Ian --
This latest fiasco will give a couple terms entirely new meaning: SLA --- Service Level Agreement -- and TCO --- Total Cost of Ownership. Poor Bernie will be haunted by them for the rest of his life. I can hear it now, "So, Bernie, how much did you save by using the cheaper solution?" And, "Tell me again, Mr. Ebbers, what was your down-time this year?????"
Okay, to the discussion at hand, someone from NN was kind enough to explain the difference between center weighted and distributed management systems and that sent me to the archives to see what I could find.
Stratacom, now part of CSCO -- and the source of the ATT outage --- and Ascend, now part of Lucent --- and the source of the current MCI outage -- use distributed management systems. This means that all the nodes have to communicate with each other when any changes are made to the network. A change in one node means they have to communicate to all the nodes in their domain. If there's a high level of QOS, lots of traffic gets bumped. Newbridge uses a center weighted system which has fairly dumb nodes and gets updates from the 46020 --- with the intelligence to stop updates if congestion is detected and even make reroutes to less congested routes.
AT&T, DT, BT, and C&W have all chosen NN's Network Management Solutions and to understand why, I've put together a few links and quotes.
To being with, what's the role of network management?
". . . service providers and network operators want cost-effective integrated network management systems that can facilitate end-to-end monitoring, usage, and performance as well as providing the very best in fault detection and disaster recovery. Ensuring the quality of service customers pay for, and offering customers access to and control of virtual private networks (VPNs) are additional requirements. Only authorized users must be able to access the system, and the transmission of data must be sealed from other network users. "
newbridge.com
Interview with Mr. Manfred W”llke, Head of Deutsche Telekom?s Network Management Center:
newbridge.com
What convinced Deutsche Telekom to select the network and service management solution from Newbridge?
The crucial factor was really the absolute leading overall functionality of the MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager. The 46020 offered unique end-to-end management capabilities and an agreeable graphical user interface that allowed new paths to be provisioned very quickly. And that distinction still holds true today.
Deutsche Telekom has been using the 46020 Network Manager for several years now to deliver managed business services to customers. How satisfied are you with the management tool?
In general, we are very satisfied. Because we operate a very large network and serve a high number of customers, we depend on many of the system management performance features; especially in the area of VPN configurations and AAR (automatic alternative rerouting). Furthermore, we also use the KeyInfo software tool from the Newbridge Affiliate CrossKeys to make statistics data available to our customers as part of contractual agreements. . . .
What capabilities differentiate the Newbridge management solution from other competitive products?
With Newbridge network and service management we can offer real end-to-end management that is configured to exactly meet a customer's requirements. For example, we can configure an end-to-end connection, in combination with complete end-to-end fault management, using the existing fault tools of the MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager. Moreover, we provide the customer with the entire spectrum of services, using the highest availability, from the one single management center.
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Why AT&T chose NN:
newbridge.com
Designed for the global reach and scope of AT&T's managed bandwidth services, Newbridge GSMP integrates the full portfolio of Newbridge networking products under a fully featured service management system.
Including services such as private line, frame relay and ATM, GSMP enables AT&T to offer customers a full, end-to-end view of their global networks. Key parameters include configuration, network status, SLAs and performance reporting, as well as detailed visibility of network bandwidth resources down to the slot, card, or port level. Customers will have "an unprecedented online view of these services on a global basis," said Bill Callahan, Services Director, AT&T Managed Network Solutions.
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Global Managed Services:
newbridge.com
The demanding global requirements of AT&T to support 10 or more network operations systems were met using the 48020 MNSC to integrate regional 46020 systems, Customer Service Management (CSM) Service Director to extend customer visibility to thousands of end users, and CrossKeys' Resolve for detailed performance reporting.
Frame Relay management:
newbridge.com
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Ease of Use
Need to create a new connection? Simply point and click on the two network end-points. MainStreetXpress management provides a graphical view of the network and a point-and-click interface -- not a cryptic syntax -- to simplify network operations. The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager automatically calculates the best path through the network and sets up the connection.
With the MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager, operators can manage multiple technologies, such as TDM (time division multiplexing), frame relay and ATM, from a single platform. There's no need for network operators to specialize in different languages. Since the basic procedure for creating and managing the circuits is almost identical across platforms and technologies, introduction of new nodes and services can be accomplished with a minimal learning curve.
Scalability
The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager manages some of the world's largest networks and accommodates virtually unlimited growth from the same platform. The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager can manage:
up to 5,000 nodes
over 200,000 paths
128 concurrent read/write operators
Additional services and workstations can be added easily as network management requirements increase. . . .
Remote Testing
Newbridge Managed Frame Relay offers operators the capability to identify, isolate and correct problems as quickly as possible. Remote testing capabilities eliminate the need to dispatch technicians -- testing and troubleshooting can be conducted from a central location.
