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Carrier Ethernet vs. (Standard) Ethernet The Ethernet Evolution.

The Basics What is Ethernet?
Ethernet (technical term is IEEE 802.3) has set the standard in how service providers connect customers to
the internet and between their sites. Ethernet is a networking technology and transparent in the transport
of data traffic, so can carry any traffic type. Ethernet terminates using RJ-45. It is also a familiar technology
also used in the LAN environment. Ethernet is beginning to permanently replace other technologies like
SDH, SONET, Frame-relay as more service providers adopt Ethernet as the preferred medium.
The reason why Ethernet has become a preference is because, it is more cost effective to deploy, support
for higher bandwidths with finer granularity is greater and more possible and Ethernet is a familiar
technology, so easy to connect to the customer premises.
Ethernet is service provider terms can be delivered from speeds starting from 1mb all the way up to 1Gb+.
Ethernet today
Ethernet is an accomplished technology and with the help from Ethernet vendors such as Cisco, Juniper and
alike, Ethernet has become a very easy and comprehensive technology to deploy and manage. Ethernet
today is the most widely used connectivity technology giving businesses internet access, site-to-site and
site-to-multisite connectivity.
Service Providers are deploying Ethernet at a faster rate than ever before. Today you will not normally buy
anything other than Ethernet simply because other technologies are not available or the costs and
bandwidth availability is prohibitive. Today a 10mb Ethernet leased line is very normal, you could call it
standard. In SDH, SONET terms, 10mb was a rarity.
Ethernet did have inherent drawbacks, but with todays advancements Ethernet is even more appealing
thanks to Carrier Ethernet.
When we talk about MPLS and Layer3, we generally associated them with Standard Ethernet. Although
MPLS is a toolkit/technology, it has been used for a very long time, but more so in the deployment of
Standard Ethernet services and solutions. With the introduction of Pseudo-Wire, E-Line, E-LAN and E-Tree
you no longer use just MPLS or Layer3 at all. Instead you use VPLS and Layer2 Carrier Ethernet to create
these newer Layer2 services and solutions (E-Line, E-LAN and E-Tree). VPLS is part of the MPLS toolkit.
Why Carrier Ethernet?
Carrier Ethernet is an evolution of standard Ethernet. Carrier Ethernet is the Next Generation of Ethernet
networking, combining standards written by MEF (Metro Ethernet Forum) and additional tools/diagnostics
which have always been missing from standard Ethernet, but were available on legacy technologies such as
SDH/SONET.
Large service providers are evolving their own Ethernet infrastructures into Carrier Ethernet Networks
giving them distinct advantages in what is now a competitive market, giving Ethernet the maturity and
roundedness it required. Another reason is so they comply with global MEF standards. MEF unite and build
consensus amongst all the vendors and services providers on ethernet service definition, technical
specification and interoperability. There has never really been a standard and although Ethernet is a
mature technology, it is still new in the world of internet connectivity. So we are all still learning and with
new advancements, we as people want to know that we are buying into a real technology. MEF gives you
this reassurance. At the same time as service providers we want to understand where Ethernet is going and

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what Ethernet can delivery. Following MEF standards service providers can build Carrier Ethernet networks
to this standard, thus giving the service provider reassurance that they are following globally known
methodology.
There are 5 attributes which make up and give meaning to Carrier Ethernet, thanks to MEF and Carrier
Ethernet hardware vendors such as Ciena.

Attribute 1: Standardised Services

E-Line, E-LAN provides transparent, private line, virtual private line and multi-point to multi-point
LAN services.
A ubiquitous service providing globally & locally via standardized equipment
Requires no changes to customer LAN equipment or networks and accommodates existing network
connectivity such as, time-sensitive, TDM traffic and signaling
Ideally suited to converged voice, video & data networks
Wide choice and granularity of bandwidth and
quality of service options

Attribute 2: Scalability

The ability for millions to use a network service that is ideal for the widest variety of business,
information, communications and entertainment applications with voice, video and data
Spans Access & Metro to National & Global Services over a wide variety of physical infrastructures
implemented by a wide range of Service Providers
Scalability of bandwidth from 1Mbps to 10Gbps
and beyond, in granular increments

Attribute 3: Reliability

The ability for the network to detect & recover from incidents without impacting users
Meeting the most demanding quality and availability requirements
Rapid recovery time when problems do occur, as low as 50ms

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Attribute 4: Quality of Service

Wide choice and granularity of bandwidth and quality of service options

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that deliver end-to-end performance matching the requirements
for voice, video and data over converged business and residential networks
Provisioning via SLAs that provide end-to-end performance based on CIR, frame loss, delay and
delay variation characteristics

