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Taking the correct “route” TextStart By Chole Jian Ma Multiple system operators (MSOs) dominate U.S. pay-TV subscriptions, but their business model has been disrupted by high-speed data and VoIP technologies, as well as competition from telcos and over-the-top (OTT) providers. Scalable, robust routing solutions are needed if MSOs are to compete. Recent MSO market trends Broadband & VoIP subscriber gains According to SNL Kagan, U.S. MSO basic video subscriptions are eroding but are being offset by gains in high-speed data (HSD) and VoIP subscribers. Comcast, America’s largest MSO, lost 238,000 video subscribers in the second quarter of 2011, but it more than made up for it by adding 144,000 high-speed Internet subscribers, bringing its Internet total to 17.55 million. It also gained 193,000 voice subscribers, bringing that total to 9.06 million. Thus, net profits were boosted by 15.6 percent. Challenges from OTT video There is a growing availability of commercial video alternatives on the Internet. Providers such as Netflix, Hulu and iTunes have sprung up. This explosion of online video has not only dramatically altered the volume of bits being consumed by HSD subscribers but also the length of use associated with streamed content. Thus far, online video options have not led to a mass exodus from cable, DBS and telco video services, but as more and more Internet-connected devices emerge such as game consoles and TVs, there may be a movement toward online-only services. HD, 3D & multi-screen VoD The demand for HDTV, 3D TV, and VoD services, coupled with the increasing number of Internet video downloads, is pressuring bandwidth. With the widespread adoption of smartphones and tablets, users are demanding content on the go, on multiple screens; most MSOs have introduced iPad apps to give subscribers content access, but the problem does not end there. Said content, along with OTT video, is delivered through HSD channels, which squeeze the bandwidths of both upstream and downstream data channels, in the core and the periphery. Accelerating commercial services MSOs have long been eager to seize market share from telcos in the commercial services sector, as annual business and enterprise spending on telecom services amounts to some USD100 billion in the U.S. alone. According to SNL Kagan, the MSO industry is positioned to sustain 8.3% growth per year through the next ten years, meaning an annual commercial revenue of almost USD15 billion by 2021. Current MSO commercial subscribers are mostly small businesses (fewer than 10 employees) that need HSD services. Revenue increases are expected to be fueled by upmarket migration to the medium and large business segments, which will require the offering of more sophisticated data and phone packages. MSO routing solution requirements MSOs are facing stiff competition not only from telecoms and satellite providers, but also from OTT video providers such as Netflix and Hulu. Their video subscribers are cutting the cord but increasing traffic, which is putting tremendous pressure on networks. This will influence various network elements, including customer premise equipment (CPE), access, metro area networking (MAN), and the core network. The latter two will require the following features to remain viable. Scalability & throughput – HSD, VoIP traffic, and video (especially OTT) traffic will continue to boom. The most effective way to deliver multi-screen video is end-to-end All-IP architecture, which dictates that said traffic must be carried over HSD channels. Low TCO – To compete more effectively with telcos, satellite, and OTT providers, MSOs must lower their TCO for networking equipment and operations. Feature diversity & extensibility – Not all MSOs use a single network to carry all services, but it would be more cost effective if they did. This unification would require flexible routers that support a variety of features. Specifically, commercial services call for service flexibility to meet evolving customer needs for connectivity, bandwidth, reliability, security, and QoS. Reliability – This is critical for commercial services, especially large enterprises where downtime is directly linked to financial loss. Reliability can be achieved through the use of carrier-class network elements, including IPv6 and VPN, along with various security features. Superior IPTV – IPTV is a must for MSOs to counter the OTT threat; the routing solution employed must be smooth to ensure superior image quality. Huawei’s core and metro Ethernet solutions provide vast, scalable, reliable, and diversely featured solutions that can help MSOs gain a competitive edge at much lower cost. Core routing solution Huawei’s core routers can handle traffic growth and reduce CAPEX/OPEX; MSOs can use them to build their backbone networks. Designed with large, extensible capacities, these routers can be deployed as super-core nodes in backbone networks, core nodes in MANs, egresses in large-scale Internet data centers (IDCs), and core nodes in large enterprise networks. Carrier-class reliability Based on the unified VRP software platform, Huawei’s core routers provide multi-level protection to ensure equipment and network availability. For device-level protection, it has a passive backplane, with all key components hot-pluggable and capable of hot backup. For network-level protection, Huawei’s core routers effectively ensure network reliability, at a level of 99.999%. Efficient clustering Multiple chasses are clustered to improve core node data forwarding capability. Clusters can be used for network expansion, while ensuring the needs for flat architecture and maximized ROI. MSOs can deploy Huawei’s back-to-back (B2B) cluster system, which has no need for central cluster chasses (CCC) and supports a bidirectional capacity of 6.4Tbps. The core router is also designed to be ecofriendly. Its core chipset, which incorporates 65nm technology, can reduce power consumption by 30 percent. The CCC’s cycling-air heat dissipation system greatly improves dissipation efficiency; the power consumption of which is reduced by 50 percent. In addition, the compact chassis is light and unobtrusive, requiring no modification to the equipment room. Scalable 400G/slot platform Hardware scalability is achieved through smooth upgrade of the linecard/chassis, which increases the throughput of a single chassis, as well as the connecting of multiple routers to form a cluster. Huawei was the first to launch a 2+8 cluster system with a 40G line process unit (LPU) in April 2008, which marked the commencement of the 10T Internet era. This capacity can be upgraded to 25T through the use of 100G LPUs, while the backplane can support 400Gbps/slot capacity. This capacity and scalability can accommodate the bandwidth growth that MSOs are seeing on their backbone networks. Universal service routing With video and mobile data traffic being the key drivers of traffic growth, and MSOs being pressured to offer multiplay services to customers and expand their commercial segment, they need a flexible and feature-rich edge network that handles multiple categories of traffic and can expand easily to accommodate new service offerings. Huawei’s universal service routers (USRs) are designed to specifically satisfy this need. Based on mature versatile routing platform (VRP) technology, Huawei USRs excel in reliability, expansibility, and maintainability. They are ideal for carrier-class MAN buildup for residential multi-play service support, as well as commercial service expansion. MSOs can also deploy these USRs as metro Ethernet routers, on the edge of their IP core networks, or even at the core for smaller MSOs. IPv4 address depletion has been a hot topic among MSOs; some have already encountered the limits of RFC1918 addressing. MSOs such as Comcast have deployed VoIP services using public IPv4 addresses and are now feeling the pressure of reclaiming them for HSD services; they are now moving to IPv6 for VoIP. In addition, video set-top boxes (STBs) are now being provisioned with Docsis, which is creating a surge in IP address demand. Although NAT has alleviated this problem in the short term, it creates a new one by complicating the network. It makes it difficult to maintain and introduce more delay to certain applications, especially video and online services. IPv6 will alleviate these issues, but the transition will be slow; there are a lot of legacy CPE devices out there, such as cable modems (CMs) and STBs. From the E2E network perspective, the most feasible evolution is pipe-first architecture, with subsequent introduction of a new gateway for new IPv6 users. Huawei encourages MSOs not to deploy 6RD during the wait for IPv6-ready services and terminals. Instead, dual-stack (DS) + NAT444 is preferred for IPv6 transition. Owing to the variety of technologies and situations each provider finds itself in, each will select a conservative, reposeful, or aggressive transition technology that is most suitable for its own network. Huawei USRs support a variety of IPv6 features and transition schemes, including IPv6 leased line, NAT, DS, tunneling, and translation. They also support next hop separation to optimize IPv6 convergence time and accommodate the larger IPv6 FIB, which will improve scalability. Huawei USRs minimize IPv6 migration costs by providing good interoperability with CPE, UPE, BRAS, SR, CGN, Firewall, and video cache, all integrated in a single platform. IPv6 readiness can be achieved very rapidly. Huawei USR supports 100% carrier-grade NAT, which offers larger capacity, higher performance, better reliability, and 1+1 hot standby, as well as NAT log storage. Finally, as user-oriented, managed CGNs, Huawei USRs are tunnel aware and support user-oriented profiles. Huawei USRs have a built-in video caching function, which provides users with a smooth IPTV experience. Based on fast channel changing (FCC), retransmission requesting (RET) and inline real-time stream monitoring, these USRs can improve the user experience, optimize the OAM, save bandwidth resources and reduce TCO throughout the entire network. Huawei USRs also provide multiservice edge (MSE) features that manage DHCP/IP-over-Ethernet (IPoE)/leased line access users. They provide dynamic user access; user management; and user-based authentication, accounting, and QoS scheduling. In addition, the MSE implements bandwidth on demand (BoD) for different services for enterprise users and DHCP for individual users, while changing the unified charging mode to charging modes based on value-added services; this adds up to refined, user-centered service operation. In addition, Huawei USRs support comprehensive Ethernet clock synchronization, which satisfies the requirements for carrier-class FMC service development of the MAN. To grow and compete more effectively with telcos, satellite and OTT providers, MSOs need to establish new revenue sources and lower their CAPEX and OPEX. Huawei’s core and metro Ethernet solutions can do just that. They provide capacity, scalability, reliability, and feature diversity, which will help MSOs enhance their performance and gain a competitive edge. TextEnd