Delivering SLA-based Layer 2 and Layer 3 Business Services with Ethernet OAM and Advanced QoS

In recent years, Ethernet has become the transport technology of choice for most carriers due to its compatibility with all media, lower cost per Megabit, simplicity, and flexibility. In addition, almost all tier-1 carriers and major service providers are preparing to roll out Layer 2 Carrier Ethernet business services – Ethernet Private Line, Ethernet Virtual Private Line and Ethernet VPNs. The co-existence of Layer 2 and Layer 3 services and the diversity of access technologies are two factors that substantially impact carriers' ability to maintain stringent control over their CapEx and OpEx in an increasingly competitive environment. Added to the mix are customer expectations for low-cost services and verifiable performance, which require service providers to deliver, monitor and enforce SLAs.

This application illustrates how RAD's EtherAccess ETX-A demarcation devices help widearea network operators upgrade their fiber to the business offering while converging all voice and data services over a unified transport network and meeting performance requirements. Using a comprehensive Ethernet OAM suite and advanced traffic management capabilities, a single ETX-A NTU delivers IP VPN, VoIP and broadband Internet access over the same physical link as a Layer 2 LAN-to-LAN service, all with Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees.

The ETX-A provide (Reliable, Economical, Accountable, and Limitless) Carrier Ethernet fiber access by combining transport demarcation for Layer 3 services with service demarcation for Layer 2 services. Replacing simple single-service Ethernet converters, the ETX-A demarcation devices connect to the service provider's aggregation switch to deliver multiple applications over the same link and free up other switch ports to support additional locations. Alternatively, the ETX-A connect directly to the provider edge equipment, transporting up to 1 Gigabit Ethernet of user throughput with uplink redundancy for SDH/SONET-like performance levels and Five Nines reliability.

Supporting operational visibility and control from the customer premises throughout the entire service path, the ETX-A allow service providers to provision and manage their services remotely and to guarantee priority per user and per service. The ETX-A Carrier Ethernet demarcation devices also permit users to monitor their actual Quality of Service with periodic online reporting tools.