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Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch Release 1.0

IP Division, FCG

CONFIDENTIAL � INTERNAL USE ONLY

March 2004

Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, Release 1.0 i

<DOCUMENT TYPE: SALES GUIDE> For internal Alcatel use only. Information is confidential and subject to change. ALCATEL >

Table of Contents

1. Introducing the Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch 1 1.1 What is the Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch? 1 1.2 How is the Alcatel 7450 ESS Positioned? 2 1.3 What Service Providers Need 6 1.4 What is the Ethernet Service Switch Opportunity? 8

2. Grabbing the Customer�s Attention 8 2.1 Why do Customers Need the Alcatel 7450 ESS? 8 2.2 MPLS Enables Carrier Grade Metro Ethernet 10 2.3 Conclusion 15

3. How to Sell and Win Against the Competition 16 3.1 Alcatel 7450 ESS Positioning 16 3.2 The Competition�s Products 17 3.3 Carrier Focused Competitors 18 3.4 Enterprise Focused Competitors 28 3.5 Commodity Priced Competitors 32 3.6 Alcatel 7450 ESS Features Leave Competition Stranded 36 3.7 Industry�s Highest Density 37 3.8 How will our Competitors Attack the Alcatel 7450 ESS? 39

4. Recognizing an Alcatel 7450 ESS Customer 41 4.1 ILECs 41 4.2 IXCs 43 4.3 Cable MSOs 44 4.4 Metro Ethernet Service Providers 45 4.5 Utility and Transport Companies 46 4.6 CLECs 47 4.7 Key Selling Arguments 48

5. Information Sources 50 5.1 Key Contacts 50 5.2 Alcatel Web Sites 50

Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, Release 1.0 ii

> ALCATEL For internal Alcatel use only. Information is confidential and subject to change. <DOCUMENT TYPE: SALES GUIDE>

5.3 Competitive Web Sites 51 5.4 Other Related Web Sites 51 5.5 Availability 51

6. Glossary of Terms 52

7. Alcatel 7450 ESS-Enabled Services and Applications 56 7.1 Ethernet VLL Services 56 7.2 Ethernet VPLS 58 7.3 Service-Aware Ethernet Aggregation Applications 60

8. Alcatel 7450 ESS in Detail 65 8.1 Flexible Ethernet Access 65 8.2 Fully Programmable 10 Gb/s Fast Path for Investment Protection 66 8.3 Guaranteed and Measurable SLAs 66 8.4 High Performance and Scalability 67 8.5 Easy and Effective Service-Aware OA&M 67

9. Additional Information Sources 69 9.1 Customer Support/Professional Services 69 9.2 Pricing 69 9.3 Order Entry 69 9.4 System Operation and Maintenance 69 9.5 Fulfillment 69

Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, Release 1.0 1


1. Introducing the Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch

1.1 What is the Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch? The Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) sets a new standard for the delivery of reliable and scalable metro Ethernet services. The Alcatel 7450 ESS enables metro service providers to deliver the new services demanded by their customers, with the minimum capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX).

The Alcatel 7450 ESS is based on the same technology as the industry�s most advanced service router, the Alcatel 7750 Service Router (SR). The Alcatel 7450 ESS is available at initial release in two chassis sizes: the one-slot ESS-1 and seven-slot ESS-7 (see Figure 1).

Key messages for the Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch

The Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) is designed to meet the needs of carriers who want to deliver profitable and scalable metro Ethernet services over Internet protocol (IP)/multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)-based networks. The Alcatel 7450 ESS offers:

New service revenue opportunity

> Service-oriented architecture designed specifically for carrier metro Ethernet service delivery for scalable Ethernet aggregation, virtual leased line (VLL) services and virtual private LAN service (VPLS)

> Service-level quality of service (QoS) for service differentiation with structured service pricing and billing

> Improved time to market for new, differentiated services

Investment protection

> Generational leap, carrier class technology that provides high density and scalability with programmable fast path architecture that ensures forklift-free upgrades

OPEX reduction

> Extensive, end-to-end, service-aware Ethernet operations, administration and maintenance (OA&M) toolkit that speeds troubleshooting



Figure 1: Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch

The Alcatel 7450 ESS introduces the following features to address price competitiveness in the carrier metro Ethernet services market:

> Seven-slot and one-slot chassis

> Fabric modules

> I/O modules (IOM)

> High density Ethernet media dependant adapters (MDAs)

> Packet over SONET/SDH (POS) MDAs

> Proven Alcatel 7750 SR software, streamlined and optimized for the metro Ethernet market

1.2 How is the Alcatel 7450 ESS Positioned?

The reason for developing the new Alcatel 7450 ESS is to deliver on Alcatel�s vision of a metro Ethernet network that scales to support a new generation of reliable and robust Ethernet services for both business and residential customers. The Alcatel 7450 ESS provides the following key benefits:

> Addresses service provider demands for a single network architecture that scales services from metro to regional to national to international. Helps reduce CAPEX with industry-leading density and service scalability.

> Enables service providers to deliver reliable and robust Ethernet services with accurate per-service bandwidth guarantees and accounting

> Reduces OPEX through integrated operations, administration and maintenance (OA&M) capabilities for rapid service assurance and troubleshooting

Alcatel 7450 ESSOne-slot

Alcatel 7450 ESSSeven-slot



> Reduces time to market for key features. In certain cases (e.g., virtual private LAN services (VPLS)), we are at least six to eight months ahead of the competition

> Provides a differentiated value proposition over the competition in carrier metro Ethernet deals (i.e., the 7450 ESS provides MPLS switching rather than Ethernet bridging only, which means that Alcatel will not just be a �me too� player)

The Alcatel 7450 ESS can be deployed by service providers for a wide range of metro Ethernet applications , as shown in Figure 2. That require advanced Ethernet Layer 2 virtual private network (VPN) features, flexible multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), 802.1P/Q, stacked virtual local area networks (VLANs), and robust service management, troubleshooting and billing features.

Figure 2: Delivering Profitable Ethernet Services

CoreAggregation> Business services

� Direct Internet Access (7750)� IP VPNs (2547bis) (7750)� VLL (point-to-point) (7x50)� VPLS (multipoint) (7x50)

> Service-aware Ethernet aggregation (7450 ESS)

� DSLAM and EPON aggregation

� L2/L3 Internet access backhaul

� IP-VPN backhaul

> Ethernet and frame relay/ ATM interworking

� Alcatel 7670 RSP

Access

7750 SR7670 RSP

MPLSSwitching

FR, ATM & Ethernet

7450 ESS

End-to-End Management 5620 Network and Service Mangement

7270 MSC

7450 ESS

Internet

FR UNI

ATM UNI

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

IP / MPLSCore

IWF

DSLAM

7750 SR

7750 SR

FTTU

Ethernet to FR/ATMinterworking

Ethernet

T5C-L3

T5C-L3

T5C-L3

T5C-L3



As shown in Figure 3, the Alcatel 7450 ESS provides flexible metro Ethernet access options.

Figure 3: Metro Ethernet Access Options

The Alcatel 7450 ESS interoperates with other vendors� equipment, enabling easy integration into networks with third party Ethernet switches and routers, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Alcatel 7450 ESS Interoperates with Third Party Switches

> MPL S switching

> MPLS fast reroute

> End-to-end service OA&M

> Deterministic QoS (H-QoS)

> 802.1w, RSTP

> VLAN

> SVLAN (Q-tags/Q-in-Q)

> IEEE 802.1p, H-QoS

Ethernet Bridging

MPLS Switching

MTU

MPLS SwitchingNetwork

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

7450 ESS7750 SR

Metro AggregationMetro Access

MPLS SwitchingNetwork

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

7450 ESS7750 SR

IP/MPLS Core Service Network

IP/MPLS Core Service Network

Telco Systems

Access BackboneNew Metro Existing Metro Access

CLE

CLE

CLE

7750 SR

3rd Party Router

IP / MPLSBackbone

MPLSMetro

Bridging/

STP

7450 ESS

Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet

3rd Party Switch

7450 ESS

Ethernet

EthernetEthernet

Ethernet

Internet

End-to-End Management 5620 Management Portfolio



The Alcatel 7450 ESS expands Alcatel�s metro networking portfolio to fully address service providers� requirements (see Figure 4). The Alcatel 7450 ESS directly addresses service providers� concerns as they roll out metro Ethernet services in 2004 and beyond. The Alcatel 7450 ESS enables guaranteed service level agreements (SLAs) for predictable Ethernet private data services that are scalable, and delivered over a carrier grade infrastructure with troubleshooting and Ethernet OA&M capabilities.

Figure 5: Alcatel 7450 ESS Fills the Carrier Metro Ethernet Gap

The Alcatel 7750 SR is positioned to address the high-end routed services market, i.e., RFC-2547bis Internet protocol VPNs (IP-VPNs), and it provides inter-metro provider edge (PE) routing functionality.

The Alcatel 7750 SR supports all Alcatel 7450 ESS features plus additional features and service capabilities, such as Internet routing, border gateway protocol (BGP), RFC-2547bis IP-VPNs, higher capacity, Layer 2 virtual leased line (VLL), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and channelized interfaces.

The Alcatel OmniSwitch is optimized for the enterprise market. Therefore, it does not support carrier features such as MPLS, stacked VLAN, accounting, etc.

Differences and similarities with Alcatel 7750 SR The Alcatel 7450 ESS is based on the same technology foundation as the Alcatel 7750 SR, but there are key differences between the two products.

Pri

ce

Services

Missing piece of the puzzle

7750 SR

7450 ESS

OmniSwitch

Positioning: Ethernet service switchFocus: Carrier metro Ethernet aggregation and coreServices: VLL, VPLS, Ethernet aggregationCompetitors: L2/L3 Ethernet switchesProducts: Alcatel 7450 ESS (ESS-1 and ESS-7)

Positioning: Service routerFocus: IP edge services (PE router)Services: VLL, VPLS, DIA, IP-VPN, L2 VLL (FR/ATM)Competitors: PE routersProducts: Alcatel 7750 SR-1, SR-4, SR-7, SR-12

Positioning: Ethernet switchFocus: Enterprise and some CLE applicationsServices: BridgingCompetitors: Enterprise Ethernet switchesProducts: OmniSwitch family

Pri

ce

Services


7750 SR

7450 ESS

OmniSwitch




Pri

ce

Services


7750 SR

7450 ESS

OmniSwitch






The MDAs, IOMs and fabric modules are not interchangeable between the two systems. They have separate chassis, modules and MDAs; separate part numbers and list prices; and distinct roadmaps.

The Alcatel 7450 ESS has a separate software load from the Alcatel 7750 SR. The Alcatel 7450 ESS capabilities are focused on enabling the delivery of metro Ethernet services only. The Alcatel 7450 ESS does not have an upgrade path to the Alcatel 7750 SR or to a PE router. The chassis of the two systems only look the same to help reduce manufacturing costs; the functionality, features and modules are different and are targeted at different markets.

However, the Alcatel 7450 ESS does benefit from leveraging Alcatel 7750 SR technology in many ways. It has enabled Alcatel to deliver more quickly a strong, differentiated metro Ethernet product that is architected for the carrier market, not an enterprise technology hack.

The Alcatel 7450 ESS leverages several aspects of the Alcatel 7750 SR technology, including:

> Flexible fast path forwarding technology

> MPLS for VLL and VPLS Ethernet services

> Quality of service (QoS) implementation (hierarchical QoS (H-QoS))

> Service accounting and billing

> Service OA&M toolkit (which includes service ping and service mirroring)

The two systems share a common element, network and service management platform � the Alcatel 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM) and related products, and common command line interface (CLI) and SNMP management capabilities. The 5620 SAM products include the Alcatel 5620 SAM Element Manager (5620 SAM-E), Alcatel 5620 SAM Provisioning (SAM-P), and Alcatel 5620 SAM Assurance (SAM-A).

1.3 What Service Providers Need Carriers are increasingly deploying multipoint, point-to-point and Ethernet Internet access services to complement new IP-VPN services and existing frame relay, ATM, private LAN and transparent LAN service (TLS) services. In their move toward Ethernet service deployment, service providers are looking to grow their revenues, lower their costs and increase their capacity. Ethernet based on an MPLS platform is seen as the vehicle to offer these new, advanced Ethernet services with high worldwide growth potential. This approach has double- and triple-digit compounded annual growth rates (CAGR), as shown for the U.S. market in Figure 6.



Figure 6: VPLS, Ethernet Private Line (EPL) and Ethernet Internet Access (EIA) Services are Growing Rapidly

The early entrance of Ethernet service provider startups has created a ripple effect among all types of more established carriers. Incumbent service providers are embracing Ethernet services and migrating toward a stable, scalable, carrier grade infrastructure that allows them to deliver the services and features their end customers want without building network overlays of traditional, enterprise class Ethernet switches. The following industry validation illustrates this trend:

> �MPLS will play a key role in both the aggregation of different traffic types using Ethernet transport as well as in providing a mechanism for traffic prioritization and QoS guarantees.� Source: Probe, September 2003

> MPLS and Ethernet will become more strongly linked in the strategic plans of carrier data network providers. Source: Probe, September 2003

> �MPLS will be the clear winner for VPN creation and consolidation of networking infrastructure.� Source: AT&T

> �Using MPLS removes the limit of 4,096 VLANs, making it a more scalable Layer 2 VPN than �pure� Ethernet. It also allows service providers to leverage the resiliency and traffic engineering characteristics of MPLS, which some believe is a shortcoming of the spanning tree protocols. Using MPLS also enables an enterprise to deploy Ethernet at some locations, maintain FR and ATM at other locations and still have a VPN whereby all locations appear to be on the same LAN.� Source: RHK, May 2003

4,000

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

U.S. Ethernet Services Forecast

Revenu

e (

USD

Millio

ns)

2002 20072006200520042003

VPLSEIAEPL (P2P) VPLSEIAEPL (P2P)

Source: Yankee Group, August 2003

134.2%VPLS

102.4%EIA

58.6%EPL

CAGRService134.2%VPLS

102.4%EIA

58.6%EPL

CAGRService



> �MPLS technology ensures flexibility, scalability at an affordable price.� Source: Telefonica de Espana, Business-Driven MPLS Networks Conference, Nice, April 2, 2003

> �MPLS is to be treated as the target. It will give us the ability to provide all the things at Layer 3 or at Layer 2, and do it all on a common infrastructure.� Source: Verizon

1.4 What is the Ethernet Service Switch Opportunity? The carriers� need for a service-oriented solution that can deliver Ethernet services is driving the demand for a new class of Ethernet switch � an Ethernet service switch.

