Fiber Abundance Spawns New Thinking About GigE... -
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Published on: 2/5/2003
Last Visited: 2/23/2003
But the new unprotected service, by eliminating a lot of processing required to provide for optical Layer 2 protection, uses a cheaper add/drop multiplexer unit at the customer premises, says Garrett Hess, senior product manager for Ethernet services at XO.
"With some competitors now offering unprotected service at lower costs, it hurts us when the buyer's decision is made on the basis of price alone in instances where they don't need five 9s protection or guaranteed bandwidth," Hess says."So it makes sense for us to take this step in order to meet the low-price competition."
XO's move retains the company's focus on Ethernet as a port-to-port LAN extension service, but that's likely to change, Hess says.Asked whether he sees a need to offer Internet access and enhanced applications over the Ethernet connections even with IP VPN and other IP services already in play, he answers, "Absolutely."Storage center interconnection, now provided on an account-by-account basis, is another service the carrier is planning to move into the Ethernet space, he says, noting this will be a national offering employing Fibre Channel "under the Ethernet portfolio."
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Of course, nobody is more aggressive about expanding the range of Ethernet services than Yipes Communications Inc.
A pioneer of Ethernet switching to provide high-quality Layer 2 performance with Layer 3 functionality, Yipes obviously is not shy about looking at advanced technologies to accomplish its aims.But even Yipes is making sure it avails itself of the benefits of abundant fiber before plunging into next-generation platforms.