Impact of an integrated architecture for bandwidth management in a broadband network infrastructure

Abstract

The unprecedented growth in demand for bandwidth within public networks — mostly stemming from the rapid growth in data services — and the increasingly competitive environment are forcing service providers to reexamine their network architecture and evolution strategies. In particular, deploying a network infrastructure that can cost-effectively support diverse services and yet be flexible enough to accommodate changing technologies and service requirements is essential to remaining competitive in the future. To meet these challenges, Lucent Technologies' Optical Networking Group (ONG) has developed a new transport networking paradigm known as selective layered bandwidth management (SLBM) to provide a logical structure for planning and evolving these networks. Moreover, the ONG has proposed a new network element architecture based on SLBM, generically known as a nodal bandwidth manager (NBM). Its highly integrated, multi-technology platform manages the bandwidth within network nodes. In this paper, we focus on an economic analysis of the impact of this new integrated NBM architecture, which is being realized within Lucent through the WaveStar™ BandWidth Manager (BWM) platform. First, we developed and analyzed a large carrier-class network model. Next, we carried out quantitative comparisons, both in terms of equipment cost and floor space, between the integrated NBM approach and “stand-alone” benchmark models. In addition, we have drawn qualitative comparisons with respect to both reliability performance and operations costs.