Most incumbent and competitive carriers and cable operators (MSOs) are either deploying or planning to deploy Ethernet services. But what are Ethernet services, and what are the challenges to cost effectively deliver them?

Ethernet VPN services, unlike IP VPN services, enable service providers to connect two or more locations using Ethernet as the service delivery technology - often resulting in lower OpEx when compared to VPN services delivered using IP or IP/MPLS technologies. Ethernet VPN services are analogous to the ubiquitous Frame Relay services that were the technology of choice for enterprise site-to-site connectivity for many years.

Ethernet VPN services (MEF E-Line for site-to-site connectivity and E-LAN for multi-site connectivity) are the natural evolution from Frame Relay services because Ethernet services address the higher bandwidth requirements of enterprise customers and provide a common technology for enterprise LAN, MAN, and WAN site-to-site connectivity. Since more than 95 percent of subscriber traffic starts on Ethernet, Ethernet is the logical choice for metro and wide area connectivity between enterprise locations.

Ethernet is also used as an access network connection technology to IP services. Generically referred to "Ethernet access to IP services", these services leverage the simplicity of Ethernet as the connection method to IP services such as managed voice services (VoIP), Ethernet Internet access and Ethernet access to IP VPNs.

According to the Vertical Systems Group, in the U.S. in 2007, less than 16 percent of commercial buildings had access to fiber and the percentage of fiber-connected buildings with 20 or more employees has increased by about 5 percent over the past 4 years. Therefore, these buildings will connect to the network via copper for their business voice and data services - most commonly via T1s in the United States and E1s in Europe for multi-site enterprise locations.

Furthermore, according to the Vertical Systems Group, the sub-10Mbps Ethernet service market in the United States will generate $5B in cumulative revenue between 2006 and 2010. These services will be delivered over copper access networks.

How can service providers deliver a diverse and competitive portfolio of Ethernet services such as Ethernet Private Lines (TDM private line replacement), Ethernet Virtual Private Lines (Frame Relay replacement), MEF E-LAN services (for multisite connectivity), and Ethernet access to IP services?

How can these services be delivered over a converged infrastructure to simplify the amount of equipment (CapEx) while minimizing the amount of power, space and management (OpEx) to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO)?

How can service providers deliver ubiquitous Ethernet services and Ethernet access to IP services with the ability to reach both on-net (in-franchise) and off-net (out-of-franchise) customer locations to provide connectivity for multi-site enterprises independent of the distance between the customer's location and the service provider's point of presence (POP)?

The advanced Ethernet switching capability of Turin's Traverse® family combines the flexibility and performance of Ethernet with the well-established reliability, service management and OAM capabilities of SONET/SDH. The Traverse family of products enables service providers to deliver MEF-defined E-Line (point-to-point), E-LAN (multipoint) and E-Tree (point-to-multipoint) services as Layer 2 VPNs or for access to IP services from any point of presence (POP) over fiber and copper PDH access networks to the customer premise without compromise.

The Traverse platform aggregates, switches and transports Ethernet service traffic enabling Carrier Ethernet service delivery thought the integration of the carrier-grade capabilities of SONET/SDH with the packet-optimized efficiencies of Ethernet. The Traverse platform is available in 6-slot (T600), 16-slot (T1600) and 20-slot (T2000) chassis delivering 10/100Mbps, GbE, 10GbE and Ethernet over PDH (EoPDH) through different add-in cards.

The TransNav Element Management System is an advanced management system designed to support comprehensive control, fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security monitoring. Through a feature-rich graphical user interface, operation and support personnel can control, configure, and troubleshoot networks of Turin products.

Service providers want to offer a ubiquitous Ethernet service portfolio regardless whether the customer premise can be reached via fiber (on-net) or via copper access networks (off-net) through local exchange carriers. For logistical, operational and financial reasons, multi-site enterprises want to purchase services from a single service provider but don't want to compromise on the service if the service can only be delivered over a copper access network to certain locations. With Traverse, a ubiquitous Ethernet service portfolio can be delivered without compromise regardless of whether the Ethernet service is delivered over a fiber (EoF) or copper PDH (EoPDH) access network to reach the customer location.

Ethernet over PDH (EoPDH) is a new way to deliver Ethernet services over copper PDH (T1/T3, E1/E3) access networks with the same service attributes of Ethernet services delivered over fiber (EoF). By bonding together multiple PDH circuits, a variety of bandwidth options are possible to address the fast growing sub-10Mbps Ethernet services market as well as closely align with standard Ethernet over fiber speeds such as 10Mbps and 100Mbps.

With Traverse, service providers can bond PDH circuits in differing combinations to achieve the desired bandwidth needs of their customers. For example, using Traverse, a service provider can bond 7 T1s or 5 E1s to create a 10Mbps Ethernet service over the copper PDH access network that enables them to offer a ubiquitous, global 10Mbps Ethernet service. For higher bandwidth services, a service provider can bond 2 T3s or 3 E3s to achieve ~100Mbps Ethernet service over the copper PDH access network to offer a ubiquitous, global 100Mbps Ethernet service. Because service providers have often established peering agreements with incumbent local exchange carriers or PTTs for PDH circuits, delivering Ethernet services over PDH access networks to reach off-net customers can be efficiently and quickly delivered as they do with TDM services today. With the Traverse platform, service providers have a highly scalable EoPDH aggregation and Ethernet service delivery and transport solution that they can grow at their own pace to match their pace of customer acquisition simply by adding additional service interface modules to the Traverse shelf.