Cisco: The Melting Pot

The announcement of Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID) in November this year is a major breakthrough for the communications world. With AVVID, Cisco brings to multi-service networking a standards-based, open-systems architecture for

converged networking. At a time when convergence is emerging to be the need of the day, AVVID also represents a continuing evolution of enterprise multi-service networking that has successfully delivered the framework for an open multi-service architecture. Going beyond overlaying existing legacy communications systems on a common IP infrastructure, AVVID eliminates in many cases the need for legacy systems entirely. 

In addition, the rapid introduction

and adoption of new and innovative applications such as unified messaging, IP contact centres, end-to-end IP

telephony and video are now possible over IP infrastructure.

“This new architecture for converged networking has three distinct building blocks: infrastructure such as switches and routers, applications such as

call control, and clients such as IP telephones, videoconferencing equipment, and PCs. The end result of such an

architectural model is a multi-service system that is scalable, highly available and resilient, open and adaptable” says Phil Belcher, director (enterprise line of business), Cisco. AVVID also is complementary and synergistic with the Open Packet Telephony (OPT) initiative. While OPT focuses on

service providers and the benefits of converged data and voice over a common packet transport, AVVID is an enterprise initiative for integrated data, voice, and video over a common IP transport.

Traditionally, separate networks have been there for data, voice, and video applications in enterprises. These have been deployed autonomously and operated in isolation, often implemented and managed by separate teams. These separate networks encompass the enterprise local and wide-area networks, and have been built to interconnect 



communications equipment such as private branch exchanges (PBX), videoconferencing equipment, and routers. The networks run over dedicated leased lines, with a combination of leased lines, Frame-Relay, and ATM for data. Such use of disparate facilities for communications and networking is not always efficient. The volume of data traffic is growing faster than that of voice, driven by emerging and evolving technological innovations such as the World Wide Web (WWW), e-commerce, and applications such as videoconferencing or video streaming utilizing IP multicast. While growth rates vary by country and carrier, it is certain that data transport will
dominate telephony networks. For instance, in the US, data traffic will 



surpass voice traffic by the year 2000, according to market researches. Data has already surpassed voice on some US
service provider networks. It is the driving force behind global network growth. The challenge for the enterprise is to optimize networking to carry data, voice, and video traffic. AVVID Benefits





“One of the most exciting things about converged networking is the
enabling of new applications like desktop IP telephony, unified messaging, and the IP contact centres,” stresses Darren Scott, manager (IT infrastructure), Cisco. With desktop IP telephony, a PBX can be eliminated and replaced with IP telephony over a converged network. It

provides call-control functionality and, when used in conjunction with the IP telephone sets or a soft telephone

application, can provide the PBX functionality in a distributed and scalable fashion. Today users have a wide range of communications options–telephone, mobile phone, pager, voice mail, fax,

e-mail–each of which require distinct hardware and software component. But, with unified messaging a single application can be used to store and retrieve an entire suite of message types. Voice-mail messages stored as WAV files can be downloaded as e-mail attachments while traveling, a response recorded and returned to the sender, all recipients, or an expanded list. E-mail can be retrieved via a telephony user interface

(TUI), converted from text to speech and reviewed from an airport lobby phone or cell phone. Infrastructure is decreased as now a single application can provide voice, e-mail, and fax. Productivity is 



increased because what were once disparate message types can be retrieved via the most convenient, or the user’s
preferred, interface. An IP contact centre (Internet-based call centre) 



for instance, combines data and voice technologies to facilitate multimedia
customer interaction originating from multiple and diverse sources channels like IP Voice, TDM Voice, Web, e-mail, and fax. The applications for this

technology however have no limits; new and innovative applications will continue to emerge. This obviously

will lead to a lot of new business opportunities too.

Cisco has started shipping IP telephones and a software that allows a phone to be emulated on a PC. Cisco also claims that AVVID allows rapid application deployment on platform like NT and TAPI on its converged networking architecture. Cisco itself processes about $1 billion worth of orders on-line every month very efficiently and without

errors–thanks to AVVID as it allows organizations to develop and deploy

innovative communications applications for its own staff, customers, suppliers, and even outside world, very rapidly. Other major benefits that are likely to accrue out of a converged network

with open standards are higher bandwidth availability, scalability, and

manageability. But the biggest that Cisco claims that AVVID offers is a much lower total cost of ownership as

compared to traditional systems. It would not be unfair to say that over a period of time it ends up in a lot

more benefits at a fraction of cost. 

According to Belcher, an independent study conducted recently concluded that a singular unified network yields a minimum return on investment of 161

percent over three years.

According to Scott, “Acer is migrating and consolidating its existing LAN, WAN and voice networks in its 80

offices globally into an integrated voice, video, and data network. And hypermarket retails chain TMC Bhd of Malaysia has installed a voice over IP network and is saving 30 percent on phone calls”. Cisco is quite upbeat about AVVID, and believes that it allows the enterprise network to converge over a common IP transport. They claim that with this new architecture the number of WAN facilities is reduced, as is the number of devices required to terminate those facilities. Bandwidth can be added

incrementally and shared statistically between applications adding efficiency and reducing complexity. This does not present the use-it or lose-it model

typical of disparate network. When voice is quiescent, data can utilize the available bandwidth; when voice or video

applications are active, they can be 



guaranteed the bandwidth required. Risk of Being Left Behind



Analysts in communications industry now acknowledge that the IP will become the universal transport of the future. The pace of adoption and migration of vendors (including those vendors who have historically used TDM infrastructures) to IP for data, voice, and video applications further is a clear evidence. According to Belcher, “The message is clear: move towards IP or risk being left behind.

The architecture delivers an Internet ecosystem, which thrives on open standards, encouraging the development and interoperability of multi-vendor, multi-product solutions. Contrast this to the proprietary and monolithic solutions of the past; the benefits will transcend simple economics, creating innovative new business solutions and rapid

deployment of these solutions. The philosophy behind AVVID is that as new technologies enter the market, additional benefits will emerge. Those networks best positioned to adopt these technologies rapidly will have a distinct competitive advantage.