Metro Ethernet

Decreasing cost, flexibility and cost-effective bandwidth

The use of copper and fiber networks to provide native Ethernet service in a metropolitan area/wide area network (MAN/WAN) has been shown to give greater service flexibility while simultaneously decreasing costs, as compared to carrying an equivalent bandwidth on traditional synchronous optical network (SONET)-based networks. In addition to being less expensive than SONET, these networks allow you to upgrade and increase speeds very quickly. What's more, granularity of service means that, unlike SONET, you can obtain precisely the bandwidth you need. In summary, Metro Ethernet gives you the opportunity to gain cost-effective bandwidth with multiple locations or key vendor relationships in select metropolitan areas.

Description

Metro Ethernet service combines the power of Ethernet and optical technologies across MANs to provide low-cost, scalable and secure bandwidth. Metro Ethernet provides local area network (LAN)-to-LAN connectivity between two or more customer locations within a metro area and is suitable for data applications that include data file transfer, Internet access, off-site data storage and access to hosting, outsourced mail and file server service, and outsourced application service. The service is also well-suited to voice and video applications.

Metro Ethernet Features

Standout features of Metro Ethernet include the following:

Point-to-point and multipoint service configurations
Central office connectivity with SST, SHNS, GeoMax^® and colocations
Bandwidth options from 5 Mbps to 1 Gbps
Secure and reliable service, with service level agreement (SLA) goals of up to 99.999 percent availability with quality of service (QoS)
Traffic not restricted to dedicated SONET bandwidth increments
A completely meshed native Ethernet network
QoS is an option that provides four ways to prioritize traffic and an SLA goal of 99.999 percent availability on the highest level
Multiple Ethernet virtual connections (EVCs) allow one port to support multiple EVCs
Protect Route physically separates the working and protect data links and provides an SLA goal of 99.99 percent availability.

Benefits of Metro Ethernet

Metro Ethernet offers you the following benefits:

Cost effective—Metro Ethernet bandwidth can be less expensive than traditional time division multiplexing (TDM) services. You have the potential to reduce your total cost of ownership by eliminating the need for specialized WAN support expertise, reducing the cost of WAN equipment with lower cost Ethernet switches and routers, as well as consolidating server/facilities.
Flexibility—scalable bandwidth increments let you pay only for what you need.
Productivity enhancing—may also increase your productivity by enabling virtual work groups across a metropolitan area (i.e., you gain connectivity–both internally and externally-to those entities you regularly communicate with; for example, your suppliers).
Quick turnaround—easily upgradeable; your service can typically be up and running within four business days after service order and acceptance.
Reliability—Service has a standard 99.9 percent SLA availability objective, which increases to up to 99.999 percent with purchase of optional QoS, or 99.99 percent with optional Protect Route.

How Metro Ethernet Works

Metro Ethernet provides local area network LAN-to-LAN connectivity between two or more locations within a metro area. The Metro Ethernet solution is based on distributed Layer 2 switching and shared transport data bandwidth. The local loop that extends to the customer premises can typically be provided via either fiber or copper facilities (where available). Service is available in buildings served by disclosed wire centers throughout the CenturyLink 14-state local service area.

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Customer Voice

Centennial Bank Hldgs

Centennial Bank of the West is known as The Western Original and was conceived as a "Main Street" bank. Its management team is local, so decisions are made quickly, with a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges unique to the region. The company's product offerings are extensive, providing all of the banking, investment, and online services that are expected of a full-service financial institution. Today more than 200 employees in seven Northern Colorado cities make up the Centennial banking family.

Highline Public Schools

At Highline Public Schools in Washington State feature-rich media applications are increasingly important for teachers to enhance their own education and for classroom instruction. The existing T-1 lines could not support an expanding array of high-bandwidth tools. A new data warehouse and plans for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) made the need for increased bandwidth even more urgent.

Case Studies

Community Bankshares, Inc.

Community Bankshares was using frame relay-based communications, but dropped packets and slow application access speeds lowered the level of customer service that employees could deliver to the banks clients. The hub-and-spoke architecture was also time-consuming to set up and administer.

Highline Public Schools

At Highline Public Schools in Washington State, feature-rich media applications are increasingly important for teachers to enhance their own education and for classroom instruction. The existing T-1 lines could not support an expanding array of high-bandwidth tools. A new data warehouse and plans for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) made the need for increased bandwidth even more urgent.

The Tech Group

The Tech Group specializes in the design and manufacturing of plastic products for the health care and consumer industries. Growing wide area network (WAN ) data traffic began to slow the response times of enterprise applications. The congested T1-based infrastructure further threatened to impact a planned data center relocation and hamper a server consolidation project. To overcome these issues, decision makers chose to upgrade their network to a high-bandwidth, fiber solution.

University of Colorado (CU)

The network connecting the main data center for the University of Colorado (CU) with its two remote sites had aged, and CU began to look for a more reliable and scalable solution. Security was also a vital issue: the remote sites have departments that handle sensitive University data, and CU wanted a solution that did not need to traverse public, unsecured networks.

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