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Flanagan Consulting
Network Analysts and Consultants
"We Have the Experience"
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ViewsLetter on
Provisioning 12
July
2004
#39
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Provisioning automation--from chips to the business layer.
TAKE ME OUT TO THE QUAL GAME
AND SHOW ME THE TRIPLE PLAY
By William Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
SuperCom had a lot on the "Triple Play" that local exchange carriers
want to pull off: voice, data/Internet, and movies on the same IP
packet infrastructure. Most of the talk brings back memories from
early in the life of ISDN, when that Digital Network was going to
Integrate Services, all services, on one infrastructure. Can we
get a test for an echo on this line?
Fortunately for the LECs, they seem this time to have a better grip on
marketing, and recognize that "If we build it, they might not
come." (Remember also DQDB, a/k/a Broadband ISDN.)
What's encouraging is that almost all the equipment vendors supporting
the move to "the TP" recognize the need for two key elements:
--automated provisioning, ViewsLetter's main concern, and
--quality of service (QoS)--that is, prioritization
and bandwidth guarantees that give some traffic preferential treatment.
For most customers, voice and video would get expedited at the expense
of Web browsing and eMail transfers. However, if the prime goal
is to back up the financials ASAP, some customers may need to
prioritize FTP. That's where the automated provisioning comes
in--let the buyer decide, and configure the service directly.
Whatever the top application is, the customer must be able to
decide, based on individual cases, and then instruct the network
service provider how the network should behave accordingly. The
faster the network responds, the better--the customer will want to
change the order frequently.
Getting the network to perform as required, in terms of different
classes of service, requires capable infrastructure. In several
recent issues, ViewsLetter covered multiple aspects of Passive
Optical Networking (PON), a technology that shares the transmission
medium (fiber) under the control of the carrier's headend device.
The carrier allocates bandwidth and controls delays (applies QoS) by
polling the subscriber devices. IBM's SDLC dominated datacomm for
decades by applying a similar architecture, at much lower speeds, but
that's no guarantee the architecture will win today and tomorrow.
There are other technologies that LECs may select to get into the "Qual
Game." We'll explore them starting in the next issue with
carrier-grade switched Ethernet as an access technology. Then
Resilient Packet Ring will get a close examination.
Write if you have a favorite access technology you'd like to see covered in ViewsLetter: editor@viewsletter.com
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PON MARKET REVIEW
For a closer look at more than two dozen
PON companies, you are invited to purchase the full report, "PON
Industry Players--2004" available from Flanagan Consulting.
Offered on paper and a PDF file via email, this 25-page document
describes each company's products, shows which market segments they
participate in, and provides current contact information. Either
form is priced at US$60.00, payable by check to Flanagan Consulting,
45472 Holiday Dr. #3, Sterling, VA 20166.
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Flanagan Consulting We Have The Experience
-- Call us for a vendor-neutral network architecture and strategy for
expansion or convergence. We know voice AND data--and how to
avoid expensive bear traps on the migration path.
--Working on product positioning or a marketing message for
telecom? Yes, we've done that--for hardware products and
carrier services.
-- Need an Expert Witness? Associates at Flanagan Consulting have
aided in many legal proceedings involving telecom intellectual property
and technology.
--For RFP preparation, bid analysis, proposal evaluation--call us.
"We Have the Experience."
-- Special thanks for supporting ViewsLetter to www.webtorials.com,
your best source for communications tutorials and white papers.
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"Flanagan Consulting" and "ViewsLetter" are
Service Marks of W. A. Flanagan, Inc.
Updated: 17 July 2004 2003
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