class Ethernet infrastructure that provides multiple choices in how services are to be delivered. It offers minimal or no disruption to network operations, thereby protecting current revenue streams. The SM 480 creates an evolutionary path to establish packet-based networks for metro networks. It overcomes the technical complexities that currently hamper the deployment of Ethernet aggregation and transport networks. The SM 480 is a powerful solution that provides carrier-class availability, scalability, service differentiation, and ease of management.

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About Redback Networks An Ericsson company since January 2007 (NASDAQ: ERIC), Redback Networks Inc. has sold more than 107+ million broadband subscriber licenses to 75 percent of the top 20 telephone carriers worldwide. Redback Networks is a market leader for multi-service edge routers and carrier Ethernet transport. The company delivers next generation broadband services such as VoIP, IPTV, OnDemand Video, and on-line gaming. Redback Networks has more than 500 carrier customers worldwide and is based in San Jose, CA. Headquartered in Hong Kong, Redback Asia Pacific has local presence across Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. For more information, visit Redback Networks at www.redback.com.

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