Handbook of Fiber Optic Data Communication: Chapter 10. Metro and Carrier Class Networks: Carrier Ethernet and OTN

This chapter presents industry standard approaches for Metro Ethernet, optical transport networking (OTN), and carrier class Ethernet. We begin with a historical review, including Synchronous Optical Networking/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and classic Ethernet with virtual local area networks (VLANs). Standards set by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) are discussed, including quality of service (QoS) and service reliability, scalability, and management issues. Virtualization and encapsulation techniques are discussed, including variants of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Ethernet Virtual Bridge (EVB), and Provider Backbone Bridge Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE), among others. OTN architectures, digital wrappers and frame structures, optical transport units (OTUs), and switched packet services in metropolitan area networks (MANs) are discussed.