Note: This sample document is excerpted from the Globeport Functional Specifications Guide, which describes the functionality and the hardware and software components for Globeport, v.2. Globeport is a high-speed connection service that extends e-business delivery to self-hosted customer servers, via two leased lines, frame relays, or other appropriate fast pipes. There are no sections or subsections within this excerpt that in any way compromises Digital Island's proprietary information.
This document describes the functionality of GlobePort 2.0 and its components to potential users and others who need to understand what the product delivers. It is assumed that the reader has:
Fundamental knowledge of the Internet and of Digital Island’s Intranet services
Basic knowledge of the connectivity hardware used with GlobePort
Basic understanding of Web content delivery and administration access
Familiarity with DSU/CSU, NTU, Frame Relay, G.701 and G.703 BNC
The complete GlobePort Functional Specifications Guide includes the following sections and sub-sections:
This document is for administrators who manage Digital Island’s (DI) GlobePort product. The purpose of the GlobePort product is to:
provide an extended feature functionality to the Hosting Services, particularly a dedicated server access for server administration.
increase the Data Transport revenues by reaching a larger addressible market and providing flexible connectivity to DI’s network.
GlobePort is a high-speed connection service that extends e-business delivery to self-hosted customer servers, via two leased lines, frame relays, or other appropriate fast pipes. The GlobePort product does not work as a stand-alone offering, but as a facility component connecting customers to the DI global network infrastructure.
GlobePort functionality provides the following services:
Customer-Hosted Content Delivery - (Content Globeports)
DI-Hosted Administration Access - (Administration Globeports)
With the above functionality, customers can leverage the features of GlobePort to extend DI’s network infrastructure to customer servers, providing these customers with self-hosted content delivery and DI-hosted administrative access. The complete document outlines the supplier relationship requirements that are necessary for supporting GlobePort connectivity at selected CCD (Commerce Content Distributor) facilities, as well as the operational procedures supporting the CCD facilities, access circuits and trunk circuit(s).
GlobePort Functional Specifications Guide includes the following sections and sub-sections:
The GlobePort product and server itself does not require software for connectivity with its self-hosting customers. The customer, however, may use company-preferred software for processing customer reports as well as data feeds into the large, general NMS system.
The physical hardware should be a DSU/CSU or NTU, a Frame Relay, G.701 or G.703 BNC. The physical hardware parameters for GlobePort are as follows:
Standard GlobePort Connectivity circuits can originate from any location domestic to a Digital Island data center. These locations include the US, Hong Kong, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Provided in Appendix 1, the matrix known as the GlobePort Standard Service Availability Matrix (SSAM) indicates the key cities in each of these countries along with the corresponding available service types and connection speeds. The complete list of Digital Island Data centers are in Appendix 2 of this document. You should refer to SSAM when determining whether or not a GlobePort service remains standard.
Customers who keep their content and servers at their site may yet require a GlobePort connection from their data center to a DI facility. Data transfer schedules still apply. At present, the only means of standard physical connectivity to the DI network issues from the DI data centers. A project is under-way to extend DI network access points (NAPs) to include a select list of CCD sites, where DI already has existing facilities in support of its content delivery service. At this time, connectivity to these facilities remain non-standard and must follow the customized solution process.
To scale facility growth and market-reach, DI established several US cities as VPOPs (virtual points-of-presence), based on the location of customers and their traffic. VPOP enables DI to offer customers a reduced rate for GlobePort connectivity while pre-establishing a customer-base in an area where DI does not presently have NAP facilities.
The present list of Digital Island US VPOP locations is as follows:
Cross-border connectivity is not yet available for standard service. In the future, this feature will enable both frame relay and leased-line connectivity to originate from any number of pre-defined standard locations, based on DI's pre-arranged agreements with global frame relay and leased-line service providers. When this option becomes available, a refreshed list of standard locations will appear in the GlobePort SSAM.
GlobePort connectivity is obtained through a dedicated T1 or T3 connection or a frame relay connection. TraceWare Developer Service (TDS) is the version of TraceWare applicable to GlobePort.
