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Evolved Packet Core primer
Learn about the Evolved Packet Core for 4G LTE networks that converges voice and data to run as packet-switched services with Quality of Service, session and policy management. Tutorial
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Optical-electrical network convergence primer
Optical-electrical network convergence will collapse network layers, lower capex and opex, and cut management complexity for next-generation IP services. Our primer has the basics. Tutorial
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The road to LTE and 4G: How wireless technologies evolved
This chapter from 'Fundamentals of LTE' details how wireless technologies progressed from basic systems into advanced 4G wireless technologies like Long-Term Evolution (LTE). Chapter Download
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TIA deems 2011 a good year for telecom market growth
Telecom market growth is in for some good years, according to a new Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) report on global telecom services and equipment renewal due to wireless, 4G deployment, and broadband services and network infrastructur... Commentary
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As tablet device analytics trickle in, bring on the network offload
The early returns on the effects of tablet devices on 3G/4G networks are trickling in and already indicate that network offload – using Wi-Fi hotspots or femtocells – is an essential strategy. Feature
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Deploying LTE network layers for peak performance and operations
LTE network layers, especially the radio access network and the Evolved Packet Core, must function independently but cooperate with each other, a complex task for network designers balancing LTE services, 3G migration and tower location issues, as we... Telecom Insights
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LTE network infrastructure: Greenfield and brownfield network design
While paying close attention to user trends, operators migrating to LTE network infrastructure need to plan their greenfield and brownfield networks in harmony with each other, with existing 3G usage patterns as an aid for planning 4G wireless capaci... Telecom Insights
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A short history of 100G DWDM optical network transport development
As long-haul dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) growth is accelerating, interest in 100G DWDM optical network transport continues to surge, even as operators deploy 40G DWDM systems to increase optical channel rates. To discover the reason for t... Expert Lesson
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100G DWDM optical networking transport: The telecom industry prepares
The telecom industry wants to move quickly to develop 100G DWDM optical network transport. In part 1 of this expert lesson, optical networking expert Eve Griliches looks at the forces driving first-generation adoption. After learning from 40G mistake... Expert Lesson
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Service layer architecture -- Rethinking network layers for profit
Telecom carriers looking for ways to stem declining services revenues turned their attention in 2009 to creating a service layer architecture that tightly knits networks to services platforms and makes the most of owning a network. Slideshow
- See More: Essential Knowledge on Next-Generation Network Architecture
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AT&T sees opportunity in mobility, e-commerce for CDN services
Consumers have short attention spans for online content, and AT&T hopes this will sell businesses on its AT&T CDN services, as part of a broader content monetization strategy. News | 14 Jul 2011
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Alcatel-Lucent rolls 400G edge router network processor, then core?
Alcatel-Lucent’s FP3 400G network processor upped the edge router competition in terms of speed, but its service-level technology capabilities for network operators are unclear. News | 28 Jun 2011
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Cisco ASR 9000 edge router upgrades introduce network virtualization
Cisco is upgrading and expanding its ASR 9000 Series with edge router and aggregation network solutions that introduce network virtualization to ease management and operations. News | 08 Jun 2011
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Backbone operators see IPv6 connectivity demand up, but little traffic
Internet backbone operators anecdotally report rising demand from carrier customers for IPv6 connectivity, but it's unclear when large amounts of traffic will materialize. News | 12 May 2011
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How to convert IPv4 to IPv6: A network architect’s view
Deciding when and how to convert IPv4 to IPv6, service providers face numerous technical and business issues; find out what matters most in this Q&A. News | 05 May 2011
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Service providers must optimize IPv6 performance for service parity
There isn't anything inherent to IPv6 that makes its transport slower than IPv4. But the reality of IPv6 performance for service providers is more complicated than that. News | 31 Mar 2011
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New mission for metro networks adds IP to Ethernet connections
