Ethernet as a Peering Technology
In recent developments of Metro Ethernet Forum’s MEF23, the industry has been working on standardizing Carrier Ethernet to be used as a core peering technology, complementing today’s IP/MPLS peering model. This is an interesting extension and development into the core market. So why is this needed?
There are limitations to today’s IP/MPLS peering, both commercial and technical, however when looking at the broader context, I believe the main driver for using Ethernet as a peering technology comes down to cost. Historically, the success of Ethernet has been dependent on its ability to scale and reduce cost. Ideally, the MEF 23 standard – which will make it easier to scale Carrier Ethernet services globally – will provide a common framework for operators to interconnect Ethernet services with other operators, helping to improve the reach of those services.
The ENNI global interconnect* looks promising and could offer more robust monitoring of the peering points with Service OAM, faster fail-over-times and high availability at a lower cost for the carriers.
In addition, the use of multipoint configurations and multi-homing scenarios will drive new feature enhancements to the data plane. Carrier Ethernet systems based on programmable devices, such as Xelerated’s chipsets, can add features to the data plane as they mature. The evolving Ethernet peering technology is another proof point for the benefit of programmability.
Ethernet peering is likely to be one of the next hot areas for the networking industry. At Xelerated, we will not only be watching this closely, but actively contribute to its success. Stay tuned for more updates.
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*ENNI is short for Ethernet Network to Network Interface, and defines a common set of rules for interchanging Ethernet services between service provider domains.
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