While string is probably not supported, Fujitsu says its “Ethernet over Anything” (EoX) technology will now enable service providers to offer Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF)-compliant Ethernet services end-to-end across a variety of wired transmission media. Initially deployed on the EoX Gateway configuration of the Fujitsu FLASHWAVE 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP) and present as well on the FLASHWAVE 7120 Micro Packet ONP and FLASHWAVE 4100 ES Micro Packet ONP, Fujitsu now has extended the EoX capabilities to its access products.
The EoX functionality leverages Fujitsu’s Connection Oriented Ethernet (COE) implementation, which enables creation of a general-purpose aggregation and transport infrastructure based on native Ethernet. It is designed to provide dedicated 50-ms automatic protection switching and guaranteed bandwidth with bounded and deterministic packet latency and loss performance to support service-level agreements. The ability to deploy EoX end-to-end enables service providers to offer high quality, consistent Ethernet service regardless of the makeup of the connection, which opens the door to customers they may not have been able to service previously, Fujitsu says.
“Today’s announcement is a huge step toward achieving the mass-market Ethernet services that end users are demanding,” said Rod Naphan, senior vice president of product planning at Fujitsu Network Communications. “With Fujitsu’s EoX solutions now extending to the access network infrastructure, ubiquitous Ethernet services can be deployed across SONET, wavelengths, PDH, copper, or directly over fiber using MEF-compliant service definitions. This enables our customers to deliver a standard set of Ethernet services using whatever transport network that is most cost effective for them which, in turn, gives their end users a consistent Ethernet experience. This flexibility will enable them to bring new, MEF-compliant Ethernet services to market more quickly.”
Access platforms that now fully leverage the EoX technology include:
- FLASHWAVE CDS Micro Packet ONP, via new COE cards that enable 1GbE and 10GbE over fiber for mesh, ring, or point-to-point topologies
- FLASHWAVE 9410 Ethernet Access Platform via a new Ethernet network interface device (NID) supporting GbE over fiber service demarcation at the customer premises
- FLASHWAVE 9420 Ethernet Access Platform via its own new NID supporting Ethernet over PDH in two versions; one supporting Ethernet over up to eight bonded DS-1s (12 Mbps service) and the other supporting Ethernet over DS3.