Customer interview - e.SNCF Solutions - Wave vs MPLS

Responsible for connectivity within the SNCF Group, e.SNCF Solutions deploys and maintains in operational condition the collection network, which represents more than 4 datacenters and more than 3,500 sites throughout France.

Speaking to Hervé Legay, Terralpha's Marketing & Sales Director, Raouf Boubaker and Julien Bouvot tell us how our wave-type enlightened services offer helps them to increase the capacity and performance of their network, from consolidating infrastructure to improving data reliability and security.

PART 1 - PRESENTATION

What do you do?

DRC: As head of connectivity within the SNCF group, the activities of DRC (Direction Réseau de Collecte) are focused on providing complete connectivity solutions for the whole group, including its subsidiaries and partners. In a way, we are the SNCF's internal telecoms operator. Our main role is to deploy and maintain in operational condition the collection network, which comprises more than 4 data centres and over 3,500 sites across the country.

Our team, DRC-AR, stands out as a team of technical architects specialising in LAN-MAN-WAN solutions, as well as in specific areas such as WLAN, RADIO, ObCo (Object Connect), embedded video and DNS services.

What is Terralpha's core business?

Terralpha: Terralpha is a subsidiary of SNCF Réseau. We deploy an ultra-high-speed, ultra-low-latency telecoms network throughout France. We provide digital players and operators with an infrastructure enabling them to accelerate the development of their solutions.

PART 2 - CHALLENGE

What were the problems encountered?

DRC: The main problem was the limited availability of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in certain areas, particularly those far from urban areas, although close to stations and SNCF facilities. Another problem was the inertia of requests to change IP service.

What were your objectives?

DRC: The first objective was to create a very high-speed, low-latency hub for the campuses in Île-de-France and the regional offices, to guarantee optimum connectivity despite the geographical constraints.

The second objective was to gain complete control of the IP network. It was essential to have an in-depth understanding and total control of the IP network deployed. This included managing the protocols used, the unlimited number of VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) routing instances, the guaranteed number of hops, etc. The more hops, the higher the latency. Because the more hops, the higher the latency.

The third objective was to no longer be dependent on a third-party operator for connectivity, thereby ensuring greater autonomy and flexibility in managing the network and being able to become our own operator.

What were the material, human and financial constraints?

DRC: With regard to hardware constraints, significant investment was required to acquire a suitable hardware infrastructure capable of supporting the specific protocols required, thereby ensuring the network's performance and reliability.

In terms of human constraints, we needed to have the right human skills to deploy and maintain the network in operational condition.

As for financial constraints, the costs associated with creating a very high-speed hub and acquiring a high-quality hardware infrastructure could represent major financial constraints. Managing budgetary resources was therefore crucial to achieving the objectives set.

What was DRC's main challenge? How did you go about meeting it?

Terralpha: SNCF sites are often close to railway lines, but sometimes a long way from our Network Access Points (PoPs). For each project, we had to identify the local fibre operator that would enable us to connect these sites to our national long-distance network.

Our national network is currently being rolled out, and DRC needs are immediate. Terralpha is already present in the regional capitals where the SNCF's core sites are located. We have had to adapt our national deployment, in particular to the prefectures, in order to provide our services quickly to smaller sites.

Last but not least, DRC had to be ready to receive and operate our WDM services, which required the technical modifications described and the human skills to be in place.

PART 3 - SOLUTION

Why did you choose Terralpha?

DRC: We chose the Terralpha solution for a number of crucial reasons that perfectly meet our specific needs in terms of advanced connectivity:

First of all, we'd like to highlight the exceptional throughput offered by your package. With very high speeds of 10 Gb/s per link, it is the perfect solution for our large-scale data transmission requirements. This capacity ensures fast, reliable connectivity, which is essential for our complex network.

Then there's the low latency, which we're delighted to have seen. The speed of data transmission ensures smooth, responsive operations. We were impressed by the performance your solution delivers in this area, particularly in a project to deploy industrial 5G.

The simplicity of implementing your solution was also a key factor in our decision.

We can also say that the investment is largely offset by the reduction in connectivity costs, the cost of configuration changes and the agility and functionality provided.

And finally, choosing Terralpha meant having complete control over the IP network. This gives us total control over our infrastructure, allowing us to manage protocols and routing effectively, and guarantees optimum network performance.

What projects have you helped us with?

DRC: We've had the pleasure of collaborating on a number of strategic projects that have significantly strengthened our network infrastructure.

For example:

• Creation of a hub&spoke MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) backbone to our Paris data centres. This step enabled us to establish a robust, centralised infrastructure, facilitating the efficient management of data between our various facilities.
• Creation of numerous backhaul links throughout the country, establishing essential connections to link our MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) links in Layer 2 (L2) or Layer 3 (L3) mode. This extension has greatly strengthened our national network.
• Implementation of Cloud-Network-Interconnect (CNI) links to clouders via Terralpha links. This integration has optimised our connections to cloud services, boosting our agility and our ability to take advantage of the benefits offered by cloud computing.
• In the medium term, we plan to further expand our MPLS backbone by creating a complete mesh via several hubs spread across the country. This move towards a full-mesh network will strengthen the resilience and redundancy of our infrastructure, while guaranteeing optimum performance.

What do you gain from working with us? How long has it been going on?

Terralpha: The relationship between Terralpha and DRC has existed since Terralpha was founded. It has enabled us to carry out full-scale tests of the technical and economic validity of the proposed solutions and the values of our offering: latency, agility, absence of jitter or packet loss, transparency to the protocols of the upper layers of the OSI model.

We provide 'Carrier Class' links that enable our customers to take back control of their network and manage it completely independently. DRC has shown that, with a marginal investment in hardware and human resources, adding functionality and agility can be a game-changer. We have also helped to bring down connectivity costs, making this investment profitable.

PART 4 - CONCLUSION

Three words to describe Terralpha?

DRC: Performance - independence - availability

QThree words to describe DRC?

Terralpha: Agility - innovation - performance