Most providers now offer Layer 3 VPN services as service offering of higher value than Internet access. MPLS technology has allowed providers to target small to medium-sized businesses for outsourced VPN services. The “build once, sell many” approach of the network design provides scalability and flexibility with respect to VPN products and services. MPLS provider edge functions and a valuable array of associated features and services are offered on the Cisco 10000 Series, spanning all interfaces and encapsulations from low-speed broadband to traditional leased-line applications to high-speed Ethernet.
Combined Broadband and Leased-Line Applications
Figure 12
A Combined Leased-Line and Broadband Architecture
Broadband Protocols
Cisco 10000
Series 
VPN
Ethernet
Internet
Acess
Lease-Line Protocols
The demarcation between leased-line and broadband applications has become less clear over the past few years. DSL circuits are competing in the traditional leased-line space, with many service providers offering Internet and VPN services over these lower-cost alternatives to dedicated TDM. The role of the leased-line aggregator has been expanded to include the termination of many traditional broadband interfaces and encapsulations. In today’s market, the provider is continuously looking at ways to reduce costs and consolidate the number of edge products. Combining leased-line and business-class DSL access is one option that many providers are introducing.
Conclusion
The introduction of the Cisco 10000 Series Performance Routing Engine (PRE-2) and associated line cards greatly expands the utility of the Cisco 10000 Series across numerous service provider edge applications. The introduction of scalable broadband services and the enhancements to the leased-line application position the Cisco 10000 Series with Performance Routing Engine (PRE-2) as the market leader. The importance of leased-line and broadband applications in a single edge device is likely to increase over the coming years, as service providers continue to look at ways to consolidate infrastructure costs. The Cisco 10000 Series is best positioned to take advantage of the “new edge” application with increased flexibility, performance, scalability, and availability.
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