Carrier Ethernet networks have been deployed as multi-vendor/multi-domain networks as service providers aim to source best-of-breed equipment solutions while also needing to partner with other carriers for transport circuits in areas in which they may not have infrastructure. Rarely will providers rip out and replace large installed bases of commissioned equipment or service infrastructure as they migrate to IP therefore the need for Ethernet to traverse different types of transport and equipment; legacy, packet, optical equipment and different transport types are mandated.

 

Service providers also face the need to offer specific service level agreements that their customers demand, requiring end-to-end management of services at layer 2, 3,and 4 and potentially also at the applications layer. The need to decrease time-to-market while increasing revenue pressures providers to deliver these services quickly which can cause trade-offs to be made when balancing rapid deployment with ideal operational management readiness. This article will highlight several “must-haves” for carrier Ethernet network management in light of these constraints.

 

 

In an age in which network devices and equipment typically may become obsolete in five to seven years, the ongoing complexity and difficulty to keep the network up-to-date while supporting and managing new best-of-breed equipment choices explode exponentially. Typically, operational readiness cycles for carriers to ramp new network based services (e.g. private lines, DSL, ATM, Frame relay) were anywhere from 12-to-24 months regardless of the devices they selected.  While carrier Ethernet simplifies the network, unfortunately carriers’ new Ethernet WAN deployments have not fundamentally changed these lengthy cycle times.

 

Why?  Pre-divestiture (break-up of the original AT&T (News - Alert)), there were very specific processes and certifications for launching new network based services to ensure appropriate billing/OSS and operational network management were in place before circuits were turned up to live customers across the entire telecommunications network. The OSMINE (Operations Systems Modifications for the Integration of Network Elements) process and many of the great “Telco Blue-binder” process manuals (and the personnel who understood them) have disappeared over time as competition, downsizing, and the break-up of the Bell System have occurred over the past 10-15 years. As carriers developed their own systems and processes to manage their networks, due in part by consolidation through merger and acquisition activity and necessity, the difficulty to keep pace with inherited networks, new technologies and software capabilities drove many carriers to outsource, partner, and/or develop or co-develop their own management systems.

 

 

So do carriers simply build new platforms to handle the complexities as they drive to deploy next-gen networks? Unfortunately, carriers and operators today must deal not only with new technology introductions but also ongoing management of the existing legacy devices and services that may be either integrated or interconnected to a carrier’s new packet based Carrier Ethernet network. Typically one or a combination of the following strategies are adopted to address developing an effective control plane for their NGN packet network: 

--Custom-build their own control plane  
--Modify existing legacy systems and build systems and tools that access those platforms  
--Work with only a few select equipment vendors and purchase their multi-vendor management systems  
--Use one of several ISV Multivendor EMSs  
--Use an externally provided outboard control plan

Carrier Ethernet Management tools have recently come to the forefront as vendors and carriers have finally recognized that the necessary OSS integration to manage all of the complexity has become a gating item for them to offer new services. Coupled with the explosive growth of carrier Ethernet service rollouts by carriers worldwide, (nearly $30 billion by 2011, see chart below) new equipment deployments blended with existing infrastructure upgrades have been cobbled together to address this new high-growth service segment as customers move IP traffic over efficient Carrier Ethernet services.

 

 

Carriers today require management for not only layer-1 physical infrastructure e.g. copper, fiber or wireless media for transport but also layer-2 Ethernet-based equipment to provide a common LAN- and WAN-based Ethernet interface.  So what types of items should one consider when crafting a management strategy to address the complexities of managing new multi-vendor layer-2 Carrier Ethernet networks?

 

 

Unfortunately the bad news is as in the old days of Ma Bell: there is no silver bullet, single system that can be deployed to manage all the complexity of today’s modern NGN networks. However, the good news is that there are several new standards, tools, and collaborations among vendors to help alleviate some of the complexity.

 

 

There are several organizations that address multi-vendor management issues by promoting standards-based interfaces for network management, hardware, software, embedded systems and semiconductor manufacturers to develop specifically for carrier implementations.

 

MTOSI 2.0 – Multi-Technology Operation Systems Interface is a new XML-based standard interface specification for enabling integration of multiple management systems. Promoted by the TeleManagement Forum (TMF), see http://www.tmforum.org, the Forum’s mission is “to help service providers, of all types, become more efficient and effective by removing barriers creating, delivering and monetizing services.”

