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Is CRS-3 a game changer?

Cisco's new carrier routing system, the CRS-3, while boasting considerable speed and capacity, will take some time to translate into high-speed content delivery for end-users.

”Cisco's announcement of 322Tbps, including packet inspection at that speed, is impressive,” says Naresh Soni, CTO of wireless technology developer InterDigital. However, it will take 18 to 24 months for the end-user to see the benefits, he adds.

While upgrading the core network is a step in the right direction, Soni says network optimisation should include the edge and end-point as well.

Cisco announced its upgraded routing system earlier this week, throwing around some hefty numbers, including 322Tbps capacity – triple that of its previous router, and 12 times that of its closest competitor, according to the company.

Put differently, this enables every film ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes, and every woman, man, and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously, says Cisco.

But commentators are quick to point out these speeds will not translate into the consumer's experience. “The speeds they claim are only possible if the routers are configured in a specific way, a configuration which is unlikely to be used, because it would require far too much space and power,” says Ryan Smit, research analyst at BMI-TechKnowledge.

“Even if it was configured in that manner, users would not be able to experience those speeds, because of other constraints on networks, such as the bandwidth limitations of last-mile connectivity.”

According to Soni, the new router is a next-generation product evolution, pitched at attractive cost points, which service providers will use if they want to upgrade their networks. But upgrades are extensive, he adds, and have to include the whole network, including edge, backhaul and end-points.

Traffic overload

According to Cisco, the new routing system will accelerate the delivery of broadband communications to keep pace with the incredible growth of video transmission, mobile devices and online services.

Cisco's Visual Networking Index states annual global IP traffic will quintuple from 2008 to 2013, with this year's forecast predicting 510 exabytes per year in 2012, growing to 667 exabytes in 2013. Overall, IP traffic will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40%, the company states.

“Going forward, the increasing convergence of technologies and development of one digital platform for service delivery is driving a lot of data consumption,” says Soni.

He adds there's been a shift in the value chain. “Previously, device makers would sell devices to carriers, which then provide services to the user. Now, companies like Google, Apple and Nokia are delivering services directly to the user, which is driving huge levels of content consumption.”

Global telecoms provider AT&T recently conducted a successful test of the CRS-3, in a field trial of 100-Gigabit backbone network technology, which could help it deal with exploding traffic volumes. The carrier says it handled 40% more traffic on network last year than in 2008, with the trend continuing in 2010.

“Carriers are making incremental upgrades to infrastructure, but applications are constantly growing to consume additional capacity,” notes Soni. “The growth of mobile Internet, improvements in browsing technologies on mobile phones, as well as the increase in smartphone penetration, means data consumption is growing at a much higher rate than carriers can cope with.”

According to Smit, the CRS-3's greatest impact will be on telecoms providers, as the major target market. “It will allow them to route far more data at the back-end than they were previously able to do.”

He adds that the routing of data is only one piece of the puzzle. “But it does mean that, going into the future, at least the potential bottleneck has been widened.”

Soni argues a “brute force” approach to the bandwidth crunch, including extensions, new air interfaces, and network upgrades, is not enough. “You have to look at how to evolve the network in a holistic way, and reduce the backhaul load. This is where the big bottlenecks occur and you have to consider the whole chain from core to edge to end-point holistically.”

Video star

According to Cisco, in addition to capacity requirements, the growth of mobile and video applications is creating multidirectional traffic patterns, and driving the emergence of the data centre cloud. This is something the CRS-3 targets, by enabling the unified service delivery of cloud services, says the company.

Soni notes that cloud services are becoming more affordable, and points to the growth in computing power of mobile devices. “Processors in laptops and smartphones are rivalling that of desktop counterparts, but one has to consider the computing versus communications ratio. Where computing is required to process and render data, effective communications have to deliver that data intelligently.”

He argues cloud services will not benefit from the CRS-3 immediately, only when the whole network is optimised. Smit agrees: “It will not enable greater delivery of cloud computing until the other bottle-necks are addressed as well.”

Martin Springer, business manager for Cisco at BT, says the services the router offers are extremely impressive, with the ability to move large amounts of video data, direct access to data centres, and power savings.

“But from a South African perspective, it's going to be difficult to take advantage of these capabilities straight away, because they're very bandwidth-intensive.”

He notes that video is one of the CRS-3's key differentiators. “It can accommodate video in a way other routers aren't able to, and this ability to move video and collaborate around the world is a key driver for most ICT companies.”

While the router's high bandwidth requirements will delay its uptake locally, Springer is confident the technology will enter the market soon. ”It's an innovative concept, and something we can build on and gear up for in future.”

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