DI provides the following standard GlobePort circuits for customer self-hosting:
NOTE: DI permits customers to provide their own circuits and routers in PrivateHost installations. This is an option, however, and not part of the GlobePort offering.
The primary service type for self-hosted content delivery with GlobePort is clear channel leased line circuits.
Type
DSI (T1)
Fractional DS3*
DS3
Speed
1.54 Mb
Varied
45 Mb
Provisioned
1 x T1
(n) x T1
DS3
CSU
Required
Mux
Required
NOTE: Product Marketing should review all fractional DS3 connectivity for Footprint OnDemand applications.
Depending on the geographic location, the leased line circuits are available at the following speeds: (for a complete list of available speeds at each location, please refer to Appendix 1 of this document)
NOTE: DS-3 does not provide standard connectivity to international VPOP locations!
DI provides a Frame Relay connection from the customer premises to its US network. With this provision, DI uses any of the above leased line speeds for its GlobePort circuits as a standard connectivity to hosting administration access. When used for non-latency sensitive hosting administration, frame relay can be scaled by DI to meet customer usage requirements and provide a more economical, and even more robust, means of connecting customers to their DI hosted servers.
The standard price includes Local Loops, but does not include providing at the customer site a dedicated Cisco router or a DSU/CSU; the customer must provide the physical hardware.
NOTE: DI does not recommend using frame relay service connectivity for self-hosted content delivery, due to the loss of performance, such as in latency, that is common when using the public frame relay network. Customers who use GlobePort connectivity to interact with their DI-hosted servers in a latency-sensitive manner run a similar risk to performance. Using the public frame relay service with its inherent uncontrollable delays negates many of the advantageous provided by DI's network.
The standard frame relay connection speeds are as follows:
Frame relay service requires additional characteristics to complete a customer request for service - namely, the determination of the committed information rate (CIR) associated with the customer connection. The CIR is the minimum bandwidth that a customer requires for the frame relay to operate effectively at any given time. The higher set the CIR, the greater the price to the customer. The lower the CIR is set, however, the more likely the customer will experience performance degradation during times of congestion on the public frame relay network.
In most locations, Frame relay CIR is available at the following speeds:
Frame Relay CIR Speeds
64 Kbps
128 Kbps
192 Kbps
256 Kbps
384 Kbps
512 Kbps
768 Kbps
1.024 Mbps
1.536 Mbps
1.934 Mbps
1.976 Mbps
* NOTE: Some frame relay service providers do run at 192 Kbps and 1.536 speeds, but only with E1 connections subject to the availability of the service provider.
* NOTE: DI does not provide the following GlobePort circuits for customer self-hosting:
Through the GlobePort's connectivity service, DI customers can use GlobePort's global network service to reach millions of their end users twenty-four hours a day. The GlobePort product does not work as a stand-alone offering, but as a facility component that connects customers to the DI network infrastructure. Following a pre-defined process of pricing and customer needs, DI sets expectations for the GlobePort service offering to new customers, providing that all the specifications conform to the regular or "standard" service. All requirements that fall outside the standard service definition are customized solutions. Customized solutions must follow exceptional procedures along each phase from quotation to invoice. Even when the requirements are barely outside the standard service definition, DI will process the order as a customized solution.
The GlobePort product serves two purposes:
GlobePort's primary function is to extend the DI e-Business Delivery Network to customers who host their own servers or who wish to add DI's high-performance network to their current host providers. DI's IP addressing space extends to the customer-hosted servers via a GlobePort circuit. This allows customers outside the DI hosting environment access to, and the benefit of, the DI network infrastructure.
DI customers can use GlobePort for administration access in addition to self-hosting content delivery. GlobePort offers customers DI-hosted servers for administrative access that is reliable, low-latency, high speed and high-security. With GlobePort, the customers of letting DI provide this server administration and periodical content updates or of using their own customer-hosted equipment to provide the necessary back-end operations to the DI-hosted servers.
* NOTE: The requirements for hosting administration service differ from those of providing content delivery. Currently, the administrative access service is part of the GlobePort offering, but may eventually become an optional-priced feature for DI-hosted customers.