Operators caching content close to users and handling more mobile broadband traffic are finding that the mission of metro networks is changing enough to benefit from increased IP connections in addition to traditional Ethernet connections in expanded... News | 24 Feb 2011
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Goodbye base station: Rebuilding radio access network architecture
Alcatel-Lucent has proposed a bold new product portfolio for radio access network architecture that it claims will lower expenses, improve performance and eliminate base stations. News | 10 Feb 2011
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Next-gen telecom testing tools evolve for NGN services, IMS networks
NGN services will require next-generation telecom testing tools that are flexible, customizable and focus on applications rather than the bits underneath them. News | 27 Jan 2011
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Hybrid hosting: Marrying hosted, cloud environments with little capex
Rackspace built a hybrid hosting environment at minimal cost by reconfiguring existing devices to securely and automatically bridge its cloud and dedicated hosting networks. News | 05 Jan 2011
- See More: News on Next-Generation Network Architecture
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Virtualization technology offers cloud infrastructure flexibility
By using virtualization technology, cloud service providers gain infrastructure evolution options and also flexibility in terms of their evolving cloud services mix. Tip
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Three business drivers promote operator cloud/network integration
Three technology and business drivers provide the impetus for network operators to work toward tight cloud and network integration to monetize expensive and valuable network assets. Tip
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How to build a scalable IaaS cloud network infrastructure
Attempts to scale Infrastructure as a Service cloud network infrastructure often involves workarounds, but providers should look to IP-over-IP transport and invest in design. Tip
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Mobile backhaul offload could affect Evolved Packet Core design
Part two of our analysis of 4G network offload strategies looks at the implications of moving mobile backhaul traffic to the metro network, and how it could affect the design of LTE’s Evolved Packet Core. Tip
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TM Forum/CableLabs partnership promotes telecom/cable industry sharing
With its new TM Forum partnership with CableLabs, the Forum hopes to leverage best practices, expertise and standards between the telecom industry and the cable industry, to the benefit of both. Column
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2011 top telecom trends: ACG Research high on mobility, cloud and 4G
Which telecom trends should service providers be tracking in 2011? ACG Research details how mobility, cloud computing, managed services and 4G will shape the market this year. Tip
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Content delivery networks: Video, mobility shape operators' CDN plans
Network operators want to link content delivery networks (CDNs) with their content monetization plans to take advantage of major opportunities in the video and mobility markets. Tip
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IPv6 security issues: Fixing implementation problems
Find out how to work around the implementation-specific IPv6 security challenges that will surface until equipment vendors close the gaps between their IPv4 and IPv6 releases. Tip
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New cloud testing model based on protocol layering approach
Thorough cloud testing has become a major priority for network operators offering cloud computing services and platforms, and a protocol layering approach is gaining traction to make testing a complex system as simple as possible. Tip
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Choosing the right technology for fiber to the home (FTTH) deployments
When deploying fiber to the home, FTTH network technology choices should be tied to both current and future network requirements. Accommodating both within project cost constraints means comparing active and passive optical networks (PONs) and the ty... Tip
- See More: Tips on Next-Generation Network Architecture
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Mobile backhaul driving more fiber deployment than fiber to the home?
Waning interest in fiber to the home (FTTH) has led to mobile backhaul becoming the main driver of fiber deployment. Will this trend continue? Fiber expert David Hashman weighs in. Answer
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Are service providers using MPLS when designing cloud architecture?
Telecom networking expert Ivan Pepelnjak gives us a peek under the hood at what network technologies service providers use when designing cloud architecture. Answer
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Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB): Is it ready for network deployment?
Despite some users' concerns, Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) really is ready for prime-time network deployment, according to telecom networking expert Ivan Pepelnjak. Answer
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Building Provider Backbone Bridging networks without spanning tree?
