October 2018 MANAGEMENT 19 tionality as part of the workflow management . Once all devices become IP native , the gateway functionality can be done with , but the SNP remains viable as an IP video processor , says Greene .
As to what advantages IP routing can offer , he details : “ One of the great advantages of SMPTE ST 2110 is that it is a family of standards because it treats precision reference time ( ST 2110-10 ), video ( ST 2110-20 ), audio ( ST 2110-30 ) and ancillary data ( ST2110-40 ) as separate parts of the essence . With SDI , the audio is generally embedded in the video .
“ So , for instance , if you want to shuffle audio channels with SDI , the process is inherently complicated because , first , it has to de-embed the audio from the SDI stream before it can process it , then it has to re-synchronise it to the video and embed it once more at the output . In ST 2110 , the audio device just looks at the audio part of the stream , so it is much simpler . And , incidentally , it reduces latency build-up .”
Then , of course , there is the consideration of cost . As Greene describes , the impact grows as the size of the installation grows . While a 512x512 SDI router is relatively expensive , the price “ skyrockets ” when broadcasters go beyond 1,000 SDI inputs and outputs .
When that happens , enterprise-quality Ethernet switches become financially “ very attractive ”, provided broadcasters have a largely IP infrastructure , according to Greene . “ If most of your signals are still SDI , then the required gateways are not only going to break the captial expenditure bank — but they are also going to need a lot of power and air-conditioning ,” he continues . “ This is another part of the transition planning : you need to determine the point at
❝ When we talk about 100 % IP today , what we are actually saying is that the infrastructure does not have an SDI core router .❞
— Paul Greene , Director of Networking Product
Management , Imagine Communications
which IP switching becomes the cost-effective decision .”
Greene also advises broadcasters to take into account that IP network design for video is fundamentally different to SDI design , and from a core architecture point of view , the broadcast plant will look much like a data centre .
To ease this transition , Imagine Communications continues to produce “ the best SDI routers in the market ”, featuring multiviewer functionality , audio and video switching , analogue and digital , audio mux and demux , as well as frame synchronisation , all within a single , space-saving frame .
Green explains : “ IP video and audio is switched over Ethernet , and there are manufacturers out
❝ In terms of future strategies for routing , Arista will continue to focus on building high quality and lower cost solutions for IP media networks that simplify the transition to SMPTE ST 2110 and transition broadcasting away from legacy SDI cabling .❞
In a hybrid network where both SDI and IP switching are in play , Imagine Communications ’ Magellan SDN Orchestrator can provide a layer of abstraction and provide control to operators .
— Richard Byliss , Director of Systems Engineering , APJ ,
Arista Networks
Arista is simplifying the transition to IP networking with a single software operating system – Arista Extensible Operating System , which can be deployed across all Arista devices – including 7500R2 routing platform .
there — such as Arista Networks and Cisco — who have the same experience in data switching as we have in SDI .
“ There is no point in us reinventing technologies , so our workflow orchestration platform enables us to integrate commercial off-the-shelf ( COTS ) switches , allowing us to build routing infrastructures of enormous sizes .”
He also believes that hybrid networks , where SDI and IP switching are both in place , are likely to last for at least a decade before SDI slowly fades away . In such a scenario , what is important is that the control layer should manage the differing signal flows without intervention from the user . “ The operator needs to send a source to a destination ; the form the signal takes , and which specific device is handling it , is not important ,” Greene elaborates . “ Our Magellan SDN Orchestrator provides this layer of abstraction . Control is identical — for human operators and for automation systems — as it has been for decades , whether the particular action
takes place in SDI or IP .”
As Greene attests to , companies such as Arista Networks have substantial experience in data switching . The latter is also finding out how it is now possible to create highly capable routing platforms using Ethernet switch-like form factors , driven by the rapid pace of innovation by merchant silicon vendors .
Richard Byliss , director of systems engineering , APJ , Arista Networks , explains : “ In contrast to legacy routing platforms that are typically built using expensive custom silicon , the new generation of routing platforms provide terabit performance with dense 100G IP interface support , providing sufficient headroom for the transition to IP-based 4K / UHD and 8K uncompressed broadcasts .”
He also highlights how Arista is simplifying the transition to IP networking with a single software operating system — Arista Extensible Operating System ( EOS ). The same version of EOS can be deployed across all Arista devices — including the fixed 7280R2 and 7500R2 routing platforms — removing the need to qualify multiple versions of code for various switching and routing use cases .
“ Arista ’ s EOS provides some unique architectural differences , based on our experience of building some of the largest cloud networks in the world ,” says Bayliss . “ EOS was built from the ground up to enable automation for deployment , configuration management , and extending functionality to partners such as Lawo , Nevion , EVS , Imagine Communications , SDNSquared and Skyline Dataminer . Combined , Arista ’ s routing hardware and software create a high-quality and reliable highperformance routing platform that can be trusted in the complex and demanding broadcast world .”
In terms of future strategies for routing , Arista will continue to focus on building high-quality and lower cost solutions for IP media networks that simplify the transition to SMPTE ST 2110 and transition broadcasting away from legacy SDI cabling , Bayliss reveals . He also believes that focusing on scalability and ease-of-use for the application programming interface ( API ) is key to Arista ’ s partners .
“ ST 2110 with separate flows for video , audio and ancillary data require that all the essence streams must be programmed ‘ simultaneously ’. At the top of the hour , with dozens or hundreds of streams that need to be programmed , ensuring that the broadcast controller ’ s instructions are programmed into the IP fabric are successful and occur within a predictable period , are vital .”
IP networks , with the use of standard 10G , 25G , 40G and 100G interfaces , can “ dramatically reduce ” the time to deploy new broadcast environments , with future transitions from HD to 4K / UHD and 8K requiring no additional physical layer adjustments , suggests Byliss . “ Arista ’ s focus on quality , scalability and providing programming platforms that our broadcast partners are looking for is enabling hybrid and IP facilities without compromise .”
While pointing out that the major technology components for the transition to IP networking are already available , he acknowledges that the transition will not be an easy one . “ Apart from the technology shift , a cultural change is required from the SDI-era ’ s ‘ the cable is the network ’ mindset . IP networking and routing requires organisations to develop new skills and expertise while retaining their core broadcast engineering capabilities . Individuals with both IP and broadcast skills are in high demand , creating a skills gap .”
What broadcasters can start doing , Byliss advises , is to start investigating and experimenting with IP technology . This investment of time , he says , will allow them to develop the fundamental skills that will increase the chances of a successful deployment .
Noting that routing is a critical function of IP networking , and with Arista ’ s routing platforms already deployed by some of the biggest media companies in the world , Byliss concludes : “ As the broadcast and media industries continue to embrace IP networking , Arista is ready to help with our expertise in design , deployment and operation of IP networks for media .”