ApplicAtion note
LoopStar
®
700
Ethernet and TDM Services Over Fiber to Multiple Customers and Locations
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Overview
Metro area telecommunications providers need to deliver a mix of inherently incompatible services
to enterprise customers, who expect compatibility and consistency across all their locations.
Under pressure to provide bundled services at lowest possible costs, with fast response to service
requests, service providers need to reach all of their customer locations in the most cost-effective
way. They need to evaluate the cost of running separate circuits to each location to support
disparate services, and have to consider the bottom-line justification for extending services into
areas where only one prospect may be lined up. Service providers also need to determine whether
equipment costs can be justified if that first sale doesn’t lead to more business from that location.
Historically, service providers have had three sub-optimal responses to these challenges:
• Run redundant network links (owned or leased circuits) to customer locations to provide the mix
of packet and TDM (time division multiplex) services they require.
• Use “dumb” gateway devices to aggregate services for transport, but sacrifice the ability
to monitor performance all the way to the network edge and deliver on service level
agreements (SLAs).
• Deploy high-powered SONET add-drop multiplexers (ADMs) or Layer 2 packet switches to
build out the metro network, but only for service areas that cost-justify the expenditure.
The first option is cumbersome and costly. The second approach is inexpensive, but inadäquate
to meet customer expectations for network performance. The third strategy is suitable for high-
density serving areas, but doesn’t address new markets or small branch locations of the best
enterprise customers.
Other options include traditional time division multiplex (TDM) services, such as voice trunks
from private branch exchange (PBX) systems and leased-line data services, which still represent
substantial revenue. Providers need to determine the best way to win business from customers
who want Ethernet and TDM services from a single provider.

Ethernet
PBX
Switch/Router

Customer B
Customer C
Metro Network
(over SONET/SDH
or Optical Ethernet)

Switch/Router
TDM
Ethernet
PBX
Switch/Router
TDM
Ethernet
PBX
LS
700
LS
700
LS
700
Extend Carrier-Class TDM and Ethernet Services Throughout Multi-tenant Locations
The LoopStar 700 system is optimized for metropolitan area networks serving single enterprise
customers, multi-tenant units, and campus environments. This versatile platform is ideally suited for
several key applications:
• Leverage metro SONET/SDH networks to carry Ethernet services, aggregating packet and TDM traffic
onto a single uplink into an ADM.

Lower cost of entry. With the LoopStar 700
solution, carriers can extend high-demand
Ethernet and TDM services to new locations
without the high costs associated with building
out the metro network. Whether using multiple
T1/E1s bonded together or point-to-point fiber
runs, cost justifications can be made on an
individual case basis to effectively light a new
building. Since this solution carries a lower cost
than extending the metro ring, it is much easier
for a carrier to cost-justify – both as an early
entry solution into a new market as well as a
permanent, cost-effective alternative to extending
the entire fiber ring.
Simplified network architectures. The LoopStar
700 dramatically reduces the cost and complexity
of extending services throughout multi-tenant
units and campus environments. For example,
instead of terminating separate access circuits for
each tenant, TDM and Ethernet services can be
consolidated onto a single link. Since all traffic is
packetized, there is no need to aggregate circuit
and packet traffic separately in the transport
network or back in the central office.
Support for multiple customers with a single
platform. There’s no need to deploy a separate
LoopStar 700 platform for each customer in a
multi-tenant building or campus environment.
Virtual LAN (VLAN) tagging of traffic entering
the LoopStar 700 unit, based on IEEE 802.1Q

can be supported, up to the payload rate of the
uplink. For example, a DS3 can be provisioned
to carry a few T1s for PBX or videoconferencing
traffic, and the rest of the bandwidth can be
used for Ethernet services, allocated in 1 Mbps
increments. When more bandwidth is required,
the con¬nection can be increased as needed
without physically changing the interface.
Streamlined management and provisioning.
Because a single, universal platform supports
packet and TDM services – both in the PoP and
throughout in-building and campus networks
– carriers no longer have to manage multiple
customer-premise devices from different vendors.
LoopStar 700 products support a single point of
provisioning and management, eliminating the
need to make expensive changes on many metro
devices within the network.
Visibility to the customer premises. The
LoopStar 700 platform provides management
visibility out to the customer-premise equipment
without requiring a separate (out-of-band) overlay
management network. Because all equipment
is owned by the carrier, multiple points of
demarcation can be established and dynamically
tailored as real time situations require, greatly
simplifying fault isolation and troubleshooting of
network conditions.
Web Site: www.adc.com
From North America, Call Toll Free: 1-800-366-3891 • Outside of North America: +1-952-938-8080