Lucent Technologies introduced its Universal Packet Mux (UPM), a converged optical/packet transport platform designed for high-bandwidth "blended" multimedia services that combine voice, data and video capabilities. The platform will be available for testing this fall and generally available for deployment early next year.
The Lucent UPM integrates WDM, packet, and time division multiplexing (TDM) capabilities on a single platform. It will be a key element of Lucent's Acuity Network Architecture, which will use "service awareness" to adjust dynamically to meet changing bandwidth and QoS requirements. It will work with embedded SONET/SDH, Ethernet and DWDM platforms and provide unified end-to-end control plane and integrated cross-layer management.
The system features 280 Gbps of wire speed packet switching capacity in a single platform, nearly twice the capacity of the nearest competing product. Its packet switch also leverages (software) intellectual property/innovations from Lucent's recent purchase of key assets of Riverstone Networks. The UPM supports 40 Gbps interfaces. By integrating multiple WDM nodes into a single, multi-degree reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing (ROADM), the system offers high-density and flexible traffic provisioning to help reduce operational and capital expense.
The UPM incorporates an array of technologies developed by Bell Labs, including: WDM; single-step channel provisioning in minutes (SCOT); dynamic gain equalization (DGE); ROADM capabilities that increase network flexibility; automatic power optimization that simplifies operations and maintenance; new Layer 2+ packet-switching capabilities design to interoperate with the platform's TDM/WDM transmission capabilities; and 40G transmission, with ongoing development aimed at 100 GbE.
Lucent said the UPM would offer distinct advantages over previous network transport platforms and cited four service provider applications for the UPM:
- IPTV/IP Multimedia -- WDM based video distribution, multicast and unicast for flexible and cost-optimized video on demand
- Carrier Ethernet Services -- aggregation and switching for Layer 2 virtual private network (VPNs), triple play voice/data/video services and MPLS/VPLS data services, scaling from 1 Gigabit Ethernet to 100 Gigabit Ethernet with carrier-grade scalability, protection and administration with differentiated QoS and seamless integration with traditional (TDM) services
- Fixed/Mobile Convergence -- simplified, cost-optimized backhaul/backbone solutions supporting wireless and converged wireless/wireline networks
- Wavelength Services -- any channel to any destination mesh for metro to multi-haul applications, SAN extension for business continuity and disaster recovery.
