ECI Telecom Packet Transport Networks Solution Optimized for High-Performance and Low TCO

By Peter Bernstein, Senior Editor

You may have read that the public switched network (PSTN) is dead. These stories have been mostly about what is going on in the United States and the ongoing battles over how, if and when to regulate or not regulate VoIP. 

Truth be known: networks around the world are migrating from TDM to IP from the edge to the core. But despite what you may think or read, this a revolution taking place at an evolutionary pace. In short, for some time going forward, parts of service provider networks will have to support TDM as well as take advantage of and/or compliment such things as Circuit Emulation Services over Packet (CES (News - Alert)), IP/MPLS and MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP).  

The question that arises is, “how does one migrate their networks to all IP and do so in a manner that enables high-performance despite the heterogeneity of the infrastructure and that also involves easy management and control?” 

One place to find an answer is with the announcement from ECI Telecom (News - Alert), and its Native Packet Transport (NPT) platforms. They are specifically designed to address operators’ challenges when migrating to or building new Packet Transport Networks (PTN), and are optimized for dealing with the complexities of the metro area part of service provider operations.

The NPT solutions are part of ECI’s Optimized Multi-Layer Transport (OMLT) architecture. NPT brings multidimensional flexibility and unified multilayer management specifically designed for the metro area networking. 

As ECI Telecom says, “Within ECI’s 1Net framework, the NPT family of OMLTs answers our customers’ needs for a fully integrated, multi-layer system, simplifying operations and increasing return on investment.”

Gil Epshtein, product marketing manager, ECI Telecom told TMCnet, “Building carrier-grade packet transport networks has proven to be more costly than anticipated…What NPT does is provide multidimensional flexibility (capacity, interfaces, protocols) for simple and efficient handling of both packet and TDM for low total cost of ownership (TCO). It is based on MPLS-TP-based for simple and efficient operation and employs a unified multi-layer and multi-technology network management system (NMS) for making managing packet transport as simple as managing TDM-based transport.”

Making it flexible and easy

A few of the new capabilities worth noting are:

• Metro optimized enabling the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) for the network’s entire lifecycle.
• The multidimensional flexibility (in terms of capacity, interfaces, protocols, and supported network architectures), enabling low CapEx entry without compromising on future-proof scalability.
• Leveraging MPLS-TP-based architecture to simplify and enable more efficient operations, with flexible handling of packet and TDM traffic, ranging from true and independent switching alongside CES and EoS support.
• Plus, the NPT is managed by ECI’s LightSoft network management system, for a unified multi-layer management system for MPLS, WDM and TDM. A GUI-based operation, operators’ packet transport networks are as easily managed as existing TDM-based transport networks, resulting in significant OpEx and training expense savings.

A demonstration of the type of saving that can accrue can be seen in research done for ECI Telecom by ACG Research that compares the TCO of MPLS-TP with IP/MPLS with an IP/MPLS solution.  

All in the family

ECI is introducing five new platforms as part of the NPT family of OMLTs: NPT-1020, NPT-1200, NPT-1600, NPT-1600C and NPT-1800. These multiservice packet-optical platforms offer not just multidimensional flexibility with high-capacity and cost-effective aggregation, but as mentioned, the delivery of Ethernet/MPLS-TP and TDM services. They are managed by ECI’s LightSoft unified NMS which provides graphical automated end-to-end provisioning and management across network layers and technologies, with the addition of an Easy Data Management Suite (EDMS) for easy management of packet transport. 

Epshtein also noted that ECI is no new comer to these markets. With headquarters in Israel, and R&D centers in Israel, India and China, the company has over 250 customers worldwide. And, it backs up its solutions by helping service providers plan their unique IP migration paths with a suite of consulting, planning and network design services under the 1Net umbrella.

The bottom line is that with data traffic exploding and necessitating service providers to transform their networks so they’re optimized to accommodate a data networking-centric world, migration to IP is has taken on a new urgency. No bigger area to address is in the metro area. Addressing customer pain points in the migration to IP is paramount. The trick is to enable the migration without compromising functionality, at the same time that costs are reduced and the network is made future-ready – i.e., is flexible, secure and easy to manage and control. 

That is the sweet spot ECI Telecom is addressing with NPT, and as can be seen in the TCO calculations the price performance of the solution is impressive.