WaveSmith Networks adds MPLS to multiservice switching products
March 31, 2003--Multiservice switching provider WaveSmith Networks today announced three additions to its distributed node (DN) platform: multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) support for the entire DN product line, the multiservice forwarding module, and the DN 8100 multiservice switch.
The MPLS functionality is a software addition available on the platform's new multiservice forwarding module and existing packet forwarding module. Both modules support native Frame Relay, ATM, and circuit emulation services. The MPLS software adds support for ATM-MPLS interworking, Martini encapsulation, open shortest path first (RFC 2328), and label distribution protocol/traffic engineering.
An evolution of the packet forwarding module, the multiservice forwarding module supports existing native Frame Relay, ATM, circulation emulation, and MPLS functionality on a single line card. The new module adds support for packet over SONET on OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, and OC-48-STM 16, as well as Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. In addition to OC-48 line rate switching, the multiservice forwarding module supports up to 128,000 virtual circuits per module. The benefits to carriers include a single, integrated, reliable control plane and a single forwarding module that minimizes sparing costs and delivers operational savings of at least 50 percent, according to WaveSmith Networks (Acton, MA).
With the addition of the DN 8100, WaveSmith now offers customers a switching platform that spans the entire network edge from the neighborhood point-of-presence to the regional central office. At 44 inches high, the DN 8100 delivers a dedicated switching capacity to utilize 16 fully protected OC-48s and can support more than 2 million fully protected virtual circuits. It provides customers with high port densities--over 750 DS-3 and 250 OC-3 ports.
"WaveSmith continues to deliver solutions based on customer demands by offering MPLS functionality that allows carriers to extend existing Layer 2 data services, which greatly exceed IP [Internet protocol] services in terms of revenue, onto an MPLS core network. It's an evolutionary and practical approach, as carriers prepare to simplify their networks and lay the foundation for new services," said Kevin Mitchell, directing analyst at Infonetics Research.Continued investment in multiservice switching is required as carriers evolve their networks to increase incremental revenue, reduce costs in their existing infrastructure, and plan for new service deployments in both regulated and unregulated environments. WaveSmith's approach is to help carriers cost-effectively expand their existing services such as ATM, Frame Relay, and circuit emulation through a "cap and grow" strategy, while enabling them to integrate legacy infrastructure and services onto an MPLS infrastructure as needed.