An Ethernet service switch is an MPLS-based Ethernet switch that delivers scalable, carrier grade Ethernet services such as:

> VLL services (point-to-point)

> VPLS (multipoint-to-multipoint)

> Service-aware Ethernet aggregation services

� Internet access backhaul

� IP-VPN backhaul

� Residential subscriber aggregation

These services allow operators to grow their revenue base and expand their customer base at a lower cost while offering increased flexibility and quality to the end user.

2. Grabbing the Customer�s Attention

2.1 Why do Customers Need the Alcatel 7450 ESS? Service providers are increasingly realizing that MPLS is required in the metro Ethernet space to support true carrier class services that have traditionally been delivered through time division multiplexing (TDM), frame relay and ATM. Existing vendors have been slow to react to this demand from their customers because their existing enterprise grade switches are difficult and expensive to upgrade. The industry validations below express the carriers� frustration with today�s metro Ethernet vendors and their desire to move toward an all-Ethernet solution.

> A study conducted by the Metro Ethernet Forum on Ethernet over fiber based architectures reported a 49% operational expense and 39% capital expense advantage over traditional legacy SONET/SDH based networks. Source: MEF, The Metro Ethernet Network: Comparison to Legacy SONET/SDH MANs for Metro Data Service Providers, July 2003

> The lack of carrier grade metro Ethernet products is an impediment to adoption of metro Ethernet, but resilient packet ring (RPR), MPLS, and other technologies are making metro



Ethernet resilient and able to adapt to the rings that many large carriers strongly prefer. Source: Infonetics Research, July 2003

> Recommendations to service providers: �Communicate to vendors what �carrier-class� means to you. All will benefit when developments in areas such as availability, redundancy and manageability can be prioritized efficiently.� Source: RHK, May 2003

> �Adoption issues that may slow rollouts of Ethernet services include the limited scalability and lack of QoS mechanisms of legacy Ethernet platforms, the incompatibility of legacy operational support system (OSS) platforms and the lack of maturity of MPLS in carrier networks.� Source: Probe, September 2003

Carriers want to deliver Ethernet services because they want to realize an OPEX savings compared to traditional SONET/SDH-based networks. While traditional Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches are not up to this task, Alcatel has a solution for each carrier issue (see Table 1).

Table 1: Carriers� Ethernet Adoption Issues Need an MPLS Solution

Issue Carrier Challenge Alcatel 7450 ESS Solution Market Confusion Perception of Ethernet as a LAN solution, not a carrier

protocol Confusion over where Ethernet best fits in with portfolio of traditional access, transport and network services

Positioned to enable carrier grade Ethernet services and strengthen Alcatel�s transport, data and IP portfolio

Scalability Legacy Ethernet platforms unsuited to carrier services Limited address space per network

MPLS-enabled, carrier grade Ethernet service switch that delivers the service stability, scalability, availability, predictability and manageability service providers want

Quality of Service (QoS)

No inherent QoS mechanisms in Ethernet Delivers MPLS and advanced service-level QoS and billing so carriers can offer service differentiation and structured service pricing.

OSS Issues Legacy operational support systems (OSSs) do not necessarily support Ethernet services

Alcatel 5620 Management Portfolio enables carriers to deploy Ethernet and VPN services along with their existing and new services. Comes with a northbound interface to the service provider�s existing OSS and integrates with Alcatel optical products.

Table 2 summarizes how some of the key features of the Alcatel 7450 ESS help service providers meet their business requirements.

Table 2: Meeting Business Requirements with Alcatel 7450 ESS

Requirement Product Enabler Key Features Increased revenue Service orientation

Deterministic and billable, tiered service pricing enables enhanced Ethernet services that scale metro Ethernet networks to 1000s of customers

Designed from the ground up for SLA-based metro Ethernet services Scalable VLL, VPLS, EIA and Ethernet aggregation Sub 50 ms fast reroute (FRR) drives towards > five nines reliability

Lower OPEX Rapid provisioning and troubleshooting Rapid service assurance, diagnostics and mirroring enabled with built-in end-to-end Ethernet OA&M capabilities

Integrated comprehensive Ethernet OA&M features (service ping, mirroring and trace route) for service diagnostics and troubleshooting Industry-leading density and performance

Investment protection Fully programmable fast path Enables quick and painless adaptation and upgrades to new and evolving standards True 10 Gigabit architecture available today



2.2 MPLS Enables Carrier Grade Metro Ethernet A look at the history of metro Ethernet services and how carrier requirements have changed (see Figure 7) will explain why service providers require MPLS to deliver metro Ethernet services today.

In the early years, metro Ethernet services were provided over an ATM or frame relay infrastructure and were called transparent LAN services (TLS). TLSs were mostly offered to business customers by well-established carriers such as interexchange carriers (IXCs), incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and the former post, telephone and telegraph operators (PTTs). Ethernet switches were built using an enterprise technology and were not used by these carriers to offer TLS due to poor reliability, scalability, service guarantees and OA&M features.

Around the year 2000 a new type of metro Ethernet service provider emerged, heavily funded by venture capital. These new providers were very aggressively focused on cost and time to market, and were less concerned about carrier capabilities. They believed that Ethernet switches could fill their short-term needs so they engineered their networks around the flaws of these products.

As more established carriers adopted metro Ethernet, the requirements changed. Today, metro Ethernet networks have to be reliable, scalable and manageable in order to be profitable.

Figure 7: Service Providers� Metro Ethernet Requirements Have Changed

The Ethernet of today is not identical to yesterday�s Ethernet. Ethernet switch vendors started with a single enterprise customer focus and moved to a multiple customer focus based on metro Ethernet extensions. Bridged Ethernet was enhanced with stacked VLAN and rapid spanning tree protocol (RSTP), but these capabilities did not address the fundamental scalability and reliability issues that kept Ethernet from being carrier grade.

> RFC-1483

> ATM LANE> Frame relay-to-Ethernet

interworking

> ATM-to-Ethernet interworking> Ethernet never the underlying

access technology

> Venture-funded service providers

> One VLAN per customer> Repurposed enterprise

switches attempting to deliver carrier services

> Poor profitability, focus on footprint

> Limited scalability

> Simple billing models> Manual provisioning

> Network �client� is always the service �subscriber�

> Ethernet the underlying access technology

1997Introducing TLS

2000Introducing Metro Ethernet

2004Carrier Scale Ethernet Services

> Incumbents are now the service providers

> Service focus, not just connectivity

> Network and service scalability an absolute requirement

> Inter-metro, international multipoint services

> Switch engineered to carrier standards

> Profitability an absolute requirement

> SLA-based services

> Advanced billing models> Sophisticated service and

network OA&M

> Network �client� often another network (DSL/PON)

> Ethernet the underlying access technology

Metro Ethernetrequirements

are changing�.



In the future, equipment vendors and service providers will likely try to further adapt to carrier requirements by introducing provider bridges and Ethernet in the first mile (EFM), but these will not provide adequate scalability and reliability either (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Ethernet Has Evolved, But Not Enough

Service providers (reluctantly) continue to buy traditional Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches because they provide a cheap and seemingly simple way to get into the metro Ethernet services market. What early deployments have shown is that these products and solutions are unable to scale beyond the initial configurations. A lack of scalable MPLS based Ethernet service switches has prevented wider and more rapid expansion of the services. While many Ethernet switch vendors have promised an evolution to MPLS, they have failed to deliver scalable, service-oriented switches that fully leverage the benefits of the technology leaving service providers without a suitable means to expand their Ethernet service offerings.

The key limitations that service providers experience with today�s technology are:

> Poor scalability

> Poor reliability

> Lack of service guarantee

> Lack of OA&M tools

> Poor service provisioning tools

> Poor MPLS performance

1997Enterprise Bridging

2000Metro-Oriented Extensions

2004Bridging Technology Futures

Ethernet Bridging

is trying to adapt�.

> VLANs

> 802.1D Spanning Tree

> Per-port RMON statistics

> Ping and Traceroute

> VLANs




> 802.3ad link aggregation

> 802.1P/DiffServ

> 802.1w RSTP

> 802.1s MVST

> VLAN stacking

> Ring Spanning Tree

> VLANs




> 802.3ad link aggregation

> 802.1P/DiffServ

> 802.1w RSTP

> 802.1s MVST

> VLAN stacking

> Ring Spanning Tree

> EFM

> 802.1ad provider bridges



Traditional Ethernet switches do not meet carrier grade requirements The fundamental problem with Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches is that they are bridged Ethernet switches with an enterprise background. While these products support good Ethernet density and performance, they were designed for simple connectivity requirements in high end enterprise networks, not to deliver services to thousands of customers requiring guaranteed SLAs for billable services. These switches fail to address carrier metro Ethernet requirements today for the following reasons:

Lack of scalability

> Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches cannot scale effectively to larger networks because they have a built-in, network-wide ceiling of 4,096 VLAN addresses. This restriction limits a service provider�s metro Ethernet offering to 4,096 subscribers.

> Stacked VLANs (SVLAN) implemented in a proprietary fashion by Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switch vendors (Q-in-Q, Stacked VLAN, Stackable VLAN, vMAN and Super Aggregated VLAN) claim to address the 4,096 scaling issue. SVLAN (Q-in-Q) still only limits service providers to 4,096 customers network wide and still relies on the bridging protocol. As a result, service providers face the same issues of reliability, scalability, service guarantees and service assurance. The reality is that carriers are mainly using stacked VLANs for demarcation purposes.

> In a bridged Ethernet network, every switch must learn all MAC addresses in the entire network. This is the case for a flat bridged network as well as a network with stacked VLANs. This creates severe scaling and performance issues as larger networks can contain hundreds of thousands of MAC addresses. Troubleshooting service-affecting problems also becomes time consuming.

Lack of reliability

> Bridged Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches cannot traffic engineer networks to meet carriers requirements. The only option these switches have to traffic engineer and reroute failed links is using the 802.1d spanning tree protocol (STP). A bridged network with STP is unable to use multiple paths or discover shortest paths to control congestion and traffic engineer networks. To carriers this is significant because networks built on bridged Ethernet switches may experience severe congestion despite overall low utilization, making it virtually impossible to plan for subscriber growth.

> Because STP is used to protect against loops and packet replications, bridged Ethernet Layer 2 and 3 switches cannot effectively be deployed with network diameters larger than seven nodes. Even with this limited network size, any network failure relies on STP to flush MAC tables and failover to redundant paths. With STP or the enhanced version RSTP, any practical network restoration time is in the sub-second or sub-minute range. This is unacceptable for carriers that want to offer reliable SLAs to customers of high bandwidth, premium services.



Lack of service guarantee

> Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches do not offer per-customer, per-service H-QoS. It is very hard to offer reliable SLAs that will satisfy service providers� requirements because Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches were designed to operate in a non-deterministic, connectionless bridged network. Proper SLA offerings require the ability to provide statistics on a per-service level. Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches are often limited to counters on a per-port basis.

Limited OPEX reduction

> Lack of management, monitoring and control tools limit the potential OPEX reductions that Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches can offer.

> As Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches are based on an enterprise design, they typically have no Ethernet OA&M tools such as service pings, and port and service mirroring for troubleshooting. Troubleshooting a failed connection or misbehaving MAC address in a bridged environment is a very complicated matter where isolation of faults can be impossible. To a provider this means that operational troubleshooting of a subscriber may impact other subscribers because they might have to shut down portions of their network to fix the problem.

Poor service provisioning tools

> Carriers want a provisioning tool to deliver a predictable network scenario so they can properly plan network growth. It is difficult to design an effective provisioning tool in a connectionless network because of the inability to predict the path through the connectionless network.

> The MPLS features of traditional Ethernet switches can be used to address some provisioning challenges, but the overall solution will still have the scaling, performance, reliability and redundancy limitations discussed above.

Poor MPLS performance

> Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switches are often forced to implement MPLS on a centralized MPLS services module, which presents severe scaling, performance and redundancy limitations.

> Each slot (where I/O modules and services modules are located) has a maximum available bandwidth between the module and the switch fabric. For many early Ethernet switches, this maximum is below 10 Gb/s. As a result, the MPLS performance is often reduced to less than a single slot capacity for the entire switch, which is dramatically less than the overall fabric throughput.

> The Ethernet switch often requires an additional new generation interface module � which may not be backwards compatible � to support MPLS.



> VPLS and VLL services will also have reduced performance because these services typically are implemented in the services module.

> Some vendors have developed new MPLS-enabled I/O cards, but with reduced port density and performance.

Addressing carrier challenges with an MPLS Ethernet service switch Traditional Ethernet switches are unsuited to carrier grade metro Ethernet service delivery due to their inherent enterprise background. Alcatel delivers a better solution for carriers with a purpose-built Ethernet service switch, the Alcatel 7450 ESS, which provides improved scaling, QoS, accounting, OA&M and provisioning for Ethernet services. The Alcatel solution is not limited to the metro, but can scale to address national and international geographic coverage. The platform�s design combines a connection- and service-oriented MPLS-based architecture to address Ethernet services.

Carrier grade scalability

MPLS eliminates the network-wide address scaling limitation. When MPLS and VLAN tags are interworked to enable customer segmentation a VLAN tag can be used in different locations with VLAN tag rewrite, thus scaling beyond the 4,096 address limit to tens of thousands of services.

MPLS facilitates fast convergence and traffic engineering, allowing service providers to make efficient use of network resources. MPLS allows the use of multiple paths to forward traffic. As a result, a provider can use the network to its full potential and avoid or postpone upgrades to expensive, high speed links.

Carrier grade reliability

MPLS fast reroute (FRR) enables MPLS-based convergence and failover in sub 50 ms � 100 times faster than STP and RSTP used by bridged Ethernet switches. This enables providers to support highly reliable SLA agreements with very little downtime and no service interruption.

Carrier grade service guarantee

Flexible H-QoS in the Alcatel 7450 ESS enables per-service, per-customer QoS, which in turn, allows service providers to offer customized SLAs on a per-customer, per-service or per-application basis. This is backed by per-service counters to enable enhanced billing per customer.

H-QoS is built for advanced Ethernet aggregation applications. Each customer can be allocated an enforceable bandwidth, but can burst up to an overall hierarchical bandwidth SLA when bandwidth is available.



OPEX reduction

End-to-end OA&M tools (such as service pings, and port and service mirroring) allow providers to troubleshoot service or network faults quickly. The connection-oriented design of the Alcatel 7450 ESS makes it easy to localize and isolate faults.

