RETN is consistently expanding the geographic coverage of its trunk DWDM and IP-networks, while constantly enlarging the number of client and peering ports in its IP network, which necessarily means steady traffic increase. Internet traffic soared an estimated 56% in 2007 worldwide, and is expected to further increase at around the same rate in 2008 and 2009. Growth is even faster in the RETN IP network, where traffic nearly triples every year.
As a way to proactively anticipate traffic growth, the core of the RETN IP trunk network has been switched to Juniper MX routers. The IP network core currently uses 6 Juniper MX routers: in Moscow, St.-Petersburg, Stockholm, Amsterdam, New York and Ashburn (Washington DC).
Juniper MX960 is the most powerful industrial platform around, capable of switching and routing IP traffic flows at speeds as high as 960 Gbps. In addition to providing extremely powerful switching and routing facilities, the MX series supports high-speed interfaces for a variety of services, including high-speed transmission, VPN services, and inter-network communication with huge volumes of traffic. Juniper MX cuts the relative costs, but improves earnings from the use of the platform, minimizing the cost of services without any detriment to quality. RETN has been able to leverage this as a competitive advantage in the inter-operator marketplace.
The base topology in RETN are multiple rings. As routing facilities are upgraded, so are inter-nodal channels: their throughput band has been brought up to 20 Gbps. There will be 12 Juniper MX routers in the network by the end of 2008. New nodes are about to be launched in Europe and North America before year-end. The inter-nodal links in the core of the RETN IP network will soon be upgraded to 40 Gbps. RETN upgrades and expansion will not overlook Russia and Ukraine, where traffic is now behind Europe or North America, but growing much faster.
At key destinations, RETN’s DWDM network is now capable of carrying traffic at a rate of 100 Gbps, but can be further upgraded to 4х10х10 Gbps. RETN’s policy is to upgrade its DWDM network proactively so as to remain an aggressive player in the inter-operator broadband market. RETN has chosen Infinera optic systems as its line management DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) solution. While slashing networks rollout time, Infinera cuts the costs of upgrades, which are unavoidable, and minimizes service delivery.