Transmode increases service visibility with Enlighten Portal

Packet-optical transport systems supplier Transmode Systems AB has unveiled the Enlighten Portal, which it describes as a user-friendly and innovative tool that provides full real-time visibility of multi-layer service performance.

As transport services continue to migrate from simple Layer 1 services to advanced Layer 2 Ethernet services, service performance visibility becomes increasingly important to both carriers and their customers. Transmode says visibility is crucial as transport services become more sophisticated, such as with business Ethernet services and wholesale services in applications like mobile backhaul.

The new Enlighten Portal provides both network operators and their customers, such as enterprises or other network operators, with insight into the real-time key performance indicator (KPI) data on their services. With a graphical dashboard view of services, the new tool provides an aggregated view of total service KPI performance and individual high-level or detailed per service views. This enables performance to be monitored and verified against a service level agreement (SLA).

Transmode's chief technology officer, Sten Nordell, said, "Modern packet-optical transport networks allow for the provisioning of highly sophisticated services such as those defined by the MEF's Carrier Ethernet 2.0 standards. But in most cases end customers either trust that the service meets the necessary performance criteria or they deploy their own systems to try to evaluate the service performance. Detailed performance data is often only available on the operators' management systems and not easily presentable to their customers. The Enlighten Portal gives operators the tools they need to allow their customers to monitor their own individual services in real-time using standards-based performance monitoring, and it allows the operator to easily verify the high level of quality that their services are achieving."

The Enlighten Portal allows network operators to fully customize and brand the end-customer service view, which is provided through a web-based application that requires no software installation. With visibility of all major Layer 2 Ethernet KPIs including service availability, frame loss, frame delay and frame-delay variation as well as additional Layer 1 KPIs in the future, both operators and their customers gain real awareness of real-time service SLA performance.

Transmode's Enlighten Portal is part of the Enlighten multi-layer management suite that includes tools to manage and control Transmode's packet-optical networks, and their services, over the whole lifecycle of the network. The suite also includes Transmode's recently announced software defined networking (SDN) capabilities (see “Transmode prepares packet-optical SDN strategy, products”).

For more information on packet-optical systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.