Performance characteristics for delivering Ethernet private line service in a multi-vendor SONET environment

Ethernet-based services continue to grow in popularity as customers use the technology for wide area network connectivity. To meet customer demand for Ethernet private line (EPL) services, Verizon has developed a comprehensive approach that uses existing legacy SONET and NG-SONET equipment to deliver a less expensive and more efficient alternative to DS3 for WAN connections to customer sites. Verizon's customers expect its EPL service to perform similar to existing TDM-based private line services, with all the transmission characteristics of a SONET network. However, Verizon's NG-SONET vendors have different Ethernet over SONET (EoS) implementations, and these differences have made it difficult for Verizon to establish performance benchmarks and guarantee service levels. To address this challenge, Verizon is defining a set of standard EPL service attributes that will be used to benchmark Ethernet and NG-SONET performance in a multi-vendor EoS environment.