Operators are struggling to manage their aging SONET/SDH infrastructure, much of which has exceeded its intended life span and has become a serious operational strain. For years, operators had few architectural options for network modernization. Fortunately, circuit emulation (CEM) has emerged as a means of circuit-to-packet migration, though many operators may not be aware of its scalability or its benefits yet.

Join us on Sept. 13, 2018 for ourNetwork Modernization: A TDM to IP Solution webinar. Cisco, Heavy Reading and Verizon have teamed up to show you how CEM can be used for SONET/SDH migration today.

Speakers include: Sterling Perrin, Principal Analyst, Heavy Reading; Christian Schmutzer, Principal Engineer, Optical Systems, Cisco; and Glenn Wellbrock, Director, Optical Transport Network, Architecture, Design and Planning, Verizon.

Stressing the point that CEM is ready now, we've also provided a white paper  outlining Verizon's circuit-to-packet modernization using CEM with MPLS, which is being deployed today. Verizon's use case has wide applicability to many other operators.

While circuit emulation has been around for years, scalability and density were required to enable the transformation described in the white paper. Additionally, implementations of circuit emulation over packet (CEP) defined in RFC 4842 were missing-meaning that providers could emulate T1/E1 and T3/E3 rates (low data rates)-but not at the synchronous transport signal (STS) or virtual tributary (VT) path level required for SONET/SDH services. These advances, combined with MPLS pseudowire transport, have made CEM ready for mass acceptance and adoption.

Since the 2000s, Verizon has been a leading innovator in the advancement and adoption of packet-optical technologies. Its network architectures have been closely followed by all the major operators around the world. This is also the case with CEM adoption, in which Verizon is pioneering the way.

Each time Verizon rolls a TDM customer to the packet network, intermediate SONET multiplexers and DCS ports are idled throughout the network. When a multiplexer or DCS no longer carries customer traffic, it can be removed from the network with no customer impact-freeing up the associated space, power and maintenance activities.

Cisco's cost-effective and scalable solutions can help service providers build the packet network of the future while still delivering private line TDM services at a fraction of the cost. Are you ready to modernize your network? Register for the Light Reading webinar and download the white paper.

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