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Tag Archives: Metro Core Transport
Could Data Caps Tame the WiFi Explosion?
After the initial frenzy of the iPad 2 launch, interesting figures on just how popular Apple’s new tablet is are starting to emerge. According to some sources, the iPad 2 sold over one million during its first weekend of release. I find this figure incredible. One million units in two days. Apparently sales continue to be brisk and one can only imagine what figures will be seen when the device reaches global availability.
Aside from sending Apple’s profits higher, I also wonder what impact these sales will have on the network. In only two days, we suddenly have one million more users consuming and distributing rich media (I appreciate that a number of these users will be upgrading from the original iPad). FaceTime, Skype, Netflix, Hulu. The wealth of media available on the iPad is staggering. Now, if these users are anything like me, they will spend most of their time accessing this media over their WiFi connection, especially considering current 3G data caps.
Is it Time for an Optical Reboot?
After a busy few weeks of shows, briefings and meetings, I was able to spend some time over the weekend digesting what’s proven to be a whirlwind of new ideas, new technologies and ultimately new ways of networking. Throughout this time, I’ve had one phrase continually moving through my mind: optical reboot. Looking back, it’s clear that everything I’ve seen over the past few months has its genesis in this phrase. Indeed, I firmly believe that the first stage of this reboot is happening right now.
Andrew Schmitt from Infonetics Research coined the term ‘optical reboot’ in a recent report, using it to describe how carriers are currently preparing to rebuild their core networks using 40/100G, OTN and ROADM technologies. This represents the biggest upgrade to our global network infrastructure in the past decade. When complete, it will offer a flexible network that can easily accommodate today’s bandwidth demand and usher in a new wave of data-intensive applications that as of yet do not exist outside of test labs or even outside of our imaginations.
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100G Agile Andrew Schmitt Bandwidth Demand CeBIT Cloud computing Coherent Contentionless ROADMs Converged Supercore Core Network Corporate Backbones Data-Intensive Applications GMPLS Control Plane Gridless ROADMs Infonetics Research IP/MPLS Layer Juniper Networks Long Haul Transport Metro Core Transport Mobile Backhaul OFC/NFOEC Optical Layer Optical Network Optical Reboot OTN Packet Layer Packet Optical Transport Routers
A New Era Is Dawning for Optical Networking
Bandwidth demand growing exponentially for years while revenue per bit is dropping causes service provider margins to diminish. When combining this trend with unpredictable traffic patterns and a peak-to-average traffic ratio that is increasing quickly due to the adoption of cloud computing and social media applications, technology that will help service providers to streamline their operations and reduce total cost of ownership is needed badly.
In order to solve this issue, communication networks have to provide more capacity, become more dynamic when activating new services and need to be more flexible in terms of design and configuration. The mainstream trend of offering real-time applications based on a virtualized IT infrastructure – such as server and storage – has a clear impact on the underlying network infrastructure and its topology. Networks have to be designed and built differently in order to provide connectivity more dynamically and to better utilize resources available in the network. Connection paths have to be optimized and shortened to avoid wasting of resources and reduce latency.
Mapping the State of US Broadband
In a recent conversation with Adrian Wooster, I was asked if we’re over analyzing the state of broadband connectivity. Are we spending too much time discussing the problem and not enough in solving it? I was thinking about this question again today as I researched some figures on the recently launched national broadband map. An ambitious tool that’s provoked heated discussion as to its effectiveness and how it can be used to move the state of the country’s broadband forward.
Costing around $200 million and ultimately taking over five years to develop, the map represents the first step in providing detailed analysis on the state of the nation’s broadband infrastructure, especially in highlighting underserved communities in rural areas. The sheer breadth of data captured in this map is impressive, especially when compared to what is available in other countries (see earlier post: Mapping the digital divide). Yet as analysts such as Craig Settles have noted, this map is far from complete and represents only a first attempt. There is still a great deal of information regarding the competitive landscape that needs to be documented for this map to truly help consumers and drive policy forward.
What’s That Buzz?
With OFC/NFOEC just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to guess at what the big news might be on the show floor. While predicting buzz can be a hazardous endeavor, the steady ramp up in press releases leading up to the big event, plus the program guide give pretty good hints.
Big again this year appears to be coherent detection, though not necessarily for the same reasons as last year. Coherent was a buzz word at last year’s OFC/NFOEC, primarily because it enabled 100GE transmission, and neither was quite ready for primetime yet. Fast forward a year, and now coherent is once again in the limelight, but not just because of 100GE. Over the last year, creative people have started to realize what the extra link budget means to system architecture. More recently, they have realized that the digital filter that allows recovery of the PM-QPSK signal also can be used for other digital filtering purposes. Consider 2500km with no dispersion compensation whatsoever, and how it would change the network landscape.
