EtherAccess is a comprehensive suite of sophisticated Ethernet access devices, offering functionality and versatility that are unmatched in the market. The portfolio was specifically designed to allow service providers to cost-effectively overcome Carrier Ethernet challenges, by enabling the following common attributes:
Universal Ethernet service coverage, extending carrier reach over any access technology: fiber, copper and wireless
Intelligent Ethernet demarcation with Ethernet OAM, end-to-end SLA (Service Level Agreement) monitoring and service control, traffic classification and prioritization, and extensive diagnostics tools
Emulation of legacy services over Ethernet, for gradual and economical carrier migration to packet networks
EtherAccess’ unified approach enables seamless Ethernet access by providing same service attributes and user experience, so that Carrier Ethernet services can be ubiquitously extended to the subscriber premises, with bandwidth adjustments per customer requirements, regardless of the underlying access technology or the number of intermediate operator networks.
EtherAccess products have been incorporated with advanced carrier-grade features, enabling complete service management with remote monitoring and automated diagnostics, to ensure five nines (99.999%) reliability and network resiliency as well as end-to-end performance guarantees and service differentiation per customer requirements. EtherAccess portfolio’s main standardized service features include:
Ethernet OAM (Operation, Administration and Maintenance) functionalities for Ethernet Link OAM as well as Ethernet Service OAM, including connectivity check, link trace, MAC swap loopback, dying gasp, and other remote failure indication signals, full path redundancy and fault propagation. EtherAccess products comply with IEEE 802.3-2005 (formerly 802.3ah), IEEE 802.1ag, and with ITU-T Y.1731 standards
MEF (Metro Ethernet Forum) certified service attributes conforming to MEF 9 and MEF 14 specifications, to support E-Line and E-LAN service topologies and the rollout of Ethernet Private Line (EPL) and Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) services
Traffic management capabilities with traffic classification and prioritization and bandwidth control per user port, per Ethernet flow and per class of service (CoS), allowing QoS enforcement and SLA measurement for real-time, priority and best effort-services. Performance guarantees are further enhanced with bandwidth profile attributes such as Committed Information Rate (CIR), Committed Burst Size (CBS), Excess Information Rate (EIR) and Excess Burst Size (EBS)
Separation between different user traffic as well as between user and management traffic, enabling services such as inter-office LAN connectivity, Internet access and secure virtual private networks (VPNs). Additional V-LAN Stacking (Q-in-Q) functionality allows transparent delivery of user traffic and class of service differentiation
Network optimization features for Ethernet over PDH/SDH services, employing standard encapsulation and bonding protocols such as ITU-T G.8040 GFP (Generic Framing Procedure), ITU-T G.7043 VCAT (Virtual Concatenation) and ITU-T G.7042 LCAS (Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme). GFP, VCAT and LCAS protocols eliminate SDH/SONET bandwidth restrictions and provide bandwidth-on-demand flexibility for delay-sensitive applications
Legacy service emulation support for applications such as PBXs connectivity and cellular transport. Using pseudowire and clock recovery mechanisms for timing synchronization per ITU-T G.823 and G.824 specifications, EtherAccess products prevent packet delay variations and packet losses caused by clocking issues in end-to-end TDM and ATM services over Ethernet backhaul.
Multi-pair aggregation utilizing EFM bonding for 2Base-TL Ethernet over SHDSL access, allowing carriers to leverage their installed DSL infrastructure to deliver Ethernet services where fiber is not present
Verified interoperability with non-proprietary equipment, encouraging operator confidence in system reliability and bringing end-to-end service control to a multi-vendor technology environment
The support offered by RAD’s EtherAccess products for Carrier Ethernet services over diverse access networks has significance extending beyond the resolution of technological challenges. With EtherAccess solutions, carriers benefit from enhanced service provisioning capabilities that had been formerly unavailable for Ethernet services, affecting their revenues, market positioning and growth strategy:
Balanced transition to PSNs: Service providers wishing to offset the revenue erosion associated with the high costs of legacy services are offered a scalable migration path to packet networks. With RAD’s EtherAccess products, providers can leverage their investment in TDM and ATM equipment in their transition to new services, while continuing to deliver their on-going voice and data service commitments. Moreover, by converging all services in a single network environment with unified management procedures, carriers avoid additional capital investments in dedicated infrastructure equipment.
Customer retention: Users have been increasingly demanding higher bandwidth speeds at lower rates. The EtherAccess product line helps carriers easily respond to market changes and meet the demand for low cost, high-speed services. Furthermore, it enables them not only to prevent subscriber churn but also to increase their customer base by extending their reach and offering access-transparent, ubiquitous Ethernet connectivity.
Cost reduction: EtherAccess product suite has been designed to facilitate cost effective deployments with quick installations and “pay as you grow” scalability. Moreover, remote network control with automated fault detection and management features allow providers to reduce their operating expenditures (OpEx), by avoiding expensive truck rolls and other manual service elements. This issue is of particular importance in light of the typically low price points of Ethernet services, which compel carriers to maintain stringent control over their OpEx.
Improved service: EtherAccess’ proactive service monitoring, bandwidth optimization and traffic shaping capabilities enable carriers to utilize their network resources more efficiently and avoid long downtimes. Such capabilities also allow flexibility in tailoring network services to individual traffic needs, and establish measurable and binding SLAs.
Carrier-grade business model: With EtherAccess’ enhanced QoS attributes, service providers can generate new revenues by offering customized, SLA-based packages for Ethernet services, including previously unavailable rate guarantees for mission critical applications. EtherAccess smart demarcation devices also allow carriers to offer fine bandwidth rate granularities and charge customers by contracted usage.
