 Wide Area NetworkingThis newsletter is sponsored by NTT CommunicationsNetwork World's Wide Area Networking Newsletter, 06/14/07Ethernet over anythingBy Steve Taylor and Jim MetzlerFor the past few newsletters we’ve been reporting on the findings of Kubernan’s Metro Ethernet State-of-the-Market report. As a result of this we received a communication from Keao Caindec, chief marketing officer for Yipes Enterprise Services that we would like to share. One of the points that we’ve made is that the lack service availability – or at least the appearance of a lack of service availability – has been a major stumbling block to adoption. In particular, many enterprises seem reluctant to support a mix of services and would like to wait until service is nearly ubiquitous to deploy Metro Ethernet. Keao replied to this, “The view that Ethernet is limited only to sites with fiber is a misperception. Yipes, a leading global Ethernet services provider addressed this issue years ago. Technology to operate Ethernet over TDM (T, DS3, OC3) and copper (VDSL) has been around for a while. Yipes has been using these technologies for many years. By providing a fully-managed Ethernet service, we are able to deliver Ethernet over anything (fiber, TDM, copper) on a global basis. Furthermore, we have more than 10 Ethernet network-to-network interfaces (E-NNIs) that allow us to leverage the networks of other Ethernet providers to provide near ubiquitous global Ethernet services coverage.”
We don’t disagree, but, as with all marketing, perception is reality, so we see the need for more customer education in this arena. We’ll also point out that of all the service providers that responded only 50% of the needed sites were anticipated to have coverage. We’ll look forward to hearing from more service providers concerning their roll-out plans. On a second point, we had mentioned that the No. 1 driver was higher speed access at a lower cost. (In a newsletter published after we received this response, we pointed out that cost was not the only driver, but that features like disaster recovery and business continuity were also major issues.) Keao added a further explanation of how Yipes sees this issue, stating: “Initially, many customers evaluating Ethernet are attracted by the potential cost savings. End users quickly find that what they really want is a lot more network for a little more cost. “Let's deconstruct what end users might mean when they say that they want higher speed access at lower cost. “As companies have deployed new applications, VoIP and videoconferencing, the demands on the network have increased. No longer is a frame relay/ATM hybrid network able to scale to support any-to-any connectivity (full-mesh) required for convergence and collaboration. Also, scaling a frame network from T-1 to fractional-DS3 globally is an expensive proposition. “What customers really want is higher speed to support new applications, class of service, and any-to-any connectivity. They expect to pay a little more overall; however, they want it to be simple. For example, one of our customers doubled their network spending to get 20 times the bandwidth across their network. They had to do this to support large file sharing and collaboration across their network. “Ethernet VPLS services provide exactly what customers need - the benefits of IP MPLS networks (any-to-any connectivity, CoS) without the complexity. “We believe the sweet spot for managed Ethernet services is 10-100Mbps global networks that will replace those aging frame relay/ATM legacy networks and provide a simpler alternative to complex IP MPLS networks. “The question is: how long will it take for the incumbent carriers to catch up?” This is a most interesting point, and we agree that a service which at least appears to be end-to-end Ethernet may well be a best fit for most enterprises in the coming years. This will be the equivalent of having the ubiquitous RJ-11 jack for phone service – and the details of exactly how the traffic gets transported between the Ethernets is of little interest. Let us hear from you on this.
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| Contact the author: Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to Webtorials, the premier site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and market research. Taylor can be reached at taylor@webtorials.com Jim Metzler is the Vice President of Ashton, Metzler & Associates, a consulting organization that focuses on leveraging technology for business success. Jim assists vendors to refine product strategies, service providers to deploy technologies and services, and enterprises evolve their network infrastructure. He can be reached via e-mail. This newsletter is sponsored by NTT CommunicationsARCHIVEArchive of the Wide Area Networking Newsletter. BONUS FEATUREIT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESTo subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007 |
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