GlobePort's data center and network services provide the following:
Security services include:
Server and hardware management services include:
Customer care services include:
The user interface to the GlobePort 2.0 connectivity must remainn consistent with the 1.0. interface.
The physical hardware interface should be an NTU (Network Terminating Unit) or DSU/CSU, Frame Relay, and a G.701. DI provides the CSU/DSU as part of the local access loop for circuits below the DS-1 level. Local access at or above the DS-1 level requires the customer to provide the CSU/DSU. The customer is responsible for providing all other domestic CPE (Customer Premise Equipment), such as routers, bridges, and muxes, regarding the foreign end of international needs.
In the US, the bandwidth needs to be 45T1; in Europe, a 45E1 is necessary.
Software interfaces do not apply to the Globeport connectivity product. GlobePort does not require software for its connectivity to self-hosted customer servers. The customer would use software, however, for processing data feeds into its general NMS system as well as for customer reports.
Any communication with the GlobePort server should use the existing protocol developed in GlobePort 2.0. The protocol may be expanded to allow extra information to flow between the client and server.
Currently, the GlobePort connectivity alerts DI only to problems at DI's end, not at the customer's. When the connection is down due to the customer's server being busy, or when the customer's physical hardware has been damaged, replaced or moved to another facility, DI will not learn of the disconnection until performing a routine diagnostic and maintenance check or after the customer contacts DI to report its problems and changes.
GlobePort's Channelized Access Card represents the product's primary liability. The channelized access card is an inherent risk to the performance, quality and maintenance of the connectivity. For GlobePort connectivity to function well, the product needs to pick the best and appropriate connection and must use either a 45 Mg T1 bandwidth for US or a 45E1 for Europe. When the connection is busy or down, GlobePort diverts the connection to an alternate path. This diverted path further improves the GlobePort product's performance and enables the connection to run unimpeded.
Several standard service options accompany the GlobePort connectivity offering. Not all options, however, are available from every location. The following service options are available for most customer locations:
In all cases, circuits priced through VPOP locations have to be physically connected to the DI network at a specified data center location. Any expectations for resiliency, however, must continue to assume a non-resilient connection from the customer location to the DI Data Center, rather than from a VPOP.
While other DI initiatives are underway to address this present limitation, all cross-border circuits - whether frame relay or leased line -- are regarded as non-standard and addressed as a customized solution. In the future, an option will be available to allow both frame relay and leased line connectivity to originate from a number of pre-defined standard locations, based on DI's pre-arranged agreements with global frame relay and leased line service providers. When this option becomes available, a refreshed list of standard locations will appear in the GlobePort SSAM.
At present, the stated target service delivery intervals for standard GlobePort circuits is 45 days for US circuits and 60 days for non-US circuits. Under some circumstances or for certain speeds in specific locations, these targets may vary. The installation intervals for circuits provided by telco service providers can vary not only by country, but by the service providers when they do not meet their own delivery intervals. To minimize this risk, DI monitors the performance of its service providers and will refuse to work with any provider who does not consistently meet delivery expectations.
Note: Please refer to the GlobePort SSAM (Appendix 1 of this document) for a complete list of service delivery expectations.
Following a pre-defined process of pricing and customer needs, GlobePort sets expectations for its standard service offering to new customers, providing that all the specifications conform to standard service. Customers who keep their content/servers at their own premises may require a GlobePort connection from data center to Digital Island. Data transfer schedules still apply. GlobePort is via a dedicated T1 or T3 connection or a frame relay connection, as follows:
Table 2. Dedicated Connectivity Speeds
Type DSI (T1) Fractional DS3* DS3 Speed 1.54 Mb Varied 45 Mb Provisioned 1 x T1 (n) x T1 DS3 CSU Required Mux Required
Service delivery expectations vary widely outside of the US and depend on the 3rd party providers available in the international location as well as the existing facilities in the customer location. However, for each of the standard locations, DI has pre-established processes that facilitate this endeavor. This is also true for the quotation of pricing for access circuits within the standard service areas.
Presently, the stated target for providing a response to a request for
quotation, for standard service as defined above, is within 5 days in the US and
within 7 days internationally. These targets will be further reduced as
relationships, processes, and tools are refined. In the meantime, the following
guidelines will help to facilitate a faster turn-around.
