Next-generation SDH: the Next Big Thing

SDH has won a new lease of life as data-handling capabilities have

been added by the all operators to enhance the migration from voice-
centric world to data- centric world.
During the early part of 2000s, it was common to hear SDH (and SONET,
the North American version) being described as "legacy" technology. Over the
past few years, however, it has become apparent that public network operators
regard next-generation SDH/SONET as key to their future. Indeed, in some
quarters it is being hailed as The Next Big Thing.

The "legacy" view was triggered by the rapid growth in basic Ethernet
services, initially driven by the perceived low price of Ethernet services and the
deployment of Ethernet-specific equipment. But as service complexity grew, from
point-to-point Ethernet to virtual private networks (VPNs), operators found it
progressively harder to cope with operations, administration and maintenance
(OAM) issues while maintaining adequate margins.
Two main factors contributed to this change of operators' attitudes towards
SDH. First, they experienced that by deploying Ethernet products, originally
designed for enterprise applications, even though capital costs were low but both
operating costs and downtime turned out to be unsatisfactory in real networks.
As a result, operators were forced to turn to the robust SDH systems, based on
the carrier-class features and excellent management capabilities.
Second, due to rising demand for data services, SDH vendors responded
by adding data-friendly and Ethernet-specific functions to their SDH platforms,
while at the same time reducing the cost and size of the equipment. These new
capabilities have been designed to meet standards for enhanced data
networking.
Alongside this activity, changes also took place in the network core. Due
to growing need to reduce the number of transit routers in IP core networks, so
that to improve cost and performance, encourages operators to bypass more of
the IP core with switched SDH transport. Fortunately, SDH vendors saw the need
for more responsive core networks. As a result, they built on work emerging from
the packet-data community to automate and distribute the control of switching
functions, while - again - greatly reducing the size and cost of equipment.
Studies by industry analysts show that the largest and fastest growing
area in the optical-systems market lies in next-generation SDH platforms
designed for data services in metro applications. These are known by various
acronyms, depending on the exact mixture of functions across Layers 1, 2 and 3.
For example:

• Multiservice provisioning platform (MSPP): includes SDH multiplexing,

 sometimes with add-drop, plus Ethernet ports, sometimes packet
multiplexing and switching, sometimes WDM.

• Multiservice switching platform (MSSP): an MSPP with a large capacity

for TDM switching.
• Optical edge device (OED): an MSSP with no WDM function.
• Multiservice transport node (MSTN): an MSPP with feature-rich packet
switching.
• Multiservice access node (MSAN): an MSPP designed for customer
access, largely via copper pairs carrying Digital-Subscriber Line (DSL)
services.
In many cases, an operator-owned MSPP at the customer premises
reduces the need for an on-site router to support voice and data services. Recent
size reductions mean that it has become much easier to accommodate these
platforms in customer premises and local points-of-presence, particularly with so-
called micro-MSPPs. Even though, some vendors predict that economies of
scale will result in much lower capital costs for MSPPs that originate in designs
for enterprises, but it seems unlikely that these benefits will materialize once the
requirements of carrier-class operation are added.
Similar considerations apply to operating expenses, which are typically
three to five times higher than capital expenditure for telecoms networks in the
developed world. Over the last decade, vendors and network operators have
worked to minimize operating costs by refining their management systems for
SDH, and these benefits are being carried across to Ethernet services on SDH.
In contrast, operator/carrier OAM requirements for Ethernet enterprise-
based equipment have only recently been agreed by the Metro Ethernet Forum
(MEF). What's more, the new guidelines only apply to individual Ethernet links
rather than the entire network - as is really needed by public network operators.
Also guidelines have yet to be firmed up by standards bodies such as the
European Telecommunications Standards Institute.
Integration cuts costs
Today, convergence is sought in many areas of network design as part of
the effort to reduce costs, and aggregating functions into fewer pieces of
equipment remains an important goal. To be successful, however, this integration
must achieve more than just bolting boxes together behind a common box. The
best MSPP designs have a radical architecture that recognizes the new mixture
of functions, with some designs accommodate both packets and TDM time-slots.
Ultimately for public networks, carrier-class design is mandatory and applies from
one end of the signal path to the other.
SDH embraces data
Three important data-friendly technologies have led the way in taking SDH into
the data world:

• Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) to recommendation G.7041 of the

International Telecommunication Union (ITU). GFP gives industry-standard
mappings for many data services into SDH, and replaces proprietary schemes.
The best known application is Ethernet from below 10 Mbit/s up to 10 Gbit/s, but
GFP also covers others such as Fiber Channel and Digital Video Broadcast.
• Virtual Concatenation (VCAT) to ITU-T G.707 offers pipes of variable
bandwidth in increments down to 2 Mbit/s through an existing SDH network, with
no changes needed to the network infrastructure. A further advantage is that
each pipe can have its capacity distributed across multiple fibers, thanks to the
use of adaptive-buffer memory.

• Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS) to ITU-T G.7042 allows in-service

variation of the pipe bandwidth. It also allows protection bandwidth to be re-used
for traffic, a feature that is also provided in Resilient Packet Ring technology.

Two key factors have made these three schemes a particular success. First,
given the transparency of the installed base of SDH, only edge or termination
equipment needs to be enabled with the new features. Second, all of the features
have been proven to work across vendor boundaries. Further enhancements are
appearing that relate to cost reduction for access connections, and to Layer 2
aggregation/switching for packet traffic. The extent of these improvements differs
between vendors, and between SDH and SONET.

Convergence is the future

Circuits and packets are converging at both equipment and management levels.
Next-generation SDH, with its data-specific features, provides a carrier-class
platform to enable this convergence and represents the biggest sector for optical
systems sales today. MSPPs, are typically based on next-generation SDH, and
represent a strong growth area. At the same time, SDH-based platforms are
taking on a new role in the network core as automated switching reduces
network costs and opens up new service opportunities. And finally, there is no
doubt that SDH will remain the transport choice for a long time to come.
Note: The help to compile this article has been taken from few articles originally
appeared in various public portals.