Ethernet to the Doorstep of Metropolitan Area Networks

Ethernet has become the predominant technology in the Local Area Networks (LANs) due to its simplicity and cost effectiveness. It has been evolved over the past years from a simple shared medium protocol to a full duplex switched networking solution, from which originates almost 90 percent of the overall IP traffic that flows throughout the internet. Its dominance has led many players in the telecommunication market (equipment manufacturers, network and service providers, end users, etc) to consider Ethernet also as a candidate networking solution to the MAN (Metropolitan Area Networks) and WAN (Wide Area Networks) environment Already several efforts are underway by international standardisation bodies and forums like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) to extend Ethernet into the MAN environment. The focus of this article is to provide a concise overview of these initiatives and analyze the challenges that must be faced for the transformation of Ethernet into a carrier-class networking solution capable of providing telecommunication services (Ethernet Services) into the MAN.