Ethernet Networks Interconnect in Arizona

Ethernet is rapidly becoming the new metropolitan and wide area network protocol of choice. Indications are that IP networks transporting standard Ethernet services will eventually supplant the century old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). What’s holding that back is that many Ethernet service providers are a diverse mix of incumbent and competitive carriers with service footprints that only cover a given metro area or regional group of states. E-NNI is the technology that is linking them all together.

E-NNI is an Ethernet Network to Network Interface. Network interfacing is the cross-connection that allows different networks to exchange traffic. Each has to advertise the other’s routes so that users on either network can reach destinations on the other network as easily as they do on their own network. The result is an interconnected network with a service footprint the size of both networks combined.

An excellent example of an Ethernet to Ethernet network connection is taking place in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. Integra Telecom and Saddleback Communications are connecting their fiber networks using enterprise-class Carrier Ethernet technology so that they can easily exchange data at high transmission rates.

Saddleback Communications is an Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) serving the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) in the Phoenix metropolitan area, bordered by Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and Fountain Hills. Their core network infrastructure is comprised of multiple fiber optic rings and two Class 5 Soft Switch Central Offices. Unlike most commercial areas, 100% of the commercial developments on the Pima corridor of the SRPMIC are fed with both fiber optic and copper facility connections.

Saddleback’s business services include dedicated Ethernet Internet access, Ethernet transport services and private line services. Their BusinessLAN Ethernet Transport transparently connects business locations via native Ethernet at speeds from 5 Mbps to 1000 Mbps (GigE) with scalability in 5 Mbps or 100 Mbps over the same interface.

What Integra Telecom brings to the table is an extensive fiber optic network that serves 11 Western states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Their 5,000 mile long haul network is one of the largest in the U.S., complemented by a 3,000 route mile (160,000 fiber miles) metropolitan area network that serves 200 business communities including 1,700 fiber-fed buildings. Integra is the 4th largest Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) in the United States.

Integra offers Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) standardized Ethernet services that include Ethernet Private Line (EPL) and Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL), as well as a layer 2 configuration for high performance Wide Area Networks (WANs). Class of Service (CoS) technology makes voice/data/video converged networks possible so that sensitive real time packets aren’t overwhelmed by less critical but more numerous data packets.

Both Saddleback and Integra operate high performance fiber optic networks and both serve a wide range of customers, including corporate clients that need highly reliable high bandwidth Ethernet services. By interconnecting their networks for Ethernet to Ethernet transport, they can offer companies on both networks the opportunity to connect as if they are working under a common “digital roof.”

Does your business need reliable high bandwidth network connection service? Carrier Ethernet now spans the nation and the world with network to network interconnections. Get competitive pricing for fiber optic Ethernet network services now. You may be surprised by what is available.



Note: Map of Arizona courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Ethernet Service Providers Offer Cost Savings

One technological revolution quietly underway is the transition from circuit switched to packet switch WAN protocols. Many businesses first become aware that something is happening when they go to get price quotes for bandwidth upgrades or new line services. They expect to be buying a T1 line and find themselves ordering Ethernet over Copper instead. Why is this and what can you get for your bandwidth dollar these days?

The shifting ground of the telecom industry is being driven by a move to all-IP networks. The root cause is that computing devices, such as PCs, web servers, wireless access points, tablets, smartphones, telepresence, and IP PBX systems are generating network traffic that far exceeds traditional telephony. I included IP PBX in that group because an enterprise VoIP system with SIP phones connects via the LAN and uses Ethernet packets, not analog or proprietary digital signals. In most businesses, the common denominators are the LAN and the telephone network, with the phone network on the way out.

We’re now at a point where the crying need is to connect LANs together and to the Internet. We’ve been doing that with traditional telephone technologies such as T-Carrier and SONET for decades. If you were designing a comprehensive networking approach, would you pick one technology for the LAN and something completely different for metro and long haul networks? Wouldn’t you try to have a common protocol that runs everywhere for efficiency and ease of connection?

That’s what’s behind the rise of Carrier Ethernet. As more competitive carriers enter the market and older networks are upgraded, IP core networks are becoming more and more the rule. These are high speed fiber optic networks that have regional, national or even international service footprints. The last link in the chain is appropriately called the last mile connection. This is the wireline, fiber or wireless link that connects you to the service provider point of presence.

Ethernet services are available at every level of networking, from simple Internet access through international MPLS networks that link hundreds or thousands of sites. Most companies will want some type of dedicated Internet access. A 2x2 Mbps or 3x3 Mbps Ethernet over Copper line is a direct competitor to T1, at about the same price. It’s not uncommon to get twice the bandwidth for the same cost by choosing Ethernet rather than T-Carrier T1 or T3.

Ethernet is also more scalable than other telecom services. Typical bandwidth options include 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, 75 and 100 Mbps. Other increments between these levels may also be available, depending on the carrier. Those are just Ethernet over Copper offerings. Ethernet over Fiber takes you to 250, 500, 750 and 1,000 Mbps or up to 10 GigE.

You may want to install Ethernet Private Line or Ethernet Virtual Private Line service for a point to point connection between two business connections, like headquarters and a branch office. This replaces T1 or DS3 private line service at a better price.

One service that Ethernet offers, that you won’t find with traditional point to point connections is E-LAN or Ethernet LAN Service. It connects multiple LANs in a mesh topology at the layer 2 level. This lets you build one giant LAN that includes all of your remote location LANs.

