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Bandwidth on Demand: Ethernet Services
T
he Defense Department, like
many federal agencies, is
adopting a new generation of
Internet Protocol (IP) transport services
that address today’s capacity, speed
and quality-of-service requirements.
However, in the current resourceconstrained environment, both defense
and civilian agencies are grappling with
how to meet the growing demand for
bandwidth while achieving the lowest
possible total cost of ownership.
Government agencies increasingly
are turning to Ethernet services, which
provide many benefits over other
technologies, including the ease of
deployment, bandwidth on demand,
controlled routing and cost advantages.
Ethernet’s elastic bandwidth capability
allows agencies to manage their
information technology costs with
optimal effectiveness while meeting
ever-increasing data requirements.
“Ethernet provides government
agencies with a number of important
advantages, including bandwidth on
demand that meets their needs as they
ebb and flow so customers only pay
for what they actually need. Ethernet
interfaces are also less expensive, which
provides a significant cost savings,” said
Diana Gowen, senior vice president and
general manager for the public sector at
CenturyLink, one of the world’s largest
telecommunications companies and a
leading cloud infrastructure and hosted
IT solutions provider.
CenturyLink is at the forefront of
providing high-tech, cost-effective
Ethernet services to the U.S.
Department of Defense (DOD) and
other government clients. And with
emerging product standards becoming
available, government agencies can
now use Ethernet solutions to solve
their IT dilemmas and focus on their
own. CenturyLink also helps agencies
mission.
make long-term service decisions based
For example, to deliver the
on offerings that will provide the best
command-and-control capabilities
value in the future, she added.
and enterprise infrastructure that
For example, over the next 10 years,
warfighters need, DOD is pursuing
CenturyLink will provide Ethernet, IP
Virtual Private LAN
and optical wave services
Services. VPLS provides
through VPLS for the
Ethernet-based,
DOD High Performance
multipoint-to-multipoint
Computing Modernization
communication over
Program via the recently
IP networks that
awarded Defense Research
enable sharing across
Engineering Network
geographically dispersed
(DREN) III contract. These
sites.
services will link defense
VPLS offers the same
scientists and engineers at
connectivity as a device
leading research institutions,
Diana Gowen
Sr. Vice President and
connected directly to
labs and test facilities at more
General Manager,
an Ethernet switch. In
than 150 defense locations
CenturyLink Public
addition, by migrating
nationwide.
Sector
from carrier-controlled
DREN serves as a national
Multi-Protocol Label Switching to
test bed to accelerate the development
customer-controlled VPLS switching,
and deployment of ultra-high-speed
DOD is reclaiming control of its
bandwidth applications as well as nextnetwork.
generation networking and security
“For security conscious-customers
technologies. With support from
like DOD and other government
CenturyLink, DREN III will accelerate
agencies, there is a need to control
these network advancements into even
and manage their routing and routing
higher levels of performance.
protocols without having to share
CenturyLink is committed to meeting
them. Using Ethernet from end to end
the communications mission of the
on the access side and across the entire
federal government with the most
network backbone allows them to
robust, secure networks possible. By
regain that control,” Gowen explained.
leveraging timely, economical and
CenturyLink works with agencies
dynamically allocated bandwidthto help them choose the right network
on-demand Ethernet solutions from
routing protocols that best meet their
CenturyLink, government agencies will
needs and distinguish between the
be better positioned to focus on their
company’s routing setup and their
ever-expanding mission requirements. •
For more information about CenturyLink’s Government services and offerings,
please contact your agency’s representative or email us at CTLfederal.
[email protected]. For more information
on CenturyLink, go to: CenturyLink.com/gov