Chapter 1

Introduction

Intense icompetition iin ithe itelecommunication imarket ihas iemerged iover ithe
ilast idecades iand iis iexpected ito igrow icontinuously iand irapidly. iTherefore iit
iis iessential ifor ithose inetwork icompanies iinvolved iin ithe itelecommunication
imarket i(i.e. inetwork icarriers ior iservice iproviders) ito igain iadvantage iof itheir
icore icompetencies iby iadopting iappropriate istrategies ior ipositioning
ithemselves iproperly iin ithe imarket. iIn iparticular inetwork icompanies iare
iforced ito isearch ifor inew isolutions ito ireduce itheir ioperational icosts, iin iorder
ito ieliminate ithe iunnecessary iexpenditure ion ithe iexisting iinfrastructure iwhich
ioften iconsists iof imultiple iparallel iand ieven ioverlapping inetworks, iand ito
iprovide idifferentiated iservices iwith isuperior iquality i(Crimi, i2005).

The iexpected i“network iconvergence” imay ioffer ia isolution ito ithe iproblem, ias
iit iwill iinvolve iproviding iintegrated iservices ion ia icommon inetwork
iinfrastructure. iNetwork icarriers ihave iattempted ito iaddress inetwork
iconvergence iby iincreasing ithe inumber iof iservices iand/or iapplications ion
iexisting inetworks. iExamples iinclude inetwork icarriers iand iservice iproviders
imaking ia igreat ieffort iin iintegrating iresidential ibroadband iservices, iTV ivideo
iservices iand ivoice iservices iinto ithe iexisting icopper iphone iline inetwork iby
iadopting iadvanced inetwork itechnology i(IP iphone iand iIP iTV). iSome inetwork
icarriers iare ideploying ia inew itype iof itransport inetworks i- iASON/OTN iin ia
ismall iscale, ito itest iits ifeasibility iof ireplacing ia ivariety iof iexisting itransport
inetworks isuch ias iSDH/SONET, iand iATM.

At ithe isame itime, ithe imigration ifrom itraditional ivoice itraffic iand iATM idata
itraffic ito iIP itraffic iin iour inetworks ihas ialready ibecome ia iprevailing itrend iin
itelecommunication inetwork idevelopment: iAll-IP inetworks i(Stiller, i2000).

Through ithese iand isimilar iefforts, iover ithe ilast ifew iyears ithe iconcept iof
ia inew, iintegrated ibroadband inetwork ihas ibeen ideveloped iand ilabelled
i‘next igeneration inetwork’ i(NGN). iConceptually, ithe iNGN idefines ia inew
inetwork iarchitecture iin iwhich inetwork iconvergence ican ibe iachieved
ithrough ia istepwise iupgrade ifrom iexisting inetworks iseamlessly ifrom ithe

1
iedge ito ithe icore i(as iretaining icompatibility iwith ilegacy inetworks iis
iimportant ito iretain ithe ivalue iof iexisting iinvestment).
Through iNGN itraditional itelephone inetworks i(PSTN/ISDN) iand icomputer
inetworks i(the iInternet) iwill iconverge iinto ia iunified iIP-based ipacket-
switching inetwork i.

This idissertation istudies iNGN iarchitecture iand ithe iunderlying itechnologies

i(with ia iscope icovering iwired inetworks ionly). iIt ifocuses ion ithe inetwork
itransport istratum iby iexplaining i“why ithis itechnology iis irequired?” ifrom ia
inetwork icarrier iperspective iin iorder ito icompare iselected itechnologies iand
iidentify ithe iprevailing idevelopment idirections ifor ithe itelecommunication
iindustry.

The iobjectives iof ithis iresearch iproject iare:

 Identify ithe imarket iincentives ifor iNGN idevelopment;

 Examine ifundamental itechnologies irequired ito irealize ithe iexpected

iNGN ifunctions iespecially iin itransport istratum;

 Identify iissues irelated ito iNGN iimplementation.

This istudy iis iinterpretivist iand ithe inecessary idata iare icollected ifrom iacademic
ipapers
(13) and iother irelevant isources i(39). iThese inon-academic isources iused iin ithe
iresearch imainly iinclude istandards ifrom ithe iindustry iassociations, isuch ias
iInternational iTelecommunications iUnion i(ITU), iand iwhite ipapers ifrom ithe
iindustry ileading icompanies, isuch ias iCisco. iThese iresources iare ivaluable ias
ithey irepresent ithe istatus iquo iof ithe itelecommunication imarket. iThis
idissertation iis idivided iinto ithe ifollowing ichapters:

 Chapter i1 i- iAn iintroduction ito idescribe ithe itopic iarea,

iresearch iaims, iobjectives iand iscopes, iimportance iand ireasons
ifor ithis iresearch iwork;

 Chapter i2 i– iA ibrief idescription iof ithe iresearch imethodology iused iin

ithe iresearch iproject, iincluding ithe iresearch iparadigm iand iresearch
iquestions, iand idata icollection imethods;

 Chapter i3 i- iA iconcise ioverview iof iNGN iincluding iits

ifunctional iinfrastructure, isome iessential itechnologies iand
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 imarket idrivers;

 Chapter i4 i–A istudy iof ithe inetwork iprotocol i(IP) ito ibe iused iin iNGN;

 Chapter i5 i–A istudy iof ithe ibackbone/core itransport inetwork

itechnology ievolution itowards iNGN;

 Chapter i6 i– iA idiscussion iof iissues irelated ito iNGN iimplementation;

 Chapter i7 i– iA iconclusion isummarizing ithe ifindings iof ithe iresearch.

The iwork icontributes iby ipresenting ia icomprehensive isummary iof iNGN

irequirements iand icontrasting ithem ito ithe iissues iarising ifrom iNGN
iimplementation iin iorder ito iidentify ifuture idevelopment itrends.

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 Chapter 2

Methodology

This istudy iis ibased ion iliterature ireview iand iall inecessary idata iare
igathered ifrom iliterature isources, ino iprimary idata icollection iis iinvolved.

