The veins of the enterprise: What’s shaping Carrier Ethernet?

MUCH LIKE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS are the lifeblood of a nation, today’s enterprise networks are responsible for almost every day-to-day business process, from sending emails to safely transmitting highly sensitive financial transactions. Carrier Ethernet increasingly sits at the heart of the network, much like the infrastructure that makes up a country’s transport system.

Thanks to its ubiquitous nature and ability to act as a catalyst for different network technologies and services, Carrier Ethernet’s popularity is growing rapidly. With this growth expected to continue over the coming months and years, John Hawkins, senior product line manager at Ciena, looks at the top five industry drivers that are shaping the future evolution of Carrier Ethernet.

1. The evolution away from Time-division multiplexing (TDM) based services
First developed in the late 1800s TDM based services were, for generations, the standard technology used to drive business network services. The advent of Carrier Ethernet saw both technologies run in tandem for a time, but increasingly the latter is becoming the ‘go to choice’ worldwide. Statistics from Vertical Systems1 now show Ethernet bandwidth exceeds total TDM based services in enterprises worldwide. Carrier Ethernet’s popularity will only increase as enterprises continue to move towards a network-as-a-service model and the adoption of network solutions with flexible, scalable and high powered bandwidth in line with their business needs. The increasing popularity of Carrier Ethernet will not only benefit multiple verticals, in birthing and enhancing new technologies, but also demonstrates the trust senior IT executives now have in the solution.

2. The use of packet networks for timing distribution
Traditionally, operators have relied on networks to synchronise critical applications that depend on accurate time and frequency information. Traditional TDM based networks provided the distinct advantage that all connection and redistribution points, as well as communication endpoints, could rely on the network’s common awareness of time and frequency (the “T” in “TDM”). As the journey toward Carrier Ethernet networks gathered pace, major questions arose as to how this process would be replicated on Carrier Ethernet. While some traditional GPS and overlay TDM (such as SONET and SDH) alternatives can be used to carry out the same role as traditional network nodes, they can often be expensive or risky and unreliable.

Packet networking technologies, particularly SyncE and 1588v2, hold the answer. This technology is able to sit on the network, replicating the appropriate timestamps needed by mobile and smart power applications going forward. Not only do such solutions allow critical data to be kept secure, but the ability to have complete control over them results in lower costs.

3. The critical role of the network
For many years, a robust, reliant network was considered a luxury by many organisations. The move to an increasingly cloud-dependent society has transformed the network from ‘luxury to necessity’ and it is now the foundation of any critical business application. As this reliance increases, network infrastructure will continue to grow and increasingly become not only the cornerstone of business stability but also a key driver in profit growth.

As with any critical business tool, senior decision makers are looking for the best solution, at the most effective cost for deployment. Carrier Ethernet’s flexibility, scalability and reliance have made it the most ideal enterprise network solution to deal with such needs.

4. Virtualization of resources
Network resources are increasingly becoming software-based. This means they can be hosted on generic servers that are far more effective and cost efficient than the traditional ‘appliance approach’. Carrier Ethernet allows critical parts of the network ecosystem to be divorced from the router platform. This means that firewalls, load-balancers and routing engines can be more effectively ‘centralised’. The flexibility and choice this provides allows enterprises to make significant cost savings, predominantly by reducing their reliance on one vendor for all aspects of the network environment.

5. Software Defined Networks
The network is increasingly being defined by the applications it powers. Flexible, on-demand bandwidth (as well as other attributes like latency and protection levels) can be automatically requested by these applications. Unlike previous years whereby such a request (often sent manually) had to be verified by an IT manager, technology like Software Defined Networking (SDN) allows the network to not only respond accordingly (unaided and in a matter of milliseconds), but also allows it to optimise resources so it is used efficiently. As this trend increases, operators will increasingly use technology to mine the network for analytical information about usage patterns in order to respond to such demand more effectively in a timely manner.

Reference
1 Vertical Systems: Global Ethernet Bandwidth Surges As Legacy Networks Migrate To Higher Speeds http://www.verticalsystems.com/vsgpr/global-ethernet-bandwidth-surges-as-legacy-networks-migrate-to-higher-speeds/).