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To: D. Newberry who wrote (20655)	3/19/2000 12:22:00 AM
From: D.B. Cooper	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

We (my wife and I) have owned CSCO for years. CSCO,IMHO will take care of itself. It has one of the greatest management teams I can think of. Go to cisco.com Delivering Internet Scale, Carrier Class Solutions Optical solutions from Cisco comprise Internet scale, carrier class switch/routers, transport platforms and extenders, and wavelength routers capable of supporting core Internet applications with reliability, availability, and serviceability. Optical products and solutions from Cisco offer an intelligent solution to the challenges presented by the accelerating flood of data and video traffic straining today's public networks. Only Cisco is delivering comprehensive solutions for building Internet scale, carrier class networks Look around and follow some of the links pretty good reading. Good luck Don

To: D. Newberry who wrote (20655)	3/19/2000 1:00:00 AM
From: BDR	Respond to of 54805

Optical Switching v. Routing and Timeframes lightreading.com Optical Routing Even when they do, these products still won't 'route' lambdas. Instead they will reflect light signals across a network over a pre-determined network path using routing information that will typically be carried over a separate, out of band network. True optical routing, in which routers can read the addresses and other information carried in photons, is a long, long way away. "To switch packets in light would require a transducer that can convert light signals. Those are barely in the lab," says David Tolwinski, president and CEO of Tenor Networks Inc. (http://www.tenornetworks.com), an optical networking start-up. "True photonic routing is so far in the future that I don't have a clue when it will happen," says Fred Harris, director, network planning and design for Sprint Corp. (http://www.sprint.com/). "The only thing you will get is wild guesses." And even trying to implement real routing may be misguided, according to some vendors. "Electronics is good at switching. Optics is good at transmission. Let each one do what they're good at," says Victor Mizrahi, chief scientist at Ciena Corp. (http://www.ciena.com), which recently acquired Lightera, a startup with an optical cross connect that has an electrical core. < < < < Nortel Spells Out Its Cross-Connect Strategy lightreading.com Confused? Here's what's going on: Optical cross connects link together wavelengths in carrier backbones, and right now, vendors are tackling this issue with different goals in mind. One bunch is focusing on developing management software that automates the setting up and tearing down of wavelengths. The software manages this process from the perspective of complete backbone - to speed up provisioning and ensure that traffic is automatically re-routed around failures and that capacity is used efficiently. As these switches sit in the heart of carrier backbones, this is a very challenging task according to Desh Deshpandi, chairman of Sycamore Networks Inc. sycamorenetworks.com, one of the vendors developing such a switch. The software might have to handle millions of wavelengths, and the slightest glitch could cause widespread service blackouts, he says. In other words, the software isn't something that could be dashed off quickly by a relatively small startup such as Xros. Right now, the only management systems that work in carrier networks are electrically based, so all of the vendors in this camp have switches with electrical cores. Vendors in this camp include Nortel with its HDX as well as Sycamore, Tellium Inc. tellium.com, Cisco Systems Inc. cisco.com (through its acquisition of Monterey ) and Ciena Corp. ciena.com (through its acquisition of Lightera). Another bunch of vendors is developing "all-optical" cross connects that switch light from one port to the other without converting it into electrical signals and then back again into light. Some vendors, including Xros, Lucent Technologies lucent.com and Siemens AG siemens.com, are using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) - arrays of microscopic mirrors - to bounce the light from input to output port. Others are testing liquid crystals, ink-jet printer bubbles and variety of other technologies. Xros appears to be leading the charge in this camp - by having by far the largest number of ports and by having software that automates the provisioning process (see Xros Launches First 1000-Port All Optical Cross Connect ). All the same, it can't respond to electrical management signals to reroute traffic onto alternative wavelengths in the event of failures, according to Greg Reznick, Xros's president and CEO. And it doesn't come with the heavy-duty systems for managing the whole network offered by the likes of Sycamore and Tellium. In the long run, the vendors in the first camp are aiming to replace their electrical cores with light based ones. However, it'll take six to nine months before it becomes clear which optical switching technology to use, and it'll take another six to nine months to incorporate it in products, according to Nick De Vito, Tellium's vice president of product management and business development. In buying Xros, Nortel is charging ahead with a two prong solution right now. It expects carriers to use its Optera HDX to automate the setting up and tearing down of bandwidths, and then use Xros's X-1000 in locations where cost saving is the big priority. The X-1000's ability to eliminate electrical interfaces will result in "dramatic" cost reductions, according to Penz.

To: D. Newberry who wrote (20655)	3/19/2000 1:35:00 AM
From: JRH	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

A lot of discussion on this thread has centered on Cisco and the Fiber Optics threat. I would like to clear up a couple of misconceptions. Thanks for clearing the syntax up for us, D. Newberry. It sounds like optical routing is still several years out in the future....(edit: WAY out in the future, after reading the articles!! ;o) Justin

To: D. Newberry who wrote (20655)	3/19/2000 5:30:00 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 54805

RE: switch vs router Thank you, Newberry! I never really understood this switch vs router, and the optical place in it, before. It is posts like yours that make sorting though the "bloat" worthwhile. LindyBill

To: D. Newberry who wrote (20655)	3/19/2000 11:02:00 AM
From: Len	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

DN, Great post. Thanks. With your technical skills would you be willing to do a little dissertation explaining the fundamental difference between Routers, Switches, and Hubs. Thanks. Len

To: D. Newberry who wrote (20655)	3/19/2000 4:58:00 PM
From: Praxis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

Just a point regarding your post on switching/routing, switches can operate at layers 2,3,4 routers just 3. I can point you to at least half a dozen manufacturers that carry both. Your point about layer 3 is incorrect, it examines strictly the IP addressing info to determine addressing and sub-net/gateway info, not ports. Port delivery is a layer 4 responsibility(transport layer TCP/UDP)The main difference is that a switch doesn't store the routing tables and distance-vectoring algorithms. A router is often included as part of a switch. A gateway can operate at all 7 layers of the OSI. But you're correct a detailed discussion would be long, here is a link with further links that gives a brief definition,function and ability of routers,switches,hubs,gateways. performancecomputing.com whatis.com

To: D. Newberry who wrote (20655)	5/13/2000 4:54:00 AM
From: saukriver	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

CSCO--reprise on optical router v. optical switches? D. Newberry, I am wondering if anyone could get you to read the latest Gilder Tech. Report (focussing on Aigilent's technology) and comment on the threat it appears to pose to Cisco. (I am almost positive that tekboy would be willing to PM you a copy if you do not have access to it.) Your posts on optical switches v. optical routers is one of the seminal contributions to this thread. Message 13234659 saukriver