Next Generation Internet Works

It’s amazing to see how far technology has advanced in terms of communications within the last century. Also, the growth rate of networks as a whole within the few years (10 years, has been substantial.To that end, some of the existing technology include, common terms of infrastructure as given below:

• Wireless Access Points and Wireless Lan Controllers
• Routers, Switches, Firewalls
• Mobiles and VOIP
• DSLAMS and Telephone Exchanges

However, I’d like to discuss the new generation of internetworking which builds on these components. These include the following:

IP DSLAM

A Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) allows telephone lines to make faster connections to the Internet. It acts as a network device inside ISP premises connecting multiple customer DSL lines.

Traffic from these lines is transmitted to an Internet backbone within the ISP using multiplexing techniques.

The limitation of traditional DSLAMS is that it uses Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology to connect to upstream routers in the ISP Internet Backbone. These routers then extract the IP traffic being transmitted through the DSLAM and pass it on to the internet backbone which usually consists of a fiber optic network, or Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GEPON) components. This results in major processing overheads for the core routers in the ISP backbone, reducing the bandwidth and speed available to customers.

This limitation is overcome through the use of IP based DSLAMS which extract the IP traffic at the DSLAM level and transmit it to the upstream routers. The advantage of this is reduced traffic entering the core internet backbone, resulting in easier management, and provision of enhanced richer services such as multiple virtual circuits to customers over single DSL lines. Using an IP DSLAM also reduces operational expenditure since it is possible to provide more than a single service to Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) using a single DSL line. These include Triple Play (Data, Voice and TV), Multicast services, VOIP and ip based telephony, etc. Examples of IP DSLAMs are given below.

HUAWEI MA5616

Zhone Bitstorm

Phantom DSL

You might ask what is the difference between this version of DSL, and all the other forms of DSL connectivity already available (xDSL, VDSL, ADSL, SHDSL), and how it will affect your internet connectivity? Well! Here is your answer. !!

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has made a new discovery which promises to change the face of copper based networks, prolonging their life and popularity as the preferred method of choice of ISPs for their last mile connectivity.

They announced that they have been able to achieve a sustained speed of 850Mbps on a twisted pair copper line, at a distance of 400 m. At 500m, the circuit was able to sustain 750 Mbps. Further testing revealed that at a maximum distance of 1 km, the circuit was able to sustain a minimum of 100Mbps.

The company was able to achieve this by using a technology now known as Phantom DSL. The principle behind this technology is: Using a virtual or Phantom channel to boost the speed of existing twisted copper wire.

This technique ensures that the distance limitation faced by copper networks is overcome, allowing existing copper based lines to provide more speed resulting in increased value for money services from ISPs, without the need to lay costly, fiber optic lines to homes and businesses.This represents a huge advancement in technology for existing copper fixed line infrastructure. It allows previously unseen speeds on existing copper networks while supporting the economic use of existing network concepts such as VOIP, online gaming, video conferencing, Iptv, etc.

DSL Technology and its advances Phantom DSL over existing copper boosts speed to 850Mbps

Furthermore, NSN have announced that they would incorporate this feature in their next line-up of DSLAMs and CPE. However, it is un

known at this stage, when other ISP’s will have access to this technology.

Full Duplex Wireless Transmission

Wireless transmissions up till now are considered to be a one –way communication. However, you can argue that mobile phones have wireless connectivity and they allow people to communicate data both ways.

What I’m talking about is simultaneous full duplex based transmission of data using wireless connectivity. Except for mobile phones, which use an expensive workaround, radio traffic can only flow in one direction at a time severely limiting the speed of wireless transmissions.

However, researchers at Stanford University have created a full duplex radio that allows wireless signals to be sent and received simultaneously, thereby instantly doubling the speed of existing Wi-Fi networks. They achieved this breakthrough by developing a radio receiver that could filter out the signal from its own transmitter so the weak incoming signals could be heard. Each radio would know exactly what it is transmitting and what it should filter out. When the signals from the two transmitting antennas meet at the rec

eiving antenna, they effectively cancel each other out – not completely, but enough to allow the receiving antenna to pick up signals from other radios.

Full Duplex Radio able to receive and transmit data simultaneously at Stanford University

This breakthrough in wireless transmissions has enormous potential for the way in which we view wireless networks today. In addition, to the obvious benefit of doubling the speed of existing Wi-Fi networks, it may also allow two or more parties to send/receive data simultaneously on a single channel without interference. This may be useful in critical applications such as air traffic controllers, whereby flight plans are transmitted between planes and the tower simultaneously using the same channel with little to no interference from transmissions. Or even in military applications, whereby combat troops placed in different locations can be simultaneously contacted for strategic movement in intensive campaigns.

However, certain challenges have to be overcome before this concept can be available for commercial use. These include incorporating hardware and software to commercially acceptable standards, increasing the speed and range of duplex transmissions, etc.

These exciting new developments in the field of telecommunications show the capability and the potential for human evolution and also the importance humans place on global communication.

Copper vs Fiber

In the networking world, there are two distinctive kinds of communication mediums as far as last mile connectivity is concerned.

