SONET/SDH to Ethernet for carriers

A nice article is on
LightReading
on the prospects of carriers migrating to Ethernet. A link to a HeavyReading research report is also included.

GEPON new subscribers overtakes DSL in Japan

An excellent article featuring the growth in the adoption of Ethernet PON technology (also called GEPON) in Japan came to my attention recently. It shows NTT achieving more subscribers to the GEPON FTTH technology than ADSL. NTT charges FTTH subscribers about 4000 yen or $40 per month. NTT is also planning to deploy video service over GE-PON using a different downstream wavelength.

10 GigE vs Infiniband and Myrinet

An excellent research article by Wu Feng at Los Alamos Research Labs and his team. It demonstrates the capacilities of 10GigE and also its importance as a cost effective solution. I interned with Wu Feng's group in the summers of 2004 and 2005.

Startups in race for 10 GbE over Copper

Lightreading has reported another starup - Aquantia joining the race to provide 10 GbE solutions of Copper wire. 10 GbE over Copper is being standardized at the IEEE 802.3an also called 10GBase-T, which is expected to be ratified by June next year. It provides for 10GbE over distances of 100 metres on Category 6 Copper wire. Proprietary solutions to 10GbE already exists in the market today - for example, one provided by Chelsio Communications, KeyEye Communications, and Quake Technologies.

Amsterdam going with active Ethernet for FTTH

Its interesting to see Amsterdam go with active Ethernet for this $35 million project which will connect 40,000 homes, as opposed to EPONs. The lightreading report mentions the decision being based on a report from Riverstone Networks, a pioneer for Metro Ethernet, which states that EPONs may provide 39Mbps per user as oppossed to Ethernet's 100Mbps.

While it is an interesting debate between Metro Ethernet and EPONs, I feel that EPONs cetainly have an edge in residential access networks, primarily because of low end equipment cost and zero maintainance. Moreover the above study is surely misleading. EPONs offer 1 Gbps connectivity which may be shared between multiple users. The peak bit rate is thus 1 Gbps. The average bit rate depends on the number of users you share with. If you have 32 users connected to an EPON, the average bit rate may be close to 39 Mbps. But if there is higher demand, you can share across lesser number of users.

Overall, it is nice to see some cities getting very serious with FTTH deployment.

World Wide Packets gets $25.5 million funding

Carrier Ethernet vendor World Wide Packets announced today that it has completed a $25.5 million funding round that was co-led by Craig McCaw’s Eagle River Holdings, and Rally Capital. The cash will be used in a large part to expand World Wide Packets’ sales efforts at a time when carriers increasingly are viewing Ethernet as key to their future, said World Wide Packets CEO Dave Curry.

FTC selects Extreme Networks for Metro Ethernet deployment

Extreme Networks, the leader in open converged networks, has been selected to provide the network foundation for triple play services including video, voice and data by Farmers Telephone Cooperative (FTC). By supplying the Metro Ethernet network infrastructure for 17 FTC central offices, Extreme Networks will be delivering the critical availability and performance features that are essential to telecom services. Founded in 1951, FTC is a multi-faceted telecommunications company serving over 60,000 customers within a coverage area spanning 3,000 square miles in South Carolina.