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Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. Introduction

2. RPR Operation

3. Comparing RPR to Other Solutions

4. Using RPR with SONET and Ethernet

5. RPR Benefits

6. RPR Market Development

7. Standardization

8. The Future of RPR

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

Efficiency

• Multicast – One RPR multicast packet can be transmitted around the ring and can be received by multiple nodes. Mesh topologies require multicast packets to be replicated over all possible paths, wasting bandwidth.
• Spatial Reuse – RPR unicast packets are stripped at their destination. Unlike SONET/SDH networks, where circuits consume bandwidth around the whole ring, RPR allows bandwidth to be used on multiple idle spans.

Figure 5. Spatial Reuse – RPR Bandwidth Efficiency

Resiliency

• Topology Discovery – Nodes are automatically added and removed from the topology map.
• Protection – RPR protects failed spans within 50 ms.

Performance

• High-Priority Service – High-priority packets are delivered with minimal jitter and latency.
• Reliable – RPR offers a lossless transport; nodes on the ring will not drop packets.