In igeneral, itwo iresearch iparadigms iin iterms iof iphilosophy iheld iby
iresearchers iaccording ito itheir iworld iviews iare iused ito idirect iresearch:
iinterpretivism iand ipositivism. iInterpretivist iresearchers ihold ia isubjectivism
istance ibelieving ithere iare imultiple irealities i(truths) iin ithe iworld iand ithese
itruths ican ibe iinterpreted idifferently iby idifferent iresearchers iin idifferent
icontext iand itime i(context-dependent iand itime- idependent). iIn icontrast,
ipositivist iresearchers ihold ian iobjectivism istance ibelieving ithere iis ionly itruth
i(single ireality) iin ithe iworld, iand ithe itruth ican ibe igenerated iand irepeated iin
ia iscientific ilaboratory iwhere iall iconditions iare iunder icontrol, inamely, ithe
itruth iis icontext-independent iand itime-independent i(Ponterotto, i2005).

Thus, iinterpretive idescriptions iinclining ito ianswers i“why’ iand i“how” iare
ifound iin iinterpretivist iresearch iwhich idiffers ifrom ithe inumeric ifindings iin
ipositivist iresearch i(Ponterotto, i2005). iFurthermore, ias idescribed iin ithe
iintroduction isection, ithis idissertation iis ia iliterature ireview iand isets iitself ia
igoal iof isystematically istudying iNGN iand irelated iissues. iAll iinformation
irequired iis ibased ion iothers’ iresearch iworks iand ino iprimary idata icollection
iis iinvolved, iand iinterpretive idescriptions iare imore isuitable ito ielaborate
iresearch ifindings iin ithis icase.

In iorder ito igain ithe imost iup-to-date iinformation, ithe idata icollection ifocused
ion ia ibroad irange iof iindustry istandards, ijournals iand iacademic iproceedings
iaccessed ithrough iIETF i(Internet iEngineering iTask iForce iInternet i) iand iITU-
T i(International iTelecommunications iUnion i– iTelecommunication iSector)
iofficial iwebsites, iGoogle iScholar iand isome ielectronic idatabases iprovided iby
iAUT i(Auckland iUniversity iof iTechnology), iwhich iare iACM iand iIEEE
iXplore imainly. iApart ifrom ithe iabove, ibooks iin ilibraries iwere iused ifor
ibackground ireading ias iproviding icredible iinformation ion iearlier idevelopments
iin ia iconcise iformat.

4
In idetail, ias ithis idissertation imainly ifocuses ion ithe itechnical iaspect ifrom ia
inetwork icarriers’ iperspective, iand ithe ie-resources iare ithe imain iresources ifor
ithis iresearch, iin iorder ito icatch ithe ivaluable iinformation ifrom ia ilimited
inumber iof irelated ipapers, isome ikey iwords i(such ias iNGN iarchitecture,
iframework, itechnology, iservices,

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 Chapter 3

An Overview of the NGN Concept

The iendless ipursuit iof inetwork icapacity iand iefficiency idrives ithe
itelecommunication iindustry ito isearch ifor isubstitutions ifor ithe iexisting
inetwork iinfrastructure ito ifulfil iincreased idemand iwith ilowered icost iand
iimproved isafety. iConsidering ithe irealities iof ithe icommunication iindustry,
isuch ias ithe iexplosion iof iIP itraffic, iand ithe iconvergence iof inetworks, iin
i2004 ithe iglobal istandard iorganization iin
telecommunication iarea i(ITU-T) iproposed ian iinnovative iconcept ifor ifuture
inetworks: iNGN i(the iNext iGeneration iNetwork).

This ichapter iis ito iprovide ithe ibasic iinformation iabout iNGN iby iaddressing
ithe ifirst iresearch iquestion i“What iis ithe iimportance iof iNGN?” iand iits isub-
questions. iWith ithis ipurpose, ia igeneral idescription iof iNGN iconcept iand iits
ifunctional iarchitecture iis ipresented, ifollowed iby ithe iconcise idescription iof
isome icore itechnologies irequired ito irealize ithe ienvisioned iNGN iinfrastructure.
iThe imarket idrivers ifor iNGN ideployment iare ioutlined ias iwell iin ithis ichapter.

Definitions iand iArchitectures

The iNGN iis ia ibroad iconcept icovering ia ivariety iof inetwork itypes ifrom iwired
ito iwireless, iand ifrom itelecommunication ito icomputer. iIt iwas idesigned ito iuse
ia icommon inetwork iprotocol ito icarry iall idata/service/application iwhich imay
ibe icarried iby idifferent idata/service/application-specified inetworks icurrently
iover ia icommon iand iopen inetwork iinfrastructure. iITU-T idefines ithe iNGN ias
ifollows:

“The iNGN iis ia ipacket-based inetwork iable ito iprovide

iTelecommunication iServices ito iusers iand iable ito imake iuse iof imultiple
ibroadband, iQoS-enabled itransport itechnologies iand iin iwhich iservice-
related ifunctions iare iindependent iof ithe iunderlying itransport-related
itechnologies. iIt ienables iunfettered iaccess ifor iusers ito inetworks iand ito
icompeting iservice iproviders iand iservices iof itheir ichoice. iIt isupports
igeneralised imobility iwhich iwill iallow iconsistent iand iubiquitous
iprovision iof iservices ito iusers.” i(ITU-T, i2004)
6
Figure 1: ITU-T NGN Functional Architecture (Source: ITU-T, 2004)

Figure i1 ishows ian ioverall ifunctional iarchitecture iof ian iNGN ifrom iITU-T,
iall ifunctions iof ian iNGN iare igrouped iinto itwo istratums: iService iStratum
iand iTransport iStratum. iIt iis inoted ithat ithis ienvisioned iITU-T iNGN
iarchitecture iis ia idirective inetwork iframework ias imentioned ibefore, iand
imore iimportantly, ithe iappropriate itechnologies iare irequired ito isatisfy ithe
irequirements iof ithis iarchitecture.
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In ithe iservice istratum, iApplication iSupport iFunctions iand iService iSupport
iFunctions iare iused ito iachieve iservice/application iprovisioning iunder ithe
icontrol ifrom irelated iService iControl iFunctions. iSimilar ito iNNI/UNI, iANI
i(Application-to-Network iInterface) iplays ian iimportant irole iin iservice
iprovisioning; iit iis iused ias ia ireferent ipoint iin ian iNGN ito ideliver ienhanced
iservices/applications ito iNGN iusers iin ithe iservice istratum. iIn iaddition, iin ithe
iservice istratum, iService iUser iProfile iis iused ito istore iusers’ iprofile
iinformation ico-operating iwith iTransport iUser iProfile iin ithe itransport istratum
i(ITU-T, i2004).

