Nortel Metro Ethernet Services Unit portfolio

performance dictated by their service
contracts on an end-to-end basis. By
assigning different service class levels to
traffic flows, applications can be given
the bandwidth and network priority
required when and where they need it.
The MESU provides the performance
and QoS features to support the
requirements of delay-sensitive applications.
Four priority egress queues form
the basis of MESU 1800 traffic management
functionality, while the MESU
1850/1860/1880 supports eight egress
queues. With the ability to classify
traffic based on IEEE 802.1Q/p and
DiffServ markings and prioritize them
accordingly, delay-sensitive applications
can be given priority across the access.
With the MESU’s support of multiple
classes of services and QoS prioritization,
providers are able to ensure consistent
QoS to meet their customers’ SLA
requirements.
Network and service
management
The Metro Ethernet Services Units
(MESUs) are designed for ease of use to
simplify overall network operations and
minimize the service provider’s ongoing
OPEX. MESUs can be configured
quickly with minimal manual intervention,
decreasing implementation times
and reducing the risk of errors. The
MESU is fully manageable, both in or
out of band, with SNMP applications,
including Nortel’s advanced Metro
Ethernet Manager (MEM).
MEM provides both network element
and service management for the MESU
portfolio, MERS 8600 and other Nortel
Metro Ethernet platforms. MEM
provides capabilities ranging from
central device management for software
distribution to end-to-end service provisioning
across the metro network, and
the delivery of network fault, inventory
and provisioning information via stan-
4
dard northbound interfaces to higherlevel
OSS systems. With MEM, Nortel
is leveraging the expertise and knowledge
gained with circuit-based network
operations to deliver a consistent operational
model across Layer 0, Layer 1 and
Layer 2.
Nortel also provides high-value management
applications that offer comprehensive
and deterministic services
management. With the network and
service viewer feature, providers have a
proactive service assurance solution with
Ethernet OAM instrumentation and
advanced multi-layer troubleshooting.
This provides deterministic customer
and/or service impact assessment, with
fault isolation and full troubleshooting
capabilities across both Ethernet and
optical-based domains. MESU provides
support for IEEE 802.1ag — a key
Ethernet OAM standard for Layer 2
connectivity and fault management that
provides valuable tools for verifying the
availability of end-to-end Ethernet services.
This MESU-supported capability is
highly beneficial to service providers
offering Ethernet access services, by
allowing them to perform remote diagnostics
on devices deployed as CLE or
in outside plant locations, minimizing
the need for costly truck rolls.
Another key differentiator is Nortel’s
Ethernet VPN management solution:
VPN Continuity Check — a powerful
service assurance and debugging tool
critical for measuring and validating
customers’ SLAs. It may be used to validate
all VPN end-points, test connectivity
and determine roundtrip delay
measurements per VPN. This information
is used by network management to
verify that SLA parameters are being
achieved and to generate a trend of the
service report over time. This tool allows
service providers to detect problems
before customers notice any service
degradation, isolating problems quickly
and methodically. By verifying not only
the integrity of the path all the way to
the customer-facing port, but the total
delay incurred, this capability allows for
true end-to-end SLA verification.
Multiple platform options
to choose from
Nortel offers a broad portfolio of Metro
Ethernet Services Unit (MESU) platform
options to address the diverse
application and deployment needs of
Ethernet service providers. These platform
options provide Ethernet connectivity
ranging from 10 Mbps to 10 GE,
for support over a variety of fiber and
copper access topologies. Product
options available include: