Carrier Ethernet is projected to broaden its penetration in telecom networks as the ubiquitous technology for broadband access, cloud interconnect and wide area medium.
Ethernet was commercially introduced in 1980 as a networking standard to connect multiple computers. Since then, successive generations of Ethernet increased the total amount of traffic that can be carried on a cable from 1Mbps, to 100Mbps, then 1Gbps, and most recently, 40Gbps and 100Gbps.
Initially Ethernet was used for creating LANs, (local area networks) in which all computers on the network are physically located close to one another. Today, thanks to Gigabit Ethernet standards, Ethernet is viable not only for LANs, but for metro area networks (MANs) and even higher traffic back-haul communications. In this capacity, Ethernet offers an alternative to other high-volume networking technologies such as synchronous optical networking (SONET).
In 2005, the Metro Ethernet Forum introduced Carrier Ethernet as a set of extensions that describe how data communications carriers should use Ethernet in a consistent manner. The latest generation of Carrier Ethernet standards- CE 2.0 – provides guidance for setting up multiple class-of-service (multi-CoS) definitions, which allow carriers to establish more nuanced service level agreements (SLAs). CE 2.0 provides a richer set of management metrics, and it also sets the stage for multiple service providers to exchange Ethernet traffic in a uniform fashion.
From a carrier’s perspective, industry analysts say the biggest driver of Carrier Ethernet markets was the carriers’ moving to an IP network. But recently what has pushed it more dramatically has been video and mobile broadband.
According to the 11th annual Cisco Visual Networking Index, global IP traffic will nearly triple at a CAGR of 22 percent over the next five years. The Middle East and Africa region alone will see a six-fold growth in IP traffic by 2020. “More than one billion new Internet uses are expected to join the global Internet community, growing from three billion in 2015 to 4.1 billion by 2020,” says Fady Younes, Acting MD, Cisco UAE. “Fuelling this growth is a new generation of media applications and user demand for more interactivity, personalisation, mobility and control. Operators need Carrier Ethernet in the access network to deliver this type of services anywhere, anytime, to any device.”
Bassel Megalla, IP Business Manager, Nokia Middle East, agrees, “With all the challenges of delivering the many services and their constraints on the network, service providers are caught between the paradox of cost versus delivering. The only solution to this problem is a technology that is simple, reliable and cost-effective. I don’t see any other technology but Carrier Ethernet performing the job.”
Among the biggest adopters of CE are the mobile network operators – an industry hit by intense price competition combined with a huge increase in data traffic driven by the rise in smartphones. Until recently, backhaul from the cell tower to the core network used leased lines – an expensive solution and one where increased traffic could only be handled by installing another leased line. Once Carrier Ethernet backhaul is installed, however, not only do you have the simplicity of an all-IP network but also throughput can be rapidly altered as needed in small increments. Another advantage of Carrier Ethernet is that it can be accessed over a range of media – copper, fibre or wirelessly – so that the biggest success has been Carrier Ethernet microwave backhaul, expecting an exponential growth rate for the next five years.
Now, with cloud spurring the adoption of software-defined networking and network functions virtualisation among telecom operators, the key question being asked by everyone is what will be the impact of these technologies on CE?
“I believe the physical layer will see no impact from SDN/NFV,” says Nimrod Kravicas, EMEA Director for Carrier Business, Ixia. “The transport layer might be impacted by SDN in the sense that CE services can be provisioned and configured on demand via SDN protocols. More specifically, one can use SDN concepts to deliver self-service portals to end customers. The customer could log in in the portal provided by the service provider and purchase a certain service (or configure their previously purchased service), and this is automatically provisioned in the network by means of various SDN protocols.”
He adds that most of the impact from NFV will be seen at the edge of the Carrier Ethernet domain. “As CE is more of a transport service (without a lot of upper layer intelligence), while NFV is best suited to virtualise the more complex network functions – the ones which do a lot of upper layer processing – my guess is there will not be a lot of intersection between these two. The Carrier Ethernet service will interconnect the edge cloud – where there will be many VNFs deployed – with the core network and central data centres, where there will be many NFV elements.”
Though CE offers just the sort of cost savings, business flexibility and new growth opportunities that are most needed in these difficult times, there are a few factors that operators need to keep in mind before jumping on the bandwagon. “At Cisco, we advise partners not to wait to start preparing their networks for future technologies. While it is true that upgrading from 10 Gbps Ethernet to 40G should be a relatively smooth process, today’s network managers must think a step beyond. That means considering not only how best to transform today’s legacy systems to a 40G environment, but what implications that transformation will have on the eventual migration to 100G Ethernet and beyond. By thoroughly considering these issues now and developing an implementation plan, IT can help ensure smooth evolution of their networks,” says Younes from Cisco.
Kravicas from Ixia says the ability to deliver a high quality service depending on the end user and application is equally important while designing a CE network. “In a software-based environment, ensuring linear performance is not an easy task, but a critical one to maintain the network SLA. Another import aspect is network visibility, as some parts will change from hardware to software, and traffic might flow between virtual components,” he adds.
With the telecom network infrastructure increasingly moving towards as-a-service models, Carrier Ethernet adoption is slated to surge as an alternative to legacy technologies such as TDM, as the preferred high-bandwidth network technology that is scalable and flexible. If you are a telecom operator looking for the most-effective network solution to meet current and future needs, Carrier Ethernet might be the right choice.