The itransport istratum icontains itransfer iand irelated icontrol ifunctions ifor ian
iNGN, ithere iare itwo imain ifunction igroups idefined iin iITU-T iNGN istandards
i(ITU-T, i2004):

Transport iFunction iGroup: ithe itransport ifunction igroup iprovides iconnectivity

ifor iall iNEs, iwhich iare ilocated igeographically ibut iphysically iconnected. iThe
itransfer iof idata iincluding ithe icontrol iand imanagement iinformation ifor idata
itransfer iis iaccomplished iby ithis ifunction iblock. iThis igroup iincludes: iAccess
iNetwork iFunctions, iEdge iFunctions, iCore iTransport iFunctions iand iGateway
iFunctions, iwhich iare inot iillustrated iin iFigure i1.

Transport iControl iFunction iGroup: ithis ifunction igroup iis irequired ifor
icontrolling iand imanaging idata itransport iwithin ithe iNGN iinfrastructure.
iFunctions iin ithis igroup iinclude: iNetwork iAttachment iControl ifunctions
iwhich iare irequired ifor iregistration iand iinitialization iof iend iuser iservices iin
iaccess inetwork, iand iResource iand iAdmission iControl ifunctions iwhich iare
irequired ifor iQoS, iNetwork iAddress iand iProtocol iTranslation i(NAPT) iand
ifirewall itraversal icontrol isupport.

As ithe ifocus iof ithis idissertation iis iplaced ion ithe icarrier-class ibackbone/core
itransport inetworks, isome icore itechnologies iused iin ithe itransport istratum
iproviding iconnectivity ifor iall inetwork icomponents iwithin ian iNGN
ienvironment iwill ibe idescribed iin imore idetail iin iChapter i5.

It iis inoted ithat ithe iNGN istandards ireleased iby iITU-T iat ipresent ijust idefine
ian ioverall iframework iwith iits imandatory irequirements, ibut ino imandatory
inetwork itechnologies iare ispecified iin ithose istandards ior irecommendations.
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iThis isituation iencourages ihealthy icompetitions iin ithe itelecommunication
imarket iby ienabling inetwork isolution iproviders ito iuse itheir ipreferred
itechnologies ito ifulfil ithe ienvisioned iNGN iframework ionce ithe ifinal isolution
imeets ithe iNGN irequirements. iFor iillustration, iCisco iuses ithe

network iprotocols iIP iand iMPLS iwith ithe ioptical ifibre itransport
itechnology iASON/OTN ito ibuild iup itheir icore iNGN itransport
inetworks.

More iimportantly, ia ibasic ielement iof ithe iNGN iconcept, ithe inetwork
iprotocol, iis inot iexplicitly ispecified iin ithe iITU-T’s irecommendations ireleased
iso ifar, iin iother iwords, itheoretically iit imay ibe iany iprotocols ionce ithey iare
iable ito imeet ithe iNGN irequirements. iHowever, icurrently ia iindustry-wide
iconsensus ihas ibeen iachieved iwhereby ithe iInternet iProtocol i(IP) iis
iconsidered ias ithe imost iappropriate isolution ito iestablish iconnectivity ifor iall
inetwork iequipments iand icarry idata/services/applications iboth iinside i(NEs)
iand ioutside i(end-user iterminals) ian iNGN, ias ishown iin iFigure i2 iCisco iIP
iNGN iarchitecture.

This iis imainly ibecause iIP iis inow iindeed ipredominant iin ithe inetwork iworld
iand iwidely iconsidered ias ithe imost ipromising itechnology ito ibuild iup ian
iNGN. iThus, ithe imain iidea iof iNGN ican ibe ifinally idescribed ias i“IP iover
ieverything” iand i“Everything iover iIP” i(Crimi, i2005), iwhere iIP ipackets iare
iused ito icarry iall itypes iof idata iover iall itransport imediums i(optical ifibre,
icopper iline, ior iradio iwave) iacross iall isub-networks iwithin ian iNGN. iWith
ithis iidea, iall iexisting itelecommunication inetworks iand ithe iInternet iwill
iconverge iinto ia iunified iIP-based ipacket-switching inetwork iinfrastructure
iultimately, iand itherefore iNGN ishould ibe iable ito ibenefit ifrom iboth ithe
iworlds iof iconventional itelephone inetworks i(PSTN/ISDN) iand ithe iInternet.

The iNGN irequirements iare istill iunder idevelopment ias ithe irange ithe iNGN
iconcept icovers iis iwide, imany inetwork iareas iare iinvolved, iand ia igreat
inumber iof iidentified ior iunidentified iissues ioccur. iSo ifar ia inumber iof iITU-T
istandardization iactivities iare ialready iunderway ito iestablish imore iguidelines,
istandards ior irecommendations ifor ithe iNGN iimplementation ibut imore iefforts
iare istill irequired i(Chae-Sub i& iKnight, i2005).

