Operation, administration, and maintenance of Ethernet services in wide area networks

Recent developments in Ethernet technology, such as 10G Ethernet interfaces, Ethernet passive optical networks, and resilient packet rings are pushing Ethernet from the local area network environment to metropolitan and wide area network environments. For Ethernet service providers, managing Ethernet services efficiently is key to a sustainable business model. This article discusses issues in providing OAM features and capabilities to Ethernet services over metro and wide area networks. We analyze current Ethernet features that can be leveraged in an Ethernet OAM framework, and introduce requirements and new functionalities to support Ethernet services in wide area networks.