When you start talking about an Ethernet private line, there are several things to remember; the first is that this service is just like any other private line, a point-to-point infrastructure that can be used to facilitate the speedy transfer of data throughout a private area network. Some Ethernet lines use a dedicated SONET channel. Instead of relying on a fully frame-based system, they compress the data transferred into SONET payloads in order to facilitate the rate they travel throughout your network.
There are, of course, a variety of Ethernet private line services. Most of the time, these involve the varying structures of the network at hand. Some Ethernet lines send SONET payloads via T1 and DS3 networks, but faster, bigger Ethernet structures such as 10BaseT networks rely solely on a SONET framework to transfer the compressed data.
Full rate and partial rate Ethernet connections for 100BaseT and 10Gigabit connections also utilize the high speed capacities of SONET in order to send data.
SONET Payloads
In order to understand how Ethernet private lines work, it’s best to know what SONET payloads are. These are basically compressed packets of data that travel at varying speeds, depending on the bandwidth capacity of your network. To illustrate: your basic SONET payload travels at a rate of 49.5Mbps. A partial rate SONET payload is generally around this size for simpler Ethernet connections,
Full SONET payloads are heavier STS-1 units, however, full rate Ethernet speeds are capable of handling concatenated STS-3c payloads, capable of high speed traffic movement of up to 600Mbps.
Concatenation of STS-1 payloads mans increasing the bulk size of each payload by up to 200% of itself. This entails putting together, or linking, STS-1 payloads with each other, and can be done by linking them at the end points of each payload, creating an STS-1-3v payload which carries denser data packets through a Gigabit Ethernet connection at 150Mbps.
Customer Interfaces
Electrical customer interfaces are provided by services that offer at least 10Mbps Ethernet solutions. This is based on the 10Base-T standard, which involves twisting two unshielded cable pairs of up to one hundred meters in length together.
The same holds true for faster Ethernet networks – the customer interface is electrical for 100Base-T and 100Base-TX standards, and the electrical cables used are also of the same cable length. Installation of the Gigabit Ethernet network, however, requires a different set of cables, and uses optical interfaces instead – for example, the 1000Base-SX model uses multi-mode fiber, while the 1000Base-LX standard uses single-mode fiber.
Alternatively, customers can opt for a fully optical system using a SONET handoff. Instead of installing a system that runs on a purely Ethernet-oriented system, one end of the connection can be based on the SONET interface, which uses optical cables and runs on digital models such as OC-3 or OC-12.
Why go Ethernet
Most high-speed Ethernet private lines rely on SONET structures in order to transfer high-speed information with near-perfect quality – plus, the technology is known for its resiliency, which only makes the system more dependable. The biggest argument as to why Ethernet private lines work is because they are less expensive to implement and maintain than other private line services.
