Multi-Service Edge Routers: Smaller, Faster and Environmentally Friendly
By John Colwell, Bishop & Associates Inc.

Global warming may seem like the territory of politics and Hollywood, but few would disagree that reducing pollution and energy costs are good things. If you are a telecommunications service provider, there is no controversy; reducing pollution and energy use is not only good citizenship, but it’s also very good for the bottom line. Over the last several years, designers of telecom equipment have focused on reducing their clients’ operating expenses (OPEX) by delivering increased functionality in smaller, faster equipment that consumes less power. The gains were impressive, and partly, responsible for the post Y2K market recovery. And, while many specific equipment examples could be cited, a recent product from Cisco Systems, the ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Router, seems to stand out.

With a top throughput of 6.4 terabytes per second, the Cisco ASR 9000, illustrated at right, is designed to provide a powerful carrier Ethernet foundation for the delivery video services.

Demand for video services is exploding. According to Cisco’s research, more than 50 percent of network traffic will be video-based by 2012. North America’s video traffic alone is already 70 times greater than what the entire U.S. Internet backbone generated in 2000. By 2012, worldwide video traffic will grow by an estimated 390 times that amount.

Driven by IP-enabled TVs, laptops, PCs, and video-aware mobile devices, this staggering growth of bandwidth demand not only changes the paradigm from gigabytes to terabytes, but also portends massive investments in IP routing equipment at the network edge and within the network core.

 

This is part of a larger initiative referred to as IP Next Generation Network (NGN) employing Ethernet. Above is an illustration of the comparative growth of Ethernet relative to other transport protocols in the mobile backhaul market. The ratios are similar in the wireline market.

These NGN investments must be bottom-line friendly, meaning platforms must be capable of providing the flexibility and performance needed to support long-term traffic growth. They must also be environmentally friendly to support the changing demands of the marketplace and meet environment protection standards.
 

Some of the smart attributes of the ASR 9000 include the following: 

• Modular, high efficiency, variable speed cooling fans. The fans can be added as additional cards are inserted into the platform. This eliminates the costs of over cooling.

• Modular power supplies, up to six, that may be added on a “pay as you grow” basis.

• Integrated IP over Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), including integrated transponders. This feature eliminates separate network elements that must be powered, interconnected, configured, and maintained.

• Integrated video blade-based content streaming and caching functionality eliminates additional external network elements and associated costs.

The bottom line, according to Cisco Systems, is that the ASR 9010 saves 40,000 kilowatt-hours (kWH) of energy per year compared to other platforms. If you are a carrier operating thousands of these routers, the energy savings alone is compelling.

To put 40,000 kWH per year in perspective, this amount of energy equates to 4,500 trees spared from defoliation, 37,197 cell phones charged, or 19,709 gallons of gasoline conserved.

At 6.4 terabytes per second, the Cisco ASR 9010 breaks the sound barrier and points to the future of video service delivery at the network edge. In contrast, the top performance core routers are running at 1.5 terabytes per second. We believe that the backplane architecture is based on the VITA 41 (VXS) standard.

From a packaging and interconnection viewpoint, this class of product could potentially push backplane interconnection technology beyond copper-based solutions. The integration of peripheral network elements eliminates the number of shelf-to-shelf interconnects, while freeing up space for additional, functional I/O.

Routers and related access equipment will account for $67.4 million (estimated) in connector factory shipments in 2008. The forecast value of factory shipments for 2012 is $89.7 million, for a five-year CAGR of 14.2 percent.

As we enter uncharted economic and environmental territory, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if many of the solutions we’ve been seeking to these problems might come from the connector industry. After all, we’ve helped to change the world before; perhaps we’ll do it again.

John Colwell Director, Telecom, Medical and Instrumentation, Bishop & Associates Inc. John Colwell’s background includes 10 years at Nortel Networks‑Cable Group, where he directed the U.S. premises cable marketing effort. In addition, Colwell directed Nortel's global product development group. Prior to joining Nortel, Colwell held positions in engineering, business planning and development at Amphenol Corporation.