New Carrier Ethernet Services Offered by CE 2.0

Carrier Ethernet has come out of nowhere over the last few years to be the copper and fiber connection service of choice. There are a lot of good reasons why companies are switching to Ethernet bandwidth service in droves. Now they’ll have even more choices since the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) has introduced Carrier Ethernet 2.0.

Did you know that there was a Carrier Ethernet 1.0? That’s the moniker of the original set of standards that defined Carrier Ethernet. It wasn’t called that until these new services were introduced and the MEF needed a term to describe the existing standards. Not to worry. Both CE 1.0 and CE 2.0 are compatible. What Carrier Ethernet 2.0 does is expand the set of defined standardized Ethernet services from 3 to 8.

What are these new Ethernet services and what can they do for your company? Let’s take a look at what we have now. The role of the MEF has been to extend the LAN Ethernet standard that has become almost universal for interconnecting computer systems in-house so that it will work for Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN). Part of getting Ethernet on telecom carrier networks has been to standardize service offerings so that they will be similar and compatible from network to network. That’s led to three popular standardized Ethernet services. These are E-Line, E-LAN and E-Tree.

Ethernet Line (E-Line) service is the familiar point to point dedicated private line. Only your traffic exists on this line service and it only connects two locations. Companies often buy private lines to connect a remote data center, branch office, factory or warehouse back to headquarters. T1 lines are popular on the low end (1.5 Mbps), DS3 for modest bandwidths of 45 Mbps, and SONET fiber optic services for higher bandwidth requirements. Ethernet Line Service does all of this as well or better. E-Line is also used for dedicated Ethernet Internet Access connections.

E-Line offers several big advantages over legacy telecom private line services. First, it is Ethernet. That means it is inherently compatible with your existing local network. Simply connect your network edge router to the Ethernet connection installed by your service provider and you are in business. There is no need to worry about any fancy protocol conversions to make things work. E-Line bandwidths are far more scalable than other solutions. You can get just about any bandwidth level you desire, up to the maximum capacity of the installed port. You only need to make a hardware change if you need a faster port. Finally, Ethernet is less costly than T-Carrier or SONET on a per Mbps basis. It is not uncommon to get twice the bandwidth for the same cost as you are paying for a legacy service.

Ethernet LAN (E-LAN) service is a multipoint service designed to connect multiple business locations. This is a mesh network, similar to your LAN. All locations can communicate with each other easily. Ethernet LAN is just that. It creates a bridged connection among three or more geographically dispersed LANs.

Ethernet Tree (E-Tree) service is a hub and spoke network like the one many companies built themselves to connect a HQ location to many branch offices or franchises. Tree structures are also used for broadcast distribution. All locations communicate with the hub, but not each other. Traffic between leaves in the tree network are managed by the central hub.

E-Line, E-LAN and E-Tree are the three standardized Carrier Ethernet services of CE 1.0. The service types for each of these are doubled in CE 2.0 to include private and virtual private variants.

Ethernet Access (E-Access) is something new with two service types created for CE 2.0. This is something for wholesale access services, where a larger network sells Carrier Ethernet services to a smaller network through an Ethernet Network to Network Interface (ENNI). The two services are Access EPL (Ethernet Private Line) and Access EVPL (Ethernet Virtual Private Line). One of the additional features of CE 2.0 is the addition of a standardized ENNI so that networks can connect worldwide and offer Carrier Ethernet with an enormous service footprint.

Is your company looking at expanded or alternative interconnection services? This would be a good time to get a fresh set of Carrier Ethernet quotes for one or more business locations. The level of competition among Ethernet carriers is intense, with more services at lower prices being provided in nearly all markets compared to even a year ago.

Ethernet over Copper Connects Nationwide

Ethernet over Copper (EoC) has quickly made a name for itself as a last mile access connection for dedicated Internet, MPLS networking, and linking two or more company LANs. The flexibility, ease of interface, and cost savings make this a service in demand. What’s held it back to date is lack of availability. Well, that’s about to change.

