Author Description

This book is about the network edge and about how to effectively deploy a new class of internetworking device, the Internet protocol services switch (IPSS). The edge is the point in the network joining the various access technologies such as digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, and wireless with the high-speed routed and optical core. The IPSS is a new type of internetworking platform that has fundamentally changed the way service providers deploy and offer services.Why is the network edge the subject of such intense interest among the service providers, the equipment vendors, and the analyst community? It is the strategic point in the network where the provider has subscriber identity and may therefore apply value-added services before handing the traffic off to the core. The edge has gained prominence with broadband deployments, as service providers are called upon to provide a host of services beyond basic connectivity. IP-VPNs, content management and distribution, storage networking, and voice are just a few of the more obvious of these services. Support for these services requires a new class of internetworking platform, a platform that did not even exist before mass-market broadband deployments. This is the IP services switch. The IPSS is a platform that builds on the basic capabilities of the traditional router but provides much more in terms of provider-based services support and subscriber policy provisioning. Depending on the type of IPSS, it mayProvide basic residential broadband subscriber managementAdapt Frame Relay-based businesses into an IP backboneOffer more sophisticated firewalling, IPSec-based IP-VPNs, and content managementPlay a critical role in cable open access, permitting subscribers to have access to the ISP of their choiceAct as the point of IP services aggregation and adaptation for next-generation wireless systemsThe IPSS's provisioning capabilities permit the provider to quickly