Carrier Ethernet is now becoming the preferred broadband access technology for business services. According to Infonetics, the worldwide Ethernet services market will grow to $22.2 billion in 2009. This is due to the growing market demand for more bandwidth and Transparent LAN (Ethernet Private Line) services.
The First Mile access link connects the edge of the Service Provider network to the Customer Premises. Active fiber supports gigabit data rates to 140 kilometers (87 miles), overcoming the bandwidth and distance limitations of copper access.
A User Network Interface (UNI) is the demarcation point at the Customer Premises between the Service Provider access network and the Customer LAN network. The demarcation UNI delineates responsibility between the Service Provider and Customer Networks, and provides Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM ) functions.
A Network Interface Device (or NID) provides a clear point of UNI demarcation and crucial Carrier Ethernet functionality:
The following application diagram demonstrates the relationship of the NID to the Metro core, the UNI and the Customer Premises Equipment. The NID provides the features to enable Ethernet Private Line Services (E-Line and E-LAN) connections between two or more customer locations, and is part of the end-to-end customer Ethernet data flow.

At the Customer Premises, a Network Interface Device (NID) converts the Service Provider's fiber access link to match the various copper or fiber interfaces found on the Customer Premises Equipment. The NID is an intelligent, securely managed device that performs provisioning of services and monitoring of network status. iConverter NIDs feature 802.3ah OAM functionality, including fault notification and loopback testing of the fiber link between the Service Provider network and the UNI.
iConverter NIDs provide the advanced functions required in a UNI to enable Metropolitan Ethernet services, including E-LAN and E-Line. Features include traffic classification, QoS prioritization, rate limiting and provider VLAN tagging (Q-in-Q or IEEE 802.1ad S-TAG).
iConverter NIDs can operate as standalone units or as multiple modules installed in a chassis. Multi-module NIDs consist of iConverter modules installed in a chassis that converts the fiber access link to multiple copper and fiber ports to service multiple customers, or to provide a single customer multiple service ports. iConverter NIDs also provide demarcation nodes in resilient ring networks, and support CWDM fiber.

iConverter fiber access NIDs enable optical Carrier Ethernet services with reliability, Quality of Service, and performance monitoring to support Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The modular design and advanced features of iConverter fiber access equipment future-proofs Metro Ethernet services with scalability of network capacity and services, and lowers operating costs with comprehensive OAM management and provisioning.
»» Learn more about OAM management of iConverter NIDs in Service Provider Metro Networks
»» Learn more about iConverter Advanced Features for Carrier Ethernet
iConverter Carrier Grade NIDs are MEF 9, MEF 14 and NEBS Level 3 Certified.
All iConverter modules and chassis are backed with a Lifetime Warranty and Free 24/7 Technical Support.
The following application examples illustrate how iConverter Media Converters and Network Interface Devices provide First-Mile optical connectivity in a variety of Metro Ethernet Network topologies.
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