re: Ethernet over the WAN, IP over GbE over Lambda
Here is yet another example of the use of Ethernet over the wide area, as a replacement for SONET in most instances, to support the growing bandwidth needs of enterprises who need to connect their commercial platforms to the Internet.
The startup in this case is Yipes. They are using MFN dark fiber to support scalable speeds from 1 Mb/s to a 1 Gb at this time. The url, and the story for posterity, are both posted below. [Also, following the Yipes release, there is one by Extreme Networks who will be supplying them with switching power.]
In reading this and other recent accounts of Ethernet on the WAN, I've become increasingly encouraged about the plausibility of Gigabit Ethernet now, and 10 GbE later, as last mile solutions for full service fiber to the home [ftth] applications, not unlike some of the ones which we've discussed here in the past. Canarie in Canada, being but one of them.
When such services using off-the-shelf Ethernet hardware and software begin to proliferate and the economies of such selections become clear, we will begin to see a heightening of tensions between the ANSI Fibre Channel model, and that of IEEE Ethernet. Can Ethernet support the services which FC has become known for, such as the SAN?
I ask this because once Ethernet on the WAN picks up steam and begins to proliferate, one would not want to go through special conversion processes in order to support their storage area networking needs. The beauty of a one fabric, one type of network interface model, would be its ability to preclude such measures and ultimately support all forms of services.
Since it would be awkward to support all other applications on FC, I see storage needing to "go with the flow" at some point, and thereby lead to a time when Ethernet wins out.
Of course, there is considerable work to be done, since FC has had a head start in doing traffic cop functions in this area for a long time already. But so has SONET had the upper hand in the WAN, until now.
Comments and corrections welcome. FAC
------------
marketwatch.newsalert.com
Yipes to Obtain Optical Internet Infrastructure From
Metromedia Fiber Network; 20-Year Agreement
Valued at More than $125 Million
Business Wire - March 15, 2000 07:16
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2000--Yipes, the leading managed optical
IP network provider, will obtain fiber optic infrastructure in major North American markets
from Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (MFN) (NASDAQ:MFNX), the leader in deployment
of optical Internet infrastructure within key metropolitan areas internationally. The agreement,
valued at more than $125 million, will enable Yipes to bring ultra-high-speed Internet services
to its business customers.
Yipes will lease local fiber infrastructure from MFN throughout the downtown and surrounding
suburban areas of Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Seattle. Using MFN's high-bandwidth optical Internet backbone, Yipes will be
able to deliver an Ethernet-based, IP-over-fiber network that provides LAN-to-LAN service
between business locations, and also high-speed, scalable Internet access ranging from 1 Mbps
to 1 Gbps.
"MFN's optical Internet infrastructure allows managed network service providers like Yipes to
offer Internet access at broadband-level capacity, enabling an entirely new class of
bandwidth-intensive applications," said Nick Tanzi, president and chief operating officer of
Metromedia Fiber Network. "Through this agreement, Yipes will gain access to unshared, fully
scalable bandwidth at a fixed cost, allowing it to deliver today's cutting-edge business,
engineering and multimedia services over the Internet."
"By utilizing MFN's optical Internet infrastructure, Yipes is able to extend our unique suite of
IP-over-fiber network services with business quality of service to customers in additional
metropolitan regions nationwide," said Jerry Parrick, CEO of Yipes. "This relationship will let us
accelerate our deployment of LAN-to-LAN and LAN-to-Internet services for meeting the
critical needs of businesses."
About Yipes
Yipes is the defining provider of a new class of managed optical
IP networks. Yipes leverages the elegance of native Ethernet
technology to provide service that is smoothly scalable (in 1 Mbps
increments) from 1 Mbps to 1 Gbps, enabling the next generation of
Internet services. Yipes' networks provide roughly twice the bandwidth
at 80 percent of the price of traditional data communications
services. Yipes is funded by The Sprout Group, Norwest Venture
Partners, Soros Fund Management, Chase Capital Partners/Hambrecht &
Quist, BancBoston Ventures/Robertson Stephens, NewSpeed Capital,
Extreme Networks, Intel Capital and Juniper Networks, Inc. Additional
information is available at www.yipes.com.
About Metromedia Fiber Network
Metromedia Fiber Network, the leading provider of end-to-end optical network and Internet
infrastructure solutions, is revolutionizing the fiber optic industry. By offering virtually unlimited,
unmetered bandwidth at a fixed cost, the Company is eliminating the bandwidth barrier and
redefining the way broadband capacity is sold. Metromedia Fiber Network is extending
metropolitan optical networking infrastructure to the end user in strategic top-tier markets,
enabling its customers to implement the latest data, video, Internet and multimedia applications.
