August 30, 2005 Mahwah, NJ -- RAD Data Communications has introduced its ACE-201 network termination unit (NTU), which is designed to allow service providers to deliver Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) services over existing ATM infrastructures.
The NTU's ATM uplink has a standard STM-1/OC-3c interface supporting service speeds of up to 155 Mbit/sec. The device is available with singlemode, 1310-nm, short or long haul fiber interface to enable fast deployment by connection to an existing ATM switch's STM-1/OC-3c port. The device's single GbE user port comes with a choice of copper or fiber interface. The Ethernet frame size can be up to 1594 bytes to allow special formats, including ISL and stacked VLANs.
The ACE-201 NTU is compatible with the company's other ACE family products and is interoperable with third-party ATM devices or networks. The company says the device also supports OAM functionality per ITU-T I.610 to help reduce operational costs by providing end-to-end traffic manageability and fault localization.
The NTU supports four different ATM service classes: CBR, VBR, GFR, and UBR. Service providers can assign each virtual connection (VC) to one of these service classes, define Quality of Service parameters, and shape traffic accordingly. By limiting the port ATM egress rate, providers can control the total bandwidth provided to each user. According to the company, these features enable providers to ensure Ethernet traffic separation and prioritization, while offering varying service level agreements, thus generating more revenues from existing infrastructure.
The 1RU device supports plug-and-play installation and requires no pre-configuration or on-site setup. When plugged into the network, the NTU automatically learns both its own (host) and the NMS (manager) IP addresses, allowing for remote configuration. Central management, including monitoring, configuration, fault isolation, and collecting network statistics, can be performed with via the company's RADview SNMP applications running over UNIX or PC platforms. A CORBA interface enables integration with third-party management.
According to the company, as customer premises-located equipment (CPE), the ACE-201 defines a demarcation point between the provider's network and the customer premises. The company says this provides the dual benefits of end-to-end traffic and network management control for the operator with no exposure to the ATM network for the user. Alternatively, the NTU can serve as a traffic concentrator to enable enterprises to take advantage of public ATM networks for their Ethernet-based internetworking.
"Many leading carriers are heavily invested in ATM technology," says Robert Bell, product line manager at RAD Data Communications. "ACE-201 lets them leverage their existing infrastructure to offer popular new high-capacity Ethernet services, and generate new revenues without making any further capital investments. With this NTU, there is no need for changes in the edge or the core networks, so deployment time is short, and costs and risks are minimal."