Media Insight

Telecommunication World

As ASON enters the forefront

Huawei gets ready
By Yan Yuelong

Why does it drag on

indefinitely?

M
ost assuredly, the adoption of ASON
technology by operators will give them
numerous advantages over conven-
tional networks. Oriented towards static
circuits, SDH networking is weak in
network scalability, bandwidth utilization, security, and
end-to-end management.
Furthermore, it cannot satisfy any unexpected need
for extra bandwidth. So when coupling the above negative
factors with the rapid development presently occurring
Yan Yuelong, in data services, it becomes easier to understand the more
Deputy Editor-in- urgent demand for technologies like ASON, which can
Chief, dynamically manage and distribute transmission
Telecommunication bandwidth. Li Hongwei, who is the top executive officer for
World Huawei intelligent optical network product assembly,
Different from traditional networks, ASON adds a new
layer - the control plane, where mechanisms like routing, has been operating under a rather tight schedule for
signaling, and link management are introduced and the past year. Currently, more and more operators are
correspondingly facilitate the automatic management of showing a greater degree of interest in intelligent optical
bandwidth. The introduction of ASON to optical networking. Automatic switched optical network (ASON)
networks brings with it several added benefits such as technology, the most recent development trend in optical
providing fast service and expansion, dynamic networking, is rapidly coming to the forefront and
Huawei, the leading telecommunications company in
optimization of network resources, and quick recovery
China noted for technological achievement, has played an
of optical layer services.
important role in this process.
Other added advantages in providing new service types
would include: bandwidth-on-demand (BOD),
wavelength services, and the creation of an optical virtual The adoption of standard protocols and interfaces also
private network (OVPN). makes it easier for the interworking of equipment from
Li Hongwei recently reiterated that ASON has many different operators, which operate under a variety of
advantages over traditional optical networks for several environments. In addition to this, ASON offers a range
very good reasons. It can provide fast network services, of services for the diversified needs of its customers. For
and furnish profit growth points such as, OVPN, triple instance, it makes service self-protection and topology
play, and other new services. It can also greatly enhance discovery a realization and also reduces the workload of
the survivability of services, effectively remove defects in manual configuration and maintenance difficulties.
the network at multiple points, and actually attain a Although ASON has been well-received in the
carrier-class of over 99.999%. telecommunications world, the application of this

37 SEPT 2005 ˙ ISSUE 18

 Huawei Technologies

technology worldwide has been slow in
coming. Except for AT&T, the first
company to build a network of 100 nodes
covering its national backbone transmission
networks, (as well as Vodafone, Bellsouth,
NT T and Telemar which have all
constructed ASON networks) no other
applications have been achieved worldwide. In
China, China Telecom, China Netcom, China
Mobile, China Unicom, and China Railcom
are all in the process of testing, doing trials
and conducting small-scale explorations. So
why hasn’t there been more application of
ASON technology worldwide?
Li Hongwei argues that every new
technology has to undergo a process, from
birth, to acceptance by the market. The
timeframe of this process is determined by
both the advancement and ease of
application of the technology, as well as the
need of the market. Over the past couple of
years and in recent months ASON
technology has been progressing in stages
to reach its current state of development.
This features, among other things, the
establishment and gradual perfecting of
standards, as well as the continuing
advancement of ASON technology itself.
However, the service-oriented networks
promoted by ASON have also encountered
a few new problems, among which are: how
to charge and set an operation mode, which
all require further investigation and thinking
on the part of operators.
Recent evidence suggests that a large-scale
commercial application of ASON is entering
its final stage. Li Hongwei went on to
say “The quality of ASON standards
gradually advanced in 2004 and the
first round of some operatorsí technical
ventures were driven by urgent demands for
more sophisticated and cost efficient
technologies like ASON, which satisfies
needs superbly. Judging from recent exchanges
between Huawei and global operators,
remarkable changes have taken place in the
ASON market during 2004 and 2005. As
operators’ perceptions of ASON technology
gradually become more positive, I think in
2006 and 2007 you will see faster growth and
acceptance of ASON technology worldwide.”
Huawei achieve the
extraordinary with ASON
On June 7th, Huawei announced that the
ASON interoperability test of OIF was a stunning
success. What drew people’s attention most was
that seven of the world’s leading telecom-
munication operators’ (Verizon, AT&T,
China Telecom, NTT, Telecom Italia,
French Telecom and Deutsche Telekom) all
participated in this three-month long test.
Besides Huawei, other manufacturers such
as Cisco, Nortel, Alcatel, Ciena, Fujitsu,
Marconi and Sycamore were also present for
the ASON interoperability test.
As the sole Chinese manufacturer, Huawei
passed all the tests based on UNI2.0 and E-
NNI interfaces, which displaying excellent
compatibility between Huawei’s equipment
and that of the main vendors. Huawei’s
intelligent optical network equipment also
passed the test of Bandwidth-on-Demand
(BOD), clearly revealing that Huawei’s
equipment can adapt itself to dynamic
bandwidths triggered by the IP routers of
Cisco or Avici.
According to Li Hongwei, a large-scale
commercial application of Huawei’s ASON
solution was conducted by Telemar, the well-
known Latin American operator, when it
began construction on the first phase of its
national backbone project. Since Huawei’s
equipment has proved to be both reliable and
stable, Telemar will continue to use Huawei’s
ASON equipment in its national backbone
for capacity expansion.
Presently, Telemar’s backbone covers
more than 20 primary cities. In line with