Core iNGN iTechnologies iRequired

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ITU-T ihas ibrought ius ia imagnificent iimage iof ithe ifuture inetworks. iNow
iNGN iis inot ionly ia iconcept ion ithe ipaper; iits icommercial iimplementations
iare ialready irealized ion ia ilarge iscale. iAppropriate itechnologies iare isignificant
ifor ithe iaccomplishment iof ithe ifunctions iand iabilities ipromised iby iNGN. iIn
ifact, iany itechnologies iwhich isatisfy ithe iNGN irequirements icould ilabel
ithemselves ias iNGN; isome iindustry-wide iaccepted iand ipractice-proved icore
iNGN itechnologies iare ilisted ibelow:

Soft-switch: iNGN iprovides iPSTN/ISDN iemulation iand isimulation iservices,

iwhich iare iused ito ienable iend-users ito iuse itheir ilegacy iterminals iwith iNGN
icontinuously iand ihave isimilar iexperience ito ithe ilegacy isystem iin ian iNGN
ienvironment. iIn iconventional iPSIN/ISDN isystems, iswitches ior iswitchboards
iare iused ito icontrol icalls, isimilarly, ia iprogrammable idevice icalled isoft-switch
ior icall-sever iin ian iNGN iis iused ito icontrol iVoice iover iIP i(VoIP) icalls, iand
iallow iusers ito iuse ithe ilegacy itelephone inumbering isystem. iSoft-switch iin
iNGN iis ialso iused ito iestablish ithe iinterface ito ico- ioperate iwith ithe ilegacy
iPSTN/ISDN, ithrough iSG i(Signalling iGateways) iand iMG i(Media iGateways)
itechnology i(Gou, iJin i& iZhao, i2004).

MPLS i(Multi-Protocol iLabel iSwitching): iMPLS iand iits isubsequent

idevelopment i(Generalized iMulti-Protocol iLabel iSwitching ior iGMPLS ifor
ishort) iare ivirtual icircuit iswitching iprotocols, iand iwere idesigned ito icarry idata
ifor iboth icircuit iswitching inodes iand ipacket iswitching inodes. iMPLS iis ian
iimportant ielement ienabling iNGN iservices iby iproviding iIP ibased inetworks
iwith ibasic itraffic iengineering iability isuch ias iCoS i(Class iof iService) iand
ipacket ipriority i(Kang i& iLee, i2005). iIt iis inoted ithat iMPLS ihas ito iwork iin
iconjunction iwith iIP iwithin ian iNGN ienvironment.

Core iTransport iTechnology: iIP iover iASON iover iOTN: iWavelength

iDivision iMultiplexing i(WDM) itechnology iis iwidely iused iin ithe
itelecommunication ibackbone/core itransport inetworks ito iprovide isolid itransport
iservices idue ito iits itremendous iline irates. iThe inext igeneration ioptical
itransport itechnology ibased ion iWDM iis ideveloped iand inamed iOptical
iTransport iNetwork i(OTN). iAutomatically iSwitched iOptical iNetwork i(ASON)
iis ian iindependent icontrol iplane iadded ion iOTN ito igain imore icontrol iand
imanagement iadvantages. iFurthermore, iIP iis ithe ivirtually idominant inetwork
10
iprotocol inow iin ithe iworld ito icarry ia ivariety iof iservices iand iapplications.
iTherefore, iIP, iASON iand iOTN icompose ithe ibest itechnical isolution ifor ian
iNGN itransport inetwork iat ithe ipresent itime i(more iabout iIP iand itransport
inetworks iwill ibe istudied iin iChapter i4 iand iChapter i5) i(Lee i& iMorita,
i2006).

The iNeed ifor ian iNGN

Over ithe ilast idecade ithe iexplosion iof idata itraffic iin itelecommunication
inetworks ihas ibeen iimpressive. iThe ishift ifrom isimple ivoice icommunication
ito irich icontent iinteractions i(video iand iimage) iover ithe iInternet, ieven iin
iterms iof ithe isimple ivoice icommunication, ivoice icarried iby ipackets iover
imobile inetworks iand ithe iInternet ihas iseen ia idramatic iincrease iwhile ithe
ivoice itraffic iover iconventional iPSTN ihas idropped iin irecent iyears i(Lee i&
iKnight, i2005).

As idescribed iin iChapter i1, ithe ideployment iof iNGN iis imainly idriven iby ithe
idesires iof icost ireduction iand iproduct idifferentiation ifrom inetwork icompanies
i(network icarriers iand iservice iproviders); ihowever ithose inetwork icompanies
ihave ia ihuge iinvestment iin ithe iexisting inetwork iinfrastructure, iand itherefore
ia ibalance ipoint ibetween iretaining icurrent ivalue iand iinvesting ifor ithe ifuture
imust ibe itaken iinto iaccount.

The idemands ifrom icustomers ihave imoved iaway ifrom isimple ivoice
icommunications iprovided iby itheir iPSTN iservice iproviders itowards ia ivariety
iof irich-content iservices iprovided iby iISPs i(Internet iService iProvider), iin
iother iwords, icustomers iprefer ithe irich-content iand iinteractive icommunication
ipossibilities ioffered iby ithe iInternet i(Olszewski iet ial., i2003).

Network icarriers iand iservice iproviders iare iaware iof ithose imarket ichanges
iand itherefore iturn ito iconstantly ideploying ibroadband iservices iwithin ithe
iexisting inetwork iinfrastructure; ias ia iresult imany iparallel iand iservice-
specific inetworks iare iestablished iin iorder ito imeet ithose iincreasing
idemands i(Olszewski iet ial., i2003).
However, ithose iinvestments ibased ion ithe icurrent inetwork iinfrastructure imay
inot iable ito ireturn iinvestors iexpected iprofits imostly ibecause iof ithe ilowered
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 Chapter 4

The NGN Internet Protocol

NGN iattempts ito iredefine ithe inetwork iinfrastructure ibased ion ithe icurrent
iInternet iand iPSTN/ISDN inetworks, ithus, ias ithe idominant inetwork iprotocol
iin ithe inetwork iworld, ithe iInternet iProtocol iis iselected ias ithe inetwork
iprotocol ito icarry idata iand ideliver iservices/applications ifrom ithe inetwork
iedge ito ithe icore iwithin ian iNGN iinfrastructure. iThis ichapter iexamines ithe
iuse iof iInternet iProtocol isuite iin ithe iNGN iarchitecture iby iaddressing ithe
ifirst itwo isub-questions ifor iresearch iquestion i2: i“What iis ithe iprimary
inetwork iprotocol?” iand i“Why iis iit ineeded?”