IP expert Ivan Pepelnjak lays out several imperfect-but-workable approaches to building a Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) network without spanning tree. Answer
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Weighing options for building an IPv6-enabled service provider core
IP expert Ivan Pepelnjak breaks down the true headaches you'll face when building an IPv6-enabled service provider core, and what you can do to ease the pain. Answer
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Maximizing bandwidth use in ring Provider Backbone Bridging networks
Whether or not bandwidth remains unused when building a ring Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) network depends on a couple of factors. IP expert Ivan Pepelnjak explains. Answer
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Will using PBB-TE with path protection halve my ring's bandwidth?
IP expert Ivan Pepelnjak discusses whether using Provider Backbone Bridging-Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) with path protection will cut a ring's bandwidth in half. Answer
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Will cost cause telecom carriers to abandon fiber in their networks?
Fiber expert David Hashman allays fears that cost concerns will spur telecom carriers to abandon deploying fiber in their networks, due in large part to fiber's flexibility. Ask the Expert
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Evolved Packet Core (EPC)
Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is a flat architecture for that provides a converged voice and data networking framework to connect users on a Long-Term Evolutio (LTE) network. Definition
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Telecom transformation requires new services architecture
As telecom networks converge on IP, the promise has been that new services will be easy and fast to configure. But reality needs to catch up with the promise. In this podcast, CIMI Corp. President Tom Nolle talks about ExperiaSphere, his open source ... Podcast
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Next-gen networks: Why you need to get there
This 10 minute podcast addresses what communications service providers need to deliver to create higher margins and differentiate themselves from their competitors or face selling commodity bits per second. Podcast
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AT&T sees opportunity in mobility, e-commerce for CDN services
Consumers have short attention spans for online content, and AT&T hopes this will sell businesses on its AT&T CDN services, as part of a broader content monetization strategy. News
-
Alcatel-Lucent rolls 400G edge router network processor, then core?
Alcatel-Lucent’s FP3 400G network processor upped the edge router competition in terms of speed, but its service-level technology capabilities for network operators are unclear. News
-
Virtualization technology offers cloud infrastructure flexibility
By using virtualization technology, cloud service providers gain infrastructure evolution options and also flexibility in terms of their evolving cloud services mix. Tip
-
Mobile backhaul driving more fiber deployment than fiber to the home?
Waning interest in fiber to the home (FTTH) has led to mobile backhaul becoming the main driver of fiber deployment. Will this trend continue? Fiber expert David Hashman weighs in. Answer
-
Cisco ASR 9000 edge router upgrades introduce network virtualization
Cisco is upgrading and expanding its ASR 9000 Series with edge router and aggregation network solutions that introduce network virtualization to ease management and operations. News
-
Three business drivers promote operator cloud/network integration
Three technology and business drivers provide the impetus for network operators to work toward tight cloud and network integration to monetize expensive and valuable network assets. Tip
-
How to build a scalable IaaS cloud network infrastructure
Attempts to scale Infrastructure as a Service cloud network infrastructure often involves workarounds, but providers should look to IP-over-IP transport and invest in design. Tip
-
Evolved Packet Core primer
Learn about the Evolved Packet Core for 4G LTE networks that converges voice and data to run as packet-switched services with Quality of Service, session and policy management. Tutorial
-
Optical-electrical network convergence primer
Optical-electrical network convergence will collapse network layers, lower capex and opex, and cut management complexity for next-generation IP services. Our primer has the basics. Tutorial
-
Backbone operators see IPv6 connectivity demand up, but little traffic
Internet backbone operators anecdotally report rising demand from carrier customers for IPv6 connectivity, but it's unclear when large amounts of traffic will materialize. News
- See More: All on Next-Generation Network Architecture
About Next-Generation Network Architecture
Telecom carriers all over the world are building next-generation network architectures on IP to converge and simplify their operations, as well as offer data, voice and video services via a single network with quality of services (QoS) built in so they can meet users' bandwidth-intensive content delivery needs. This section provides resources for this complex and expensive network upgrade mission ranging from next-gen technologies, architectures and platforms, to protocols like IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) that will help drive traffic and revenue.