Ethernet vs. Wave in the WAN

Reliable networking of your data centers or locations is an important basis for the transmission of large amounts of data or the operation of central applications across multiple locations. A wide variety of technologies can be used to ensure this. Two that guarantee high latency and availability requirements are Ethernet and Wavelength. Below we show the variants and differences between the two technologies.

Ethernet

With Site Connectivity via Ethernet, the company’s own LAN is effectively extended into the WAN. Depending on the carrier, Ethernet site coupling can typically be provided in two ways:

Bandwidth 10Mbps to 100Gbps Coverage Point to Point Metro, National, International Reliability Unprotected, Protected Technology Packet-switched (MPLS) via a shared platform Interfaces Ethernet (all bandwidths) Routing No defined routes and transmission paths Via Ethernet Line, connections can be provided from as little as 10 Mbps, in the metro area, nationally and internationally. Latency, frame-loss and jitter are based on the carrier’s general SLA and cannot be fixed or excluded. The Private Ethernet product is recommended for customers with high bandwidth, performance and stability requirements.

Private Ethernet

Bandwidth High bandwidths only – 1Gbps, 10Gbps Coverage Metro only Reliability Unprotected, Protected technology Ethernet over Fibre Interfaces Ethernet 1Gbps, 10Gbps Routing Defined routes and transmission paths In contrast to a normal Ethernet link, a Private Ethernet is characterized by the fact that routes and transmission paths or KMZ can be defined and the Ethernet protocol is not based on an MPLS infrastructure, but runs as Ethernet over Fibre directly interconnected within the network. Features such as fixed latency, zero frame-loss and jitter can be offered in contrast to a normal Ethernet link. Private Ethernet is typically only offered from bandwidths of 1 GB and can only be used in the metro area. In terms of price, a Private Ethernet link is approx. 20% more expensive than a normal Ethernet line. Nevertheless, Ethernet line and private Ethernet are both logically separate services that are set up in a multi-service environment. A genuine, closed, optical port-to-port assignment is only possible using the Wavelengths or Private Wavelengths products.

Wavelengths

Site Connectivity In the case of Site Connectivity using a wavelength of the color spectrum operated in the backbone on an optical fiber, different services are made available end-to-end via the DWDM process and can be transferred via an optical interface (SDH, OTU, FC). Depending on the carrier, this type of wavelength-based site coupling is typically provided in two ways: using Ethernet, the company’s own LAN is virtually extended into the WAN. Depending on the carrier, Ethernet site coupling can typically be provided in two ways:

Bandwidth Only high bandwidths 1Gbps, 10Gbps, 40Gbps, 100Gbps Coverage Metro, National, International Fail-safe Unprotected, Protected, Technology DWDM Interfaces Ethernet, Ethernet LAN PHY (WAN PHY, SDH, Fibre Channel, OUT) Routing Defined routes and transmission paths A Wave connection is possible in the metro, national and international area. An infrastructure assigned solely to the customer is not offered. Compared to Ethernet, a Wave connection is approx. 20% more expensive. The next product above a Wavelenghts is Private Wave, directly at the level of the physical fiber optic in the backbone.

Private Wave

With a StanBandwidth Only high bandwidths 1Gbps, 10Gbps, 40Gbps, 100Gbps Coverage Metro Fail-safe Unprotected, Protected Technology WDM Interfaces Ethernet, Ethernet LAN PHY (WAN PHY, SDH, Fibre Channel, OTU Routing Customizable routes, diversity with KMZ maps using, dedicated fibre P2P transport Features Defined routes and transmission paths Private Wave can only be offered in metro areas. The customer receives a dedicated, private infrastructure with bandwidths of 1G, 10G, 40G and 100G. Granular gradations in between are not possible. This product is only suitable for customers with high requirements.there networking via Ethernet, the company’s own LAN is virtually extended into the WAN. Depending on the carrier, Ethernet site coupling can typically be provided in two ways:

Summary

Ethernet Line Wave Protocol Ethernet Ethernet & other optical protocols such as Fibre Channel and OTU Network Packet Network Optical WDM Network Technology Bandwidth allocated per customer over a packet backbone sub-muted by SLAs End to end dedicated bandwidth defined and allocated per customer Packet loss < 0.01% SLA No jitter < 5 ms No topology Point to point (Ethernet line) Point to point bandwidth 10 Mbit/s – 100 Gb/s 1 Gb/s, 10 Gb/s, 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s Multi service Logically separated services via the same physical access (multi service) Optical service with 1 to 1 port – service mapping