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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mighty Mizzou who wrote (29697)	11/29/1999 12:04:00 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 77400

The Role of the Edge Network: Serving the Customer cisco.com Abstract Service provider edge networks are responsible for delivering services. The word "service" is appropriate---the edge exists to serve the customer. Key functions of the edge network include creating and delivering services on a variety of physical interfaces, and providing service quality and differentiation. Service providers deploy core networks to serve their edge networks. Key functions of the core include high-capacity, high-speed, highly-available transport of traffic. Because of a host of business- and technology-driven forces that are described in this paper, the roles of WAN edge and core networks must evolve. Edge networks must integrate IP functionality and support higher-speed interfaces for direct connection to dark fiber or Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM). Core networks must take advantage of rapidly advancing optical technology and become operationally transparent to edge-delivered services. Introduction At the most basic level, a wide-area network exists to interconnect individuals or communities in a useful and cost-effective manner. Service providers deploy hardware, software, and people to maximize the utility of their network while minimizing its capital and operational cost. The utility of the network comes from the services it enables: how well each service solves a customer problem, how quickly a service can be deployed to a customer, and how reliably the service performs. Of course, the utility of the deployed services determines the revenue realized by the WAN. The cost of a network comes from the infrastructure deployed to support it: the capital cost of required equipment, the cost of supporting information systems, the cost of support personnel, the network bandwidth consumed by the services, and so on. Obviously, the most profitable WAN service providers are those who are best able to deploy their revenue-generating services at the lowest costs. To help optimize revenue-generation capabilities and network cost, service provider networks often include two layers: edge and core. The "Edge" of the network is used to deploy revenue generating services. The "Core" is used to optimize cost by providing efficient transport and bandwidth optimization of edge-provided traffic. Although it is an oversimplification to say "Edge = Revenue Maximization" and "Core = Cost Minimization"---after all, service providers spend the bulk of hardware budgets on edge platforms---it is useful to understand the important distinctions between edge and core functions. This white paper addresses the roles played by both edge and core platforms in wide-area networks, looks at key drivers of change that affect both, and describes Cisco's vision of next-generation edge and core requirements. Finally, it discusses Cisco edge and core platforms, providing pointers for product-specific detail. ..... MY COMMENTS: I THINK FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES CISCO HAVE ABANDONED THE CORE AND IS ALREADY TARGETING THE EDGE.