Router Off-load Strategies: new white paper by Innovation Observatory

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Router traffic off-load (also known as router bypass) is emerging as a means of driving down the cost of operating core networks, according to a new white paper by Innovation Observatory. It involves identifying traffic which currently passes through routers on its way to other destinations (transit traffic) and off-loading the task of transiting that traffic to Layer 1 or Layer 0.

The strategy is attractive to operators because it has the potential to enable them to use lower cost optical and OTN switching equipment, and avoid expensive investments in the additional router capacity that would be required to manage the volumes of core network traffic that are anticipated in the future. It follows the principle of providing transport in the most cost effective layer.

Report author, Simon Sherrington, notes that although no single solution will suit all operators, for some operators, router bypass will be a viable means of saving significant amounts of core network expansion capex (sometimes as much as 40%) and opex (perhaps as much as 60% of power and space related opex).

Router Off-Load Strategies: When is Router Off-Load an Attractive Option?, explores what is involved in employing a router off-load strategy, what technological changes are required, and the ways in which operators adopting such an approach can ensure network resiliency. It reviews what parameters an operator must consider in deciding whether a router off-load strategy would be attractive in the context of its own business.

The paper, which is sponsored by ECI Telecom, is available here.