The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager supports loopbacks that allow test patterns to be sent along a line. To isolate a problem on a connection, the operator can progressively loop back to points farther along the connection, until the problem is found. Line loopbacks loop the port toward the CPE or external equipment. Equipment loopbacks loop the port toward the switch fabric.
The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager also supports maintenance connections that allow operators to isolate problems on overlay links and paths by diverting traffic to test circuits. Three different types of maintenance connections are available:
Split-through maintenance connections split a connection so that each end is routed to a test circuit.
Split-back maintenance connections split a connection, switch to a test circuit, and then switch back to the target circuit.
Monitor maintenance connections allow "listen only" access on live connections. The monitored connection is routed to a maintenance circuit where test equipment can be connected without affecting service. . . .
Redundancy
. . . The MainStreetXpress 46020 ensures that connections are protected from interruption in case of network outages. Newbridge offers the highest level of service at all times, even during network failures, to ensure that critical business communications are maintained.
The MainStreetXpress 46020 uses a variety of techniques to protect critical traffic from outages:
Reserved alternate path with immediate diversion (RAPID) allows network operators to reserve bandwidth on alternate routes. In case of failure on the primary route, the MainStreetXpress 46020 automatically switches the connection to the alternate route.
Alternate route destination (ARD) allows operators to set up an alternate destination for traffic in case of failure along the primary route. This feature is useful for transmissions where the end destination is not critical, as long as the information gets through.
Automatic alternate rerouting (AAR) can be specified for connections that do not require a reserved backup using RAPID. The MainStreetXpress management products will re-route the call utilizing available bandwidth.
Bumping of lower priority paths allows the MainStreetXpress 46020 to take bandwidth from a lower priority connection if it cannot find enough free bandwidth to set up an alternate route.
Dynamic downspeeding of super-rate paths allows operators to create a lower speed backup path when it is difficult to find enough bandwidth on alternate routes.
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Press release for management system:
newbridge.com
If ATT, BT, DT, and C&W weren't enough, we also have SBC:
Newbridge Networks Signs Multi-Million Dollar Agreement with SBC
KANATA, Ontario, August 26, 1998 -- Newbridge Networks today announced an agreement with SBC Operations Inc. to provide MainStreetXpress 36170 Multiservices Switches. Newbridge also will provide SBC with a MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager and MainStreetXpress 48020 MultiNetwork Service Controller. The three-year agreement is valued at over $300 million.
"SBC's commitment to their customers' evolving needs has made them one of the world's most respected and successful carriers," said Terence Matthews, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Newbridge Networks Corporation. "Newbridge is proud to provide the network infrastructure that will enable SBC to support its customers into the next century."
The MainStreetXpress 36170 Switch's broad range of interfaces and service offerings ? including advanced private line, LAN internetworking, and broadband wireless ? enables companies to take advantage of the cost and performance benefits provided by the multiservices, multi-access platform. The MainStreetXpress 36170 Multiservices Switch offers interfaces ranging from sub-T1 speeds to OC12, growing to OC48, and features such as ATM Forum-compliant Inverse Multiplexing over ATM (IMA) and switched virtual circuits (SVCs). It scales from 800 Mbit/s to more than 50 Gbit/s in a fully redundant mode, and supports more than 30,000 T1, frame-relay or circuit-emulation ports per system.
The Newbridge MainStreet time division multiplexing and MainStreetXpress asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), frame relay products also allow for the ability to seamlessly integrate network solutions.
The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager and the MainStreetXpress 48020 MultiNetwork Service Controller are highly scalable, reliable management systems that provide end-to-end network and management solutions The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager is used to configure the network, manage links and paths, monitor operations and establish end-to-end connections through the network by simply clicking on end-points. The MainStreetXpress 48020 MNSC can be used by individual service providers to consolidate the management of multiple networks into a common administration, or by multiple service providers to manage services which span multiple network or service provider boundaries.
Newbridge Networks (NYSE: NN; TSE:NNC) designs, manufactures, markets and services networking solutions to organizations in more than 100 countries. The Company leverages its relationship with 16 Newbridge affiliate companies and strategic alliances with Siemens and 3Com Corporation to deliver seamless, end-to-end solutions. Newbridge customers include the world's 250 largest telecommunications service providers and more than 10,000 corporations, government organizations and other institutions. Founded in 1986, the company employs 6,000 people on five continents. News and information are available at www.newbridge.com.
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I think what's clear is that a world-class carrier network has to include a management system that's fully managed from one view and completely fault-tolerant. Without it Service Level Agreements are meaningless and Total Cost of Ownership will escalate to the point service providers will go out of business.
Only in a crisis do we find out who we really are. It's not the hand we're dealt, but what we do with it. Andy Grove came through the Pentium debaucle a better manager and better man. With Bernie Ebbers, only time will tell.
Okay, the yard beckons. . .
Pat
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