Would you like to expand your service options and save 50% or more on line pricing compared to what you have now? Get instant online Ethernet service pricing up to 1 Gbps now. More complex multi-site networks need a bit of manual work, but will be quoted promptly.

The Coming Level 3 Global Crossing Juggernaut

If you believe that the future of business is high bandwidth connections to clouds, customers and suppliers worldwide, then the next step toward this future is the melding of Level 3 Communications and Global Crossing. Combine their assets and you have a network map that spans the world.

Level 3 Communications is actually purchasing Global Crossing for $2 billion. When this merger is complete, their combined fiber optic assets will reach 70 countries on 3 continents.

Level 3 has an extensive long haul network with metro fiber in many US cities. Their transatlantic undersea fiber connects to a European network to link the USA and major European cities with low latency fiber connections. Level 3 is a major player in the high speed financial trading space, as well as providing other high bandwidth fiber services for global business needs.

Another strength of Level 3 is video transport. Their Vyvx service carries both high definition and standard video programming for studios and networks. For the highest in transmission feed quality, Level 3 Vyvx offers uncompressed high definition video transport services between Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York City at 1.5 and 3.0 Gbps. The Level 3 Content Delivery Network (CDN) has 35 strategically placed cashing locations to keep the content as near the customer as possible.

What Global Crossing does is complement rather than compete with Level 3’s US/Europe network. Global Crossing has over 100,000 route miles of fiber optic cable installed around the world. This includes US and Europe network fiber that overlaps Level 3 to some extent. But it also brings trans-pacific undersea fiber and connections to Japan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Connected to its North America network is an extensive fiber optic networking serving the major cities in South America.

Global Crossing is true to its name. Their fiber really does span the world. Add Global Crossing’s network to the Level 3 network and you have extensive connectivity throughout North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia, with some facilities extending to the Middle East and Africa.

What does this mean for you, the business user? It certainly means more availability of converged IP network services worldwide and specialty services, such as low latency routes and video transport. Both Level 3 and Global Crossing have been serving major enterprise customers and carriers. They’ve got the expertise and facilities to accomplish whatever you will ever need in the way of connectivity.

Level 3, especially, also caters to smaller and medium businesses in the US. Their T1, bonded T1 and Ethernet over Copper solutions offer dedicated bandwidth at very reasonable prices. For companies that need to link multiple locations, Level 3 MPLS can create a company network that spans the country and extends to include offices, factories and warehouses worldwide.

Fiber optic networks are enjoying a new renaissance, as businesses move to cloud processes and automation that increases employee productivity. You see more fiber going into the ground in both major cities and rural areas. If you’ve been affiliated with Level 3 or Global Crossing, your connection capabilities are about to be increased significantly.

If you are looking to increase your connection speeds, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by the wide range of services available and the cost reductions that have come about in recent years from these and other competitive carriers. Don’t assume that you can’t get or afford higher bandwidth, even fiber, until you get prices and availability for business bandwidth services appropriate to your facility locations.



Note: Image of Earth from over the Atlantic Ocean courtesy of the U.S. Government on Wikimedia Commons

Future Proofing Your WAN With Ethernet

The nature of wide area networks is changing. Once the exclusive domain of telephone technologies, core networks are being re-engineered for packet switched services. Voice will always be important, but data and video are now the dominant forms of network traffic. How does this affect your business connections and should you be doing anything to stay ahead of the curve?

Most businesses and organizations are being affected by increased requirements for bandwidth. As their line service contracts come up for renewal, savvy managers are taking a look at what’s available now and rethinking their options. Do you simply renew the T1 line contract that you’ve had for years or switch to a newer Ethernet service?

I mention Ethernet because Ethernet in the WAN, also called Carrier Ethernet and Metro Ethernet, are becoming the network connection resource of choice. What’s behind it is a recognition that virtually all business, organizational and home networks are based on standardized Ethernet. That includes the wildly popular WiFi wireless routers and hotspots that have Ethernet inputs and outputs. It seem intuitive that Ethernet would make a good metro and wide area connection technology.

What’s held back Ethernet WAN services is the entrenchment of telephone technology line services. Until deregulation, there was a century of monopoly ownership and development of analog phone lines, carrier telephony, T-Carrier digital line service and SONET/SDH fiber optic services. All of these services were designed to support the basic core element of the individual two-way telephone conversation. Even the vast cellular networks were designed with telephones in mind first and data piggybacked on later as an afterthought.

With data and video dominating digital traffic, it makes sense to take another look at what network characteristics make the most sense for now and in the future. Network providers, including incumbent telephone companies, have done this and are moving rapidly to IP networks and connections. The two most on the ascendancy right now are Ethernet and MPLS Networks. MPLS is an excellent choice for creating a virtual private network cloud that can transport nearly any type of traffic across the country or worldwide. It readily supports Ethernet, making those two network technologies a powerful combination.

While there are other network protocols for specialized applications, it looks right now like we are headed toward an everything-over-Ethernet world. It’s an easy connection from your switches and routers to the carrier that transports your packets to remote destinations. You just plug-in and go. You also have the option of ordering a layer 2 Ethernet service so that you can make all your distant sites connect like they are on the same bridged LAN. In a way, Ethernet makes the WAN portion of the network disappear.

Is it the right time for you to move to Ethernet services? You’ll likely find that they are less expensive per Mbps that other options and offer scalable bandwidth anywhere from 1 Mbps on up to 10 Gbps or more. Check out the cost and availability of Ethernet WAN service for your locations before you commit to other options. You could be missing out of a better deal.