The provisioning model of the Alcatel 7450 ESS is designed for services and, whether through the CLI or the Alcatel 5620 SAM, is similar to the provisioning practices that service providers are accustomed to with their frame relay and ATM services. Services can be provisioned in both ring and full mesh topologies, using MPLS.

2.3 Conclusion The Alcatel 7450 ESS is a first of its kind in the carrier metro Ethernet market. All other vendors have chosen to (or been forced to) �duct tape� their plain vanilla, traditional Ethernet switches to force fit them into the carrier market. As a result of this approach, these connectionless, bridged Ethernet switches are unable to effectively deliver on carrier requirements for the new wave of revenue-generating Ethernet services.

The Alcatel 7450 ESS meets the business needs of carriers and helps them to deliver profitable, scalable and predictable metro Ethernet services (see Figure 9). The Alcatel 7450 ESS is a services switch at attractive price points that can compete and win against traditional Ethernet switches attempting to offer carrier Ethernet services.

Figure 9: Alcatel 7450 ESS Offers Superior Features, Services and Benefits

Serv

ices

Scalability

7450 ESS7450 ESS

Features:� Bridging, Q-in-Q

Services:� VLAN

Issues:� Cannot traffic engineer networks to be acceptable in carrier networks� Does not offer per-customer, per-service H-QoS� Unable to scale effectively to larger networks� Poor MPLS performance as they are forced to implement MPLS on a

centralized MPLS services module� Lack of management, monitoring and control tools

�Plain vanilla�Enterprise classEthernet switch

Features:� MPLS, service QoS/SLA/OAM&P, 10 Gig architecture

Services:� VLL, VPLS, service-aware Ethernet aggregation (EIA, IP-VPN, residential

subscriber traffic)Benefits:

� Delivers the scalability, stability and reliability necessary for the largest metro networks

� Per-service, per-customer QoS implementation through flexible H-QoS� Full suite of OA&M tools� Provisioning model designed for services

�Duct taped�Enterprise classEthernet switch



3. How to Sell and Win Against the Competition

The metro Ethernet market is very fragmented. This leaves room for a new player with a strong solution that fits service providers� needs. With the Alcatel 7450 ESS, we have an opportunity to capture a strong position in the metro Ethernet market by gaining market share from Cisco, Riverstone, Extreme, Nortel and Foundry. The following sections provide an overview of the competitive positioning. Additional information can be found on the Alcatel 7450 ESS product page, including several competitive bulletins and a competitive presentation (aww.alcatel.com/7450).

Alcatel is prepared to act as a strategic partner to the service provider. Service providers face the difficult challenge of making the appropriate investment decisions for their telecommunications infrastructure. Today, more than ever, service providers are looking for a business model that will balance near-term revenue growth with continued market leadership, through smart, profitable investments. Our Fast Response Consultative Marketing program will assist service providers by offering them the tools and the know-how to answer such questions as:

> Which new services should I offer, and what revenue will the services generate?

> What are the IP/Ethernet service requirements, and how can I offer services that are differentiated from the competition?

> What will it cost to deploy these new services today and tomorrow?

For more information on this program, check out aww.alcatel.com/fcgconsulting.

3.1 Alcatel 7450 ESS Positioning The competition in the metro Ethernet services market consists of traditional, enterprise class switches augmented with certain features (i.e. 802.1P/Q, SVLAN, 802.1w, 802.1ad, MPLS service cards) for the carrier customer. These include the Cisco Catalyst 6500; Nortel Passport 8600 and OPTera 8000; Riverstone RS family; Extreme Black Diamond, Alpine products, and Foundry NetIron platforms.

Traditional Ethernet switches (see Figure 9, left side) rely on the limited functionality of bridging and STP to deliver cost-effective Ethernet connectivity. However, they are faced with huge obstacles when it comes to delivering deterministic Ethernet services.

Some Alcatel competitors have added centralized service modules in an attempt to address the service providers� requirements. This approach has the following flaws:

> They lose I/O slots, which reduces port density and increases price-per-port

> Performance degrades dramatically as all packets must now pass through the service module. Fabric capacity and performance have little impact on overall system capacity and performance



None of our competitors offer built-in, comprehensive Ethernet OA&M capability. Service providers will be reluctant to deploy services (e.g., VPLS) on these traditional Ethernet switches at the expense of performance and reliability and compromised customer SLA metrics. The competition will likely adopt a �two-box� approach (e.g., Ethernet switch and PE router), which will considerably increase their price for intra-metro Ethernet services.

The right side of Figure 10 illustrates the Alcatel approach to intra-metro Ethernet services. The Alcatel 7450 ESS, with its strong service focus, provides:

> Scalable VLL, VPLS and Ethernet aggregation services

> Deterministic service delivery over MPLS, which enables guaranteed SLAs

> Extensive service-aware OA&M toolkit

> Service-level QoS and billing

> Scalability and reliability

Figure 10: Intra-Metro Ethernet Services: Competition Does Not Measure Up

3.2 The Competition�s Products Competitors in the carrier metro space can be categorized as follows:

> A carrier focused competitor: Focuses all their marketing efforts in the carrier space and obtains over 75 percent of their sales from the carrier space

IP/MPLS Backbone

PE Router

Ethernet Switch 7450 ESS

Ethernet Switch7450 ESS

CLE (MTU)CLE Switch

MetroCore

MetroAggregation

MetroAccess

PE RouterPE RouterMPLS

MPLSStacked VLANVLAN

Bridging

Bridging

YESScalability

YESReliability

YESOA&M

YESSLAs

YESEIA, VLL, VPLS

YESScalability

YESReliability

YESOA&M

YESSLAs

YESEIA, VLL, VPLS

Traditional Ethernet Switch

NOScalabilityNOReliability

NOOA&M

NOSLAs

AggregationEIA, VLL, VPLS

NOScalabilityNOReliability

NOOA&M

NOSLAs

AggregationEIA, VLL, VPLS



> An enterprise focused competitor: Obtains over 75 percent of their sales from the enterprise space, but may target some marketing materials to carriers

> A commodity priced competitor: Offers an extremely low priced solution, but with limited features

Table 3 further categorizes the competition according to the application space their products address. The Alcatel 7450 ESS competes in the metro core and metro aggregation spaces.

Table 3: Competitors� Metro Ethernet Product Portfolio

Focus Metro Core Metro Aggregation

Carrier Alcatel Alcatel 7450 ESS (seven-slot) Alcatel 7450 ESS (one-slot and seven-slot)

Cisco Catalyst 6509 Catalyst 6509 & 4500

Nortel OPTera Metro 8010 & Passport 8600 OPTera Metro 8006, 8003 and Passport 8600

Riverstone RS 38000 and XGS* RS 8000/8600 and XGS*

Atrica A8100 and A8800 A4100

Enterprise Extreme Black Diamond 6800 Black Diamond 6808 and Alpine 3800

Force 10 E-1200 and E-600 NA

Foundry NetIron 1500 and 800 NetIron 800 and 400

Commodity Huawei Quidway S8016 Quidway S6506 and S5516

* Riverstone XGS 9016 and 9008 are mainly focused toward the enterprise and do not support the feature base of the RS 38000.

Note: The Alcatel 7450 ESS does not compete in the edge router space where the Alcatel 7750 SR is positioned. For information on how to sell against edge routers, please refer to the Alcatel 7750 SR sales guide, available at http://aww.alcatel.com/7750.

3.3 Carrier Focused Competitors Only a few of the competitors are categorized as carrier focused competitors: Cisco, Nortel, Riverstone and Atrica.

Main competitor: Cisco Systems Cisco�s metro Ethernet switching strategy is to leverage their dominance in the enterprise IP and enterprise LAN switch market to gain leadership in delivering solutions for next generation carrier networks. Unlike Alcatel, the primary customer asset Cisco seeks to leverage is the provider core and edge router with relatively little focus on the carrier�s transmission or multiservice infrastructure.

Cisco dominates the metro Ethernet market today with over 50 percent market share (Sources: IDC and RHK). This is despite the fact that Cisco does not have compelling products for this market to dramatically distinguish themselves from their competitors. Cisco�s strategy is to sell as many high margin routers as possible in this market.



The move to a consolidated MPLS infrastructure enabling deterministic behavior and SLA-based private data services changes the requirements imposed on metro Ethernet platforms sold by Cisco. Their connectionless, best-effort Ethernet switches with enterprise origins lack the required service capabilities and next generation scalability because Cisco has implemented their MPLS features on an optical service module (OSM) card, which has severe scaling and performance issues. Cisco will always attempt to up sell to a high end router solution to hide this deficiency.

Cisco just recently released the Supervisor 720 module, initially to fend off the new 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch threats in the enterprise space, from companies such as Force 10, Extreme and Foundry. However, a recent announcement from IBM about their partnership with Force 10 shows that Cisco is not fully successful in the 10 Gigabit Ethernet market. Source: Lightreading. See http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=42475&site=lightreading

Cisco�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Cisco positions the Catalyst 4500 and 6500 as metro aggregation bridged Ethernet switches and the Catalyst 6500 family also as metro regional bridged Ethernet switches. The 7600 routers are also often sold into these markets.

Within the Catalyst 6500 family, which consists of the 6513, 6509, 6506 and 6503, the 6509 NEBS is the only NEBS-compliant chassis available to be sold into service provider networks. This is important to realize, as Cisco is likely to portray to the customer that they have a huge product portfolio, even though the majority is targeted and only sold into the enterprise space. (The Alcatel 7450 ESS is NEBS-compliant.)

Cisco�s strengths

> Strong brand recognition and market share

> Wide range of routing and switching platforms to meet many requirements

> Technical leadership and control of standards (IETF)

> Political control of IP decision makers

> Pre-standard RPR offering

Cisco�s weaknesses

> Old technology: Catalyst 6500 is a modified enterprise Layer 3 switch, based on technology more than five years old, with two code streams (CatOS and the newer Catalyst Internetwork Operating System (IOS)). This does not bode well for future-proof service deployments.

> No VPLS support: The Catalyst 6509 does not support VPLS today. The Supervisor 720 has only limited MPLS functionality and does not currently support VPLS. Cisco will normally hand-off to a PE router for advanced services such as VPLS.



> No easy upgrade to new services: The Catalyst 6500 has an ASIC-based fast path, which does not enable programmable data path feature upgrades.

> No support for H-QoS: The Catalyst 6509 only supports per port QoS and cannot support per service QoS.

> 10 Gigabit architecture only targets enterprise customers: The new Supervisor 720 with integrated switch fabric targets only the high capacity enterprise market, and does not support the OSM cards, Catalyst 6509 NEBS chassis and VPLS.

> Reduced performance: Enabling new services with associated QoS and ACLs degrades performance by 30 percent to 50 percent depending on the size of the network.

> Redundancy reduces density and capacity: If Cisco configures the 6509 in a fully redundant mode, they need two Supervisor 720s with control and fabric combined, which leaves seven slots for user ports. If the Supervisor II is used, the control and fabric are separate. In a redundant configuration customers will require two of each, which will leave only five I/O slots. The Alcatel 7450 ESS provides three times the port density of the Catalyst 6509.

> IOS confusion: The Catalyst 6500 is supported by two code streams, CatOS and Catalyst OS. New features are only supported by Catalyst OS. This complex management of operating systems may be satisfactory for enterprise customers, but service providers want to limit their IOS exposure to as few upgrades as possible every year.

> Poorly integrated OA&M: Cisco has no service OA&M, only ping.

> Poor service accounting: Netflow, Cisco�s accounting package, has very bad performance and is not based per service.

How to sell against Cisco

The goal with a Cisco customer is to gain enough credibility to get a lab trial/evaluation so that the customer can compare the Alcatel 7450 ESS with the product Cisco is positioning. Use the following arguments when talking to customers:

Senior management

> Cisco�s claim to fame is that they �understand IP and Ethernet.� They might understand IP and Ethernet in an �old world� best-effort routing Internet world, but Alcatel�s expertise is in delivering private data services with SLAs (e.g., frame relay and ATM). We�ve developed a new kind of Ethernet switch (a service switch) that delivers the services your customers want.

> How many times have you had to upgrade your Cisco switches in the last two to three years? The Alcatel 7450 ESS is fully programmable. That reduces your ongoing CAPEX when you need new features, and it reduces downtime for upgrades so your OPEX decreases too.



Product managers and marketing

> Cisco does not yet have a VPLS implementation. It is claimed to be due on the 7600 in Q1 2004, six months later than promised to some customers. Cisco is poised to release VPLS on the 6509 in a later release. In the metro Ethernet space, Cisco generally relies on Ethernet switching using the Catalyst 6500. This solution doesn�t scale for larger metros, or beyond the metro for national or international services.

> New, revenue-generating Ethernet services require a connection- and service- oriented solution � an Ethernet service switch.

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS enables a range of new, revenue-generating Ethernet services that will maximize your addressable market (e.g., VLL, VPLS and service-aware Ethernet aggregation).

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS per-service QoS and accounting capabilities allow you to customize your service offerings and tariffs so you can differentiate your services from the competition.

> Cisco platforms don�t scale well for future Layer 2 VPN (VLL and VPLS) services because VPLS, VLL and MPLS all use the OSM module. This could force you to upgrade to a more expensive two-box solution to get the scalability you need.

> The Catalyst 6509 must be replaced with high end routers to enable enhanced carrier metro Ethernet services with defined customer SLAs at wire rate performance.

Operations

> Provisioning should be simple using a GUI, not a complex error-prone CLI. Let us show you!

> Troubleshooting should be possible at the service level, not just the interface level (e.g., what if 1,000 customers� traffic is going through that interface?). Let us show you!

> Bandwidth guarantees should be measurable. Accurate per-service statistics are required (not just for packets forwarded, but also for packets dropped due to congestion, packets dropped due to filtering, etc.). Let us show you!

Finance

> Make sure that all network interface cards quoted include distributed forwarding cards (DFCs). Otherwise, they add cost, increasing the price compared to the Alcatel 7450 ESS. As well, you will not be comparing apples to apples with regard to performance capabilities against the Alcatel 7450 ESS.

> Remember that with the Alcatel 7450 ESS, you can enable new services like VPLS on a single platform, which reduces CAPEX and OPEX. With some competitive solutions, such as Cisco, you will need to add another platform, which will increase costs and network management complexity.

Technical evaluation team



> Compare the Alcatel 7450 ESS and the Alcatel 5620 SAM in the lab against the Catalyst 6500, and make sure to test services and not just protocols. That�s where you�ll see the real difference between a Layer 2 and 3 bridged Ethernet switch and a true Ethernet service switch.