The iInternet iProtocol iSuite

Currently, ithere iare itwo ibasic imethods iused ito itransmit idata: ipacket-
switching iand icircuit-switching.

In ia icircuit-switching inetwork, ilike iPSTN/ISDN, ithe isystem idecides iand

ithen iestablishes ithe ipath i(circuit) ifor idata itransmission ibased ion ithe
isystem ipreloaded ialgorithms ibefore idata itransfer ibegins, iand iduring ithe
ientire idata icommunication iprocess ithe ipath iis ialways-on, idedicated iand
iexclusive, iand iwill inot ibe iclosed iuntil ithe iconversation iends. iThus, ithe
ientire imessage iis itransmitted ibetween itwo inodes ithrough ia idedicated iroute
iin iorder iand iwith ia iconstant ibit irate i(Roberts, i1978).

In ia ipacket-switching inetwork, idata iis iencapsulated iinto ismall isegments

icalled i“packet” iby ithe inetwork iprotocol iused. iEach ipacket icontains idata
ipayload iand irelated icontrol iinformation, iand itravels ithrough isame ior
idifferent iroutes. iAt ithe idestination inode ithe ipackets iarrived iare ireassembled
iby ithe inetwork iprotocol ito imake iup ithe ioriginal idata iagain. iHowever, iit iis
inoted ithat ithere iare itwo itypes iof ipacket-switching inetworks: iconnectionless
iand iconnection-oriented. iThe ipackets iencapsulated iby iconnectionless iprotocols
isuch iIP, iare icalled idatagram iwhich icontains ithe iinformation iabout itheir
iresource iand idestination, idatagram ican ifind itheir iown iroutes itowards ithe
idestination, ibut itravelling ithrough idifferent iroutes imay iresult iin ivarious
idelays. iThe iconnection-oriented ipacket iswitching iis ialso icalled ivirtual icircuit
12
iswitching; iit iis ito iemulate icircuit iswitching iin ipacket iswitching inetworks iin
iorder ito icombine ithe ibest ifrom ithese itwo inetwork itypes. iSimilar ito icircuit
iswitching, iin ia ivirtual icircuit iswitching inetwork ia iconnection iis iestablished
ibefore idata itransmission istarts, iand ipackets iare idelivered iin iorder ithrough
ithis idedicated iroute, ibut iits ibit irates icould ibe ivarious. iThe iexamples ifor
ivirtual icircuit iswitching.

Internet, iwhere ia ihuge inumber iof iusers, idevelopers iand itechnicians iare
ihooked ito ithe iIP itechnology, ithey iform ia isolid ifoundation ifor ithe ifurther
idevelopments iof ithe iIP itechnology.

On ithe iother ihand, ithe itelecommunication iindustry ihas ialmost istopped

iresearch ion ithe irivals iof iIP, isuch ias iTDM iand iATM itechnologies, iand
iconcentrates ion ithe iIP idevelopment iinstead. iEven ithough ivoice iservices
iare istill icarried iby iATM/SDH inetworks imainly, ia irapid ishift ito iIP ivoice
iis ipredicted.

In ibrief, iit iis ipredicted ithat ithe iall-IP iis ithe ifuture iof iour itelecommunication
inetworks, iat ileast iat ipresent ithe iall-IP inetwork iarchitecture iis ithe ibest
isolution isupporting imost iinnovative iand iprofitable iservices ias ithe iIP
itechnology iis irelatively imature iand ieasier ito ideploy.

IPv6: ithe iNGN iNetwork iProtocol

Internet iProtocol iversion i6, ior iIPv6 ifor ishort, iis ia ilater iversion iof iIP isuite;
iit iis iselected ias ithe iprimary inetwork iprotocol ifor ithe iNGN. iThe itransition
ito iIPv6 iis iusually iconsidered iimportant ias ithe iInternet iwill irun iout iof iits
iIPv4 iaddresses iin ithe inext idecade, iand iIPv6 ican iprovide imany imore
ipotential iaddresses i(2128 ivs. i232). iBut ithe iimproved ioverall iperformance iof
ithe iIPv6 iInternet, iincluding ihigher inetwork ithroughput, ienhanced iQoS iand
ietc, iis ialso isignificant. i(Bradner i& iMankin, i1995)

IPv6 ihas ibeen ideveloped ifor iover ia idecade; iits idevelopment iwas iinitiated iin
iearly i1990 iby iIETF i(the iInternet iEngineering iTask iForce) ito i“address
iperceived iscaling iproblems iin ithe iInternet’s iaddressing iand irouting
iarchitectures” i(Nightingale, i2007). iNow iit ihas ibeen iwidely iaccepted iand
ideployed iin ithe itelecommunication iindustry, iits icommercial iimplementations
iare iemerging ion ia ilarge iscale ito ireplace iits iprevious iversion.

13
 Chapter 5

The Next Generation Backbone/Core Transport Network

A itransport inetwork iplays ian iessential irole iin ithe inetwork iworld ias iit iis ithe
ifoundation iof ithe ientire itelecommunication inetwork isystem, iand iit iprovides
iconnectivity iand irelated icontrol ifunctions ifor iother igeographically-located
inetworks. iEspecially, ia ibackbone/core itransport inetwork iis ithe icentral ipart iof
ithe itransport inetwork isystem; iit itypically irefers ito ithe ihigh icapacity icarrier-
class itransport inetworks iproviding iconnectivity iamong iother isub-transport
inetworks.

Today inetwork icarriers iare ifacing ia inumber iof iserious ichallenges ioriginated
iin itraffic iexplosion iand idata itype ishift iin itheir itransport inetworks, iand iare
iconsequently iforced ito isearch ifor inew isolutions. iThe idesired isolutions iare
iexpected ito ihandle ithe iincreasing idemand ion iIP idata itransport ias iwell ias ito
ireduce ioperational icosts, iin iparticular ito ieliminate iunnecessary icapital
iexpenditure ior ioverlapping iinvestment ion ithe imultiple iservice-specific
itransport inetworks. iGreat iefforts iwere imade iby ithe itelecommunication
iindustry ito isearch ifor isuch isolutions iuntil ithe iemergence iof ithe iNGN
iconcept.

