Ken, pardon the late reply. You ask:
>>Other than the religious conversion aspects of the ATM core issues, what are your thoughts about the selection of FORE as the primary vendor?<<
I'm a bit thrown off by this one. I was a little surprised, since Fore's line of equipment is not commonly spotted as the heavy-duty deep-core network variety. I guess that's about to change, and perhaps this is an indication that they are raising their sights considerably. Nothing against their technology or history, they're excellent, but one would have thought that an Ascend, NN, or even a GDC, or the like, with proven core backbone performance would have been the likely selection. Fore's forte has been edge and campus, riser, to date.
But there may be good reasons, now that I think of it. In viewing the other three that I mentioned, their platforms are not pure ATM, with a lot of other POTS and Frame capabilities thrown in that LVLT expressly does not want to contaminate their net (or at least so they say, but I didn't expect ATM, either) and the others are unlike Fore in this regard. Maybe that accounts for some of the decision process. Or maybe it was a means of disassociating themselves with other interstate players' approaches (you may recall that QWST is installing an ASND ATM backbone, along with a CSCO IP net), or something highly political, although I have not real grounds for stating that -- just pure speculation.
I'm still waiting to read something somewhere that rationalizes the decision of LVLT to take this kind of route (pun intended), given what I think I've heard that state repeatedly, i.e., that they wouldn't depart from IP in its purest form. I'd been waiting to hear of a Packet-over-Sonet, or an IP-over-fiber/wavelength kind of release from them, not this. Maybe they didn't get a chance to read the release below? <smile>
>>Also, who is supplying the FON hardware? <<
Don't know, exactly, although CSCO came out with a release at the same time (maybe a day before FON, indicating that they would also be supporting ATM and IP on one of their newer family of boxes. See the release below, and enjoy,
Frank Coluccio
------------------------excerpt from:
cisco.com
Cisco Announces IP+ATM WAN Edge Solutions to Build Future Telecommunications Infrastructure
New Wide Area Switches Unite Carrier Class ATM with Cisco IOS Software
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- June 1, 1998 -- Cisco Systems, Inc. today introduced three new Wide Area Network (WAN) edge products designed to deliver the next generation of carrier-class, IP-based services by seamlessly integrating IP and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technologies through Tag Switching, the first implementation of the emerging Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) standard.
The new switches, the Cisco BPXr 8650 IP+ATM switch; the Cisco MGXT 8800 wide area switch; and the Cisco BPX 8680 universal service node, feature Cisco IOSr software and support for IP+ATM service management tools to enable seamless interoperability.
Service providers' edge platforms are critical to service delivery and differentiation because the edge is where those platforms directly interface with their customers' networking environment. Cisco's WAN edge solutions enable service providers to deploy the industry's widest range of value-added services and provide solutions that scale with low-cost entry points for small sites up to unprecedented port density and scalability for the very largest sites.
Cisco is now shipping the BPX 8650 IP+ATM switch, a product that incorporates MPLS for dynamic IP switching over the ATM fabric. Using Cisco's upgrade package, service providers can upgrade their existing installed base of BPX 8600 series switches to incorporate MPLS for IP+ATM capabilities.
Cisco designed the MGX 8800 wide area switch to meet the needs of small to large points of presence (PoPs) or central offices (COs), where service providers need to scale to 1,400 DS1 interfaces. For very large sites that need to handle up to 16,000 DS1 interfaces, Cisco designed the BPX 8680 universal service node.
The Cisco MGX 8800 wide area switch represents the next generation in high-capacity edge switches. Featuring the industry's widest breadth of service interfaces, the MGX 8800 wide area switch enables service providers to deliver a complete portfolio of differentiated service offerings. The MGX 8800 platform provides the lowest-cost edge infrastructure for volume services such as Frame Relay by reducing the entry cost and surpassing the port densities of competitive switches.
The MGX 8800's universal chassis raises the bar for high-capacity edge switches, scaling from DS0 to OC-48c/STM-16 speeds with 45 Gbps switching throughput. The flexible form factor easily accommodates a mix of high-density narrowband and broadband interfaces, enabling network engineers to collapse multi-box solutions onto a single platform. The switch design of the MGX 8800 represents a lower entry cost for carrier-class edge switches, thus allowing service providers to cost-effectively deploy the product on customer premises for carrier-managed services.
The MGX 8800 wide-area switch gives service providers the ability to offer their customers a tremendous breadth of WAN services, including Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), voice-over-IP, Frame Relay, extranets, intranets, managed-voice-and-data services, SNA outsourcing and provisioned Data/Voice/Video.
"Service providers are looking for solutions they can deploy now and still prepare themselves for the high-demand services of the future," said Rob Keil, group product manager in Cisco's WAN Business Unit. "The MGX 8800 wide-area switch delivers this capability in a flexible and scalable package that futureproofs the edge of the WAN network."
The BPX 8680 universal service node leverages MGX technology to bring the latest Cisco IOS software functionality to large, centralized POPs. Through a multishelf architecture, the BPX 8680 universal service node provides unprecedented port scalability in single node that delivers services for sites up to 16,000 DS1 ports.
The BPX 8650 IP+ATM switch is now available and lists for $80,000. The MPLS upgrade bundle for the BPX 8600 series switch is priced at $30,000. The MGX 8800 wide area switch starts at $23,000 and the BPX 8680 universal service node starts at $100,000. Both platforms will be available by the end of the year. |