> QoS is important to your customers. It is not enough to quote acronyms and complex algorithms. The issue is how QoS can actually be applied to each individual customer and service as part of an SLA, and whether the QoS implementation works under stress.

> Get the operations team involved in the evaluation. The Alcatel 7450 ESS has many features that will make their lives easier and reduce OPEX.

Nortel Networks Nortel�s approach in the metro Ethernet market is very optical transport-centric; their main strategy is to gain traction in their large installed base of ATM, SONET/SDH and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) equipment. They call their solution an �optical Ethernet solution� and they will try to lead in an account with this solution, based on the OPTera products. A few exceptions exist, such as a deal recently made with Sprint that involved Layer 2 and 3 Passport 8600 routing switches.

Nortel is relatively weak in their Internet and IP-VPN service offering. They tried to fix this some years back with a series of mergers and acquisitions, Bay Networks being the biggest. Many of the best and brightest from that acquisition have since left the company or been laid off.

Nortel�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Nortel positions the Passport 8600 (previously Bay Networks� Accelar 8000) as a metro Ethernet switching device. The OPTera 8000 is the same product with a different chassis. Nortel is spinning a great story around the switched metro Ethernet market, but the reality is that they rarely sell a Passport 8600 or OPTera 8000; they fall back on an optical sale.

Nortel has a long history of migrating enterprise equipment into the carrier space (e.g., transitioning the older, multiservice Passport 6400 and 7400 from the enterprise market to the carrier market). This approach only worked before the telecom downturn when Nortel had an enormous pool of engineering resources.

Despite suffering from massive cuts to headcount, Nortel is still trying to adapt the Passport 8600 platform to the carrier space as the OPTera 8000. It remains to be seen how successful Nortel will be with this as Nortel in the last two years was only able to improve the Passport 8600 with a few features such as a 4-port GigE card and BGP with poor scaling.

Nortel�s strengths

> Wide range of customers among incumbents and new operators



> Strong carrier grade recognition

> Good metro Ethernet marketing story effectively hides their product gaps

> RPR according to IEEE 802.17(still draft) on OPTera products

Nortel�s weaknesses

> Old technology: Passport 8600 is an old enterprise Layer 2 and 3 switch based on 1999 ASIC technology with limited current and future investment.

> No advanced services (VLL or VPLS): Passport 8600 supports only limited MPLS on the new 4-port GigE card. It requires another PE router from outside Nortel for MPLS-based services (VPLS and VLL).

> Poor performance, density and scalability: Nortel can only show 32 MPLS GigE ports in a chassis, no wire speed GigE and no 10 GigE. They are also unable to show MPLS features on any of their POS cards.

> No easy upgrade to new services: Passport 8600 has an ASIC-based fast path, which will not enable programmable fast path feature upgrades.

> No support for H-QoS: Passport 8600 supports only strict priority QoS.

> Poorly integrated OA&M: Nortel has no service OA&M, only ping.

> No credible IP solution: Nortel has a weak Internet Layer 2 VPN and IP-VPN service offering. They do not have a PE router, relying instead on Juniper for routed services.

> Old wine in new bottles: Most of Nortel�s �new� products are just offshoots or clever marketing of existing products.

How to sell against Nortel

The goal in a Nortel account is to identify what the customer really needs compared to what Nortel is selling. The selling strategy will vary between a North American account and an account in the rest of the world.

In the ANSI market

In the ANSI market, Nortel is often the incumbent vendor in an account with an optical Ethernet solution based on the OPTera platforms. The goal in such an account is to win the customer over to a data-oriented solution in new metro regions. Nortel will likely try to sell a transport solution that lacks the flexibility, advanced service orientation or price points of the Alcatel 7450 ESS.

Here are some key points to mention when selling into an ANSI Nortel account:



> Nortel cannot offer an end-to-end solution. They must bring in Juniper for routed services, and their management platforms are not integrated.

> MPLS has strong advantages over RPR for an end-to-end solution. RPR does not provide any protection mechanism to forward packets on any alternate route outside the scope of the ring. This means that there must be an end-to-end networking layer on top of RPR.

> Nortel has no advanced Ethernet services offering. The OPTera product family is mostly oriented toward point-to-point services. The Passport 8600 has very limited MPLS functionality, with no credible future R&D development plans. This will severely limit your ability to sell differentiated services. The Alcatel 7450 ESS solution supports VLL and VPLS services.

> The OPTera solution comes with a much higher price tag than an Alcatel 7450 ESS solution.

> While an OPTera solution will deliver traditional low growth private line services with low margin, it provides a limited set of Ethernet services and requires a two-box solution to offer enhanced services.

In the ETSI market

Nortel is not as dominant in the ETSI market. Alcatel will in many cases be the leading transport vendor in EMEA, APAC and LAM accounts. In an existing Alcatel SDH-based network, leverage the SDH position by offering the Alcatel 7450 ESS in the metro space. In a new metro, position the Alcatel 7450 ESS as the solution. If Nortel does position their Passport 8600 or OPTera 8000 into this account, Alcatel has a great opportunity to sell against Nortel due to the many weaknesses of these products. Nortel knows they are weak and will try to cover their limitations. The only real selling points Nortel has with Passport 8600 or OPTera 8000 are price and availability.

Here are some key points to mention when selling against Nortel in an ETSI account:

> Passport likely will have to be replaced or another services box added to enable enhanced carrier metro Ethernet services using MPLS like VLL and VPLS.

> Nortel cannot offer an end-to-end metro Ethernet IP solution. They must bring in Juniper for routed services.

> Nortel is not committed to the pure metro Ethernet data space. Future roadmaps for the Passport 8600 are questionable because former Bay Networks people have left the company or been laid off, severely depleting Nortel�s staff and knowledge base.

> With Nortel, you run the risk that deployed Nortel data networks gear may have to be capped due to weak IP and Ethernet solutions. The Nortel products have a limited upgrade path for new features and evolving standards.



> Field trial the Alcatel 7450 ESS and see the difference our service-oriented architecture makes against the Passport 8600.

> The Nortel Passport 8600 cannot deliver advanced services (VLL or VPLS) that the Alcatel 7450 ESS solution can. The Passport 8600 supports only limited MPLS on their new 4-port GigE card. They do not support VLL and require a box from Juniper to support VPLS.

> Nortel has a limited presence outside North America compared to Alcatel. With Nortel, you�ll find it difficult to get proper support in many regions outside North America.

Riverstone Networks The corporate strategy of Riverstone is very much one of survival. Throughout 2003, Riverstone has faced NASDAQ delisting, an SEC probe into accounting practices and declining quarter-by-quarter sales. They have suffered from extremely low margins with decreased profitability, which has lowered their available capital resources (Source: Probe Group, �Ethernet Switching Demand and Developments,� October 2003). It is hard to believe that Riverstone can afford major engineering developments going forward.

Riverstone was created by the combination of two businesses previously acquired by Cabletron (Zeitnet and Yago). Riverstone was an early leader in metro Ethernet services, with some key wins in Asia (especially Korea) and a few in Europe (e.g., Storm and Telefonica), but they have yet to crack a major U.S. customer. Despite Riverstone�s early traction in the metro Ethernet market, they are now facing a declining carrier customer base.

Riverstone�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Riverstone has developed carrier class products with little clear focus on their market. They started with the RS product family of Ethernet switches to which they later added routing capabilities.

Riverstone today is stretched to their limit in R&D. While Riverstone has numerous announced future projects, such as the XGS (a pure Ethernet switch, currently shipping with limited features) and Nemo, a carrier metro router that is not yet shipping, RS is the only fully featured product that is currently shipping.

Riverstone�s product strategy is now backing the decoupled approach of not integrating edge routing services onto an Ethernet switch. The new XGS9000 Ethernet switch supports no edge routing services; it is a bridged Ethernet-only switch for the enterprise market. We will likely see Riverstone targeting the enterprise further in the future.

Riverstone�s strengths

> First to market with Martini and VPLS on their RS platform (co-authored the Laserre v.Kompella VPLS draft; Kompella is now an Alcatel employee)



> Wide range of interfaces: WAN, Ethernet, coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM), dynamic packet transport (DPT) (but only on their older platform)

> Good range of customer edge (CE), multi-tenant unit (MTU) and PE platforms

> Advanced accounting features

Riverstone�s weaknesses

> Financial trouble: Long term viability as an equipment vendor is in doubt. We are aware of two cases in which carriers technically preferred the Riverstone product, but selected a different vendor because of the looming threat of Riverstone not being around in the next 12 months or so. (Bell South went with Cisco for the NMLI II network, and AT&T Canada would only go with Riverstone if Alcatel brought them in.)

> Old technology: The existing RS platform is outdated with limited performance (RS 38000 does not support 10 Gigabit). XGS is an enterprise Layer 3 switch only, and has had trouble getting off the ground.

> Weak MPLS: General MPLS performance is limited to 4 Gb/s per slot by the backplane, and they have no MPLS on 10/100 cards.

> No backwards or forwards compatibility: XGS hardware and software are not backwards compatible with the RS family, and RS features are not forwards compatible with new platforms. The new XGS has limited functionality and is presently enterprise focused.

> Not a true 10 Gigabit architecture: The RS38000 requires three slots for their 10 GigE card. The network card-to-fabric interconnection bandwidth is 1.6 Gb/s, so the 2-port GigE card is oversubscribed.

> Lost focus: An ill attempt to refocus on the enterprise market has caused Riverstone to lose credibility with service providers.

> Proprietary features: Riverstone�s proprietary Ethernet OA&M locks carriers into a single, financially troubled vendor.

How to sell against Riverstone

The goal in a Riverstone account is to marginalize Riverstone as a failing vendor with financial trouble and lost carrier focus.

> Riverstone may not be financially viable in the long term, due to a declining customer base and drastically lowered margins. Riverstone is a serious risk as a long term partner. Source: Lightreading. See http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=39254&site=lightreading



> Riverstone had some good first generation technology, but most of their customers are now looking for a new vendor because Riverstone hasn�t kept pace with the market requirements. (This is also why Alcatel purchased TiMetra after having an OEM deal with Riverstone previously.)

> Riverstone is moving away from the service provider market and has refocused on the enterprise market � they aren�t committed to you anymore.

> Riverstone has designed their products for small-scale metro services. To extend these new private data services to mainstream customers requires a scalable service edge � an Ethernet service switch.

> Riverstone has laid off so many developers that they can�t keep pace with the market requirements, especially now that they have the XGS switches to develop for the enterprise market. That�s where their resources will go.

> Riverstone got your network ready to roll out trial services, but we can help it scale for serious revenue and we�ve done lots of interoperability testing together. (We co-authored the VPLS draft.)

Atrica Atrica is a small startup with less than 200 employees that was founded four years ago with an idea to combine DWDM, MPLS and optical Ethernet in a single product. Their initial seed funding was provided by 3COM, which also explains why their first product was based on the 3COM Corebuilder switch. Atrica has seen some isolated carrier success and has announced France Telecom, Al-Pi (a small regional Spanish subsidiary of France Telecom) and Broighter Networks (an Irish CLEC) as customers. Rumor has it that Atrica has been shipping boxes to Reliance for testing for several months now, and a source at Lightreading says that Atrica�s latest round of funding was done specifically to service deployments in the Reliance network. Early investors in Atrica were France Telecom, SBC and Bell South, but none have increased their investment since.

Atrica�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Atrica has a range of MPLS-enabled Ethernet switches with and without DWDM. They position Ethernet transport as a replacement for SONET/SDH in the metro. They have some good GigE density and a low cost MTU box (A2100). They have a range of products from metro core (A8800 and A8100) to metro access (A4100). They have no routing, so they are a pure Layer 1 and 2 Ethernet over MPLS solution for the metro. They need a Juniper/Cisco box to handoff to for Internet access and Layer 3 VPNs.

Atrica�s strengths

> Perception: funded by several service providers, including SBC, BellSouth, France Telecom, Bezeq and Telia



> As part of their awareness and hype, they have benefited from Nan Chen, Vice President of Atrica Corporate/Product Marketing being the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) president

> Niche applications in DWDM, optical add-drop multiplexing (OADM)

Atrica�s weaknesses

> Proprietary solutions: Atrica has not shown up for interoperability testing participation, casting doubt on their interoperability with other vendors.

> Incomplete transport solution: Atrica pitches an evolution to current transport, but has no SONET/SDH support. This makes it hard for them to gain credible traction with carriers.

> Incomplete service solution: Atrica lacks an end-to-end manageable service solution, has no support for legacy services such as ATM and frame relay, and has not announced any plans to support Layer 3.

> Rudimentary traffic management: Atrica supports only very basic traffic management like the �frame relay like� committed information rate (CIR)/ excess information rate (EIR) model.

> Limited OA&M support: Atrica has no service OA&M such as service ping and service mirroring.

How to sell against Atrica

The goal when selling against Atrica is to ensure the customers know that they take a very risky path if they select Atrica. Because they are a startup, Atrica may not be around for long.

Here are some key points to mention when selling against Atrica:

> Atrica is a failing start-up, not a credible service provider vendor.

> Atrica is a transport-focused company that is weak in Layer 2 and Layer 3 expertise.

> Atrica�s solution is proprietary, which will lock you into a single start-up vendor.

> As a startup with less than 200 people, Atrica has a limited global support capacity. If any problems arise, you may have to fix them yourself!

3.4 Enterprise Focused Competitors Enterprise focused competitors for the Alcatel 7450 ESS are Foundry, Extreme and Force 10. These vendors are targeting the majority of their selling efforts into the enterprise space. They will also be seen in the carrier space, but more on an opportunistic basis.



Foundry Networks Foundry�s metro router has a good list of ISP and international customers. According to Bobby Johnson, President and CEO of Foundry, �If we go back to the 1999 and 2000 time frame, two thirds of our revenues came from service providers. Today, 70 to 80 percent or more comes from the enterprise, so it�s a complete flip.� Source Lightreading, July 23, 2003. http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=lightreading&doc_id=37254&page_number=5

Foundry has direct sales in the U.S. Foundry is now severely downplaying its branding program �Iron Fortified,� and has a relatively small and shrinking portfolio of technology partners (e.g., all the SAN vendors have been dropped).

Foundry�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Foundry has three product lines:

> FastIron is positioned as enterprise wiring closet and high density data center connectivity platforms

> BigIron is positioned as Layer 2 Ethernet LAN backbone switches

> NetIron is positioned as Layer 2/3 Ethernet metro routers

Foundry�s strengths

> Perceived as a strong enterprise vendor and can be seen as having the ability to bring enterprise customers to a carrier during the economic downturn

> Some incumbency in data centers/hosting

> Price leader

Foundry�s weaknesses

> Old technology: Products are all based on enterprise Layer 2 and 3 switches.

