<A> Go for automatic Latest physical-layer-management products eliminate manual intervention [Oct '99]
comnews.com
As enterprises become increasingly
network-centric, merged voice and data
networks are undergoing explosive growth
globally. The complexity brought about by the
network's evolution results in increasing
difficulty facing network managers as they
manage network cabling and resource sharing
within the system's infrastructure. More and
more network managers seek means to help
them ensure the integrity and operation of the
network while performing moves, adds, and
changes (MACs), line provisioning services,
and diagnostic testing.
One significant factor that can facilitate the
network manager's task is the concept of
physical-layer management. The physical
layer is the first layer of the open systems
interconnection model (OSI), defining the
physical and electrical characteristics of the
interface to the network, while providing a
transparent transmission path for the
information across a chosen medium.
Managing the physical layer implies the
ability to manage the network's cabling and
connection infrastructure, as well as to track
these resources in real time.
Although the concept of physical-layer
management has been around for many years,
network switching has traditionally been
performed at Level 3 of the OSI model.
Recent breakthroughs have equipped the once
lowly physical-layer switch with a more
versatile and powerful technology platform.
Typically, a physical-layer cross-connect
switch is a relay-based product that houses an
array of inputs and outputs within a matrix
framework and simply redirects voice and
data traffic emanating from external
commands that prompt the switch to make,
break, or move connections within the unit.
Paralleling network growth, physical-layer
switch design has evolved to address a more
sophisticated suite of market requirements and
demands. While some matrix cross-connect
switches are limited in both size and
capabilities, only partially addressing market
demands, one in particular has adopted an
open architecture that allows total OSS and
interface to third-party test equipment while
supporting the complete life-cycle
management of a network infrastructure.
This automated physical-layer cross-connect
switch replaces the traditional "patch panel"
and is the first to combine voice and data and
to support up to 3,200 lines and utilize a
robotic mechanism to perform cross-connect
duties. This new cross-connect technology
also includes built-in test ports for quick and
easy connection of diagnostic test equipment,
as well as fallback switching capability as an
alternative path to avoid faulty connections.
The robotic design minimizes the overall
footprint (compared to relay-based
technologies) of the switch, enabling it to fit
into a 23-inch rackmount chassis and reduce
real-estate costs for telecommunication
applications where space is at a premium.
The switch resides at the central office, and
its protocol-transparent design allows it to
support analog voice, xDSL, ISDN, Basic
Rate, X.25, Frame Relay, Fractional T1, T1,
and E1 lines. Versatile GUI-based connection
management software provides unattended
local or remote operation.
DATA NETWORKS
Available protocol-transparent cross-connect
switches provide network managers, through a
local or remote PC, the ability to share a
network resource, such as a diagnostic
analyzer, for more complete coverage
throughout the entire network infrastructure.
The premise is simple; the cross-connect
matrix field allows the network manager to
trigger and electronically log to move the
analyzer anywhere within the network and
monitor any given segment. All moves are
connected and disconnected electronically,
eliminating the time and expense associated
with dispatching a technician to carry the
diagnostic equipment and fiddle with cables
at the patch panel or wiring closet.
TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS
Now this same principle is being applied as a
solution to perform local and remote loop
qualification and testing, service
provisioning, and migration, as well as
equipment failure fallback, while dramatically
reducing overhead costs associated with
maintaining and provisioning the
telecommunication network's infrastructure.
The combined requirements of two of the
largest and most fast-paced of the
telecommunication markets are the PBX and
the xDSL service environments, presenting a
strong case for the benefits of managing a
network at the physical layer.
At its simplest, the physical-layer management
paradigm can be used to dramatically lower
the overhead costs associated with managing
and maintaining phone-line deployment within
PBX environments-which encompass both
private and public enterprises, convention
centers, financial institutions, and other
widespread campus architectures. In PBX
environments, the new automated
cross-connect switches address the key issue
of how to handle moves, adds, and changes,
as well as line identification and
qualification, cost effectively. Provisioning
and line qualification can be completed "on
the fly" from an administrator's console within
a matter of minutes, dispensing with the time
and expense of dispatching and the manual
intervention of a technician. Moreover,
remote sites can now be serviced just as
efficiently, eliminating costly "truck rolls."
At its most cutting edge, automated
cross-connect switch technology can be used
to assist telecommunications providers
grappling with the challenges of serving the
emerging market for high-speed broadband
digital subscriber line (DSL) services. By
permitting electronic testing, provisioning,
and management of DSL lines, these switches
can free carriers from the time and expense
needed to manually connect test equipment
and hook individual lines into DSL access
multiplexers (DSLAMs) or other devices.
The advantages of physical-layer management
are even more dramatic for DSL deployment.
With analysts projecting more than one
million lines by 2001, major telcos are faced
with the prospect of an unprecedented
workload to meet this demand. For the
competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs)
who are expected to deliver the bulk of the
DSL services, this is vastly complicated by
their peculiar relationship with the incumbent
local exchange carriers (ILECs) who control
the existing telecommunications infrastructure.
Since each copper wire must be tested prior
to deployment to ensure proper service
delivery, CLECs are paying ILECs $15 to $40
per line per month for loop qualification.
CLECs are also faced with a problem in the
DSL deployment process because of the need
to install a DSLAM multiplexer at or near the
ILEC's central office through a co-location
arrangement. If the ILEC requires that its
technicians make the changes, it can take
several days and additional charges. If the
CLEC itself is granted access to the
co-location cage, it still requires an expensive
truck roll. These factors make it difficult for
CLECs to price DSL services competitively.
Automated switching technology solves the
problem by placing the switch at the ILEC's
central office between the main distribution
frame and the DSLAM. Testing, deployment,
and maintenance then can be performed
without manual intervention. In the case of
CLECs, this allows CLEC equipment located
within the co-location cage to be managed
remotely, avoids delays caused by waiting for
service from the ILEC, eliminates recurring
charges when entering the co-location cage,
and minimizes the need for on-site personnel.
It also provides fallback switching by
allowing the network operator to remotely
cross-connect from a failed DSLAM card to a
spare card.
One firm currently benefiting from these
advances in physical-layer management
technology is Tampa Electric Company
(TECO), which is using the new
Switchex/DVS switch from NHC
Communications, Inc. to manage line
provisioning and subscriber moves, adds, and
changes for remote sites. Like all power
utilities, TECO has widely dispersed remote
offices requiring technicians to schedule
expensive truck-roll time when they need to
be serviced. Automated switching eliminates
that process altogether.
TECO officials estimate they will incur a
formidable saving in scheduled man-hours per
year per site by managing their remote phone
network from the central office. Multiply that
by 26 sites, and you come up with substantial
savings in time and labor that could not be
achieved any other way.
In an era when computer "doctors" can
diagnose what ails a PC through cyberspace,
and system administrators can service end
users halfway across the country without a
site visit, automating the provisioning of voice
and data lines is the next logical step. All that
was required was the technology to make it
happen-and that technology has arrived.
Panessidi is director of marketing for NHC
Communications Inc., Montreal, Canada. |
