Summary

A variety of traditional service-provider and customer network architectures exist, including the PSTN, Frame Relay/ATM, and SONET IP/MPLS. Transport network types include IOF, access, and private ring deployments. The emergence and insertion of MSPPs into these service-provider and customer networks has transformed them tremendously. They provide physical Layer 1 services, Media Access Layer 2 services, and even network Layer 3 features such as QoS. This enables MSPPs to fulfill a number of service needs. MSPPs also integrate various service types into one platform that can be aggregated and backhauled through either a carrier's network or even a customer's private network. They offer capital expense reduction, flexibility in service types offered, a simplified architecture requiring less space and power, vastly improved scalability, and a much easier and more cost-effective OAM&P option. Additionally, MSPPs offer next-generation services, such as DWDM and storage-area networking, which allow customers to capitalize on the advantages of SONET self-healing rings in the MAN while deploying these services.

Another enormous advantage of MSPPs over traditional network architectures is the use of NGOSS craft interfaces, which provide the following benefits:

• Instant-on anywhere management

• Reduced cost

• Simplified upgrades

• Familiar GUI

• Telcordia OSMINE compliance