URL: www.lgdacom.net
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Industry: Telecommunications service provider
Challenges
DACOM was in need of a routing platform that would allow it to deliver scalable QoS-enabled Ethernet and IP VPN services over MPLS while extending its leading ATM service.
Solution
The ST™200 Service Edge Router, a multiservice routing solution from ECI Telecom.
Results
Using ECI's ST200, DACOM is able to leverage its current infrastructure to extend existing services and, at the same time, deliver new IP-based services in a cost-effective, reliable and secure manner.
In today's competitive telecommunications market, all carriers are searching for new ways to roll out advanced new services while containing costs. DACOM, Korea's second largest communications service provider, is no exception. Long recognized as a leader in pioneering new, innovative technology, DACOM was the first carrier in Asia to offer mission-critical multiservice applications to customers and suppliers over an MPLS network.
To introduce new, scalable QoS-enabled Ethernet and IP VPN services over MPLS while extending its leading ATM service, DACOM decided to install routing technology from ECI Telecom. ECI was the clear choice to provide the multiservice technology required to support this advanced offering. “For edge routers, ECI is the clear leader, even for traditional core functions like OSPF/BGP routing throughput,” said Mr. Byung Chang Choi, Network Switching Division Executive Director, DACOM. “And when it came to putting a range of interfaces in a single platform, ECI had no peer.”
ECI's ST200 Service Edge Router enables DACOM to extend its ATM service across its metropolitan Ethernet access network without sacrificing the high quality of service of its existing offering. DACOM is also using the flexible ST200 platform to deliver next-generation Ethernet services with sophisticated QoS while at the same time offering new, scalable IP VPN services.
The DACOM deal marked ECI’s entry into the Asian telecommunications market with a data platform. “DACOM is one of the world’s top service providers and a leader in the use of innovative technology to support its customers’ evolving requirements,” said Rafael Francis, AVP Product Management, Data Platforms, ECI Telecom. “The ST200 was designed specifically to meet the demands of the multi-service edge, and we are extremely pleased that DACOM is deploying the ST200 to offer a range of Layer 2 and IP-based offerings from our platform.”
A Complete Solution
When DACOM set out to upgrade its network, it had two primary objectives in mind: extend its existing ATM service across the metro Ethernet and deliver new, scalable Layer 2 and IP VPN services with full QoS. To accomplish this, DACOM needed a platform that combined the scalability and flexibility of IP routing with the performance and traffic management properties of Layer 2 switching.
After reviewing proposals from incumbent vendors, DACOM quickly concluded that only ECI could provide a complete multiservice solution. Only the ST200 supports Layer 2 and IP-based services on a single device with unmatched scale and performance as customers and services are turned up. This provides a key advantage to DACOM since fewer devices are required and more services are supported per customer, with the additional flexibility to software-configure new services and speeds as customer needs change.
Maintaining the high quality of service of its existing ATM offerings was a critical requirement for DACOM, and the ST200 proved to be an ideal choice due to its robust QoS and traffic management capabilities. Unlike traditional IP routers designed to carry best-effort Internet traffic, ECI's ST200 employs flexible queuing, hierarchical scheduling, wire-speed packet classification and sophisticated policing and congestion management to ensure reliability equal to traditional ATM and Frame Relay networks. This capability is especially critical for DACOM's IP VPN service. “The IP VPN service takes the flexibility of the Internet and adds to it sophisticated quality of service,” said Mr. Jung Rae Jun, Senior Manager, DACOM. “No other technology comes close to MPLS in enabling the VPN capability that makes these services private, flexible and secure. On top of that, IP VPNs are a means to extend the reach and scalability of legacy Frame Relay and ATM networks, not a replacement for these services.”
A Network for the Future
As DACOM has proved, adding new service offerings doesn’t always require building out an entirely new network infrastructure. Using ECI's ST200, DACOM is able to leverage its current infrastructure to extend existing services and, at the same time, deliver new IP-based services in a cost-effective, reliable and secure manner. What's more, the flexible ST200 architecture changes the economics of new service delivery by enabling DACOM to grow and scale the services of tomorrow without adding a new network each time a new service is deployed. And for a leading service provider focused on satisfying evolving customer requirements, this flexibility is the key to continued growth and profitability.