Performance Management of Metro Ethernet Services

Today Metro Ethernet is a billion-dollar market, according to market-research firm IDC, and by their prediction is expected to reach $6.3 billion worldwide by 2008. The advantages of Metro Ethernet lie in its ability to move data at higher speeds for lower costs than alternative technologies, thereby providing a compelling argument to use Ethernet as a WAN transport service. Enterprise customers are increasingly aware of this benefit, as well as others related to improved management cost and ease of use. With significant expertise and comfort around Ethernet, Enterprises are seeking to adopt Metro Ethernet as a cost-effective networking technology. Similarly, Service Providers have anticipated the needs of their customers and are building out new Metro Ethernet networks and services. They not only foresee the promise of new revenue potential and higher flexibility in bandwidth provisioning but operational and capital savings as well.

However to harness the full potential of Metro Ethernet, there are considerable service quality challenges that must be addressed. To do so, it is imperative that Service Providers and their customers integrate a comprehensive Performance Management platform into their overall management delivery chain.