Mobility

August 17, 2006
Integrating new devices in the existing form is a challenge

NEW DELHI -- Service providers are busy figuring out innovative ways to offer revenue generating media services. As VoIP services are now becoming quite affordable, price erosion in legacy voice services is inevitable. The equipment vendors and system integrators are now looking at new services to drive business with service providers. Users are looking at services and solutions that would make them function efficiently in a globalised and competitive business environment. Transformation to NGNs is an evolution.

Service providers are migrating toward triple play on the move, which combines voice, video, data and mobility services. “Service providers need to look for equipment that can gracefully and cost-effectively migrate services from the legacy networks to the IP/MPLS network,” said Neeraj Gulati, vice president and managing director, Ciena India.

Convergence Plus spoke with Neeraj Gulati to find out the need to transition to a single multi-service infrastructure. Excerpts from the interview;

Convergence Plus: Major Indian service providers are migrating or considering an IP NGN framework to integrate their multiple service networks on a single IP platform. What is the need for creating such a network?

Neeraj Gulati: This consideration to implement an IP NGN framework is consistent with the general market and technology direction of the last few years to converge existing and new services and technologies over IP/MPLS network infrastructures. The need for this model is multi-faceted.

In general, the majority of applications from enterprise data users as well as residential triple-play offerings are inherently based on IP with services like IP/MPLS VPNs and IPTV, respectively. Also, the majority of large carriers already have IP (and often IP/MPLS) core backbones in place for their Internet services and transport and/or early private IP offerings. Therefore, the actual backbone infrastructure for this convergence is often already in place.

The new device required at the edge of the IP/MPLS network is one that cost-effectively and reliably adapts legacy and new services to MPLS. This MPLS Label Edge Router (LER) functionality typically uses Pseudowire technology - as defined by the IETF PWE3 working group - and involves the transport of Ethernet, Frame Relay, ATM and TDM over those existing MPLS infrastructures. The benefit or need for this architecture is that carriers can avoid deployment of protocol-specific overlay networks, thereby reducing both their CAPEX and ongoing OPEX.

CP: What are the significant challenges for transitioning into a single multi-service infrastructure with respect to IP-NGN? How do service providers plan to tackle this?

NG: There are a variety of challenges in implementing a single multi-service network, and they differ depending on the amount of revenue-producing legacy services that exist at the carrier. Frequently, service providers are not looking to invest their CAPEX to migrate existing services onto a new network that are only generating low-growth revenue, unless OPEX savings justify it. In addition, in a multi-vendor environment, the integration of new devices into the existing management and OSS paradigm is a frequent challenge.

Service providers need to look for equipment that can gracefully and cost-effectively migrate services from the legacy network to the IP/MPLS network -- one feature capability for doing this is the concept of a "dual control plane," which allows a single edge platform to simultaneously sit on a MPLS network and on an ATM network, for example, enabling the carrier to smoothly migrate its customers. These devices need to be easy to implement into the existing OSS with standards-based northbound management interfaces while also offering feature parity with existing services to prevent loss of service or QoS with the legacy protocols.

CP: How do service providers perceive security concerns on such networks?

NG: With pseudowire/PWE3 technology, legacy services are tunneled in nested IP/MPLS LSPs (Label Switched Paths) that are inherently point-to-point. Although this technology runs over connection-less IP networks, PWE3 standards have defined point-to-point management/OAM paradigms that mirror legacy protocols such as ATM and Frame Relay.

CP: Apart from cost savings, how will IP-NGN network enable providers to tap the growing managed services opportunities?

NG: Convergence of service on the core network and the concept of managed services at the access/edge of the network are two different initiatives. Through the use of MPLS in the core, service providers can consider deploying MPLS in their metro or access networks to use Pseudowire as a canonical format for all services --- this architecture may simplify deployment of a multiservice managed service versus one that is limited to a single service. In addition, when building out the access portion of new greenfield locations or services, it may be more cost-effective to utilise systems optimised for those new services. For example, for an IPTV access network, this might include carrier Ethernet switches or Optical Transport Systems with integrated Ethernet aggregation.