End-to-end solutions for RPR

The aggressive push of data based services is forcing the SONET/SDH transport networks to be data aware. Ethernet interfaces with switching and VLAN capabilities are already a part of the SONET/SDH landscape via the Multi-service Provisioning Platforms.

Native Ethernet transport has the deficiency of not being ring aware and suffering from slow protection times, unlike the sub 50ms carrier grade restoration of SONET/SDH platforms. The typical implementation of an Ethernet interface over SONET would be in the form of a plug-in card with the capability to provide point-to-point services. There are a few packet ring solutions in the market, but are based on proprietary mechanisms.

IEEE has come out with a specification for Resilient Packet Rings (802.17) which was ratified in June 2004. Telecom equipment vendors have begun introducing the IEEE 802.17 solution on their platforms. Few carrier RFPs explicitly demand the support for a resilient packet ring on the product platforms. A RPR capability can be provided in the form of a RPR enabled ethernet plug-in interface on a MSPP.

Wipro has a RPR implementation based on the Intel ® IXP2800 Network Processor™. The control plane is implemented on the Intel® XScale core and the data plane is implemented as micro code on the micro-engines of the network processor.

Wipro RPR software solution brochure

Wipro also has developed a conformance test suite (test plan/suite) for validating the product conformance to the RPR specification.

Wipro RPR conformance test suite brochure