As global Internet traffic and bandwidth requirements continue to increase at double digit rates, core transport networks find themselves in the spotlight. Service Providers face the steep challenge of finding new revenue sources, yet as they expand infrastructure to keep pace with demand, cost containment becomes equally important.

The usual “Band-Aid” approach of incremental solutions to this infrastructure challenge is just not sustainable. Service Providers need a new approach that is efficient and has the scale to accommodate exponential bandwidth growth and unpredictable traffic patterns.

Yesterday’s Answer: Pile on the Boxes

The architecture of the core network hasn’t really changed over the last 15 years. Various layers have built up in operator networks, attributed mainly to the legacy of providing voice and TDM services. So typical networks have an optical transmission network at the lowest layer, on which there is a circuit-switched network, and above it a packet-switched network.

Service Providers have mostly evolved by throwing more and bigger boxes at the network. This incremental approach can’t keep up with immediate challenges. From both an economic and an operational perspective, Service Provider networks are very close to the breaking point.

Today’s Solution: Building for Growth

It’s time to fundamentally rethink network construction, interoperability, routing and costs. And none of this can be accomplished without exploring new technologies and business models—and encouraging vendors to develop new solutions that are designed for economy and scale.

Juniper Networks is taking a “blank sheet” approach to core networks. We started by building an optimized chipset: the industry’s first silicon that is custom built for core transport. This enables switching at a speed and scale never before seen—measured not in terabits, but in petabits. This unified multilayer architecture is called the Converged Supercore, and it’s built on new thinking that is aimed toward new levels of speed and scale.

Some startling statistics: the Converged Supercore delivers four times the speed, five times the packet processing capability, and ten times the system scale of any other core platform today. It consumes 69% less power, dramatically reducing operating costs, while improving efficiency and scalability, and minimizing complexity. Simply put, it will change the dynamics of the core transport network.

The Converged Supercore is a smart alternative to the costly and outdated “pile-on” approach to network construction. Service Providers no longer need to juggle a three-tiered network with three operating systems and three network management platforms, with wasteful redundancy at every level. Instead, they can turn to a converged solution that will simplify management of the entire transport network.

Now is the time to consider flexible new solutions that are built for growth. A new network model can take uncertainty and unnecessary cost out of core network planning and provisioning. It creates a business environment where services dictate network connectivity and bandwidth—not the other way around. These are some of the operational advantages that are essential to helping Service Providers thrive in today’s over-connected, content-hungry world.