Note whether the request is for standard service or a customized solution –
higher priority will be given to standard requests; requests customized
solutions will follow a check-point review (which may require MOS – Major
Opportunity Special - approval) before being submitted to service providers for
quotation.
Make sure that ALL required information is provided when making the quote request – most common is the determination of CIR for frame relay requests; in any case, however, the need gather additional information before submitting the request to service providers means that the target will not likely be met.
Follow the standard procedure for submitting quote requests – namely used the quote request tool, which at the time this document was written was unavailable due to server problems; however, a secondary procedure was implemented by GSS (global sales support) to continue to administer these requests.
As mentioned above the installation intervals for circuits provided by telco
service providers not only varies by country, but is made even more complex by
service providers who do not meet their own service delivery intervals. To
minimize this risk and impact, DI monitors the service delivery performance of
it’s providers and, and several cases, has refused to work with providers who
consistently do not met service delivery expectations. However, two key points
remain: 1) an element of risk (at not meeting the delivery time frame) is always
possible regardless of how selective DI is with its providers, and 2) the
customer relationship is negatively impacted when this happens. Establishing
appropriate customer expectations is prudent practice.
At present, the stated target service delivery intervals for standard GlobePort
circuits is 45 days for US circuits and 60 days for non-US circuits. However,
under some circumstances or for certain speeds in specific locations – these
targets may vary. Please refer to the GlobePort SSAM (Appendix 1 of this
document) for a complete list of service delivery expectations.
It is not unusual for customers who have established a purchase discount with a
local telecom provider to request that they provide the access circuit(s). This
is an acceptable procedure only if the following steps are taken:
Customer Demarcation Point – The customer circuit demarcation
point is NOT the DI Data Center. It will be at a designated access-provider
hand-off location or access-provider managed multiplexing device. Details of
each of these locations, for the purpose of customer-provided circuits, may be
found in Appendix 2 along with the Data Center locations.
Additional Service Charges – Additional charges will still apply to the customer that will cover DI’s costs for several components including, but not limited to: access-provider mux charges, the channelized circuit connecting the access-provider to DI, router and port charges, associated facilities, maintenance, and administrative costs. The rate for these charges can be provided by GSS by using the Price Quote tool to make the request and noting that the request is for a customer-provided circuit.
Service Maintenance Procedures – The customer must agree to DI provided service maintenance procedures regarding the customer-provided access circuit. This includes an additional (non-standard) service delivery time frame that will be provided by Customer Advocacy following the submission of a valid service order.
Requests for service that do not conform to the Standard Service Guideline defined above, require a customized solution for implementation and service delivery. Every customized solution opportunity must pass through a review and approval process that – among other things – does add delay to the sales cycle. More specific details about the procedures and guidelines for requesting a Customized Solution can be found in Appendix 4. Common customized solutions will be identified and considered for standardization as part of the product refinement process.
For GlobePort to function well, the product needs to pick the right connection and must use either a 45 Mg T1 bandwidth for US or a 45E1 for Europe. When a connection is busy or impaired, GlobePort must divert the connection to an alternate path. This second option further enables the GlobePort connectivity to run unimpeded for a customer’s self-hosted server.
The industry standard measurements for network performance are availability and error-free seconds. Although GlobePort does not guarantee the performance of foreign-provided circuits, the accepted international industry standard is in accordance with the ITU. Error handling during abnormal outages requires a degraded operation, such as during resiliency options and monitoring conditions. DI provides a CSU/DSU as part of the local access loop for circuits below the DS-1 level. Local access at or above the DS-1 level requires the customer to provide the CSU/DSU. The customer is responsible for providing all other domestic CPE (Customer Premise Equipment), such as routers, bridges, and muxes, regarding the foreign end of international needs. The CSU/DSU takes timing from the signal in the receive side of the line and passes the timing to the customer. The customer is responsible for synchronizing the transmit signals to the receive timing.
The industry standard measurements for network performance are availability, error-free seconds and MRRT (Mean Time To Repair). Although Digital Island cannot guarantee the performance of foreign-provided circuits, the accepted international industry standard is in accordance with the ITU.
