ah the grass is always greener syndrome ;) MEF in my view has become too heavy and they are standardising things that don't need it, Ethernet is low cost and in my view they are adding cost (MEF certified engineers? WTF?!).
Using VLANs is most likely the future, but PPP based solutions will be here for a long time also, just make sure that the platform you use to terminate has the same rough feature set that a BRAS or BNG has. a lot of devices support VLANs but their actual ability is stark. How we deliver customers don't care but reliability etc is important to them - also don't forget possibility of handover from LTE (L3). Sent from my iPad On 11 Sep 2013, at 18:33, "Charlie Boisseau" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Ben, Short answer - yes; everyone uses simple VLANs for customer separation. Long answer - yes; MEF have the eNNI spec. Also IETF have an RFC which many people use as a guideline for testing their NNIs (especially if they're not fussed about MEF dogma). http://metroethernetforum.org/Assets/Technical_Specifications/PDF/MEF_26.1.pdf http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2544.txt Reading through the lines on your question though: The problem is that most broadband isn't yet NGA; the vast majority is still ADSL. You're very unlikely to see anyone handing off traditional DSL as native Ethernet, because they'll be doing some dark magic voodoo to make it happen. Even the now ubiquitous FTTC (NGA) connections are still transported over the 'broadband' network, and handed off as PPP/L2TP (using PPPoE at the CPE). Ethernet handoff is very much possible with NGA, because it's all Ethernet under the hood, however at the moment this is sold by the wholesale networks as a premium business product. I suppose there's no appetite for domestic NGA to be handed off as Ethernet - probably because the infrastructure involved in transporting it natively is more costly. On our Wholesale Ethernet service (yes, we do Wholesale Ethernet!), we deliver NGA in a way that pretty much matches the ALA spec, we just haven't specifically made the effort to comply. Honestly, we're more interested in becoming MEF compliant than following the ALA spec. MEF covers all things Ethernet (giving us a 'carrier-grade' badge), whereas ALA only really covers 'broadband' technologies (FTTC/P/PON). <SHAMELESS PLUG> So if you want access to the entire UK NGA footprint on an Ethernet handoff that looks a lot like an ALA spec NNI, give us a call! </SHAMELESS PLUG> C -- Charlie Boisseau Fluency Communications Ltd. e. [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> w. http://fluency.net.uk/ t. 0845 874 7000 Fluency Communications Ltd. is part of the Commsworld<http://www.commsworld.com/> Group. This Email and files transmitted with it are confidential and are intended for the sole use of the individual or organisation addressed. If you have received this Email in error please notify the sender immediately and delete it without using, copying, storing, forwarding or disclosing its contents to any other person While Fluency has endeavoured to ensure that any attachments do not contain viruses it will not be liable for any losses incurred by the recipient. Fluency Communications Ltd. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC390685. Registered Office Address: 45 Peffer Place, Edinburgh, EH16 4BB On 11 Sep 2013, at 16:30, Ben Ward <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Thanks Neil, Is there a particular wholesale interconnect method that people have settled on where L2TP isn't the preferred option? Ben On 6 September 2013 16:47, Neil J. McRae <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I don't think anyone is using it. On 06/09/2013 12:06, "Ben Ward" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi all, Has anyone implemented the NICC's ALA architecture in the UK? http://www.niccstandards.org.uk/publications/ala.cfm Given that the PPP/L2TP handoffs are so well defined it's tempting to use them, but using VLANs seems to be the future. ALA looks like a solution, but I've yet to hear anyone mention it in production. Any views in the UKNOF community? (har!) Ben -- [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | http://www.crouchingbadger.com<http://www.crouchingbadger.com/> -- [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | http://www.crouchingbadger.com<http://www.crouchingbadger.com/>
