Product category: Communications ICs (Wired)
News Release from: Lightstorm Networks | Subject: Hudson
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 14 December 2007
IC accelerates carrier Ethernet services
OAM service accelerator enables Brooklyn-10 based systems to process continuity check messages on thousands of services with no need for software intervention.
Lightstorm Networks has begun sampling its latest carrier Ethernet solution, the Hudson OAM service accelerator Following on the heels of the Brooklyn-10, Lightstorm's carrier-grade 20Gbit/s Layer 2 switch, Hudson significantly enhances Lightstorm's operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) capability
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 25 Sep 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Supporting both IEEE802.1ag and ITU Y.1731 connectivity fault management (CFM) protocols, Hudson enables Brooklyn-10 based systems to process continuity check messages (CCMs) on thousands of services without the need for the software intervention which is common in many of the current solutions in the market today.
This scalability is a critical element for deploying robust carrier Ethernet solutions in provider backbone bridging (PBB), provider backbone transport (PBT) and transport-MPLS networks.
As networks are turning towards Ethernet-centric solutions and replacing the existing Sonet/SDH and ATM/frame relay infrastructures, one of the primary hurdles developers are facing is providing the same or better OAM functionality.
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The success of carrier Ethernet depends greatly on its ability to provide service providers with the same management framework and tools that they have used with these previous technologies.
Critical to that expectation is "Sonet like" restoration times on services in less than 50ms.
To ensure that level of conformance the network must track services health by monitoring CCMs, which could be required as often as every 3.3ms.
Next generation carrier Ethernet systems are expected to manage anywhere from 1000 to 8000 services which is simply not possible if monitoring of CCMs is performed in only control plane software.
By offloading the filtering and processing of CCMs using the Brooklyn-10 and the Hudson service accelerator, system OEMs can return the CPU to doing exception handling and other processing functions, while offering the robust protection and restoration services demanded by carrier networks.
"Up until this point, the acceptance of carrier Ethernet in communications frameworks has been limited by the lack of hardware designed to support both Ethernet OAM and maximise scalability", says Stephen Christo, Director of Product Marketing for Lightstorm Networks.
"What we are doing is truly taking Ethernet OAM to the next level".
"The Hudson device effectively removes the burden of analysing and generating continuity check messages from software, thereby scaling the number of connections while minimising CPU utilisation".
"As a result, the customer gains better performance and a significantly enhanced user experience".
The Hudson device comes just three months after Lightstorm Networks officially launched and introduced the Brooklyn-10, the first Ethernet switch application specific standard product (ASSP) purpose-built for the carrier market.
An industry first, the Brooklyn-10 offers the latest carrier Ethernet services at wire-rate speed - without the requirement of complex NPU or FPGA programming.
The company, rapidly moving forward with its innovative suite of silicon software and hardware products, is leading the carrier Ethernet surge and meeting the ever-changing and demanding needs of today's carrier.
The Hudson service accelerator is now sampling and will be generally available in Q1 2008.
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