MegaPath, one of the country’s major competitive carriers, is moving in with Telx, a major network interconnection provider. What does that mean? It means that your Ethernet over Copper connection can go a lot farther than it used to.

MegaPath has been on a major construction effort to roll out EoC equipment to over 680 central offices within the next year. The central office is key because this is where the subscriber copper loops terminate. MegaPath used specialized G.HSDL technology with up to 8 bonded copper pair to deliver line speeds to 100 and even 400 Mbps in selected area. Their standard symmetrical speeds are 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 20 Mbps. Both layer 2 and layer 3 services are offered along with QoS/CoS to support business data and real-time voice and video simultaneously.

For its part, Telx operates 15 data centers with direct access to over 950 customers who have chosen to colocate within the Telx facilities. These include major telecom carriers, Internet service providers, content producers and delivery networks and cloud service providers. Telx is a pioneer in Ethernet Exchange, a way for carriers to exchange Ethernet traffic without having to first convert to another protocol like SONET. The E-NNI or Ethernet Network to Network Interface benefits each carrier who participates because now they can directly access customers on other carriers and vice-versa.

Ethernet over Copper along with Ethernet over Fiber form the basis of Carrier Ethernet. This is the familiar Ethernet protocol that runs on your LAN adapted for use on telecommunication networks. The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) has standardized a number of Carrier Ethernet standards so that they are compatible across network boundaries. These include EPL, EVPL, and ELAN.

EPL stands for Ethernet Private Line. This is equivalent to the point to point private line services familiar with T-Carrier and SONET services. EVPL is Ethernet Virtual Private Line. This is very similar to EPL. The virtual designation means that you can have a number of EPL services running to a single physical Ethernet port. This is particularly useful for companies that want to run private lines from a single headquarters location out to multiple branch locations. Together, EPL and EVPL form what is known as E-Line or Ethernet Line service.

ELAN stands for Ethernet LAN Service. You may also see this written as E-LAN. What differentiates E-LAN from E-Line is that E-LAN is a many to many or mesh network service. You can use it to tie together multiple business locations so that any location can communicate with any other.

Have you been interested in Ethernet over Copper services but concerned that they may not be available to support your particular location or your many locations nationwide? This is a rapidly changing market, with more service being rolled out almost daily. If you haven’t checked lately, you may be pleasantly surprised at how much connectivity is available and how much bandwidth your can get for your telecom budget. Check pricing right now, if you like. Ethernet over Copper prices from 1 to 100 Mbps are available instantly online. Other services for business locations will be promptly quoted by a Telarus bandwidth expert, upon request.

Metro Ethernet MPLS Combo

Two of the hottest networking technologies now are Metro Ethernet and MPLS networks. We normally think of using one or the other. But what advantages are gained when you combine the two?

Metro Ethernet is the familiar Ethernet protocol that we’ve come to know and love on our LAN networks. It’s not exactly the same, because it needs to be adapted to work over longer distances than typical building and campus runs.

This, and other service enhancements, have been standardized by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), an industry group comprised of over 170 companies and more than 75 service providers. The MEF has defined five attributes that distinguish what they call Carrier Ethernet from the familiar LAN based Ethernet. These are standardized services, scalability, reliability, service management and quality of service.

What carriers get is a set of certified network elements that work to connect users on a local or worldwide basis. They also have services that can be transported over whatever physical networks they have available, including legacy TDM networks originally designed for telephony.

Metro Ethernet is Carrier Ethernet implemented within a city or metropolitan area. Two of the popular standardized services are Ethernet Line Service, a point to point connection, and Ethernet LAN Service, a multipoint connection. Companies use Metro Ethernet to link branch office buildings, factories, warehouses, data centers and other locations in the area.

Ethernet can also be used as a last mile access connection to larger private networks or the public Internet. These links have traditionally been T1 lines, DS3 connections, or SONET/SDH fiber optic services. Ethernet is growing in popularity as a network access service because it is lower in cost and more scalable than legacy telecom services.

