* More on the answer to the question of what comes after MPLS
Today, we’ll continue our answer to the question of what comes after MPLS, and as we promised, we’ll give it a two-word answer: pseudowire emulation.
Today, we’ll continue our answer to the question of what comes after MPLS, and as we promised, we’ll give it a two-word answer: pseudowire emulation.
Central to our premise is that enterprise connectivity will include an optical carrier core and, ultimately an IP-VPN that serves the enterprise over fiber with a Metro Ethernet interface. But given the lack of “on-net” sites for Metro Ethernet and the lack of cost-effective connections between the Metro Ethernet connections across long distances, we contend that enterprises need service interworking between multiple access types. We think that pseudowire emulation edge to edge (pwe3) might be the answer to solve service interworking.
One group that is working to solve the service working issue is the Pseudowire Emulation Edge to Edge Working Group within the IETF. According to the IETF definition “A pseudowire emulates a point-to-point link, and provides a single service which is perceived by its user as an unshared link or circuit of the chosen service. The pwe3 working group’s charter calls for them to specify the encapsulation, transport, control, management, interworking and security of Ethernet, frame relay, PPP, HDLC, ATM, low-rate TDM, SONET/SDH and Fiber Channel services emulated over packet switched networks.
The working group will use existing IETF specified mechanisms wherever possible, and has no plans to “exert control” on a core packet switched network and the group will work together with other IETF teams working on Layer 2 VPNs and MPLS.
While we’ve both been around long enough to know that any new networking technology isn’t going to solve world hunger we do think that this working group might help solve the issue of having too many access technologies in their carrier and large enterprise networks and the challenge of trying to find a common denominator that connects the multiprotocol access networks.
Next time, we’ll take on the question of what comes after VoIP.
