Fujitsu Network Communications Inc.

Fujitsu Boosts FLASHWAVE® 4500 MSPP Ethernet and Core Transport Capabilities

Enhanced ethernet functionality with VCAT and GFP, plus a 4F-BLSR option, enables efficient transport possibilities

Richardson, TX, June 2, 2004 — Fujitsu Network Communications Inc., a leading supplier of IT and networking solutions, today announced several new improvements added to its FLASHWAVE® 4500 Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP) that further extend its ability to transport Ethernet services more efficiently across a SONET-based infrastructure.  These new service transport capabilities include support for Virtual Concatenation (VCAT) and Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) to enable efficient transport of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and Gigabit Ethernet services.  Support for Four Fiber - Bidirectional Line Switched Ring (4F-BLSR) applications at an OC-192 rate provides additional capacity and a highly robust protection option for service providers.  All of these improvements can be ordered immediately.

“Fujitsu and our carrier customers share a common goal of creating an Ethernet service that is as easy to deploy as private line services, such as DS1 and DS3,” said George Chase, group president and chief operating officer for Fujitsu Network Communications.  “The enhancements we’ve made to the FLASHWAVE 4500 platform deliver the power to make that possible, in a manner that’s highly bandwidth efficient, operationally simple and well-suited for today’s complex networks.”

The FLASHWAVE 4500 platform allows service providers to transport Ethernet circuits across their existing SONET networks while using a fraction of the bandwidth previously required.  Competing solutions, however, require circuits to be mapped into standard increments that were established before Ethernet transport was prevalent.  For example, the FLASHWAVE 4500 platform uses VCAT to allow a full line rate Gigabit Ethernet circuit to be mapped efficiently into 21 STS-1 timeslots of 51.8 Mbps each.  Platforms without VCAT map the same circuit into 12 timeslots (an STS-12c) by rate-limiting it to 622 Mbps, or 24 timeslots (an STS-24c) that consume 1.244 Gbps of bandwidth, when only 1.08 Gbps is needed.

VCAT further improves efficiency because timeslots do not need to be contiguous; this therefore provides tremendous flexibility for adding high-speed data circuits to busy networks that have experienced a high degree of churn.  For example, a full wire speed Gigabit Ethernet circuit previously requiring 24 STS timeslots in one group (an STS-24c) can now be mapped into seven groups of three STS timeslots (an STS-3c-7v) -- no matter where the spare bandwidth resides.  In addition to significant provisioning flexibility, service providers can gain additional capacity for other revenue-generating services and improved equipment density, while maintaining the same Ethernet line rate and managed Quality of Service (QoS).

GFP has emerged as an industry standard for the encapsulation of data protocols.  By adding GFP support to the FLASHWAVE 4500 platform, Fujitsu helps service providers create flexible Ethernet service offerings based on industry-approved standards. Additionally, GFP provides increased robustness for Ethernet services by providing fault information, including Client Signal Failure (CSF) notifications, through its management overhead.

Ethernet alarming and Performance Monitoring (PM) abilities have also been enhanced in this release to make Ethernet services even easier to deploy and manage.  New features allow FLASHWAVE 4500 nodes to monitor the status of Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) links and determine if user-selectable PM thresholds have been reached.  In the event of unacceptable performance or complete Loss of Signal (LOS), the system can generate an alert or alarm similar to a SONET Alarm Indication Signal (AIS) to notify the carrier and end customer (as desired).

The addition of OC-192 4F-BLSR capabilities on the FLASHWAVE 4500 platform allows carriers to build high capacity ring networks that can survive multiple simultaneous fiber cuts.  If there is a single cut in the network, the system will generate a span switch to bypass the problematic span without disrupting the rest of the ring.  A subsequent fiber cut will cause the system to induce a ring switch to keep traffic moving.  Restoration of 4F-BLSR networks equipped with the FLASHWAVE 4500 platform is made easier because the traffic on each span can be restored independently.

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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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