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| Lucent Unveils 'Service Aware' End-to-End Network Architecture Lucent Technologies has unveiled a new end-to-end network architecture designed to deliver high-bandwidth Internet protocol (IP)-based multimedia services - voice, data and video - to business, residential and mobile subscribers more efficiently and at a lower cost than is possible using traditional IP networks. Lucent's Acuity Network Architecture offers service providers "service aware" networks that dynamically adjust bandwidth and quality of service (QoS) parameters simultaneously, and manage the availability of required network resources, to support the optimum end user "Quality of Experience" (QoE) for enterprise services such as VoIP, video conferencing and Ethernet access, and consumer services such as high-definition video/IPTV and multi-party video gaming on both fixed and wireless devices. The Acuity Network Architecture also will enable service providers to offer end-to-end service level agreements (SLAs) for particular services to specific customers, enabling them to generate additional revenue by ensuring consistently high QoS levels across their transport and metro networks. The Acuity architecture is designed to support the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standard and delivers specific advantages when implementing IMS to support blended lifestyle services that combine voice, data and video capabilities to create innovative new services. This new architecture will also enable operators to control non-IMS applications, giving operators comprehensive control over their entire network and ensuring that the appropriate resources are available to support all services, both IMS and non-IMS. According to a "cost of ownership" study conducted by Bell Labs, the Acuity architecture can save service providers more than 30 percent in capital and operating expenses by employing a streamlined architecture that integrates network elements, reduces networking layers, and leverages new resource management and network management capabilities. At the same time, the Acuity architecture enables service providers to control the entire set of network capabilities involved in giving subscribers a QoE free of perceptible impairments - such as slow response times, video artifacts, audible clicks and other disturbances - caused by uncontrolled latency, jitter and congestion. Network-based resource management, combined with intelligent network elements, enable the Acuity architecture to reduce bandwidth "bottlenecks" in the network and to enforce policies for handling critical traffic, thus allowing service providers to deliver multimedia services with the reliability and QoE that end-users demand, and that content providers are willing to pay for. In support of the Acuity architecture, the Lucent Worldwide Services organization has developed a comprehensive suite of network transformation services to help carriers plan and execute their migration to next-generation networks. Professional Services range from consultation on initial business strategies, assessing the existing network, defining, planning, and designing for the secure migration of network transport infrastructure, network databases, business and operations support systems, applications, and actual service-bearing traffic. These network transformation services feed into a holistic offering of network integration services tuned to the unique challenges of today's network transformations and migrations. Deployment Services cover actual deployment and implementation of the Acuity network solution including site construction and material sourcing if required. Managed Services offers hosted and managed applications support as well as network security management and network management support for a next-gen network such as an Acuity network. A full suite of Maintenance Services; on-site, off-site, spares exchange, and software support completes this comprehensive services support offering for Acuity networks. The architecture benefits from the capabilities of the Lucent Ethernet Router family of products (recently acquired as part of a purchase of Riverstone Network assets), the Lucent Base Station Router announced in February 2006, and the Lucent Multimedia Access Platform, announced in October 2005. It also employs two new Lucent offerings - the Universal Packet Mux (UPM), a converged optical/packet transport platform for high-bandwidth multimedia services, and the Lucent Resource Manager, a network element that supports the dynamic control of network resources across data/transport platforms and broadband access nodes. The Lucent Resource Manager will work in combination with bearer gateway functions distributed at the edges of the network. These two elements will work in tandem to support the dynamic allocation of bandwidth, with the resource manager making the policy decisions and the bearer gateway function, much like a traffic cop, enforcing those decisions by directly controlling the per service/session traffic, based on the policy. The Lucent Universal Packet Mux (UPM) is an integrated Optical/Ethernet aggregation solution. It supports current and emerging data transport standards, and integrates best-in-class wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), re-configurable optical add/drop multiplexing (ROADM), Carrier Ethernet/multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), and time division multiplexing (TDM) capabilities - all on a single frame, helping reduce both capital and operational costs for operators. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Networking News :: home page |