Network Strategy Partners (NSP) today announced a new study that analyzes the business case for the Brocade Carrier Ethernet IP Solution in a Metro Network. The study finds that the Brocade Ethernet/IP metro network solution has Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over five years that is 40 percent to 56 percent lower than the solutions of three leading vendors. This is attributable to lower prices for Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and 10 GbE ports, higher 10 GbE port density and lower power consumption as well as reuse of spare line cards in the aggregation and core switch/routers.

“Wireline and wireless customers expect a full range of multimedia services (voice, Internet, and video) and are not tolerant of network outages or service degradation,” said Michael Kennedy, President, of Network Strategy Partners. “Capital and operational expenditure burn rates, however, are a major concern — service providers must find a solution that meets customer expectations at a minimum TCO to ensure on-going profitability of their businesses.”

Study Highlights

The business case is developed for a representative metro area. It includes service models for broadband Internet, IPTV (SD & HD), and voice (VoIP) for residences; Layer 2 Carrier Ethernet and Layer 3 MPLS VPN for enterprises and 3G and 4G Ethernet backhaul for mobile operators.

The key reasons for the Brocade cost advantage are:

• Brocade has the lowest price per port for both 1 GbE and 10 GbE ports
• Brocade has the highest 10 GbE port density in a single platform
• Brocade has the lowest power consumption which reduces power, cooling, and space operational expenses
• Brocade has the lowest cost of spares because the same cards are used in aggregation and core routers

A TCO model is constructed and includes detailed modeling of operations expenses including network care, network upgrades and patches, and environmental expenses.

See “Whitepapers” at www.nspllc.com to download the study.

About Network Strategy Partners

Network Strategy Partners, LLC (NSP) — management consultants to the networking industry — helps equipment vendors, service providers, and enterprises around the globe make strategic decisions, mitigate risk and affect change through custom consulting engagements. NSP’s consulting include business case and ROI analysis, go-to-market strategies, development of new service offers, pricing and bundling as well as infrastructure consulting. NSP’s consultants are respected thought-leaders in the networking industry and influence its direction though confidential engagements for industry leaders and through public appearances, whitepapers, and trade magazine articles. Contact NSP at www.nspllc.com.