> Not carrier grade: The Foundry cross-point architecture uses active components on the backplane that could be a single point of failure for the network. There are no load-sharing management modules, and the redundant management module is available in back-up mode only. There is no redundancy option for the switch fabric, making it a single point of failure. IronView is primarily an element manager.

> Lack of carrier focus: Foundry is increasingly focusing its feature priorities on the enterprise market. Because they have flip-flopped in and out of the carrier market space, they have little traction remaining.

> No support for VPLS: Foundry lists this as a future item.



> No support for H-QoS or OA&M

> No easy upgrade to new services: NetIron has an ASIC-based fast path, which will not enable programmable fast path feature upgrades.

> No 10 Gigabit architecture: Each slot is limited to 8 Gb/s throughput.

> Poor QoS and no OA&M solution: The Foundry equipment is built around an old, bridged Ethernet switch that is not service-oriented like the Alcatel 7450 ESS.

Extreme Networks Extreme believes their �Ethernet Everywhere� vision and the convergence between their two markets (large enterprises and metro providers) uniquely position them to provide significant advantages to both. Despite this �unique� position, Extreme has reported losses for more than four quarters. Extreme�s growing solution portfolio combined with market forces has expanded their offering to the enterprise market, and they appear to have significantly less carrier focus in 2003 than in 2000.

Extreme�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Extreme�s Black Diamond/Alpine products are enterprise Layer 2 and 3 switch derivatives. They have also been reported to be developing a future product, code-named �Mariner.�

Extreme�s strengths

> Perceived leader in Ethernet for last/first mile (OA&M), and OA&M for VPLS (co-authored the VPLS draft)

> Low cost, strong Ethernet switch product line that has won N+I �Best of Show� awards five times in five years

> Price leader as they have enterprise grade equipment

Extreme�s weaknesses

> Old technology: Products are all based on enterprise Layer 2 and 3 switches.

> Poor density and scalability: Extreme�s platforms are huge to get high port density. The small platforms have scalability issues and neither is carrier class.

> No 10 Gigabit: Each slot is limited to 8 Gb/s throughput.

> Limited redundancy: Black Diamond is not a truly redundant carrier grade platform; it is a load sharing fabric. If one fails, performance drops to 50 percent. Availability is weak as failover time is 1 minute.



> Poor performance and scaling with MPLS and services: The service card for MPLS is limited to 4 Gb/s per blade, and a maximum of four MPLS cards can be installed in a switch.

> No end-to-end MPLS: Only the Black Diamond switches are equipped with MPLS cards; the Alpine series does not have MPLS functionality.

> No support for VPLS: Extreme lists this as a future item.

> No easy upgrade to new services: Black Diamond has an ASIC-based fast path, which will not enable programmable fast path feature upgrades.

> Poor QoS: The platform is based on an enterprise Layer 2 and 3 Ethernet switch.

> Poor routing: Extreme�s accounting and routing module (ARM) is limited to 4 Gb/s per blade, and a maximum of four ARM or MPLS cards can be installed in a switch. ARM and MPLS cards cannot be installed in the same switch (e.g., require Juniper M40 for routing between intra-/inter-metro VPNs).

Force 10 Networks Force 10 focuses on high performance Ethernet switching optimized for enterprise applications, for example:

> Server consolidation

> Cluster/grid computing

> Enterprise backbone

Force 10 has an enterprise focus, but occasionally shows up in service provider deals. Force 10 can show very low price points.

Force 10�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Force 10 has a single product series called the E-Series 1200 and 600.

Force 10�s strengths

> 10 Gigabit platform with high 10 GigE density/performance

Force 10�s weaknesses

> No carrier focus: Force 10 has no services capabilities, no MPLS solution, no H-QoS, no service accounting, no OA&M solution, no 10/100 and 100 FX interfaces.



> Financial viability: Force 10 has not won enough customers to be financially sustainable for the long term. They are a startup that has raised only $168 million in funding. How long will that last given the current economic environment?

How to sell against Extreme, Foundry and Force 10 The goal when selling against Extreme, Foundry and Force 10 is to ensure that the customer understands the risks of deploying traditional, enterprise class, bridged Ethernet equipment compared to a carrier grade, MPLS-based Ethernet service switch solution from Alcatel.

Here are some key points to mention when selling against Extreme, Foundry and Force 10:

> Extreme, Foundry and Force 10 are selling enterprise equipment to enterprise and government customers. They are not credible service provider vendors.

> Over 75 percent of these companies� sales revenue comes from enterprise customers instead of service providers. Their future focus is on enterprise features with no committed service provider roadmaps.

> Extreme, Foundry and Force 10 all lack worldwide support. They rely on resellers whose focus is the enterprise.

> The long term financial stability of Extreme, Foundry and Force 10 is doubtful.

> Their products are not service-oriented due to the inherited bridged enterprise design.

> A combination of RFP checklist features and low price can be misleading. Customers should question if these features are indeed carrier class when much of the vendor�s business is focused on the enterprise.

> QoS is poor for all three vendors because their switches were designed for the enterprise. They have a per-port hard policing that drops traffic, unlike the Alcatel 7450 ESS, which applies per-service shaping and policing.

> Field trial the Alcatel 7450 ESS, and see the difference our service-oriented architecture makes.

> Extreme, Foundry and Force 10 either do not have MPLS, or have not fully integrated it. If available, MPLS comes on a special purpose blade or new I/O cards with reduced density, which limits the throughput and performance of the overall MPLS solution.

3.5 Commodity Priced Competitors These vendors all compete heavily on price with little innovative product development. Huawei is the leader in this category and Harbour is a much smaller player.



Huawei Technologies Huawei was established in 1988, and claims to have products deployed in 38 countries. Huawei is not a small player in the industry, as they have 2002 revenues of $2.7 billion with 22,000 employees, 48 percent of which are in R&D.

Since 2001, Huawei has been represented in North America by FutureWei Technologies. Huawei has announced a joint venture to carry out R&D, manufacturing, and sales and marketing with Germany�s Siemens and 3COM.

Huawei�s Quidway products bear a remarkable resemblance to Cisco�s products, which has resulted in a lawsuit. Both Cisco and Huawei have since announced that they have reached an agreement that moves them toward a settlement of the lawsuit.

Huawei has been known to compete very aggressively on price. We have seen price proposals coming out of Huawei that seem to indicate they are selling equipment below cost.

Huawei metro Ethernet product portfolio

Huawei numbers their products according to positioning: the prefix �S� denotes an Ethernet switch, while �R� means a router.

Huawei positions their Quidway S8016 as a core switch and their Quidway S6506 and S5516 as aggregation switches. For CLE applications they provide the Quidway S3526 and S3026.

Huawei claims an impressive list of features and functionality in their Quidway products.

Huawei�s strengths

> High capacity and density on Quidway S8016 (256 Gb/s backplane switching capacity; 16 service slots and 12 service interface units)

Huawei�s weaknesses

> No 10 GigE: The Quidway �S� family does not have 10 GigE interfaces. Even if they were to build a 10 GigE, the capacity per slot is limited to only 4 Gb/s, effectively eliminating 10 GigE on these platforms.

> No high speed POS interfaces: The maximum speed POS interface for the Quidway �S� family is limited to 2.5 Gb/s (OC-48/STM-16). They would not be able to effectively build a 10 Gigabit POS interface (OC-192/STM-64) due to their port limitation.

> No GBIC: The Quidway S8016 datasheet shows that they do not have 1000BASE-X (GBIC) GigE interfaces.

> Low rack capacity: The Quidway S8016 fills an entire rack, severely limiting their rack capacity.



> Low aggregator switch capacity: The Quidway S6506 Ethernet switch has a maximum port capacity of 1000 Mb/s. No POS interfaces are available on the Quidway S6506.

> No carrier focus: Hauwei has no services capabilities, no H-QoS, no service accounting and no OA&M solution.

> No easy upgrade to new services: Quidway has an ASIC-based fast path, which will not enable programmable fast path feature upgrades.

> Low MAC capacity: Both the Quidway S8016 and S6506 are limited to a 32K MAC address table severely limiting the practical use of these switches in a carrier metro Ethernet application. In a bridged Ethernet environment, each switch must hold all MAC addresses in the network.

Harbour Networks Harbour Networks (Beijing) is a much smaller player with 1,350 staff members, 55 percent of which are in R&D. Harbour has sales offices throughout China, but the company�s small size will severely limit the overall quality of its products. We will mostly see Harbour as a low end competitor. Customers might use Harbour to put price pressure on Alcatel.

Harbour�s metro Ethernet product portfolio

Harbour positions the pre-released BigHammer 6808 and the BigHammer 6802 in core and aggregation applications. Harbour is occasionally seen competing in carrier deals in China.

Harbour�s strengths

> Claims to have a 10 Gigabit platform (BigHammer 6808). But is it shipping to real customers?

Harbour�s weaknesses

> Weak feature set: None of the BigHammer products support MPLS, VPN, POS, H-QoS, OA&M, NAT or policy routing.

> �Paper ware� products: BigHammer 6808 is a pre-release product. Harbour claims a single win with this product, but provides no datasheet or information on their website.

> Limited network management: Harbour offers only element management.

How to sell against commodity priced competitors The goal when selling against commodity priced vendors is to build up the case that these vendors are unproven in the marketplace, and their platforms lack features and functionality. These vendors will always bring advanced, service differentiated features to market later than



Alcatel. It is very hard to compete against commodity priced vendors based purely on price, so it is vital that the customer understands the true difference between a commodity-level, traditional, bridged Ethernet switch and a true MPLS-based Ethernet service switch.

Important

> If a commodity priced competitor is bidding with a low price, contact IPD before it is too late.

Here are some key points to mention when selling against commodity priced competitors:

> While these vendors are extremely aggressive in pricing, make sure you know what you�re getting. They are not leaders in product quality and features (e.g., lack of POS cards).

> They lack worldwide support outside China.

> They are adapting an enterprise design for the carrier space (e.g., MAC capacity is extremely low and insufficient for large networks).

> Field trial the Alcatel 7450 ESS. The difference between commodity priced products and the Alcatel 7450 ESS with its service-oriented architecture is huge.

> Even though these vendors claim to have rich features for a traditional, enterprise class Ethernet switch, you must check if they really have them. Do not accept the features and functionality from commodity priced vendors at face value. Make sure you verify that the vendor is committed to the features you need and isn�t just selling you a roadmap.

> Harbour does not have a fully released product that can compete against the seven-slot chassis of the Alcatel 7450 ESS.

> None of these vendors can show a credible MPLS-based service solution. Features such s VPLS and VLL are not available on their equipment yet.

> Any MPLS solution on their switches will be a non-integrated MPLS on a special purpose blade. This will limit throughput and performance of the overall MPLS solution.



3.6 Alcatel 7450 ESS Features Leave Competition Stranded An overall feature comparison between the Alcatel 7450 ESS and the top five competitors in the metro Ethernet space reveals that the Alcatel 7450 ESS, with its service-oriented architecture, handily addresses the challenges of Layer 2 and 3 switches (see Figure 11).

Figure 11: Alcatel 7450 ESS Features Compared Against the Top Five Competitors

The Alcatel 7450 ESS is strong in all MPLS-related features (MPLS, VLL, VPLS, H-VPLS and sub 50 ms failover), and is the only device with a programmable fast path. The fully programmable, flexible fast path is based on state-of-the-art network processor array (NPA) chip technology. It performs deep packet inspections and manipulations at 10 Gb/s line rates. The NPA provides significant value over architectures based on hardwired ASICs.

The Alcatel 7450 ESS is on par with the competition in general commodity Ethernet features such as 802.1P/Q and Q-in-Q interworking. Note, however, that many of the competitive solutions will suffer performance and density problems once they try to create redundant systems, enable QoS or apply ACLs.

FoundryNetIron

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The Alcatel 7450 ESS also compares favorably with the competition when it comes to services delivered per dollar spent, as shown Figure 12.

Figure 12: 7450 ESS Delivers on Price and Performance

3.7 Industry�s Highest Density Figures 13 and 14 show that the Alcatel 7450 ESS often doubles the density offered by the competition. This applies to all our MPLS based interfaces, including POS and GigE, and gives us an advantage in end-to-end MPLS solutions.

$$

Services

VLL

VPLS

Traditional Ethernet Switches

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Ethernet Aggregation

As services are added there is no additional cost or performance impact to the 7450 ESS

Poor Performance

PoorScalability

Great Performance

GreatScalability

New modules and OS

New modules and OS

No change No change



Figure 13: Alcatel 7450 ESS Density Comparison per Chassis

The Alcatel 7450 ESS is even more competitive in a rack comparison. We have used a conservative approach in this rack analysis with three Alcatel 7450 ESSs populated per rack. The rack comparison provides a view of how well the Alcatel 7450 ESS scales in large metro Ethernet networks. Carriers are able to deploy the Alcatel 7450 ESS with a very small footprint.

Figure 14: Alcatel 7450 ESS Density Comparison per Rack

n/a

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336208128160168200 (F)Oversubscribed GigE

No clear direction

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n/a624768n/a33660010/100 BT

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(Seven-slot)Product

Force 10FoundryExtremeRiverstoneCiscoAlcatelCompany

Five 7450 ESS chassis can be mounted in a 7ft rack, greatly exceeding port count compared to the competition.



3.8 How will our Competitors Attack the Alcatel 7450 ESS? Alcatel will mainly be challenged in the following areas:

> New and unproven product

> Incumbency in a network

> Lack of credibility as a carrier metro Ethernet vendor

> Too expensive for carrier metro Ethernet applications

New and unproven product

Challenge

Cisco will argue that the Alcatel 7450 ESS is a new and unproven product that is not ready for deployment in the real world.

Response

The Alcatel 7450 ESS is based on the Alcatel 7750 SR technology. (Use Masergy as a customer reference for the Alcatel 7750 SR. Details of the Masergy win can be found in the Alcatel 7750 SR Sales Guide located at http://aww.alcatel.com/7750). Cisco cannot offer a customer reference delivering a commercial VPLS service today because Cisco is late with their VPLS support.

A lab trial will show that the Alcatel 7450 ESS is not only ready for commercial deployment, but also supports many advanced provisioning and troubleshooting tools that other vendors cannot deliver because their Ethernet switches are �duct taped� enterprise equipment, not carrier class Ethernet service switches.

