PONP — A New Category of Platforms

By Fujitsu’s Randy Eisenach

The growing demand for carrier Ethernet services is causing a major transition in the planning and deployment of carrier networks. As native data services, primarily Ethernet services, become both the dominant traffic type and physical client interface, new network infrastructure solutions are needed to ensure cost-effective, efficient delivery of these services with the same quality, reliability and protection found on existing TDM (SONET/SDH) networks. Fortunately, a new category of products has emerged allowing carriers to transition more seamlessly from their current SONET networks to carrier-grade, connection-oriented Ethernet infrastructures. Packet optical networking platforms (PONPs), also referred to as packet optical transport platforms (POTP), combine three fundamental technologies into a single platform: SONET/SDH aggregation, connection-oriented Ethernet aggregation, and ROADM. The integration of all three technologies allows carriers to support existing, revenue-bearing TDM services while deploying advanced, next-generation Ethernet aggregation and transport platforms. The integrated ROADM capability ensures networks have the capacity to efficiently grow and scale.

As one of the optical industry’s hottest technologies, it’s no surprise that some legacy products and vendors are trying to redefine their systems to “fit” into this new category segment, whether valid or not. To help clarify the issue, it’s worth reviewing just what constitutes a PONP and what does not. There are three defining requirements for platforms to be included in this segment. First, they must offer TDM/SONET aggregation to support legacy services, which means SONET/SDH interfaces with aggregation and grooming across the entire system. There is nothing new with this requirement, as existing SONET MSPPs support similar capabilities. Second, they must support integrated ROADM capability to provide network scalability. Third, and the primary differentiator from previous generation of products, PONPs must support native connection-oriented Ethernet aggregation and switching across the entire chassis. It is this last requirement that separates true PONPs from the imitators.

Ethernet aggregation across the chassis simply means the Ethernet switch fabric can aggregate and switch traffic across all slots and all ports in the system. Most previous generation SONET MSPPs support Ethernet as Ethernet over SONET, or provide limited Layer 2 aggregation across ports on a single Ethernet interface card — as opposed to the entire platform. For the network to efficiently and cost effectively support thousands to millions of projected Ethernet connections, PONPs must support platform-wide Ethernet aggregation.

Along with the requirement for platform-wide Ethernet aggregation, PONPs must incorporate connection-oriented Ethernet, which is a set of technologies vendors add to ensure end-to-end QoS for Ethernet services, including end-to-end resource reservation, call control, traffic management and traffic queuing/shaping. It is this set of technologies that transforms Ethernet from a best effort service to a carrier-grade service providing the same quality as today’s private line services.

PONPs represent an exciting new category of products that are enabling carriers to efficiently migrate to Ethernet-centric architectures. They combine SONET/SDH aggregation, ROADM and chassis-wide, connection-oriented Ethernet aggregation. A number of legacy vendors are attempting to masquerade their 8-year-old SONET MSPPs and other legacy products as PONPs, when they clearly don’t fit the definition of this new generation of products. Fortunately, there are several “true” PONP products available in the industry from a number of leading optical transport and aggregation vendors.

Randy Eisenach is a market development director at Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. He specializes in network technologies, next-generation architectures and transport applications. He has more than 20 years of optical transport and networking experience and has held a wide range of senior-level positions in engineering, systems engineering, product management, sales and marketing. Eisenach also was awarded a patent for his design and development work on communication products and networks. He joined Fujitsu Network Communications in 1995 after previously holding similar positions at Nortel and Alcatel.