| For high bandwidth - high capacity network | | | | need ring and equipment diversity, and want to have |
| infrastructures today .... you can look toward Ethernet | | | | the egress side of your rings be at diverse locations, |
| or SONET based solutions. But which makes more | | | | it's *your* circuit. If you want to know that the protect |
| sense for YOU? | | | | channel is assigned to your needs, your equipment is |
| Since you're not likely to be able to run Ethernet to | | | | on it and you have that visibility. If you have an |
| meet your actual WAN requirements, what you are | | | | Ethernet interface being dropped off, you might have |
| effectively doing is outsourcing the edge of your | | | | less visibility into what lies beyond, and have less of an |
| network to your carrier. | | | | argument for being involved in how your carrier is |
| Your carrier will run SONET services to an edge | | | | engineering what lies past that edge device. |
| device, manage that device, and hand you an Ethernet | | | | In more complex environments, there may be other |
| connection. | | | | concerns as well. If you're running POS into your |
| As always, there are advantages and disadvantages | | | | routers, you have the ability to run a layer two service |
| with each. With the Ethernet solution, you get simplicity, | | | | on top of this, and virtualize that OCx circuit. A |
| and have lower capital equipment costs on your side, | | | | colleague put OCx into an MPLS environment where it |
| but you're probably, in effect, leasing that equipment | | | | became desirable to operate more than one MPLS |
| the carrier uses at your site as part of your monthly | | | | VRF, and building two FR PVCs on top of the POS, |
| recurring cost (MRC). You're also "outsourcing" the | | | | one to each VRF, was a simple solution. If he had the |
| operation of the WAN side of the hand-off, which | | | | same need with a carrier-provided Ethernet edge |
| might work well for you of your staff is generally more | | | | device, he'd have likely needed to pay another monthly |
| experienced with LAN technologies, and you're carrier | | | | charge for another Ethernet port to accomplish the |
| is competent in handling this responsibility for you. | | | | same thing. |
| If you go the SONET route, you'll be buying interfaces | | | | Either technology may be the right choice .... depending |
| for your routers, and these expenses can start to add | | | | on where you want the costs and the design and |
| up. On the other hand, you've got more control, or at | | | | operational responsibilities to fall. |
| least more say, in what's being delivered to you. If you | | | | |