As idiscussed iin ichapter i3, ithe iNGN imeets ithe iindustry’s idemands iin ithe
itransport inetwork isegment ias iit iis ia iunified iand iopen inetwork iinfrastructure
iable ito iprovide ihigher inetwork icapacities iand iallow icooperation iamong
imultiple iaccess inetworks ito ideliver ivarious iservices iand/or iapplications. iOn
ithe iother ihand, ithe itelecommunication iindustry ibelieves ithe ifuture iof
itransport inetworks iis iphotons, ithe iall-optical inetwork i(Jiang, i2007), ias ithe
ioptical ifibre icable ican iprovide itremendous idata itransfer irates icompared ito
iother itypes iof imedia ilike icopper icable.

Furthermore, iover ithe ipast idecades, igreat iprogress ihas ibeen iachieved iin
iterms iof ithe iapplicability, isurvivability iand iscalability iof ioptical inetworks.
iConsequently ioptical itransport itechnology iis iwidely iused iin itransport
inetworks icurrently. iTherefore, iusing ithe ioptical itransport itechnology ito ifulfil
ithe iNGN irequirements iin itransport istratum iis ian iideal isolution ifor inetwork
icarriers iin icurrent istage. iThe iNGN ioptical itransport inetwork ihas ibeen ithe

14
imain iresearch idirection ifor ithe itelecommunication iindustry iin ithe i21st
icentury.

As ian iessential ipart iof iNGN inetworks, ibesides ithe irole iof itransporting idata,
ian iNGN itransport inetwork ihas ito isatisfy ithe icommon iNGN irequirements
iincluding iIP ibased ipacket-switching, idecoupling iservice ifrom itransport, iopen
iinterface, iend-to-end iQoS iguarantee, iand ietc. idescribed iin ichapter i3.

This ichapter itherefore iaims ito iidentify iand iexamine ithe iprimary itechnologies
iused iin iNGN itransport inetworks ito ianswer ithe isub-questions iof iresearch
iquestion i2: i“What itechnologies iare iable ito imeet ithe iNGN irequirements iin
ithe itransport istratum?” iand i“Why iare ithey ineeded?”

OTN: ithe iNGN iTransport iTechnology

Data itransmission irate iand ireliability iare ialways ithe itop ipriorities iwhen
inetwork icarriers idevelop iand ideploy itheir icarrier-class icore/backbone
inetworks. iCurrently ithere iare itwo imain itechnologies ior icombinations iof ithem
iwidely iused ito iform ithe icore/backbone ioptical itransport inetworks:
iSynchronous iDigital iHierarchy i(SDH) iand iSynchronous iOptical iNetworking
i(WDM). iThus, iIP idata iare icarried iby iseveral iapproaches iover ioptical ifibres:
iIP iover iSDH, iIP iover iSDH iover iWDM ior iIP iover iWDM.

The iSDH iand iSONET iare itwo iclose icircuit iswitching inetwork itechnologies
iwidely iused ifor ivoice ior idata itransmission iover ioptical ifibres. iAs iSONET
iis ionly iused iin
U.S. iand iCanada iwhile iSDH iis ifor ithe irest iof ithe iworld, iin ithis idissertation
ionly ithe iterm iSDH iis iused. iSDH iwas ioriginally iconceived ito ireplace ithe
ilegacy iPlesiochronous iDigital iHierarchy i(PDH) isystems iin ithe ilate i80s ito
icarry ilarger iamounts iof itelephone icalls ibut ilater iit iwas ialso iused ito icarry
idata itraffic. iSDH iadopts ia iTime iDivision iMultiplexing i(TDM) iprotocol ito
itransfer imultiple idigital ibit istreams iover ia isingle ioptical ifibre iby
imultiplexing ioptical icarrier isignals iin iorder ito iachieve ihigher ioverall isingle
iline irates. iAs iSDH iis ia icircuit-switching ioptical itransport inetwork, iit
iprovides ipermanent iconnections iand ieach iconnection ioffers ia iconstant ibit
irate iand idelay. iThough iSDH iwas ioriginally idesigned ito icarry ivoice itraffic,
iit iis inow iwidely iused ias ia iphysical ilayer iprotocol ito icarry iIP ipackets iover
15
ioptical inetworks; ithis iapproach iis ithe iso-called i“IP iover iSDH” i(Anne, i2005;
iShafi i& iMortimer, i1995).

In ia isimilar iway, iWavelength-division iMultiplexing i(WDM) iis ialso ia icircuit

iswitching inetwork iproviding ipermanent iconnections iand iconstant ibit irates.
iDiffering ifrom ithe itime idivision imultiplexing iapproach iin iSDH, iWDM
iadopts ia iwavelength-

ASON: ian iIntelligentized iTransport iNetwork iControl

iPlane ifor ithe iNGN

The iNGN iarchitecture iconsists iof itwo ibasic ifunction igroups: itransport iand
irelated icontrol ifunctions. iThe irequirements iin ithe iNGN itransport iarea ihave
ibeen isatisfied iby ithe iOTN itransport iplane, ithus ia icontrol iplane iis irequired
ito isatisfy ithe irequirements iin iNGN itransport icontrol iarea, iand ithe
iAutomatically iSwitched iOptical iNetwork i(ASON) iis isuch ia isolution.

