Optical Networking Best Practices Handbook

A.4. COMPARING THE ALTERNATIVES

The enterprise determined that it would evaluate the two network alternatives (growing the managed ATM service or implementing a managed optical Ethernet service) on both a TCO and capability basis. The capability evaluation will be based on the four key objectives previously identified, including bandwidth scalability, improved network performance, network simplicity, and flexibility [1].

A.4.1. Capability Comparison: Bandwidth Scalability

The managed optical Ethernet service provides an order-of-magnitude greater bandwidth than possible with the managed ATM service. In place of the slow speed and limited granularity of the managed ATM service connections, the managed optical Ethernet service provides connections up to 1 Gbps, and 10 Gbps in the near future. In addition to the higher speeds, optical Ethernet also supports "bandwidth by the slice," enabling the enterprise to purchase additional bandwidth in increments as small as 1 Mbps [1].

A.4.1.1. Improved Network Performance

The managed optical Ethernet service solution outperforms the managed ATM service, delivering a 44% reduction in latency and a 90%+ improvement in jitter. The managed optical Ethernet service provides the improved network performance necessary to enable the evolution to a network-centric computing architecture, allowing the enterprise to centralize servers, data storage systems, and applications [1].

A.4.1.2. Simplicity

Unlike the managed ATM service that requires translation ...