In addition to its current expansion in 51 cities in North America, Metromedia Fiber Network is
establishing an international presence with planned fiber optic network builds in 16 cities
throughout Europe.
Together with its subsidiaries, AboveNet Communications, Inc., a leading provider of
co-location and Internet connectivity solutions, and PAIX.NET, Inc., the leading neutral
Internet Exchange, Metromedia Fiber Network is unleashing the full potential of the Internet.
The combined company facilitates the explosive growth of e-commerce and advanced Internet
applications by delivering secure, reliable and scalable optical networks and IP services to
Internet content and service providers, carriers and enterprise users worldwide. For more
information about Metromedia Fiber Network, please visit the company's Web site at
www.mmfn.com.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. Factors that could cause or contribute to such risks and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, competition, changes in
technology and methods of marketing, and various other factors beyond the Company's
control. This also includes such factors as described from time to time in the SEC reports filed
by Metromedia Fiber Network, including the Company's most recently filed Form S-3 and its
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.
-----------------------------------------
OPTICAL IP NETWORK LEADER YIPES SELECTS EXTREME NETWORKS
SWITCHING SOLUTIONS
SANTA CLARA, Calif., and SAN FRANCISCO, March 2, 2000 ? Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR) today announced that managed optical IP network provider Yipes has selected its award-winning switching technology to offer business-to-business and business-to-Internet connections at unprecedented speeds.
Introduced in mid-February, Yipes NET high-speed Internet service, which is based on Yipes' all IP-over-fiber network, links company LANs seamlessly to the Internet at customer-specified speeds up to 1 Gbps. Yipes regional area IP network, Yipes MAN, connects LANs between business locations at speeds up to 1 Gbps. The Extreme Networks solution is powering Yipes' sites in the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, Denver and other selected cities nationally by the end of this year.
"Yipes is all about the need for speed," said Ron Young, Yipes Vice President Marketing and Business Development. "To achieve our goal, it was critical that we install a network that can handle our innovative service offerings, and Extreme Networks was the only vendor with a solution which met our requirements. In addition to providing the network speed, they also met our demand for reliability and simplicity."
Yipes' all IP-over-fiber architecture enables customers to buy the services and speeds desired, rather than fitting within the traditional telco hierarchy. Yipes' end-to-end Ethernet-based networks provide more efficient and reliable transmission. Yipes services are backed by aggressive SLAs, which assure customers Quality of Service (QoS) and scalable bandwidth in 1 Mbps increments.
"With the Extreme Networks solution, Yipes can offer customers 1 Mbps to 100 Mbps Internet connections, and really help propel the new Internet economy," said George Prodan, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Extreme Networks. "Yipes is demonstrating our vision towards deploying Ethernet as the technology of choice for next generation MANs. And, since day one our networking solutions were designed to handle the bandwidth-intensive business and multimedia applications that Yipes is one of the first to provide."
Yipes selected Extreme Networks' Ethernet switching products, both the Summit? stackable and BlackDiamond© modular switches, because of their operational efficiency in service provisioning, activation, support of SLAs and their rich suite of network management features. Extreme Networks' wire-speed switching capability and hardware-based QoS provisioning contribute to Yipes' best-in-class high-speed IP network services.
Yipes is the defining provider of a new class of managed optical IP networks. Yipes leverages the elegance of its native Ethernet Smart Edge? technology to provide service which is smoothly scalable (in 1Mbps increments) from 1 Mbps to 1 Gbps, enabling the next generation of Internet services. Yipes networks provide roughly twice the bandwidth at 80% of the price of traditional data communications services. Yipes' initial funding is from Norwest Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates.
More information about Yipes is available at www.yipes.com.
Extreme Networks is a leading provider of high-performance, multilayer network solutions designed for the Internet economy. Extreme's family of Summit and BlackDiamond© switching solutions are built on a unique combination of ExtremeWare? management software and an ASIC-based common architecture that enables service providers, e-businesses and enterprises to expand their businesses and be more competitive by speeding traffic through a simplified, super scalable network infrastructure.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., Extreme Networks distributes its solutions in more than 40 countries through direct sales, authorized resellers and distribution partners. For more information, visit www.extremenetworks.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events or future financial performance that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts", "potential" or "continue" or the negative of such terms or comparable terms. These statement are only predictions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements based upon a number of factors including future sales, technical development, product introduction by ourselves and by competitors and those identified in Extreme's filings with the SEC.
# # # |