Copper based networks

Transmission using copper based networks works on the principle that dual copper pairs work in twisted pair forms to transmit data from one point to another. These involve transferring of data from one point to another using existing local telephone networks. The term most commonly referred to this technology is "Digital Subscriber Line" or DSL.

An explanation of DSL Technology from Wikipedia is as follows:

"Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL uses a second, higher frequency band (greater than 25 kHz) above the low frequency regime (5 kHz and below) used by voice communications. On customer premises, a DSL filter is installed on each outlet for telephone handsets to remove the high frequency band, eliminating interference with the operation of the telephone set, and enabling simultaneous use. "

Suffice to say, that the maximum speed generated in worldwide over for copper based twisted pair networks is 1 Gbps.

However, this speed has a distance limitation of 100m cable length, after which the signal has to be repeated using a switch or power over Ethernet (POE) adaptor.

Despite this, it is unlikely that copper based networks will eventually be replaced completely by their fiber optic counterparts. This is evident through the research of Nokia Siemens Networks, who proved that the use of an innovative concept could expand existing copper based networks. This concept is called phantom dsl.

Phantom dsl uses the creation of a virtual/phantom channel to supplement the dual twisted copper wires existing as the base for the copper network.

Using this technique, a speed of 825 Mbps was recorded over a distance of 400 m, with a sustainable speed of 750 Mbps over a distance of 500m.

This represents a huge breakthrough for copper networks, since the traditional distance limitation of 100m was considered to be one of the main factors by which fiber optic networks were introduced to replace copper based transmission mediums as the last mile technology of choice.

Fiber Based Networks

Fiber-optic lines are strands of optically pure glass as thin as a human hair that carries digital information over long distances. They are arranged in bundles called optical cables and used to transmit light signals over long distances.

A single optical fiber consists of the following parts:

• Core - Thin glass center of the fiber where the light travels
  
• Cladding - Outer optical material surrounding the core that reflects the light back into the core
  
• Buffer coating - Plastic coating that protects the fiber from damage and moisture
  

Hundreds or thousands of these optical fibers are arranged in bundles in optical cables. The bundles are protected by the cable's outer covering, called a jacket.

Optical fibers come in two types:

• Single-mode fibers
  
• Multi-mode fibers
  

Single-mode fibers have small cores (about 3.5 x 10-4 inches or 9 microns in diameter) and transmit infrared laser light (wavelength = 1,300 to 1,550 nanometers).

Multi-mode fibers have larger cores (about 2.5 x 10-3 inches or 62.5 microns in diameter) and transmit infrared light (wavelength = 850 to 1,300 nm) from light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Some optical fibers can be made from plastic. These fibers have a large core (0.04 inches or 1 mm diameter) and transmit visible red light (wavelength = 650 nm) from LEDs.

Principle of Fiber optics

The light in a fiber-optic cable travels through the core (hallway) by constantly bouncing from the cladding (mirror-lined walls), a principle called total internal reflection.

Because the cladding does not absorb any light from the core, the light wave can travel great distances. However, some of the light signal degrades within the fiber, mostly due to impurities in the glass. The extent that the signal degrades depends on the purity of the glass and the wavelength of the transmitted light.

So, which technology is better in terms of last mile connectivity? Both have their pros and cons. I'll leave it to you to decide.

Wired vs Wireless

In todays advanced world, everyone gets caught up in the hype of "wireless " connectivity, what with all the latest Iphones, 3G/4G u name it.

However, sometimes you still need to do things the old fashioned way. Why ? cuz in the end, no matter how evolved you become, you don't get your

Basics right, you still screw up badly. And that's where wired beats wireless any day.

 

Sure you can argue about how much the world has changed since the inception of wireless technology, with more devices become "hands free" and more applications for the

Mobile user on the market, than anyone counts in their heads.

But at some point, every wireless technology incorporates a piece of wire into hardware for it to work.

Just think about something as simple as a small wifi LAN. Sure, the end user devices may all have wifi components in them, such as antennae's, wifi network cards, Bluetooth and the lot,

But at the end of the day, their core/backbone components such as routers, switches, and network cards still incorporate aspects of wired network components in them to function at their peak.

 

Most users only see the face of wireless equipment, and get glamour by the idea of wifi. In fact, more than 95% of people the world over prefer wireless to wired.

They have no idea how difficult it is to incorporate ANY wifi network and the challenges vendors face to create wireless products without the use of wired components.

 

A TRUE wireless solution would have everything from its core to front end totally wireless. This includes end user equipment such as AP's, bridges, and clients to Core equipment such

As routers, switches, IP cameras, Servers, databases. But I seriously doubt that such a perfect system exists, since it would almost be technically impossible to create such a solution with

Those kind of constraints involved.

 

However, this kind of solution already exists using wired networking technology. 99% of medium to large organizations have deployed a hybrid network using equipment from top brands in the telecom

World such as Cisco, Juniper, Huawei, Zhone, Zyxel, Engenius, etc.

 

Therefore, in conclusion, a perfect wired network topology is evident the world over, but the same cannot be said for wireless, since it has yet to come.

Next Generation Blog

This blog is about all the different gadgets and latest technical inventions which I discover to be worthy of being included within.

It also includes the basics of telecommunication, Computer networking in general for anyone interested.

So have a look around. You just might find that VITAL piece of information you've been looking for.