Video services offer local exchange carriers a promising revenue opportunity in geographical areas where cable operators have either no presence or little or no competition. Features of SONET-based multi-service platforms that provide both TDM and packet processing capabilities enable several new architectures to support video, voice, and data services using a single cost-effective network infrastructure. The real-world network described here illustrates fulfillment of the promise of multi-service networking with "next-generation SONET" - a multi-service network based on an OC-192 multi-service platform delivering video, data, voice, and TDM services. This paper shows the architecture for the various types of services supported by one service provider's network. It describes alternative network architectures for supporting video distribution and explains how the synergy between the TDM and packet layer processing capabilities of a multi-service system have been exploited to improve the reach, resiliency, and efficiency of video service distribution. The multi-service network infrastructure is described, with a focus the video distribution architecture. The network provides the following specific services: 1. Unidirectional packet multicast for Ethernet-based broadcast video distribution. 2. Bidirectional packet-switched services for both video-on-demand services and additional packet-based services such as Internet access and Ethernet-based layer 2 VPN services (in point-to-point or multipoint configurations, supporting both unicast and multicast traffic). 3. TDM private line services, for voice services and for transport of other packet-based services such as ATM, Frame Relay, and Packet over SONET.
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