Leased Line Bearer Question

Hi,

We have a leased line at work currently on 100/100 but looking to move to 1000/1000 and what we are not clear on as we have more fibres that were blown at the same time in our comms room then could one of them be lit and we use that for the 1000/1000 or do we need another set of fibre blown for the larger bearer?

Been speaking to different providers and none of them seems certain as apparently, we can't take advantage of some of the deals on offer due to the length of the duct which I find a bit odd as we have fibre already here. However, when the guys from Openreach blew the fibre in the first place I was told it's always the same fibre blown so it shouldn't make a difference. I realise this would likely be sorted in the site survey but just wanted some clarity beforehand if anyone knows?

Essentially what is the difference between the 100 and 1000 bearer? I get that they support a different max speed but where is that difference in terms of limits? At the Carrier end so that one of their 1G ports is split to 10x100 bearers? or somewhere else? Does anyone know and care to tell me? I'd be very grateful.

The main difference is likely to be the equipment on the end of it rather than the fibre. My guess is they will just replace the active termination equipment with something capable of 1Gb - it is also possible that they could actually just change it in software and not physically change anything.

In reply to a post by Fiddlesticks555:

However, when the guys from Openreach blew the fibre in the first place I was told it's always the same fibre blown so it shouldn't make a difference. I realise this would likely be sorted in the site survey but just wanted some clarity beforehand if anyone knows?

Essentially what is the difference between the 100 and 1000 bearer?

The bearer is the basic (active) infrastructure supporting the circuit. There is only one type of fibre used - single mode and it will support up to a 10 Gb/s bearer (and beyond actually) in ordinary form, across either a pair of fibres (one transmit and one receive) or a single fibre (BiDi on a single fibre core).

Moving from a 100M bearer to a 1000M bearer could involve a swap of the active devices (the router and SFP/SFP+ modules in it) or it could be a software change - for example where a 100M bearer is actually hosted on a 1GB capable GBIC/SFP/SFP+ optics.

You won't have another lot of construction charges if the fibre is already in place, and you likely had 4 fibres blown when the leased line was first installed. What the bit about not being eligible for certain offers could be referring to is whether you have a particularly long EAD circuit that is costing more than standard, or potentially you aren't on-net for the providers you are looking at and so their standard prices don't apply.

Fiddlesticks555

It depends purely on the SFP already on the end, and the port you are connected to ( at both ends)

The older the circuit the more likely it is that something may need to change.

But as others have says it is not the fibre.

If going with your existing supplier they should be able to tell you immediately whether it is a software change. ( Ie rate restricted at present on a 1g port). or a physical change to a new port.

if you have your own equipment your comms people should be able to tell you what port you are on your end. But if less than 5 years old I would suspect it is already 1g. ( Most new laptops have 1g ports in now!)

If it is not a software change and it is business critical it may be possible to order a new 1g circuit using another fibre and cease the existing one straight afterwards. Bit this may involve more cost than a straight upgrade. If not business critical, pick a down day to upgrade the existing circuit.

Software change only can be done any time.