Ethernet paying dividends for many businesses

More companies are replacing legacy telecom solutions with Ethernet infrastructure.

By Donna Donnawitz
October 11, 2012
To an outside observer, it may look like Ethernet has done just about everything but become pervasive. Legacy network technologies seem to be used only in rare cases, and the world looks more like an IP-driven place all the time. But if you look below the surface of the IP revolution, you will see a number of businesses existing using legacy network solutions from telecom service providers. According to a recent Network World report, Ethernet has become so pervasive that even these organizations are moving away from their older connectivity options and working to deploy Ethernet.

Ethernet replacing legacy network systems
If you take a close look at how many organizations are accessing the internet, particularly smaller companies, you will notice that T1, frame relay and ATM networks are still fairly common, the news source explained. But you'll also notice that service providers are starting to weed out some of these legacy options and focus on contemporary networking solutions.

The report said Verizon is among the telecoms attempting to push businesses to switch to Ethernet, which is often less expensive, but offers higher bandwidth capabilities. The service provider recently announced that it is giving its customers three years to move away from frame relay and ATM infrastructure before it will stop offering those services and focus even more on Ethernet.

Usage models
Telecoms are not the only organizations pushing for this switch to Ethernet. Many businesses are beginning to make the transition on their own and benefiting from the process. Norm Candalore, IT manager at Sarris Candies, told the news source that the company recently transitioned from running three T1 lines to a single Ethernet connection and now has a faster and more reliable network. This not only helped the organization meet expectations for being online all the time, but also enabled greater reliability, which paid off during a recent disaster.

"A third of our buildings were up in flames. I went across the street to our warehouse and within 15 minutes we were up and running. We never missed a beat because we run system backups every five minutes, which we weren't able to do on our old network," Candalore told Network World.

Importance of media conversion
As Ethernet rises, telecoms have to consider how they will connect their fiber-optic network infrastructure to Ethernet equipment at home and business locations. This is making fiber to Ethernet media converters an invaluable tool for telecoms because it enables them replace aging network services and equipment with advanced Ethernet solutions.

Perle has an extensive range of Managed and Unmanaged Fiber Media Converters to extended copper-based Ethernet equipment over a fiber optic link, multimode to multimode and multimode to single mode fiber up to 160km.

Hi!

Have a Question? Chat with a live Product Specialist!

Have a Question?

We can provide more information about our products or arrange for a price quotation.


email-icon Send an Email
contactus-icon Send an Email callus-icon Call Us
×

Send us an Email