The Hindu Business Line : MEN at work

As networks expand, both geographically and in terms of the number of users, the need for greater bandwidth capacity becomes increasingly important. In response, the use of Ethernet-based Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) has grown, and the term “Metro Ethernet” has emerged.

A Metro Ethernet Network (MEN) connects geographically separated enterprise local area networks (LANs) in a metro area using Ethernet. Multiple MENs can be connected by a wireless area network (WAN) to provide national or international coverage.

The boom in the telecom sector makes India one of the world’s hottest Ethernet growth markets. That its telecom infrastructure lags comparably behind presents a major opportunity in itself.

Global telecom companies are looking to adopt MEN to offer better voice and data services to subscribers.

In June this year, VSNL joined the league when its Ethernet and India Ethernet services achieved the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) 14 Certification, an internationally recognised test suite that verifies conformance to standards defined by the MEF.

Other Indian players too have expressed their intention to connect with MEN. Yet, as enterprises move towards reaping the benefits of this architecture, there is the issue of ensuring that their critical data remains secure. The truth is that anyone with malicious intentions can gain access to data that is not properly protected. The challenge lies in maintaining the performance and simplicity of the network while assuring the security and privacy of user data, whether it is data, voice, or video transmission.

The solution lies with high-speed encryption, says Ron Young, Founding Chairman, Metro Ethernet Forum. The alliance comprises more than 120 organisations, including telecommunications service providers, cable MSOs, network equipment/software manufacturers, semiconductors vendors and testing organisations.

In a chat with eWorld, he says Ethernet connections allow companies to combine voice and data traffic over a network using Internet Protocol, and allow carriers to offer more flexible services.

This benefits customers by allowing them to specify how much bandwidth they want within the range of 1Mb per second and 10GbE per second.

The Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) has also become a requirement for multi-site organisations, allowing customers to build a LAN using MEN for transport services, but without requiring any complex configuration, says Young. With the introduction of the 10GbE Ethernet, Metro Ethernet is becoming a standard that provides customers speed and scalability, he says.

According to Young, the primary benefits of MEN are:

Reduced overhead: The 10GbE Ethernet technology enables carriers to squeeze more bandwidth out of their existing infrastructure.

Low latency: Latency is a key concern for large networks, particularly those providing voice, video, and other multimedia services, which are latency-sensitive. MEN offer a much higher level of support here, he says.

Cost effectiveness: The cost of Ethernet equipment is lower than other solutions. This is due to Ethernet’s technical simplicity and the high incidence of existing Ethernet installations, which allow for lower MEN implementation costs.

Simplicity: With Ethernet’s plug-and- play ability, migration to a high-speed networking environment is a simple process, he says.

By implementing encryption as the foundation of their security infrastructure, companies will have one of the core elements in place to achieve compliance with all regulations, stresses Young.

vinson@thehindu.co.in

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