1. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 1 Capacity Planning At Layers 1 and 2 Quilt Meeting Oct 13, 2006

2. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 2 Capacity Planning - Basic Issues At Layer3 Measure and monitor traffic on the link Upgrade or add links based on average or peak traffic utilization Overprovision when possible At Layer1 and Layer2 Traffic utilization –Part but not all of the planning Layer2 –Not an issue at all for Layer1 Availability and use of resources –What exists –What is planned

3. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 3 Example - NLR Layer1 Allocation Map Indicates capacity of each segment along the backbone Easy to tell what the busy paths are But isn’t the whole story when doing capacity planning

4. Allocated Waves - Layer1

5. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 5 Layer1 - Adding a new Lambda Need to assess what resources are available between Point A and Point B For each segment in the path Can it physically support a new wave ? Do needed resources (hardware, cables) already exist ? If additional resources are needed, are they available? –Equipment –Space –Power A “no” for any of the questions can mean Capacity is not available along that specific path An alternate path might be available –But does it meet the original requirements? Long delay in getting wave implemented

6. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 6 Example - NLR Layer1 Path between Starlight (STAR) and Los Angeles (LOSA) One of the most popular NLR routes At least 5 possible paths Two are equivalent –STAR-CHIC-KANS-DENV-ODGE-BOIS-SEAT- SUNN-LOSA –STAR-CHIC-KANS-DENV-RATO-ALBU-ELPA- PHOE-LOSA Others sub-optimal –More segments –Too long a path

7. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 7 Example - NLR Layer1 Currently - Capacity exists along all 5 paths, Implement requested lambda along the most efficient route Resources Use spare/quickstart wave where possible –Already installed transponders »Channel planning already done –Replace ASAP in order to be prepared for next request Use spare transponders where spare/quickstart does not exist –80-channel transponder cards provide most flexibility »Otherwise may end up with channel conflicts –Replenish stock of cards as necessary Order additional transponders if necessary –Typically 8-12 weeks to install if new transponder cards are needed.

8. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 8 Example - NLR Layer1 Constant planning at layer1 is needed Identify congested segments STAR-CHIC - already at 80% capacity Upgrade plan in progress –Requires both new fiber and new equipment Other busy segments CHIC-KANS (45%), SEAT-PORT (40%), KANS-DENV & CHIC-CLEV (35%) –Not yet a problem, but consider alternative paths when possible to best utilize infrastructure

9. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 9 Example - NLR Layer1 Capacity exists, but need additional equipment Front Ends for each segment along Northern route are at 75% or greater capacity. –Resources required »Equipment - new or existing »Additional co-location space »Additional Racks, Power Trade off between cost and delivering services in timely manner Core set of shared spares, cost effective way to reduce deployment time –Chassis, transponders, cables, amplifiers, etc. Other resources more costly to have “on-hand” –Co-location space, racks, power, fiber »Add as needed, prioritizes resources with known long- lead times.

10. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 10 Capacity Planning at Layer2 Layer2 Planning has attributes of both Layer1 and Layer3 networks Link Utilization - traffic monitoring is important, but not the whole story Link Allocation VLANs with reserved bandwidth –Need to include in link utilization estimates, even if the bandwidth isn’t actually used Link Utilization and Allocation don’t always correspond Segments with the most VLANs with dedicated bandwidth don’t necessarily have the most traffic Dedicated VLANs as backup paths –Typically no traffic over the path, but bandwidth needs to be available (and un-congested) on demand.

11. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 11 Capacity Planning at Layer1 VLANs with non-dedicated bandwidth –May be the busiest segments –Viewed as cheap bandwidth, thus may be used more than a more expensive link –End user should expect congestion (but that’s not always the case !!)

12. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 12 Layer2 Traffic Map - Traffic over each segment

13. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 13 FrameNet VLAN Allocation

14. nlr.net © 2004 National LambdaRail, Inc 14 Layer2 Capacity Planning Adding Capacity Dedicated bandwidth - add capacity once dedicated bandwidth allocation reaches 75%. Actual Link Utilization - Need to add capacity once actual use reaches 75% Or need to remind those with non-dedicated bandwidth VLANs that congestion is possible. Where a busy Layer2 segment corresponds to a busy Layer1 segment Need to reserve Layer1 segment sooner rather than later