Do ATM-based Exchange Points make sense anymore?

Thu Aug 8 16:16:29 UTC 2002

Given that your analysis could be used to make decisions about exchange 
point architecture, I wonder if you would consider adding RPR IEEE 802.17 
into the mix?
While I don't know of anyone using RPR in an exchange point, there 
certainly are products on the market and not just Cisco's SRP/DPT. Within 
Ebone we were using SRP/DPT rings quite successfully in our PoP 
architecture, i.e. it does work in the real world. I know that the 
marketing side of RPR is promoting it as a metro area solution, but it 
works just as well in a PoP. Given that you are comparing a PoP oriented 
technology (Ethernet) with a metro area technology (ATM), I think it makes 
sense to take a serious look at a technology that covers both.

--Michael Dillon