As a new generation of IP applications and services moves into metro, so too does Ethernet. The metro area is currently the focus of intense network development and competition, with new service providers appearing on a monthly basis.
No longer is the traditional CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) the one to watch. Their business model of bringing savings to customers by bypassing the incumbent carrier’s local loop has not proven viable for new entrants. The field is too crowded and differentiation is hard to demonstrate (see Capillary Bleeds Out).
New era LECs are beginning to understand that as applications become increasingly IP-centric so too must the network, and that begins in the metro. Applications service providers, storage service providers, and Web hosting centers are popping up in metros across the U.S., encouraging further disaggregation in the carrier markets.
This disaggregation is creating a number of new LECs to watch, including those that provide capacity on a wholesale basis, those that create and manage services to both ISPs and end users, and those in the retail business of providing low-cost access to these new services.
Coincident with this rise of metro IP services and service providers is metro optical Ethernet. This is not your LAN’s Ethernet, though it benefits from Ethernet’s low cost and ubiquity. It is a “carrier-grade” Ethernet, able to (at least if you believe the vendors) support classes of service, quality of service (QOS), security, scaleability to 10 Gbit/s, and Sonet-like network survivability.
Metro networks employing this equipment will be able to create and offer Gigabit-level connections between customer access gear and service provider POPs (points of presence) in their “native” mode, from one gigabit Ethernet switch or router to another. By eliminating the Sonet and/or ATM layers between those connections, new era CLECs will be positioned to compete very effectively with incumbents on price/performance metrics as well as true service differentiation.
In this report we’ll examine metro optical Ethernet from all the angles: the technology, applications, economics, and service providers, as well as their vendors.
Actually, if you toss in everything including the kitchen sink I could see a total GigE market worth maybe half of what they are talking about. The transceivers make up what, 20-30% of the box cost and given the pricing pressure and low margin aspects of that business, how could you believe something more than a few billion in 2005 for that part of the solution? Now, if you added the systems, the cabling, the software and other elements, might you arrive at some value of maybe $14-15 Billion. That still might sound high but Ethernet dominates the corporate world so it becomes somewhat believable.
The Ethernet Service Provider model is complete horsepuckey. Low margin business based on wide spread acceptance and tons of fiber penetration. Where in the hell do you get a growth of $217 million to $145 billion?
Oh oh.....I shouldn't say that too loud....might bring the Corvis Cultists running. They seem to come out of the woodwork when someone mentions FTTA (A=anything)
I thought the same exact thing, and forwarded the email to my analyst buddies over on Wall Street (they haven't replied yet). These numbers seem laughably, absurdly, wildly exaggerated, particularly the $145 Billion number for all types of ethernet by 2005.
Does this sound kosher to anyone out there in LR land? Sounds like this company and its analysts must have been sniffing paint thinner.....
Worldwide Gigabit Ethernet market to net $44 billion by 2005
Ethernet is moving beyond its LAN roots and into the access, MAN, and WAN markets around the world. According to a new report from Boston-based Pioneer Consulting LLC, the worldwide Gigabit Ethernet market will see steady growth over the next five years, to net $44 billion by 2005.
Moreover, total worldwide equipment sales from all types of Ethernet will jump from $17.3 billion in 2001 to $145.2 billion by the end of the forecast period. The North American metro market will represent the best market opportunity for Ethernet equipment.
According to Doug McEuen, senior market analyst in optical networking, North America will dominate the Ethernet market, due to its intense competitive environment, leadership in equipment production and supply, and concentration of Internet traffic.
These findings beg the question: Can Ethernet successfully challenge alternative technologies like DWDM and next-generation SONET/SDH for acceptance in the access, MAN, and WAN? According to Pioneer analysts, additional technological advancements, including the continuous refinement of existing Gigabit Ethernet technologies and the development of resilient ring technology, will provide the resources to wage a successful battle against established technologies.
"The lower costs of Gigabit-Ethernet equipment make it extremely attractive to financially strapped carriers," asserts Paul Kellett, senior director of research at Pioneer. "However, carrier-class reliability and quality of service must be clearly demonstrated to carriers to achieve further market penetration."
Pioneer also forecasts an increasing market opportunity for Ethernet service providers; worldwide ESP revenue is expected to jump from $217.2 million to more than $14 billion by 2005.
Sure, just don't have a network that has any chance of collisions. Shared media coax ("thick-net") need not apply. Full duplex links to speedy hosts should let you push utilization up just about as high as you please. Of course, as network bandwidth itself goes up, having a host fast enough to fill it can get to be a challenge, but I'm guessing host capabilities are outside the scope of your question.
What does low-end access mean in Metro Area Network? Is it a entry level switch which has a limited function? or does it imply a specific location of the network system?
I would really appreciate if anyone could answer my question. Thank you
"Do you know any specific technique for 90%+ bandwidth utilization in ethernet?"
Offer traffic at 90%+ of line rate? Use bigger packets? Either works for me.
I presume your question refers to the fact that Ethernet's preamble and interframe gap introduce enough overhead so that the bandwidth available for packets can be well less than 90 percent.
In the worst case -- using 64-byte packets, the minimum supported by Ethernet, at the maximum rate -- the bandwidth available to packets is just 76.2 percent of the theoretical maximum rate.
You can get much more consumption of the wire by using larger packet sizes. Here's a quick chart that compares packet size with bandwidth utilization. Note here that "packet" refers only to the Ethernet frame (first byte of the destination MAC address to last byte of the CRC) and "utilization" refers to bandwidth actually available to packets.
>Although in topology of so-called Metro >Optical Ethernet there is no SONET/SDH and ATM >device,never forget that this technology adopt >some concept of SONET/SDH and ATM. It >encapsulates ethernet into SONET/SDH VC(VC12,VC4...). >Some vendor concentrates a OE ring's traffic >through ATM STM-N interface. Maybe we can call >this solution as the marriage of Ethernet and >SONET/SDH/ATM.
There are several solutions being proposed:
1) Encapsulate 10, 100, and GigE inside of various SONET STSx, VT1.5, or ATM implementations.
2) Native GigE over the dark fiber (no SONET involved)
and for 10GigE:
3) Native Ethernet frames over the fiber, as is 10GigE LAN standard
4) 10GigE (actually 9.5 GigE) in OC-192 SONET Payload Envelope (SPE), as in the 10GigE WAN standard.
Many of the proposals for data networks are supporting the flavors of Ethernet without any SONET whatsoever. There is no requirement in the data world for the SONET features (such as TDM channels, 20ppm timing, 50ms recovery via SONET frames, etc). This should be obvious, as none of these techniques are utilized in the LANs that originated the data. So, one might as well use the cheaper ubiquitous Ethernet LAN formats to move data.
Although in topology of so-called Metro OpticalEthernet there is no SONET/SDH and ATM device,never forget that this technology adopt some concept of SONET/SDH and ATM. It encapsulates ethernet into SONET/SDH VC(VC12,VC4...). Some vendor concentrates a OE ring's traffic through ATM STM-N interface. Maybe we can call this solution as the marriage of Ethernet and SONET/SDH/ATM.
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