Ethernet - a survey on its fields of application

During the last decades, Ethernet progressively became the most widely used local area networking (LAN) technology. Apart from LAN installations, Ethernet became also attractive for many other fields of application, ranging from industry to avionics, telecommunication, and multimedia. The expanded application of this technology is mainly due to its significant assets like reduced cost, backward-compatibility, flexibility, and expandability. However, this new trend raises some problems concerning the services of the protocol and the requirements for each application. Therefore, specific adaptations prove essential to integrate this communication technology in each field of application. Our primary objective is to show how Ethernet has been enhanced to comply with the specific requirements of several application fields, particularly in transport, embedded and multimedia contexts. The paper first describes the common Ethernet LAN technology and highlights its main features. It reviews the most important specific Ethernet versions with respect to each application field’s requirements. Finally, we compare these different fields of application and we particularly focus on the fundamental concepts and the quality of service capabilities of each proposal

Traffic monitoring for assuring quality of advanced services in future internet

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21560-5_16Services based on packet switched networks are becoming dominant in telecommunication business and both operators and service providers must evolve in order to guarantee the required quality. Increasing bandwidth is no longer a viable solution because of the business erosion for network operators which cannot expect revenues due to the large investments required to satisfy new applications demand of bandwidth. This paper presents devices and a specific architecture of services monitoring platform that allows network operators and service providers to analyze the perceived quality of service and check their service level agreements. Thus, a cost-effective service management, based on direct IP traffic measuring, can be supported on integrated monitoring systems to provide network-centric mechanisms for differentiated quality of service, security and other advanced services.This work has been partially developed in the framework of the Celtic and EUREKA initiative IPNQSIS (IP Network Monitoring for Quality of Service Intelligent Support)

Fronthaul evolution: From CPRI to Ethernet

It is proposed that using Ethernet in the fronthaul, between base station baseband unit (BBU) pools and remote radio heads (RRHs), can bring a number of advantages, from use of lower-cost equipment, shared use of infrastructure with fixed access networks, to obtaining statistical multiplexing and optimised performance through probe-based monitoring and software-defined networking. However, a number of challenges exist: ultra-high-bit-rate requirements from the transport of increased bandwidth radio streams for multiple antennas in future mobile networks, and low latency and jitter to meet delay requirements and the demands of joint processing. A new fronthaul functional division is proposed which can alleviate the most demanding bit-rate requirements by transport of baseband signals instead of sampled radio waveforms, and enable statistical multiplexing gains. Delay and synchronisation issues remain to be solved

A cost model for broadband access networks: FTTx versus WiMAX

Local communities and governments are taking various steps to fight the so-called "digital divide" between well served urban communities and undeserved areas. In order to make broadband access available to these under served areas, several technical solutions are available with the capacity to provide high speed Internet access, video, telephony services, etc. This paper presents a cost-model and a tool for the evaluation of broadband access technologies (xDSL, HFC, FTTx, WiMAX, PLC and satellite), and compares two technologies: FTTx and WiMAX. Our tool compares these different access technologies in different scenarios, and examining the capital expense and deployment of building access networks with the same requisite performance using each technology. The cost model is limited to the access part of the network. The results obtained by our evaluation tool give the possibility to compare several BB access technologies, and support the decision about which is the better technological solution for a given scenario

Teleprotection signalling over an IP/MPLS network

Protection of electricity networks have developed to incorporate communications, referred to as protection signalling. Due to the evolution of the electricity supply system, there are many developments pending within the scope of protection signalling and protection engineering in general. This project investigates the use of current and emerging communications technologies (i.e. packetised networks) being applied and incorporated into current protection signalling schemes and technologies. The purpose of the project is to provide a more cost-effective solution to protection schemes running obsolescent hardware. While the medium-term goal of the industry is to move entirely to IEC 61850 communications, legacy teleprotection relays using non-IP communications will still exist for many years to come. For companies to be ready for an IEC 61850 rollout a fully deployed IP/MPLS network will be necessary and it can be seen that various companies worldwide are readying themselves in this way. However, in the short-term for these companies, this means maintaining their existing TDM network (which runs current teleprotection schemes) and IP/MPLS network. This is a costly business outcome that can be minimised with the migration of services from and decommissioning of TDM networks. Network channel testing was the primary testing focus of the project. The testing proved that teleprotection traffic with correct QoS markings assured the system met latency and stability requirements. Furthermore, MPLS resiliency features (secondary LSPs & Fast-reroute) were tested and proved automatic path failover was possible under fault conditions at sub-30ms speeds

WDM/TDM PON bidirectional networks single-fiber/wavelength RSOA-based ONUs layer 1/2 optimization

This Thesis proposes the design and the optimization of a hybrid WDM/TDM PON at the L1 (PHY) and L2 (MAC) layers, in terms of minimum deployment cost and enhanced performance for Greenfield NGPON. The particular case of RSOA-based ONUs and ODN using a single-fibre/single-wavelength is deeply analysed. In this WDM/TDM PON relevant parameters are optimized. Special attention has been given at the main noise impairment in this type of networks: the Rayleigh Backscattering effect, which cannot be prevented. To understand its behaviour and mitigate its effects, a novel mathematical model for the Rayleigh Backscattering in burst mode transmission is presented for the first time, and it has been used to optimize the WDM/TDM RSOA based PON. Also, a cost-effective, simple design SCM WDM/TDM PON with rSOA-based ONU, was optimized and implemented. This prototype was successfully tested showing high performance, robustness, versatility and reliability. So, the system is able to give coverage up to 1280 users at 2.5 Gb/s / 1.25 Gb/s downstream/upstream, over 20 Km, and being compatible with the GPON ITU-T recommendation. This precedent has enabled the SARDANA network to extend the design, architecture and capabilities of a WDM/TDM PON for a long reach metro-access network (100 km). A proposal for an agile Transmission Convergence sub-layer is presented as another relevant contribution of this work. It is based on the optimization of the standards GPON and XG-PON (for compatibility), but applied to a long reach metro-access TDM/WDM PON rSOA-based network with higher client count. Finally, a proposal of physical implementation for the SARDANA layer 2 and possible configurations for SARDANA internetworking, with the metro network and core transport network, are presented