Attribute 5: Service Management

The ability to monitor, diagnose and centrally manage the network, using standards-based vendor
independent implementations
Carrier-class OAM
Rapid service provisioning

In more simplistic terms:

In the Enterprise, The attractions to the IT departments are control, reliability, performance, scalability,
cost reduction and simplicity of implementation for organizations that are usually under-resourced.
For Out of Office Use, the ubiquitous nature of Carrier Ethernet services are seen as an ideal way to deliver
out-of-office seamless business connectivity, information/Internet, entertainment and voice/video
communications. These are made compelling by the underlying favourable attributes for converged
networking at low cost.
For better or worse, the days of going home to an offline, disconnected world are gone for ever.
Today we demand any application, any connectivity, on almost any device, whether accessing information
or entertainment delivered via voice, video or data. We need to be in the office when were at home, and
connected to our home when were at work. Wherever we are, we want always to be able to connect, any
time, 24/7/365, on demand - and the performance better be good wherever we are in the world. And of
course, we want it all to be delivered as one service.
All the characteristics of Carrier Ethernet mean that it is poised to be that one service

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Benefits summary of Carrier Ethernet

Benefits of Carrier Ethernet

Impact of Carrier Ethernet

Legacy

Unprecedented Scalability

Ethernet Everywhere

No

Faster Application Deployment

Customer Satisfaction

No

Unprecedented Reach

Saves application costs, admin overheads

No

Data Center & Server Consolidation

Saves Duplicated Costs

No

Ideal for Converged Networks

Low Latency, Frame Delay Variation

No

High Bandwidth, Increments on Demand

Save costs enables new applications

No

Independently Certified Performance

Reliable Planning

No

Certified Services, Predictability

Risk Reduction, Dependable QoS

No

Cost Reduction, Revenue Acceleration

Cost Reduction, Revenue Acceleration

No

Simple Implementation

Saves Resources, Stress

No

Service Level Management

User Control

No

Cost Trend

Down

Up

Some examples of what advantages certain vertical markets gain through a Carrier Ethernet deployment.
Carrier Ethernet's Relevance by Vertical Markets
Market Sector

Health Care

Finance

Application Profile

Education

Government

Top Applications

Regulatory issues
Imaging driving storage
HIPAA compliance
Performance and scalability requirements
TCO/ROI critical

Data Integrity via distributed, closely-controlled, simplified architectures

Compliance, SOX, SEC, GLB, etc.

Increased demands of community partnerships using educational

infrastructure, TCO/ROI critical

Web Based applications

Flexible SLAs
TCO/ROI

Site-to-Site Access
Server Consolidation
Disaster Recovery
Service Orientated
Architecture
Internet Access

Site-to-Site Access
Server Consolidation
Disaster Recovery
Service Orientated
Architecture
Internet Access

Site-to-Site Access
Research
Internet Access

Site-to-Site Access
Server Consolidation
Disaster Recovery
Service Orientated
Architecture
Internet Access

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Media

Scalability,
Reach,
Convergence demands on low latency, high performance networks
Video, Streaming Media

Site-to-Site Access
Server Consolidation

Services available through Carrier Ethernet and their key markets and applications:
Service

Key Markets

Key Applications

EPL

Healthcare,
Financials,
Pharmaceuticals

Medical Imaging, Data Center Connectivity, Business

Continuity, CAD Engineering, Dedicated reserved
bandwidth, small number of sites to interconnect

EVPL

Large Enterprise
Customers, Finance

Convergence, VoIP, Video, Financial data, Multiple

locations to interconnect, International reach,
Videoconferencing

ELAN

Local/Regional
Government,
Primary &
Secondary
Education

Collaboration, Multi-site connectivity, cost

efficiency, Administration, Easy to manage
Multipoint Ethernet

EVPL

Local/Regional
Government,
Education,
Healthcare, Citywide Regional
applications

VoIP, Video, Point-to-Point Intra-Metro Connectivity,

Classes of Service

VPLS

Finance, Retail,
Professional
Services,
Manufacturing

Corporate networking, VoIP, Video, Photo Imaging,

Legacy WANs Requiring Increased Bandwidth,
Centralized applications evolving to distributed
networking

Ethernet
Access

Small, Medium, and

Large Enterprises

Internet Access, High-bandwidth access to IP-based

corporate networking

Definition of the three support Ethernet Service Types which make up Layer 2 (L2) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
defined by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) is as follows:
E-Line - point-to-point service.
E-LAN - multiple point service.
E-Tree - point-to-multipoint service.

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