Link Multi-venders E-NNI interoperability test and demonstration organized by OIF at SUPERCOMM 2005

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is

highly committed to the ongoing task of
conducting cutting edge research as it pertains
to network interoperability. In the rapidly
developing field of intelligent optical networks,
the E-NNI protocol completely resolves the
problem of how to achieve successfull
interworking between the equipment of different
vendors. This not only increases the flexibility of
different vendors, but also offers greater
convenience for operators.
Statistics gathered from conducting E-NNI
interoperability tests of equipment from different
optical network vendors worldwide in 2005, reveal
that the application of E-NNI protocols, in
Multi-venders interoperability test & demonstration organized by OIF in SUPERCOMM 2005
relation to the inter- working of equipment from
different optical network vendors, has gradually become more advanced and sophisticated. This magnificent achievement was
successfully demonstrated to the telecommunications world in June 2005, during SUPERCOMM, which helped to imbue customers
worldwide with confidence in the interoperability and large-scale application of ASON technology.

SEPT 2005 ˙ ISSUE 18 38

 Media Insight
Telecommunication World
this event, Huawei also began the
commercial application of its intelligent
optical network equipment in places such as
Xinjiang and Hainan provinces in China.
In May 2005, after a strict test at the
Institute of Communication Standards
Research of China facility, Huawei’s ASON
equipment acquired the first ASON network
license in China. In terms of standards,
Huawei has to date submitted 22 manu-
scripts to ASON standard organizations, and
the figure is in-
creasing at a high
rate. One particular
manuscript entitled Why hasn’t there been more application
Switching from
permanent con- of ASON technology worldwide?
nection to soft
permanent con-
nection has already been adopted by ITU,
and the relevant content has been written
into the ASON standards.
In terms of patents, Huawei has applied
for 53 patents in regards to ASON in China,
20% of which will be applied worldwide.
ASON is representative of the current
development trend in optical technologies,
of which the optical network is the
recognized core technical field. There is now
even a saying going around which states,
“The one who masters ASON, dominates
optical communications.”
Lately, what seems to be on everyone’s mind
the most is how Chinese enterprises, with
Huawei in the lead, have been able to run
neck-and-neck with first-class global enterprises.
Li Hongwei maintains that the secret lies
in the people who work for Huawei, and
their persistent efforts and devotion to the
optical network. Other factors that have
contributed to Huawei’s ability to keep its
optical research and development in pace
with the rest of the world include the
introduction of advanced administration
facilities and the importance attached to
basic scientific research.
The curtain is rising
Undoubtedly, as ASON technology
draws ever closer to being perfected it still
faces some daunting challenges ahead. For
example, how does one best activate the
interworking and intelligence of thousands
of nodes over the backbone network using
39 SEPT 2005 ˙ ISSUE 18
ASON technology? Even though top
manufactures expectations and demands
have risen since the arrival of ASON
technology, if the challenges of tomorrow
are to be successfully solved, it will require a
greater degree of team work from everyone
involved in the process.
In addition, the attributes of ASON’s
dynamic networks further emphasizes the
vital significance of network planning, which
requires thorough preparation.
Si n c e 2 0 0 3 , d u e t o i n c r e a s i n g
requirements for service sustainability from
VIP users, accidents of simultaneous fiber
cuts at several points along the line have
occurred over traditional transmission
networks resulting in frequent service
interruptions. This placed Telemar under a
great deal of pressure and is the primary
re a s o n f o r Te l e m a r’s a d o p t i o n o f
ASON technology. However, after
applying Huawei’s intelligent optical
network, Telemar’s services not only
improved greatly, but was also able to reduce
operation costs.
In an effort to more closely combine the
technological advantages of ASON with the
actual features of networks, at the same time
satisfying the needs of users, Huawei put
forward the following solutions. At the
backbone layer, Huawei recommended the
concept of constructing an intelligent
backbone by adopting ASON+LHWDM
technology. Not only to solve the problem
of how best to deal with big volumes on
backbones and realize flexible traffic
grooming, but also to enhance the security
of the backbones. At the MAN layer,
Huawei expands the MSTP equipment,
adds the ASON control function, and
takes the lead in expanding intelligent
attributes from the backbone network to the
MAN.
According to Li Hongwei, Huawei’s OSN
series optical network products provide
perfect protection and restoration functions
at a higher level by combining the MESH
networking restoration and conventional
SDH protection mode. This provides
flexible and intelligent
attributes such as fast end-
to-end service bandwidths,
revertive reroutings, SLA,
BOD, OVPN and so on. The
OSN series products
contain ASON control
planes, which allow
operators to quickly enable the ASON
function and evolve smoothly into ASON
network.
It has been reported that China Telecom
and China Netcom have deployed Huawei’s
OSN 9500 equipment in their backbone
networks in Nanjing, Harbin, Luoyang,
Guizhou, Guangzhou, and Urumchi, all of
which have a population of over one million
respectively. Meanwhile, as the Chinese
economy continues to experience rapid
growth, the flow of telecommunications
traffic in these cities is also on the increase.
Several successful trial-runs in the above
mentioned cities have now provided
sufficient evidence to warrant that OSN
9500 is quite capable of satisfying the needs
of operators and end users.
It goes without saying that ASON is
helping usher in what appears to be a bright and
fascinating intelligent era for optical net-
working, as well as for the entire telecom-
munications industry. As the curtain goes up,
we will be able to see more clearly the re-
markable achievements of many Chinese enter-
prises, with Huawei taking the lead.