As iIP ihas ibeen iidentified ias ithe iprimary inetwork iprotocol iin iNGN inetworks
ito icarry iservices iand/or iapplications, ithe imajor iresearch idirection iin itransport
inetwork itechnologies irelated iresearch ihas ibeen iturned ito ithe ioptimization ifor
itransmitting iIP ipackets iover ioptical inetworks. iAs idescribed iin iprevious
ichapters, ithe irapid igrowth iof iIP iservices iand iapplications iover irecent iyears
ihas imade idata itraffic ifar isurpass ivoice itraffic iand ieven inow idominate ithe
itransport inetwork, iand ibecause iIP itraffic iis inaturally iabrupt, ivariable,
iuncertain iand iunpredictable, ithe iconstant ibit-rate idistribution imode iin
itraditional ioptical itransport inetworks icannot ifully imeet ithe iincreased idemand
iof itransporting iIP idata.

Furthermore, iin iterms iof inetwork istructure, ithe itraditional ioptical itransport
inetworks iadapt ia imultilayer inetwork imodel iwhich idirectly ileads ito
icomplicated iservice iprovisioning iand imassive itransport ioverhead. iThirdly,
iregarding inetwork iresource iallocation, iWDM iand iits iconsequent
idevelopments iprovide irequired itransmission icapacity ibut icannot iachieve
idynamic ibandwidth idistribution. iThus, ito iovercome ithese itechnical idefects,
i“network iintelligence” iwas iintroduced ito igain iextra iadvantages ion inetwork
imanagement iand iresource iallocation iin ithe iNGN itransport istratum i(Ciena,
i2008).

16
 Chapter 6

Discussion
The iprevious ichapters ipresent ia idetailed idescription iof ithe iNGN iby
iinvestigating ithe iNGN inetwork iarchitecture, irequirements, imarket idrivers iand
icore itransport itechnologies. iIn ithis ichapter, ithe ifocus iis iplaced ion ithe
ifindings iobserved ifrom iprevious ichapters ior ithe iissues irelated ito iNGN
ineeds, irequirements iand iimplementation. iThis ichapter iidentifies ithe ikey
iperformance ilimiting ifactors iand iexplains ihow ithese ifactors ican ibe
iquestioned iand/or iimproved. iThus, ithe ilast iresearch iquestion i“What iare ithe
ikey ifactors iaffecting iNGN ideployment?” iis iaddressed.

The iTrend itowards iNetwork iConvergence

The iword i“convergence” iis ifrequently imentioned iin ithis idissertation, iit
irepresents ithe icurrent itechnology itrends iin ithe itelecommunication imarket, iand
iit iis ialso ithe iultimate igoal iof iNGN ideployment. iThe inetwork iconvergence
iin igeneral imeans ithe ivarious inetworks ideveloped ior ioptimised ifor idedicated
iuses iconverge iover ia icommon iinfrastructure ito iprovide iintegrated iservices.
iAs ia iresult, icurrently inetwork ideployments ihave ibeen imigrating ifrom ithe
iservice-specific inetworks itoward ithe inetworks ibased ion ia icommon
iinfrastructure. iCisco iintroduced ia ibroader iconcept iof iconvergence. iBesides ithe
inetwork iconvergence ithere iis ialso ian iemerging
convergence iin iservice iand iapplication iarea, ifor iexample, ivoice i(VoIP), ivideo
i(IPTV) iand idata i(the iInternet) iare idelivered iover ia icommon iplatform i(the
iInternet iExplorer). iMoreover, ithe imanagement ifunctions ilike ibilling iare ialso
iintegrated iover ior ican ibe ireached ithrough ithe isame iplatform i(Weissberger,
i2005).

This iemerging itrend iof inetwork iconvergence iis ia inetwork ievolution imainly
idriven iby ithe ipursuit iof inetwork iefficiency ifrom imarket iplayers. iIn
iaddition, iit iis ialso ian iinteractive itwo-fold iprocess: ithe itrend iof inetwork
iconvergence iresults iin iNGN idevelopment, ibut iNGN idevelopment ialso
iaccelerates ithe inetwork iconvergence iprocess.

17
In iaddition, inetwork iconvergence imay iprovide iopportunities ifor idisadvantaged
iplayers ito icompete iwith ipredominant igiants iin ithe imarket ias iwell. iAnother
iresearcher, iHuang i(2007), istated iin ihis ithesis ithat ithe itelecommunication
imarket iwill ibe imore icompetitive ias ithe iopen ienvironment iadvocated iby iNGN
iand isome inew itechnologies iin iNGN isuch ias iLLU i(Local iLoop iUnbundling)
iwill ibring inew iopportunities ifor ismall ibusinesses.

In ibrief, iall iparties iinvolved iinto ithis inetwork ievolution ican idefinitely igain
ibenefits ifrom ithe itechnology iprogress, ibut ifor iusers ithe iimpacts imay iemerge
ilater ithan ifor imarket iplayers, iand ifor ithe iminor imarket iplayers ithis inetwork
ievolution imay iprovide iboth ichallenges iand iopportunities.

QoS
Service iquality iwill ialways icome ifirst iwhen iusers ithink iof ialternative
iservices. iAs idescribed iin iChapter i4, iIP iis ia iconnectionless ipacket iswitching
inetwork iprotocol iwhich iwas idesigned ifor inetwork iflexibility ibut ilacks iQoS
iguarantee. iIn icontrast ithe iconnection-oriented i(whatever iphysical ior ivirtual
icircuit) inetwork iprotocols iare ibetter iat iquality icontrol ibecause iof ithe
idedicated icommunication iroute. iThus, ithe iconnectionless iprotocols iare iusually
iworking iin iconjunction iwith iconnection- ioriented iprotocols iin ipacket
iswitching inetworks ito iachieve ihigher iQoS. iIn ithe iInternet iProtocol isuite, ithe
iconnection-oriented iprotocol, iTransmission iControl iProtocol i(TCP), iis iin
iplace ias ia icontrol iprotocol iworking iwith iIP ifor ithe iabove ireason. iHowever,
iin ian iNGN, iwhere ithe iIP isuite iis iselected ito icarry iall iservices, ithe iproblem
iis iin ithe iforeground. iIt iis ino iproblem ifor idata itransmission iservice ias ithe
iQoS, iwhich iis imainly ithe iintegrity iof ithe iinformation, ican ibe iguaranteed iby
iTCP, ibut ifor ireal-time imultimedia iservice idelivery, ias ithe idifferent
itransmission iroutes iresult iin ivarious idelivery itime, ipacket idelay iis ithe imain
iquality iimpairing ifactor. iThe iIP isuite icannot imeet ithe iQoS irequirements iin
ithis ikind iof iuses, iit iis iwhy iusually ithe iVoIP ivoice iis iconsidered ilow
iquality icompared ito iPSTN ivoice iwithin ithe icurrent inetwork iinfrastructure.

