Carrier Ethernet transport: Ribbon NPT

Next-generation IP transport – the cornerstone of the information economy

Our global information society is engulfed by telecommunications traffic for businesses, entertainment, education, surveillance, industrial control, and other applications. New technologies like 5G, AR/VR and data-hungry AI/ML algorithms are driving traffic up at an unstoppable rate. At the same time, best-effort delivery is no longer sufficient for a lot of the new applications and services that require guaranteed performance in terms of latency and the associated latency fluctuations, capacity, and reliability. The times when a customised solution was needed for every service requirement are long gone. Network operators, including traditional fixed network providers, mobile telephone network providers, or operators of business-critical services, want network convergence that supports all their service requirements.

Next generation (NG) IP transport offers a convergent platform that can dynamically provide the deterministic behaviour required for the services it transports, on a per-service basis. To enhance backhaul transport, the IP transport layer needs to collaborate seamlessly with the underlaying optical transport network. Multi-layer optimisation maximises the efficiency of IP and optical transport networks by routing traffic via the most suitable transport paths and guaranteeing fail-safe operation in the best possible way.
NPT – Neptune positioning
At the heart of the NG IP transport network lies a convergent IP edge that can aggregate all data traffic from the various fixed and mobile access networks and transport it across the network, but complies with service policies and parameters at the same time.
Our Neptune IP transport portfolio provides this convergent IP edge and the metro transport required for backhaul of this converged traffic across the network. The Neptune portfolio offers the small form factor devices needed to extend this IP transport network to the customer edge.
Please read on to learn how Neptune delivers IP transport solutions for service providers, mobile telephone operators and critical infrastructure.
NPT Neptune multi-service edge

IP transport for service providers

Access technologies such as FTTx, 4G and 5G have dramatically increased end-user bandwidth. Thanks to 4G and 5G’s mobile connectivity, this capacity is available anywhere and at any time. The capacity and reliability of these access networks are spawning a whole host of new services and new architectures, many of which are hosted in the cloud and require deterministic transport network performance.
Service providers (SPs) need to deploy an NG IP transport network that supports this greater bandwidth as well as the new traffic patterns created by these cloud services. This network must be sufficiently deterministic for service providers to guarantee that the services transported over their network comply with service policies and parameters; best-effort delivery is no longer good enough for these new services.
The metro network lies at the heart of this development. It needs to be able to merge traffic from past and present services and support the NG of tomorrow’s services at the same time. The metro network must also be flexible enough and able to transport services efficiently if required.
To achieve all this, service providers are seeking new approaches that enable them to deliver the requisite connectivity and capacity dynamically across the IP transport network. Software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualisation (NFV), which implement deterministic IP transport technologies like MPLS-TP and segment routing (SR), offer service providers the flexibility and deterministic performance they seek.
Converged NG-IP and optical transport infrastructure enables cost-effective handling of both existing and new services by enabling flexible, agile service creation to generate new revenue streams, as well as better network utilisation through cross-layer optimisation.
Operators managing NG transport networks need infrastructure that offers all the following aspects:h5>
  • Simplicity<
  • Allgegenwärtigkeit
  • ??Scalable and low-cost Ethernet
  • The capacity of WDM
  • Deterministic transport, including remote OAM&P
  • Predictable performance
  • Reliable transport and protection

IP transport for critical infrastructure

Strategic sectors such as utilities (oil, gas, water, energy/electricity, etc.) and companies that operate transport networks (road, rail, air, ports, etc.) need a communications network to operate their networks. These networks are, by definition, frequently business critical and sometimes crucial.
Consequently, the communication network supporting the operational technology (OT) used to run these networks must be outstandingly reliable and predictable, with low latency and jitter for certain applications such as teleprotection.
SDH/SONET, with its highly deterministic performance, comprehensive OAM capabilities and exceptional reliability, was the perfect solution for these OT networks. However, the world’s changing at breakneck speed and strategic industries are now being forced to modernise their OT technology and switch from SDH/SONET to packet-based OT networks.
Operators managing NG transport networks need infrastructure that offers all the following aspects:h5>
  • Deterministic transport with all the benefits of conventional SDN/SONET networks (remote OAM&P, predictable performance, reliable transport and protection)
  • Ease of operation, ubiquity and scalability offered by SDH/SONET management systems
  • ??Robust network security that helps operators secure their networks even though strategic industries have become exceptionally attractive targets for cyber criminals
  • IT/OT convergence, improving business processes by delivering real-time information over the network to the IT network
  • Risk-free migration of services from legacy SDH/SONET networks to IP transport, including continued support of TDM services by the SDH/SONET networks
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NPT – Neptune range of devices