Alcatel has extensive experience helping service providers bring new technologies and data services to market, whereas Cisco only has experience in best-effort Internet access.

Incumbency in a network

Challenge

In most situations, Cisco, Riverstone, Extreme or Foundry will have existing presence in a service provider�s network.

Response

They might have a presence, but this presence is with old technology. They will have a tough time providing new differentiated revenue-generating services.



Change the playing field by identifying requirements where we have a better solution (e.g., VLL or VPLS scaling). Seek out decision makers in the organization who are not closely aligned with our competitors and cultivate their backing for Alcatel, getting them to sponsor lab trials and influence RFIs and RFPs with features that we are strongest in (QoS, OAM&P, scaling, etc.). Make sure that they know that many of our competitors offer solutions that are not future-proof, forcing an expensive network upgrade to accommodate growth. Also, emphasize that many competitors do not have a complete Ethernet and IP solution, forcing the carrier to invest in a two-box, two-vendor approach with all the IOS problems that follow. In addition, promote Alcatel�s leadership role in the IETF, especially in the area of emerging services (e.g., VPLS). Also note that integration can be further eased as the Alcatel 7450 ESS can be managed by SNMPv3 and by CLI.

Lack of credibility as a carrier metro Ethernet vendor

Challenge

Other vendors will question Alcatel�s position as a metro Ethernet vendor. They will claim that Alcatel is an old telecom vendor with little knowledge in IP and Ethernet.

Response

Alcatel has been a leader in the metro Ethernet market for many years with the OmniSwitch product line. We can show a wide range of metro area network (MAN) deals with deployed OmniSwitch metro Ethernet switches. (Examples are Verizon and Bellsouth). The Alcatel 7450 ESS is an Ethernet service-oriented platform that will bring SLA-enabled, revenue-generating services to the metro Ethernet market. The OmniSwitch family continues to compete successfully against other enterprise-oriented competitors.

Too expensive for carrier metro Ethernet applications

Challenge

Competitors will question the price of an Alcatel metro Ethernet solution. They will claim that an Ethernet service switch based on high end router technology will be inherently more expensive than a traditional Ethernet switch solution.

Response

Alcatel�s solution will scale well into the future, whereas other competitors are selling �duct-taped� solutions that will need expensive upgrades to accommodate growth and MPLS. They are also covering the fact that they need to deploy a two-box solution, while the Alcatel 7450 ESS offers better density in a single box, which improves price-per-port and minimizes footprint. If a customer chooses an Alcatel 7450 ESS solution, there will be no need for future upgrades. We are also saving the operator money with OA&M tools. Pricing tables can be found in the Training Module for the Alcatel 7450 ESS.



4. Recognizing an Alcatel 7450 ESS Customer

Potential customers for the Alcatel 7450 ESS include service providers who want to expand their data services portfolio to include SLA-enabled, revenue-generating Ethernet services.

4.1 ILECs SBC, Bell South, Bell Canada, France Telecom, British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, SingTel, Telstra, Verizon, Telefonica, Qwest and Sprint local telephone division (LTD) are all examples of incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). ILECs have recently begun receiving approval to offer data services outside their own region, which will help them to counter expanding competition from interexchange carriers (IXCs). Figure 15 shows how an in-region or out-of-region Alcatel 7450 ESS solution can be combined with an ILEC�s ATM installed base (delivering in-region private line, frame relay or cell relay VPN services) over the same dark fiber network.

Figure 15: Providing SLA-Based Data Services in and out of Region

Inter-RegionIn or Out of Region In Region AccessMetroAccess

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Top challenges and requirements for ILECs

> Desire to augment and build on the multiservice network to include Ethernet services

> Desire to start the out-of-region service offering with business services

> New ways to offer revenue-generating services over dark fiber

> Legal and regulatory constraints, making them late to market with new services.

> Lack of scalability and reliability, which limits expansion and adds cost

> Lack of OAM&P tools, which prevents service expansion

> More tiered services (QoS, SLAs)

Alcatel 7450 ESS value proposition for ILECs

> A converged MPLS Ethernet services network fits well into an existing IP/MPLS core and cuts the overall solution cost

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS and Alcatel 7670 RSP can be combined to deploy Ethernet services over dark fiber in the incumbent�s home country, or internationally

> Flexible fast path ends the cycle of hardware upgrades for new features, resulting in faster time to market

> MPLS provides much better Ethernet scaling and reliability than competitive products, which use pure bridging and STP

> Comprehensive OA&M tools simplify operations and reduce cost

> H-QoS enables tiered service offerings

> In combination with Alcatel 7670 Routing Switch Platform (RSP), supports frame relay and ATM interworking to provide natural migration to Ethernet services



4.2 IXCs AT&T, Sprint long distance division (LDD) and MCI WorldCom are all examples of IXCs. Many of these carriers are moving toward a solution with MPLS in their backbone to run multiservice traffic. For existing served metro environments, the Alcatel 7450 ESS can be positioned with the Alcatel 7670 Routing Switch Platform (RSP) with frame relay-to-Ethernet interworking, as many IXCs today are implementing their MPLS backbone based on Alcatel 7670 RSP technology (see Figure 16).

Figure 16: IXCs Prefer an MPLS Based Solution Tied to Their Backbone

Top challenges and requirements for IXCs

> Full utilization of capacity by moving toward a multiservice MPLS backbone

> Desire to target business customers as their primary subscriber base in each metro

> High performance metro Ethernet solutions to target high density metro areas

> Cost-effective solutions to deliver new growth services in new metro areas

> Innovative features in new services to provide a competitive advantage

> A vendor-grown network management solution

Access IXC BackboneNew Metro Existing Metro Access

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Alcatel 7450 ESS value proposition for IXCs

> Combining the Alcatel 7670 RSP and Alcatel 7450 ESS provides a multiservice MPLS solution

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS makes it cost-efficient to enter new metro areas using dark fiber (see Figure 15, left side)

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS provides an innovative solution for delivering new profitable Ethernet services

> Alcatel 5620 Management Portfolio delivers superior value

4.3 Cable MSOs Rogers, Shaw, Videotron, Cogeco, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cox, Cablevision Telenet, and Telewest are all examples of cable multiple system operators (MSOs).

Cable MSOs want to increase market share and stem the tide of competition from telecommunication and satellite broadcast service operators (see Figure 17). Cable MSOs are often formed from an aggressive acquisition strategy. They are now seeing the need to merge and consolidate their data centers.

Figure 17: Cable MSOs Want to Offer Voice, Video and Data Services

Top challenges and requirements for cable MSOs

> A network that can offer differentiated services, such as voice services, broadcast, video on demand (VoD) and Internet

> Increased efficiency in the network in bandwidth management

IP/MPLSBackbone

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Alcatel 7450 ESS value proposition for cable MSOs

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS offers a service-oriented architecture that can help cable MSOs offer differentiated services

> Flexible fast path ends the cycle of hardware upgrades for new features, leading to faster time to market

> MPLS provides much better Ethernet scaling and reliability than competitors� products, which use pure bridging and STP

> MPLS allows more efficient bandwidth management

4.4 Metro Ethernet Service Providers Yipes, Telus and Telseon are all examples of metro Ethernet service providers. Figure 18 shows how a metro Ethernet carrier�s network can be migrated to MPLS to enable more scalable Ethernet services.

Figure 18: Migrate a Metro Ethernet Carrier�s Network toward an MPLS Solution

BackboneMetroAggregation

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Top challenges and requirements for metro Ethernet service providers

> Need to work with an installed base of metro Ethernet equipment that is not carrier grade and cannot scale

> Desire to extend regional reach to offer new services

> Lack of scalability and reliability, which limits expansion and adds cost

> Lack of OAM&P tools, which prevents service expansion

> Desire for more tiered services (QoS, SLAs)

Alcatel 7450 ESS value proposition for metro Ethernet service providers

> Alcatel can migrate the network toward an MPLS solution that allows much more scalable metro Ethernet services (see Figure 17).

> MPLS provides much better Ethernet scaling and reliability than competing products, which use pure bridging and STP. Alcatel can propose a solution that migrates towards an MPLS solution.

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS combined with the Alcatel 7750 SR improves service and growth scaling and extends geographic reach.

> Comprehensive OA&M tools simplify operations and reduce cost.

> H-QoS enables tiered service offerings.

4.5 Utility and Transport Companies Examples of this type of customer are: Exxon Mobile Corporation, BP Products North America, PG&E Corporation, Telecom Ottawa (subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa), Hydro One, Bristol Virginia Utilities, Polish Railways, Union Pacific Railroad and New York City Transit Authority.

Because utility companies are facing open market competition in their core businesses, they are aggressively expanding into complementary markets, such as residential and business data services. Utility companies have an advantage over other service providers; they do not struggle with legacy equipment.

Utility companies own rights-of-way (e.g., gas, electricity, water infrastructure) in many areas, including multi-tenant buildings. This provides a particular advantage in the metro Ethernet market where access rights can greatly lower the cost of connecting to the customer premises. Right-of-way also provides utility companies with a large established customer base, and billing and customer service systems.



Top challenges and requirements for utility companies

> Need to face issue of regulation squeezing their established revenue streams

> Need to reduce costs, increase productivity and generate competitive advantage

> Need to reduce network complexity and total cost of ownership

> Desire to unite multiple disparate networks over a common infrastructure to support voice, video and data in one network

> Deregulation and increased competition, which increases the requirement for value-added services and new sources of revenue

> Need for OA&M capabilities to address challenges of limited staff and desire to differentiate on SLAs

Alcatel 7450 ESS value proposition for utility companies

> MPLS enables utility companies to unite multiple disparate networks over a common infrastructure

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS enables new sources of profitable Ethernet services revenue, helps reduce cost and generate a competitive advantage

> The Alcatel 5620 Management Portfolio reduces network complexity and total cost of ownership

> Deterministic MPLS-based architecture supports performance-enhancing applications that increase employee productivity, including video surveillance and Internet access

4.6 CLECs Masergy, AllStream (former AT&T Canada), COLT and Optus are all examples of competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs).

Competitive operators are often more inclined to adopt a disruptive approach because they do not want to replicate the incumbent�s offering. There is an excellent opportunity to show how the Alcatel 7450 ESS is suited to delivering higher margin SLA-based Ethernet data services.

Top challenges and requirements for CLECs

> CAPEX and OPEX constraints

> Need for a different approach to attack incumbent�s customer base

> Faster time to market for new services



Alcatel 7450 ESS value proposition for CLECs

> Price-to-value ratio is greater than Layer 2 and 3 switches, with much more service capability

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS is the industry�s first production-ready VPLS platform

> H-QoS enables tiered service offerings and structured SLAs

> Service provisioning with the Alcatel 5620 Management Portfolio enables faster time to market

4.7 Key Selling Arguments These �elevator pitches� can be used to explain the value of the Alcatel 7450 ESS to various audiences in a customer organization.

Senior management

> Alcatel has been delivering solutions to service providers for many years in all regions. We have the experience and expertise to understand your requirements.

> Alcatel is a technical leader in the IETF and other industry forums. We focus on the operational aspects of private data services, not just selling boxes.

> Alcatel is committed to the future of IP/MPLS networks (e.g., creation of a specific IP Division, acquisition of TiMetra to enhance IP offerings).

> We can lower your OPEX with advanced OA&M tools.

> We can increase your revenues with differentiated new services.

Marketers

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS enables a range of new, revenue-generating Ethernet services that will maximize your addressable market (e.g., VLL, VPLS and service-aware Ethernet aggregation).

> New, revenue-generating Ethernet services require a connection- and service-oriented solution � an Ethernet service switch.

> All other Ethernet switch vendors are forcing carriers to deploy enterprise grade equipment in their network.

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS per-service QoS and accounting capabilities allow you to customize your service offerings and tariffs so you can differentiate your services from the competition.

> Alcatel provides an end-to-end managed solution that enables fast provisioning for new, revenue-generating services.



Finance

> Alcatel has a long history of partnership with service providers.

> Alcatel has a solid financial position with diversified strength across the entire telecom market. Can Nortel, Riverstone, Extreme and Atrica say the same?

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS programmable fast path eliminates costly and disruptive hardware upgrades when new features are added to the network.

> Strong OA&M features in the Alcatel 7450 ESS reduce OPEX and enhance your bottom line.

Network planning

> The Alcatel 7540 ESS is highly scalable, reliable and manageable.

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS offers robust and interoperable protocol support. Its OA&M features are key in supporting service rollout and management.

> The MPLS-oriented service architecture of the Alcatel 7450 ESS will help you accurately project and plan network growth.

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS and Alcatel 5620 Management Portfolio deliver advanced OA&M features that facilitate service rollout and management.

> Alcatel�s next generation platforms are future proof and don�t require costly and disruptive hardware upgrades to add new features to the network.

Operations

> Get involved in the buying process early.

> Get involved when the evaluation team is selecting lab trial equipment.

> The Alcatel 7450 ESS and Alcatel 5620 Management Portfolio deliver advanced OA&M tools that enable rapid service provisioning, assurance and troubleshooting.



