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March 24, 2006 Las Vegas, NV -- RAD Data Communications says its "customer-located, service-oriented" ETX-102 Ethernet Network Termination Unit (E-NTU) provides a "clear demarcation point" between user and operator networks, permitting end-to-end control of Fast Ethernet services in fiber local loops.
According to RAD, owned and operated by the service provider, the ETX-102 allows the operator to separate each user's traffic and offer services such as inter-office LAN connectivity, Internet access, and secure virtual private networks (VPNs). This approach extends the service provider's reach over fiber, facilitating management of differentiated services up to the customer premises while ensuring service level agreement (SLA) enforcement.
"Ethernet in the local loop reduces carrier expenses, since Ethernet ports are far less expensive than other access alternatives," explains Joshua Etkin, senior director of network architecture for RAD Data Communications. "RAD's cost-effective, remotely-managed ETX-102 is an ideal solution for Ethernet in the local loop because it provides access regardless of the backbone technology."
The ETX-102 features a single 100BaseFX network port that uses hot-swappable small form-factor pluggable (SFP) optical transceivers with several 1310-nm fiber interface options available or a 10/100BaseT network port. To serve different customer-defined priorities, the NTU offers up to four 10/100BaseT ports that operate in half or full duplex and support auto-negotiation and flow control.
The ETX-102 carries Fast Ethernet between the customer premises and the network edge. It maintains Ethernet as the access technology not only for packet-switched networks such as Ethernet and IP/MPLS, but also for legacy backbones such as SDH/SONET, where the edge device has an Ethernet tributary access port. RAD says the "scalable, granular" NTU allows for managed service supporting Ethernet access rates up to 100 Mbit/sec; this enables service providers to offer Ethernet service at incremental access rates.
The ETX-102 is a 1RU-high, half-19-inch wide unit; the companion ETX-202 NTU has Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. Service differentiation is enabled at the customer premises by providing per-service-rate limitation and traffic prioritization. VLAN stacking (QinQ) allows mapping the user's traffic, including the user's VLAN, to the carrier's service VLAN, providing transparency and scalability. It allows easy provisioning and control of service speed by applying rate limitation to the user's traffic at the customer premises.
"Being carrier-owned, E-NTUs are service-oriented," explains Etkin. "Their capabilities help the service provider better control the service end-to-end while being price sensitive."
RAD introduced the ETX-102 E-NTU at this week's TelecomNEXT exhibition.
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