User manual ALCATEL-LUCENT 7750 SERVICE ROUTER DATASHEET

[. . . ] May 2007. Alcatel-Lucent | Next-Generation Utility Networking 1 Bandwidth and Quality of Service TDM systems traditionally support high reliability levels such as unidirectional path-switched ring (UPSR) when using SONET or SDH, which allows a utility to recover from a failure in less than 50 milliseconds. To provide the required network protection, SONET/SDH has traditionally been used in a ring environment in which traffic is replicated and sent in both directions, effectively doubling bandwidth consumption. With SONET/SDH, the circuits are established in a static configuration, usually in increments of VT1. 5 (1. 5 Mb/s) or TU-12 (2 Mb/s). This approach works well and is deployed in many utility networks today, but it means that the bandwidth is reserved for a particular circuit whether it is used or not. [. . . ] For most efficient operations, mobility requires an IP core. 4 Alcatel-Lucent | Next-Generation Utility Networking Manageability The management of a utility network has a direct impact on the operational cost of maintaining and scaling the network. Service-aware management software can simplify network operations while streamlining operational processes such as maintenance, troubleshooting, scaling and commissioning. The Alcatel-Lucent Next-Generation Utility Network Solution To reiterate, the utility communications network must be able to: · Support critical existing utility TDM services · Support new IP-based applications and services · Minimize costs without compromising features, functionality and reliability · Provide scalability, allowing the utility to increase services and grow the number of users · Ensure network and operational system security · Be highly survivable and resilient, with no single point of failure · Enable scalable QoS to prioritize mission-critical applications over other traffic · Provide reliable transmission over wireless microwave and fiber optic systems Each utility may have a different approach or preference when implementing a communications network. The core of the operational network can be based on SONET/SDH, ATM, IP/MPLS and/or Ethernet. The Alcatel-Lucent solution portfolio includes a broad range of products to support the implementation of these different approaches. However, this application note looks specifically at the advantages to using IP/MPLS at the core of the network while leveraging microwave wireless and/or fiber optics where appropriate. Figure 4 shows an overview of the Alcatel-Lucent solution for a next-generation utility IP/MPLS network. The network leverages MPLS to bring the advantages of a circuit-based network to an IP network, and to enable network convergence, virtualization and resiliency. Figure 4. A ring architecture provides a reliable environment because traffic can be rerouted to the other side of the ring, should a failure occur. In a SONET/SDH application, every node is always transmitting on both sides, effectively duplicating all traffic on the ring. In the Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS solution, the network relies on the MPLS fast reroute (FRR) feature for resiliency, so it is not necessary to duplicate the traffic. All bandwidth can be fully utilized and FRR ensures the ring can reroute traffic in sub-50 milliseconds, preserving all services on top of the ring. 6 Alcatel-Lucent | Next-Generation Utility Networking Figure 5. Typical Ring Architecture Ring 2 Ring 3 Ring 1 Fiber optics Wireless microwave Junction site Ring site Spur site CAPEX/OPEX and Scalability To meet the utility's growing requirements, the Alcatel-Lucent network is extremely scalable, with the bandwidth in each ring able to scale up or down independently, according to changing requirements. For example, Rings 1 and 2 may need a ring bandwidth of 150 Mb/s over a physical Ethernet interface while Ring 3 needs 50 Mb/s of bandwidth. The system can also scale down to provide the right bandwidth offering for the spur sites. There are three typical site types (as shown in Figure 5): · Ring site ­ a site sitting on the main ring responsible for relaying traffic arriving from neighboring sites, providing connectivity for branch sites and meeting local service requirements on that site. · Junction site ­ a site located at the junction of two rings. Must be scalable to terminate multiple MPLS rings and act as a pivotal point to provide Layer 3 services. · Spur site ­ a spur off the main ring that will aggregate all the voice and data services on the spur site and forward to the ring site. To optimize efficiency and cost, the spur site should be scaled down in bandwidth to 12 Mb/s while continuing to provide all required services. Scalability exists at the radio frequency (RF) level where the microwave system offers a scalable model of 12, 50 or 150 Mb/s of bandwidth, and at the network level where the MPLS core can accommodate a growing number of users and services. The Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS network has expanded media access control (MAC) entry support for up to tens of thousands of MAC addresses and up to several thousand label switched paths (LSPs) per uplink port. The granularity in MPLS bandwidth, scaling options at the RF level, and statistical multiplexing result in minimal CAPEX requirements to deploy and scale this solution. [. . . ] These new technologies will enable the utility to optimize its network to reduce both CAPEX and OPEX without jeopardizing reliability. Advanced technologies also allow the introduction of new applications that can improve operational and workflow efficiency within the utility. Alcatel-Lucent leverages cutting edge technologies along with the Company's broad and deep experience in the utility industry to help utility operators build better, next-generation networks with IP/MPLS. The Alcatel-Lucent Advantage Alcatel-Lucent has years of experience in the development of IP, MPLS and Ethernet technologies. 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