On ithe iother ihand, ione iof ithe ikey iimprovements iexpected ifrom ian iNGN
inetwork iis ithe ienhanced iQoS. iThus, iextra imechanisms iare idefinitely ineeded
iwithin ithe iNGN iarchitecture: ia ivirtual icircuit iswitching iprotocol iMulti
iProtocol iLabel iSwitching i(MPLS) iand iits isubsequent idevelopment
18
Thus, iit iis inot isurprising ito isee ia inumber iof ienhanced iand icomplex isecurity
imechanisms iadopted iand iintegrated iin iNGN, isuch ias ithe iconcept iof iSecurity
iDomain, iNGN iIMS iAuthentication, iand iIPSec. iAt ipresent iit iis idifficult ito
ijudge ihow isecure ian iNGN iis iuntil iit igoes ito ipractice, ibut iit iis icertain ithat
isecurity iwill ibe ia ibig ichallenge ifor iNGN iimplementation iin ithe ifuture i(Tu,
i2005).

Emergency iCall iHandling

In iaddition ito ithe iabove, ispecial iattention iis ifocused ion ithe iemergency icall
ihandling iwithin ithe iNGN iinfrastructure. iHistorically, iat ia ivery iearly istage
iof iVoIP, ithe iemergency icall iservice iwas ineglected iby iservice iproviders, ias
iVoIP iwas iconsidered ias ithe icomplement ionly ito iPSTN iat ithat itime, ibut
ilater iwhen iVoIP iwas iwidely ideployed, imany igovernments iregulated ithe
iemergency icall iservice ias imandatory iin iVoIP iservices. iThus iit ihas ino
ilonger ibeen ideemed ias ia ivital iproblem iin ithe ifuture iNGN.

On ithe iother ihand, imobility iis ione iof ithe igreatest iadvantages iprovided iby
ithe iNGN, iin isimple iEnglish, ithat imeans iusers ican imake iand ireceive iVoIP
icalls ivirtually ianywhere ionce ithey ilog iin ithe inetwork iwith itheir iunique
iidentities. iThus, isimilar ito iusing imobile iphones, iit icreates ipotential
idifficulties ifor ithe iemergency icall ihandling icentre ito iidentify ithe icaller’s
iposition iexactly i(Langmantel, i2007& iNewport iNetworks, i2008).

Furthermore, iin irespect iof idisaster irecovery, ithe iproblem ihas inot ibeen
isolved iyet. iIn ia ipure iNGN ienvironment, iall iservices iare iachieved iover ia
icomputer inetwork, iwhich irequires ielectricity ifor iits ioperation. iA ipower
ifailure iwill idefinitely iinterrupt iall iservices ion ithe iuser iside, iand ithere iis ino
iexception ifor iVoIP icalls. iThus, imaking ian iemergency icall iis ia icritical
iproblem iin ithis ior isimilar isituations. iTherefore, iPSTN imay icontinue ifor ia
ilong itime iproviding iservices iin ian iemergency isuch ias ipower ifailure iand
idisaster iuntil ithe isolution iis ifound.

19
 Chapter 7

Summary and Conclusion

The istudy iproposed ito iinvestigate ithe iNGN iarchitecture iand ithe iunderlying
itechnologies iwith ia ifocus ion ithe inetwork itransport istratum ifrom ia inetwork
icarrier iperspective. iIn idetail, ithe istudy ihas iidentified ithe imarket iincentives
ifor iNGN idevelopment, iexamined ifundamental itechnologies irequired ito irealize
ithe iexpected iNGN ifunctions iespecially iin ithe itransport istratum, iand
idiscussed isome iissues irelated ito iNGN iimplementation. iThree imain iresearch
iquestions iwere iformulated:

 Question i1: iWhat iis ithe iimportance iof iNGN?

 Question i2: iWhich itechnologies iare ithe imost isuitable iones ifor iNGN?

 Question i3: iWhat iare ithe ikey ifactors iaffecting iNGN ideployment?

With irespect ito iquestion i1 iit iwas ifound ithat iNGN iis ian iIP ibased ipacket-
switching inetwork idelivering iall ikinds iof iservices iand/or iapplications iover ia
icommon iinfrastructure. iIt iwas ialso ifound ithat ithe iIP iand iASON/OTN
itransport itechnologies iform ithe iNGN iarchitecture, ithus iresearch iquestion i2 iis
iaddressed. iWith irespect ito ithe ithird iresearch iquestion iit iwas ifound ithat
ibesides inetwork icapacity, iQoS iissues, isecurity iconcerns, iand iemergency icall
ihandling imight iaffect iNGN idevelopment inegatively.

In iconclusion, iin ithe icurrent itelecommunication imarket, ia inew iphenomenon

ican ibe iobserved: ian iongoing irapid ishift ifrom itraditional ivoice itraffic ito iIP
itraffic, iand ia imove ifrom iservice-specific inetworks itowards ia icommon
inetwork iinfrastructure iwhere iall iservices iare isupported. iFollowing ithe itrends
iabove, iNGN iis ienvisioned ias ia inetwork iinfrastructure idesigned ito icover ithe
ishortcomings iof icurrent inetworks. iMore ispecifically, iNGN ifeatures iinclude iIP
ibased ipacket-switching iand iservices iindependent ito itransport. iThus, ia
isuccessfully iimplemented iNGN ishould ibe iable ito iprovide imore icost-effective
iscalability iand ia ibetter iprice/performance iratio i(long iterm). iNGN isubscribers
ishould ibe iable ito iexperience iuninterrupted iservices.

20
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