Cisco Cisco ONS 15454 SONET Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP) Information Guide
Cisco IT Case Study
Optical Migration for TDM Local Access
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How Cisco IT Migrated TDM Local Access from SONET to
OC-192 Infrastructure
OC-192 on Cisco ONS 15454 increases network speed, saves money, and
improves manageability.
Cisco IT Case Study / Optical / Cisco ONS 15454:
When Cisco Systems® needed to extend its own local
access infrastructure from eight buildings to 26, the company migrated from separate synchronous optical
network (SONET) rings at OC-48 bandwidth for each building to a unified, campuswide infrastructure based
on Cisco ONS 15454 SONET multiservice provisioning systems running at OC-192 speeds. This case study
describes the world’s first Cisco ONS 15454 retrofit, how Cisco made the transition, and the business benefits
to the company. Cisco customers can draw on Cisco IT’s real-world experience in this area to help support
similar enterprise needs.
network (SONET) rings at OC-48 bandwidth for each building to a unified, campuswide infrastructure based
on Cisco ONS 15454 SONET multiservice provisioning systems running at OC-192 speeds. This case study
describes the world’s first Cisco ONS 15454 retrofit, how Cisco made the transition, and the business benefits
to the company. Cisco customers can draw on Cisco IT’s real-world experience in this area to help support
similar enterprise needs.
BACKGROUND
“The expanded SONET footprint
means we can self-manage local
access capacity in more buildings,
and extend the access infrastructure
to unlit buildings as their capacity
needs grow. We don’t have to
involve our LEC as early in the
process when we order circuits
because we’re not reliant on their
capacity.”
– Keith Brumbaugh, Cisco Network Engineer
Cisco’s headquarters in San Jose, California comprise
approximately 50 buildings linked together by a local area
network (LAN) provisioned on dark fiber that Cisco owns or
leases. To connect outside the campus, employees access the
public switched telephone network (PSTN) via a synchronous
optical networking (SONET) time-division multiplexed (TDM)
LAN. The network connects Cisco buildings on the San Jose
campus to the local exchange carrier (LEC) central offices and
interexchange carrier (IXC) points of presence (POPs).
“Essentially, the local access network provides Cisco with
connectivity to the outside world, whether that’s the Cisco
WAN, the PSTN, or the Internet.” explains Keith Brumbaugh,
network engineer.
approximately 50 buildings linked together by a local area
network (LAN) provisioned on dark fiber that Cisco owns or
leases. To connect outside the campus, employees access the
public switched telephone network (PSTN) via a synchronous
optical networking (SONET) time-division multiplexed (TDM)
LAN. The network connects Cisco buildings on the San Jose
campus to the local exchange carrier (LEC) central offices and
interexchange carrier (IXC) points of presence (POPs).
“Essentially, the local access network provides Cisco with
connectivity to the outside world, whether that’s the Cisco
WAN, the PSTN, or the Internet.” explains Keith Brumbaugh,
network engineer.
LECs and IXCs use SONET technology for TDM local access because of its high bandwidth capacity and inherent
reliability and resilience. At Cisco, local access circuits delivered over the SONET infrastructure range from T1 (1.544
Mbps) and T3 (45 Mbps), to OC-3 (155 Mbps) and OC-12 (620 Mbps), to Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps).
reliability and resilience. At Cisco, local access circuits delivered over the SONET infrastructure range from T1 (1.544
Mbps) and T3 (45 Mbps), to OC-3 (155 Mbps) and OC-12 (620 Mbps), to Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps).
Either the LEC or its customer can own the campus infrastructure; this affects pricing as well as bandwidth capacity
planning. When the LEC owns the infrastructure and leases it to the customer, the customer pays tariff rates, which
are monthly circuit lease charges based on bandwidth. Early termination fees apply if a business unit moves to a
different building or otherwise no longer needs the circuit. And because LEC capacity can be shared by multiple
companies in a neighborhood, a company that orders more capacity might discover that another company nearby
ordered all remaining capacity just the day before—resulting in delays in order fulfillment while additional LEC
capacity is provisioned.
planning. When the LEC owns the infrastructure and leases it to the customer, the customer pays tariff rates, which
are monthly circuit lease charges based on bandwidth. Early termination fees apply if a business unit moves to a
different building or otherwise no longer needs the circuit. And because LEC capacity can be shared by multiple
companies in a neighborhood, a company that orders more capacity might discover that another company nearby
ordered all remaining capacity just the day before—resulting in delays in order fulfillment while additional LEC
capacity is provisioned.
When a company owns its own local access infrastructure, in contrast, it pays the LEC a fixed monthly fee for the
infrastructure, and then a much smaller monthly usage fee as circuits are provisioned. The result is significantly lower
monthly costs—14 percent lower, in Cisco’s case. The company can acquire more capacity simply by upgrading the
equipment at the endpoints. What’s more, capacity management is vastly simplified because capacity is dedicated to
infrastructure, and then a much smaller monthly usage fee as circuits are provisioned. The result is significantly lower
monthly costs—14 percent lower, in Cisco’s case. The company can acquire more capacity simply by upgrading the
equipment at the endpoints. What’s more, capacity management is vastly simplified because capacity is dedicated to