Having MPLS in a metro switch, Rathore said, could allow service providers to deliver native Ethernet services with the same predictability and service guarantees of other wide-area services, like ATM or Frame Relay.
"As you get MPLS closer to the end customer, you can provide better predictability on an end to end basis," Rathore said. "The ability to offer ATM-like QoS is something that's very easy for customers to understand."
The 7450 is available now in two configurations: A single-slot chassis with room for two half-size line cards, or a larger chassis with two fabric slots and 10 line card slots. Line cards support all Ethernet flavors (from a 60-port 10/100 connection to a single 10-Gigabit link) as well as colored optics and OC-3 and OC-48 connections. Alcatel did not offer pricing information for the 7450.
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