5. Information Sources

5.1 Key Contacts Name Role E-mail Telephone

Peter Chahal Product Marketing [email protected] 613-784 8875

Rudy Hoebeke Product Management [email protected] +32 3 2408439

Sunil Khandekar Product Management [email protected] 650-237-5105

Daniel Hua Business Development � APAC [email protected] 650-237-5183

Mike Calabrese Business Development � North America [email protected] 303-282-5971

Dirk Van Den Berghen Business Development � Europe & South [email protected] +32 3 240 4500

Customer Service

Name Role E-mail Telephone

Darren Fowlie IP Division Service Support [email protected] 613 784 3225

5.2 Alcatel Web Sites

Title Description URL/Web Address

Alcatel 7450 ESS product page Look here for all the latest Alcatel 7450 ESS product

information. Includes links to the product data

sheet, competitive information, presentations and

white papers focused on the technology issues

relevant to the Alcatel 7450 ESS.

http://aww.alcatel.com/7450

Alcatel 5620 Management Portfolio page A portal to all information on the various

components within the Management Portfolio.

http://aww.alcatel.com/5620

Alcatel Metro Ethernet Services page One-stop shop for the latest information on FCG�s

metro Ethernet solutions.

http://aww.alcatel.com/metro

IPD Sales and Marketing IPDSAM includes links to all products and solutions

within IPD, along with the full range of sales support

material, including pricing, product roadmap (PAD)

and competitive information.

http://aww.alcatel.com/ipd/sam

FCG Product Assumptions Document (PAD) Repository of roadmaps for all FCG products http://aww20.alcatel.com/sam/ent/frames/build

er.jhtml?content=/sam/ent/products/pad/index

_main.jhtml

FCG Competitive Watch Competitive information on FCG products and

solutions

http://aww20.alcatel.com/sam/ent/frames/build

er.jhtml?content=/sam/ent/strategy/cst/bnd/ind

ex_main.jhtml

Training and Customer Support Internal webpage for training and customer support http://aww21.alcatel.com/data_services/



5.3 Competitive Web Sites


Atrica Main company page http://www.atrica.com

Cisco Main company page http://www.cisco.com

Extreme Main company page http://www.extremenetworks.com

Force10 Main company page http://www.force10networks.com

Foundry Main company page http://www.foundrynet.com

Harbour Main company page http://www.harbournetworks.com

Huawei Main company page (Asia)

Main company page (NA)

http://www.huawei.com

http://www.futurewei.com

Nortel Main company page http://www.nortel.com

Riverstone Main company page http://www.riverstonenet.com

5.4 Other Related Web Sites


MPLS Forum The MPLS and Frame Relay Alliance is an industry-

wide association of networking and

telecommunication companies focused on

advancing the deployment of multi-vendor multi-

service label switching networks and associated

applications.

www.mplsforum.org

Internet Engineering Task Force The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a large

open international community of network designers,

operators, vendors and researchers concerned with

the evolution of the Internet architecture and the

smooth operation of the Internet.

http://www.ietf.org

Metro Ethernet Forum The mission of the Metro Ethernet Forum is to

accelerate the adoption of optical Ethernet as the

technology of choice in metro networks worldwide.

http://www.metroethernetforum.org

Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers, Inc.

The IEEE is a non-profit, technical professional

association of more than 380,000 individual

members in 150 countries. The IEEE is a leading

authority in a number of technical areas including

telecommunications.

http://www.ieee.org

5.5 Availability Planned DR4 date April 2004

Planned date for general availability April 2004

Region of availability Worldwide



6. Glossary of Terms 802.17 IEEE draft for resilient packet ring (RPR)

802.1d The original spanning tree protocol. A Layer 2 protocol designed to run on bridges and switches. The main purpose

of spanning tree protocol is to ensure no loops are created in a network with redundant paths

802.1P A spin-off of the 802.1Q (VLANs) standard. This is a Layer 2 standard for prioritizing network traffic at the data

link/MAC sublayer. (Also referred to as best-effort QoS at Layer 2.) When using 802.1P, traffic is simply classified

and sent to the destination; no bandwidth reservation is done. 802.1P establishes eight levels of priority similar to IP

precedence. Network adapters and switches route traffic based on the priority level. Using Layer 3 switches allows

you to map 802.1P prioritization to IP precedence before forwarding to routers

802.1Q Provides VLAN identification and QoS levels. Four bytes are added to an Ethernet frame, increasing the maximum

frame size from 1,518 to 1,522 bytes. Three bits are used to allow eight priority levels (QoS) and 12 bits are used to

identify up to 4,095 VLANs. The prioritization field was never defined in the VLAN standard. The 802.1P

implementation defines this prioritization field

802.1s Multiple spanning tree protocol. Since most networks do not need more than a few logical topologies, multiple

spanning tree was developed to allow several VLANs to be mapped to a reduced number of spanning tree instances

as compared to the one-to-one relationship that is often used. This in turn allows for reduced CPU burden, as well

allowing link load balancing

802.1ad Provider bridges, intended to develop an architecture and bridge protocols, compatible and interoperable with

existing bridged local area network protocols and equipment, to provide separate instances of the MAC services to

multiple independent users of a bridged local area network in a manner that does not require cooperation among

the users, and requires a minimum of cooperation between the users and the provider of the MAC service

802.1w Rapid spanning tree protocol. An evolution of the standard 802.1d spanning tree protocol. Through a number of

changes the protocol convergence times for rapid spanning tree can be as low as a few hundred milliseconds as

compared to spanning tree, which takes minutes to recover. It is compatible with 802.1d spanning tree, however the

benefits for fast convergence are lost

802.3ad Standard that defines Ethernet link aggregation. Ethernet link aggregation is a mechanism that allows the direct

connection of two network elements using multiple parallel Ethernet links. The parallel links are in turn treated as a

single link. The benefits include increased bandwidth and link redundancy

ACL Access control list

ASIC Application specific integrated circuit

ATM Asynchronous transfer mode.

BGP Border gateway protocol

CAGR Compounded annual growth rates

CAPEX Capital expenditures

CIR Committed information rate

CLE Customer located equipment

CLEC Competitive local exchange carrier.

CLI Command line interface

CPE Customer premises equipment

CPM Central processing modules



CWDM Coarse wavelength division multiplexing.

DFC Distributed forwarding card

DIA Dedicated Internet access

DLCI Data link connection identifier

DSL Digital subscriber line

DWDM Dense wavelength division multiplexing.

EFM Ethernet first mile

EIA Ethernet Internet access

E-line Ethernet line

EPL Ethernet private line

Ethernet The most widely used LAN access method. Defined by the IEEE 802.3 standard

FR Frame relay.

FRR Fast reroute using MPLS

GigE Gigabit Ethernet

GPON Gigabit passive optical networking

GUI Graphical user interface

I/O Input/output

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

IETF Internet Engineering Task Force

ILEC Incumbent local exchange carrier

IP Internet protocol.

ISP Internet service provider.

IXC Inter exchange carrier

L2 Layer 2 of the OSI stack

L3 Layer 3 of the OSI stack

LAN Local area network.

LSP Link state protocol.

MAC Media access control

MAN Metropolitan area network

Mb/s Megabits per second

MBS Maximum burst size

MDA Media dependent adapters

MPLS Multiprotocol label switching.

MSO Multiple system operators

MTU Maximum transmission unit

OA&M Operations, administration and maintenance

OAM&P Operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning

OPEX Operational expenditures

OSPF Open shortest path first.

PAD Product assumptions document



PE Provider edge

PIR Peak information rate

Point-to-point Point-to-point protocol

PON Passive optical network

PSTN Public switched telephone network

PTT Post, telephone and telegraph

PVLAN Provider VLAN

QoS Quality of service.

RFC Request for comment (IETF standards track document)

RFC-2547bis A VPN architecture that uses MPLS to forward packets over the backbone and BGP to distribute routes.

RMON Remote monitoring

RPR Resilient packet ring

RSTP Rapid spanning tree protocol

SDH Synchronous digital hierarchy.

SF Switch fabric

SLA Service level agreement

SONET Synchronous optical network

SR Service router

STP Spanning tree protocol

SVLAN Stacked VLAN

TDM Time division multiplexing.

TLS Transparent LAN services

UNI User network interface

VC Virtual circuit

VLAN Virtual local area network

VLL Virtual leased line

VPLS Virtual private LAN service (aka, transparent LAN service)

VPN Virtual private network

VPRN Virtual private routed network (RFC-2547bis)

VPWS Virtual private wire service (point-to-point)

WAN Wide area network

WDM Wavelength division multiplexing



PRE�SALES INFORMATION SECTION

Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch Release 1.0

IP Division, FCG

CONFIDENTIAL � INTERNAL USE ONLY

April 6, 2004



7. Alcatel 7450 ESS-Enabled Services and Applications

This section provides further detail on the Ethernet-enabled services and applications supported by the Alcatel 7450 ESS, including why providers want to offer them, and who the target customer is for these services. The services enabled by the Alcatel 7450 ESS are:

> Ethernet VLL services

> Ethernet VPLS

> Service-aware Ethernet aggregation services (Internet, IP-VPN and residential subscriber aggregation)

7.1 Ethernet VLL Services An Ethernet virtual leased line is a point-to-point Layer 2 Ethernet service that interconnects two sites and is transparent to any higher layer traffic (see Figure 19). The handoff at the two sites is Ethernet. Ethernet VLL is also called Ethernet private line (EPL), Ethernet virtual private wire service (Ethernet VPWS), or Ethernet line (E-line).

Figure 19: Ethernet VLL Service

Point-to-point links (VLL)

CorporateCorporateHeadquartersHeadquarters

Branch OfficeBranch Office


7450 ESS

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

Metro Aggregation and Core



Ethernet VLL works in a similar fashion to traditional frame relay and ATM services. In frame relay or ATM, the customer is given an access line, a data link connection identifier (DLCI)/virtual circuit (VC) with a given QoS and SLA agreement. With Ethernet VLL the customer signs up to an Ethernet port-based, VLAN-based or MPLS label switched path (LSP)-based Ethernet VLL service with a given QoS and SLA agreement.

Why do providers want to offer Ethernet VLL?

New service providers want to offer Ethernet VLL services to compete against the frame relay, ATM or private line services typically offered by incumbent carriers. New competing service providers can offer high bandwidth that is cheap and flexible using their Ethernet/IP data network with dark fiber to the end user.

Incumbent carriers offer Ethernet VLL services in their own region and out of region. Because they want to utilize their ATM, frame relay and private line services to the fullest extent, they must price Ethernet VLL in accordance with these traditional data services, even though Ethernet VLL services are often higher bandwidth (above T1 and T3).

In some areas inside their region, incumbent carriers are running out of transport capacity (e.g., digital cross-connect capacity in central offices or small access rings (OC-3/STM-1)). When this happens they may offer Ethernet as a cost-effective alternative to traditional data service offerings, over dark fiber that has been laid in parallel with existing lit transport rings.

Outside their region, these large carriers often choose to offer Ethernet as a cost-effective service that enables them to compete on equal terms with new providers.

Who is Ethernet VLL for?

Ethernet VLL is well suited for enterprises that want:

> To interconnect sites by point-to-point connections

> A secure high capacity service above T1 rates

> Ethernet connectivity

> To run different (non-IP) protocols on the network. (e.g., IPX, AppleTalk). Ethernet VLL is transparent to higher level protocols.

> Bandwidth flexibility (e.g., a 15 Mb/s service with the option to increase to 25 Mb/s on short notice)

If an end user wants to build a larger network using Ethernet VLL, the end user must take care of all routing or switching in the network. Ethernet VLL will transparently interconnect sites regardless of traffic types. The service does not distinguish between data traffic and control traffic.



Why should providers use the Alcatel 7450 ESS for Ethernet VLL?

> Provides a scalable solution for point-to-point Ethernet services, supporting thousands of customers per node

> Includes provisioning and troubleshooting tools (e.g., service ping) that reduce the operational complexity and OPEX cost of the service

> Avoids the pitfalls of many competitive Ethernet switches, which treat Ethernet VLL a multipoint service with only two endpoints, forcing the equipment to learn customer addresses to make forwarding decisions and severely limiting scaling of both point-to-point and multipoint services

> Enables per service QoS guarantees to deliver SLAs

> Easily upgraded to VPLS service without additional hardware or software costs

7.2 Ethernet VPLS Ethernet VPLS is an any-to-any Layer 2 Ethernet service that interconnects many sites as if they were on a single LAN. The handoff and connectivity protocol is Ethernet. Each endpoint of the Ethernet VPLS service can sign up to an Ethernet-port-based or VLAN-based Ethernet VPLS service with a given QoS and SLA agreement.

An Ethernet VPLS service, also called a VPLS instance, creates a single broadcast domain between connected sites (see Figure 20). To the end user, all interconnected sites seem to be connected to the same private LAN. Ethernet VPLS takes care of all forwarding between sites, so end users need not configure complicated WAN routing protocol. Ethernet VPLS is also referred to as TLS or Ethernet LAN (E-LAN).

Figure 20: Ethernet VPLS



7450 ESS

Any-to-any(VPLS)

VB

VB

MultiMulti--tenanttenant BuildingBuilding

CLE

Spoke

Dual home

VB

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

Metro Aggregation

and Core

VB



With hierarchical VPLS (H-VPLS) (see Figure 19), a provider can deploy fully meshed connections between the Alcatel 7450 ESS and Alcatel 7750 SRs in the network, and expand each Alcatel 7450 ESS with one or many spokes to Layer 2-enabled CLE. H-VPLS enables the provider to deploy very inexpensive CLE devices in many multi-tenant buildings and aggregate these through spoke connections to VPLS-enabled Alcatel 7450 Ethernet service switches, thus providing an extra level of network scalability for very large networks.

H-VPLS is also an excellent tool to provide fast, reliable dual homing in the last mile. H-VPLS offers superior restoration time over the typical Ethernet redundancy option limited by STP or RSTP.

Why do providers want to offer Ethernet VPLS?

Service providers can market and sell Ethernet VPLS as a premier service because VPLS combines the strengths of several well-known services:

> High bandwidth capacity and QoS/SLA of ATM

> Layer 2 transparency and protocol independency of frame relay

> Multipoint connectivity of IP-VPN

> Reliability and security of private line

> Simplicity of Ethernet

Who are Ethernet Virtual Private LAN services for?

Ethernet VPLS is well suited for enterprises that want:

> To interconnect sites as if they were connected to the same LAN

> To run different (non-IP) protocols on the network (e.g., IPX, AppleTalk). Ethernet VLL is transparent to higher level protocols.

> A secure, high capacity service above T1 rates



Why should providers use the Alcatel 7450 ESS for VPLS?

> Provides the industry�s most complete, scalable, reliable VPLS offering

> Includes unique features that simplify provisioning, operation and maintenance of the VPLS service



> Enables per-service QoS guarantees to deliver SLAs

> Is a proven VPLS offering found in real customer deployments (i.e., Masergy)

The bridged service offered by competitive, traditional Ethernet switches does not scale to thousands of customers, nor can it scale beyond the metro when national or international VPLS services are required.

7.3 Service-Aware Ethernet Aggregation Applications Service-aware Ethernet aggregation enables differentiated, cost-effective access for Internet, IP-VPN and residential subscriber traffic.

Service-aware Ethernet aggregation for Internet access backhaul Service-aware Ethernet aggregation uses a combination of Alcatel 7450 ESS to provide Ethernet aggregation, and Alcatel 7750 SR to provide Internet access to large corporations (see Figure 21). Service-aware Ethernet aggregation for Internet access backhaul enables providers to offer very high speed Internet access with high Ethernet density and low cost. Maintaining a low cost is important because carriers currently find it difficult to make money on Internet access.

Figure 21: Service-Aware Ethernet Aggregation for Internet Access Backhaul


IP/MPLSBackbone

7450 ESS 7750 SR

Internet




VLL



Why do providers want to offer Service-aware Ethernet aggregation for Internet access backhaul?

