Carrier Ethernet has been one of the hottest technology subjects in the telco universe the last few years, and the rise of Carrier Ethernet is sapping the viability of the traditional synchronous optical networking (SONET) infrastructure. SONET in many cases offers bandwidth and reliability properties that other technologies can't match, but while Ethernet has taken over the enterprise and moved into the metro, carriers have kept SONET to themselves. They were either unable or unwilling (though that's hard to imagine) to find ways of creating open SONET interfaces.
Now, AT&T may be breathing some new life into SONET by creating interfaces that allow enterprise customers to use some of that impressive bandwidth for network-based storage. Assuming other network operators follow suit, this type of storage service also will strengthen the ability of telcos to meet enterprise needs.
For more about AT&T's development:
- read this story in eWeek