PDF of this tutorialCarrier-class next-generation switches need to be high-capacity fault-tolerant TDM and VoP switches. They must be designed to significantly enhance the economics of providing traditional TDM–based voice and data services as well as help service providers migrate to a packet-based telecom network (based on VoIP and VoATM) and generate new competitive services. Service providers deploying next-generation switches can cap their investment in traditional circuit switches and migrate to a converged switching infrastructure that allows them to reduce the number of overlay network platforms and provide profitable voice and data services over packet networks. See Figure 1.
Figure 1. A High-Capacity TDM Switch Capable of Packet Switching
Since most of the core packet networks today are ATM–based, but most likely migrating to IP–based, the most future-proof investment is in next generation switches that can be deployed to transport voice on both ATM and IP networks supporting protocol layers as outlined in Figure 2.
Figure 2