 

The Forum has 700+ global members in over 75 countries from across the converging industries of telecom, cable, media and the Internet and brings together key inputs from vendors, service providers and Systems Integrators to focus on how to best automate the full end-to-end service process with seamless management across the delivery chain.

 

TR069 – Specification from the Broadband Forum (formerly DSL Forum) developed as part of work for remote management to the home (TR-069 family of technical reports), a key milestone as it is access-agnostic, and is now broadly referenced by other organizations as the de-facto standard for global remote management. This is particularly useful in the residential and home networking space to do remote set-up and management of consumer gateway devices offering wired and/or wireless Ethernet access within the home. See http://www.broadband-forum.org for more information.

 

 

There are several software-based companies with solutions that have emerged to help carriers support the five key functions necessary for network management of their new Ethernet networks which will require both Layer 1 and Layer 2 capabilities for full FCAPS (Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Provisioning, and Security) functionality. Each of these vendors is actively trying to capture part of the burgeoning overall network management systems market which is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2011, according to statistics from the OSS Observer (News - Alert). Several of the key players focusing on solving these management problems with their products and software are listed below:

Network Management System Software:
--Dorado Software: http://www.doradosoftware.com  
--HP OpenView: http://www.hp.com  
--Nakina Systems (News - Alert): http://www.nakinasystems.com/  
--OSI: http://www.osi.com/

Control Plane Systems:
--Gridpoint: http://www.gridpointsystems.com/  
--Soapstone Networks (News - Alert) (News - Alert): http://www.soapstonenetworks.com/ 

Vendor Specific Multi-Vendor Management Systems:
--Cisco ANA:  http://www.cisco.com 
--Nokia Siemens (News - Alert) Open EMS Suite: http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com 
--Alcatel-Lucent SAM: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com 
--ANDA EtherView: http://www.andanetworks.com/

At the end of the day, one of the greatest barriers to getting multivendor management solutions to market has been the lack of collaboration by vendors, carriers and standards bodies to address the problem together. However with both the TMF and Broadband Forum aggressively attacking these problems, we now have a public forum to have dialog, standards, and product technology interoperability to publicly address key management issues.

 

Further, specific vendors have also started to collaborate to craft multivendor EMS solutions. Cisco and Nokia (News - Alert) Siemens have announced an alliance to working on creating a multi-vendor based solution for carriers however no joint products have shipped yet. Juniper and ANDA Networks (News - Alert) have both announced deals to work with Nakina Systems for Multivendor Management solutions. See the links to their announcements: http://www.andanetworks.com/pressreleases/061008.html and http://www.nakinasystems.com/newsite/news_archive.asp?n=2007Nov52007-2.htm.

 

Soapstone Networks has also announced its SNAPP Global partner program to ensure multivendor adaptors and interoperability with their PNC control plane software for rapid service provisioning and flow though into Amdocs (News - Alert) Kramer (ordering systems used by several of the large Telco’s) including initially ANDA Networks, Extreme Networks, Hammerhead, Net One, and Nortel Networks. See http://www.soapstonenetworks.com/Partners/Global-Partners/page.aspx/88

 

 

So what’s next on the horizon as carriers, equipment vendors, software suppliers and integrators actively solve the management problems for Layer 1 and 2? The next clear problem on the horizon is the added management functionality of actual service applications that are auto-enabled through a next gen carrier Ethernet management platform at layers 3 and above  As carriers’ IP-based applications e.g. VPN, CoS/QoS, VoIP, video class services, etc. are turned up over the customer’s existing Ethernet services, carriers seek to increase ARPU (average revenue per user) as quickly as possible (real-time) as is done in the mobile space today. e.g. download a ringtone and be automatically billed for it on your monthly cell phone bill.

 

Increasingly, complex management and automated service delivery of applications over new Ethernet management platforms require end-to-end applications service ordering, provisioning, billing and management of the entire service flow from the customer’s order through to actual provisioning and billing for those services in a automated system. This automation is one of the key holy grails that can no longer be dismissed and avoided for the telecom industry to be successful with future service rollouts. Given some of the new management standards, collaborative work among vendors, multi-vendor management products, and a renewed motivation by carriers to solve these problems, I think we can remain optimistic that these problems can be solved.

 

In summary, one can take heart that even with the current tumultuous financial markets, carriers will only be more motivated to cut costs and streamline their processes while vendors and system integrators rush to fill the solutions gaps to address a huge a $5 billion+ market for network management.