Carrier Ethernet work continues for inter-provider connections
Vendors and the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) are working to correct an Ethernet omission that may or may not have much relevance to customer interest or service success—the inter-provider NNI. Ethernet...
View ArticlePBT setback follows Verizon and BT announcements
Verizon and BT have both announced their commitment to use MPLS as the service architecture for enterprise services and converged services, abandoning their consideration of PBT for the role. We had...
View ArticleNortel’s Verizon PBT contract sheds light on Ethernet market
Nortel has announced a PBB win at Verizon, the same provider who reportedly said it would not be using PBT. SInce PBT is officially PBB-TE and is a simple upgrade from PBB, we believe the sequence of...
View ArticleVendors showing up for Carrier Ethernet
NXTcomm 08 was an interesting show, something a lot better than some of the disasters that followed the breakup of the SuperComm partnership, but far less than SuperComm in its prime. <p>We...
View ArticleEricsson develops packet-optical gear for metro surge
Ericsson is fielding a line of packet optical gear designed to address the expected surge in metro networking. The new products will support a T-MPLS control plane, but Ericsson plans to upgrade to the...
View ArticleJuniper’s core virtualization strategy is critical for telecom
Juniper announced a new “core virtualization” strategy with the TX Matrix Plus, and the concept is quite interesting. The new capability links the Juniper JCS1200 for hosted-control-plane and the TX...
View ArticleNortel cut back Carrier Ethernet; focuses on optical
Nortel will be cutting back on its Carrier Ethernet investment and focusing more on optical, according to a leaked memo later largely confirmed by the company. The move is an acknowledgement of the...
View ArticleNortel Carrier Ethernet assets still up for grabs
Nortel’s CEO resigned as the company reported another steep loss and the auction of the key business proceeds. At this point, only the Carrier Ethernet business remains on the table, and the losses...
View ArticleNortel Ethernet auction: Ciena ups bid, NSN steps back
NSN released a statement that it did not submit the highest bid for the Nortel Ethernet assets, and that means Ciena won the bid with a higher offer than its straw-man previous bid—rumor says nearly...
View ArticleMPLS standards dustup smacks of Ethernet PBT wars, metro concerns
One of the recent standards flaps in networking is the debate over MPLS-TP versus the older T-MPLS. Standards types can be incredibly obtuse at best, and in arguments they’re likely to fall into jargon...
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