Resilient Packet Ring Alliance to address bandwidth needs and promote standardization of technology
The Resilient Packet Ring Alliance (RPRA), a non-profit corporation promoting the standardization of resilient packet ring (RPR) technology, formally announced its long-term goals, strategy and mission. RPR is a new data-oriented ring technology that addresses the bandwidth limitations resulting from growing traffic in carrier networks. The Alliance will provide input on the market and technology dynamics impacting RPR technology to the IEEE 802.17 working group that will formalize the RPR standard. RPR will provide a resilient data link layer optimized for data traffic for optical networks used in LANs, MANs, and WANs and standardization of the technology will ensure that all products developed in accordance with the standard will be compatible and interoperable.
"Traffic on today's MANs and WANs is exploding at exponential rates, and the requirement for these networks to accommodate high-volume packet data is also increasing," said Robert Love, chairman of the RPR Alliance. "The networking industry needs a carrier-class, data-optimized solution that is low cost, highly scalable and addresses the critical bandwidth dilemma that all equipment vendors, carriers and users are encountering. The IEEE working group's RPR standard is the solution that will meet these challenges. It is a unique layer 2 technology that is optimized for MANs and WANs. Also, it leverages the Ethernet's physical layer as well as the rich resiliency capabilities of SONET."
"The RPRA will assist the efforts of the 802.17 working group by providing information on RPR to make sure that it is positioned correctly with respect to other competing as well as complementary technologies," continued Love. "Because of the vast applicability of RPR technology and the number of entities impacted by it, it is important that the market dynamics and influences of the technology be evaluated from as many aspects as possible. The RPRA fulfills a significant role by providing a forum for all the entities to have input into and receive information on those dynamics and influences and then provide that input to the 802.17 working group."
"The metro network is a new hot spot as increasing amounts of data are transported through metropolitan area networks and service providers and equipment vendors targeting this burgeoning opportunity proliferate," said Kevin Mitchell, directing analyst, Service Provider Networks, of Infonetics Research. "Although a number of service providers are implementing RPR-like solutions today, the standardization of this technology will result in more wide-spread adoption. With the RPR Alliance's commitment to promoting the standardization of RPR technology, the networking industry benefits from compatible solutions that are designed to deliver optimal network performance, quality of service, and resiliency."
Jim Rawitsch, managing director of Aberdeen Group, noted, "Industry standards provide vendors with a consistent foundation on which to build their own unique value propositions. Standards also reduce risk for the vendors' customers, and that helps accelerate technology adoption. By furthering the development of standards for multi-vendor interoperability among LAN, MAN and WAN solutions, the RPR Alliance can play a significant role in relation to the pervasive, global, converged, broadband, and service-enabled networks we envision for the future."
The 802.17 working group is tasked with defining a Media Access Control (MAC) protocol that will be used in LANs, MANs, and WANs. Existing physical layer specifications such as Gigabit Ethernet, OC-48/STM-16 and OC-192/STM-64 are being employed for the transfer of data packets at rates scalable to many gigabits per second. With RPR, metropolitan area service providers can create high-speed, survivable ring networks designed for Internet protocol and other packet data. Moreover, compatibility and interoperability amongst RPR vendors will be a priority, thus allowing providers to create global networks without being overly reliant on one vendor's equipment. Beyond this, the standard will help to promote competition between RPR providers as well as lower prices to the end users. The first draft of the standard, which is now in development with the IEEE 802.17 working group, has a target delivery date of Q1 2002.
Specifically, the goal of the RPRA is to assist in the standardization of RPR technology by facilitating industry convergence towards RPR as the technology of choice for data-optimized, carrier-class metro networks. It will do so by supporting the IEEE 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring standard; promoting industry awareness, acceptance and advancement of the RPR standard; accelerating the adoption and usage of RPR products and services; establishing and demonstrating multi-vendor interoperability and educating the users, press, analysts and public on RPR technology.
The RPRA is open to system vendors, subsystem and component suppliers, carriers and other end users, and nonprofit organizations that are eager to see the creation and industry-wide adoption of the IEEE 802.17 RPR technology standard. To join the Alliance, potential members must complete an application. Membership dues for participating members is $10,000/year $25,000/year for principal (voting) members.
About the Resilient Packet Ring Alliance (RPRA):
The RPRA, founded in January 2001, is a nonprofit organization committed to the development of an RPR technology standard for the networking industry. The Alliance will promote the adoption of an RPR standard for LANs, MANs, and WANs by educating the networking industry about RPR technology and the benefits of an IEEE standard and encouraging multi-vendor interoperability. Principal members of the RPR Alliance include Alidian Networks, AuroraNetics, Cisco Systems, Corrigent Systems, Cyras Systems, Dynarc, Lantern Communications, Luminous Networks, Mindspeed Technologies, Nortel Networks, Riverstone Networks, and Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation. Avaya Communication is a participating member in the Alliance. For more information, visit www.RPRAlliance.com.