Lucent, Global Crossing Build Warp-Speed Network

First-of-its kind OC192 optical pipe employs "multi-terabit" switching/routing hardware, moving data at 10 Gbps.

by Ted Stevenson ISP-Planet Managing Editor [November 4, 1999]

A first phase of testing was completed earlier this week on an OC192-based IP network operated by Global Crossing Ltd. Hardware used in the test deployment was Lucent Technologies' NX64000 'Multi-Terabit' switch/router.

The test deployment, which moved live traffic between Global Crossing's central offices in Cleveland and Chicago, is the first real-world installation passing production IP traffic on an optical transmission network at 10 Gbps (gigabits per second). The test also demonstrated Cisco interoperability, according to a Lucent spokesperson. According to current plans, Global Crossing expects to be offering this service commercially on its North American Crossing network in the first half of next year.

Heavy iron
ccording to Mukesh Chatter, VP and General Manager of Lucent's Core Routing Division, the OC192 deployment would not have been possible without the NX64000. "Conventional routing gear has been stuck at OC48," he said. "By integrating DWDM optics into the router technology, we've brought routing up to optical switching capacity."

In fact, the unit's switch capacity-some 6.4 terabits-is 100 times that of the most robust switch/routers available today, such as the Cisco 12000 series. The NX64000 supports interfaces from 45 Mbps (DS3) to 10 Gbps (OC192). Even at the 10 Gbps transmission interface, the unit can scale hugely, supporting hundreds of channels.

Chatter pointed out that the NX6400 is a multi-service box: In addition to handling IP at OC192 speeds, it is "the fastest frame relay switch in existence."

To achieve carrier class reliability, the device is fully redundant, supporting hardware hot-swap, rapid restoration at both SONET and higher layers, and in-service software upgrades. It features the NX-IS modular software package, which supports full-scale implementations of standards-compliant routing protocols, including BGP4, OSPF, and IS-IS.

Market factors
Lucent anticipates the market for this class of switch/routing equipment to be in the range of $100s of millions to over $1 billion in the coming year.

"The NX64000 can be used anywhere the [60 gigabit/OC48] Cisco 12000 would be used," said Lucent's Chatter. While pricing details were not available, Chatter said the unit will be "price competitive from DS3 to OC48. At OC192, it's the only game in town--an order-of-magnitude leap forward."

Not only will the increased transmission capacity lower the overall price per bit per mile, says Chatter, "it will enable service providers to offer more-and more differentiated-services." He cites IP CIR (Committed Information Rate) as an example. The NX64000's frame switching capability will make the unit attractive to ISPs using frame, he said.

 —End