Internet access services can be bundled easily with additional services, such as corporate interconnect using VLL, VPLS or IP-VPN. A combined Alcatel 7450 ESS and Alcatel 7750 SR approach enables service providers with larger networks to aggregate many services at a low cost using the Alcatel 7450 ESS while maintaining high functionality in the core with the Alcatel 7750 SR. For smaller networks, a solution based purely on the Alcatel 7750 SR is the ideal alternative.

Who is service-aware Ethernet aggregation for Internet access backhaul for?

Service-aware Ethernet aggregation for Internet access backhaul is well suited for an enterprise that wants:


> A secure, high capacity service above T1 rates

> Additional services such as VLL, VPLS or IP-VPN

Service-aware Ethernet aggregation for IP-VPN backhaul Service-aware Ethernet aggregation for IP-VPN backhaul uses the Alcatel 7450 ESS for Ethernet aggregation and the Alcatel 7750 SR for IP-VPN services (see Figure 22). The Alcatel 7750 SR supports IP-VPN services based on RFC-2547bis, commonly referred to as a BGP/MPLS VPN or a virtual private routed network (VPRN).

Figure 22: Service-Aware Ethernet Aggregation for IP-VPN Backhaul

7450 ESS

7750 SR

RFC-2547bis IP-VPNVLL

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

7450 ESS

IP/MPLSCore

Metro

RIB RIB

RIB RIB



Branch OfficeBranch OfficeBranch OfficeBranch Office



IP-VPN interconnects any-to-any sites using IP. The handoff and connectivity protocol at the sites is Ethernet. In the IP-VPN model the service provider�s network acts as a virtual private router. To the end customer, the entire IP-VPN looks like a single IP router with one interface at each location. Each endpoint of the Ethernet IP-VPN can sign up to a given QoS and SLA agreement and needs only a single connection to the service provider. Connectivity between sites is achieved by IP routing using the secure and private routing tables in the Alcatel 7750 SR, located in the service provider�s network.

Why do providers want to offer service-aware Ethernet aggregation for IP-VPN backhaul?

Providers can charge a premium for IP-VPN aggregation service because this service enables them to take on responsibility for WAN management from small- and medium-sized enterprise customers who want to extend their IP network to the WAN, but may lack the necessary expertise in IP routing.

Who is service-aware Ethernet aggregation for IP-VPN backhaul for?

Service-aware Ethernet aggregation for IP-VPN backhaul is well suited for an enterprise that wants:

> To interconnect sites by any-to-any connections

> To address the needs to customers with IP-only networks

> To avoid managing the complexity of WAN IP routing


> A secure, high capacity service above T1 rates without the high cost and complexity of ATM


Why should providers use the Alcatel 7450 ESS for service-aware Ethernet aggregation for IP-VPN backhaul?

The Alcatel 7450 ESS has the following benefits for carriers in Ethernet IP-VPN aggregation deployments:

> Simplifies service provisioning, operation and maintenance (along with Alcatel 7750 SR)

> Enables per-service QoS guarantees to deliver SLAs

> Provides the scalability needed for nation-wide Ethernet IP-VPN backhaul



Service-aware Ethernet aggregation of residential subscribers Residential digital subscriber line (DSL) service providers can deploy the Alcatel 7450 ESS to provide residential subscriber aggregation using Ethernet. Alcatel offers an evolutionary approach to the aggregation of residential services based on:

> ATM DSLAM aggregation

> Ethernet DSLAM aggregation

> Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) aggregation

> Tiered services with differentiated priority for voice, video and data

Ethernet DSLAM and EPON aggregation is illustrated in Figure 23.

Figure 23: Service-Aware Ethernet Aggregation of Residential Subscribers

Why do providers want to offer service-aware Ethernet aggregation of residential subscribers?

Residential subscriber aggregation allows many types of service providers to create �sticky services.� An end customer that subscribes to an Internet access in conjunction with a phone service at a reduced cost is less likely to change to another provider compared to a user that subscribes only to phone services. The �sticky� aspect comes from the following factors:

> Combined phone and Internet services can be offered at a lower price than single services, creating an incentive for end users to stay with a provider

> The end user is given an e-mail address, which is seen as a vital way to communicate, on par with phone services, and a change of e-mail address is inconvenient

IP/MPLSBackbone


7450 ESS 7750 SR

ApplicationProvider


PSTN

DSLAM

Internet

CPE

CPE

CPE

CPEEPONGPON

IP/MPLSBackbone


7450 ESS 7750 SR

ApplicationProvider


PSTN

DSLAM

Internet

CPE

CPE

CPE

CPEEPONGPON



Alcatel�s evolutionary approach to subscriber density, scalability, concurrent delivery of frame and cell relay services, OSS and management issues offers the flexibility to help service providers enhance their aggregation networks to offer residential subscriber aggregation.

The unique service architecture of the Alcatel 7450 ESS includes H-QoS, which enables carriers to deliver an aggregate bandwidth to the end user in a subscriber backhaul scenario. Voice can be given highest priority, while data traffic can burst to the aggregate bandwidth if no voice traffic is using the bandwidth.

Who is service-aware Ethernet aggregation of residential subscribers for?

Residential subscriber aggregation is well suited for residential and business users that want:

> To lower their overall telecommunication costs

> A single bill for all telecommunication services

> To subscribe to IP-VPN services today or in the future


> A high capacity service above T1 rates

Why use the Alcatel 7450 ESS for service-aware Ethernet aggregation? The Alcatel 7450 ESS has the following benefits for carriers in service-aware Ethernet aggregation deployments:

> Simplifies provisioning, operation and maintenance

> Enables per-customer, per-service H-QoS to guarantee SLAs

> Provides the scalability needed for nationwide aggregation

> Provides high availability sub 50 ms FRR

Supporting frame relay and ATM interworking on the Alcatel 7670 RSP The Alcatel 7450 ESS supports frame relay and ATM interworking on the Alcatel 7670 RSP (see Figure 24). This capability gives service providers a new revenue opportunity by enabling frame relay/cell relay access to VLL and VPLS. It minimizes disruption to the existing enterprise network as existing frame relay/cell relay sites are converted to Ethernet, and it leverages the current infrastructure to improve margins for the new service.



Figure 24: Supporting Frame Relay and ATM Interworking on the Alcatel 7670 RSP

8. Alcatel 7450 ESS in Detail

The Alcatel 7450 ESS provides industry-leading capabilities for service providers seeking to deliver next generation advanced Ethernet data services in a scalable, manageable and profitable MPLS network architecture. The Alcatel 7450 ESS rich feature set and industry-leading density, performance and scaling make it suitable for high performance metro Ethernet aggregation and metro Ethernet core applications.

The Alcatel 7450 ESS excels in several key areas, providing clear differentiation from other vendors� Ethernet switches, including:

> Fully programmable 10 Gb/s network processor-based fast path for investment protection

> Guaranteed and measurable SLAs, with per-service QoS

> High performance and scalability

> Easy and effective OA&M

> Reduced time to deployment of new Ethernet services through the Alcatel 5620 SAM

8.1 Flexible Ethernet Access High density Ethernet modules enable the Alcatel 7450 ESS to efficiently aggregate �plain vanilla� Ethernet services. Ethernet functionality (see Figure 25) includes:

> 802.1P/Q VLAN Ethernet packets is translated into MPLS so they can be associated with per-customer and per-service H-QoS, scalability due to reuse of VLAN tags, high performance, OA&M features and provisioning tools

> Stacked VLAN (Q-in-Q packets) is translated into MPLS

5620 Management Portfolio

FR DLCI

ATM VCI

FR DLCI

FR DLCI orATM VC

IWF VLAN Tags

CERouter

CERouter

CERouter

IWF

7670 RSP

ATM MultiserviceNetwork

Metro Ethernet Aggregation

Network

CLE

CLE

CLE

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Ethernet

Ethernet

GigE

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FR DLCI

ATM VCI

FR DLCI

FR DLCI orATM VC

IWF VLAN TagsFR DLCI orATM VC

IWF VLAN Tags

CERouter

CERouter

CERouter

IWF

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ATM MultiserviceNetwork

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Network

CLE

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Ethernet

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GigE



> Provider STP is translated into MPLS. Loop detection and prevention is supported through the STP protocol, but once in the MPLS domain, additional benefits can be realized, such as reliability (FRR) and capacity planning through fast convergence and traffic engineering.

> Customer STP is transparently moved over the MPLS cloud enabling each end user to optimize their own network at each site, without provider intervention.

Figure 25: Alcatel 7450 ESS Offers 802.1P/Q, Q-in-Q and STP Functionality

8.2 Fully Programmable 10 Gb/s Fast Path for Investment Protection The Alcatel 7450 ESS features a fully programmable fast path (the high speed data path) with a distributed network processor architecture that delivers full wire-speed packet processing, queuing and forwarding on every I/O module.

8.3 Guaranteed and Measurable SLAs The Alcatel 7450 ESS supports service-based queuing, where a logical service can be an 802.1Q tag on an Ethernet interface. Thousands of individual queues can be allocated to individual services or even flows within services (H-QoS). The Alcatel 7450 ESS implements input buffering for services and then shape the service to an SLA with CIR- and peak information rate (PIR)-type guarantees. Buffer allocation is programmable on a per-service basis to accommodate different maximum burst size (MBS) requirements. The Alcatel 7450 ESS can implement CIR/PIR marking and enforce these rates on a per-destination or per-filter basis for more complex multipoint services. Of equal importance, the Alcatel 7450 ESS can shape and police on service egress so customers can purchase subrate services (e.g., Internet backhaul services) with asymmetric SLAs.

The Alcatel 7450 ESS�s accurate shaping to a CIR and PIR provides the buffering necessary to deal with bursty traffic without significant loss, and can be set up to protect high priority traffic

MetroAggregation

MetroAccess

L2/L3Switches

Ethernet MPLS

7450 ESS

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STP802.1P/Q

Customer STP

Dual homing is supported with STP

that includes loop detection

Interact withprovider STP or

tunnel customer STP

VLAN (802.1P/Qand stacked VLAN

are supported



from being dropped. A service can be set up with an overall bandwidth SLA; high priority video and voice traffic can be provided guaranteed CIR and PIR rates, and low priority traffic can be treated as best effort, but allowed to burst up to the full bandwidth as needed and when the bandwidth is available.

8.4 High Performance and Scalability The Alcatel 7450 ESS delivers industry-leading density, performance and scaling for advanced Ethernet service applications. The seven-slot chassis of the Alcatel 7450 ESS supports one or two switch fabric/CPU modules (SF/CPM), delivering 100 Gb/s (full duplex, redundant) or 200 Gb/s (full duplex, redundant) fabric/system capacity in one fifth of a rack. The one-slot Alcatel 7450 ESS provides 20 Gb/s (full duplex) fabric/system capacity in just 1.5 rack units.

The Alcatel 7450 ESS also delivers industry-leading interface density. The seven-slot Alcatel 7450 ESS supports up to five IOMs. Each IOM accepts two MDAs. The one-slot chassis supports one IOM (two MDAs) respectively. I/O slot capacity for the one-slot or seven-slot chassis is 20 Gb/s (full duplex). The seven-slot chassis is upgradeable to 40 Gb/s.

8.5 Easy and Effective Service-Aware OA&M Alcatel has developed an innovative set of OA&M utilities and diagnostics to assist service providers in provisioning and troubleshooting the services offered to end customers.

Service ping The Alcatel 7450 ESS provides operators with a service assurance protocol that verifies end-to-end connectivity of a Layer 2 VPN (e.g., access port-to-access port, not just the MPLS tunnel). This protocol can be initiated from one service router and used to verify full round-trip connectivity and delay to the far edge(s) of the service. Additionally, operators can activate service pings on transport tunnels during initial provisioning, before activating a service for a customer, and during later troubleshooting of problems or outages, and can be notified if the process detects a connectivity problem.

Service mirroring The Alcatel 7450 ESS supports an advanced service mirroring capability that simplifies troubleshooting and reduces OPEX. Service mirroring allows an operator to view actual customer traffic with a network analyzer from a central location, reducing the need for out-of-band troubleshooting over a separate, costly overlay network. Service mirroring mirrors traffic on a per-service basis, re-encapsulates the mirrored traffic and transports it through the core network to another location, using either IP or MPLS tunneling as required. A service that uses only Ethernet links end to end can be mirrored to any network port, transported across the core network and delivered at the location where service analysis is performed. Service mirroring also enables operators to comply with legal requirements for visibility into customer traffic (e.g., the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in the U.S., which requires service



providers to be able to obtain itemized connectivity records and access actual customer traffic where required by investigating authorities).

Path MTU discovery The Alcatel 7450 ESS provides a powerful tool that discovers the exact (accurate to one byte) MTU supported between the service ingress and service termination point, simplifying troubleshooting by eliminating MTU as a potential cause.

Powerful statistics The Alcatel 7450 ESS eclipses today�s switches and routers by delivering statistics per billable service and per flow. This is accomplished by assigning services (or flows within services) dynamically to unique queues. The Alcatel 7450 ESS collects the following statistics, among others:

> Offered octets/packets

> Forwarded octets/packets

> Dropped octets/packets

> Filter hits

The Alcatel 7450 ESS can collect statistics for thousands of simultaneous services, with properly sized counters to reduce the burden on the system CPUs, and can store these statistics locally for several days. For complex, destination-based billing schemes, the Alcatel 7450 ESS can divide the route table into zones and track traffic sources and destinations, enabling differential billing. Extensive, service-oriented accounting support built into the Alcatel 7450 ESS enables service providers to structure their tariffs according to their business model, rather than being forced to support only a flat-rate billing model that treats all customers the same.



9. Additional Information Sources

9.1 Customer Support/Professional Services For more detail on the process for accessing customer support, please refer to: http://aww21.alcatel.com/data_services/

9.2 Pricing Please refer to: http://www.cid.alcatel.com/sam/ent/pricing/index_main.jhtml

Pricing is also available through the Nebula configurator.

9.3 Order Entry For a detailed summary of the ordering process, including part numbers, list price and contacts, refer to: http://www.cid.alcatel.com/sam/ent/pricing/index_main.jhtml

9.4 System Operation and Maintenance Please refer to: http://aww21.alcatel.com/data_services/

9.5 Fulfillment For more detail on timeline for fulfillment, contacts for questions or escalation, and trouble handling procedures, please refer to: http://www.cid.alcatel.com/sam/ent/pricing/index_main.jhtml

© 03 2004 Alcatel. All rights reserved. 3CL 00469 0574 TQZZA Ed. 01 17571

alcatel 7450 ethernet service switch release 1 - … · 2010-03-24 · alcatel 7450 ethernet...

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