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Volume 3 Number 2, Second Quarter 1997
Voice transportation is spreading across Cisco Systems' Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switch and router products with two new port adapter modules for the LightStream® 1010 ATM switch and Cisco 7200 router series. The modules bring cost-effective circuit emulation services to existing ATM networks. These new adapters enable users to multiplex or concentrate multiple circuit emulation streams for voice and video with packet data on a single high-speed ATM link without a separate ATM access multiplexer. This ability to consolidate traffic types in existing ATM networks will help enterprises lower line costs and reduce management overhead.
The ATM circuit emulation module for the LightStream 1010 switch offers four-port T1/E1 (1.544 or 2.048 Mbps) connectivity. LightStream 1010 signaling support in switch software spans key ATM standards, including User-to-Network Interface (UNI) 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0; Integrated Local Management Interface (ILMI); and LAN Emulation (LANE) 1.0, with full redundancy and load-balancing features for best-fit selection. Advanced traffic management features include all ATM connection types -- Constant Bit Rate (CBR), Variable Bit Rate (VBR), Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR), and Available Bit Rate (ABR). All ATM adaptation layers (AALs) are supported.
Occupying a double-width slot in the Cisco 7200 chassis, the ATM circuit emulation port adapter module for Cisco 7200 series routers acts like an ATM access concentrator on a card. The module offers four T1/E1 circuit emulation ports with either a SONET OC-3/SDH STM-1 (155-Mbps), DS3 (45-Mbps), or E3 (34-Mbps) native ATM interface. It supports UNI 3.0 and LANE 1.0 signaling with LAN internetworking support. Traffic management supports CBR, VBR, and UBR, along with AAL5 for high-speed LAN transport over ATM, and AAL1 for circuit emulation traffic over ATM. Hardware support for ABR is included; Cisco will offer a software upgrade in the future.
Both new modules support structured and unstructured ATM Forum-compliant circuit emulation services (CES). Structured CES emulates point-to-point fractional DS1/E1 circuits, allowing independent emulated circuits to share a single DS1 link. Unstructured CES also emulates point-to-point DS1/E1 circuits, but allows only one emulated circuit per T1/E1 link. Structured service minimizes ATM bandwidth requirements, while unstructured service can be used with nonstandard framing equipment.
Designed for high-speed ATM applications (DS3/E3 and above) that also require several T1/E1 circuit emulation ports, these new solutions complement voice and CES capabilities of the Cisco StrataCom® BPX® and IGXTM ATM switches. Cisco StrataCom switches offer advanced voice features such as compression, silence suppression, and voice switching to support many T1/E1 connections. Because the new port adapters expand solution options, customers can select a solution that meets their voice and data requirements while taking advantage of Cisco end-to-end solutions.
Cisco anticipates several applications for these new circuit emulation capabilities.
Private branch exchange (PBX) connectivity -- Users can combine PBX and data traffic onto a single ATM link. This application is helpful to enterprises or service providers who currently pay WAN line costs between PBXs.
Managed network services -- Service providers can integrate circuit emulation and data traffic onto a single customer premises equipment (CPE) device to lower costs and improve manageability. Providers can also exploit quality-of-service (QoS) capabilities to differentiate their service offerings.
Distance learning and videoconferencing -- Customers can set up multiple point-to-point circuits to deliver video from a central site to multiple satellite locations to save money with fewer T1/E1 lines while retaining high-quality video transmissions.
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Winning a competitive advantage in the telecommunications industry requires more than just advanced technology -- it also requires market agility. This unique combination of technical capability and deployment flexibility makes Telecom Finland a leading telecommunications services provider. When the company began looking for next-generation ATM technology to maintain its competitive advantage, it knew exactly what it needed. Telecom Finland found it in the emerging LightStream® 1010 ATM switch from Cisco Systems.
Telecom Finland's business strategy has always been to provide its customers with affordable, leading-edge technology solutions before its competitors do. The company launched ATM services in 1994, but to stay ahead, in 1995 Telecom Finland began looking for next-generation ATM technology that would enable it to deliver multiple services over the ATM backbone.
"We wanted small, economical, powerful switches that could be deployed as close to our customers as possible," says Juha Heinanen, Telecom Finland's Director of Technology. Telecom Finland uses a distributed deployment strategy that allows many of its business customers to connect directly via fiber, maximizing ATM service performance. In addition, Telecom Finland's new ATM solution would need to deliver multiservices flexibility. With a full suite of voice and data services and plans for Internet-based services, Telecom Finland needed a true multiservices platform that could scale to future demands.
According to Heinanen, Telecom Finland wanted to work with a vendor to design a switch that could meet these specific requirements. "Cisco is a well-established vendor with proven technology," says Heinanen. "They were committed to our vision and willing to help us build the switch we needed."
The LightStream 1010 ATM switch delivers 5-Gbps capacity in a compact design. This much power in a small footprint simplifies deployment in a distributed environment and allows Telecom Finland to provide maximum service performance for each customer.
"The LightStream 1010 is powerful and highly compatible with our distributed ATM deployment strategy," Heinanen comments. "And it delivers high performance at a lower price than other switches. It incorporates more standard features, such as support for the Private Network-to-Network Interface (PNNI) routing protocol and the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). This enables us to control costs and pass lower prices on to our customers -- a big advantage in a highly competitive, deregulated telecom market."
With its Cisco LightStream 1010 deployment, Telecom Finland now operates one of the world's largest ATM networks and offers a full suite of services, including Frame Relay, local and long-distance voice, and wireless voice and data services. LightStream 1010 switches are deployed both as backbone technology and as access solutions, giving customers great access flexibility.
Telecom Finland also delivers Internet access and several innovative Internet-based services over the ATM network. Internet access is available to customers, including other Internet service providers, via Network Access Point (NAP) connections. The LightStream 1010 forms the backbone for Telecom Finland's core Internet routers and for the Frame Relay network.
As Telecom Finland's customer base grows, the provider quickly deploys additional LightStream 1010 units, enabling it to maintain high levels of service availability and performance. "We can easily scale the network by adding switches in high- volume locations," says Heinanen. The ability to quickly launch new services has allowed Telecom Finland to deliver innovations such as two new Internet telephone services -- one that allows desktop users to place calls anywhere from PCs and one that allows Web surfers to directly place calls to companies from within their Web sites. Multimedia services, including online television and radio for Internet desktop users, are also available today.
What's next for Telecom Finland? The company is already looking ahead for new ways to further improve services, control costs, and maintain a leadership position. According to Heinanen, Telecom Finland has earmarked Tag Switching as a promising technological development to advance its ATM network. And in this game of Tag, once again, the competition is "it."
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