Verizons Inside Job

Verizon migrates its internal data network to VPLS, with the Tellabs 8800 Multiservice Router at the core.
BY JOA N E NG E BR E T S ON
ike other large corporations, Verizon needs a high-capacity data network to support connectivity to employee desktops and data centers. In addition, the carriers internal data network supports command and control connectivity for the infrastructure for its wired and wireless networks. Today, the backbone for Verizons internal data network (IDN) uses private lines to connect aggregation sites. But soon the carrier plans to begin migrating to a backbone network based on VPLS, which provides multi-point Layer 2 Ethernet connectivity over MPLS. Verizons MPLS network, initially deployed several years ago, is based on the Tellabs 8800 Multiservice Router (MSR) series.

gear. Verizon had three choices: continue with a private line approach, use its MPLS network to support connectivity via Layer 3 IP VPNs or go VPLS. We chose a VPLS or Layer 2-type network based on its ability to transition efficiently and effectively at the least cost, said Tom Bechly, director of enterprise network engineering for Verizon Services Operations.

Verizon reached a major crossroads in mid-2009, when it learned that the manufacturer of certain equipment underlying its IDN would no longer support that

Part of the lower cost results from engineering workload savings, which ultimately could be in the range of 50%, Bechly said. When you have to manage OC-3s, OC-12s and T1s, it requires a tremendous amount of work, Bechly said. You have to consider certification, testing and the integration cycles you have to go through. Because Ethernet interfaces are simpler to manage, the new network also should be easier to extend or upgrade, said HwaJung Han, manager of IDN engineering for Verizon Services Operations. Provisioning bandwidth will be more efficient versus the private line-based TDM environment, Han said. Equipment costs were another important consideration. Ethernet interfaces are less expensive, and there is less work associated with them, Bechly said. He estimated that Verizon ultimately could reduce its equipment costs over the product life cycle by about half.

Another advantage of using VPLS is simplified routing, Bechly said. There is a single hop from each aggregation point across the network. Routing considerations also were an important reason why Verizon chose to transition to a Layer 2 service such as VPLS. You minimize the impact on the routing infrastructure that you already have, Han said. The risk is minimized in terms of routing. In moving its IDN to VPLS, Verizon also saw an opportunity to showcase its commercial VPLS offering, which has been available in the Americas for over a year and was recently expanded internationally. We like to showcase our products, and this was an example where we could

use one of our products in a very highprofile way, Bechly said.

Verizons VPLS-based IDN backbone will have 20-25 aggregation points and carry traffic at around GigE levels. Connectivity to the companys data centers will be provisioned for 10 GigE bandwidth.

in over a period of time and then moving a few more locations every week or every couple of weeks. This is mission-critical traffic, so we wont jump into it overnight. Ultimately Verizon anticipates moving its IDN entirely to an Ethernet platform, including the access links to all locations, which currently are based on private lines. This would include hundreds of Verizon sites and eventually could extend lifetime equipment and engineering workload savings to the IDN access network. Initially we will migrate to VPLS at the core, a move that we will finish during 2010, Bechly said. The rest of the sites will be driven by economics, opportunity and the work force. If we have new requirements at a site, we will go in and migrate that site. But to rapidly touch all of the sites would be very expensive. Verizon expects to obtain 4 nines reliability from the VPLS-based IDN, meaning that the network should be available 99.995% of the time. That level of reliability is consistent with the requirements of many commercial VPLS customers, which have chosen

The process of migrating traffic from the current private line-based IDN backbone will take about six months. Initially we will interconnect the old and new backbone, Bechly said. Then we will move sites over from one to the other, doing a couple of sites initially, proving those

Verizons offering to obtain similar economics and efficiencies. VPLS is often used for enterprisewide backbone connectivity, Bechly said. The service is particularly appealing to enterprises that want to control their own routing over a carrier-provided Layer 2 network, Han said. Now Verizon is one of those enterprises. GigE: MPLS: TDM: VPLS: VPN: