Fujitsu Network Communications Inc.

Fujitsu Reduces Bandwidth Requirements for Ethernet Transport across Embedded SONET Networks

FLASHWAVE® 4100 access platform now supports high-order and low-order VCAT for efficient ethernet service delivery

Richardson, TX, February 16, 2004 — Fujitsu Network Communications Inc., a leading supplier of IT and networking solutions, today announced the availability of both high-order and low-order virtual concatenation (VCAT) on its popular FLASHWAVE® 4100 optical access platform.  Support for both high-order and low-order VCAT enables carriers to transport next-generation services across existing SONET networks more efficiently. Moreover, enhanced circuit monitoring capabilities ensure the high performance of Ethernet and other advanced services across larger metro networks and longer span distances.

The FLASHWAVE 4100 Multi-Service Provisioning Platform (MSPP) supports the delivery of Ethernet over SONET (EoS) through Ethernet/Fast Ethernet (10/100Base-T) or Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.  By making Ethernet service provisioning similar to the way DS1 and DS3 services are currently deployed, Fujitsu is enabling new service opportunities for carriers.  Ethernet packets are transported inside standard SONET frames to maintain full compatibility with any standards-based network element, including legacy Add/Drop Multiplexers (ADMs) that do not typically support Ethernet interfaces.

“Typical EoS implementations require individual Ethernet packets to be mapped directly into standard SONET payloads that were not originally designed for next-generation services,” said Bill Erickson, senior vice president of planning at Fujitsu Network Communications.  “For example, many competing solutions require transport of a Gigabit Ethernet circuit over an STS-12c by rate-limiting it to 622 Mbps, or an STS-24c that consumes 1.244 Gbps of bandwidth, when only 1.08Gbps is needed.  The FLASHWAVE 4100 platform solves this problem by supporting high-order VCAT and Generic Framing Protocol (GFP), allowing Ethernet services to be transported through existing SONET networks using a fraction of the bandwidth that other solutions require.”

VCAT allows the same full wire speed Gigabit Ethernet circuit that previously required an STS-24c to be mapped into seven virtually concatenated STS-3c envelopes (STS-3c-7v).  This represents significant bandwidth savings, while maintaining the same Ethernet line rate and Quality of Service (QoS).

Fractional, tiered-rate services may also be provided by using up to 12 concatenated STS-1 channels or up to eight concatenated STS-3c payloads. End users may request a partial rate, tiered service with an actual throughput composed of multiple STS-1 (51.84 Mbps) or STS-3c (155.52 Mbps) concatenated channels.

The FLASHWAVE 4100 platform is also one of the first systems to support low-order VCAT for efficient mapping of Ethernet and Fast Ethernet circuits into virtually concatenated VT1.5 (1.728 Mbps) payloads. Low-order VCAT allows each Ethernet frame to be spread across all available VT1.5 channels on a byte-by-byte basis, as opposed to the frame-by-frame scheme of Multi-Link Point-to-Point Protocol (MLPPP) technology. When compared to MLPPP, low-order VCAT offers a reduction in the time required to transmit an entire Ethernet frame proportional to the number of VT1.5 channels provisioned. Low-order VCAT also offers greatly reduced latency and higher effective bandwidth when an acknowledgement-based protocol such as TCP/IP is used for transport and flow control.

Another new feature of the FLASHWAVE 4100 platform is an enhancement to the way Ethernet circuits are monitored. New capabilities allow FLASHWAVE 4100 nodes on the endpoints of an Ethernet circuit to monitor the delay of various routes across the network. If the delay of a particular route exceeds a specified threshold, the FLASHWAVE 4100 nodes will generate an alarm so that steps can be taken to resolve the issue. The FLASHWAVE 4100 platform also calculates the maximum differential delay and provides the information for circuit diagnosis. This capability ensures that Ethernet circuits maintain an acceptable level of performance while traveling across embedded SONET networks of any size.

FLASHWAVE® is a trademark of Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. (USA) All rights reserved.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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About Fujitsu Network Communications Inc.

Fujitsu Network Communications Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702), is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and carrier-class telecommunications solutions for the Service Provider and Cable TV market in North America. Supported by smart innovation and deep-rooted research from Fujitsu Labs, Fujitsu is uniquely positioned to deliver fully integrated IT/Telecom solutions for its customers. The company's comprehensive consulting and customer services offer support at any network design, development, deployment and maintenance stage.
For more information, please see: http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom

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