Availability measures network up-time. It is a percentage representing the total amount of time within the last year that the service was operative. Service is inoperative when the signal on a line is lost or its performance degrades below a specified level.
Error Free Seconds measures the quality of the signal being transmitted on a per 64 kbps channel basis.
Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) is the average length of time required to repair an out of service condition. Hardware failures at one of the locations has an MTTR.
GlobePort supports:
Frame Relays
T1/E1
and DS-3/E3
GlobePort does not support:
Fract-T1
xDSL
EX-3/STM1
ATM
ISDN
The connectivity needs a DI router. DI must provide customer with an alternate delivery path for primary circuits.
Service delivery expectations vary widely outside the US and depend on third party providers available at international locations, as well as in the existing facilities at customer locations. For each standard location, however, DI already has a pre-established process in place that facilitates service delivery and price quoting for access circuits.
Currently, DI’s target date for responding to requests for price quotes is within 5 days in the US and 7 days internationally. As DI refines its processes and tools, and cultivates its relationship with the client., the target turnaround target will improve. Standard service requests receive priority over customized solutions for a faster turnaround. Customized Solution requests will need to follow a check point review, which may require MOS approval (Major Opportunity Special) before being submitted to service providers.
As mentioned above, the installation intervals for circuits provided by telco service providers will vary not only by country, but by the providers when they do not meet their own delivery intervals. To minimize this risk, DI monitors the delivery performance of the service providers and will refuse to work with any provider who does not consistently meet delivery expectations. However, two key points remain: 1) an element of risk (at not meeting the delivery time frame) is always possible regardless of how selective DI is with its providers, and 2) the customer relationship is negatively impacted when this happens. Establishing appropriate customer expectations is prudent practice.
At present, the stated target service delivery intervals for standard GlobePort circuits is 45 days for US circuits and 60 days for non-US circuits. However, under some circumstances or for certain speeds in specific locations – these targets may vary.
Note: For a complete list of service delivery recommendations, refer to the GlobePort SSAM in Appendix 1 of this document.
It is not unusual for customers who have established a purchase discount with a local telecom provider to request that they provide the access circuit(s). This is an acceptable procedure only if the following steps are taken:
Customer Demarcation Point – The customer circuit demarcation point is NOT the DI Data Center. It will be at a designated access-provider hand-off location or with an access-provider managed multiplexing device. Details of each of these locations, for the purpose of customer-provided circuits, may be found in Appendix 2 along with the Data Center locations.
Additional Service Charges – Additional charges will still apply to the customer that will cover DI’s costs for several components including, but not limited to: access-provider mux charges, the channelized circuit connecting the access-provider to DI, router and port charges, associated facilities, maintenance, and administrative costs. The rate for these charges can be provided by GSS by using the Price Quote tool to make the request and noting that the request is for a customer-provided circuit.
Service Maintenance Procedures – The customer must agree to DI provided service maintenance procedures regarding the customer-provided access circuit. This includes an additional (non-standard) service delivery time frame that will be provided by Customer Advocacy following the submission of a valid service order.
Requests for service that do not conform to the Standard Service Guideline defined above, require a customized solution for implementation and service delivery. Every customized solution opportunity must pass through a review and approval process that – among other things – does add delay to the sales cycle. More specific details about the procedures and guidelines for requesting a Customized Solution can be found in Appendix 4. Common customized solutions will be identified and considered for standardization as part of the product refinement process.
Digital Island hopes to enhance GlobePort connectivity service by allowing DI to monitor the connectivity at both the customer end and the DI facility. Currently, DI learns of problems in the GlobePort connection only when the connection is down at DI’s facility. When the customer’s end has shut down, however, or when problems result from the customer’s own hardware, DI will not learn about this until after the customer reports the problem, or when DI performs a routine diagnostic test.
DI has outlined and documented the processes for both Standard (first) and Customized (later) solutions. At a later date, this new documentation will comprise the subsequent chapters and/or appendices to this document; the primary goal of this current initial version is to establish a clear understanding of the GlobePort Connectivity service offering.
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