Structured as a panel discussion, these utilities will be sharing challenges and decisions as they work toward bridging the gap between meeting the needs of today’s TDM-based endpoint devices and future-state IP-based transport. The discussion will touch on SONET to IP migration, IT vs. OT management, and cybersecurity concerns.
At these utilities, ATM and SONET-based transport equipment needs to be replaced, but the majority of their ATM endpoint equipment still has plenty of usable service life. They are currently working through the challenges of identifying the scope of replacement, collecting requirements from internal customers, defining what an IP-based network should look like, and how it best serves IT and OT customers.
The discussion will start with challenges surfacing from inherent differences between IP and SONET transport, questions about reliability and latency on an IP network, and handling failure in a packet-based network. It will then move into discussing migration strategies and network responsibility, then finish with cybersecurity concerns and CIP requirements.