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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.
Optical Demarcation for Active Fiber in the First Mile
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.
iConverter Network Interface Devices
A Network Interface Device (or NID) provides a clear point of UNI demarcation and crucial Carrier Ethernet functionality:
- The NID adds Service Provider data tags to the customer data for Ethernet Private Line services
- Prioritizes customer data types across the service provider network to support Class of Service
- Provides rate limiting to support customer bandwidth needs
- Filters out any Layer 2 Protocol Controls, preventing spanning tree controls from entering the Service Providers network
- Provides media conversion for connectivity to a variety of Carrier and Customer media types
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.
- 10/100 and Gigabit Ethernet
- Integrated SNMP and IEEE 802.3ah (IP-less) Management
- 802.3ah OAM Provisioning and Trouble Shooting
- Comprehensive alarm and trap notification
- Standard and CWDM Small Form Pluggable (SFP) Transceivers
- QoS Prioritization for voice/data/video over Ethernet
- VLAN with Q-in-Q for E-Line and E-LAN Services
- Rate Limiting for Tiered Services
- Port Access Controls
- Optical Performance Monitoring
- Compact and Flexible Demarcation Configurations
- Modular Architecture for Scalability
»» 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.
iConverter Metro Ethernet Access Applications
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.
Click on an image for more information:
