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TDM aggregation enables cost-effective backhauling from the network edge
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To profit from new high-bandwidth video services, such as IPTV and VOD, and to meet increasing demand for bandwidth, carriers are seeking to evolve their broadband networks to support increased capacity. Delivering this higher bandwidth to more and more customers by deploying more DSLAMs or other broadband aggregators necessitates considering a capable backhaul solution.
Cost effective backhaul of multiple DSLAMs efficiently over fiber to the central office (CO) presents a few challenges to carriers. Fiber constraints may be the main one. Deploying multiple DSLAMs in a POP requires multiple fibers to backhaul each DSLAM but when fiber availability is limited or costly carriers must determine what the most cost effective solution for backhauling is.
The challenge, however, is not necessarily in finding backhaul solutions - there are several options available to the carrier. But in today's economy, the challenge lies in choosing an efficient backhaul solution that will:
• lessen or mitigate the need for additional fiber
• leverage existing infrastructure to the greatest extent possible
• perform with multiple protocols, such as Gigabit Ethernet, ATM and Fibre Channel
• enable backhaul over existing fiber or SONET and SDH backbones
• be adaptable to any topology (ring, spur, bus) with multiple drops
• easily and incrementally scale to accommodate network growth
• provide the greatest flexibility to the access network
Although several solutions exist today for enabling effective backhaul of multiple services, it's important to consider each in light of its limitations and/or cost effectiveness.
Carriers have always had three basic choices to consider for additional backhaul capability from the edge of their network. They include:
• Obtaining additional fiber - this option requires fiber availability, however, even when available the cost and management issues make it the least desirable solution.
• DWDM/CWDM - although this option may be sound in abilities, the addition of WDM equipment is typically quite costly.
• 10-Gigabit switch - using a Gigabit Ethernet switch with a 10-Gigabit uplink is another option. The main downside is the additional cost and the limitation of supporting only Ethernet. The inability to aggregate multiple protocols such as ATM with Ethernet greatly limits the flexibility and range of support this method offers.In some cases a carrier may want to take advantage of their existing SONET/SDH infrastructure and benefit from its protection and 50 ms restoration. A Gigabit switch can not take advantage of that infrastructure without additional hardware.
Ekinops offers a unique approach that not only alleviates the limitations of competing approaches, but also provides lower cost, higher scalability, and greater flexibility.
To meet the challenge of backhauling today's broadband networks, the Ekinops PM platform utilizes TDM to aggregate two Gigabit Ethernet inputs over an OC-48/STM-16 signal or eight Gigabits over OC-192/STM-64 signal. That signal can then be transported over a protected fiber ring or an existing SONET/SDH network. Each wavelength on the fiber carries multiple high-speed data inputs and signals can be added and dropped at multiple sites. The network can be scaled further by using WDM to multiplex several wavelengths on one fiber. Each wavelength can aggregate different protocols including GbE, FE, Fibre Channel, OC-3, OC-12 and OC-48/STM-16. Using aggregation reduces the number of wavelengths in the network and provides a lower cost solution compared to any of the other alternatives.
• Cost-effective, high capacity, flexible and scalable
• Aggregates different protocols, such as Gigabit Ethernet, ATM and Fibre Channel
• Enables backhaul over fiber or existing SONET and SDH backbones
• Deployed in any topology (ring, spur, bus)
• Includes DCC channel for remote management without additional wavelengths
• Access to RMON and PM stats
Simply put, the Ekinops aggregation and transport platform leads the way in providing today's most cost effective and flexible solutions for backhauling multiple high-capacity DSLAM traffic.
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