At the same time that Carrier Ethernet has soared in popularity, MPLS networks have seen a similar growth in demand. Most networks have a defined protocol that they run. This can be TDM, IP, Frame Relay, or something else. The beauty of MPLS networks is that they are designed to support all protocols. Hence, the name Multi-Protocol Label Switching. The label switching part has to do with a tagging system that is used to encapsulate and route packets while they are on the network. Since the MPLS network doesn’t need to use the internal packet structure for routing, it doesn’t matter what those labels are attached to.

Most new large scale networks are based on MPLS. It doesn’t matter what’s running as the core network. It might be IP. It might be SONET. What the user sees is a privately run network that can securely transport voice, data, video or converged network traffic within a city, between cities or around the world. MPLS networks have all but completely replaced the older Frame Relay networks that were once used to link computers over wide areas.

What you probably have guessed is that Ethernet and MPLS are very compatible. Many carriers have nationwide or international MPLS network service footprints. You can combine Ethernet access with a large MPLS network and create a very cost effective way to link your geographically diverse business locations.

Large scale Carrier Ethernet networks are also on the ascendency. A new interconnection standard called ENNI or Ethernet Network to Network Interface connects Carrier Ethernet service providers so they can share traffic and effectively increase their service footprints. The underlying transport networks may or may not be MPLS networks themselves.

What’s combination of Ethernet and MPLS offers the highest performance at the lowest cost for your applications? There are network consultants available right now to provide you with Metro Ethernet and MPLS service options and pricing at no charge for serious business and organizational users.

E-NNI Helps Ethernet Go Global

Metro Ethernet service has been growing by leaps and bounds. That’s not surprising, considering that Metro Ethernet services generally offer higher bandwidths at lower prices than traditional telecom services. They also offer features such as virtual private line and LAN service that weren’t previously available. As business appetite for Ethernet in the WAN grows, it’s only natural that businesses look to connect everywhere through their Metro Ethernet connections.

Metro Ethernet was intended to be just that. The "metro" in Metro Ethernet means metropolitan. It’s a service that is perfect for connecting two or more business locations within the same city or greater metropolitan area. The geographical range of coverage is set by the service footprint of the carrier providing the service.

Many competitive carriers now base their core networks on IP packet switching technology, not the traditional circuit switching architecture. They’ve embraced Carrier Ethernet to offer Ethernet services that span metropolitan areas so that companies can interconnect branches in cities across the country.

What’s been more difficult is getting the same type of universal access that companies have enjoyed with the Public Switched Telephone Network. After all, the days of monopoly in telecommunications are long gone. What’s needed is a standardized way for all those competing carriers to exchange traffic so that their customers can have a much wider geographical presence. Thats what E-NNI is all about.

The Ethernet External Network-to-Network Interface (E-NNI) is an industry standard ratified this year by the Metro Ethernet Forum. It provides a way for carriers to exchange traffic without having to worry about losing service features or having to create ad-hoc interfaces carrier by carrier. A separate UNI or User Network Interface connects each customer to its respective carrier.

The E-NNI specification makes it easy for carriers to exchange voice, data and video traffic at Ethernet layer-2. This make switched networks that span multiple carriers possible. To the user, the Ethernet WAN may look like one large cloud. To the service providers, it is a collection of clouds interconnected by peering through E-NNI connections.

The ratification of the E-NNI standard is giving rise to Ethernet Exchanges, such as Telx, that provide worldwide interconnection services for service providers at a carrier-neutral facility. Rather than having to build-out their service footprints to everywhere customers want connections or going through the laborious process of negotiating Private Ethernet NNI agreements, carriers can simply connect with each other through an Ethernet Exchange so that each participant has access to a much larger geographical footprint.

Can you company benefit from the growth of Carrier Ethernet and the many services it offers? The best way to find out is to get a competitive quote for your connection needs, be they across town or to the other side of the globe.