PDF of this tutorialBy considering and combining numerous technology options, and the corresponding products to support them, service providers can enable highly scalable and flexible networks that adapt quickly to ever-changing metro service needs. A high degree of customization capabilities helps to ensure that the network service meets the business objectives of the customer, as opposed to the "silo-like" environments that severely limited the service options that providers could offer their customers.
Ethernet provides a unique foundation for these service-driven networks. It has already emerged as the leading customer UNI access medium for several reasons. It enables many new services-content, data, voice, video, and additional value-added services over a high-speed access connection. And it provides ample bandwidth between the enterprise and the service provider network, and eliminates access bottlenecks. Using Ethernet as the common access interface, providers can employ Layers 1 to 3 transport services that enable additional value-added services at higher layers.
As service providers transition to a new world of service-driven metro networks, the service-driven design approach is the ideal framework to help the overall network scale and operate more efficiently, while minimizing expenses. By implementing a flexible, service-centric network, service providers can deliver a comprehensive set of services today, and adapt rapidly to meet customer current and future demands.
