rosystems Nortel Optoelectronics Optical Switch Corp. Radiant Photonics Metro DWDM/next-generation SONET vendors Alcatel USA Ciena Cisco Ericsson Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. Kestrel Solutions Lucent Technologies LuxN, Inc. Marconi Communications Metro-Optix NEC Networks Nortel Networks Optical Networks, Inc. (ONI Systems) Redback Networks Siemens Sorrento Networks Sycamore Network, Inc. Chapter 1 Tellabs White Rock Networks Zaffire, Inc. Vendors of access-based metro solutions Alloptic Appian Communications Atrica Inc. Auro Networks Inc. Extreme Networks Force 10 Networks, Inc. Jedai Broadband Networks Lantern Communications Inc. Luminous Networks Inc. Native Networks Nortel Networks Riverstone Networks Tropic Networks Inc. VIPswitch World Wide Packets Vendors of optical packet nodes AcceLight Networks Atoga Systems Lightscape Networks Village Networks Vendors of storage area networks Akara Brocade Communications Systems CNT Networks EMC Corp. Entrada Networks Finisar Corp. Advances and Opportunities in Next-Generation SONET Gadzoox Networks, Inc. INRANGE Technologies Corp. Lucent Technologies LuxN Inc. McDATA Corp. Network Appliance Inc. Nishan Systems Nortel Networks ONI Systems QLogic Corp. SAN Valley Systems Storage Computer Corp. Vixel Corp. YottaYotta Networks 1.6 Rosy or Red All Over? Even as this book examines next-generation SONET systems, vendors and proponents are now inundating the trade press, conferences, customers, and venture capitalists with an avalanche of claims about the payback of Ethernet-based metro systems. Table 1-4 is typical, and it appears in a pub- lished advocacy white paper from a very reputable source. The table shows, from a bottom-line standpoint, a purported rosy picture of payback when using Ethernet-based metro systems (for example, the internal rate of return [IRR] is 87.6 percent, the earnings before interest, taxes, deprecia- tion, and amortization (EBITDA) are positive in year 1, and SO on). Is this table really rosy or is it red all over? The reality is completel