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IMS, SIP and Circuit-to-Packet       Tailoring 100G for Metro Networks 100G is in rapid fashion making its way across more and more of the network, as enterprises and carriers seek an extended break from bandwidth exhaustion and traffic bottlenecks. As the state-of-the-art technology has reached the metro, it has quickly spawned a more diverse landscape of solutions from which to choose. Stephan Rettenberger       Service Delivery Networking: The key to 4G Network Success Applications and devices require quality network service architectures in order to deliver the QoE that subscribers demand.   This article looks at the framework of Service Delivery Networks. Ray Vinson       Designing Small Cells and Remote Radio Heads for Next Gen Wireless Traditional macro site architecture is being transformed with the introduction of remote radio heads (RRH) connected to a base station cabinet via fiber optic cables that can be distributed over 10 Km or more or smaller cells, both ways bring the users ”closer” to the base station. Here is a look at key elements of base station design, including digital baseband processing elements that define its users’ capacity, data throughputs, scalability and impact on equipment and operational costs. Barry Stern       Is the Quest for a CDN Strategy Paralyzing Carriers? CDNs improve network performance, cut down on latency and deliver faster response times by distributing content to servers located close to end users. In the quest for an in-house CDN strategy, there is a hidden danger to carriers. Richard Lord       Interview: Breaking into the Mobile Infrastructure Market In this interview, Dave Williams discusses his jump from CTO at Comcast to a Silicon Valley start-up and the prospects of breaking into a wireless equipment market dominated by turnkey suppliers. Dave Williams       The Shift from SDH to a Packet-Based Network: A Look at the Transformation Undertaken by EnviaTel EnviaTel, a German telecommunications service provider and Network operator for business customers and carriers, recently implemented a Packet Transport platform for three significant reasons: (1) the sharp rise in demand by business and carrier customers for packet-oriented services, (2) the continuously falling prices for these services, and (3) the inefficient and therefore expensive deployment of Ethernet services over the SDH network. Eylon Sorek       Interview: Redefining Mobile Broadband Gateways In this interview, Stoke CEO Vikash Varrma discusses how a Silicon Valley start-up got its mobile broadband gateway deployed into the LTE infrastructure of Docomo, one of the world's leading operators. He also explains why 3G mobile data offload will remain an even bigger opportunity for the near tearm. Vikash Varma       LTE Inside -- Supporting LTE and Multiple Standards In-building with SDR LTE services are going to have to find a way through brick, concrete, steel and glass if the promise of universal, multi-megabit, services is to be realised for the vast majority of mobile users. The challenge for RF and microwave engineers is how to deploy robust systems that are capable of dealing reliably with multiple users, within walls and under roofs, all wanting to access and transmit large amounts of data – photos, audio and video. Håkan Samuelsson       Traffic Management at 100GE Carriers and content providers are becoming increasingly concerned about scaling their network infrastructure. They demand 100GE at mass-volume prices faster than the market can currently supply. To address this industry shortcoming, a new generation of highly-integrated network processors (NPUs) has been developed. These NPUs are designed to process packets at 100Gbps with guaranteed wirespeed performance, and include high densities of on-chip Ethernet MACs and memories for table lookups. Per Lembre       Interview: NSN's Sue Spradley on LightSquared's Wholesale Mobile Data Paradigm LightSquared, a new company backed by Harbinger Capital Partners, plans to launch a wholesale-only, 4G-LTE network across the U.S. complemented by satellite coverage. LightSquared will provide wholesale wireless broadband capacity to a diverse group of customers, including retailers; wireline and wireless communication service providers; cable operators; device manufacturers; web players; content providers; and many others. NSN has been appointed vendor of choice in a deal valued at $7 billion over 8 years. Sue Spradley       Mobile Backhaul Transition Requires New Testing The move from TDM- to Ethernet-based transport does not come for free. TDM-circuits are well established at providing ultra-high reliability, voice quality of service, and accurate timing. Ethernet technology requires careful attention to match these capabilities. Testing for Ethernet-based mobile backhaul systems can be split neatly into performance testing and conformance testing. It is essential that wired and wireless components now be tested with the same types and scale of traffic seen in actual network deployments. Joe Zeto       Cybersecurity Requires Public/Private Coalition No longer is the task of cybersecurity relegated to IT offices and CIOs in the private sector, nor to a select number of government agencies. Instead, a call to action has been put forth to all entities -- especially the government -- to make cybersecurity a top priority. It is now recognized as one of the most important national security challenges of our time. Greg Oslan       A Rethinking of Cloud Services and Network Architecture The revenue potential of offering cloud hosting services is significant. To take advantage of this considerable opportunity, service providers must rethink both their network architectures and business models. Jim Theodoras       Delivering Scalable Video Solutions Advantages of SVC-Optimized QoS Scalable Video Coding is a layered video codec that is an extension of the established H.264 standard. SVC operates by transmitting a base video layer and one or more enhancement layers. Here's a look at how SVC helps solve the issue of poor quality and unusable desktop video conferencing due to packet loss. The long-term goal of this technology is to enable enterprises to deploy desktop video communications on a wide scale. Andy Singleton       Does Network Neutrality Impact DPI? FCC Chairman Genachowski's adoption of at a "Third Way" in regulating broadband traffic once again raises the question of what is proper network management. What is the likely impact for vendors of deep packet inspection (DPI) platforms? James Brear       Rethinking VPN Architecture at Layers 2 and 3 Since the earliest days of packet-based networking, there has been a debate between switched architectures (Ethernet/Layer 2 functionality, which dominate local area networks) versus routed architectures (IP/Layer 3 functionalit, which dominate wide area networks. This debate lives on when considering the use of MPLS technology in metro area networks for the delivery of enterprise VPN, residential triple-play and mobile backhauling services. Eylon Sorek       The SSL Encrypted Traffic Threat: Common Apps Pose Danger SSL has become the ubiquitous choice to secure web-based transactions. New cloud based and enterprise applications such as Salesforce.com, Exchange, SharePoint and most of the web-based email applications on the market such as Gmail and Yahoo, all use SSL to encrypt traffic. However, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) or Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) are essentially blind to SSL traffic. This is where the danger lies. Darrin Coulson       Backhaul and the National Broadband Plan The FCC's newly issued National Broadband Plan represents a sizeable "shift" toward supporting competition and making day-to-day broadband deployment tasks easier. Notably, the plan reconizes the role that backhaul plays in supporting end-user networks. Here is a look at key provisions impacting the backhaul. Joseph M. Sandri, Jr.       Femtocells and LTE Symbiosis Both LTE and Femtocells have received much attention in the industry press. While LTE has been accepted as the undisputed future of macro wireless networks, Femtocells have been seen as the technology that will help service providers address critical issues such as coverage and capacity. Moreover, while both technologies have received support and commitments from major service providers, the question of commercial uptake and return-on-investment still looms large in the minds of many service providers. How do they fit together? Sanket S. Nesargi       LTE -- What Voice Services? LTE is almost here. Service Providers are faced with the decision of whether to also offer LTE voice services in order to better utilize the new network infrastructure, or deploy LTE data-only networks. For the most part, it seems that the desire is there to transition to LTE voice sooner rather than later. But how will LTE voice be delivered? Jose Deras [1/8] Send us your response to this article. Learn How to Get Your Column Published on this Site