Chen says it's not unrealistic to assume that the market for gigabit Ethernet in metro networks would double annually, reaching about $5 billion by 2005. But he says that estimate is contingent on vendors proving that Ethernet can perform reliably in carrier networks.
Pioneer Consulting's report concedes that carrier-class reliability and quality of service are still missing from the packet-driven, "best effort" world of Ethernet. And these features must be proven to service providers before the market can reach its full potential, the firm says.
Industry forces are trying to make this happen. At a meeting of the MEF last week, for instance, over 90 attendees from about 50 different companies reportedly agreed on a common method of matching Sonet's link recovery using MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) in Ethernet WANs.
"This was a breakthrough," says Chen. "We've developed a 50-millisecond protection model, when most people think Ethernet recovery takes 30 seconds."
Chen says the establishment of a protection scheme will be key to providing the value proposition carriers will require in order for the metro Ethernet market to take off as hoped.
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
