Now you see it, now you don't

Terabit routing takes on virtual characteristics As the reality of terabit routers in carriers' networks nears, router developers increasingly are developing ways to make such complicated, high-speed routers easier to swallow for service providers. While the idea of virtual routing is not new, a terabit router with virtual routing capabilities is an intriguing concept that could cause a stir among terabit router developers.

At least IronBridge Networks hopes so. The company is marketing its terabit router with virtual routing to wholesale carriers, which can use the device to create virtual points of presence for ISP customers. The ISPs then could manage traffic as if it were traveling over their own networks.

After three years in development, IronBridge unveiled the SwiftCOR last month. It offers 1.3 Tb/s of capacity, has the ability to handle OC-48 and OC-192, and has 256 Sonet I/O ports at 2.5 Gb/s. Plus, the system can be subdivided into 65 virtual routers.

IronBridge worked with Newbridge Networks, now part of Alcatel, to develop the router. Newbridge provided IronBridge with access to its technical staff and executives. "This is a complex product," said Doug Antaya, vice president of marketing for IronBridge. "It's not a product built in a garage by two men and a dog," he said, downplaying the start-up stigma.

The virtual router looks and operates like a regular router, but it's housed inside the switching core of the terabit system, said Carl Blume, director of product marketing for IronBridge. Network management also is housed within the router so customers can manage their own services.

However, as service providers try to simplify their IP networks, IronBridge must prove that virtual routers will not require additional complex operations, said Chris Nicoll, director of optical infrastructure for Current Analysis. Operational complexity and scalability of the virtual router are additional challenges for IronBridge.

"IronBridge will need to address the operational complexity of managing up to 65 separate router images per system," Nicoll said. "If IronBridge can prove the stability and simplicity of the operation of its systems, service providers will find a key reason to take a look at the SwiftCOR."

Energis, a U.K.-based ISP that carries a large portion of the U.K.'s Internet traffic, including all traffic for the BBC, has agreed to test the platform, Antaya said.

According to published reports, Qwest Communications also will test the system for use as a core backbone network node, but the service provider would not confirm the trial.

The results of the two trials could make or break the equipment provider, Nicoll said. "IronBridge will be relying on the success of its virtual routing capabilities to separate the company from competing core routing solutions and will likely succeed or fail largely based on the success of this single feature."

Energis chose to test the SwiftCOR because the device has virtual routing capabilities, said Dave Newbold, director of services and technology for Energis. Virtual routing would be ideal for customers that require robustness, scalability and security such as the BBC, for which Energis takes care of all TV and radio distribution, Newbold said.

Today, Energis uses multiprotocol label switching to provide services similar to those offered by SwiftCOR, including IP virtual private networks, but only on a limited basis (see figure on this page). "We can do it with a bunch of boxes or do it virtually," Newbold said. "[Virtual routing] provides the same level of dedication without the same level of expense."

Virtual routing can reduce the cost of a service provider's entrance into a new market and extend the reach of a service provider's routing schemes to almost anywhere, Nicoll said. And carriers that deploy virtual routers can take advantage of the routers' high degree of IP addressability and flexibility. While traditional routers require IP addresses that follow standards laid out by the Internet Engineering Task Force, virtual routers allow for customers with non-standard IP addressing schemes to route traffic without changing the addresses, he added.

However, the idea of one router behaving like a number of different routers is "not something earthshaking," said Vijay Parikh, vice president and general manager for the Internet POP systems business unit of Cisco Systems. Ascend Communications added the capability years ago.

"People are always jumping to get into the routing world, but it's extremely difficult," he said. "Nortel has made attempts but failed. It's pretty hard for new people to come in with scalability and service offerings."

Similar to many of the systems developed by other terabit router equipment developers, Cisco uses a cluster of its 12016 IP backbone routers to scale up to terabit speeds. However, the company is developing a single box that would behave as a single terabit router, which should be available by the end of next year, Parikh said.

In addition to specialty services such as IronBridge's virtual routing capabilities, elements such as providing technical support, software management and premium IP services are increasingly important to service providers that want to deploy the systems. Being able to offer IP services is key to a terabit router's success, Parikh said. "I think people get caught up with the speeds and feeds and not the services."

Meanwhile, other terabit router players also have shifted their focus from pure transport to other services. Avici Systems has demonstrated this with its composite trunking and MPLS capabilities. Plus, the vendor recently partnered with IBM Global Services to provide support for its Terabit Switch Router (TSR), which scales up to 3.2 Tb/s. Avici also partnered with Dorado Software to provide element management software for the TSR.

"It's important to build out customer service and support because customers are not just testing a product, they are testing the organization," said Esmeralda Swartz, product marketing manager for Avici. "The biggest challenge is that most carrier customers have no idea what traffic requirements are going to be or what the services will be. We do everything to help and eliminate all confusion. You have to have the service infrastructure in place to deal with problems and issues in the field."

While some larger service providers may only need the equipment and some level of vendor support, the smaller service providers, which may enable faster market entry for start-up equipment developers such as IronBridge, need a lot of hand-holding when it comes to rolling out equipment, Nicoll said. IronBridge could easily take advantage of its relationship with Alcatel for maintenance and support services, following Avici's lead with IBM, he added.

Even though virtual routing is not a new concept and was not successful in previous incarnations, the routing market has changed. With performance requirements and the cost of routing increasing, the concept stands a better chance this time around, Nicoll said. And for service providers and carriers looking to differentiate themselves, all the options in the core routing space should have a positive impact on the market, he said. "This will help to establish some differentiation in services offered by service providers."